Search results for "semi"
showing 10 items of 3894 documents
B-Lines for the assessment of extravascular lung water: Just focused or semi-quantitative?
2020
BACKGROUND B-lines as typical artefacts of lung ultrasound are considered as surrogate measurement for extravascular lung water. However, B-lines develop in the sub-pleural space and do not allow assessment of the whole lung. Here, we present data from the first observational multi-centre study focusing on the correlation between a B-lines score and extravascular lung water in critically ill patients suffering from a variety of diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS In 184 adult patients, 443 measurements were obtained. B-lines were counted and expressed in a score which was compared to extravascular lung water, measured by single-indicator transpulmonary thermodilution. Appropriate correlation coe…
Identification of a novel LMF1 nonsense mutation responsible for severe hypertriglyceridemia by targeted next-generation sequencing
2016
Background Severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) may result from mutations in genes affecting the intravascular lipolysis of triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins. Objective The aim of this study was to develop a targeted next-generation sequencing panel for the molecular diagnosis of disorders characterized by severe HTG. Methods We developed a targeted customized panel for next-generation sequencing Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine to capture the coding exons and intron/exon boundaries of 18 genes affecting the main pathways of TG synthesis and metabolism. We sequenced 11 samples of patients with severe HTG (TG>885 mg/dL–10 mmol/L): 4 positive controls in whom pathogenic mutations had pre…
A semi-automatic approach for epicardial adipose tissue segmentation and quantification on cardiac CT scans
2019
Abstract Many studies have shown that epicardial fat is associated with a higher risk of heart diseases. Accurate epicardial adipose tissue quantification is still an open research issue. Considering that manual approaches are generally user-dependent and time-consuming, computer-assisted tools can considerably improve the result repeatability as well as reduce the time required for performing an accurate segmentation. Unfortunately, fully automatic strategies might not always identify the Region of Interest (ROI) correctly. Moreover, they could require user interaction for handling unexpected events. This paper proposes a semi-automatic method for Epicardial Fat Volume (EFV) segmentation a…
Fever of Unclear Origin and Cytopenia Because of Acute Splenic Sequestration in a Young Immunocompetent Carrier of Beta-Globin Mutation for Hb Vallet…
2008
Fever of unclear origin is a clinical challenge in medical practice. Infectious diseases, neoplasms, and collagen vascular illnesses are its main causes in adults and children. Acute splenic sequestration crises, a known potentially fatal complication of sickle cell disease and sickle beta-thalassemia, are uncommon in beta-heterozygosis. We describe a case of prolonged recurrent episodes of fever with spontaneous resolution, commencing at age 10 in a 15-year-old boy with a history of hypochromic microcytic anemia attributed to a thalassemic trait. He was admitted twice to our university hospital for continuous-remittent fever with a pruritic, macular evanescent Still's skin rash, severe spl…
Efficacy of Rapamycin as Inducer of Hb F in Primary Erythroid Cultures from Sickle Cell Disease and β-Thalassemia Patients.
2015
Phenotypic improvement of hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia (β-thal) has been shown in patients with high levels of Hb F. Among the drugs proposed to increase Hb F production, hydroxyurea (HU) is currently the only one proven to improve the clinical course of these diseases. However, Hb F increase and patient's response are highly variable, indicating that new pharmacological agents could be useful for patients not responding to HU or showing a reduction of response during long-term therapy. In this study we evaluated the efficacy of rapamycin, a lypophilic macrolide used for the prevention of acute rejection in renal transplant recipients, as an inducer of Hb…
Prospective study of the 532 nm laser (KTP) versus diode laser 980 nm in the resection of hyperplastic lesions of the oral cavity
2018
Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the resection of hyperplastic lesions on the buccal mucosa comparing the 532nm laser (KTP), versus diode 980nm laser, considering pain, scarring, inflammation and drug consumption that occurred postoperatively with each lasers. Material and Methods A prospective study of consecutive series of 20 patients in two groups that presents hyperplastic lesions on the buccal mucosa. The choice of the KTP laser or diode 980nm laser for the surgery was made randomly. The power used was 1.5W in both groups in a continuous wave mode with a 320 μm optical fiber. Parameters of pain, scarring, inflammation and consumption of drugs were recorded by a Numerical…
Phonological-Lexical Feedback during Early Abstract Encoding: The Case of Deaf Readers.
2016
In the masked priming technique, physical identity between prime and target enjoys an advantage over nominal identity in nonwords (GEDA-GEDA faster than geda-GEDA). However, nominal identity overrides physical identity in words (e.g., REAL-REAL similar to real-REAL). Here we tested whether the lack of an advantage of the physical identity condition for words was due to top-down feedback from phonological-lexical information. We examined this issue with deaf readers, as their phonological representations are not as fully developed as in hearing readers. Results revealed that physical identity enjoyed a processing advantage over nominal identity not only in nonwords but also in words (GEDA-GE…
Hematopoietic peripheral circulating blood stem cells as an independent marker of good transfusion management in patients with β-thalassemia: results…
2015
Beyond hemoglobin (Hb) levels and performance status, further surrogate markers of appropriate transfusion management should improve the quality of thalassemia care. We investigated the levels of peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells as an independent marker of appropriate hematopoietic balance in patients with thalassemia.Peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells, colony-forming unitgranulocyte, erythrocyte, macrophage, magakaryocyte (CF-GEMM), colony-forming unitgranulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM), and erythroidburst-forming units (BFU-E) were assayed, according to standard procedures. Patients with thalassemia major (TM) and thalassemia intermedia (TI) were tested and compared to healthy con…
Cognitive deficits in beta-thalassemia major.
2000
OBJECTIVES: To assess cognitive functioning in patients affected by beta-thalassemia major (beta-th) by using a neuropsychological battery, and to identify clinical correlates. MATERIAL AND METHODS:Forty-six beta-th patients and 46 controls similar for age, sex, and education participated in the study. All subjects performed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery including tests of abstract reasoning, attention, executive functions, language, constructional/visuospatial skills, and memory. RESULTS:Compared to controls beta-th patients, in particular those showing signs of hemosiderosis, were significantly impaired on all neuropsychological tests. There was no relationship between cognit…
Early magnesium reduction in advanced colorectal cancer patients treated with cetuximab plus irinotecan as predictive factor of efficacy and outcome
2008
Abstract Introduction: Magnesium plays a role in a large number of cellular metabolic reactions. Cetuximab is able to induce hypomagnesemia by interfering with magnesium (Mg2+) transport in the kidney. We designed this trial to investigate if Mg2+ serum level modifications may be related with clinical response and outcome in advanced colorectal cancer patients during treatment with cetuximab plus irinotecan. Experimental Design: Sixty-eight heavily pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer patients were evaluated for Mg2+ serum levels at the following time points: before; 6 hours; and 1, 7, 14, 21, 50, and 92 days after the start of treatment. Results: Basal Mg2+ median levels were significan…