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Portugal celebrated in 2006 its first 20 years of the formal introduction of the practice of external evaluation of research proposals in the national funding system. Accounts of changes in numbers of publications, citations, numbers of research projects funded and budget figures can be found in Government Reports (www.oces.mctes.pt.). ⋯ Reciprocally, the entry of basic biological scientists into medically oriented groups totally changed the landscape, the soil, the seeding, the cross-fertilization and the flowering of biomedical research in the country. This paper is a personal account of the experience of a scientist who was asked by the then President of the National Research Council, Jose Mariano Gago to co-ordinate the introduction of external evaluation of research projects and research institutes in the Health Sciences in Portugal between 1986 and 1997.
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Comparative Study
Circulating endothelial cells as a prognostic marker in thrombotic microangiopathy.
Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) are a reliable marker of disease activity in a variety of vascular disorders. Damage to microvascular endothelial cells is a hallmark of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). The aim of this study is to identify and count CECs during the course of TMA and evaluate whether cell numbers may serve as a prognostic marker in patients undergoing plasma exchange. ⋯ Markedly elevated numbers of CECs reflect severe and widespread endothelial damage in patients with TMA. Cell numbers at presentation and their degree of decrease after 4 sessions of plasma exchange could provide important prognostic clues.
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The heart surgery forum · Dec 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of remifentanil and low-dose fentanyl for fast-track cardiac anesthesia: a prospective randomized study.
Different anesthetic techniques have been used for fast tracking in cardiac anesthesia. Remifentanil, with its unique pharmacokinetic profile, could be an ideal drug for fast tracking. Possible limitations of remifentanil are rapid onset of postoperative pain after discontinuation of the drug infusion, which may increase the risk of an ischemic event. We conducted this randomized study to compare the efficacy of remifentanil versus low doses of fentanyl in fast-track cardiac anesthesia. It has been hypothesized that remifentanil would provide a safe anesthesia with no impact on myocardial function and with positive effects on extubation time and mobilization. ⋯ Remifentanil fast-track anesthesia for cardiac patients has no negative impact on myocardial function. Both remifentanil and low-dose fentanyl are equally effective and safe for fast-track cardiac anesthesia. The study did not highlight any statistical superiority of remifentanil anesthesia over low-dose fentanyl anesthesia.
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J Clin Psychopharmacol · Feb 2009
Psychotropic drugs associated with corrected QT interval prolongation.
To study whether listed putative corrected QT (QTc)-prolonging psychotropic drugs indeed prolong the QTc interval under everyday circumstances and to evaluate whether this is a class effect or an individual drug effect, we conducted a prospective population-based cohort study. ⋯ In this population-based prospective cohort study, we confirmed the importance of antidepressants and antipsychotics as potential contributors to QTc prolongation. Especially, starting tricyclic antidepressant drugs (as a class) is associated with a significant intraindividual increase in the QTc interval in comparison to the change in nonusers. The tricyclic antidepressants seem to prolong the QTc interval as a class effect.
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Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are known to cause most cervical cancer worldwide, but the utility of HPV DNA testing in cervical cancer prevention has not been determined. ⋯ In this study population, a cut point of 1.0 pg/mL using the second generation assay permitted sensitive detection of cervical high-grade lesions and cancer, yielding an apparently optimal trade-off between high sensitivity and reasonable specificity for this test. The test will perform best in settings in which sensitive detection of high-grade lesions and cancer is paramount. Because HPV prevalence varies by population, HPV testing positive predictive value for detection of high-grade lesions and cancer will vary accordingly, with implications for utility relative to other cervical cancer screening methods.