1,720,958 research outputs found
Carotid Artery Diameters, Carotid Endarterectomy Techniques and Restenosis
No full textBackground: Restenosis of the carotid artery is a major complication of carotid endarterectomy (CEA). The
purpose of this study was to examine the role of CEA techniques on carotid dimensions variation, postoperative
versus preoperative multi-segmental diameters and its impact on the development of restenosis at 12 months follow
up.
Methods: 175 consecutive patients eligible for carotid surgery were included in the study. 75 underwent CEA
by patch reconstruction (PR), 53 by eversion (EV) and 47 by primary closure (PC). Before the procedures and
at discharge, carotid diameters were measured at four reference points (common carotid, CC; carotid bulb, CB;
proximal internal carotid artery, PICA; distal internal carotid artery, DICA) by ultrasonography. The rate of minor (<
50%) and major (≥ 50%) restenosis was evaluated at 12 months follow up.
Results: PR produced an increase in all carotid diameters while PC and EV produced a decrease in carotid
diameters, having PC affected all diameters while EV affected CB and PICA diameter. However, postoperative
diameters had comparable dimension independently of the surgical technique used. The rate of overall and major
restenosis did not differ significantly between the three types of surgery. Logistic regression analysis showed
that female gender was associated with major restenosis (OR 6.9, 95% CI 1, 23 – 38, 49) irrespective of surgical
technique.
Conclusion: This study shows that carotid diameters and restenosis rate after CEA are comparable whatever is
the surgical technique adopted, and that women are at high risk of major restenosis.Background: Restenosis of the carotid artery is a major complication of carotid endarterectomy (CEA). The
purpose of this study was to examine the role of CEA techniques on carotid dimensions variation, postoperative
versus preoperative multi-segmental diameters and its impact on the development of restenosis at 12 months follow
up.
Methods: 175 consecutive patients eligible for carotid surgery were included in the study. 75 underwent CEA
by patch reconstruction (PR), 53 by eversion (EV) and 47 by primary closure (PC). Before the procedures and
at discharge, carotid diameters were measured at four reference points (common carotid, CC; carotid bulb, CB;
proximal internal carotid artery, PICA; distal internal carotid artery, DICA) by ultrasonography. The rate of minor (<
50%) and major (≥ 50%) restenosis was evaluated at 12 months follow up.
Results: PR produced an increase in all carotid diameters while PC and EV produced a decrease in carotid
diameters, having PC affected all diameter
Surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome: immediate and mid-term results
No full textIntroduction: We report the results from a consecutive series of patients treated by
scalenectomy or cervical rib resection for clearly symptomatic or paucisymptomatic
thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) over a 6-year period.
Material and methods: From September 1999 to August 2005, 14 surgical
decompressions were performed in 12 patients with unremitting signs and
symptoms of nerve or vascular compression at the thoracic outlet. The symptoms
of TOS were due to involvement of the brachial plexus in 8 cases (57.1%). A sign
of vascular obstruction could be detected in 10 cases (71.4%): in 6 cases (42.8%)
the presentation was predominantly arterial (arm claudication, coldness, Raynaud’s
phenomenon and distal embolisation) and in 4 cases (28.5%) was related to vein
compression with congestion and swelling of the affected arm or vein thrombosis.
Two patients presented as emergencies with critical upper limb ischaemia or distal
vessel embolisation.
Results: The median follow-up period was 28.2 months (range 8-78 months).
Results were evaluated in terms of technical success, lack of complications
(temporary or permanent plexus injury, temporary or permanent phrenic palsy),
relief of symptoms. Outcome data were divided into immediate/perioperative
and mid-term results. Perioperative results: There was no operative mortality.
Technical success was achieved in all patients in excision of the fibrous band
with scalenectomy and in cervical rib excision. Mid-term results: In 4 patients
with venous symptoms complete relief was achieved in 75%. In all patients who
experienced arterial complications we registered complete relief. In patients with
neurological presentation we detected complete relief in 5 (62.5%), relief of some
symptoms in 2 (25%) and no improvement in 1 (12.5%).
Conclusions: Scalenectomy performed by a standard supraclavicular approach seems
to allow relief in the majority of patients with symptoms of neurological, arterial or
venous compression at the thoracic outlet. Nevertheless, we emphasize the importance
of an objective method of evaluation and the necessity of a prolonged follow-up.
Key words: thoracic outlet syndrome, scalenectomy, cervical rib resection
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Multiple thromboembolism with multiple causes in a 69-year-old woman: a case report
No full textAbstract Introduction Aggressive, recurrent embolisms require accurate etiologic diagnosis. We describe the case of a 69-year-old Italian Caucasian woman with recurrent arterial embolisms in whom several sources and triggers of thrombosis were detected. Case presentation The patient, a 69-year-old Italian Caucasian woman, presented with a systemic embolism that was initially attributed to atrial fibrillation. The recurrence of embolisms despite anti-thrombotic therapy prompted a re-evaluation of the clinical presentation. New potential causes of thrombosis emerged in this patient, including thrombocytosis associated with the JAK2 V617F mutation and the very rare mural thrombosis of the descending aorta. A mural thrombus in the pulmonary artery was detected contiguous with the aortic mural thrombosis, raising the possibility of a clinically silent ductus Botalli as the initiating event. The patient was treated with warfarin, aspirin, hydroxyurea, and surgery. Conclusions The diagnosis was achieved via systematic use of imaging procedures and reconsideration of blood tests performed to explore the diagnosis of thrombosis. This allowed a deeper and more detailed analysis of the case beyond the conventional approach, which would have aimed to identify one cause for the condition at hand, in this case, atrial fibrillation. The broader approach that we used resulted in the diagnosis of multiple embolisms from multiple sites and multiple causes.</p
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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