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High Impact (high + impact)
Terms modified by High Impact Selected AbstractsSelf-reported changes in clinical behaviour by undergraduate dental students after video-based teaching in paediatric dentistryEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2005M. Kalwitzki Abstract, Four cohorts of undergraduate students (n = 113) were filmed on video tapes whilst performing paediatric treatments. Selected parts of these tapes were shown the day after. Thus, within one term each student was able to view his performance on a videotape as well as those of fellow students. After completion of the clinical course in paediatric dentistry students were asked by means of a questionnaire about behavioural changes in their clinical work regarding different topics. Considerable changes in behaviour were reported for various topics. Most of the students emphasised the viable role of the video for changing their behaviour. This was especially true for aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication where mainly female students benefited. Moreover, video was thought to have been useful for improving capacities to deal with patients in fear or pain and for ergonomics. About two-thirds of the students (64.6%) thought that watching the video had made it easier for them to put theoretical knowledge into action. Video does not seem to play an important role for confirmation and maintenance of behaviour patterns. In conclusion however, it can be stated that video has a high impact on the modification of behaviour patterns of undergraduate students for many aspects of clinical work. The use of video can thus attribute to dental education in an effective way. [source] Pathophysiology of pruritus in atopic dermatitis: an overviewEXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2002Sonja Ständer Abstract: Pruritus is an essential feature of atopic dermatitis (AD) and the diagnosis of active AD cannot be made without the history of itching. Because of the high impact on life quality, most of the patients measure the severity of eczema by the intensity of pruritus rather than appearance of skin lesions. However, although pruritus is a cardinal symptom of AD, its mechanism and association with the cutaneous nervous system is not completely understood. Recently, a considerable progress has been achieved in clarifying the complex pathophysiology of pruritus in AD. As a cutaneous sensory perception, itch requires excitation of neuropeptide-containing free nerve endings of unmyelinated nociceptor fibers. It is well known that histamine and acetylcholine provoke itch by direct binding to ,itch receptors' and several mediators such as neuropeptides, proteases or cytokines indirectly via histamine release. Interestingly, some variations of these complex mechanisms could be demonstrated in patients with AD. This review highlights the recent knowledge of different mechanisms which may be involved in regulating pruritus in patients with AD potentially leading to new therapeutic applications for the treatment of itch in AD. [source] Atmospheric impact of bioenergy based on perennial crop (reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinaceae, L.) cultivation on a drained boreal organic soilGCB BIOENERGY, Issue 3 2010NARASINHA J. SHURPALI Abstract Marginal organic soils, abundant in the boreal region, are being increasingly used for bioenergy crop cultivation. Using long-term field experimental data on greenhouse gas (GHG) balance from a perennial bioenergy crop [reed canary grass (RCG), Phalaris arundinaceae L.] cultivated on a drained organic soil as an example, we show here for the first time that, with a proper cultivation and land-use practice, environmentally sound bioenergy production is possible on these problematic soil types. We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) for RCG on this organic soil. We found that, on an average, this system produces 40% less CO2 -equivalents per MWh of energy in comparison with a conventional energy source such as coal. Climatic conditions regulating the RCG carbon exchange processes have a high impact on the benefits from this bioenergy production system. Under appropriate hydrological conditions, this system can even be carbon-negative. An LCA sensitivity analysis revealed that net ecosystem CO2 exchange and crop yield are the major LCA components, while non-CO2 GHG emissions and costs associated with crop production are the minor ones. Net bioenergy GHG emissions resulting from restricted net CO2 uptake and low crop yields, due to climatic and moisture stress during dry years, were comparable with coal emissions. However, net bioenergy emissions during wet years with high net uptake and crop yield were only a third of the coal emissions. As long-term experimental data on GHG balance of bioenergy production are scarce, scientific data stemming from field experiments are needed in shaping renewable energy source policies. [source] Impact of land use on the hydraulic properties of the topsoil in a small French catchmentHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 