1,720,956 research outputs found

    Preincubation of human oocytes may improve fertilization and embryo quality after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

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    : The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between different preincubation periods of oocytes and the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We analysed retrospectively 95 ICSI treatment cycles performed to alleviate severe male-factor infertility. Oocyte collection was performed approximately 36 h after human chorionic gonadotrophin administration. The cumulus-corona-oocyte complexes obtained were incubated until the moment of ICSI. Fertilization, embryo development and implantation rates were analysed in four groups, which were divided according to the time lapse between oocyte retrieval and ICSI: group I, 3-6-9-< or =12 h (11 cycles). Immediately before ICSI the cumulus and corona cells were removed from the oocytes. A total of 723 metaphase II oocytes were injected: 126 from group I, 380 from group II, 126 from group III and 91 from group IV. The fertilization rates obtained were 52.3, 66.8, 65.1 and 69.2% respectively [P < 0.05 (using the chi2 test) between group I and groups II, III and IV]. Cleavage rates were similar in all groups (68.1, 69.7, 79.2 and 79.3% respectively), but the proportion of good quality embryos (< or =20% fragmentation) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in group I (24.2%) compared with groups II (39.8%) and IV (39.6%). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between the four groups with regard to implantation rates (11.7, 13.2, 10.4 and 20.4% respectively). The results suggest that a preincubation period between oocyte retrieval and ICSI can improve the fertilization rate and embryo quality. This period might be necessary for some oocytes to reach full cytoplasmic maturity, leading to a higher activation rate upon microinjection

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Cumulative ongoing pregnancy rate achieved with oocyte vitrification and cleavage stage transfer without embryo selection in a standard infertility program

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    Background: Recent advancement of minimum volume vitrification methods has resulted in a dramatic increase in the efficiency of the process. The aim of this study was to estimate the cumulative reproductive outcome of a cohort of infertile couples undergoing ICSI and oocyte vitrification in restrictive legal conditions, where only a limited number of oocytes could be inseminated per cycle and embryo selection and cryopreservation were forbidden. Methods: In this prospective longitudinal cohort study, the cumulative ongoing pregnancy rates obtained by the insemination of fresh and vitrified oocytes from the same cohort were calculated as primary outcome measures. Moreover, the effect of basal and cycle characteristics on clinical outcomes were assessed. Results: Between September 2008 and May 2009, 182 ICSI cycles were performed where oocyte vitrification was possible. A total of 104 first and 11 second oocyte warming cycles were then performed in non-pregnant patients of the same cohort. The overall ongoing pregnancy rates obtained in the fresh, and first and second warming cycles were 37.4, 25.0 and 27.3%, respectively. The overall cumulative ongoing clinical pregnancy rate observed per stimulation cycle was 53.3%. Maternal age was the only characteristic found to influence the reproductive outcome, with an inverse correlation between the age >40 and the ongoing pregnancy rates (P = 0.04, by Cox regression analysis). Conclusions: High cumulative ongoing pregnancy rates can be obtained with transfers of embryos derived from fresh and cryopreserved oocytes in a typical infertile population. Female age significantly affects outcomes in this system

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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