1,721,536 research outputs found
Imaging of Myocardial Fibrosis and Its Functional Correlates in Aortic Stenosis: A Review and Clinical Potential
No full textPatients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) show progressive fibrotic changes in the myocardium, which may impair cardiac function and patient outcomes even after successful aortic valve replacement. Detection of patients who need an early operation remains a diagnostic challenge as myocardial functional changes may be subtle. In recent years, speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and cardiac magnetic resonance mapping have been shown to provide complementary information for the assessment of left ventricular mechanics and identification of subtle damage by focal or diffuse myocardial fibrosis, respectively. Little is known, however, about how focal and diffuse myocardial fibrosis occurring in severe AS are related to measurable functional changes by echocardiography and to which extent both parameters have prognostic and diagnostic value. The aims of this review are to discuss the occurrence of focal and diffuse myocardial fibrosis in patients with severe AS and to explore their relation with myocardial function, determined by STE, as well as the prognostic and diagnostic potential of both parameters
Next-generation sequencing of genes for hereditary hearing loss : from gene identification to diagnostic implementation
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Between monogenic and complex genetics : lessons from keratoconus and otosclerosis research
No full textTowards improved treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer : novel insights in tumor sidedness and liquid biopsies
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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
The genetic landscape of malignant pleural mesothelioma in sporadic and familial patients
No full textVariations 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
Genotype-phenotype correlation study in p.Pro51Ser variant carriers in COCH causing DFNA9
No full textAbstract: DFNA9 is an autosomal dominant hereditary hearing disorder associated with vestibular deterioration with a late onset of symptoms. Many variants in COCH have been identified, however, the c.151C>T, p.Pro51Ser is highly prevalent in the Low Countries. The clinical characteristics of this condition were based on genetic linkage studies of some 15 years ago. However, nowadays, new clinical vestibular tools permit more detailed observation of the progression of the vestibular deterioration at different compartments and at different frequency range of the vestibular organ. Since the last several years, tremendous efforts are being displayed to develop new therapeutic options, such as vestibular implants and genetic therapy, for which a better knowledge of the natural course of DFNA9 has become essential to define the most optimal therapeutic window. A prospective multi-centric cross-sectional study, conducted in Antwerp and Hasselt, including 111 Belgian & Dutch p.Pro51Ser variant carriers, showed the following results: 1) the hearing thresholds at 8 kHz were already beyond age-referenced limits in the youngest age group (18-25 years), 2) this was followed by the decline of caloric response (35 years on average) and C-VEMPs (31 years). 3) The hearing frequencies higher than 2 kHz all started to deteriorate at about 34-38 years of age, whereas the lower frequencies started their decline ten years later. 4) The vestibulo-ocular reflexgains, which are obtained with high angular acceleration video head impulse test (vHIT), were the last to deteriorate (end of 4th & early 5th decade). Imaging of DFNA9 patients showed typical features like focal sclerosis or T2-weighted signal loss in semicircular canals (SCC) of p.Pro51Ser carriers that had reached advanced stages of oto-vestibular deterioration. These lesions seemed to correlate with lower caloric and vHIT function. These findings suggest an (auto)immune reaction as a result of accumulation of misfolded mutant cochlin in the inner ear and ampullae of the SCC, with fibrosis and late-onset calcification. Until 2018, all known COCH variants had autosomal dominant trait, however, we identified a new COCH variant with an autosomal recessive trait, causing congenital hearing loss (DFNB110). Since adult heterozygous carriers in that family all showed normal hearing and balance function, this suggests haploinsufficiency is not the cause of hearing disorder, but rather the dominant negative trait of these new variants. These new insights are useful in future research for new treatment options in DFNA9 patients
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