1,720,966 research outputs found
Osteolysis in chronic myeloid leukemia
No full textFour patients affected by chronic myeloid leukemia who developed osteolytic lesions in the course of the disease are described. According to the literature, the appearance of these alterations seems to signify an unfavorable prognosis, since they occur slightly before or even at the same time as the blastic transformation of the disease. However, in one case bone biopsy showed a metastasis of a solid tumor, emphasizing the importance of this procedure in order to give a more precise clinical evaluation, both diagnostic and therapeuti
Rotture traumatiche dell'aorta toracica: revisione dell'esperienza di 10 anni.
No full textWe retrospectively reviewed the diagnostic imaging examinations of 22 patients affected with traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta acquired in a 10-year period. Our study was aimed at investigating if the diagnostic approach to these patients has changed in the last 10 years, especially relative to the extensive use of Computed Tomography (CT). All the patients in our series were submitted to chest radiography and aortography; only 15 of them were submitted also to CT. Plain radiography showed enlarged mediastinum and altered aortic profiles in 22/22 patients, right-ward deviation of the trachea and nasogastric tube with downward displacement of the left mainstem bronchus and apical cap in 7/22 patients and associated pleuropulmonary injuries in 11 patients. CT image quality was poor because of artifacts in 5 patients, while it demonstrated mediastinal hematoma in 10 patients and associated aortic outline alterations in 5 patients. Aortography always showed the site and number of aortic ruptures. In our experience, aortography should be performed next if chest radiography suggests mediastinal hematoma. CT should be performed before aortography if chest radiography demonstrates no mediastinal hematoma but is not convincingly normal and the patient needs CT studies for associated head and/or abdomen injuries. In this case, if CT is technically correct and its results are normal, aortography needs not be performed, whereas if CT findings are abnormal or not convincingly normal, aortography is mandatory. In the future, the approach to aortic trauma could be modified by transesophageal echocardiography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and spiral CT, but the results of these imaging methods must still be validated with further extensive studies
Relationship between the sonographic appearance of the thyroid and the clinical course and autoimmune activity of Graves' disease
No full textPurpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between thyroid echogenicity and clinical course/immunologic parameters in Graves' disease. Methods. Two hundred and six outpatients with Graves' disease (31 men, 175 women; 46 (plus or minus) 23 years old) were studied with thyroid sonography and color Doppler sonography. Forty-five patients were treated for active hyperthyroidism, 161 were euthyroid (85 immediately before withdrawal of antithyroid drug at maintenance doses, 76 in stable remission after withdrawal of antithyroid treatment). Free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, thyrotropin, and disease-specific autoantibodies (antithyrotropin-releasing hormone antibody) were determined in all patients. Results. The ultrasound images were classified on the basis of homogeneous, finely unhomogeneous, or micronodular appearance. The proportion of unhomogeneous plus micronodular patterns was greater in hyperthyroid (77.8%) than in euthyroid patients (62.1%). In the latter group, the pattern distribution was significantly different in patients who were antibody positive relative to patients who were antibody negative (p < 0.01). In the stable remission subgroup, the pattern distribution differed according to thyrotropin levels (p < .01). There was a correlation between echopattern and color Doppler sonography as vascularization variables progressively increased in the transition from homogeneous to unhomogeneous and micronodular echopattern (most evident echotexture changes). Conclusions. A sonographic-based classification in Graves' disease can distinguish subgroups of patients with different clinical courses and disease activity. This procedure is easy to perform and correlates well with clinical findings. (copyright) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Salivary gland stones: US evaluation in shock wave lithotripsy
No full textPURPOSE: To assess the usefulness of ultrasonography (US) in the selection and monitoring of patients with sialolithiasis to be treated with extracorporeal electromagnetic shock wave lithotripsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: US was performed in 80 symptomatic outpatients who were to undergo shock wave lithotripsy because they were not candidates for endoral extraction of calculi. The location and diameter of stones and the condition of the affected gland and duct were determined. RESULTS: Swollen and sclerotic glands and dilated ducts were the most frequently observed characteristics. After lithotripsy, stone clearance or a residual fragment of less than 2 mm in diameter was seen at US in 37 of 56 patients with submandibular gland calculi and in all 24 patients with parotid gland calculi. Favorable outcome after lithotripsy was associated with smaller (less than 7 mm) stone diameter (P < .001) and, in the case of submandibular gland stones, with intraductal location (P < .05). A return to a normal parenchymal echotexture was seen in all patients in whom the stone was completely eliminated; a limited reduction in swelling was observed in patients with residual fragments. CONCLUSION: US is useful in the selection of candidates for extracorporeal electromagnetic shock wave lithotripsy and in monitoring the progress of treatment
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
Diagnosis and treatment of fungal infections in patients with hematologic malignancies
No full textA diagnosis of deep-seated mycosis was made in 54 patients with hematologic malignancies, severe neutropenia and fever, based on a set of clinical and laboratory criteria. Standardized antifungal treatment was started in 31 patients who seven days after onset of fever had not responded to antibiotics; the fungal infection was cured in 13, all of whom had a simultaneous remission of neutropenia, whereas the other 18 who did not respond to antifungal treatment, all had a falling or static neutrophil count. None of the 23 patients who were given no or inadequate antifungal treatment survived regardless of the neutrophil count and/or phase of the hematologic disease. We discuss the suitability of utilizing empirical criteria for a diagnosis of disseminated fungal infection as a basis for starting antifungal therapy in this type of patien
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
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