1,720,988 research outputs found

    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

    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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    Malignant pleural mesothelioma: clinicopathologic and survival characteristics in a consecutive series of 394 patients

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    OBJECTIVE: Treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) remains disappointing, although recent reports suggest that multimodality therapy including surgery may provide a significant survival benefit. The aims of this single institution study were: to investigate clinicopathologic characteristics and potential prognostic factors in MPM patients, and to ascertain whether surgery followed by adjuvant therapy had an independent prognostic role. METHODS: Retrospective review of a prospectively compiled computerized database of all patients with MPM evaluated between 1989 and 2003. Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox model were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: There were 394 patients: 270 men (68.5%), 124 women, median age 64 (range 28-93). Twenty-seven patients (6.8%) underwent surgical resection (extrapleural pneumonectomy 15, pleurectomy/decortication 12), followed by adjuvant therapy. As of March 2006, 381 patients (96.7%) had died (median survival, 11.7 months; range 0.03-117.9). Median follow-up of 13 surviving patients (3.3%) was 45.2 months (range 28.7-126.5). Overall survival at 2 years was 18.8%. Multimodality therapy including surgery yielded a median survival of 14.5 months and a 2-year survival rate of 29.6%. Using univariate analysis, age (p=0.009), chest pain (p=0.01), weight loss (p=0.001), performance status (p=0.0001), platelet count (p=0.008), histology (p=0.0001), macroscopic appearance of pleural surface (non-specific inflammation, tumor-like thickening, or nodules; p=0.0001), visceral pleura involvement (p=0.0001), degree of involvement of pleural cavity (less than or more than one third of the cavity; p=0.0001), and multimodality therapy (p<0.01) were found to be significant prognostic factors. At multivariate analysis, performance status, platelet count, histology, and degree of involvement of pleural cavity remained independently associated with survival, whereas multimodality therapy failed to enter the model. CONCLUSIONS: Significant predictors of survival include performance status, platelet count, histology, and degree of involvement of pleural cavity. Within the confines of this retrospective study and the small number of patients undergoing multimodality therapy, the role of surgery in the treatment of MPM remains unclear. Further investigation is warranted to determine the optimal treatment strategy in this disease

    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

    Correlation between CT findings and thoracoscopic diagnosis in diffuse pleural disease

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    Objective: Computed Tomography (CT) is considered part of the routine diagnostic workup for pleural malignancy. The definitive diagnosis of pleural malignancy depends upon histological confirmation by pleural biopsy. The aim of this study is to assess the sensitivity and specificity of CT, in view of the latest imaging technologies, in detecting pleural malignancy compared to definitive histology achieved via thoracoscopy (VATS). Materials and methods: We included in this retrospective study 90 patients (36 F, 54 M) with suspected pleural malignancy evaluated in our Institution with CT scan who received a definitive diagnosis after VATS biopsy. Unaware of histopathologic diagnoses CT scans were evaluated by a junior and two experts thoracic radiologist. Conclusions were reached by consensus. Results: We evaluated all CT signs suggestive for malignant pleural diseases: pleural thickening &gt; 10 mm (Se 0,41, Sp 0,79); nodular thickening (Se 0,86, Sp 0,75); circumferential thickening (Se 0,79, Sp 0,69); irregular pleural thickening (Se 0,77, Sp 0,91); medias-tinal involvement (Se 0,88, Sp 0,64); costal involvement (Se 0,89, Sp 0,60); diaphragmatic involvement (Se 0,88, Sp 0,53). Furthermore, the diagnostic performance of additional CT features was evaluated: concomi-tant costal, mediastinal and diaphragmatic pleura lesions (Se 0,84, Sp 0,69); nodular/irregular thickening with mediastinal pleural involvement (Se 0,83, Sp 0,90); nodular/irregular thickening with diaphragmatic pleural involvement (Se 0,81, Sp 0,90). Conclusions: CT confirms its central role in the pleura malignancy. The high sensibility, respect to previous studies, especially in the presence of nodular pleural thickening, may lead to re-consider at least partly the diagnostic pathway of diffuse pleural disease, avoiding the use of VATS in patients not eligible for surgery, in favor of US or CT guided core biopsy. (www.actabiomedica.com)
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