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At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

[Modern ceramic-on-ceramic bearings in total hip arthroplasty].

OBJECTIVE: Ceramic bearings in total hip arthroplasty were already employed three decades ago, but due to high failure rates, their application decreased. However, improved material and design have led to their regaining popularity. The present study evaluates the short-term results of a modern ceramic-on-ceramic bearing in total hip prosthesis. METHODS: 229 total hip arthroplasties, alpha Cera Fit, were implanted in 227 patients over a 12-month period. A follow-up, at a minimum of 36 months, was performed. In addition to demographics, the Harris Hip-Score was used to calculate the clinical results and radiological control was also carried out. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of surgery was 64.6 (+/- 11.7) years. There was no case of deep infection, four patients had superficial wound healing disorders. 197/227 patients with 199 total hip arthroplasties were available for follow-up, with a mean follow-up time of 42 (+/- 2.9) months. The mean Harris Hip-Score was 94.3 (+/- 6.8). Radiological evaluation did not reveal any signs of lysis or loosening. Massive periarticular calcification was seen in three patients, with one that needed surgical debridement. CONCLUSION: The presented modern ceramic-on-ceramic bearings in total hip arthroplasty show excellent clinical and radiological short-term results. The material-related complications reported in former publications were no longer seen.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Whether modern cell technologies can break down biological limitations of tissue-specific regeneration of the myocardium.

The paper reviews modern concepts of physiological and reparative regeneration of the myocardium as a highly specific and highly differentiated tissue system. Special attention was given to evaluation of the proliferative potential of cardiomyocytes, in particular, to the existence of a population of resident cardiac stem cells in the myocardium. Modern approaches to replenishment of massive cardiomyocyte loss via transplantation and transdifferentiation of adult and embryonic stem cells are discussed and the possibilities of using cell technologies for induction of tissue-specific regeneration of the myocardium are analyzed.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Subjective health complaints and modern health worries in patients with subjective food hypersensitivity.

Perceived food hypersensitivity is much more common than food allergy as medically verified. Unexplained symptoms and wrong attribution are typical in subjective health complaints. We hypothesize that subjective health complaints and worries are abnormally prevalent among patients with subjective food hypersensitivity. Forty-six patients with subjective food hypersensitivity and two control groups, one formed by 50 health care workers and one by 70 sex- and age-matched volunteers from the general population, were included in our study. All filled in two questionnaires: Subjective Health Complaints Inventory and Modern Health Worries Scale. None of the patients had IgE-mediated food allergy. The patients scored significantly higher than the controls on sum scores for four domains of subjective health complaints, including gastrointestinal complaints (P < 0.001), musculoskeletal complaints (P < 0.01), "pseudoneurology" (P < 0.001), and allergy (P < 0.001). Sum scores on modern health worries did not differ significantly between groups. The results support our hypothesis of an association between subjective food hypersensitivity and subjective health complaints, corroborating the view that, in the absence of food allergy, the conditions are sharing pathogenetic mechanisms.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Genetic diversity in Chinese modern wheat varieties revealed by microsatellite markers.

Genetic diversity of 1680 modern varieties in Chinese candidate core collections was analyzed at 78 SSR loci by fluorescence detection system. A total of 1336 alleles were detected, of which 1253 alleles could be annotated into 71 loci. For these 71 loci, the alleles ranged from 4 to 44 with an average of 17.6, and the PIC values changed from 0.19 to 0.89 with an average of 0.69. (1) In the three genomes of wheat, the average genetic richness was B>A>D, and the genetic diversity indexes were B>D>A. (2) Among the seven homoeologous groups, the average genetic richness was 2=7>3>4>6>5>1, and the genetic diversity indexes were 7>3>2>4>6>5>1. As a whole, group 7 possessed the highest genetic diversity, while groups 1 and 5 were the lowest. (3) In the 21 wheat chromosomes, 7A, 3B and 2D possessed much higher genetic diversity, while 2A, 1B, 4D, 5D and 1D were the lowest. (4) The highest average genetic diversity index existed in varieties bred in the 1950s, and then it declined continually. However, the change tendency of genetic diversity among decades was not greatly sharp. This was further illustrated by changes of the average genetic distance between varieties. In the 1950s it was the largest (0.731). Since the 1960s, it has decreased gradually (0.711, 0.706, 0.696, 0.695). The genetic base of modern varieties is becoming narrower and narrower. This should be given enough attention by breeders and policy makers.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood biochemical reference ranges for sows under modern management conditions.

