Clinics
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Comparative Study
"Shadow" OSCE examiner. A cross-sectional study comparing the "shadow" examiner with the original OSCE examiner format.
Feedback is a powerful learning tool, but a lack of appropriate feedback is a very common complaint from learners to teachers. To improve opportunities for feedback on objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), a modified examiner role, termed the "shadow" examiner, was tested. This study aims to present and analyze comparisons between the "shadow" examiner and the original OSCE examiner format. ⋯ The modified examiner role did not lead to any important bias in the students' scores compared with the original OSCE examiner format. This new strategy may provide important insights for formative assessments of clinical performance.
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Evaluate the use of probiotics as an additional therapy in the treatment of children and adolescents with asthma in Belo Horizonte, MG-Brazil. ⋯ This pilot study supports the hypothesis that the administration of probiotics as a supplementary therapy for the treatment of children and adolescents with asthma improves the clinical condition of the patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of probiotics in asthma treatment.
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Nonalcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD) is characterized by excessive fat deposition in the pancreas in the absence of alcohol consumption. In this study, we aimed to detect a possible relationship between adipose tissue accumulation, prediabetes and diabetes. ⋯ NAFPD was independently correlated with both prediabetes and type 2 diabetes adjusted for age (p=0.0001) in this study. Additionally, age was determined to be an independent risk factor and was correlated with NAFPD.
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Rapidly dividing cells in multiple types of cancer and inflammatory diseases undergo high low density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake for membrane synthesis, and coupling an LDL-like nanoemulsion, containing lipid nanoparticles (LDE) to a chemotherapeutic agent efficiently targets these cells without significant systemic effects. This was a prospective exploratory study that evaluated the uptake of a radioactively labeled LDE emulsion by receptors of endometriotic foci and the capacity of the LDE for cellular internalization. ⋯ Nanotechnology is a promising therapeutic option for surgery and hormonal blockage for deep endometriosis, with a lower complication rate and no systemic side effects.
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Approximately one-third of candidates for epilepsy surgery have no visible abnormalities on conventional magnetic resonance imaging. This is extremely discouraging, as these patients have a less favorable prognosis. We aimed to evaluate the utility of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging in patients with drug-resistant neocortical focal epilepsy and negative imaging. ⋯ Although quantitative magnetic resonance imaging analyses may suggest hidden structural lesions, caution is warranted because of the apparent low specificity of these findings for the epileptogenic zone. Conversely, these methods can be used to prevent visible lesions from being ignored, even in referral centers. In parallel, we need to highlight the positive contribution of the volumetric fluid-attenuated sequence.