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GST Primary GST Primary Best Strategies for Health Care Quality Im... Best Strategies for Health Care Quality Improvement - Diabetes Quality Improvement Strategies for Antibio... Kathryn McDonald, Stanford-UCSF Evidence-b... Systematic review assessing the effect of ... Quality Improvement Strategies for Antibiotics Management Kathryn McDonald, Stanford-UCSF Evidence-based Practice Center, 117 Encina Commons, Stanford, CA 94305-6019, Kathy.mcdonald@stanford.edu Systematic review assessing the effect of quality improvement strategies on appropriate prescribing of antibiotics and appropriate choice of antibiotics. Adherence Adherence Assistive Devices Assistive Devices Childhood Burn Hanson MacMillan Childhood Burn Hanson MacMillan CLSA_9 CLSA_9 Cyberabuse Cyberabuse Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Violent ... This review included randomized trials abo... Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Violent Men who Batter Their Partners This review included randomized trials about the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on domestic violence. The intervention included programs based on the Duluth Model. The violence had to be committed by a male toward his female partner. The violence also had to be physical. The primary outcomes were new arrests and convictions, and new reports of violence. CABG vs PCI CABG vs PCI Quality Improvement Strategies for Prevent... Quality Improvement Strategies for Preventing Nosocomial Infections (Created 17-Feb-06) Quality Improvement Strategies for Asthma ... Quality Improvement Strategies for Asthma Control Erectile Dysfunction (Created 30-Jan-06) Erectile Dysfunction (Created 30-Jan-06) Inequality - Smoking Cessation to Reduce S... This review was the first part of a projec... Inequality - Smoking Cessation to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences This review was the first part of a project about inequality. It included randomized trials about the effect of smoking cessation interventions on reducing socio-economic differences. The studies had to report data either on persons with low socio-economic groups status or, preferably, on both low and high socio-economic groups. Diet and Physical Activity to Reduce Socio... This review was the second part in a proje... Diet and Physical Activity to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences This review was the second part in a project about inequality. It included randomized trials about the effect of interventions on reducing socio-economic differences in diet and physical activity. The studies had to report data either on persons with low socio-economic groups status or, preferably, on both low and high socio-economic groups. Workfare The data in SRS are not identical to the d... Workfare The data in SRS are not identical to the data in the published report. We used SRS only for an updated search. The review included randomized trials about the effect of welfare-to-work programs. Participants were welfare recipients. There were basically two types of programs. The educational type tried to build knowledge and skills in order to help the welfare recipients acquire jobs that could support them economically. The "work first" approach was more aimed at getting the participants quickly into a job. Exercise interventions for the management ... The objective of this systematic review wa... Exercise interventions for the management of frailty The objective of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of current exercise interventions on the management of frailty. A comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Psycinfo, Cinahl, Scopus, Ageline, Eric, and SportDiscus databases was conducted and produced 1808 citations. So far we have completed 2 levels of “title and abstract” screening and we ended up with 262 articles. We have just started the full text screening. Eligibility criteria included original studies whose participants were identified as frail or prefrail with specific criteria and in which structured physical activity was included as at least one component of the intervention. Create a free account, build a dictionary with saved terms to re-use later! Public Domestic Violence - Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy Smoking Cessation to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences Diet and Physical Activity to Reduce Socio-Economic Differences Workfare Exercise Interventions for the Management of Frailty Search     Simple Advanced Refine (4 coded questions)  Any of these:   Exact Phrase: All of these: None of these: Author: Periodical: Projects: No restrictions   Libraries: Public   Select SRS Projects Show Saved Terms Select Library Show articles that do not have abstracts  Humans or Animals Humans Animals Ages All Infant: birth-23 months All Child: 0-18 years All Adult: 19+ years Newborn: birth-1 month Infant: 1-23 months Preschool Child: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Middle Aged + Aged: 45+ years Aged: 65+ years 80 and over: 80+ years Undetermined Type of Article Clinical Trial Editorial Letter Meta-Analysis Practice Guideline Randomized Controlled Trial Review Addresses Bibliography Biography Case Reports Classical Article Clinical Conference Clinical Trial, Phase I Clinical Trial, Phase II Clinical Trial, Phase III Clinical Trial, Phase IV Comment Comparative Study Consensus Development Conference Consensus Development Conference, NIH Controlled Clinical Trial Corrected and Republished Article Dictionary Directory Duplicate Publication English Abstract Evaluation Studies Festschrift Government Publications Guideline Historical Article Interview In Vitro Journal Article Lectures Legal Cases Legislation Multicenter Study News Newspaper Article Overall Patient Education Handout Periodical Index Published Erratum Retracted Publication Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 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Retraction of Publication Scientific Integrity Review Support of Research Technical Report Twin Study Validation Studies Not a Primary Study or Review Unknown Primary Study Case