Published reference ranges for blood biochemistry in swine generally do not relate to sows in modern breeding units, and results were often obtained by methods that are now outdated. The ranges widely used in clinical practice reflect these inappropriate sources. The data presented here were obtained using modern methods of analysis on blood samples from healthy, conventionally managed sows from six breeding herds of known disease status in eastern England, and thus represent appropriate ranges for this class of swine. The values differ from earlier reports principally in higher values for total bilirubin, creatine kinase, and more particularly of total plasma and serum proteins. The latter are shown to be due to higher immunoglobulin concentrations than those previously reported.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

The discovery of neuronopathy and neuropathy as a cause of progressive paralysis in childhood. The historical origins of modern differential diagnosis in neuromuscular disease.

The concept of the differential diagnosis has a central place in all clinical medicine. In neurology and paediatrics, evolution of thought concerning the differential diagnosis of the child presenting with symptoms of neuromuscular disease was far in advance of similar diagnostic approaches to problems of infectious, infective and neoplastic disease; and as such forms a significant historical model for the development of modern clinical approaches to the sick or disabled child. The account presented in this paper provides a detailed historical review of the development of thought relating to the causes of neuromuscular disease. Nosological developments concerning diseases of the motor unit can be conveniently classified into three periods: (a) a "state of the art" period to 1850; (b) 1850-1890 - a period of parallel and interdependent advances in both normal neuro-anatomy and neurophysiology, and diseases recognized as variations from such norms. In this era Duchenne was the first to write about the differential diagnosis of the progressive muscular paralysis in childhood; and Gowers was the first to write specifically on the hereditary transmission of this group of diseases; (c) in 1891 was described the first case of childhood neuronopathy recognized as such, and with this development was ushered in the modern era of clinical differential diagnosis of childhood neuromuscular disease. The "splitters" have won the great debate concerning the clinical approach to neurological diseases. The continual further refining of an exact diagnosis is the only way in which a realistic prognosis can be forecast, correct genetic counseling can be offered, and (if the condition is treatable) optimal therapy can be introduced.

Europe↗
PubMed1985

Medulloblastomas: a review of modern management with a report on 75 cases.

The authors summarize the 8-year experience of a tertiary medical center with 75 cases of medulloblastoma in Saudi Arabia. A discussion of the evolution of modern management of this difficult problem ensues. As 5-year survival statistics approach 80% in some institutions, attention is being focused on the long-term effects of modern therapy and the quality of life led by these children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Thermoluminescence dating of Neanderthal and early modern humans in the Near East.

Archaeological excavations in Europe provide no evidence for the first modern humans pre-dating Neanderthal man. In the Near East, however, a quite different sequence seems to have pertained. Thermoluminescence dating indicates that at some sites the modern humans were settled some 30,000 years before the Neanderthals. This raises the possibility of two lines of descent from a common ancestor.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

A dialogue between practitioners of alternative (traditional) medicine and modern (western) medicine in Norway.

This paper tells about a 'dialogue group', consisting of alternative and modern health practitioners, that was started in Norway in 1989, how it works and what has been achieved up to now. WHO has strongly advocated promotion of cooperation between traditional and modern health practitioners. In Botswana, where one of the general practitioners in the group has practiced, 'United Health Committees' have been established aiming at creating a dialogue between the different types of health professionals. In industrialized countries little seems to have been done so far. Many patients in Norway, as in many other countries, consult ordinary doctors as well as alternative practitioners. In Norway, members of these two professions almost never meet, other than as opponents. They receive information about each other mostly through discontented patients who have been unsuccessfully treated by the other part. In this way practitioners get an insufficient and biased report of one another's practices, as well as an unrealistic and distorted picture. If patients know that both parts respect one another, then most of them dare to tell that they use both types of practitioners. Otherwise many patients conceal this.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1981

Hierarchical organization, integrations in biology and cancer, balance loss, and a question on modernism.

The hierarchical organization of biological processes is considered in the light of universal interrelationships of each and every factor affecting open systems such as human life. The maintenance of health and/or the production of disease are viewed at different levels of biological organization as related to the dualistic concept. The relative effects of environmental versus genetic tendencies in the pathogenesis of "disease" are mathematically formulated as related to time and location. Psychological determinants are considered as cause and as consequence of the onset of somatic disease. The multifactorial aspects of chronic pathology are seen in relation to dominant tendencies in life and in medical sciences, as well as to individual factors. The "non-specificity" of some aspects of cancer as related to "Adaptation" is advanced. Doubts are raised regarding the ultimate value of modern technological achievements and overspecialization per se, as well as on the lines followed by modern trends in the organization of cancer research. Finally, the increasing need for progressive thoughtful integration versus increasing specialization is stressed.

Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modern pediatric ultrasound: potential applications and clinical significance. A review.

