1,720,987 research outputs found
Asbestos fibres detected by scanning electron microscopy in the gallbladder of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM)
No full textDiagnostic value of mesothelin in pleural fluids: comparison with CYFRA 21-1 and CEA
No full textCYFRA 21-1 and CEA have been applied for
the differential diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma
(MPM). The soluble mesothelin-related peptide
(SMRP) has been proposed as a specific marker for distinguishing
MPM from benign diseases and other malignancies
in pleural effusions (PEs). In this study, we
evaluated the usefulness of SMRP in PEs in the detection
of mesotheliomas by comparing it with that of CYFRA
21-1, CEA, and with cytological examination. One hundred
and seventy-seven consecutive patients (57 MPM, 64
metastatic tumors, and 56 benign diseases) were evaluated
using commercial tests. The performance of the markerswas analyzed by standard ROC analysis methods, using the
area under a ROC curve (AUC) as a measure of accuracy.
CYFRA 21-1 better differentiated malignant from benign
effusions. The corresponding area under the receiver
operating characteristic curve was 0.87, while it was 0.74
for SMRP and 0.64 for CEA (p.001). Conversely,
SMRP differentiated MPM from all other PEs better than
both CYFRA 21-1 and CEA (AUC = 0.84, 0.76, and 0.32,
respectively, p = 0.003). Low levels of CEA were associated
with a MPM diagnosis. The AUC for differentiating
MPM from metastases was 0.81 for SMRP, 0.61 for CYFRA
21-1, and 0.20 for CEA (p.001). In cases with
negative or suspicious cytology, SMRP and CYFRA 21-1
identified 36/71 and 46/66 malignant PEs (29 and 31 MPM,
respectively). Only 1 MPM showed a high CEA concentration.
No single marker showed the best performance in
any comparison. Results suggest that SMRP could improve
CYFRA 21-1 and CEA accuracy in the differential diagnosis
of MPM
Asbestos fiber identification in liver from cholangiocarcinoma patients living in an asbestos polluted area: a preliminary study
No full textPurpose: To assess whether asbestos fibers may be observed in liver tissue of patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CC) with environmental or working asbestos exposure. Methods: Detection of fibers was performed directly on histologic sections of liver from 7 patients with CC using optical microscope and variable pressure scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (VP-SEM/EDS). All patients were from Casale Monferrato, Italy, a highly asbestos-polluted town. Due to ethical constraints, observers were blinded to patients’ clinical features. Results: Fibers/bundles of fibers of chrysotile were detected in 5 out of 7 patients (71%). The boundary between healthy and neoplastic tissue or the fibrocollagen tissue produced by the neoplasia were identified as areas of fiber incorporation. Conclusions: This study is the first report about the detection of chrysotile asbestos fibers in the liver of patients with CC. Further studies on larger cohorts are needed to corroborate our preliminary findings
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
Characterization of human malignant mesothelioma cell lines orthotopically implanted in the pleural cavity of immunodeficient mice for their ability to grow and form metastasis
Full text linkAsbestos fibers identified in the gallbladder tissues of patients suffering of cholangiocarcinoma and mesothelioma.
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
The presence of simian-virus 40 sequences in mesothelioma and mesothelial cells is associated with high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of simian virus-40 (SV40) is associated with increased release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human malignant mesothelioma (MM) cells. We studied nine cell lines derived from pleural effusion (PE) of patients with MM, and three different cultures of normal human mesothelial cells (NHMC) derived from pleural fluid of patients with congestive heart failure. NHMC were transfected with full length SV40 (NHMC-FL) or large T antigen (NHMC Tag) DNAs. High levels of VEGF were detected in conditioned media of each of two MM cells that tested positive for SV40 by PCR amplification and Southern blot hybridization and for Tag transcript by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunoprecipitation. We also found that NHMC-FL released high amounts of VEGF. Conditioned media from SV40-positive MM cells and from FL-NHMC increased proliferation of human umbilical vein cells (HUVEC) and this effect was partially abrogated by adding specific blocking antibodies against VEGF. These results offer the first evidence that SV40 can cause VEGF release in SV40-positive MM cells and that entire viral genome is required for this effect
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