1,721,149 research outputs found
Oral Anticoagulation after Mechanical Heart Valve Replacement: Low Intensity Regimen can Make the Difference
No full textDespite continuous improvement in the field, the ideal prosthetic heart valve remains to be developed. Patients with mechanical prosthetic heart valves are at risk of thrombosis and systemic embolism. The incidence rate of these serious complications is significantly reduced by lifelong Oral Anticoagulant Therapy (OAC) vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy. Despite its undeniable benefits, VKA therapy with warfarin is affected by a number of known limitations, including bleeding complications, dietary and drug interactions, and need for international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring and dose adjustments. In particular, the optimal intensity of anticoagulant therapy remains a delicate equilibrium and continues to be an ongoing matter of debate. A significant number of trials has been published on this topic. In this review article we review the pathogenesis of OAC related complications, the evidences supporting current recommendations along with the results of major prospective randomised trials on low intensity OAC regimens and self-management. Safe and effective chronic OAC therapy after mechanical valve replacement requires a thorough examination of patients' features, optimal surgical techniques, state of the art definition of target INR levels and close surveillance. Based on our and other work, we argue that low-dose anticoagulation is safe and feasible in selected mechanical valve recipients and also it may be of benefit during pregnancy. Concurrently, evidence from most recent reports highlights that even higher risk patients' subsets may profit from low intensity protocols. These data postulate that low intensity regimen of OAC coupled with close INR monitoring can make a significant difference for low to intermediate risk patients with aortic mechanical valve replacement. © 2014 Torella M, et al
Urinary tract infections in women.
No full textUrinary tract infections (UTIs) are conditions frequently complained by women both in the general population and in the hospital setting. Indeed it has been estimated that one woman out of three will experience at least an episode of UTI during lifetime. A comprehensive literature review of published experimental and clinical studies of UTI was carried out at the University of Insubria electronic library (SFX Bicocca-Insubria) with cross-search of seven different medical databases (AMED, BIOSIS Previews on Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Library, Embase and Medline on Web of Knowledge, OvidSP and PubMed). We aimed to draw a clinical guideline addressed to the management of UTI, based on the most recent evidence
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
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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