1,720,992 research outputs found
High Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratios Are Associated with a Higher Risk of Hemodialysis Vascular Access Failure
Full text linkOur aim was to determine the predictive role of the preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in vascular access malfunctioning in patients who had undergone their first native arterio-venous fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective observational study. All patients who underwent the procedure of the creation of a first native AVF for hemodialysis from January 2019 to December 2020 were considered eligible to be part of this study. Reinterventions for AVF malfunctioning were registered and the population was subdivided into two groups with respect to AVF malfunctioning. ROC curves were obtained to find the appropriate cut-off values for the NLR and PLR. A multivariate analysis was used to identify the independent predictors for an AVF malfunction. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to evaluate the AVF patency rates. A total of 178 patients were enrolled in the study, of them 70% (n = 121) were male. The mean age was 67.5 ± 12 years. Reinterventions for AVF malfunctioning were performed on 102 patients (57.3%). An NLR > 4.21 and a PLR > 208.8 was selected as the cut-off for AVF malfunctioning. The study population was divided into two groups depending on the NLR and PLR values of the individual. For the NLR < 4.21 group, the AVF patency rates were 90.7%, 85.3%, and 84% at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up, respectively, and 77.5%, 65.8%, and 39.3% at 3, 6, and 12 months for the NLR > 4.21 group, respectively (p < 0.0001). For the PLR < 208.8 group, the patency rates were 85.6%, 76.7%, and 67.7% at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. For the PLR > 208.28 group, the patency rates were 80.8%, 71.2%, and 50.7% for the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up, respectively (p = 0.014). The multivariate analysis highlighted that diabetes mellitus, the neutrophil count, the lymphocyte count, and the NLR were independent risk factors for an AVF failure. In our experience, the NLR and PLR are useful markers for the stratification of vascular access failure in hemodialysis patients. The inexpensive nature and ready availability of the values of these biomarkers are two points of strength for everyday clinical practice
Giant external carotid aneurysm: a rare cause of dyspnoea, dysphagia and horner’s syndrome.
No full textWe report a case of life-threatening giant external carotid artery (ECA) aneurysm. The 89-year-old patient presented with severe dyspnoea and dysphagia with Horner's syndrome and cluster headache. Surgical repair with ECA ligation and reconstruction of the internal carotid artery using a prosthetic PTFE graft was successfully performed. The compressive symptoms promptly resolved in the early post-operative period
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
Studio comparativo tra la cromatografia ad alta pressione e l'elettroforesi capillare per la simultanea determinazione di allantoina, acido urico, ipoxantina e xantina in placche ateromasiche. A comparative study of simultaneous determination by capillary zone electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography of allantoin, uric acid, hypoxanthine and xanthine in atherosclerotic plaque.
No full textAn unusual late complication after SFA stenting: the artery rupture
No full textPeripheral artery rupture as a late complication of an endovascular stenting, due to the protrusion of a stent, has never been described in the literature in thigh arteries. Here we describe two anecdotic cases of artery rupture after superficial femoral artery (SFA) stenting. In both cases the endovascular procedure was performed as a reintervention at 2 and 27 months after a failed surgical or hybrid procedure for limb revascularization. The stent had been delivered in the first part of the SFA and the rupture occurred at the junction between the common femoral artery and SFA, which is one of the most flexible parts of the femoral artery. The cause of Rupture was probably caused by an ulcer of the stent against the artery wall concomitant with a status of local or systemic infection. A huge pseudoaneurysm developed in both cases. The massive bleeding was stopped by an emergency surgical bypass, with the removal of the stented artery. These two cases show the possibility of SEA rupture after stenting. Previous surgical treatment, the site of stenting (first part of the SFA) and an active infection could predispose patients to this life-threatening complication
Determinazione della leptina plasmatica in soggetti con placche aterosclerotiche carotidee.
No full textComparative determination of purine compounds in carotid paque by capillary zone electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography
No full textAllantoin, uric acid (UA), hypoxanthine (Hx) and xanthine (X) were determined on carotid plaque by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Comparison of the results showed that capillary zone electrophoresis may have similar or even superior analytical performance to HPLC, especially for the determination of allantoin in biological sample
Determinazione dell’acido urico nelle placche carotidee: possibile mediatore dell’ aterosclerosi? Determination of uric acid in carotid artery plaque:a possible mediator of atherosclerosis?
No full textBackground. In this work we determined uric acid (UA), an antioxidant that enhances in oxidative stress, in atheromatous plaque, characterized by this phenomenon, to improve our knowledge of oxidative stress and to show a possible correlation between biochemical and ultrasonographic plaque characterization. We have also analyzed UA in the plasma of the same subjects to show a possible correlation between plasma and plaque UA levels. This could help us to study plaque evolution. Methods. Surgical specimens and plasma were obtained from patients (symptomatic and asymptomatic) undergoing carotid endoarterectomy. Plaque was characterized by duplex scan. UA was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results. Concentrations of UA were much lower in plaque (10.3±2.2 μg/g) than in plasma (48.7±2.4 μg/ml). There was no correlation between UA plasma levels and UA in plaque. There were no differences of UA in the different groups analyzed. Conclusions. UA seems to have a direct role in atherosclerosis. The absence of correlation between UA plasma level and UA in plaque should confirm that UA in plaque is not due to accumulation from plasma, but a local intrinsic phenomenon of intimal disease space. Actually, it is impossible, considering the restricted case number, to say that UA plasma levels can help in the study of plaque evolution
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
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