Background: To investigate the impact of schizophrenia on quality of life (QoL) of patients and caregivers in seven CEE countries, by conducting a literature search. Methods: Search was performed in ...publicly available databases to identify publications from 1995 to 2012 related to schizophrenia and QoL. Publications included those describing health-related QoL data of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Results: Out of an initial search of 2882 abstracts, 1587 were excluded based on duplication or preliminary screening of titles, and a further 1550 publications were excluded based on screening of the abstracts (1510) or full-texts (40). Thus, 37 primary publications related to QoL of patients with schizophrenia and caregivers were identified. Due to differences observed in the identified studies, it was not possible to make direct comparisons nor to pool data for analysis. However, it was consistently reported that schizophrenia greatly affected the QoL of patients and had a significant negative impact on the QoL of caregivers, such that their QoL was considered similar to the patients themselves. In addition, patients with schizophrenia experienced significant stigmatization and discrimination. In general, the presence of negative symptoms was not well-documented in the literature and available antipsychotics had limited impact on the treatment of negative symptoms. Conclusion: Schizophrenia significantly reduces QoL of patients and their caregivers. Further research is needed to better understand the drivers of impaired QoL caused by schizophrenia, in particular the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and how best the burden of illness and associated stigmatization and discrimination may be reduced.
Refrigeration cycle system modelling of the vapor compression experimental unit with the goal to predict the system performance of the cycle and geometry of the helical coil evaporator flooded in the ...water is presented in the paper. Design of the experimental unit is based on the commercially available scroll compressor and air cooled condenser. In order to determine the thermodynamic conditions of refrigeration cycle and heat transfer process in the evaporator the simulation model is developed. The model takes into account the specific data, dimensions and characteristics of the main components. Evaporation process, observed in three parts, and condensation process are described with appropriate heat transfer correlations. With two approximation functions, developed based on manufacturer data, the model of compression process is described. Results show relations between thermal resistance and geometrical quantities of evaporator with influence on the system performance. Analysis of thermal resistance shows that geometry of the evaporator may have important effect on the final design of these types of refrigeration applications.
Abstract Rare diseases (RD) are serious chronic diseases affecting small number of people compared to the general population. There are between 6000 and 8000 RDs, which affect about 400 million ...people worldwide. Drugs used for causal treatment of RDs are called orphan drugs. RDs bear great clinical and economic burden for patients, their families, healthcare systems and society overall. There are at least two reasons for the high cost of treatment of RDs. First, there is no causal therapy for majority of RDs, so exacerbations, complications, and hospitalizations in those patients are common. The second reason is high price of available orphan drugs, which are not cost-effective when traditional pharmacoeconomic evaluation is employed. The pharmacoeconomic aspect of the treatment of RDs is especially important in the field of neurology, since at least one fifth of all RDs is composed of neurological conditions. The aim of this paper was to provide a concise overview of the pathophysiological, epidemiological and clinical characteristics of some of the most important and common rare neurological diseases, with special reference to their impact on society and economy.
PhD Students’ Awareness of Research Misconduct Boskovic, Milos; Djokovic, Jelena; Grubor, Iva ...
Journal of empirical research on human research ethics,
04/2013, Letnik:
8, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Myocardial bridge (MB) is congenital myocardial band overriding a portion of a coronary artery, mainly LAD. Incidence on coronary angiography (CA) appears lesser than on autopsy, which can be ...ethnics-related, while clinically all forms of coronary artery disease (CAD) are reported: from benign arrhytmias up to sudden death.
We sought to determine incidence of MBs in the Serbian population along with respective clinical features.
Retrospective analysis was carried out in the same population, during the same 1-year time-frame and comprised consecutive: (A) 721 autopsies, with LM studies of the tunneled vessel (TV) wall together with the morphometric analysis of the ventricular myocardium supplied by TV (experimental group) and the ventricular myocardium of the same heart but with a different blood supply (control group); (B) 4510 CA of symptomatic patients were re-assessed for presence of MBs.
(A) MBs were described in 6 cases (0.8%): 5 male, all over 70yrs. Only single MB over LAD were found, while all showed: a) TV’ intensive atherosclerotic changes proximal to MB, only focal in the tunneled part; b) intensive interstitial fibroses of the TV-supplied myocardium. (B) MBs were found in 42pts (0.93%): 33 male, aged of 55+11yrs, with single MB over the mid-LAD. 29% were CAD-free, 43% had 1-vessel CAD, 2-v-CAD (24%) and 3-v-CAD (4%). MBs were most frequent in hearts with right coronary dominance (69%). Hypertension and smoking were equally present (69%), dyslipidemia (59%), family history of CAD (48%) and diabetes (21%). Pts presented with stable angina (40%), nonspecific symptoms (14%), unstable angina (7%) and supraventricular arrhythmia (5%), with a history of an anterior wall STEMI vs. NSTEMI in 26% vs. 7%.
This first overview of MBs-incidence in Serbia (0.8% on autopsy vs. 0.9% on CA) might underestimate its actual presence, which prompted us to continue prospectively.
Venous leg ulcers are an important and common health problem. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of herbal therapies alone or in combination with physical therapy in the treatment of ...venous ulcers, as well as their antibacterial effects.