Series Case Control Cohort Study Observational Study Qualitative Research CBA or ITS Registry Double Blind Controlled before after study Quasi-randomized trial Simple before after study Cluster-RCT Non-Randomized Study Report Book Book chapter Dissertation Conference procedings Secondary Research Not RCT Language English French German Italian Japanese Russian Spanish Afrikaans Albanian Unknown Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Esperanto Estonian Finnish Georgian Greek, Modern Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Kinyarwanda Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Malayalam Maori Multiple Languages Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Pushto Romanian Sanskrit Scottish gaelic Serbian Slovak Slovenian Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Not English Not French Results(1-25 of 1,310) Sort By: Publication Date Relevance Took: 1.667 seconds to search 17,750,454  Action: Copy Results to new Clipboard Build Search Link Page 1 of 53 1 2 3 4 > Last >> (1310 articles found) Early textural and functional alterations of left ventricular myocardium in mild hypothyroidism. Jul 2006 Fabrizio Aghini-Lombardi,Aghini-Lombardi Fabrizio,Vitantonio Di Bello,Di Bello Vitantonio,Enrica Talini,Talini Enrica,Andrea Di Cori,Di Cori Andrea,Fabio Monzani,Monzani Fabio,Lucia Antonangeli,Antonangeli Lucia,Caterina Palagi,Palagi Caterina,Nadia Caraccio,Caraccio Nadia,Maria Grazia Delle Donne,Delle Donne Maria Grazia,Carmela Nardi,Nardi Carmela,Angela Dardano,Dardano Angela,Alberto Balbarini,Balbarini Alberto,Mario Mariani,Mariani Mario,Aldo Pinchera,Pinchera Aldo The aim of the present study was to evaluate cardiac function and texture in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (sHT) both by conventional and new ultrasonic intramyocardial tissue techniques. sHT was characterized by normal serum free tetraiodotironine and free triiodotironine levels and sli... ( view more )ghtly increased serum TSH level. Twenty-four patients affected by sHT and 24 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers were studied. All subjects were submitted to conventional two-dimensional (2D)-color Doppler echocardiography, pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging (PWTDI) for the analysis of the diastolic function, color Doppler myocardial imaging (CDMI) for the analysis of regional strain and strain-rate and integrated backscatter (IBS) for the evaluation of intrinsic contractility and tissue characterization. The results of the present study were: (a) the detection in sHT subjects of a lower cyclic variation index (CVI) indicating an altered myocardial intrinsic contractility; (b) a higher ultrasonic myocardial reflectivity indicating an altered myocardial texture; (c) the detection of lower systolic strain and strain-rate indicating an alteration of myocardial regional deformability; (d) an initial impairment of left ventricular diastolic function indicated by a decrease of peak E mitral flow velocity and an increase of peak A mitral flow velocity. All parameters studied with conventional 2D-echo in sHT patients were comparable with controls, except for a mild alteration in diastolic function. A significant correlation among systo-diastolic modifications detected by CDMI and IBS and serum TSH levels were found. The CVI at septum, the PWDTI S-peak wave and the systolic strain at septum were inversely related to the serum TSH levels. In conclusion, the new intramyocardial ultrasonic techniques confirm and extend the previous knowledge on the effect of the sHT on the heart, allowing the detection of early ultrastructural and regional functional systolic and diastolic abnormalities. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Duplication of the pepF gene and shuffling of DNA fragments on the lactose plasmid of Lactococcus lactis. Jul 1997 M Nardi,P Renault,V Monnet The gene corresponding to the lactococcal oligopeptidase PepF1 (formerly PepF [V. Monnet, M. Nardi, A. Chopin, M.-C. Chopin, and J.-C. Gripon, J. Biol. Chem. 269:32070-32076, 1994]) is located on the lactose-proteinase plasmid of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO763. Use of the pepF1 gene as ... ( view more )a probe with different strains showed that pepF1 is present on the chromosome of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis IL1403, whereas there is a second, homologous gene, pepF2, on the chromosome of strain NCDO763. From hybridization, PCR amplification, and sequencing experiments, we deduced that (i) pepF1 and pepF2 exhibit 80% identity and encode two proteins which are 84% identical and (ii) pepF2 is included in an operon composed of three open reading frames and is transcribed from two promoters. The protein, encoded by the gene located downstream of pepF2, shows significant homology with methyltransferases. Analysis of the sequences flanking pepF1 and pepF2 indicates that only a part of the pepF2 operon is present on the plasmid of strain NCDO763, while the operon is intact on the chromosome of strain IL1403. Traces of several recombination events are visible on the lactose-proteinase plasmid. This suggests that the duplication of pepF occurred by recombination from the chromosome of an L. lactis subsp. lactis strain followed by gene transfer. We discuss the possible functions of PepF and the role of its amplification. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Dynamic expression of a cell surface protein during rearrangement of epithelial cells in the Manduca wing monolayer. Jul 1992 J B Nardi The expression of cell surface protein 2F5 changes dynamically in space and time during morphogenesis of the Manduca wing pattern. Two cell types (generalized epithelial cells and scale precursors) rearrange within each of the two epithelial monolayers of the wing to form periodic rows of scale cel... ( view more )ls. These two monolayers also interact with each other during a brief period of adult development. Each cell type shows a different pattern of protein 2F5 expression during cell rearrangement and during interaction of the two wing monolayers. Before and after these morphogenetic movements of epithelial cells, the protein is expressed on only a small population of wing cells. In abdominal epithelia where scale cells are also present but are not arranged in periodic rows, the expression pattern of the surface protein is temporally and spatially very different. An earlier study (Nardi and Magee-Adams, Dev. Biol., 116, 278-290, 1986) had shown that basal processes only extend from epithelial cells during their period of rearrangement within a monolayer and during the transient apposition of the wing's upper and lower monolayers. The differential distribution of protein 2F5 on lateral surfaces and basal processes of scale precursor cells and generalized epithelial cells may account in part for their orderly segregation into alternating rows as well as for the transient interaction of the two wing monolayers. