1,720,980 research outputs found

    Radical prostatectomy

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    The management of prostate cancer is one of the core tasks for urologists today. Radical prostatectomy represents a valid therapeutic option for the curative treatment of localised prostate cancer. Urologists are on a continuous search for development of technical modifications and refinements, to reduce morbidity and ameliorate clinical and quality of life outcome. This review focuses on the clinical aspects of preoperative patient selection, the current trends of different surgical techniques and the indication of an adequate lymphadenectomy

    Primary adenocarcinoma of the rete testis: diagnostic problems and therapeutic dilemmas

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    We describe a rare case of a malignant tumour of the rete testis which was diagnosed incidentally during scrotal surgery for an apparently benign left hydrocele. Adenocarcinoma of the rete testis is a malignancy with a poor prognosis. The beneficial role of prophylactic retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy is controversial due to the extremely low number of reported cases and the occasional description of primary lymphatic spread outside the retroperitoneal space

    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

    Vaccines against coronaviruses: The state of the art

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    The emerging epidemic caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 represents the most important socio-health threat of the 21st century. The high contagiousness of the virus, the strong impact on the health system of the various countries and the absence to date of treatments able to improve the prognosis of the disease make the introduction of a vaccine indispensable, even though there are currently no approved human coronavirus vaccines. The aim of the study is to carry out a review of the medical literature concerning vaccine candidates for the main coronaviruses responsible for human epidemics, including recent advances in the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. This extensive review carried out on the vaccine candidates of the main epidemic coronaviruses of the past has shown that the studies in animal models suggest a high efficacy of potential vaccines in providing protection against viral challenges. Similar human studies have not yet been carried out, as the main trials are aimed at assessing mainly vaccine safety and immunogenicity. Whereas the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) epidemic ended almost two decades ago and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) epidemic is now better controlled, as it is less contagious due to the high lethality of the virus, the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic represents a problem that is certainly more compelling, which pushes us to accelerate the studies not only for the production of vaccines but also for innovative pharmacological treatments. SARS-CoV-2 vaccines might come too late to affect the first wave of this pandemic, but they might be useful if additional subsequent waves occur or in a post-pandemic perspective in which the virus continues to circulate as a seasonal virus

    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

    Sexual function in women undergoing hemodialytic treatment assessed using the female sexual function index (FSFI) and the somatic inkblot series (SIS) test

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    Aims: Female sexuality in end-stage renal disease has so far only been explored using non-validated tools. The aim of this study was to compare sexual function among hemodialyzed (HD) patients and healthy controls using validated questionnaires. Material: Two internationally validated tests have been administrated: the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire and a set of tables from the somatic inkblot series (SIS) test which focus specifically on the area of sexuality. Methods: 25 consecutive HD patients were assessed for sexual function using the FSFI. Nine SIS inkblots concerning sexuality were also administered to obtain more detailed information about the psychological component of sexuality. An equal number of control healthy volunteers perfectly matched for age, marital status and educational level underwent the same evaluations, and the results of the two groups were compared. Results: HD patients had significantly lower scores than the controls for all FSFI domains except sexual desire even when stratified by age and marital status. All sexually related thematic areas of the SIS except body perception were significantly affected in the HD group compared to the control group. Conclusions: Chronic renal failure requiring HD treatment adversely affects female sexual function. The psychological impact on patients is significant when compared to an age-matched control group. Both the FSFI questionnaire and the SIS test may be considered useful tools for an integrated medical and psychological screening of FSD

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We 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
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