1,720,961 research outputs found

    Cryptorchidism and infertility: retrospective study of 18 post puberal patients affected with monolateral cryptorchidism.

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    The Authors report their experience on patients with monolateral inguinal cryptorchidism, comparing the clinical picture with the morphological pattern of both the testicular parenchima and the semen. Light and electron microscopic analysis of testicular biopsy and spermatozoa from the ejaculate have been taken into account. 4 patients out of 18 (22.2%) showed a normal spermiogram, while 14 showed a pathological spermiogram. The morphological study of the testicular parenchima showed a spectrum of lesions, most of which advanced, confirming that they are irreversible lesions of the germinal epithelium

    Role of transrectal ultrasonography in the follow-up of patients treated with prostatic cryosurgery.

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    Cryosurgery of prostate is a minimally invasive treatment for localized cancer. Imaging techniques (transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) or magnetic resonance) have been proposed to evaluate tumor persistence/recurrence after cryosurgical treatment other than serum PSA and prostate biopsies. Actually, criteria to identify cancer after cryosurgical ablation are not well assessed. Aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical significance and role of TRUS in detecting tumor within the former prostate gland after cryoablation. We evaluated ultrasound (US) features and imaging, serum PSA and biopsies in 20 patients treated by cryosurgery at our Hospital with a mean follow-up of 18 months. Twenty patients (mean age 70 years, PSA 25.9 ng/ml, clinical stage: 10 T2 N0M0 and 10 T3 N0M0) were followed up for a mean of 16 months. Ultrasound findings (gland volume, capsule, hypoechoic area, post-voided urine volume, seminal vesicles) were correlated to PSA levels (every 3 months) and prostate biopsies (6, 12 and 24 months). All cases were evaluated by the same ultrasound scanner (Eidos, Hitachi-5-6.5 MHz) and by two operators. Prostate capsule was interrupted by hypo-hyperechoic areas in all cases. Transition zone was no more recognizable. Ultrasound findings showed in all cases hypoechoic areas, but US did not identified tumor recurrence in 2 patients. During follow-up, PSA below 0.5 ng/ml was recorded in 75% of cases. We detected tumor in 2 cases, respectively 12 and 18 months after cryosurgery: in the first case few residual cancer cells within fibrous tissue were found in 1 out of 6 biopsies at 6 months (PSA 0.58 ng/ml), in the second one, tumor with viable normal prostatic glands was found in one biopsy of the apex at 18 months (PSA 4.0 ng/ml). TRUS showed several anaechoic foci with necrotic tissue and coalescence of liquid areas in 2 patients (one developed acute urinary retention). Actually, serum PSA is the best marker in order to detect clinically significant tumor after cryosurgery. Hypoechoic areas and capsule interruptions observed by ultrasound imaging of prostate gland after cryosurgery are not correlated with tumor recurrence or tumor persistence. TRUS is only indicated for ultrasound-guided biopsies during follow-up and to confirm urologic complications

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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
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