170,007 research outputs found
Short dual antiplatelet therapy: how, when and why
No full textDual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is a cornerstone of antithrombotic treatment in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. The optimal duration of DAPT, i.e. the minimal period needed to ensure the best safety and efficacy, to prevent ischemic complications, including stent thrombosis, has been extensively explored in multiple randomized controlled trials over the last years. Accumulating evidence is supporting a clinical approach where there is a prevailing role of the risk of bleeding: in patients at high bleeding risk (HBR) it is generally advisable to reduce the duration of DAPT irrespective of their risk of thrombosis. In addition, among HBR patients, (i) new recommendations prefer direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) over vitamin K antagonists in DOAC-eligible patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease; (ii) measures to minimize bleedings while on DAPT should be pursued, including de-escalation of P2Y12 receptor inhibitor therapy; and (iii) new studies are testing reversal strategies for short DAPT regimens, with early discontinuation of aspirin. In the present review, we discuss the rationale and decision-making considerations to reduce safely DAPT duration in HBR patients
Assessment of respiratory effect of air pollution: Study design on general population samples
No full textThe aim of this paper is to describe an epidemiological model to investigate the relationship between respiratory diseases and environmental air pollution. In the Po Delta prospective study, subjects were investigated before and after a large thermoelectric power plant began operating, in 1980 to 1982 and in 1988 to 1991, respectively. The Pisa prospective study was performed in 1986 to 1988 and in 1991 to 1993, before and after the construction of a new expressway that encircles the city from the North to the Southeast. In each survey, subjects completed the interviewer- administered standardized CNR questionnaire on respiratory symptoms/diseases and risk factors, and performed lung function tests. In the second survey of each study, skin prick tests, total serum IgE determination, methacholine challenge test and biomarkers (such as sister chromatide exchanges, micronuclei, chromosomal abnormalities, DNA and hemoglobin adducts) were also performed. Concentrations of total suspended particulate and SO2 in both surveys were higher in urban than in rural areas, as well as symptom/disease prevalences and bronchial reactivity. Subgroups of subjects from the two samples were enrolled to perform a specific study on the acute respiratory effects of indoor pollution; the daily presence of symptoms and measurements of peak expiratory flow (PEF), daily activity pattern, and assessment of the indoor air quality (particulates<2.5μ and NO2) were evaluated. Higher symptom prevalences and PEF variability level were observed in subjects with the highest levels of NO2 or particulates, especially asthmatics. In conclusion, these studies represent a basis for further analyses to better define the relationship between respiratory health and indoor/outdoor pollutant levels
Il referente per la dislessia. La situazione nella Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia
No full textIl Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, durante l’anno scolastico 2005-2006, ha incaricato l’Associazione Italiana Dislessia di realizzare un programma di formazione rivolto agli insegnanti, esteso a tutto il territorio nazionale (progetto «Azione 7»). L’obiettivo era creare la figura dell’insegnante referente, che potesse fornire una prima consulenza in tema di Disturbi Specifici dell’Apprendimento (DSA) già all’interno della scuola. Nell’ambito di un progetto di ricerca della SCO di Neuropsichiatria Infantile e Neurologia Pediatrica dell’IRCCS «Burlo Garofolo» di Trieste,1 che perseguiva anche l’obiettivo di fornire agli insegnanti gli strumenti per elaborare un intervento didattico-educativo precoce per gli alunni con difficoltà scolastiche, abbiamo quindi voluto verificare, a distanza di quattro anni, lo stato di realizzazione del progetto «Azione 7» e come il ruolo dell’insegnante referente venga vissuto ed espletato dagli insegnanti della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia. La rilevazione è stata eseguita per mezzo di un questionario creato ad hoc e rivolto specificamente agli insegnanti referenti per valutare il tipo di attività svolta dall’insegnante referente nel mondo scolastico, la percezione nei confronti del proprio ruolo e i bisogni formativi ritenuti funzionali ad esso. I risultati della rilevazione documentano l’interesse degli insegnanti a sperimentarsi in questo nuovo ruolo e la richiesta di formazione e supervisione su casi specifici. Vengono quindi discusse alcune modalità operative che prevedono non solo la sensibilizzazione della dirigenza scolastica ma anche la costituzione di una rete tra scuola e strutture sanitarie, al fine di sostenere i referenti nell’attività consulenziale sui DSA
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Evaluation of severity of diffuse emphysema in patients with giant bullae before bullectomy
No full textAm. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
- …
