1,720,975 research outputs found
“‘A True Italian Character’: Translating Italian Culture in British Ads”
No full textThe article deals with the language of advertising and analyses Italian and British case-studie
ACTH analogue in treatment of acute aortic dissection-Authors' reply.
No full textSir—The fact that the mortality rate inour patients who were assigned to thestandard treatment, without ACTH-(1-24) addition, was higher than thatreported in previous studies might beexplained by their severe haemodynamiccompromise. We selectedsubjects with type A aortic dissectioncomplicated by aortic rupture andcardiac tamponade, and with clinicaland laboratory signs of haemorrhagicshock.We share Olsson’s opinion thatACTH-(1-24) essentially modifies thecomplex pathophysiology of theperioperative period. Not only byimproving the cardiovascular function;indeed, several experimental datasuggest that melanocortins have also apeculiar, adrenal-independent antiinflammatoryactivity. They reduce theproduction of proinflammatorycytokines, such as interleukins 1, 1,and 6, and tumour necrosis factor(TNF) , and inhibit the activation ofthe transcription factor NF-kB, whileincreasing the production of the antiinflammatorycytokines interleukins 8and 10;1 in particular, in conditions ofhaemorrhagic shock, melanocortinsinhibit the overproduction of TNF,nitric oxide, and free radicals.2,3Moreover, melanocortins protectagainst the outcomes either of a shorttermmyocardial ischaemia followed byreperfusion or of the permanentocclusion of a coronary artery in rats.4Our patients underwent fluidreplacement en route and ventilatorysupport but no rescue surgery. Ourcardiac surgery unit is situated roughlyin the middle of a flat territory innorthern Italy, with a high populationdensity (about 1 million people), and areasonable road system. The time lapsefrom emergency call to arrival into thecasualty ward, by ambulance or byhelicopter, is 20–40 min.Our animal data suggest that thetime span of ACTH-(1-24) efficacy isbest if given within 5–15 min of shockinduction. We have fewer human data,but they suggest that treatment must bemade within 1 h of the first signs ofshock. In case of haemorrhagic shock(road or industrial accidents, &c), webelieve ACTH should be given asintravenous bolus injection at thescene, or en route in the ambulance.The effect of ACTH lasts a few hours
Modified Bentall operation: the double sewing ring technique
No full textThe Bentall-DeBono operation is the technique of choice for aortic root replacement. As more patients do not accept or have contraindications to lifelong anticoagulation, the biological Bentall operation is a good option for these patients, even though complex reoperations would then be required for bioprosthesis degeneration. We studied a modified technique to simplify the reoperations in patients undergoing biological Bentall procedure. A bioprosthetic valved conduit was obtained creating two separate sewing rings at different levels of the vascular graft. One ring was used to sew the bioprosthesis on the vascular graft. The second ring was used to fix the vascular graft on the native aortic annulus. In case of reoperation, the bioprosthesis could be removed cutting only the suture on the first ring. Then the same ring could be used to fix the new prosthesis. Since 2006, we have performed 12 biological Bentall operations with our modification. The mean age was 63.2 years (range 43-77 years), the mean cardiopulmonary time was 79 ± 12 min and the mean aortic cross-clamping time was 68 ± 10 min. We had no in-hospital mortality; the postoperative period was uneventful in all patients. In our experience this modification seems to be simple and reproducible, without increasing the operative risk and postoperative morbidity. © 2007 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
Hamartoma of mature cardiac myocytes: Case report and review of the literature
No full textCardiac hamartoma is an extremely rare type of benign cardiac tumour. A 35 year-old female presented with exertional dyspnea, palpitation, dry-cough and chest-tightness. A mass was discovered in the posterior-inferior wall of the left ventricle. A partial resection of the tumour was performed because of partial obstruction of the left ventricular inflow tract. Histological examination was indicative of a rare benign tumour of the heart: hamartoma of mature myocytes. A literature review completes the description. © 2011 Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand
Twenty years experience in oncologic surgery for primary cardiac tumors
Full text linkIntroduction. Primary cardiac tumors are uncommon in cardiac surgery. To investigate the clinical presentation, surgical results and long-term follow-up we retrospectively analyzed our experience in the treatment of primary cardiac tumors.
Patients and methods. Ninety-one patients with primary cardiac tumors underwent surgery in our department in the last 20 years. Fifthy-one patients were female, the mean age was 62,2 years. Sixty-three had myxomas, 22 had papillary fibroelastoma, 4 had malignant neoformations and 2 had other benign tumors.
Results. All myxomas, fibroelastomas and angiomyolipoma were radically removed. Only a palliative treatment was possible in malignant disease. In-hospital mortality was 1.2%. The mean follow-up time was 78.5 months. Three patients had recurrence of myxoma, all patients with malignant disease dead during the follow-up.
