timmi

Orbital exenteration can lead to significant disfigurement causing considerable functional, cosmetic and psychological disturbances to the patient. Orbital prosthesis is important for the patient's cosmetic and psychological rehabilitation. A 49-year-old man received orbital exenteration and postoperative radiotherapy for malignant orbital carcinoma. In view of uncertain suitability and survival of osseointegrated implant in his case, a novel design of ocular implant consisting of a self-retaining magnetic spring retainer and a coupling silicone prosthesis was used...

Robot swarms are large-scale multirobot systems with decentralized control which means that each robot acts based only on local perception and on local coordination with neighboring robots. The decentralized approach to control confers number of potential benefits. In particular, inherent scalability and robustness are often highlighted as key distinguishing features of robot swarms compared with systems that rely on traditional approaches to multirobot coordination. It has, however, been shown that swarm robotics systems are not always fault tolerant...

Work within the US health care system has sought to improve outcomes, decrease costs, and improve the patient experience. Combining those three elements leads to value-added care. Quality improvement within neonatology has focused primarily on the improvement of clinical outcomes without explicit consideration of cost. Future improvement efforts in neonatology should consider opportunities to decrease or eliminate waste, and improve outcomes. Consideration of how a change affects all stakeholders reveals potential cost-saving opportunities, and developing aims with value in mind facilitates understanding and goal-setting with senior administrative leaders...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The optimal type of initial permanent access for hemodialysis among the elderly is controversial. Duration of central venous catheter dependence, patient comorbidities, and life expectancy are important considerations in whether to place an arteriovenous fistula or graft. We used an observational study design to compare clinical outcomes in elderly patients who initiated hemodialysis with a central venous catheter and subsequently had an arteriovenous fistula or graft placed...

To investigate the effects of alkylation at 5-OH and 20-OH of 2,3-dehydrosilybin on prostate cancer cell proliferation, the synthetic approaches to 5- or/and 20-O-alkyl-2,3-dehydrosilybins, through a multi-step sequence from commercially available silybin, have been successfully developed. The first three reactions in the syntheses were completed through a one-pot procedure by managing anaerobic and aerobic conditions. With these synthetic methods in hand, twenty-one 2,3-dehydrosilybins, including seven 20-O-alkyl, seven 5,20-O-dialkyl, and seven 5-O-alkyl-2,3-dehydrosilybins, have been achieved for the evaluation of their biological profiles...

This paper is part of the Clinical Trial Endpoints for Dialysis Vascular Access Project of the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Health Initiative. The purpose of this project is to promote research in vascular access by clarifying trial end points which would be best suited to inform decisions in those situations in which supportive clinical data are required. The focus of a portion of the project is directed toward arteriovenous access. There is a potential for interventional studies to be directed toward any of the events that may be associated with an arteriovenous access' evolution throughout its life cycle, which has been divided into five distinct phases...

Patients in the United States frequently initiate hemodialysis with a central venous catheter (CVC) and subsequently undergo placement of a new arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous graft (AVG). Little is known about the clinical and economic effects of initial vascular access choice. We identified 479 patients starting hemodialysis with a CVC at a large medical center (during 2004-2012) who subsequently had an AVF (n=295) or AVG (n=105) placed or no arteriovenous access (CVC group, n=71). Compared with patients receiving an AVG, those receiving an AVF had more frequent surgical access procedures per year (1...

The vascular access is the lifeline for the hemodialysis patient. In the United States, the Fistula First Breakthrough Initiative (FFBI) has been influential in improving use of arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) in prevalent hemodialysis patients. Currently, prevalent AVF rates are near the goal of 66% set forth by the original FFBI. However, central venous catheter (CVC) rates remain very high in the United States in patients initiating hemodialysis, nearly exceeding 80%. A new direction of the of the FFBI has focused on strategies to reduce CVC use, and subsequently the FFBI has now been renamed the "Fistula First-Catheter Last Initiative"...

Pedestrians regularly engage with their mobile phone whilst walking. The current study investigated how mobile phone use affects where people look (visual search behaviour) and how they negotiate a floor based hazard placed along the walking path. Whilst wearing a mobile eye tracker and motion analysis sensors, participants walked up to and negotiated a surface height change whilst writing a text, reading a text, talking on the phone, or without a phone. Differences in gait and visual search behaviour were found when using a mobile phone compared to when not using a phone...

Biological systems have evolved to utilize numerous proteins with capacity to bind polysaccharides for the purpose of optimizing their function. A well-known subset of these proteins with binding domains for the highly diverse sulfated polysaccharides are important growth factors involved in biological development and tissue repair. We report here on supramolecular sulfated glycopeptide nanostructures, which display a trisulfated monosaccharide on their surfaces and bind five critical proteins with different polysaccharide-binding domains...

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BACKGROUND: While the association of ethnic group with individual cardiovascular diseases has been studied, little is known about ethnic differences in the initial lifetime presentation of clinical cardiovascular disease in contemporary populations. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 1,068,318 people, aged ≥30 years and free from diagnosed CVD at baseline (90.9% White, 3.6% South Asian and 2.9% Black), using English linked electronic health records covering primary care, hospital admissions, acute coronary syndrome registry and mortality registry (CALIBER platform)...

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BACKGROUND: For acute myocardial infarction (AMI) without heart failure (HF), it is unclear if β-blockers are associated with reduced mortality. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to determine the association between β-blocker use and mortality in patients with AMI without HF or left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). METHODS: This cohort study used national English and Welsh registry data from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project...

Head and neck cancer is one of the leading malignancies worldwide. Due to the lack of symptoms in the early stage of the disease, about two thirds of patients present with locally advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. Even with significantly improved survival rates over the past two decades due to advanced imaging and treatment modalities, locoregional recurrence rates in patients with advanced disease ranges from 16% to 35%. Alternative therapeutic targets are being developed to improve survival outcomes...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Trematodes of the genus Aphalloides Dollfus, Chabaud & Golvan, 1957 reach maturity in their second intermediate host, small fishes of the family Gobionellidae, genera Pomatoschistus and Knipowitschia. Two morphologically similar species have been described from European waters: Aphalloides coelomicola Dollfus et al., 1957 in the Mediterranean Sea (including the brackish Black Sea region) and Aphalloides timmi Reimer, 1970 in the Baltic Sea. There was no difference in morphology and morphometry for specimens corresponding to A...

A 41-year-old woman presented with central chest discomfort. She had been previously well, was an ex-smoker and reported no regular medication. The ECG developed T-wave changes inferiorly and anterolaterally and troponin I concentrations were elevated confirming non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Cardiac catheterization showed severe spasm of the right and left anterior descending coronary arteries which resolved with intracoronary nitrates. She later volunteered that prior to presentation she had been taking non-prescription Acti-Phen a slimming agent containing phentermine...

There are many challenges in conducting rare disease research. The conditions are often poorly understood, small patient populations are dispersed around the world, and there are limited funding opportunities. Patient groups can serve as a key partner in overcoming these challenges, as they understand the impact of rare conditions on patients' lives. This gives patient groups valuable scientific insights into the disease. This can be used to create research strategies, address research bottlenecks and directly fund research that appropriately addresses patient needs...