Częściowe usunięcie przytarczyc versus całkowite usunięcie przytarczyc z autoprzeszczepem we wtórnej nadczynności przytarczyc — jednoośrodkowe, prospektywne badanie w grupie 43 pacjentów

  Introduction: The need for parathyroidectomy remains high in the group of patients on long-term dialysis with medically refractory secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT). We aim to compare the results after subtotal parathyroidectomies (sPtx) and total parathyroidectomies with autotransplant (tPtx + AT) performed for sHPT at a single referral centre. Material and methods: This prospective study comparatively analysed sPtx and tPtx + AT performed in our department between February 2010 and December 2014. We followed-up both surgical techniques, with respect to the main clinical symptoms, laboratory data, mortality, and recurrent disease. Results: Forty-three patients on whom we performed 26 sPtx and 19 tPtx + AT were entered in the study. There were no statistically significant differences between groups as far as demographic and preoperative clinical data are concerned. We did not encounter postoperative mortality in either of the groups. The follow-up period was significantly longer for the sPtx group (p = 0.04). The immediate postoperative serum calcium levels were significantly lower in the tPtx + AT group (p = 0.009). Definitive hypoparathyroidism was encountered in two patients in the sPtx group (8.3%) and in one from the tPtx + AT group (5.26%). Four patients from the sPtx group (16.6%) and three from the tPtx + AT group (15.78%) died during the follow-up due to causes unrelated to parathyroidectomy. Overall we had two recurrences in the sPtx group and none in the tPtx + AT group (p = 0.57). Conclusions: In our opinion both techniques have comparable results concerning the clinical and laboratory outcomes and rates of postoperative hypoparathyroidism, at least in short- and medium-term follow-up. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (2): 202–209)    Wstęp: Potrzeba wykonywania zabiegu usunięcia przytarczyc pozostaje na wysokim poziomie wśród grupy pacjentów poddawanych długoterminowej dializie cierpiących na wtórną nadczynność przytarczyc (sHPT) oporną na leczenie. W niniejszym badaniu, autorzy porównują wyniki po częściowym usunięciu przytarczyc (sPtx) oraz całkowitym ich usunięciu z autoprzeszczepem (tPtx + AT) wykonanym dla sHPT w jednym ośrodku referencyjnym. Materiał i metody: Niniejsze prospektywne badanie dokonuje analizy porównawczej sPtx oraz tPtx + AT, wykonanych w miejscu pracy autorów w okresie od lutego 2010 do grudnia 2014 roku. Autorzy porównali obie techniki operacyjne w związku z głównymi objawami klinicznymi, badaniami laboratoryjnymi, śmiertelnością oraz nawrotowością choroby. Wyniki: W badaniu wzięło udział 43 pacjentów: 26 poddano sPtx, a 19 tPtx + AT. Pomiędzy grupami nie było znaczących różnic statystycznych, jeśli chodzi o dane demograficzne i przedoperacyjne dane kliniczne. Nie stwierdzono śmiertelności pooperacyjnej w żadnej z grup. Okres obserwacji trwał zdecydowanie dłużej w grupie sPtx (p = 0,04). Stężenie wapnia w osoczu mierzone zaraz po operacji było znacznie niższe w grupie tPtx + AT (p = 0,009). Całkowita niedoczynność przytarczyc zidentyfikowano u dwóch pacjentów w grupie sPtx (8,3%) oraz jednego z drugiej grupy (5,26%). Czterech pacjentów z grupy sPtx (16,6%) i trzech z grupy tPtx + AT (15,78%) zmarło podczas okresu obserwacji z powodów niezwiązanych z usunięciem przytarczyc. Ogółem zidentyfikowano dwa nawroty choroby w grupie sPtx i żadnego z drugiej grupie (p = 0,57). Wnioski: W opinii autorów, obie techniki dają porównywalne wyniki, biorąc pod uwagę wyniki laboratoryjne oraz kliniczne, a także wskaźniki pooperacyjnej niedoczynności przytarczyc, przynajmniej w krótko- i średnioterminowym okresie obserwacji. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (2): 202–209)

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Measurement of associated W plus charm production in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Alveolar recruitment followed by ventilation at optimal titrated PEEP may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury and improve oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but the effects on mortality and other clinical outcomes remain unknown. This article reports the rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART). Methods/Design: ART is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized (concealed), controlled trial, which aims to determine if maximum stepwise alveolar recruitment associated with PEEP titration is able to increase 28-day survival in patients with ARDS compared to conventional treatment (ARDSNet strategy). We will enroll adult patients with ARDS of less than 72 h duration. The intervention group will receive an alveolar recruitment maneuver, with stepwise increases of PEEP achieving 45 cmH(2)O and peak pressure of 60 cmH2O, followed by ventilation with optimal PEEP titrated according to the static compliance of the respiratory system. In the control group, mechanical ventilation will follow a conventional protocol (ARDSNet). In both groups, we will use controlled volume mode with low tidal volumes (4 to 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight) and targeting plateau pressure &lt;= 30 cmH2O. The primary outcome is 28-day survival, and the secondary outcomes are: length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; pneumothorax requiring chest tube during first 7 days; barotrauma during first 7 days; mechanical ventilation-free days from days 1 to 28; ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month survival. ART is an event-guided trial planned to last until 520 events (deaths within 28 days) are observed. These events allow detection of a hazard ratio of 0.75, with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: If the ART strategy with maximum recruitment and PEEP titration improves 28-day survival, this will represent a notable advance to the care of ARDS patients. Conversely, if the ART strategy is similar or inferior to the current evidence-based strategy (ARDSNet), this should also change current practice as many institutions routinely employ recruitment maneuvers and set PEEP levels according to some titration method.Hospital do Coracao (HCor) as part of the Program 'Hospitais de Excelencia a Servico do SUS (PROADI-SUS)'Brazilian Ministry of Healt

Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate defines chronic kidney disease and is associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), combining data across 133,413 individuals with replication in up to 42,166 individuals. We identify 24 new and confirm 29 previously identified loci. Of these 53 loci, 19 associate with eGFR among individuals with diabetes. Using bioinformatics, we show that identified genes at eGFR loci are enriched for expression in kidney tissues and in pathways relevant for kidney development and transmembrane transporter activity, kidney structure, and regulation of glucose metabolism. Chromatin state mapping and DNase I hypersensitivity analyses across adult tissues demonstrate preferential mapping of associated variants to regulatory regions in kidney but not extra-renal tissues. These findings suggest that genetic determinants of eGFR are mediated largely through direct effects within the kidney and highlight important cell types and biological pathways