Our study included 60 patients (3 groups, 20 patients each) with non-infected venous leg ulcers. The patients were treated with herbal therapy alone (group HTC), with a combination of electro-ionizing radiation and herbal therapy (group ERHT) or with a combination of polarized light and herbal therapy (group PLHT).
Surface area and score of venous leg ulcers were followed clinically at baseline and at the end of 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks of treatment. Comparing the results within the HTC, PLHT, and ERHT groups we found that the physical agents and herbal therapy significantly accelerated the healing of venous leg ulcers and reduced bacterial flora (p < 0.05). Comparing the results between the tested groups revealed no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05).
Our results demonstrate healing and antibacterial effects of combined physical and herbal therapies, but no superiority of the combined treatment for venous leg ulcers as compared to treatment by herbal therapy alone.
Delirium is connected to bad short-term (the increase in hospital mortality rate and hospital days) and long-term outcomes (disfunctionality, institutionalisation, cognitive damage and post ...hospital-release dementia). The objective of this study is to determine whether there are possible incompatibilities of treatment of delirium with the recommendations in the guides of good clinical practice from developed countries. The grounded method was used in the study. The so called principal sampling of 17 psychiatrists, anesthesiologists and registered nurses was conducted. Afterwards, the unstructured interviews with the selectees were conducted, transcribed and analyzed immediately through coding, category and concept detection. Having completed this, the theoretical sampling of new interview examinees was conducted. Their analysis enabled the concepts to be linked into a working theory and graphically displayed. The new sampling, the new interviews and their analysis were then continued interactively until the saturation of the working theory was achieved and the final version of the theory was formulated based on the findings reached through the interviews. Having completed the principal sampling and coding of the transcripts led the researches to the saturation of the theory through the separation of eight categories: A - Delirium as a sign of system infection, B - Therapy - Anaesthesiologists administer benzodiazepines, whereas psychiatrists administer antipsychotics, C - An inconspicuous onset of delirium is overlooked, D - Bleeding as the cause of delirium, E -Anticholinergics as a cause of delirium, F - Misunderstanding the nature of delirium by anaesthesiologists, G -Being aware that the patient is vitally endangered, and H - The nurses apply enhanced health care measures. Delirium is a syndrome which can be prevented in 30 -40% of cases (50). An etiological treatment would help avoid complicating delirium's clinical picture and would very much prevent poor outcomes, such as institutionalisation, cognitive damage and delirious patients' high mortality rate.
Teaching subject Fans and turbocompressors involves in its curriculum design of axial turbocompressors, with focus on impeller and guide vanes design. Students develop 3D construction on the basis of ...the inlet design parameters: mass flow rate, inlet pressure, inlet temperature, inlet and outlet pressure ratio and Mach number. The whole project was finalized only with the computer animation. Recently, digital fabrication is involved in the process of students' education. Nowadays students are able to print designed impeller blade and to study its construction. 3D printing machine - Printrbot Simple is used. Designed and fabricated axial fan impeller blade will be presented in this paper.
Cilj: Nedavna istraživanja prezentirala su korinebakterije kao uzročnike oportunističkih infekcija. Corynebacterium striatum pojavljuje se kao značajan uzročnik kod imunokompromitiranih i ...imunokompetentnih bolesnika.
Metode: U ovom radu je prikazan slučaj odraslog pacijenta oboljelog od COVID-19 bolesti s infekcijom krvotoka uzrokovanom C. striatum. Uz to, predstavljeni su klinički slučajevi infekcija krvotoka uzrokovanih Corynebacterium spp., uglavnom C. striatum.
Rezultati: Prikazujemo 43-godišnjeg pacijenta hospitaliziranog zbog bilateralne pneumonije uzrokovane virusom SARS-CoV-2. Tijekom liječenja primijenjen je postupak izvantjelesne membranske oksigenacije (engl. extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO). C. striatum izoliran je u sedam setova hemokultura uzorkovanih tijekom sedam uzastopnih dana. Na temelju identifikacije pomoću MALDI-ToF-a, započeta je empirijska terapija vankomicinom. Identifikacija je potvrđena sekvenciranjem gena 16S ribosomske RNA. Centralni venski kateter je zamijenjen, ali je C. striatum kontinuirano izoliran u hemokulturama sljedećih dana. Iako je preporučena zamjena ECMO kanile, postupak nije izveden zbog teškog stanja pacijenta. Vankomicinu je dodan fosfomicin kao „terapija spasa” kako bi se reorganizirala struktura biofilma te omogućila bolja penetracija i učinkovitost vankomicina što je rezultiralo sterilnim hemokulturama u narednim danima.
Zaključak: Tijekom posljednjih desetljeća u literaturi je opisano mnogo primjera infekcija krvotoka uzrokovanih kontaminantima kože. Iako se centralni venski kateter najčešće opisuje kao put ulaska mikrobiote kože u krvotok, ne smiju se zanemariti ni drugi kateteri, poput pleuralnog katetera i ECMO sustava. Poznato je kako bakterijske stanice često stvaraju biofilm na površini različitih medicinskih uređaja, kao što su središnji venski kateteri, endoskopi i urinarni kateteri. Fosfomicin ima potencijal prodrijeti u biofilm, transformirati strukturu biofilma i potencijalno povećati koncentraciju drugih antimikrobnih sredstava u biofilmu.
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