BioMed research international
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The presence of aortic arch calcification (AoAC) and cardiomegaly on chest radiography has been demonstrated as important risk factors for cardiovascular mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the interrelationship among AoAC, cardiomegaly, and renal function progression remains unclear. The aim of this study is to assess whether AoAC and cardiomegaly are independently associated with the renal function progression in patients with stages 3-5 CKD. ⋯ The coexistence of AoAC and cardiomegaly is associated with faster eGFR decline. AoAC is an independent determinant of renal outcomes in patients with CKD stages 3-5.
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Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), which has biomechanical performance similar to that of human cancellous bone, is used widely as a spinal implant material. However, its bioinertness and hydrophobic surface properties result in poor osseointegration. This study applies a novel modification method, arc ion plating (AIP), that produces a highly osteoblast compatible titanium dioxide (TiO2) coatings on a PEEK substrate. ⋯ Most importantly, bone bonding performance of the TiO2/PEEK implant was superior to that of bare PEEK. The rutile-TiO2 coatings achieved better osseointegration than the anatase-TiO2 coatings. Therefore, AIP-TiO2 can serve as a novel surface modification method on PEEK for spinal interbody fusion cages.
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The aim of the study was to investigate workplace incivility as a social process, examining its components and relationships to both instigated incivility and negative outcomes in the form of well-being, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and sleeping problems. The different components of incivility that were examined were experienced and witnessed incivility from coworkers as well as supervisors. In addition, the organizational factors, social support, control, and job demands, were included in the models. ⋯ Overall, the results from structural equation modelling indicate that whereas instigated incivility to a large extent was explained by witnessing coworker incivility, negative outcomes were to a high degree explained by experienced supervisor incivility via mediation through perceived low social support, low control, and high job demands. Unexpectedly, the relationships between incivility (experienced coworker and supervisor incivility, as well as witnessed supervisor incivility) and instigated incivility were moderated by perceived high control and high social support. The results highlight the importance of including different components of workplace incivility and organizational factors in future studies of the area.
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Even though neuroimaging and clinical studies indicate that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) manifests with distinct clinical phenotypes, no objective test exists to assess upper motor degeneration in ALS. There is great interest in identifying biomarkers of ALS to allow earlier diagnosis and to recognize disease subtypes. Current quantitative neuroimaging techniques such as T2 relaxometry and diffusion tensor imaging are time-consuming to use in clinical settings due to extensive postprocessing requirements. ⋯ BPF was calculated using intracranial grey matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid volumes obtained in control and ALS subgroups using SPM8 software. Only ALS-FTD patients had significant reduction in BPF when compared to controls and nondemented ALS patients. Correlation of clinical measures such as disease duration with BPF further supports the view that the BPF could be a potential biomarker for clinical diagnosis of ALS-FTD patients.
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Clinical Trial
Efficacy of Olanzapine Combined Therapy for Patients Receiving Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy Resistant to Standard Antiemetic Therapy.
Olanzapine is proved to be effective for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). But its efficacy in combination with standard antiemetic therapy is unknown. The purpose of this study is to prove the preventive effect of olanzapine for the prevention of CINV caused by highly emetogenic chemotherapy when used with standard antiemetic therapy. ⋯ Preventive use of olanzapine combined with standard antiemetic therapy showed improvement in control of refractory nausea.