Search results for "ICT"

2020

Background External validation of prognostic risk models is essential before they are implemented in clinical practice. This study evaluated the recently developed MEGNA score for survival prediction after resection of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), with a focus on the direct comparison of its prognostic value to that of the current International Union Against Cancer (UICC)/American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Cancer staging system. Material and methods Between 1997 and 2018, 417 consecutive patients with ICC were referred to our tertiary care centre and were retrospectively identified out of a dedicated clinical database. Of this group, 203 patients underwent surgical resectio…

Monofocal hepatocellular carcinoma: How much does size matter?

2020

Background & Aims: According to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system, monofocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is classified as early (BCLC A) irrespective of its size, even though controversies still exist regarding staging and treatment of large tumours. We aimed at evaluating the appropriate staging and treatment for large (>5 cm) monofocal (HCC). Methods: From the Italian Liver Cancer database, we selected 924 patients with small early monofocal HCC (2-5 cm; SEM-HCC), 163 patients with larger tumours (>5 cm; LEM-HCC) and 1048 intermediate stage patients (BCLC B). Results: LEM-HCC patients had a worse overall survival (OS) than SEM-HCC (31.0 vs 49.0 months; P…

Bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory activities of SCA40: studies in human isolated bronchus, human eosinophils, and in the guinea-pig in vivo.

1998

There is currently interest in the use of inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE) as potential anti-asthma agents. In this study we examined the effects of SCA40 (6-bromo-8-methylaminoimidazol-[1,2-a] pyrazine-2-carbonitrile), a preferential inhibitor of PDE 3 also endowed with PDE 4 and 5 inhibitory activities, on isolated bronchus and eosinophil functions and in an animal model of asthma. SCA40 (1 nM-0.1 mM) produced concentration-dependent inhibition of spontaneous and stimulated tone of human isolated bronchus and reached a maximal relaxation similar to that of theophylline (3 mM). The potency (-log EC50 values) of SCA40 against spontaneous tone (6.52 +/- 0.10) was grea…

Ca2+ entry blockers inhibit prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced cerebrovascular contractile responses in goats.

1991

We examined the effects of extracellular Ca2+ withdrawal and of Ca2+ entry blockers on goat cerebrovascular responses to prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha). We measured isometric tension in isolated middle cerebral arteries, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) in unanesthetized animals. PGF2 alpha produced concentration-dependent contractions of isolated arteries. The contractions were partially inhibited by incubation in Ca(2+)-free medium (by 63.1 +/- 1.8% without ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-amino-ethylether)-N,N,N',N'-tetra-a cetate (EGTA), and by 82.4 +/- 3.7% with EGTA). The Ca2+ entry blockers inhibited PGF2 alpha-elicited contraction and relaxed PGF2 alpha-precontracted arteries (nicardipine…

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D predicts severity and prognosis in stroke patients

2012

Background and purpose We aimed to evaluate the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and both clinical severity at admission and outcome at discharge in stroke patients. Methods From February 2010 to December 2010, consecutive stroke patients admitted to the Department of Neurology of Dijon, France, were identified. Clinical information was collected. Serum concentration of 25(OH)D was measured at baseline. Stroke severity was assessed at admission using the NIHSS score. Functional impairment was evaluated at discharge using the modified Rankin scale (m-Rankin). Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models. Results Of the 386 recorded patients, s…

Acute Nicotine Induces Anxiety and Disrupts Temporal Pattern Organization of Rat Exploratory Behavior in Hole-Board: A Potential Role for the Lateral…

2015

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs of abuse. Tobacco smoking is a major cause of many health problems, and is the first preventable cause of death worldwide. Several findings show that nicotine exerts significant aversive as well as the well-known rewarding motivational effects. Less certain is the anatomical substrate that mediates or enables nicotine aversion. Here, we show that acute nicotine induces anxiogenic-like effects in rats at the doses investigated (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg, i.p.), as measured by the hole-board apparatus and manifested in behaviors such as decreased rearing and head-dipping and increased grooming. No changes in locomotor behavior were observed at any of …

Effect of cocaine and related drugs on the uptake of noradrenaline by heart and spleen

1961

Noradrenaline uptake by heart and spleen after intravenous infusion of noradrenaline was measured in the pithed rat. Cocaine, given before the infusion, inhibited the noradrenaline uptake in relation (a) to the dose administered and (b) to the amount of noradrenaline infused. There was an association between increase in the pressor response to a test dose of noradrenaline and inhibition of the uptake by the heart. Drugs related chemically to cocaine, such as alpha-cocaine, amethocaine, and atropine, did not alter the noradrenaline uptake or potentiate the blood pressure response to noradrenaline. The noradrenaline uptake by the heart was unchanged after dibenamine, but blocked by the dichlo…

2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported restrictive eating, current or past eating disorder, and menstrual dysfunction and their relationships with injuries. Furthermore, we aimed to compare these prevalences and associations between younger (aged 15–24) and older (aged 25–45) athletes, between elite and non-elite athletes, and between athletes competing in lean and non-lean sports. Data were collected using a web-based questionnaire. Participants were 846 female athletes representing 67 different sports. Results showed that 25%, 18%, and 32% of the athletes reported restrictive eating, eating disorders, and menstrual dysfunction, respectively. Higher ra…

Effectiveness of oral health education versus nicotine replacement therapy for tobacco cessation- a parallel randomized clinical trial.

2015

Background: India has millions of tobacco users. It is the leading cause of deaths due to oral cancer and hence needs effective strategies to curb it. Hence the aim of present study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of Oral Health Education (OHE) and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) in tobacco cessation. Material and Methods: The clinical trial consisted of Manohar Lal Kapoor (MLK) factory workers (n= 40) giving history of tobacco consumption (smoking/smokeless) within past 30 days. They were randomized into OHE (n=20) and NRT (n=20) groups. Baseline evaluation (demographic, smoking/ smokeless behaviour) was done. Fagerstrom test was used for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and to …

A novel heuristic algorithm for the modeling and risk assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic phenomenon

2020

This article belongs to the special issue: Soft computing techniques in materials science and engineering Summarization: The modeling and risk assessment of a pandemic phenomenon such as COVID-19 is an important and complicated issue in epidemiology, and such an attempt is of great interest for public health decision-making. To this end, in the present study, based on a recent heuristic algorithm proposed by the authors, the time evolution of COVID-19 is investigated for six different countries/states, namely New York, California, USA, Iran, Sweden and UK. The number of COVID-19-related deaths is used to develop the proposed heuristic model as it is believed that the predicted number of dai…