1,721,207 research outputs found
Primary membranous nephropathy and its treatment: Past, present and future
No full textPrimary membranous nephropathy (PMN) is the most common cause of primary nephrotic syndrome. In the last few years scientific interest mainly focused on the search for new more effective and safer therapeutic strategies and on the guide to their use based on markers of clinical outcomes and disease activity such as the antibodies to the podocyte-expressed phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R). The results of the latest trials with the newest pharmacologic approaches open promising horizons in the treatment of membranous glomerulonephritis. This brief review, following the road paved by the previous treatment options, overviews the new advances in the pharmacologic treatment of MN, which represent the near future of its therapy
The uraemic hypertensive patient. a therapeutic challenge-right you are (if you think so)
Full text linkHigh blood pressure (BP) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and at the same time represents its most frequent complication. High BP is an independent risk factor for advanced CKD; on the other hand, at least 40% of patients with normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and virtually all patients with GFR <30 mL/min are hypertensive. CKD and microalbuminuria are powerful risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Consequently, in uraemic hypertension, it is of utmost importance to carefully manage both high BP and microalbuminuria, in order to slow down the progression of kidney damage and to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events. The first purpose of the medical treatment in hypertensive patients is to normalize BP, regardless of the drug used. Nevertheless, some drugs have an 'additional' nephroprotective effect at the same BP target achieved. In this regard, first-line drugs are definitely renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors, mainly for their proved efficacy in reducing hypertension-related kidney damage and proteinuria. Anyway, a combined approach (two or more drugs) is usually needed to achieve the optimal BP target and reduce the worsening of CKD
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
Validation of a bioanalytical method for the determination of synthetic and natural cannabinoids (New psychoactive substances) in oral fluid samples by means of hplc-ms/ms
Full text linkNew psychoactive substances (NPS) represent an important focus nowadays and are continually produced with minimal structural modifications in order to circumvent the law and increase the difficulty of identifying them. Moreover, since there are a high number of different compounds, it is arduous to develop analytical screening and/or confirmation methods that allow the identification and quantification of these compounds. The aim of this work is to develop and validate a bioanalytical method for detecting new synthetic drugs in biological samples, specifically oral fluid, using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) with minimal sample pretreatment. Oral fluid samples were simply centrifuged and denaturized with different rapid procedures before injection into the LC-MS/MS system. Calibration curves covered a linear concentration range from LOQ to 100 ng/mL. Validation parameters such as linearity, precision, accuracy, selectivity, matrix effect and thermal stability were evaluated and showed satisfactory results, in accordance with US Food & Drug Administration guidelines. The inter-day analytical bias and imprecision at two levels of quality control (QC) were within ±15% for most compounds. This method was able to identify and calculate the concentration of 10 NPS validated in this biological sample, even in the presence of matrix effect
A comprehensive numerical study on heat transfer and friction characteristics of offset-strip fins
Full text linkOffset-strip fins are among the most used geometries in compact heat exchangers. The geometric and flow parameters of the fins affect their heat transfer effectiveness and head losses. Hence, accurate predictive models are needed to guide the design process. However, most of the correlations available in the literature are valid only for a limited set of geometric configurations and flow regimes. This work discusses the derivation of multivariate response surfaces for the equivalent Darcy and Colburn factors in offset-strip fins. These surfaces feature clear applicability ranges and extend over wide Reynolds and Prandtl number ranges (50≤Re≤12000, 0.71≤Pr≤190). In addition, a novel empirical model for the Prandtl number scaling exponent is proposed. The analysis is carried out through a Design of Experiment approach, performed with computational techniques. Each numerical experiment is carried out by CFD analysis of a periodic fin geometry. The obtained response surfaces approximate CFD results with a mean deviation of ±8.4%. Moreover, application of the correlations to the analysis of complete heat exchangers issued mean and maximum deviations of ±7.8% and ±20%, respectively, thus highlighting the usefulness of the proposed models for the accurate modelling of offset-strip fins in heat transfer applications
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