1,720,958 research outputs found
New method for bacterial load measurement during hydro-debridement of cutaneous ulcer
No full textNew method for bacterial load measurement during hydro-debridement of cutaneous ulcer.
Apperti M, Di Lucia A, Goffredi L, Federico P, Mattera E, Masella A, Della Rocca MD, Apperti S.
SourceSeconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Dipartimento di Scienze Anestesiologiche, Chirurgiche e dell'Emergenza.
Abstract
AIM OF THE STUDY: Based on their experience using Versajet for debridement of chronic wounds, the Authors set up a study protocol to verify whether the hydro-surgical cleansing could offer the possibility of taking tissue specimens suitable for diagnostic microbiological evaluation. The aims of the study were the following:
MAIN PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of hydro-surgery in detecting the presence of microorganisms and measuring their load, as an alternative to conventional tissue sampling methods; SECONDARY PURPOSE: To set up an easier and less invasive diagnostic modality than surgical biopsy, even though likewise significant.
RESULTS: The results of this study show that tissue specimen collection by hydro-aspiration using Versajet is comparable to biopsy sampling (and in some cases it can be even more reliable); moreover, it is not more time-consuming and is certainly less invasive. Compared to surgical biopsy, with such a method a greater amount of tissue may be collected; moreover, tissue specimens can be taken from a broader surface or, depending on the needs, from a more focused area on the margin or at the bottom of the woun
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Thromboembolic tendency (TE) in IBD (Inflammatory bowel disease) patients.
No full textThe acronym IBD identifies the ulcerative colitis (URC), Crohn's disease (CD) and
the undeterminate colitis (UC) 7. Inflammatory bowel diseases are characterized
by variegated etiopathogenesis, probably autoimmune. They have in common a
histological damage of a granulomatous/ulcerative kind and also the same
manifestations which includes the alternation of remissions and exacerbations 1.
They have a remarkable familiarity (13.5%) although it is more evident in CD than
in URC. The incidence of IBD varies according to different geographical areas but
with a steady increasing trend above all in CD and the diffusion seems to be
linked to genetic factors (association with HLA-A2 and B 18) and to geographical
factors. Today the etiopathogenesis is still debated. The latest theories seem to
confirm an autoimmune genesis. IBD show a remarkable tendency in developing
secondary remote manifestations in a different location from the intestinal one:
extraintestinal manifestations (EM). They can appear simultaneously with the
primitive intestinal manifestation or they can precede or follow after years.
According to the most reliable etiopathogenetic hypothesis, EM give rise to
"metastasizations" of autoantibodies activated in the bowel from the "ideational
intestinal brain"; once the autoantibodies are activated, they are able to attack
any organ, tissue or system causing damage directly or mediated. In support of
this theory there is the evidence that almost all EM regress with a
cortison-based/immunosuppressant treatment. In literature we have descriptions of
the extraintestinal remissions of symptoms after total proctolectomia and
ileo-anal pouch. Among EM we find following manifestations: hepatobiliary,
osteoarticular, muscular, dermatological, stomatological, ophthamological,
gynaecological, urological, metabolic, perianal etc. Recently another
manifestation has appeared which consists in a remarkable thromboembolic tendency
(TE) in IBD patients. TE and IBD are an important field of research as TE occurs
in young patients aggressively causing significant morbidity (stroke, retinal
vascular occlusive thrombus deposition in cerebral, retinal and mesenteric
vessels, massive pulmonary embolism). Several studies describe thrombosis in
venous and arterial district in IBD patients as 4% but according to autopsy
studies the percentage is more than 30% 2. Among the causes of the TE disease we
have: thrombocytosis, increase of the coagulation factors, mutation of V factor
of Laiden 8, hyperhomocysteinemia (due to the combined deficit of
methylene-hydrofolate-tetra reductase (MTHFR), B12 vitamin and folate) observed
mutation of MTHFR gene in some IBD patients. Finally, surgery determines an
additional TE risk in these patients compared to non-IBD patients who have the
same operation. Some studies describe mortality of 1-1,2% after restorative
proctolectomia due to TE complications (pulmonary-cerebral and mesenteric
district
Verification of the effectiveness of silver dressings to prevent reinfection of skin ulcers after debridement
No full textOBJECTIVE:
To test the usefulness of silver dressings in patients with skin ulcers in the healing phase after debridement.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
After randomly selected a group of 30 patients and divided them into three groups (A, B and C) according to the type and severity of the ulcer, we used respectively for each group antiseptics-free dressings, hydrofiber dressings with a low or a high content of silver. Then we performed samples by aspiration from the bottom of the wound three times (zero time, after two weeks, after a month) to prepare bacterial cultures.
RESULTS:
In group A, 5 ulcers showed signs of critical colonization after two weeks and 2 of these showed evidence of infection without progression to healing after a month. In groups B and C, no ulcer showed signs of infection with negative cultures. In these two groups, wounds evolved towards healing.
CONCLUSIONS:
Silver dressings seem to be the best option for the prevention of reinfection of skin ulcers; silver concentration should vary according to the degree of ulcer contamination. Dressings with hydrofibers avoid the accumulation of secretions for bacterial growth which would compromise tissue repair
Variations on the Author
Full text link“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
Abdominal hypertension and venous insufficiency of lower limbs: is there a relationship?
No full textOBJECTIVE:
The purpose of our study is to understand the compression, by subcutaneous fat in obese patients, who present a chronic increase in abdominal pressure, and on the sapheno-femoral cross. Such increase would result in a chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) of lower limbs and, if possible, it will be quantified also according to the posture.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
We studied two different groups of patients with CVI: obese and non-obese. The severity of CVI was classified with the CEAP classification or by the standards of recent classifications. Abdominal pressure, by means of Kron's method, and anterior-sagittal diameter were measured in some of the non-obese patients (4 males and 4 females) and in all the obese patients. The diameter of the femoral vein of both groups of patients in supine, sitting and standing positions was also measured.
RESULTS:
We found a higher incidence of CEAP 5-6 classes in the obese group than in the non-obese one; we also saw a higher incidence of classes 1-2 in the non-obese group than in the obese one. Moreover, Kron's method showed a significant difference in abdominal pressure in relation to the BMI and the increase in the femoral vein diameter appears to be related to the weight and to the position.
DISCUSSION:
It was clear that the clinical manifestations of CVI are more severe in obese than in non-obese patients. Obesity in our study clearly acts with a continuous compressive action on the veins of the abdomen and thereby on the femoral vein, further contributing to a retrograde flow. So we tried to quantify an entity that until now could only be assumed
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe 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
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