1,720,995 research outputs found
Study of acceptance/rejection mechanisms in lung allograft recipients and development of a new therapeutic approach based on nanotechnology
Full text linkLymph-node mapping in lung cancer staging: accuracy and limits of the current approaches
No full textLung cancer is among the most important causes of death worldwide. The presence of tumor metastasis in the mediastinum is one of the most relevant elements in determining the optimal treatment strategy in lung cancer. Lymph node "maps" are used to describe the location of nodal metastases, the latest was proposed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in 2009. Here we present and analyze a recent paper by El-Sherief and collaborators aimed to verify if and how lung cancer specialists really apply the IALSClymph node map when classifying thoracic lymph nodes documented on CT scans during lung cancer staging. In addition, we discuss the critical issues related to a correct Nstaging of lung cancer, mainly focusing on the limits of the present approaches and on how the increasing knowledge on the molecular basis on lung carcinogenesis can be exploited to properly dissect ambiguous and doubtful cases
Exploring adjuvant epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer
No full textLung cancer is among the most important causes of death worldwide. Despite the relevant progresses in the personalized approach to lung cancer, patients' survival is still poor. Only a minor fraction of patients can be addressed to surgery for radical tumor removal. Adjuvant chemotherapy is currently recommended for resected stages II and III patients although it is known that it can modestly contribute to survival prolongation. A better identification of molecular markers, predictive of adjuvant chemo response is now mandatory, in order to reduce useless toxicities and identify those patients who could really benefit. Here we present and analyze a recent paper by Huang et al. aimed at evaluating the prognostic role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation in adjuvant setting in order to determine whether the administration of EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitors could improve the outcomes of patients affected by NSCLC undergoing complete resection. Moreover we provide an exhaustive literature revision that could be helpful for a proper management of that small cohort of EGFR-mutated resected NSCLC
Prolonged-release oxycodone-naloxone for pain management in advanced EGFR wild-type lung cancer patients
No full text
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
Eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) in the clinical work-up of chronic cough
No full textChronic cough is a common symptom, addressed in the clinical setting by empirical treatment together with some laboratory investigations. Purpose of the present study is to investigate the value of testing eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) serum levels combined with other diagnostic procedures and empirical treatment in the diagnostic workup of chronic cough
Clinical utility of CD4+ function assessment (ViraCor-IBT ImmuKnow test) in lung recipients
Full text linkAbstract
The ImmuKnow assay measures cell-mediated immunity, quantifying ATP production from peripheral blood CD4 + T-cells in solid-organ transplant patients who undergo immunosuppressive therapy. We aimed to measure functional immunity in lung transplant recipients and correlate Immuknow values with immunosuppression levels, presence of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) and infections. We evaluated 61 lung recipients who underwent follow-up for lung transplantation between 2010 and 2014. Rejection and infection were retrospectively analyzed. The association between over-immunosuppression and a number of predictors was assessed by means of univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. 71 out of 127 samples (56%) showed an over-immunosuppression with an ImmuKnow assay mean level of 112.92 ng/ml (SD ± 58.2), vs. 406.14 ng/ml (SD ± 167.7) of the rest of our cohort. In the over-immunosuppression group we found 51 episodes of infection (71%) (OR 2.754, 95% CI 1.40–5.39; P-value 0.003). In the other group, only 25 samples (44%) were taken during an infectious episode. The mean absolute ATP level was significantly different between patients with or without infection (202.38 ± 139.06 ng/ml vs. 315.51 ± 221.60 ng/ml; P < 0.001). RAS (Restrictive allograft syndrome) was associated to low ImmuKnow level (P < 0.001). These results were confirmed by the multivariate analysis. The ImmuKnow assay levels were significantly lower in infected lung transplant recipients compared with non-infected recipients and in RAS patients
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
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