OBJECTIVE In this pilot study, the effect of sildenafil on digital ulcer (DU) healing and related clinical symptoms was analysed. METHODS A total of 19 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) were treated with maximally tolerated sildenafil doses up to 6 months. Primary outcome was the healing of DUs. Changes in other clinical symptoms were also evaluated. RESULTS In all, 49 DUs were present...

Arteriovenous graft (AVG) a. Regular Access Blood Flow (Qa) or Doppler ultrasound stenosis (DUS) screening increases the detection of AVG stenosis compared to dynamic venous pressure (DVP)/clinical examination. (Level II evidence) b. Regular Qa screening with pre-emptive angioplasty does not reduce AVG thrombosis or prolong AVG survival. (Level I & II evidence) c. Whether regular DUS screening ...

One dimensional Doppler Ultrasound (DUS) is a low cost method for fetal auscultation. However, accuracy of any metrics derived from the DUS signals depends on their quality, which relies heavily on operator skills. In low resource settings, where skill levels are sparse, it is important for the device to provide real time signal quality feedback to allow the re-recording of data. Retrospectivel...

'n Belangrike aspek wat dikwels met betrekking tot die huidige verpleegpersoneelkrisis verontagsaam word, is dat veral jonger verpleegkundiges aan besondere emosionele spanninge onderworpe is en dus persoonlike ondersteuning nodig het. Hierdie spanninge spruit voort uit faktore in die samelewing, die jong mens self, die verpleegberoep en dieonderrigsituasie. Emosionele ondersteuning van die stu...

صخلملا Seasonal variation of zooplankton biomass has been carried out at two selected sites on Greater Zab River. Monthly samples of water were collected during period from January to December 2008. Some physico-chemical properties of water were studied including water temperature (from 8 to 30.5 C), hydrogen ion concentration (from 6.3 to 8), EC (from 255 to 821 μs.cm), turbidity (1085 NTU), d...

Objective. To identify the clinical characteristics of a patient population newly diagnosed with acute isolated calf deep venous thrombosis (ICDVT) by duplex ultrasound scan (DUS). Methods. A retrospective review of the records of 100 consecutive patients diagnosed with ICDVT by DUS was conducted. Results. Patients (59% male) were predominantly Caucasian (86%) and inpatients (69%) with an avera...

In bacteria, transformation is conducted by the uptake of DNA followed by homologous recombination. The purpose of these sequences are to uptake exogenous DNA of closely related family members to keep the homology of alleles and protect themselves against hazardous DNA. (Frye et al. 2013) Not all bacteria have a DNA sequence that can be classified as a DNA uptake sequence, in order for a DUS to...

OBJECTIVE Endovenous methods are increasingly used to treat varicose veins. We evaluated the outcome of patients treated with the new radiofrequency ablation (RFA)-ClosureFast catheter in an outpatient setting. METHOD Retrospective analysis of postinterventional duplex ultrasound (DUS), complication rate and quality of life of patients treated for incompetent saphenous veins. RESULTS Betwee...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Carotid endarterectomy has been shown to be beneficial in symptomatic patients with a severe stenosis (70% to 99%) of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is the standard of reference in the diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis but has a relatively high complication rate. In a diagnostic study we investigated the accuracy of noninvasive...