17 2010E. Gonzalez-Sosa Abstract The hydraulic properties of the topsoil control the partition of rainfall into infiltration and runoff at the soil surface. They must be characterized for distributed hydrological modelling. This study presents the results of a field campaign documenting topsoil hydraulic properties in a small French suburban catchment (7 km2) located near Lyon, France. Two types of infiltration tests were performed: single ring infiltration tests under positive head and tension-disk infiltration using a mini-disk. Both categories were processed using the BEST,Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters,method to derive parameters describing the retention and hydraulic conductivity curves. Dry bulk density and particle size data were also sampled. Almost all the topsoils were found to belong to the sandy loam soil class. No significant differences in hydraulic properties were found in terms of pedologic units, but the results showed a high impact of land use on these properties. The lowest dry bulk density values were obtained in forested soils with the highest organic matter content. Permanent pasture soils showed intermediate values, whereas the highest values were encountered in cultivated lands. For saturated hydraulic conductivity, the highest values were found in broad-leaved forests and small woods. The complementary use of tension-disk and positive head infiltration tests highlighted a sharp increase of hydraulic conductivity between near saturation and saturated conditions, attributed to macroporosity effect. The ratio of median saturated hydraulic conductivity to median hydraulic conductivity at a pressure of , 20 mm of water was about 50. The study suggests that soil texture, such as used in most pedo-transfer functions, might not be sufficient to properly map the variability of soil hydraulic properties. Land use information should be considered in the parameterizations of topsoil within hydrological models to better represent in situ conditions, as illustrated in the paper. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Prediction of entrance length and mass suction rate for a cylindrical sucking funnelINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 6 2010Dipti Prasad Mishra Abstract Conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy have been solved numerically for a cylindrical funnel with louvers (lateral openings on the side wall of the cylindrical funnel through which air can come into it) to compute the suction rate of air into the funnel. The nozzle placed centrally at the bottom of the cylinder ejects high-velocity hot gaseous products so that atmospheric air gets sucked into the funnel. The objective of the work is to compute the ratio of the rate of mass suction to that of the mass ejected by the nozzle for different operating conditions and geometrical size of the funnel. From the computation it has been found that there exists optimum funnel diameter and optimum funnel height for which the mass suction is the highest. The protruding length of the nozzle into the funnel has almost no effect on the mass suction rate after a certain funnel height. The louvers opening area has a very high impact on the mass suction rate. The entrance length for such a sucking funnel is strikingly much lower compared with a simple cylindrical pipe having uniform flow at the inlet at same Reynolds number. A new correlation has been developed to propose the entrance length for a sucking pipe, the rate of mass suction into it and the exhaust plume temperature over a wide range of operating parameters that are normally encountered in a general funnel operations of naval or merchant ship. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Reported food allergy to peanut, tree nuts and fruit: comparison of clinical manifestations, prescription of medication and impact on daily lifeALLERGY, Issue 7 2008T. M. Le Background: Peanut (PN), tree nuts (TN) and fruits are frequent causes of food allergy (FA). Peanut and TN are believed to cause more severe reactions than fruits. However, there are no studies comparing the severity of PN, TN and fruit allergy within one patient group. Methods: Four-hundred and eleven adult patients referred to our tertiary allergy center with suspicion of FA completed a standardized questionnaire. Patients with a typical history of immunoglubulin E (IgE)-mediated allergy, e.g. oropharyngeal symptoms to PN, TN (hazelnut, walnut, cashew nut) or fruit (apple, kiwi, peach, pear and cherry) were recruited (218/411). The objective was to evaluate differences in clinical severity between PN, TN and fruit allergy and how this was reflected by prescription of emergency medication and impact on daily life. Results: Eighty-two percent of the included 218 patients were sensitized to the respective foods. The percentages of severe symptoms (i.e. respiratory or cardiovascular symptoms) in PN, TN and fruit allergic patients were respectively 47%, 39% and 31% (respiratory) and 11%, 5.0% and 3.4% (cardiovascular). Prescription and use of emergency medication (epinephrine, antihistamines and steroids) did not