Discussion. Primary benign cardiac tumors can be treated with low morbidity and mortality. The follow-up demonstrates that radical surgery is curative in case of benign tumors. The prognosis of malignant tumors is still poor. Palliative procedures have small impact on survival in these patients
Aortic valve replacement with and without combined coronary bypass grafts in very elderly patients: Early and long-term results
No full textObjective: The number of older patients being referred for aortic valve replacement with or without combined coronary bypass grafting (CABG) is increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate operative risk factors, early and long-term results of isolated aortic valve and aortic valve replacement combined with CABG in octogenarians and nonagenarians. Methods: In the last 10 years, 285 very elderly patients who underwent aortic valve replacement either alone or in combination with coronary artery bypass grafts were retrospectively studied. The population was divided into two groups; isolated aortic valve replacement was performed in 188 patients (group A) and 97 patients had aortic valve replacement combined with coronary surgery (group B). Results: The overall hospital mortality was 5.3%, without statistical difference between groups. The incidence of low-output syndrome was higher in group B (P = 0.0001). The multivariate analysis for hospital mortality showed that urgency status, ejection fraction (EF) >35%, intra-operative variables such as clamping time, need for intra aortic balloon pump and post-operative variables such as prolonged ventilation, dialysis, post-operative myocardial infarction and re-thoracotomy for bleeding were independent prognostic factors for hospital mortality. The mean follow-up time was 49.03 ± 19 months. Survival at one, three and five years was 97.1 ± 1.8%, 92.2 ± 2.2% and 82.4 ± 3.6% for group A and 97.2 ± 2.0%, 88.4 ± 2.7% and 75.6 ± 3.2% for group B (P = 0.62), respectively. Age, male gender, post-operative myocardial infarction, urgency status, dialysis, low EF, mean aortic gradient were risk factors for the impaired survival. Conclusions: In our experience, a careful pre-operative evaluation has yielded good surgical results even in older patients with different comorbidities. Associated coronary grafts slightly increase the surgical risk. The role of revascularization on long-term morbidity and mortality is still not clear. It is essential to compare the results of percutaneous and trans-apical aortic valve replacement with the literature results of conventional aortic valve replacement with and without CABG before it can be used as an alternative for very older patients. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved
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
Unhomely Lives: Black and Queer Belongings in Contemporary Black British Culture
No full textAlthough globalisation involves by definition the growth of the economic, social and cultural integration of different areas in the world, the question of inclusion and exclusion is still, and perhaps even more, worth asking. The slow crumbling of Nation-states, highlighted by the trends in world literatures and transculturality, has not yet solved the issue of how the states use their power of discipline, surveillance and control to regulate particular bodies in order to maintain the global hierarchy of states (Foucault). A compelling question, considering that most states are characterised by what Jafari S. Allen (2012) refers to as a "racialised and classed heteropatriarchy", is what happens to black queer bodies? In the context of Anglophone studies, this essay explores issues of 'home', belonging, community and self, with specific attention to the experience of contemporary black queer performance poets who live and work in the United Kingdom, and will do so from the vantage point of the diaspora, which is itself a kind of "way out" of the Nation-state. Through the performative poetry of Keith Jarrett (London based poet and short story writer of Dominican descent) and Dean Atta (poet of mixed Jamaican and Greek-Cypriot descent living in London), the essay concentrates on the importance of the performance – be it racial, sexual, involving videos, the written or spoken word – to undermine the stereotypes concerning the black and queer body, and the use of language as a creative tool to formulate other possible avenues for black queer existence and recognition. The two performance poets are linked by their attempt to create a 'home', a community, where 'black' and 'queer' do not need to be antithetical terms (as in the widespread discourse of 'blackness' and its essentialist take in most black communities), or where 'black' is not synonym with 'fetishised desire/fantasy' (as in most of the white gay subculture). A place where the queer black body can 'come home' and 'be home', as Keith Jarrett suggests in his "Meditations on Home" (2014), where he writes: "I have also grown to accept my body as a home, rather than a temple. Temples are sacred; you visit them once or twice a week [...]. Homes are where we store our memories and our secrets. We invite lovers [...]. Our homes gather wear and tear, and this gives us 'character'". Strong of the "private is political" feminist lesson, particularly of the so called Third World Feminism, these artists find their sites of resistance and self-making by rendering public what is private, by disorienting the audience and creating provocative performances with erotic, spectral and highly inter-textual references. Their performances, like their circulations inside and outside academic contexts, contribute to expand recognition of their (private) experiences and to legitimate their political expression
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
- …