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Breast cancer screening in an urban population in northern Italy. Feb 28, 1990 A Alghisi,F Donato,L Lucini,P Marcianò,C Miccichè,G Nardi,M E Nardi,M Pasini,R Spiazzi A mammographic and clinical screening for breast cancer started in June 1987 in the Health District of Brescia, Northern Italy, including the town and 23 surrounding municipalities. This paper describes the organization and the results of the first 12 months of screening. Of 7791 invited women aged... ( view more ) 50-60 years, 5217 (67%) agreed to participate. There was a trend for response rates to decline with increasing age and education. Of the 5217 women examined, 66 (1.3%) were referred for biopsy and 64 (1.2%) underwent this procedure. A histologically confirmed malignancy was found in 42 women, corresponding to a prevalence of 8.1/1000. Positive predictive value of the screening was 65.6%. Among the 42 breast cancers, 4.8% were carcinoma in situ and 42.9% invasive tumors up to 10 mm in size. According to the p-TNM classification, 92.9% of all cancers were either TIS or in stage T1, 4.8% were in T2 and one tumor was classified in T4. Lymph node involvement was assessed in 41 cases, and 71.4% of all cancers detected by screening were negative for lymph node metastasis. In comparison, the classification of tumors found in women of the same age group and living in Brescia, histologically diagnosed in the urban hospitals during 1986, one year before the beginning of the screening, was as follows: 7.1% carcinoma in situ, and 16.7% invasive tumors up to 10 mm in size. 38.1%, 2.4% and 2.4% of all tumors were in stages T2, T3 and T4 respectively. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Gammaglobulins and immunocomplexes in aqueous humor and serum of patients with senile cataract. 1985 C Fiore,R Nardi,G Santoni,G Nardi The authors have measured the gammaglobulins and the immunocomplex levels (CIC) in aqueous humor and serum of 14 patients (3 males and 11 females) over 50 years old, who were affected by different types of cataract. Even if the authors have examined a limited number of samples, the results confirm ... ( view more )the previous data which also showed very low levels of IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE, CIC in aqueous humor. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Polarity and gradients in lepidopteran wing epidermis. II. The differential adhesiveness model: gradient of a non-diffusible cell surface parameter. Dec 1976 J B Nardi,F C Kafatos For explaining the Manduca wing gradient (Nardi & Kafatos, 1976) a model which postulates a proximo-distal gradient in cellular adhesiveness is considered. The model is based on Steinberg's (1963) differential adhesiveness hypothesis. Rosette formation in certain transposed and/or reoriented grafts... ( view more ) can be adequately explained by this model. Several predictions, formulated by using the concept of surface free energy as a thermodynamic measure of adhesiveness, have been tested and proven correct. (1) Transposed grafts tend to assume circular forms, which are configurations of minimum free energy. (2) Because of the pressure difference expected across the interface of two cell populations with different surface free energies, cell densities increase in both distally and proximally transposed grafts. As a corollary to this rule, final size of a graft is a function of its distance from the original position. (3) Histological sections of host-graft boundaries suggest minimal cell contact at the interface. In proximal grafts placed in distal regions, cell density is far lower near the host-graft interface, as compared to the high interior density; the peripheries of distal grafts do not show this effect. (4) Juxtaposition of three different wing regions in all possible arrangements yields the expected two-dimensional configurations. (5) Differences in adhesiveness can be demonstrated by allowing two different wing grafts to interact in an essentially neutral environment (i.e. at a leg or antenna site). as the distance between two given graft regions increases, the extent of their final contact decreases. When applied to other insect systems, the model not only offers an alternative interpretation for results currently explained by diffusible substance models, but also accounts for certain features that were unexplained by other models. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Endometrial carcinoma: intraoperative evaluation of myometrial invasion A prospective study. Aug 2008 F Maneschi,S Nardi,M Sarno,A M Manicone,A Perugini,A Partenzi AIM: The authors investigated the diagnostic value of intraoperative assessment of myometrial invasion in endometrial cancer patients. Following hysterectomy, the uterus was sectioned and macroscopically examined in order to assess the depth of myoinvasion, which was classified as <50% and >50%. In... ( view more ) patients with macroscopic depth of invasion >30% and <50%, a frozen section of this area was carried out. The results of intraoperative evaluation were compared with the results of postoperative pathological examination. The agreement between methods was developed as generalized Kappa type statistic. