1,720,968 research outputs found
Chronic epigastrich blood collection after coronary artery bypass grafting — case report.
No full textA clinical case of epigastric pain 3 months after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is presented. The CT finding of an abdominal mass with thick wall, internal horizontal by-gravity level and linear contrast enhancement at the border between the two different components was correctly interpreted for a chronic hematoma with separation of the formed blood elements from blood serum; in particular, the linear contrast enhancement was related to an artery-feeding vessel
The behaviour of the peripheral natural killer cells in the foetal growth restriction
No full textAIM:
To study the behaviour of the peripheral lymphocyte subsets in foetuses affected by growth restriction.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Thirty consecutive pregnant women with an ultrasound diagnosis of foetal growth restriction were included in this study (group A) while 30 women with a physiologic pregnancy were recruited as control group (group B). The diagnosis was performed during the ultrasound of the third trimester and confirmed at birth. Blood samples were drawn after the ultrasound of the third trimester for all patients. The analyzed populations were: WBC, total lymphocytes, CD2+, CD3+, CD4+, CD5+, CD8+, CD19+, CD56+, HLA-DR+, CD45+, CD3+HLA-DR+, CD4+CD3+, CD3+CD8+, CD2+CD56+, CD19+CD5+, ratio (CD4+CD3+)/(CD3+CD8+).
RESULTS:
The percentage and absolute value of the NK cells was higher in the group A [(20.90 vs. 15.09)%, p = 0.0005; (419.55 vs. 341.40) UI/μl, p = 0.0005]. This trend was confirmed by the CD2+CD56+ natural killer (NK) subset [(18.84 vs. 13.42) UI/μl, p = 0.0005]. Instead, the CD4+ percentage value was lower in the group A [(41.15 vs. 44.84)%, p = 0.03] through the CD4+CD3+/CD3+CD8+ ratio was not significantly different.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our findings reinforce the concept of pregnancy as a controlled systemic inflammatory state that if altered can have adverse consequences for the mother and the foetus
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
Surgical excision of cardiac myxomas: twenty years experience at a single institution
No full textBackground: Primary cardiac tumors are quite uncommon and myxomas constitute the major proportion among these masses. The present study summarizes our 20-year clinical experience with surgical resection of intracardiac myxomas. Methods: Between January 1990 and December 2007, 98 patients (42 males, mean age 60.4 ± 4.1 years) underwent complete excision of primary intracardiac myxoma. In 84 patients the origin site of the tumor was located in the left atrium, and the most common implant site was the interatrial septum. The most common symptom at admission was dyspnea, while systemic embolization was observed in 37 patients. Preoperative diagnosis was established in all patients by transthoracic echocardiography. All patients were operated through median sternotomy. Results: Ninety-five patients (97%) survived the operation. Mean tumor dimension was 2.7 ± 1.3 cm in largest diameter. According to the St. John Sutton classification (St. John Sutton MG, Mercier LA, Giuliani ER, et al. Atrial myxomas: a review of clinical experience in 40 patients. Mayo Clin Pro 1980;55:3716), solid tumors were detected in 43 patients (44%), while a papillary myxoma was found in 55 patients (56%). The follow-up was 100% complete, and the mean time to last follow-up was 98 ± 60 months. Of the 95 survivors, 3 patients (3%) died at a mean follow-up of 72 ± 45 months after surgery. Actuarial survival was 98%, 98%, and 89% at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. One patient operated for left atrial myxoma resection showed a recurrence 68 months after the first surgery. Conclusions: Although cardiac myxomas carry the risk of severe systemic and cardiac symptoms, prompt surgical excision gives excellent early and long-term results
Surgical ventricular restoration plus mitral valve repair in patients with ischaemic heart failure : risk factors for early and mid-term outcomes
No full textOBJECTIVES: To assess the early and mid-term outcomes and related predictors in a consecutive series of patients who underwent surgical ventricular restoration (SVR) combined with additional mitral valve (MV) repair. METHODS: From January 2001 to October 2014, 626 patients underwent SVR; of these, 175 (28%, median age 65) had an additional MV repair. Anterior, inferior or diffuse remodelling was present in 124 (71%), 41 (23%) and 10 (6%) patients, respectively. The median ejection fraction was 30%, whereas mitral regurgitation grade was 3.3 ± 0.8. Multivariable logistic regression and Cox regression analyses were used to identify predictors of early and mid-term mortality. RESULTS: Operative death occurred in 25 patients (14.3%). Independent predictors of early mortality were age, creatinine and ejection fraction score [odds ratio (OR) = 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5-10.3], previous stroke (OR = 8.0, 95% CI 1.5-44), unstable angina (OR = 8.8, 95% CI 1.5-53) and diffuse remodelling (OR = 5.8, 95% CI 1.02-33). Average follow-up was 42 ± 37 months. The actuarial survival rate of the whole patient population at 3, 5 and 8 years was 72 ± 4, 65 ± 4 and 45 ± 6%, respectively. Risk factors for late mortality were preoperative creatinine (OR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.5-4.4), previous implantation of cardioverter defibrillator (OR = 4.7, 95% CI 1.6-5.8), whereas the absence of angina at the time of surgery emerged as protective factor (OR = 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: MV repair combined with SVR is a complex and challenging procedure that can be performed with acceptable early and mid-term results. Interestingly, angina features predict both early and late outcome, with unstable angina at the time of surgery being a predictor of poor early outcome and the absence of angina at surgery, a predictor of favourable outcome at mid-term follow-up
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
The role of glucocoritcoids in pregnancy: four decodes experience with use of Betamethasone in the prevention of pregnancy loss
No full textal momento non disponibil
- …
