1,720,981 research outputs found
Unusual evolution from overt autoimmune hypothyroidism to hyperthyroidism after IFN-α therapy for chronic hepatitis.
No full textA 41-year-old women was submitted to interferon-alpha (IFN-α) treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Serum thyroid hormone (TH), and thyroid ultrasonography (US) were normal and anti-thyroid autoantibodies (ATA) undetectable before starting IFN-α therapy. After two months, the patient developed overt hypothyroidism (TSH: 140 mU/I; FT4: 1.38 pg/ml; FT3: 0.89 pg/ml) and positive serum ATA (TPOAb: 416 U/ml; TgAb: 1/25600), with intense hypoechogenicity at thyroid US, suggestive of hypothyroid Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. She was submitted to L-thyroxine therapy (75 g/day): 2 months later, the patient noticed symptoms suggestive of mild thyrotoxicosis confirmed by suppressed TSH and slight increased serum TH. L-T4 therapy was temporary withdrawn, but, after 2 months, mild thyrotoxicosis was still present (TSH: 0.003 mU/I; FT4: 18.4 pg/ml; FT3: 6.6 pg/ml) and TSH receptor auto antibodies (TRAb) were detected (11.9 U/l). Thyroid color flow doppler sonography displayed diffuse hypoechogenicity with increased parenchymal blood flow, a diffuse radionuclide distribution and increased radioiodine uptake were detected at 99mTc-thyroid scintiscan and at 131I uptake, respectively: these findings excluded destructive thyrotoxicosis and were suggestive of autoimmune hyperthyroidism. IFN-α treatment was withdrawn and β-block therapy was started; 2 months later, overt hyperthyroidism was confirmed and the patient was eventually treated with anti-thyroid drugs. Thyroid dysfunctions (mostly transient) may often be induced by IFN-α therapy by different mechanisms, including induction/exacerbation of thyroid autoimmunity. In this rare case exacerbation of thyroid autoimmunity followed a functional bi-phasic pattern leading to long-lasting Graves disease
Animal models are reliably mimicking human diseases? A morphological study that compares animal and human NAFLD
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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
Uneven distribution of hepatic copper concentration and diagnostic value of double-sample biopsy in Wilson's disease
No full textBackground and aims. Determination of hepatic copper (Cu) concentration is important in Wilson's disease (WD) diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate uneven distribution of liver Cu concentration and the utility of double-sample biopsy in WD diagnosis. Methods. Thirty-five WD patients (20 male; mean age 41 ± 9 years) were enrolled in the study and double-liver samples for biopsy were obtained. A further 30 WD patients, in whom Cu determination was performed using single-liver samples, were also enrolled as controls. Results. A marked difference in hepatic Cu concentration was observed between the two sample groups (p < 0.0001). This difference is statistically significant for all levels of liver fibrosis (p < 0.001) and for the comparison of hepatic and neurological phenotypes (p < 0.01). The sensitivity of the Cu concentrations obtained from the double-sample biopsies for the conventional cut-off value of 250 mg/g dry weight of tissue was 85.7% compared to 80% in the single-sample biopsies. By lowering the cut-off value from 250 to 50 μg/g of dry weight of tissue, the sensitivity of Cu content to diagnose WD increased to 97% for double-sample liver biopsy compared to 93% for single-sample liver biopsy. Conclusions. Liver Cu content was unevenly distributed in the WD subjects, irrespective of fibrosis levels and disease phenotypes; hence WD can be misdiagnosed using single-sample liver Cu measurement. Double-sample biopsy sensitivity is greater than that obtained with single-sample biopsy and should therefore be considered to evaluate liver Cu concentration at initial diagnosis in all patients
Brain MRI and SPECT in the diagnosis of early neurological involvement in Wilson's disease
No full textVariations 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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