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for intraoperative only macro and macro/micro evaluation were calculated. METHODS: Seventy eight consecutive patients (median age 64 years, range 43-92; median Body Mass Index [BMI] 30.5, range 21.9-46.7) who underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salphingo-ophorectomy (THBSO) were included in the study. Following intraoperative macroscopic evaluation, frozen section was carried out in 15 (19%) patients. The median time to obtain the results was 16 min for macroscopic evaluation, and 29 min for the macro/micro assessment. RESULTS: Macroscopic only assessment correctly identified depth of myoinvasion in 91% of patients, while, when the frozen section was carried out, myoinvasion was correctly identified in 95% of patients. For macroscopic only and macro-micro assessment sensitivity and specificity were 76% and 98%, 86% and 98%, respectively. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the frozen section may improve, the diagnostic value of macroscopic only intraoperative assessment of myometrial invasion in selected patients . ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Computerized navigation for surgery of the lower jaw: comparison of 2 navigation systems. Jul 2008 Nardy Casap,Alon Wexler,Ron Eliashar PURPOSE: To evaluate the accuracy and applicability of 2 computerized navigation systems for surgery of the lower jaw. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two patients diagnosed with a mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lower jaw were prepared for tumor resection applying 2 different computerized navigation systems... ( view more ): the Image-Guided Implantology (IGI) system (DenX Advanced Dental Systems, Moshav Ora, Israel), which is specialized for dental implant surgery and the LandmarX system (Medtronic Xomed, Inc, Jacksonville, FL), which is designed for ear, nose, and throat surgery. Intraoperative accuracy of navigation of each of the systems was evaluated from the precision of targeting of distinctive anatomical landmarks in the mandible, including a preoperatively placed titanium screw. RESULTS: The navigational error of the IGI system was less than 0.5 mm, while that of the LandmarX system was between 3 mm and 4 mm. Tumor resection was performed with the guidance of the IGI system, and resulted in complete resection with tumor-free margins. CONCLUSIONS: The mobile nature of the lower jaw complicates its synchronization during surgery with the preacquired imaging data. The accuracy of navigation based on tracking of the patient's head is compromised by asynchronous movements of the mandible during surgery. Direct tracking of the lower jaw, via a teeth-mounted sensor frame, is superior to its indirect tracking. The teeth also provide a more secure basis for the fiducial markers than soft tissue attachment. We conclude that a computerized navigation system using a teeth-mounted sensor frame and teeth-supported fiducial markers enables more accurate navigation for surgery of the lower jaw. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Protein expression changes in maize roots in response to humic substances. Jun 2008 Paolo Carletti,Antonio Masi,Barbara Spolaore,Patrizia Polverino De Laureto,Mariangela De Zorzi,Loris Turetta,Massimo Ferretti,Serenella Nardi Humic substances are known to affect plant metabolism at different levels. We characterized humic substances extracted from earthworm feces by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy and used them to treat corn, Zea mays L., seedlings to investigate changes in patterns o... ( view more )f root protein expression. After root plasma membrane extraction and purification, proteins were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and differential spot intensities were evaluated by image analysis. Finally, 42 differentially expressed proteins were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The majority of them were downregulated by the treatment with humic substances. The proteins identified included malate dehydrogenase, ATPases, cytoskeleton proteins, and different enzymes belonging to the glycolytic/gluconeogenic pathways and sucrose metabolism. The identification of factors involved in plant responses to humic substances may improve our understanding of plant-soil cross-talk, and enable a better management of soil resources. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Alfuzosin stone expulsion therapy for distal ureteral calculi: a double-blind, placebo controlled study. Jun 2008 Renato Nardi Pedro,Bryan Hinck,Kari Hendlin,Kendall Feia,Benjamin K Canales,Manoj Monga PURPOSE: We evaluated the efficacy of alfuzosin as medical expulsive therapy for distal ureteral stone passage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 76 patients with a distal ureteral calculus provided consent for the study. Patients were randomized between placebo and study medication, and investigat... ( view more )ors and patients were blinded to the randomization scheme. Followup was done on a weekly basis and continued until the patient was rendered stone-free. The patient blood pressure, discomfort level, stone position on imaging, number of remaining pills and any adverse events were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed with the Student t test with p <0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: The overall spontaneous stone passage rate was 75%, including 77.1% for placebo and 73.5% for alfuzosin (p = 0.83). Mean +/- SD time needed to pass the stone was 8.54 +/- 6.99 days for placebo vs 5.19 +/- 4.82 days for alfuzosin. (p = 0.003). There was no difference in the size or volume of stones that passed spontaneously between the placebo and alfuzosin arms, as measured on baseline computerized tomography (4.08 +/- 1.17 and 3.83 +/- 0.95 mm, p = 0.46) and by a digital caliper after stone expulsion (3.86 +/- 1.76 and 3.91 +/- 1.06 mm, respectively, p = 0.57). When comparing the improvement from the baseline pain score, the alfuzosin arm experienced a greater decrease in pain score in the days after the initial emergency department visit to the date of stone passage (p = 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: Alfuzosin improves the patient discomfort associated with stone passage and decreases the time to distal ureteral stone passage but it does not increase the rate of spontaneous stone passage. