1,721,012 research outputs found
Ketoanalogue Supplementation in Patients with Non-Dialysis Diabetic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
No full textThe effects of supplemental ketoanalogues (KA) in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) are not well characterized. Several databases for peer-reviewed articles were systematically searched to identify studies reporting outcomes associated with the effects of a low-protein diet (LPD) or very-low protein diet (VLPD) in combination with supplemental KA in adults with DKD. Meta-analyses were conducted when feasible. Of 213 identified articles, 11 could be included in the systematic review. Meta-analyses for renal outcomes (4 studies examining glomerular filtration rate; 5 studies examining 24-h urinary protein excretion), metabolic outcomes (5 studies examining serum urea; 7 studies examining blood glucose), clinical outcomes (6 studies examining blood pressure; 4 studies examining hemoglobin), and nutritional outcomes (3 studies examining serum albumin; 4 studies examining body weight) were all in favor of KA use in DKD patients. Data from individual studies that examined other related parameters also tended to show favorable effects from KA-supplemented LPD/VLPD. The regimens were safe and well tolerated, with no evidence of adverse effects on nutritional status. In conclusion, LPD/VLPD supplemented with KA could be considered effective and safe for patients with non-dialysis dependent DKD. Larger studies are warranted to confirm these observations
[Atypical mycobacterial infection after kidney transplant: two clinical cases]
No full textInfections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality during kidney transplant. In areas where tuberculosis is not endemic, Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOOT), also known as 'atypical' Mycobacteria, are more frequently involved in mycobacterial infections than M. tuberculosis. The incidence of MOOT infection in renal transplant recipients ranges from 0.16 to 0.38 percent. This low rate of reported incidence is, however, often due to delay in diagnosis and lack of therapeutic protocols. Further difficulty is caused by the interaction of antimycobacterial drugs with the post-transplant immunosuppressive regimen, necessitating close monitoring of plasma concentrations and careful dose modification. We present two cases of Mycobacterium Chelonae infection in kidney transplant recipients which differ in both clinical presentation and pharmacological approach
The effect of a ketogenic diet on weight loss in CKD: a randomized controlled trial in obese stage G1-3a CKD patients
No full text: This study describes a multicentre randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of a ketogenic diet with a low-energy standard diet containing 0.8 g/kg/day on weight loss and metabolic alterations in adult patients with mild-to-moderate non-diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) and mild-to-severe obesity. The study is being conducted to understand the impact of the ketogenic diet on weight loss in these patients, as the existing evidence on the ketogenic diet's effect in CKD patients is limited and inconclusive. The study will enrol mild-to moderate adult CKD patients (Stages G1-3a) with albumin to creatinine ratio ≥200 mg/g, without diabetes, with obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2), and stable body weight and estimated glomerular filtration rate from at least 3 months. The primary outcome will be weight loss at 6 months, and secondary outcomes will include adherence to prescribed dietary regimens, body composition changes, changes in standardized blood pressure measurements, metabolic parameters, lipid profile, liver profile, mineral bone disease biomarkers, and changes in renal function and albuminuria. The findings of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the potential benefits and risks of the ketogenic diet in CKD patients with obesity. The results will help guide future research on the ketogenic diet and renal health
SEVELAMER ATTENUATES CV MORTALITY IN INCIDENT HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: OPEN LABEL, RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF EFFICACY AND SAFETY (INDEPENDENT STUDY)
No full textINTRODUCTION AND AIMS:
Whether the choice of sevelamer (SV) compared to calcium-based phosphate binder improves
cardiovascular (CV) survival in patients receiving dialysis still remains to be elucidated. We
herein report on an open label, blocked-randomized, multi-centered controlled trial with
masked allocation, aimed at evaluating the impact of SV on CV survival in incident dialysis
patients.
METHODS:
A total of 466 individuals were randomized to receive either SV or calcium salts (CS) as
phosphate binders (figure 1). All individuals were followed until study completion or CV
death occurrence. All-cause mortality and non-CV mortality were investigated as secondary
endpoints. The Independent study was registered on ClinicalTrials.Gov as the Reduce
Cardiovascular Calcifications to Reduce QT Interval in Dialysis (INDEPENDENT) Study,
number NCT00710788
RESULTS:
Overall, we recruited middle-age (mean age 65+14 years) men (49%) and women (51%).
Hypertension (79%), CV disease (36%) and diabetes (29%) were the most common comorbid
conditions. At baseline, patients allocated to SV had higher serum phosphorus levels and
lower CAC scores (CACS) compared to patients allocated to CS. After a mean follow-up of
28 (10) months, SV treated patients experienced a 10-fold lower CV mortality compared to
patients treated with CS as binders (p<0.001) (figure 2). Similar results were noted for the allcause
but not for the non-CV mortality. Adjustments for potential confounders did not affect
these results (Table 1). Further analyses stratifying for CACS at baseline did not attenuate the
survival benefit of SV that persisted in all CACS strata.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that SV increases significantly CV survival in a population of incident
hemodialysis patients. The large survival benefit demonstrated with the intervention evaluted
in this RCT contrasts with the absense of benefit reported for other interventions in this
patient population. Thus, this study demonstrates that a simple relatively inexpensive
treatment decision may significantly improve patient survival in incident dialysis patients
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
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
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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