After the introduction of ultrasound (US), the new imaging modality was first warmly welcomed, but then lost reputation and importance particularly in radiology leading to an increasing number of other -- particularly computed tomography (CT) -- investigations, which especially in pediatrics was a potentially dangerous development considering the radiation hazards. However, innovative and creative US approaches as well as new US techniques such as amplitude-coded color Doppler, harmonic and high-resolution imaging, and US contrast media or three-dimensional US have been introduced over the past decade and significantly broadened the potential of US. Thus, now, the role of US has been widened in many conditions and queries, and US today may well play a more pronounced and essential role in modern imaging algorithms at still relatively low cost, with sufficient diagnostic accuracy and conspicuity. Particularly in the pediatric setting, these new capabilities are applicable in many queries and almost all body regions and should be used to reduce the number of more invasive or radiating and relatively costly examinations that often additionally need some sedation or intravenous iodinated contrast material. To readily provide this approach for sick children, we need to promote the knowledge about modern US capabilities, to train US staff to guarantee 24-h availability of adequate pediatric US performance, and to make it known to the referring clinicians.

Child↗
PubMed2004

A meta-analysis of randomised trials suggests a survival benefit for combined radiotherapy and radical cystectomy compared with radical radiotherapy for invasive bladder cancer: are these data relevant to modern practice?

OBJECTIVE: Treatment options for muscle-invasive bladder cancer include radical cystectomy or radical radiotherapy, and the prevailing choice varies by country. The ideal treatment would be a bladder-preserving therapy without compromising survival. The objective of this review was to compare the overall survival after radical surgery (cystectomy) with radical radiotherapy in patients with muscle-invasive cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Medline, EMBASE, Cancerlit, Healthstar and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness. Authors of unpublished data were contacted. Randomised trials comparing surgery (alone or with preoperative radiotherapy) with radiotherapy were eligible for assessment. Three reviewers assessed trial quality based on the Cochrane Guidelines. Data were extracted from the text of the article or extrapolated from the Kaplan-Meier plot. The Peto odds ratio was determined to compare the overall survival and disease-specific survival. Analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis and treatment actually received. RESULTS: No randomised trials comparing surgery alone with radiotherapy alone were identified. Three randomised trials comparing preoperative radiotherapy followed by radical cystectomy (surgery) versus radical radiotherapy with salvage cystectomy (radical radiotherapy) were eligible for assessment. These trials represented a total of 439 patients, 221 randomised to surgery and 218 to radical radiotherapy. Three trials were combined for the overall survival results, and one was evaluable for the disease-specific survival analysis. The mean overall survival (intention-to-treat analysis) at 3 and 5 years were 45% and 36% for surgery, and 28% and 20% for radiotherapy, respectively. Peto odds ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) analysis consistently favoured surgery in terms of overall survival. The results were significantly in favour of surgery at 3 years (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.30-2.82) and at 5 years (OR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.22 -2.82). On a treatment-received basis, the results were significantly in favour of surgery at 3 years (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.17-2.90) and 5 years (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.39-3.38) for overall survival, and at 3 years (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.06-3.65) for disease-specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of this review suggests that there is an overall survival benefit with combined preoperative radiotherapy plus radical surgery compared with radical radiotherapy plus salvage cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, it must be considered that only three trials were included for analysis, the patient numbers were small and that many patients did not receive the treatment they were randomised to. It must also be noted that many improvements in radiotherapy and surgery have taken place since the initiation of these trials; therefore, the data may not be readily extrapolated to modern practice. Ideally, a new trial comparing modern bladder-sparing therapy with the latest surgical approach to this disease is required.

Cystectomy↗
PubMed2006

On the emergence of modern humans.

The emergence of modern humans with their extraordinary cognitive capacities is ascribed to a novel type of cognitive computational process (sustained non-routine multi-level operations) required for abstract projectuality, held to be the common denominator of the cognitive capacities specific to modern humans. A brain operation (latching) that allows this novel computational process is proposed as well as a physics-inspired mechanism that could explain its rather recent emergence without invoking unlikely genetic or structural changes.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Defining reference conditions for acidified waters using a modern analogue approach.

Analogue matching is a palaeolimnological technique that aims to find matches for fossil sediment samples from a set of modern surface sediment samples. Modern analogues were identified that closely matched the pre-disturbance conditions of eight of the UK Acid Waters Monitoring Network (AWMN) lakes using diatom- and cladoceran-based analogue matching. These analogue sites were assessed in terms of hydrochemistry, aquatic macrophytes and macro-invertebrates as to their suitability for defining wider hydrochemical and biological reference conditions for acidified sites within the AWMN. The analogues identified for individual AWMN sites show a close degree of similarity in terms of their hydrochemical characteristics, aquatic macrophytes and, to a lesser extent, macro-invertebrate fauna. The reference conditions of acidified AWMN sites are inferred to be less acidic than today and to support a wider range of acid-sensitive aquatic macrophyte and macro-invertebrate taxa than that recorded in the AWMN lakes over the period of monitoring since 1988.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Use of talectomy in modern foot and ankle surgery.

