1,721,196 research outputs found
Patient preference and ease of use for different coagulation factor VIII reconstitution device scenarios: a cross-sectional survey in five European countries [Corrigendum]
No full textCimino E, Linari S, Malerba M, Halimeh S, Biondo F, Westfeld M. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2014;8:1713–1720.On page 1716 Figure 2 is not accurate, this has now been corrected.Read the original articl
Gasterctomia totale e qualità della vita : Total gastrectomy and quality of life
No full textWe have evaluated quality of life after surgery in 24 patients (9 males and 15 females mean age 64.23 years, range 47-83 years) who underwent total gastrectomy for cancer (23 carcinomas and 1 lymphoma) in the last three years at the Department of Clinical Surgery, University of Siena. Intestinal continuity was re-established with Y jejunal loup according to Roux. All patients were studied prospectively: after the operation every six months they were interviewed using Korenaga's questionnaire. Group performance status scale was used to determine the level of activity of each patients. Comparing symptoms of patients after six months and 18 months there was a significant difference (p = 0.005) in terms of number of meals throughout the day, food tolerance and abdominal pain. Postoperative performance status revealed a complete recovery in 11 of 24 patients (45.8%) after 18 months. According to our experience patients who have undergone total gastrectomy enjoy a good quality of life and most of them return to the preoperative lifestyle in 18 months
Aging and induced-sputum cells.
No full textWe read with interest the article by Thomas et al1 (December 2004) on the influence of age on induced sputum in normal subjects. We think that the discussion on the possible physiopathologic mechanisms could be deepened. Although an influence of advancing age on lung cellularity in healthy subjects has been already described,2 reference values for cell counts in induced sputum in healthy adults _ 50 years old are not available.
The possible explanations of the results found by Thomas et al1 could be an impairment in humoral lung immunity in older healthy subjects compared with younger healthy subjects,3 and the presence of a low-grade inflammation in the lower respiratory tracts of many asymptomatic, older subjects.4 In particular, a previous study2 has reported in BAL fluid of the older healthy individuals an increase in CD4_/CD8_ lymphocytes ratio probably due to a repeated antigenic stimulation or irritation by environmental substances of the immune cells in the lower respiratory tract during the years. The recurrent antigen stimulation on the immune cells in the lung could be demonstrated by the decreasing with age of CD19_ B lymphocytes that represent the B cells not yet differentiated into antibody-secreting cells, suggesting that B cells on mucosal surface of airways in older subjects has been driven to differentiate by previous repeated antigen stimulations. The low-grade inflammation in the airways observed in older subjects might be related to the decline in the lung function that starts in the fourth to fifth decade of life in normal never-smoker humans. The mechanism by which neutrophils are recruited to within the airways in older healthy subjects is still unclear. A number of neutrophil chemoattractants can be secreted by inflammatory cells that reside in the airways, and epithelial cells can release cytokines, such as IL-8, which have a potent chemoattractant activity for neutrophils.5 Low-grade persistent
inflammation may occur because of the loss of factors that normally down-regulate the inflammatory response to pollutants or repetitive antigenic stimulations, combined with advancing age. Epithelial cells could be a significant source of neutrophil chemoattractants, which contributes to a low-grade inflammation in older subjects. Persistent, low-grade inflammation could damage elastin and perhaps lead to the age-associated loss of elastin fibers. Therefore, considering that many patients affected by asthma or COPD who increasingly perform induced sputum are often _ 50 years old, these findings deserve further investigations
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
- …