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles In situ delivery of bone marrow cells and mesenchymal stem cells improves cardiovascular function in hypertensive rats submitted to myocardial infarction. May 2008 Luisa Maria Gomes de Macedo Braga,Silvia Lacchini,Beatriz D'Agord Schaan,Bruno Rodrigues,Kaleizu Rosa,Kátia De Angelis,Luciano Figueiredo Borges,Maria Cláudia Irigoyen,Nance Beyer Nardi This work aimed to evaluate cardiac morphology/function and histological changes induced by bone marrow cells (BMCs) and cultured mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) injected at the myocardium of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) submitted to surgical coronary occlusion. Female syngeneic adult SHR, s... ( view more )ubmitted (MI) or not (C) to coronary occlusion, were treated 24 h later with in situ injections of normal medium (NM), or with MSCs (MSC) or BMCs (BM) from male rats. The animals were evaluated after 1 and 30 days by echocardiography, histology of heart sections and PCR for the Y chromosome. Improved ejection fraction and reduced left ventricle infarcted area were observed in MSC rats as compared to the other experimental groups. Treated groups had significantly reduced lesion tissue score, increased capillary density and normal (not-atrophied) myocytes, as compared to NM and C groups. The survival rate was higher in C, NM and MSC groups as compared to MI and BM groups. In situ injection of both MSCs and BMCs resulted in improved cardiac morphology, in a more physiological model of myocardial infarction represented by surgical coronary occlusion of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Only treatment with MSCs, however, ameliorated left ventricle dysfunction, suggesting a positive role of these cells in heart remodeling in infarcted hypertensive subjects. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Type 2 diabetes has minimal effect on osseointegration of titanium implants in Psammomys obesus. May 2008 Nardy Casap,Samer Nimri,Ehud Ziv,Jona Sela,Yuval Samuni OBJECTIVES: Dental implants are routinely used with high success rates in generally healthy individuals. In contrast, their use in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM) remains controversial as altered bone healing around implants has been reported. The majority of reports addressing th... ( view more )e issue of osseointegration of implants in animals were performed in beta-cell cytotoxic-induced Type I diabetes. In this study, we assessed the osseointegration of implants in Gerbil Psammomys obesus, a model of nutritionally induced Type 2 DM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Titanium implants were inserted into the tibial medullary space of 140 male diabetic and control animals. One, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after implantation the tibias were removed for histomorphometric evaluation, which included trabecular bone volumes (TBV) and osseointegration. RESULTS: Two weeks following implantation, diabetic animals had slightly less mature bone when compared with control animals. This distinction was not present 4 weeks after implantation. Interestingly, no correlation was found between ossetointegration or TBV and glucose and insulin levels. Furthermore, no difference in osseointegration and TBV values was seen between the groups. The heterogeneity of serum glucose and insulin levels in this model and the possible role of insulin in bone metabolism are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference in osseointegration and TBV was seen between diabetic and control P. obesus, a model of nutritionally induced Type 2 DM. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Thermomechanical behavior of surface acoustic waves in ordered arrays of nanodisks studied by near-infrared pump-probe diffraction experiments and finite element simulations. May 2008 Claudio Giannetti,Francesco Banfi,Damiano Nardi,Bernard Revaz,Gabriele Ferrini,Paolo Vavassori,Vitali Metlushko,Fulvio Parmigiani The ultrafast thermal and mechanical dynamics of a two-dimensional lattice of metallic nanodisks has been studied by near-infrared pump-probe diffraction measurements over a temporal range spanning from 100 fs to several nanoseconds. The experiments demonstrate that in these systems a surface acous... ( view more )tic wave (SAW), with a wave vector given by the reciprocal periodicity of the two-dimensional array, can be excited by 120 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses. We unambiguously show that the observed SAW velocity shift originates from the mechanical interaction between the SAWs and the nanodisks, while the correlated SAW damping is due to the energy radiation into the substrate. In order to clarify the interaction between the nanodisks and the substrate, numerical calculations of both the elastic eigenmodes and the time-dynamics of the system, following the impulsive heating excitation by the laser, are performed. Simulations based on finite-elements analysis, together with a wavelet analysis of our experimental data, suggest the opening of a band-gap at the centre of the super-Brillouin zone. The modes at the centre of the super-Brillouin zone are excited following laser excitation, as opposed to thermal population, of the elastic modes. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles The effect of informed consent on stress levels associated with extraction of impacted mandibular third molars. May 2008 Nardy Casap,Michael Alterman,Guy Sharon,Yuval Samuni PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of informed consent on stress levels associated with removal of impacted mandibular third molars. