1,720,977 research outputs found
A case of subannular aortic aneurysm detected by transoesophageal echocardiography
No full textSubvalvular aortic aneurysm is a cardiac abnormality extremely uncommon in white adult patients. Accurate diagnosis can be made by transoesophageal echocardiography which is the modality of choice for non-invasive recognition of aortic and subaortic abnormalities. In this report we describe, in a 47-year-old white man with subvalvular aortic aneurysm associated to aortic bicuspid valve, the echocardiographic diagnosis and cardiac intervention of aortic valve replacement with surgical obliteration of the orifice. A good surgical result was confirmed by an echocardiographic transthoracic examination performed after 6 month
Prognostic value of different left ventricular filling patterns assessed by automated border detection technique in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy
No full textPatients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) often require invasive evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function. Using automated border detection (ABD) technique we calculated left ventricular diastolic parameters such as peak filling rate (PFR), peak atrial filling rate (PAFR), both normalized for end-diastolic volume, PFR/PAFR ratio, and time to PFR. We also compared derivative ABD indexes with transmitral Doppler flow parameters (peak of E wave, peak of A wave and E/A ratio) in patients with different degrees of diastolic dysfunction. Furthermore, we studied 30 ambulatory DCM patients (21 males, 9 females, mean age 62 ± 9 years, ejection fraction 27 ± 11%), all in sinus rhythm, and 12 age-matched normal subjects using ABD technique. DCM patients did not differ from normal subjects by E/A (2 ± 2.6 vs 0.98 ± 0.3) and PFR/PAFR ratios (2.0 ± 1.4 vs 1.3 ± 0.3). A significant correlation was found between E/A and PFR/PAFR ratios (r = 0.81, p < 0.001). Subdividing DCM patients according to transmitral filling patterns (abnormal relaxation, pseudonormalized, and restrictive) we found in DCM patients with severe diastolic dysfunction a significantly decreased PAFR and time to PFR with an increased PFR/PAFR ratio. In conclusion, a) ABD-derived parameters of left ventricular function provide a simple and reliable method for the evaluation of diastolic dysfunction in DCM patients; b) PFR/PAFR ratio is able to differentiate DCM patients with pseudonormalized left ventricular filling pattern; c) this method may be used in different clinical conditions for serial evaluation of left ventricular performance
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
Multiplanar transesophageal echocardiography in a case of hypernephroma
No full textA 78-year-old man admitted to our hospital with signs and symptoms of right ventricular failure, consisting of severe edema of the scrotum and the penis, ankle edema, hepatomegaly, and a history of asthenia associated with a recent weight loss. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed an intracavitary mass in the right atrium and a moderate pericardial effusion; the remaining structures were normal. To better define the origin of this mass, transesophageal echocardiography was performed. The mass extended from the inferior vena cava with no sites of attachment to the atrial wall. The mass was elongated, mobile, with a triangular termination near the tricuspid valve, without signs of right ventricular obstruction. An abdominal-pelvic CT scan demonstrated the origin of the mass at the superior pole of the left kidney extending through the renal vein and the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. The mass was surgically removed and the pathological examination revealed a renal cell carcinoma (hypernephroma) of the clear cells subtype. After surgery, the patient did well with the resolution of the picture of right ventricular failur
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
Lamotrigine-induced lupus
No full textA 57-year-old woman was under treatment for epilepsy with lamotrigine 2 mg/kg/d since 1996. In April 1998 she was admitted to the Rheumatology Unit for arthralgias affecting the small joints of the hands, wrists and knees, erythematosus skin rash and myalgias. She referred a vascular abnormality at the hands exposed to cold, compatible with Raynaud's phenomenon. Serum antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were positive (1:320, speckled pattern); moreover, a positivity for anti-Ro/SSA was observed. Rheumatoid factor was negative, serum complement was normal. LAC and anticardiolipin antibodies were negative. Drug-related lupus diagnosis was made with resolution of symptoms and gradual normalisation of positivity of ANA and anti-Ro/SSA upon lamotrigine withdrawal. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of an association between lamotrigine and the onset of SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus
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
An insight into heart rate variability: analysis of sub-cardiac phases using an echocardiographic approach
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