Talectomy is a procedure that is undertaken rarely in modern orthopedic surgery; however, it has been performed for many years. Talectomy has been used most commonly in pediatric orthopedics with some degree of success in severe clubfoot deformity, arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, myelomeningocele, tuberculosis, and tumors. In adults, talectomy has been used in salvage procedures that involve nonunion of ankle fusions, failed total ankle arthroplasty, inflammatory arthropathy, neuroarthropathy, failed talar prostheses, failed pantalar fusions, adult neglected clubfoot, posttraumatic avascular necrosis talus, and deformities that are due to sciatic nerve palsy and compartment syndrome. This article consider what place talectomy has in modern adult foot and ankle surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Communities' views on prerequisites for collaboration between modern and traditional health sectors in relation to STI/HIV/AIDS care in Zambia.

Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TM/CAM) is globally increasing in popularity. The World Health Organization (WHO) has advocated for the integration of TM/CAM in national public health policies to enhance health care resources. Interest in collaboration between traditional and biomedical health sectors has been renewed in attempts to strengthen control of the AIDS epidemic. However, studies exploring communities' views on the prerequisites for such collaboration are inexistent. We conducted 21 focus group discussions with community members in two Zambian urban centres (Ndola and Kabwe) to explore their perspectives on preconditions for useful collaboration between traditional and modern health workers in the management of STIs and HIV/AIDS. This study shows that laypersons' perspectives can be rich and inform complex policy issues. Five categories indicating key areas of actions were identified, including protection of traditional medicine and of compensation of healers, education of both groups of providers and adequate community involvement. The respect for some degree of secrecy in traditional medicine was also called for. As part of efforts to strengthen available resources for better care of STI/HIV/AIDS, this study provides policymakers, researchers and practitioners with an outline of fundamentals in terms of needed crucial changes at health policy level, among providers and in the community for sustainable collaboration between modern and traditional health practitioners.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Treatment results for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the modern era: the Hong Kong experience.

PURPOSE: To analyze the treatment results achievable for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the modern era to identify the key failures for future improvement and to provide an updated baseline for future trials. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The results of 2687 consecutive patients treated at all public oncology centers in Hong Kong during 1996-2000 were retrospectively analyzed. The stage distribution (by American Joint Committee on Cancer and International Union Against Cancer staging system, 1997) was 7% Stage I, 41% Stage II, 25% Stage III, and 28% Stage IVA-B. All patients were irradiated with 6-MV photons and the median total dose was 66 Gy. Only 23% of patients had additional treatment with chemotherapy. RESULTS: The 5-year local, nodal, and distant failure-free rates were 85%, 94%, and 81%, respectively; patients with local failure had significantly higher risk of nodal and distant failures. The 5-year progression-free, overall, and cancer-specific survival rates were 63%, 75%, and 80%, respectively. The presenting stage was the most important prognostic factor for all endpoints: with overall survival decreasing from 90% for Stage I to 58% for Stage IVA-B. The results achieved by the 2070 patients treated by radiotherapy alone were almost identical to that of the whole series, the distant failure-free rate among patients with locoregional control was 89% for Stage I-II and 75% for Stage III-IVB. The 860 patients (32%) staged with magnetic resonance imaging achieved significantly better results than those staged by computed tomography, the overall survival being 93% vs. 83% for Stages I-II, and 72% vs. 63% for Stages III-IVB (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment results for nasopharyngeal carcinoma have substantially improved in the modern era; future trials should be based on updated baseline results. Further reduction of distant failure is important for future breakthrough, particularly for patients with advanced disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

StdpC: a modern dynamic clamp.

With the advancement of computer technology many novel uses of dynamic clamp have become possible. We have added new features to our dynamic clamp software StdpC ("Spike timing-dependent plasticity Clamp") allowing such new applications while conserving the ease of use and installation of the popular earlier Dynclamp 2/4 package. Here, we introduce the new features of a waveform generator, freely programmable Hodgkin-Huxley conductances, learning synapses, graphic data displays, and a powerful scripting mechanism and discuss examples of experiments using these features. In the first example we built and 'voltage clamped' a conductance based model cell from a passive resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit using the dynamic clamp software to generate the voltage-dependent currents. In the second example we coupled our new spike generator through a burst detection/burst generation mechanism in a phase-dependent way to a neuron in a central pattern generator and dissected the subtle interaction between neurons, which seems to implement an information transfer through intraburst spike patterns. In the third example, making use of the new plasticity mechanism for simulated synapses, we analyzed the effect of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) on synchronization revealing considerable enhancement of the entrainment of a post-synaptic neuron by a periodic spike train. These examples illustrate that with modern dynamic clamp software like StdpC, the dynamic clamp has developed beyond the mere introduction of artificial synapses or ionic conductances into neurons to a universal research tool, which might well become a standard instrument of modern electrophysiology.

Action Potentials↗