differ among the three groups. The majority of patients with a PN or TN allergy (72%) and fruit allergy (62%) reported that FA influences their daily life considerably. Conclusions: Fruit allergy causes less severe symptoms than TN and especially PN allergy. However, this is not reflected in the prescription or use of emergency medication. This may indicate that physicians are not fully acquainted with the guidelines for prescription of emergency medication. A high impact on daily life was found both in PN, TN and in fruit allergy. [source] Nocturia: An austrian study on the multifactorial etiology of this symptom,,NEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 5 2009H. Christoph Klingler Abstract Aims To identify the different factors contributing to nocturia in a clinical setting. Patients and Methods Three hundred twenty-four patients (133 women, 191 men; mean age 63 years) were entered into this multi-institutional study. When presenting with nocturia we obtained detailed medical history and performed urine analysis, post-void residual volume and renal ultrasonography. Bothersome score and quality of life were evaluated using visual analogue scale and Kings' Health Questionnaire (KHQ), respectively. Patients were asked to complete a 48-hr voiding diary (VD). Nocturia and its associated problems were evaluated using KHQ and VD in conjunction with concurrent health variables. Results Mean nocturia was 2.8 in men versus in 3.1 women. Fifty percent of patients were aged >65 years, 60% had daytime lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as well as nocturia, 33% had cardiac pathologies and 7% had peripheral edema. Principal causes for nocturia were global polyuria in 17%, nocturnal polyuria (NP) in 33% and reduced functional capacity <250 ml in 16.2%; 21.2% had mixed forms of NP and reduced bladder capacity and 12.6% suffered from other causes. Mean bothersome score was higher in women (P,<,0.001) and in patients with NP (P,=,0.012). Quality of life was significantly lower in women (P,=,0.001), in patients aged >65 years (P,=,0.029) and in those with reduced functional capacity (P,<,0.001). Mean voided 24-hr urine was higher in women (P,=,0.033) and in patients aged <65 years (P,=,0.019). Conclusions Nocturia had a high impact on bothersome score, strong associations with poor health and other LUTS. NP was the predominant cause of nocturia. Neurourol. Urodynam. 28:427,431, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Matrix effects during analysis of plasma samples by electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry: practical approaches to their eliminationRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 17 2003Joachim Schuhmacher Some cases of occurrence of matrix effects (mostly ion suppression) in protein-precipitated plasma samples, and their influence on the validity of plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameters, are discussed. The comparison of matrix effects using either electrospray (TurboIonspray, TISP) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) indicated that APCI is less prone to matrix effects. Nevertheless, TISP is usually the first choice of ionization technique since unknown thermally labile metabolites might be present in the plasma samples causing erroneous results. A high impact of ion suppression on the plasma concentrations after intravenous (i.v.) administration was found, depending on the drug formulation (vehicle). Since ion suppression caused significantly lower plasma concentrations (by a factor of up to 5.5) after i.v. dosing, the area under the curve (AUC) was underestimated and the plasma clearance was consequently erroneously high, with an impact on drug candidate selection. By simple stepwise dilution (e.g. 10-fold and 50-fold) of the supernatant of protein-precipitated plasma samples, including all calibration and quality control samples, the matrix effects were recognized and eliminated. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A scientific case for XMM-Newton continuationASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2008B. McBreen Abstract The presentations made at the workshop "XMM-Newton: The Next Decade", held at ESAC from 4th to the 6th of July 2007, contained an overwhelming amount of new results and well justified scientific questions that can be addressed by observations with XMM-Newton. XMM-Newton has over the next decade a solid scientific case. Given the high impact of X-ray observations, XMM-Newton operations are not only a matter for "X-ray astrophysics", but also of fundamental importance for astrophysics in general. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Cost of disorders of the brain in NorwayACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2010L. J. Stovner Stovner LJ, Gjerstad L, Gilhus NE, Storstein A, Zwart JA. Cost of disorders of the brain in Norway. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122 (Suppl. 190): 1,5. