Search results for "Baseline"
showing 10 items of 299 documents
Long-term manometric study of anal sphincter function after hemorrhoidectomy
2006
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Data on maximum resting pressure (MRP) and maximum squeeze pressure (MSP) changes after hemorrhoidectomy are not univocal and follow-up of patients undergoing surgery is mostly short-lived. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine during 1-year follow-up the long-term manometric results of MRP, MSP, and ultra slow wave activity (USWA) within a set of patients undergoing Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy as compared to healthy controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients with hemorrhoids of third and fourth degree were enrolled and anorectal manometry was performed preoperatively, on the 5th day, and after 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery. RESULTS: On the 5t…
Impact of Baseline and Induced Dyspnea on the Quality of Life of Patients With COPD
2008
Objective Dyspnea is the main symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and as such is an important determinant of health-related quality of life. It is, however, weakly correlated to severity of obstruction and there is little information available on how it exercises its effect on health-related quality of life. The aims of this study were to identify the determinants of baseline dyspnea and to ascertain how that factor influences the health-related quality of life of patients with COPD. Patients and methods A total of 101 patients with COPD were studied. Tests included full lung function assessment, the bronchial provocation test (n=70), and the 6-minute walk test. The foll…
Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of the MyoVasc study: A prospective cohort study investigating development and progression of heart fa…
2020
Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is a poly-aetiological syndrome with large heterogeneity regarding clinical presentation, pathophysiology, clinical outcome and response to therapy. The MyoVasc study (NCT04064450) is an epidemiological cohort study investigating the development and progression of HF. Methods The primary objective of the study is (a) to improve the understanding of the pathomechanisms of HF across the full spectrum of clinical presentation, (b) to investigate the current clinical classifications of HF, and (c) to identify and characterize homogeneous subgroups regarding disease development using a systems-oriented approach. Worsening of HF, that is, the composite of tr…
FUNCTIONAL EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM IMMOBILIZATION: KINEMATIC CHANGES AND RECOVERY ON REACHING-TO-GRASP
2012
Abstract Although previous investigations agree in showing significant cortical modifications related to short-term limb immobilization, little is known about the functional changes induced by non-use. To address this issue, we studied the kinematic effect of 10 h of hand immobilization. In order to prevent any movement, right handed healthy participants wore on their dominant hand a soft bandage. They were requested to perform the same reaching-to-grasping task immediately after immobilization, 1 day before (baseline 1) and in other two following days without non-use (baseline 2 and baseline 3). While no differences were found among baseline conditions, an increase of the total duration of…
Design and Baseline Characteristics of the HELP Study: An Extended and Long-Term Observation of Pathological Myopia in Caucasians.
2017
<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> To assess the natural disease progression of high myopia in Caucasians considered at risk for the development of myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Subjects were recruited in 25 clinical sites between June 2014 and June 2016. Main inclusion criteria included axial length of ≥26 mm, best-corrected visual acuity ≥0.05 decimal equivalent and presence of at least one out of five predefined morphological disease risk criteria. These were (1) subfoveal choroidal thinning &#x3c; 50 µm, (2) enhanced choroidal curvature length &#x3e; 6,300 µm, (3) lacquer cracks, (4) patchy atrophy &#x3…
Efficacy of the treatment with prostaglandin E-1 in venous ulcers of the lower limbs.
2005
Background. Venous ulcers represent an important medical problem due to their high prevalence and consequent sanitary costs. In this study we evaluated the effect of Prostaglandin E-1 (PGE-1), a drug that improves district ischemia, on the healing of venous ulcers. Methods. We performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, single blind study, in which 87 patients, carriers of venous leg ulcers, homogeneous for dimensions and characteristics, were treated for 20 days an with infusion of Prostaglandin E-1 or placebo, in association with a topic therapy. The dimension and the number of the ulcers were determined at the beginning of the treatment and then every 20 days up to 4 months or until tota…
Does baseline leisure-time physical activity level predict future depressive symptoms or physical activity among depressive patients? Findings from a…
2021
Objectives The aims of this study were to investigate whether baseline leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is associated with future recovery from depression among patients with a depression diagnosis and whether baseline LTPA is associated with total physical activity after five years of follow-up. Methods A total of 258 patients aged >= 35 years with clinically confirmed depression at baseline participated. The study was conducted between 2008 and 2016 in municipalities within the Central Finland Hospital District. Depressive symptoms (DS) were determined with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) with a cutoff score >= 10, and depression diagnoses were confirmed by the Mini-International…
Treating Cockroach Phobia With Augmented Reality
2009
In vivo exposure is the recommended treatment of choice for specific phobias; however, it demonstrates a high attrition rate and is not effective in all instances. The use of virtual reality (VR) has improved the acceptance of exposure treatments to some individuals. Augmented reality (AR) is a variation of VR wherein the user sees the real world augmented by virtual elements. The present study tests an AR system in the short (posttreatment) and long term (3, 6, and 12 months) for the treatment of cockroach phobia using a multiple baseline design across individuals (with 6 participants). The AR exposure therapy was applied using the "one-session treatment" guidelines developed by Öst, Salko…
Shock control bump design optimization on natural laminar aerofoil
2011
The chapter investigates Shock Control Bumps (SCB) on a Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) aerofoil; RAE 5243 for Active Flow Control (AFC). A SCB approach is used to decelerate supersonic flow on the suction/pressure sides of transonic aerofoil that leads delaying shock occurrence or weakening of shock strength. Such an AFC technique reduces significantly the total drag at transonic speeds. This chapter considers the SCB shape design optimisation at two boundary layer transition positions (0 and 45%) using an Euler software coupled with viscous boundary layer effects and robust Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). The optimisation method is based on a canonical Evolution Strategy (ES) algorithm and inco…
On the Left Ventricular Remodeling of Patients with Stenotic Aortic Valve: A Statistical Shape Analysis
2021
The left ventricle (LV) constantly changes its shape and function as a response to pathological conditions, and this process is known as remodeling. In the presence of aortic stenosis (AS), the degenerative process is not limited to the aortic valve but also involves the remodeling of LV. Statistical shape analysis (SSA) offers a powerful tool for the visualization and quantification of the geometrical and functional patterns of any anatomic changes. In this paper, a SSA method was developed to determine shape descriptors of the LV under different degrees of AS and thus to shed light on the mechanistic link between shape and function. A total of n=86 patients underwent computed tomography (…