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 60 patients scheduled for extraction of impacted mandibular third molars participated in this study. The patients were unaware of the st... ( view more )udy's objectives. Data from 20 patients established the baseline levels of electrodermal activity (EDA). The remaining 40 patients were randomly assigned into 2 equal groups receiving either a detailed document of informed consent, disclosing the possible risks involved with the surgery, or a simplified version. Pulse, blood pressure, and EDA were monitored before, during, and after completion of the consent document. RESULTS: Changes in EDA, but not in blood pressure, were measured on completion of either version of the consent document. A greater increase in EDA was associated with the detailed version of the consent document (P = .004). A similar concomitant increase (although nonsignificant) in pulse values was monitored on completion of both versions. CONCLUSIONS: Completion of overdisclosed document of informed consent is associated with changes in physiological parameters. The results suggest that overdetailed listing and disclosure before extraction of impacted mandibular third molars can increase patient stress. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in athletes referred for disabling symptoms preventing usual training schedule and sport competition. May 2008 Francesco Furlanello,Pierpaolo Lupo,Mario Pittalis,Sara Foresti,Laura Vitali-Serdoz,Pietro Francia,Guido De Ambroggi,Paolo Ferrero,Stefano Nardi,Giuseppe Inama,Luigi De Ambroggi,Riccardo Cappato INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) may occasionally affect athletes by impairing their ability to compete, and leading to noneligibility at prequalification screening. The impact of catheter ablation (CA) in restoring full competitive activity of athletes affected by AF is not known. The aim of... ( view more ) our study was to investigate the effectiveness of CA of idiopathic AF in athletes with palpitations impairing physical performance and compromising eligibility for competitive activities. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty consecutive competitive athletes (all males; 44.4 +/- 13.0 years) with disabling palpitations on the basis of idiopathic drug-refractory AF underwent 46 procedures (2.3 +/- 0.4 per patient) according to a prospectively designed multiprocedural CA approach that consolidates pulmonary veins (PV) isolation through subsequent steps. Preablation, effort-induced AF could be documented in 13 patients (65%) during stress ECG and significantly reduced maximal effort capacity (176 +/- 21 W), as compared with patients with no AF during effort (207 +/- 43 W, P < 0.05). At the end of CA protocol, which also included ablation of atrial flutter (AFL) in 7 patients, 18 (90.0%) patients were free of AF and two (10.0%) reported short-lasting (minutes) episodes of palpitations during 36.1 +/- 12.7 months follow-up. Compared with preablation, postablation maximal exercise capacity significantly improved (from 183 +/- 32 to 218 +/- 20 W, P < 0.02). All baseline quality of life (QoL) parameters pertinent to physical activity significantly improved (P < 0.05) at the end of CA protocol. All athletes obtained reeligibility and could effectively reinitiate sport activity. CONCLUSIONS: AF, alone or in combination with AFL, may significantly impair maximal effort capacity thereby limiting competitive performance. Multiple PV isolation proved very effective in these patients to restore full competitive activity and allow reeligibility. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Effect of fish oil containing parenteral lipid emulsions on neutrophil chemotaxis and resident-macrophages' phagocytosis in rats. Apr 2008 Leticia De Nardi,Raquel Bellinati-Pires,Raquel S Torrinhas,Carlos E Bacchi,Victor Arias,Dan L Waitzberg BACKGROUND & AIMS: There is scarce information about immune function and parenteral fish oil (FO). The influence of a new parenteral lipid emulsion (LE) containing fish oil (SMOF) was experimentally evaluated on neutrophils' chemotaxis and macrophages' phagocytosis. METHODS: Adult male Lewis rats (... ( view more )n=40) were randomized into five groups; one non-surgical control and four to receive parenteral LE or saline infusion through jugular vein catheterization: SMOF (mixture of 30% medium-chain triglycerides, 30% soybean, 25% olive and 15% fish oils); MCT/LCT (physical mixture of 50% medium-chain triglycerides and 50% soybean oil); MCT/LCT/FO (80% MCT/LCT supplemented with 20% FO) and SS (saline). In the 5th experimental day and after intravenous colloidal carbon injection, blood and tissue (liver, lung and spleen) samples were collected and immunological analyses were performed. RESULTS: LE didn't influence neutrophil chemotaxis. SMOF didn't influence phagocytosis (p>0.05) while MCT/LCT and MCT/LCT/FO LE increased the number of liver and lung resident macrophages that had engaged in phagocytosis compared with CO-NS and SS (p<0.05). Only MCT/LCT/FO increased the number of spleen resident macrophages that had engaged in phagocytosis (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: LE, independently of composition, had no influence on neutrophils' chemotaxis, but showed different effect on phagocytosis by macrophages. SMOF LE had neutral effect while fish oil LE enriched with MCT/LCT LE increased resident-macrophages' phagocytosis. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles [Cardiac involvement in Duchenne muscular dystrophy] Apr 2008 Abdallah Fayssoil,David Orlikowski,Olivier Nardi,Djillali Annane Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked hereditary dystrophinopathy due to the absence of dystrophin, a cytoskeleton protein; it is the most frequent of the dystrophinopathies. DMD affects one newborn boy in 3500. The disease locus is found on the short arm of the X chromosome (Xp21). Dyst... ( view more )rophin plays an important role in the maintenance of the cellular architecture and permits signal transduction between the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix. Its absence is expressed by peripheral muscular damage, most often at the pelvic girdle, and sometimes associated with pseudohypertrophy of the calf. The disease is very often complicated by cardiac damage that develops towards the end of adolescence, together with restrictive lung disease that will usually end up requiring respiratory support. The prognosis is severe. Doppler examination of the myocardial tissue helps to screen for subclinical myocardial damage. Therapeutic management is multidisciplinary. Medical treatment of cardiac involvement relies on the drugs already proved effective in chronic heart failure. Ongoing research is currently studying gene therapy. