1,720,968 research outputs found
Evaluation of a new ultrasonic device for surgical dissection in lung lobectomy and lymphadenectomy for lung cancer
Full text linkObjective
To assess and compare surgical electric hook vs Harmonic ACE Plus® impact on short-term postoperative outcomes after video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lung lobectomy and lymphadenectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Materials and methods
We prospectively collected data of 120 consecutive patients [60% male; median age: 71 (62-76 IQR:) years] undergoing lung lobectomy and lymphadenectomy by VATS for NSCLC in our Center from October 1st 2016 to July 31th 2019. Patients were divided in two groups based on the device used for tissue dissection: the electric hook (Group A) in 68 cases and the Harmonic ACE Plus® (Group B) in 52. Multivariable analysis by binary logistic regression was performed in order to test the energy device as possible risk factor for pleural effusion volume at 48 hours after surgery and for postoperative chest tube duration.
Results
No intraoperative complications due to energy device were recorded in both groups.
Chylothorax incidence was higher in Group A with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (3% vs 0%; p-value=0.50). Pleural effusion volume during the first 48 postoperative hours was significantly higher in Group B: 253 ml (IQR: 149-405) vs 408 (IQR: 294-508) ml (p-value<0.01). However, chest tube duration was similar in the two groups: 4 (IQR: 3-8) vs 5 (IQR: 4-8) days (p-value=0.39). At multivariable analysis energy device was not independently associated with pleural effusion volume at 48 hours after surgery and with postoperative chest tube duration.
Conclusions
Electric hook or Harmonic ACE Plus® use during VATS lobectomy for NSCLC is safe and leads to similar postoperative short-term outcomes
Endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration for mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer: Variability of results and perspectives
No full textThe remarkable value of endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUSTBNA) for mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is recognized worldwide. Reports from different centers however show considerable variation of EBUS-TBNA performance in terms of diagnostic yield, sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV). Interpretation of EBUSTBNA diagnostic efficacy requires clarifying whether the technique is used for purely diagnostic purpose or mediastinal staging, recognizing that different study groups may be inherently heterogeneous and that numerous factors may impact on the procedure outcomes. Review of these factors indicates that the prevalence of N2/N3 disease, the thoroughness of mediastinal sampling and > 3 needle passes per target lymph node (LN) [in the absence of rapid on-site eva luation (ROSE)] influence the procedure outcomes, while many details in the sample preparation technique are unlikely to impact on the results and should be left to the proceduralists' preference. Generalized use of a standardized database for prospective collection of relevant EBUS-TBNA data would allow reporting institutional results by subgroups of N2/N3 disease prevalence and thoroughness of staging, and would help establishing quality standards for the procedure
Simultaneous use of tracheal stent and tracheostomy tube in the management of acquired tracheal dilatation after prolonged ventilation
No full textDurable recurrence-free survival after pneumonectomy for late lung metastasis from rectal cancer: Case report with genetic and epigenetic analyses
No full text
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
Natural killer cells from patients with either malignant or inflammatory pleural effusions display decreased cytotoxic capacity and decidual-like phenotype
No full textPURPOSE: Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes involved in tumor recognition and eradication. NK activity is impaired in cancer patients and in NSCLC showed a pro-angiogenic phenotype and function. We investigated whether NK cells infiltrating inflammatory or malignant pleural effusions (iPE or mPE) are able to acquire pro-angiogenic features.
METHODS: We performed ex vivo FACS analysis of phenotype and cytokine production of PE-derived NK cells (PE-NKs) and a CD107a assay to evaluate their cytotoxicity.
RESULTS: PE-NKs are enriched in CD56brightCD16- NK cells. These NK cells express the decidual NK marker CD49a and the activation marker CD69. Moreover, PE-NKs showed very low expression of the CD57 maturation marker. NK cells from all patient samples showed lower cytotoxicity against K562 target cells in comparison to peripheral blood of healthy donors (hPB) NKs. After 3-day NK culture with IL-2, PE-NKs restored their cytotoxicity, whereas in NK from peripheral blood of patients did not reach a high level of killing capacity. 3-day culture using IL-2 plus TGFb or IL-2 in a iPE/mPE conditioned medium (CM) only partially restored cytotoxic potential. Purified hPB NK cells treated for 7 days with IL-15 in a iPE/mPE-CM acquired a pro-angiogenic phenotype, showing polarization towards the CD56brightCD16dimIFNglow NK subset.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: NK cells from mPE display pro-angiogenic features and mPE-CM was able to polarize healthy PB NK cells in vitro towards the pro-angiogenic CD56brightCD16- NK subset, suggesting that in the PE milieu, diverse soluble factors are able to skew cytotoxic NK cells into pro-tumor, pro-angiogenic NK cells.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bruno et al. The proangiogenic phenotype of natural killer cells in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Neoplasia. 2013 Feb;15(2):133-42.
Mortara et al. Polarization of tumor infiltrating leukocytes from innate immunity and their role in the pro-angiogenic phenotype in NSCLC. J. Clin. Cell. Immunol., 6:2, 2015
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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