117,722 research outputs found
Clinical experience with Surgimend in breast reconstruction: an overview.
No full textIn the field of breast reconstruction, products and techniques are continuing to evolve to ensure good clinical and quality outcomes. This article reviews the published literature regarding the use of fetal bovine-derived acellular dermal matrix (SurgiMend, SurgiMend PRS and SurgiMend PRS meshed), focusing on safety, clinical outcomes and surgical techniques
Semantically annotated hypermedia services
No full textHypermedia systems’ researchers investigate the various approaches in the way documents and resources are linked, navigated and stored in a distributed environment. Unfortunately, those systems fail to provide effortlessly usable discrete services, since it is difficult both to discover and to invoke any of them. This paper proposes the usage of emerging technologies that try to augment the Web resources with semantics in order to provide Hypermedia services that can be easily discovered, and integrated by potential third party developers. In this context, we analyze the benefits for the Hypermedia community upon the adoption of Semantic Web technologies for the description of Hypermedia services, and we implement an initial corresponding ontology
Hyaluronic Acid: Redefining Its Role
No full textThe discovery of several unexpected complex biological roles of hyaluronic acid (HA) has promoted new research impetus for biologists and, the clinical interest in several fields of medicine, such as ophthalmology, articular pathologies, cutaneous repair, skin remodeling, vascular prosthesis, adipose tissue engineering, nerve reconstruction and cancer therapy. In addition, the great potential of HA in medicine has stimulated the interest of pharmaceutical companies which, by means of new technologies can produce HA and several new derivatives in order to increase both the residence time in a variety of human tissues and the anti-inflammatory properties. Minor chemical modifications of the molecule, such as the esterification with benzyl alcohol (Hyaff-11® biomaterials), have made possible the production of water-insoluble polymers that have been manufactured in various forms: membranes, gauzes, nonwoven meshes, gels, tubes. All these biomaterials are used as wound-covering, anti-adhesive devices and as scaffolds for tissue engineering, such as epidermis, dermis, micro-vascularized skin, cartilage and bone. In this review, the essential biological functions of HA and the applications of its derivatives for pharmaceutical and tissue regeneration purposes are reviewed
In vivo regeneration of microvascular pedicle
No full textObjective: The difficulty of obtaining significant long-term
patency and good wall mechanical strength in vivo has been
a significant obstacle in achieving small-diameter vascular
prostheses. The aim of the present study was to develop
a prosthetic graft that could perform as a small diameter
vascular conduit for artery and vein regeneration.
Methods: 60 Male Wistar rats weighing 250-350g were used.
Tubular structures of hyaluronan (HYAFF-11 tubules, 2 mm
diameter, 1 cm length) were grafted in the abdominal aorta
(n = 30), and in the vena cava (n = 30) of rats as temporary
absorbable guides to promote regeneration of vascular
structures. No anticoagulants were used either before or after
the operation. Performance was assessed at 5, 15, 30, 60, 120,
and 180 days after surgery by histology (haematoxylin-eosin
and Weighert solution), immunohistochemistry (antibodies
to von Willebrand factor, CD34, vascular endothelial growth
factor receptor-2 and to Myosin Light Chain Kinase), and
ultra-structural analysis.
Results: These experiments resulted in three novel findings:
1) complete endothelialisation of the tube’s luminal surface
occurred; 2) sequential regeneration of vascular components
led to complete vascular wall regeneration 15 days after
surgery; and 3) the biomaterial used created the ideal
environment for the delicate regeneration process during
the critical initial phases, yet its biodegradability allowed
for complete degradation of the construct four months after
implantation, at which time, a new artery and a new vein
remained to connect the vascular stumps. This study assesses
the feasibility to create a completely biodegradable vascular
regeneration guide in vivo, able to sequentially orchestrate
vascular regeneration events needed for very small artery and
vein reconstruction.
Conclusion: HYAFF-11 prosthesis opens new innovative
possibilities of surgical treatment in the field of reconstructive
microsurgery and paediatric vascular surgery, and a novel
experimental model to study artery and vein in vivo
regeneration processes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Temporary coverage of a forehead defect following tumor resection with a hyaluronic acid biological dressing: a case report.
No full textCoverage of large skin defects, especially following tumor resection and in patients who are not good candidates for procedures requiring general anesthesia, may require a staged procedure. The use of dermal substitutes to cover the defect until autologous grafting can be performed has been described. Hyaluronic acid biological dressings (HABD) also have been used for the temporary coverage of partial- to full-thickness posttraumatic or postsurgical wounds. An 82-year-old man with cardiopathy presented with an 8 cm x 4 cm ulcerated squamous cell carcinoma on his forehead. Following surgical removal under local anesthesia, the 12 cm x 8 cm defect was covered with HABD, which was removed immediately before the scheduled surgical closure (21 days later). At that time, well-vascularized granulation tissue completely covered the bone and an autologous skin graft was applied. Punch biopsy results obtained 4 weeks after surgery showed dressing remnants in the dermis and confirmed the graft was totally integrated with the surrounding tissues; there was no evidence of hypertrophy or excessive scarring. In this patient, the staged procedure provided an excellent alternative to a complex surgical procedure. Use of the biological dressing required only a weekly wound and dressing assessment and the cosmetic result was good without evidence of a recurrence at the 2-year follow-up. Studies to ascertain the efficacy and effectiveness of this dressing for the temporary coverage of soft tissue defects are needed
Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?
No full textIn this Presidential Address, the author takes the reader on a reconnaissance of his life and time as a regional scientist. He points out scenery he found scintillating along the way, hoping that some may pick up the banner and chew on a few of the ideas for a while. He suggests a revisit to Albert O. Hirschman’s notion of key sectors and more empirical analysis related to Marcus Berliant’s and Masahisa Fujita’s notion of knowledge creation and transfer.Presidential Address, San Antonio, Texas, March 29, 2014 (53rd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
Letter from unknown writer to Jesse L. Boyce
No full textLetter to Jesse L. Boyce from unknown author (possibly Jack) about the investigation into the powder magazine located in the Grand Canyon. Some personal news is included in the letter such as the writer's marriage to the daughter of C.A. Taylor, former Supervisor of Cochise County
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