22 research outputs found
Long-term outcomes of liver transplant patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection and end-stage-liver-disease: single center experience
Get PDF<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Orthotopic-liver-transplantation (OLT) in patients with Human-Immunodeficiency-Virus infection (HIV) and end-stage-liver-disease (ESDL) is rarely reported. The purpose of this study is to describe our institutional experience on OLT for HIV positive patients.</p> <p>Material and methods</p> <p>This is a retrospective study of all HIV-infected patients who underwent OLT at the University Hospital of Essen, from January 1996 to December 2009. Age, sex, HIV transmission-way, CDC-stage, etiology of ESDL, concomitant liver disease, last CD4cell count and HIV-viral load prior to OLT were collected and analysed. Standard calcineurin-inhibitors-based immunosuppression was applied. All patients received anti-fungal and anti-pneumocystis carinii pneumonia prophylaxis post-OLT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eight transplanted HIV-infected patients with a median age of 46 years (range 35-61 years) were included. OLT indications were HCV (n = 5), HBV (n = 2), HCV/HBV/HDV-related cirrhosis (n = 1) and acute liver-failure (n = 1). At OLT, CD4 cell-counts ranged from 113-621 cells/μl, and HIV viral-loads from < 50-175,000 copies/ml. Seven of eight patients were exposed to HAART before OLT. Patients were followed-up between 1-145 months. Five died 1, 3, 10, 31 and 34 months after OLT due to sepsis and graftfailure respectively. Graft-failure causes were recurrent hepatic-artery thrombosis, HCV-associated hepatitis, and chemotherapy-induced liver damage due to Hodgkin-disease. One survivor is relisted for OLT due to recurrent chronic HCV-disease but non-progredient HIV-infection 145 months post-OLT. Two other survivors show stable liver function and non-progredient HIV-disease under HAART 21 and 58 months post-OLT.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>OLT in HIV-infected patients and ESLD is an acceptable therapeutic option in selected patients. Long-term survival can be achieved without HIV disease-progression under antiretroviral therapy and management of the viral hepatitis co-infection.</p
Expression of Tight Junction Components in Hepatocyte-Like Cells Differentiated from Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Full text link
Beyond the hype. Art and the city in economic crisis
No full textThe paper explores art and the city beyond the ‘hype’ of large cultural investment, urban creative titles and cultural place branding programmes. It emphasises the importance of exploring the neglected perspective of the role that everyday culture can play in cities, especially in moments of crisis. It investigates Athens and the economic crisis that affected urban life in the last decade to consider the impact this has had on everyday cultural practices, arts institutions and the experience of the city. Drawing on de Certeau’s concept of everyday practice and using the case study of Athens Fringe Festival, we highlight how ordinary artistic practice and everyday creativity in the city can shape new patterns of cultural participation, urban dialogue and, possibly, cultural citizenship, in a moment of crisis. The paper concludes by arguing for the need to re-orient academic scholarship and future research agendas on art and the city towards everyday creative practice, moving beyond conventional city marketing and institutional, cultural regeneration discourses and strategies
Resistance
Full text linkThe sun peeks over the horizon. A foggy haze rising from the garden creates theillusion of flowers magically floating in the air. As the warm rays touch the mist, itquickly dissipates. Pink roses shine with tiny beads of water from the condensing airand the deep blue bellflowers move softly in a gentle breeze. Paullus is hard at workplanting a new bed of red begonias framed with yellow black-eyed Susans. His widebrimmed hat hides a sunburned face lined with the wise wrinkles of experience, linesthat tell a story. Students come and go, talking noisily with youthful enthusiasm andexcitement, rarely noticing his quiet presence. [Opening paragraph]</div
Tutors as brands: Exploring the celebrification of the Hong Kong shadow education sector
No full textCommodifying ancient cultural heritage: The market evolution of the Parthenon Temple.
No full textPurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show and critically discuss the motivations, conflicting narratives, practices and effects around the marketisation of cultural heritage. The work focusses on the exemplar case study of the ancient temple of the Athenian Parthenon, as a proto-brand, to explore ancient, medieval and modern marketing forces and practices through which various stakeholders have promoted, gifted, commercially traded, exchanged, acquired and illegally removed national cultural artefacts and historical monuments.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a structured historical periodisation that covers three main eras – classical age, late antiquity and modern period – that triggered the marketisation of the ancient temple in diverse ways. First, historical research was conducted through the use of a range of secondary sources and archives. Second, observation techniques were used to study heritage marketisation practices at the New Acropolis Museum and the Parthenon in Athens and the British Museum in London. Third, visual material further facilitated the analysis.FindingsThis paper identifies multifarious institutional forces, political interests, technologies and sociocultural events that shape the commodification of history and marketisation of heritage offering a broader discussion on the evolution of early marketing practices and brands used to promote particular values, cultures and places, as well as the emergence and growth of illicit arts and antiquities markets.Originality/valueConsidering the lack of marketing research on the commercialisation of heritage, the work discloses novel insights around the use of cultural proto-brands and the formation of illegal markets and questionable arts trade practices. It, therefore, questions the ethical, socio-political, economic and aesthetic implications of the extensive marketisation of history and raises issues around the legitimate ownership, promotion and consumption of heritage.</div
Oxygen saturation and secretion weight after endotracheal suctioning
No full textEndotracheal suctioning is a common aspect of nursing care to mechanicallyventilated patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two suctioning techniques on oxygen saturation (SaO2) and the amount of drained secretions. A quasi-experimental study of 103 mechanically-ventilated patients was conducted from two tertiary hospitals in Greece. Two suctioning techniques were applied to each patient: with normal saline instillation and without. Normal saline instillation was associated with increased secretions' weight (p&lt;0.001) and no significant differences in SaO2 values compared with no instillation. In examining each suctioning technique separately, the use of normal saline instillation was associated with a decrease in SaO2 levels 1 minute (p&lt;0.001) and 15 minutes (p=0.002) after this procedure. In addition, suctioning without normal saline instillation was associated with a decrease in SaO2 1 minute (p&lt;0.001) after the suction. In conclusion, normal saline instillation is related with a negative outcome on patient oxygenation for a prolonged period after the suction and causes the removal of a greater amount of secretions than the applied technique with no instillation. Comparing the two techniques, none is superior to the other resulting from the statistically insignificant comparative differences in SaO2 values
