1,720,966 research outputs found
Recurrent intussusception of small bowel in a young patient due to metastases from cardiac undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma: A first ever case report
Get PDFIntroduction: Undifferentiated metastatic pleomorphic sarcoma (Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma) is a rare entity in the small intestine, especially when the primary tumor is of cardiac origin. Case Report: We report a case of metastatic intestinal undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma in a young patient with a history of primary cardiac tumor in the left atrium and recurrent small bowel intussusception. He was admitted for abdominal pain and constipation. A segmental resection of the small intestine was performed with side-to-side entero-enteroic anastomosis. Discussion: Intussusception of the small bowel is rare in adults and it represents about 1–3% of intestinal obstructions. It mainly affects the fifth decade with a male/female ratio of 1:5 More than 60% of patients with intussusception have a tumor with 50% being malignant. This type of intussusception can be diagnosed on the CT abdominalscan. Radiological features include a typical “target” sign with overdistention of the proximal intestine and air-fluid levels, but the diagnosis of certainty is made by exploratory laparotomy. Conclusion: The metastatic tumors that cause intussusception represent a rare clinical condition in adult patients, but much more common than primary ones. Metastasis to the small intestine are part of differential diagnosis in patient with a history of tumor who present with intussusception
The colovescical fistula in diverticular disease: Laparoscopic approach in two different cases
Get PDFIntroduction: The colovescical fistula is one of the complications of diverticular disease. It can cause significant symptoms like pneumaturia and fecaluria affecting the quality of life and sometimes leading to death, usually secondary to sepsis. We describe two cases of colovescical fistula treated by laparoscopic approach in patients with diagnosis of complicated acute diverticulitis. Case report: We studied two patients with clinical, radiological and endoscopic diagnosis of colovescical fistula as a consequence of diverticular disease. We performed a totally laparoscopic treatment with colonic resection and colo-proctoanastomosis after the closure of the fistula with intracorporeal sutures. Discussion: Colovescical fistula should be suspected in patients who present fever with persistent dysuria, pneumaturia or fecaluria. The diagnosis is confirmed by a CT abdominal scan, a colonoscopy in order to rule out a colon cancer and a cystoscopy to assess the grade of bladder involvement. Conclusion: Although colovescical fistulas caused by diverticular disease were once considered a contraindication to laparoscopic resection, nowadays they are increasingly treated by experienced surgeons using laparoscopic techniques. Compared with laparoscopic surgery for uncomplicated diverticulitis the mini-invasive treatment of colovescical fistulas requires a longer operative time and advanced surgical skills
Acute appendicitis in a patient with situs viscerum inversus totalis: Role of laparoscopic approach. A case report and brief literature review
Get PDFIntroduction: Abdominal pain due to acute appendicitis in one of the most causes of access to Emergency Room requiring surgical consult and treatment. The occurrence of anatomical anomalies should be considered especially when clinical and imaging features are misleading. In these cases laparoscopic surgery can be a safe tool in order to confirm uncertain diagnosis. Case report: We report a case of acute appendicitis in a 23-year-old Caucasian men with situs viscerum inversus detected on radiological investigation. Laparoscopic approach was used to confirm the diagnosis and to perform appendectomy. Trocars placement was tailored for this peculiar case. Discussion: One third of patient with acute appendicitis complains abdominal pain in an unexpected location due to various anatomical position of appendix. Left-sided acute appendicitis is a cause of misdiagnosis and it can occur in association with anatomical anomalies such as situs viscerum inversus and midgut malrotation. Laparoscopic surgery may represent a valuable approach in terms of differential diagnosis and treatment in these patients. Conclusion: Left-sided acute appendicitis should always be considered in young male patients with left lower quadrant pain. Laparoscopic approach is useful and safe procedure both for diagnosis and treatment of these unclear clinical pictures
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Breast cancer in previously thyroidectomized patients: which thyroid disorders are a risk factor?
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to evaluate whether there are thyroid diseases in which breast cancer will appear later as well as the role of autoimmunity. This was a retrospective observational study. A total of 410 females (thyroid surgery and later breast cancer) and 524 females (thyroid surgery only) were compared with regard to pathological thyroid findings, thyroid hormones, thyroid autoimmunity and type of breast cancer. Thyroid autoimmunity, especially antithyroid peroxidase antibodies, significantly increased the risk of breast cancer (p < 0.01); however, this was not true for other thyroid diseases, including thyroid cancer. No variant of breast cancer was predominant, and only thyroid autoimmunity was associated with the risk of breast cancer. Further research is needed to explain the impacts of different antithyroid antibodies.Lay abstract: Several studies have long hypothesized a link between thyroid disease and breast cancer. The authors' study retrospectively examined a large cohort of patients who initially underwent thyroid surgery and subsequently had breast cancer compared with a control group consisting of patients with only breast cancer. This comparison showed that only autoimmune thyroid disease was a risk factor for subsequent breast cancer, whereas no significant association of thyroid cancer with breast cancer was found
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