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Background,,, Little is known about the cost of neurological disorders in Norway. Objectives,,, To estimate the cost of disorders of the brain, including the main psychiatric, neurological and neurosurgical conditions in Norway. Methods,,, Most of the data are extrapolations from a large European cost study that collected the best available epidemiological and health economical evidence for the year 2004. Some epidemiological data are available from Norway, but very little on costs. Results,,, Brain disorders seemed to affect 1.5 million Norwegians in 2004, and the total cost amounted to 5.8 billion Euros. The most prevalent disorders are anxiety disorders and migraine, and the most costly are affective disorders, addiction and dementia. Migraine is the most costly of the purely neurological conditions, followed by stroke, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. The indirect costs account for more than half of the total costs. Discussion,,, Although the different brain disorders are very dissimilar in appearance, from health economic and public health perspectives, it is relevant to view them as a whole, since many of them share important pathophysiological mechanisms. This means that new insights into one disorder can have relevance for many other disorders. Conclusion,,, As a result of the high impact on individuals and society, more resources should be allocated to treatment and research into brain disorders. [source] Keratinisation status and cytokeratins of the human Meibomian gland epitheliumACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2009E KNOP Purpose The Meibomian gland (MG) is an indispensable component of the functional anatomy of the ocular surface. Increasing evidence points to a high impact of hyper-keratinisation as a major cause of obstructive MG dysfunction (MGD) and evaporative dry eye. Information of normal keratinisation status and cytokeratin composition of the human MG is limited. Methods Conjunctival whole-mount specimens including the lid margin from ten body donors of older age were embedded in paraffin. Serial sections were stained by H&E and Masson-Goldner stain and by immunohistochemistry with an antibody panel to cytokeratins. Results In conventional stains, the MG shows distinct similarities with the pilo-sebaceous unit of the cilia. The keratinised skin epithelium extended into the terminal part of the MG excretory duct similar to the hair follicle. Preliminary IHC results showed that the epithelium was positive there for the skin keratin CK10. Along the central duct the keratinisation CK10 expression was gradually lost similar to keratinisation marker involucrin. However, filaggrin, a marker for incipient stages of keratinisation and located in keratohyalin granules continued in the superficial layer of the duct epithelium all along the Meibomian central ductal system. CK14 a marker for basal undifferentiated cells showed a homogenous expression all along the basal cell layer of the MG ducts and the acini. Conclusion The MG shares similarities with the cilia in embryology, in structure and in the cytokeratin composition. It can hence be regarded as a "hair without a hair shaft". All parts of the MG ducts have signs of incipient keratinisation and preserve a commitment to keratinisation. Upregulation in MGD explain hyper-keratinisation as a typical event in obstructive MGD. [source] Cost-effectiveness of different caries preventive measures in a high-risk population of Swedish adolescentsCOMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 3 2003N. Oscarson Abstract , Objectives: A total of 3373 12-year-olds agreed to participate in an intervention study evaluating different caries preventive measures. The study, titled ,Evaluation of caries preventive measures', was performed between 1995 and 1999 at 26 dental health clinics throughout Sweden. At the start of the study, the subjects were classified as individuals at high or low risk of developing caries. The high-risk group consisted of 1165 subjects. The children in the high-risk group were randomly assigned to one of four preventive programs. The programs represent a step-wise increase in fluoride content, contact with dental personnel and cost. The aim of the present cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) study performed from a societal perspective is to compare costs and consequences of caries preventive programs in a caries high-risk population. By ,costs' is meant both treatment costs and costs contributed by the patient and the patient's family. Costs contributed by patients and their families consist of out-of-pocket expenses, transportation costs, and time. Conclusions are that it is important to consider the perspective from which a study is carried out. Costs contributed by the patient and the patient's family have a high impact on total costs for children and younger adolescents but decrease with time as the adolescents get older. The present study shows an incremental cost-effectiveness of 2043 SEK (8.54 SEK = US$ 1, December 1999) per averted decayed enamel and dentine missing and filled surface (DeMFS), of which treatment costs represent 1337 SEK using the unit cost for a nurse. This means a yearly cost of approximately 334 SEK. [source] | |||||||||||||