1,721,036 research outputs found
Public investment management: linking global trends to national experiences
No full textThis book focuses on the need to "put the management in charge" of the implementation of public investment and public policies, in order to render as flexible as possible the project response to the unforeseen changes in the environment, in a world where uncertainty and irreversibility dominate. In particular, the book reviews the attempts from several countries to: (i)Empower managers to move away from ex-ante controls, while increasing accountability through continuous monitoring and evaluation of performance; (ii)Make project design more flexible through modularity and sequencing; (iii)Assess projects not as a product but as a process of value creation, and as a part of an overall national policy strategy;(iv) Introduce a medium term expenditure framework to lengthen the public financial commitments and ensure financial predictability in the budget proces
Pulmonary artery rupture during right heart catheterization: Successful endovascular treatment with Amplatzer Vascular Plug
No full textPercutaneous closure of a very wide interatrial septal defect: clinical case and literature review
No full textPercutaneous transcatheter closure of ostium secundum atrial septal defects (ASD) is the gold-standard treatment, because of a comparable efficacy and less complications than heart surgery. Nevertheless, percutaneous treatment of very large ASD is still considered a challenging procedure and is discouraged for diameters larger than 38 mm, especially when atrial septal rims are absent. These patients are characterized by more frequent complications when a percutaneous approach is attempted. Hence, the treatment of choice is still debated. We report the case of a 75-year-old Caucasian male, admitted for congestive heart failure secondary to a very large ASD. After accurate sizing with transesophageal echocardiography and sizing balloon, percutaneous closure with an Amplatzer Septal Occluder was successfully performed, using few simple tricks
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
Impact of preoperative mitral valve regurgitation on outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation
No full textObjectives: The aim of this single-centre prospective study was to assess the impact of preoperative mitral valve regurgitation (MR) on outcomes of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Methods: From June 2007 to January 2011, 176 consecutive patients underwent TAVI at our institution. Patients were divided into two groups according to the degree of MR: <2+, the NoMR group (133 patients); ≥2+, the MR group (43 patients). Clinical and echocardiographic examination were performed before the procedure, at discharge, 1, 3, 6, 12 months after TAVI and yearly thereafter. The mean follow-up was 10.4 ± 7.7 months (range 1-36). Results: MR patients had higher EuroSCORE (27 ± 16 vs. 20 ± 11%, P < 0.001), lower ejection fraction (49 ± 13 vs. 57 ± 12%, P = 0.001), higher systolic pulmonary pressure (50 ± 17 vs. 39 ± 10 mmHg, P < 0.001) and larger left ventricular volumes (end-diastolic volume index: 78 ± 29 vs. 66 ± 20 ml/m2, P = 0.002) than NoMR. Hospital mortality was 9.3% (four patients) and 3% (four patients) in MR and NoMR groups, respectively (P = 0.10). The Kaplan-Meier survival at 20 months was 78 ± 8 and 75 ± 6% in MR and NoMR groups, respectively (P: n.s.). At follow-up, the degree of MR in the MR group decreased to trivial-mild in 28% of patients. Patients of both groups experienced a significant reduction in the New York Hear Association class, being in class I-II in 91% of cases. Conclusions: Patients undergoing TAVI with preoperative MR ≥2+ have a higher surgical risk profile and a trend towards higher hospital mortality. MR was not identified as a risk factor for mortality. At follow-up, a reduction in MR and an improvement of echocardiographic parameters were observed in the MR group. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved
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
A new diagnosis of left main coronary artery atresia in a very old woman
No full textJudging from angiographies performed for
suspected obstructive coronary disease, coronary artery
anomalies (CAAs) affect approximately 1.3% of the general
population. Among such CAAs, left main coronary artery
(LMCA) atresia is a rare finding; 28 cases have been reported since 1997: 15 pediatric cases and 13 adult cases.
Although the surgical reconstruction of a two-coronary
arterial system is the procedure of choice for pediatric
patients (to provide an adequate anterograde flow and
make the left-sided myocardium independent of the inadequate
collateral flow coming from the right coronary
artery3), a coronary artery by-pass might be considered for
elderly patients, particularly if they have atherosclerosis,
although a medical approach was preferred as the first-line
therapy for this patient because it was felt that a coronary
artery bypass was unsuitable because of the narrow diameter of her coronary vessels and her old ag
Design and methodologies of the POSTconditioning during coronary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction (POST-AMI) trial.
No full textCardiology. 2010;116(2):110-6. Epub 2010 Jun 29.
Design and methodologies of the POSTconditioning during coronary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction (POST-AMI) trial.
Tarantini G, Favaretto E, Napodano M, Perazzolo Marra M, Cacciavillani L, Babuin L, Giovagnoni A, Renda P, De Biasio V, Plebani M, Mion M, Zaninotto M, Mistrorigo F, Panfili M, Isabella G, Bilato C, Iliceto S.
Source
Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. [email protected]
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Reperfusion remains the definitive treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but restoring blood flow carries the potential to exacerbate the ischemia-related injury. Postconditioning might modify reperfusion-induced adverse events.
STUDY DESIGN:
The POSTconditioning during Coronary Angioplasty in Acute Myocardial Infarction (POST-AMI) trial is a single-center, prospective, randomized study, with a planned inclusion of 78 patients with ST-elevation AMI. Patients will be randomly assigned to the postconditioning arm [primary angioplasty (PA) and stenting followed by brief episodes of ischemia-reperfusion early after recanalization] or non-postconditioning arm. All patients will be treated medically according to current international guidelines, including glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors before PA. The primary end point is to evaluate whether postconditioning, compared to plain PA, reduces infarct size estimated by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) at 30 +/- 10 days after the AMI. Secondary end points are microvascular obstruction observed at CMR, ST-segment resolution, angiographic myocardial blush grade <2, non-sustained/sustained ventricular tachycardia in the 48 h following PA, left ventricular remodeling and function at follow-up CMR, and the reduction of major adverse cardiac events at 30 days and 6 months.
CONCLUSION:
The POST-AMI trial will evaluate the usefulness of postconditioning in limiting infarct size during the early and late phases after AMI.
Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Comment inCardiology. 2010;116(2):101-2
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