1,720,976 research outputs found
Current practice in colonoscopy in the elderly
Full text linkColonoscopy in the elderly is a reliable practice of great diagnostic and management value. However, patient’s age has long been considered to af- fect the success of the procedure, achieved when the ce- cum is intubated, there is a good view of the colon if preparation has been properly carried out, and the ex- amination does not cause excessive discomfort or complications. Substantial improvements have been made to the latter two aspects, due to more widespread use of deep sedation with propofol and cardiocircula- tory monitoring during the procedure. The aim of our work was to assess whether, in the everyday prac- tice of an open-access, digestive endoscopy teaching center, staffed by various providers delivering screen- ing for polyposis, age is still a limitation to the success of the procedure and whether appropriate measures have been taken to improve colonoscopy in geriatric pa- tients. We analysed 1480 consecutive colonoscopies, of which 319 were performed in patients aged over 73 years. The examination was significantly less success- ful in this group of patients (88.1 vs 94.4, p=0.0001), but there were no major technical or use-related com- plications connected with administration of propofol for sedation purposes, despite lower doses to the el- derly (2.2±1.1 mg/kg total dose, mean 151±72.4 mg vs 2.9±1.3 mg/kg total dose, mean 199±77.9 mg in younger patients, p<0.001). More experienced tech- nical staff were not allocated to these colonoscopies (for endoscopic or anesthesiological purposes) and, according to the results of multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis, inadequate preparation was the main factor affecting the success of the procedure in el- derly patients (OR 5.9, 95% CI 2.25-15.72; p=0.0003). Only body weight over 60 kg facilitated it (weight ≥60 kg, OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.26-0.83). In colonoscopy in the elderly, safety appears to be the primary concern and, good outcomes can be achieved, but sometimes at the expense of diagnostic accuracy. This could probably be improved through better pre- and post-procedure care, not currently differentiated between young and elderly patients
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Full text link“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
Full text linkWe 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
Full text linkWe 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
Population surveys compared with wastewater analysis for monitoring illicit drug consumption in Italy in 2010–2014
No full textBackground: Monitoring consumption by population surveys (PS) is an important way to challenge the spread of illicit drugs (ID). To improve the information, we explored a complementary method, particularly wastewater analysis (WWA).
Methods: We estimated the prevalence of use by PS, and the consumption by WWA, of cocaine, opioids, cannabis, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy) from 2010 to 2014 in Italy and compared the results.
Results: According to PS, cannabis and cocaine were the ID most used in Italy (last month prevalence 3.0% and 0.43% respectively in 2010) followed by opioids (0.17%) and amphetamines (0.14%). WWA gave similar findings, with cannabis consumption (4.35 g THC/day/1000 inhabitants) exceeding cocaine (0.78 g), heroin (0.092 g), methamphetamine and MDMA (0.103 g). The time trend investigated by PS showed significant decreases for all ID from 2010 to 2012. WWA also indicated a reduction of consumption for methamphetamine (p < 0.0001) and heroin (p < 0.01). Both methods showed an increase for cannabis in 2014 (p < 0.001) with the other ID unchanged. Spatial investigations by WWA showed that cannabis and cocaine were consumed significantly more in central Italy than in the north and south. PS indicated the same but only for cannabis. WWA was helpful to study weekly patterns of consumption, showing increases in cocaine and MDMA at weekends.
Conclusions: PS and WWA were confirmed as complementary methods and when used together improved the information on ID use in Italy. We suggest that the combined use of the two approaches can give better information on ID use in the population
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe 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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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