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles A revised Index for Social Engagement for long-term care. Apr 2008 Debby L Gerritsen,Nardi Steverink,Dinnus H M Frijters,John P Hirdes,Marcel E Ooms,Miel W Ribbe The objective of this study was to improve validity and reliability estimates of the Index for Social Engagement (ISE) for long-term care. After exploring content validity and internal consistency in Dutch and Canadian data, two ISE items were dropped, and two new items were added. Reliability of t... ( view more )his Revised ISE (RISE) was tested in 189 nursing home residents. It appeared that the RISE has enhanced reliability estimates, especially in residents with cognitive impairment.The RISE for long-term care improves the existing index by including additional dimensions of social engagement and by increasing the reliability of results for residents with cognitive impairment. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Investigation of the inner environment of carbon nanotubes with a fullerene-nitroxide probe. Mar 2008 Sandro Campestrini,Carlo Corvaja,Marco De Nardi,Caterina Ducati,Lorenzo Franco,Michele Maggini,Moreno Meneghetti,Enzo Menna,Giorgio Ruaro A fulleropyrrolidine bearing a nitroxide free radical has been inserted into single-walled carbon nanotubes with the aid of supercritical CO2. Thanks to the encapsulated paramagnetic probes, it has been possible to detect and characterize the resulting peapod-like structure through electron paramag... ( view more )netic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. In particular, the analysis of spectral parameters derived from extensive EPR studies has elucidated the orientation and the residual rotational dynamics of the molecules embedded in the nanotubes. A limited anisotropic rotational freedom of the encapsulated fullerene nitroxide reveals a rather strong interaction of the probe with the surrounding nanotube walls. The interaction seems to involve the fullerene cage (as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy) and not the nitroxide moiety, whose EPR spectral characteristics, such as the isotropic hyperfine constant and the g-tensor, remain unaltered after encapsulation. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Prospective trial evaluating new circular and linear stapler devices for gastrointestinal anastomosis: preliminary data. Mar 2008 P De Nardi,F Panzeri,C Staudacher Several commercial models of stapler devices are available. This study evaluated the ease of use, effectiveness and safety of new commercial stapling devices for gastrointestinal anastomosis. A total of 11 patients (5 men) requiring surgical therapy for benign or malignant disease of the digestive ... ( view more )tract were recruited between July and October 2006. Eleven patients were treated with KYGW circular stapler or KYFB linear stapler (Changzhou Kangdi Medical Stapler). In these patients, 14 staplers were used and 21 stapled sutures (16 linear, 5 circular) were performed. Number of anastomoses successfully completed, postoperative anastomotic fistula or dehiscence, days to take fluid and normal diet, length of hospital stay and anastomotic stenosis were recorded. A 10-point questionnaire enquiring about the instrument and anastomotic features was administered to surgeons immediately after the operation in the study group and in 10 control patients treated with standard CDH circular and SDH linear staples (Ethicon Endo-Surgery). Mean scores on the questionnaire for the experimental and control groups were good (>7.5) and did not significantly differ for handling, closing ease, bleeding, and overall satisfaction. No case of intra-abdominal sepsis, leakage or intestinal obstruction was recorded in the study group. In the 5 patients with colorectal anastomosis, the anastomotic lumen at 15 days was wide open and at 3 months there were no strictures. These new instruments are valuable for performing gastrointestinal anastomosis and are in conformity with clinical requirements; their use is simple and seems to be safe. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Intracecal fetiform teratoma. Mar 2008 Tiffany L Robinson,Krishna Surapaneni,Peter M Nardi Fetiform teratoma is a rare form of mature cystic teratoma that is highly developed and organized, resembling a fetus-like structure. These are rare entities that have been typically described in women of reproductive age and most often present as ovarian masses. Only two cases of a fetiform terato... ( view more )ma have been reported in a male. Although teratomas are a common benign entity, only five prior cases of teratoma involving the cecum have been described. We present an atypical case of an intracecal fetiform teratoma occurring in a 2(1/2)-year-old Chinese boy. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Early impairment of left ventricular function in hypercholesterolemia and its reversibility after short term treatment with rosuvastatin A preliminary echocardiographic study. Mar 2008 Enrica Talini,Vitantonio Di Bello,Cristina Bianchi,Caterina Palagi,Maria Grazia Delle Donne,Giuseppe Penno,Carmela Nardi,Maria Laura Canale,Stefano Del Prato,Mario Mariani,Roberto Miccoli BACKGROUND: Hypercholesterolemia contributes to coronary heart disease but little is known about its direct effect on myocardial function. We evaluated left ventricular function using echocardiography and the effect of treatment with rosuvastatin in a group of patients with primary hypercholesterol... ( view more )emia. