Search results for "CONST"
showing 10 items of 7706 documents
Gastrointestinal symptoms in infancy: A population-based prospective study
2005
Abstract Background. During the first months of life, infants can suffer from many ‘minor’ gastroenterological disturbances. However, little is known about the frequency of these problems and the factors which predispose or facilitate their onset. Aims. (a) To ascertain the frequency of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms in infants during the first 6 months after birth; (b) to evaluate the influence of some variables on the onset of the symptoms. Study design and patients. Each of the 150 paediatricians distributed throughout Italy followed 20 consecutive infants from birth to 6 months. 2879 infants (1422 f, 1457 m) concluded the study. The presence of the following symptoms was eval…
Quantitative analysis of emphysema in 3D using MDCT: Influence of different reconstruction algorithms
2008
Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to compare the influence of different reconstruction algorithms on quantitative emphysema analysis in patients with severe emphysema. Material and methods Twenty-five patients suffering from severe emphysema were included in the study. All patients underwent inspiratory MDCT (Aquilion-16, slice thickness 1/0.8 mm). The raw data were reconstructed using six different algorithms: bone kernel with beam hardening correction (BHC), soft tissue kernel with BHC; standard soft tissue kernel, smooth soft tissue kernel (internal reference standard), standard lung kernel, and high-convolution kernel. The only difference between image data sets was the algorith…
Allelic variants of IL1R1gene associate with severe hand osteoarthritis
2010
Background In search for genes predisposing to osteoarthritis (OA), several genome wide scans have provided evidence for linkage on 2q. In this study we targeted a 470 kb region on 2q11.2 presenting the locus with most evidence for linkage to severe OA of distal interphalangeal joints (DIP) in our genome wide scan families. Methods We genotyped 32 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this 470 kb region comprising six genes belonging to the interleukin 1 superfamily and monitored for association with individual SNPs and SNP haplotypes among severe familial hand OA cases (material extended from our previous linkage study; n = 134), unrelated end-stage bilateral primary knee OA cases (n =…
Somatosensory amplification - An old construct from a new perspective.
2017
The paper reviews and summarizes the history and the development of somatosensory amplification, a construct that plays a substantial role in symptom reports. Although the association with negative affect has been supported by empirical findings, another key elements of the original concept (i.e. body hypervigilance and the tendency of focusing on mild body sensations) have never been appropriately addressed. Recent findings indicate that somatosensory amplification is connected with phenomena that do not necessarily include symptoms (e.g. modern health worries, or expectations of symptoms and medication side effects), and also with the perception of external threats. In conclusion, somatos…
Does Experience Influence Perception of Dyspnea?
2006
OBJECTIVE: The perception of somatic sensations like dyspnea can be influenced by such factors as an individuals personality, experiences, or ability to adapt to stimuli. Our aim was to determine whether the perception of acute bronchoconstriction is different for patients with asthma and patients who have never experienced an episode of airway obstruction. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We studied 2 groups of patients. The first consisted of 24 subjects with intermittent rhinitis and asthma (10 females and 14 males) with a mean (SD) age of 25 (7) years. All reported not feeling dyspnea at rest on a Borg scale. The second group consisted of 24 subjects who only had rhinitis but no lung disease (no ep…
Mixing against culture vs mixing against nature: ontologization of prohibited interethnic relationships.
2009
In this paper, we develop the theory of ontologization: Social representations that prevent members of minority and majority groups who are living in contact with each other to mingle. The process of ontologization consists of separating some humans from their own species, and anchoring them in another environment, that of an animal, for example. We propose that underlying the famous slogan "equal but separate" is the social representation of interracial mixing as a "counter-nature" phenomenon. It is predicted that a sexual relationship between people of different "races" leads to a greater degree of ontologization, and, as such, this miscegenation will be explained in terms of biologistic …
Central obesity and hypertensionThe role of plasma endothelin
1996
Hypertension and central obesity are two conditions closely linked, but the mechanisms responsible for obesity-associated hypertension are still unclear. In the last few years, several studies addressed the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the development and maintenance of hypertension. This study was designed to evaluate plasma ET-1 in normotensive and hypertensive central obese subjects compared with a lean healthy group. Our final goal was to analyze the relationship between plasma ET-1, blood pressure, and left ventricular structure and function in central obese subjects (both normotensives and hypertensives). ET-levels have been assessed by the radioimmunoassay method in 20 lean normote…
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Patient Assessment of Constipation-Symptoms (PAC-SYM) among patients with chronic constipation.
2015
Background and aim: PAC-SYM is widely adopted to asses constipation severity. However, it has been validated in a small sample, few items have been included based on expert opinion and not on empirical grounds, and its factor structure has never been replicated. We aimed at evaluating the psychometric properties of PAC-SYM in patients with chronic constipation. Methods: We enrolled 2,203 outpatients with chronic constipation in two waves. We used wave I sample to test the psychometric properties of the PAC-SYM and wave II sample to cross-validate its factor structure, to assess criterion validity, responsiveness to clinical change, and its minimal clinically important difference. Results: O…
Comparison of 4% articaine with epinephrine (1:100,000) and without epinephrine in inferior alveolar block for tooth extraction: double-blind randomi…
2011
The purpose of this clinical prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine with epinephrine (1:100,000) and without epinephrine in inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia for extractions of mandibular teeth.Eighty-eight patients received intraoral inferior alveolar nerve blocks using 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine (n = 41; group 1) or without epinephrine (n = 47; group 2) for extractions of mandibular teeth. The primary objectives were differences in onset as well as in length of soft tissue anesthesia. The amount of anesthetic solution, need of a second injection, pain while injecting, pain during treatment, postoperative pain,…
Development and construct validation of the angioedema quality of life questionnaire
2012
Background Recurrent angioedema is a frequent clinical problem characterized by unpredictably and rapidly occurring cutaneous and mucosal swellings. These swellings may be painful and/or disfiguring. Upper airway involvement can also lead to dyspnea and suffocation. Although the disease burden is high, there is currently no specific instrument to measure health-related quality of life (QoL) impairment. Objective To develop and validate the first symptom-specific tool to assess QoL impairment in recurrent angioedema patients, adhering to established methodological recommendations. Methods During the development phase, 29 questions (items) were generated. Subsequently, item reduction was perf…