Pulmonary function tests in ulcerative colitis

Background: Pulmonary impairment in patients suffering ulcerative colitis (UC) has been suggested by several investigators using standard pulmonary function tests (PFTs). This changes in pulmonary function associated with minimal respiratory symptoms have been documented, especially in patients with active disease. The aim of this prospective study was to determine airway resistance and lung volumes in patients with UC who have no respiratory symptoms in comparisons to a healthy control group. Materials and Methods: We evaluated a total of 30 patients with UC by means of spirometry, body plethysmography, and impulse oscillometry. The patients were not complaining of any pulmonary symptoms and did not present any history of previous respiratory diseases. As controls we examined 30 healthy subjects matched for gender, age, and smoking status. The relationship between PFT, lung volume, and airway resistance; and the activity, localization, and duration of the UC disease were analyzed. Results: There was a significant difference between airway resistances (kPa/L/s) measured by body plethysmography in patients with UC and those of the controls (R5hz; 0.60 +/- 0.44 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.13; P 0.05). Conclusion: Despite the lack of pulmonary symptoms, increased airway resistance was found in UC patients. We also have not found correlation between PFT, lung volume and airway resistance values and scoring of UC activity

Investigating the Impact of E-Servicescape Dimensions and Experience & Risk Factors on E-WOM: Mediating Role of Trust

Nowadays, one of the important topics in e-commerce which has become a concern of many countries is electronic word of mouth due to increasing use of Internet for activities such as shopping or obtaining information. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of e-service factors as well as experience and risk on E-WOM by considering the mediating role of the trust variable. The statistical population of this research consists of buyers ftom Tehran/Karaj from Alibaba website. 384 samples were selected by Cochran's formula and data was collected by distributing questionnaires. The research data were analyzed by structural equation modeling using Amos. The results show that e-services dimensions as well as experience have a positive and significant effect on trust and E-WOM. Trust also has positive and significant effect on E-WOM. The results emphasize the importance of focusing on improving the quality of e-services in online stores and user experience of buyers on their participation in advertising

Neoadjuvant Therapy in Early Breast Cancer:Treatment Considerations and Common Debates in Practice

Neoadjuvant treatment offers a number of benefits for patients with early breast cancer, and is an important option for consideration by multidisciplinary teams. Despite literature showing its efficacy, the use of neoadjuvant therapy varies widely. Here we discuss the clinical evidence supporting the use of neoadjuvant therapy in early stage breast cancer, including patient selection, monitoring response, surgery and radiotherapy considerations, with the aim of assisting multidisciplinary teams to determine patient suitability for neoadjuvant treatment

The effectiveness of MR imaging in the assessment of invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast.

Item does not contain fulltextInvasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast is, due to its diffuse infiltrative growth pattern, a diagnostic challenge. Even in retrospect, only up to 80% are visible at mammography. Moreover, both mammography and ultrasound tend to structurally underestimate the size of ILC. Breast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is usually performed after initial cancer detection. In this setting, the sensitivity is approximately 96%. However, multiple cases have been reported in which ILC has been initially detected with MR imaging, thus implying a potential advantage of MR imaging over mammography in screening. The size of an ILC as reported on MR imaging correlates well with size at pathology (r = 0.89). Additional tumor foci are detected by MR imaging in approximately one-third of patients, and these foci are subsequently pathologically confirmed in 88%. Hence, preoperative MR imaging of ILC changes management in 28% of patients, often appropriately. Nevertheless, it is still essential to obtain histology prior to large changes in the therapeutic regime based on MR imaging findings, either by second-look ultrasound or by MR imaging-guided biopsy. Using this approach, it has been shown that preoperative MR imaging reduces the rate of reexcisions after breast-conserving surgery from 27% to 9%, without increasing the rate of mastectomies and without extending total therapy time. Finally, the early detection of contralateral carcinomas only visible at MR imaging in approximately 7% of patients with ILC implies that preoperative MR imaging in these patients improves survival, although the magnitude of this effect is unknown.1 mei 201