1,721,009 research outputs found
Imaging of vascular graft/endograft infection with radiolabeled white blood cell scan and [18F]FDG PET/CT
Full text linkDiagnosis of vascular graft/endograft infection (VGEI) is a challenge for clinicians due to the heterogeneity of clinical presentation and the complexity of its management. Microbiological culture is the gold standard, but it often fails to isolate the causative microorganism. A non-invasive imaging approach is therefore needed to assess VGEI. CTA is currently the first-choice imaging modality. Nuclear medicine techniques are recommended in case of negative or doubtful CTA results with persisting clinical suspicion. This review aims to summarize data from original studies published in the last decades regarding the role of both white blood cell (WBC) scans and fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT), their respective diagnostic performances, and their integration into the diagnostic approach for patients with a suspicion of VGEI
Gamma camera imaging of inflammatory bowel diseases
No full textInflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), heterogeneous diseases characterized by a misfunction of the immune system and a chronic inflammation of bowel, often invalidating and requiring life-long treatment.
It is crucial to early diagnose these conditions and to promptly start an appropriate treatment that aims at resolving symptoms and preventing/delaying complications.
Diagnosis relies on endoscopic methods, but also imaging by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Nuclear medicine techniques are not first line diagnostic tools despite they are very sensitive modalities for the evaluation of the state of activity of the disease. To this purpose, specific radiopharmaceuticals have been developed as probes to detect specific molecular antigens, to obtain information on the activity of the disease but also on the nature of the process to tailor treatment and for follow-up. Among the many radiopharmaceuticals available, we will concentrate in particular, on the use of radiolabeled white blood cell scintigraphy
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
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
New approaches to image thyroid cancer cells and microenvironment.
No full textPoorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC) and undifferentiated thyroid cancer (UDTC) are still life-threatening pathologies, because of the lack of well-established diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. In the past, many attempts have been made to develop radiopharmaceutical to diagnose or treat radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory metastases or recurrences, with limited results. Indeed, it was not possible to find a specific and overexpressed marker to be used as target of radiopharmaceuticals or targeted therapies. Nowadays, with novel advances in the field of tumor microenvironment, many new markers are available to be used as suitable targets for targeted therapies interfering with signalling pathways of cells involved in the mechanisms that favour tumor growth and metastatization. This opened new perspective in the use of radiopharmaceuticals targeting components of tumor microenvirorunent for early diagnosis, preoperative staging or therapy planning and follow up with targeted drugs. In the present review we present the state of novel approaches to image thyroid cance
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
Diabetic Foot Infections. The Diagnostic Challenges
Full text linkDiabetic foot infections (DFIs) are severe complications of long-standing diabetes, and they represent a diagnostic challenge, since the differentiation between osteomyelitis (OM), soft tissue infection (STI), and Charcot's osteoarthropathy is very difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, such differential diagnosis is mandatory in order to plan the most appropriate treatment for the patient. The isolation of the pathogen from bone or soft tissues is still the gold standard for diagnosis; however, it would be desirable to have a non-invasive test that is able to detect, localize, and evaluate the extent of the infection with high accuracy. A multidisciplinary approach is the key for the correct management of diabetic patients dealing with infective complications, but at the moment, no definite diagnostic flow charts still exist. This review aims at providing an overview on multimodality imaging for the diagnosis of DFI and to address evidence-based answers to the clinicians when they appeal to radiologists or nuclear medicine (NM) physicians for studying their patients
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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