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-three patients with primary hypercholesterolemia (HC) and without evidence of coronary heart disease and 25 aged matched healthy volunteers (C) were submitted to conventional echocardiography, pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging (PWTDI), color Doppler myocardial imaging (CDMI) and integrated backscatter (IBS). Echocardiographic evaluation was repeated after 6 months of treatment with rosuvastatin (10mg/day) in 17 patients. Compared with C, patients with HC showed lower E/A ratio (p<0.0001) and higher Tei index mit (p<0.0001), as well as lower PW TDI E/A both at septum (p<0.0001) and at lateral level (p<0.0001) and higher modified Tei index both at septal annulus (p<0.0001) and lateral annulus (p<0.0001). Integrated backscatter parameters were significantly reduced in patients with HC (CVIsept p<0.0001 and CVI post wall p<0.05). CDMI derived indices in the two groups were not different. After 6 months of Rosuvastatin treatment a significant reduction of LDL cholesterol levels (51%, p<0.0001) was registered in HC patients together with a significant improvement of longitudinal global systolic and diastolic function (Tei index) and myocardial intrinsic contractility (CVI). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that in patients with hypercholesterolemia exists an early cardiomyopathy characterized by systolic and diastolic dysfunction. That could produce a substratum for an "impaired preconditioning". Rosuvastatin seems able to revert systolic abnormalities. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Thermal and alkaline stability of meropenem: degradation products and cytotoxicity. Feb 28, 2008 Andreas Mendez,Pedro Chagastelles,Eduardo Palma,Nance Nardi,Elfrides Schapoval The stability of the broad-spectrum antibiotic meropenem was investigated in order to isolate and elucidate the mean degradation products involved in thermal and alkaline decomposition of meropenem in solution. The purification of thermal degradation product (45 degrees C) involved a combination of... ( view more ) preparative chromatographic techniques. The degradates were characterized by NMR and ESI-MS. The thermal degradation product was a result of several chemical reactions, with modification of side chain and beta-lactam ring, resulting in a pyrrolic derivative. Under alkaline conditions (NaOH 0.1N), meropenem was converted totally to the corresponding beta-lactam ring-opened derivative, in sodium salt state. The degraded samples of meropenem reconstituted solution, powder for injection and alkaline solution was also studied in order to determine the preliminary cytotoxicity in vitro against mononuclear cells. The results obtained indicated that samples could be toxic in high concentration (2.0mg/mL) after 48h of incubation. The present study confirms the lability of the drug in aqueous solution, specially when submitted to thermal and alkaline conditions. Thus, it is necessary attention during the handling and storage of this antibiotic. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Platelet fragmentation requires a specific structural conformation of human monoclonal antibody against beta3 integrin. Feb 8, 2008 Zongdong Li,Michael A Nardi,Jing Wu,Ruimin Pan,Wei Zhang,Simon Karpatkin We have described an autoantibody against beta3 (GPIIIa49-66), a region of platelet integrin alphaIIbbeta3 that is unique. It induces platelet fragmentation in the absence of complement via antibody activation of platelet NADPH oxidase and 12-lipoxygenase to release reactive oxygen species, which d... ( view more )estroy platelets. To study the mechanism of anti-GPIIIa antibody-induced platelet fragmentation, we screened a human single chain Fv antibody library with the GPIIIa49-66 peptide. Nine monoclonal antibodies were identified that were capable of binding to GPIIIa49-66. Surprisingly, binding avidity for GPIIIa49-66 did not correlate with activity of induction of platelet fragmentation. We therefore investigated the requirements for platelet fragmentation. Mutations were introduced into the heavy chain complementary-determining region-3 of clones 11, 43, and 54 by site-directed mutagenesis. The capability of these clones to induce platelet fragmentation or bind to GPIIIa49-66 subsequently changed. Molecular modeling of these clones with their mutants revealed that the ability to induce platelet fragmentation is affected by the side chain orientation of positively charged amino acids in the heavy chain of residues 99-102. Thus, a structural change in the conformation of anti-GPIIIa49-66 antibody contributes to its binding to the beta3 integrin and subsequent antibody-induced platelet fragmentation and aggregate dissolution. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles VEGF facilitates periosteal distraction-induced osteogenesis in rabbits: a micro-computerized tomography study. Feb 2008 Nardy Casap,Nuphar Blau Venezia,Asaf Wilensky,Yuval Samuni BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Distraction osteogenesis is routinely used for reconstruction of bone. Conversely, it was hypothesized that mechanical traction of the periosteum would induce bone formation, and hence the use of periosteal distraction for induction of osteogenesis has been proposed. Further... ( view more ), it was postulated that intracallus administration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) would facilitate osteogenesis. To investigate this hypothesis, formation of newly synthesized bone was evaluated using micro-computerized tomography (microCT) and histomorphometry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Periosteal distractors were placed subperiosteally in one side of the mandible of rabbits, whereas the contralateral served as control. One group of animals received VEGF into the forming callus. Formation of bone was measured using microCT and histological analysis. RESULTS: The results demonstrate formation of new bone following periosteal distraction. Addition of VEGF to the distraction site increased bone synthesis. CONCLUSIONS: microCT and histological analysis validate the hypothesis that mechanical distraction of the periosteum induces osteogenesis and that VEGF has a positive effect on osteogenesis. Periosteal distraction is emerging as a reliable technique for bone regeneration. ( view less ) View Full Abstract View Article Details View Coded Data Related Articles Page 1 of 53 1 2 3 4 > Last >> (1310 articles found)

      
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