1,721,002 research outputs found
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
Fibroblast growth factor 23 serum level in type 2 diabetic italian subjects with peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia.
Full text linkOBJECTIVE: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) was demonstrated to be involved in the occurrence and development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of FGF23 on presence and severity of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in type 2 diabetic patients.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this study, we analyzed FGF23 serum levels in 413 type 2 diabetic patients with PAD and in 598 diabetic controls without lower limbs atherosclerosis.
RESULTS: We found that FGF23 median serum levels were significantly higher in patients than in diabetic controls (69.3 (58.8-75.1) pg/mL in PAD and 42.98 (37.1-49.8) pg/mL in subjects without PAD (p < 0.001) and were significantly and independently associated with critical limb ischemia (CLI) [OR, 7.69 (2.64-16.31); p = 0.001].
CONCLUSIONS: We have found, for the first time, that FGF23 could be associated with presence and severity of PAD in Italian patients with type 2 diabetes
Association between TNFRSF11B gene polymorphisms and history of ischemic stroke in Italian diabetic patients.
No full textOsteoprotegerin (OPG) is a secretory glycoprotein that belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor family and plays a role in atherosclerosis. The present study aimed to evaluate whether OPG gene (TNFRSF11B) polymorphisms are involved in ischemic stroke in an Italian population with diabetes. Participants in a retrospective case-control study included 364 diabetic patients (180 males, 184 females) with history of ischemic stroke and 492 diabetic subjects without history of ischemic stroke (252 males, 240 females). The T245G, T950C, and G1181C polymorphisms of the OPG gene were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. We found that the T245G, T950C, and G1181C gene polymorphisms of the OPG gene were significantly (34.1 vs. 9.5 %, P < 0.0001; 30.8 vs. 6.3 %, P < 0.0001 and 26.4 vs. 11.6 % P < 0.0001, respectively) and independently (adjusted OR 5.15 [3.46-7.68], OR 6.63 [4.26-10.31], and OR 3.03 [2.04-4.50], respectively) associated with history of ischemic stroke. We also found that these three polymorphisms act synergistically in patients with stroke history. The TNFRSF11B gene polymorphisms studied are associated with history of ischemic stroke and synergistic effects between these genotypes might be potential markers for cerebrovascular disorders
Influence of growth hormone receptor d3 and full-length isoforms on biochemical treatment outcomes in acromegaly.
No full textCONTEXT: In acromegaly, a discrepancy between what are defined as "normal" levels of GH and IGF-I for every given patient is observed in up to 35% of subjects at diagnosis and during the follow-up. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of GH receptor (GHR) polymorphism on the biochemical assessment of the treatment of acromegaly and on prevalence of discordant levels of GH and IGF-I. SETTING: The study was performed in an institutional referral center at a tertiary care hospital. DESIGN, PATIENTS, AND METHODS: We studied prospectively and retrospectively 84 consecutive acromegalic patients with active disease after neurosurgery and treated them with somatostatin analogs. The GHR genotype (flfl, fld3, or d3d3) was determined from peripheral blood. RESULTS: Lack of exon 3 of GH receptor (d3-GHR) was found in 40 of 84 patients (47.6%). After neurosurgery, 67 subjects (79.8%) of the study population, concordant active acromegalic patients, had high IGF-I and mean GH levels above 2 ng/ml, whereas the remaining 17 patients (20.2%, discordant active acromegalic patients) showed discordance between these two parameters (high IGF-I and GH levels < or = 2 ng/ml). Overall, 70.6% of discordant patients were carriers of the d3-GHR. After somatostatin analogs, discordant active acromegalic patients increased to 30.9%, 69.2% of whom were carriers of the d3-GHR. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that d3-GHR carriers maintained the significant correlation with discordant GH and IGF-I values either after neurosurgery or after somatostatin analog treatment, independently of the effects of age, sex, duration of acromegaly, serum GH, and IGF- I values either at diagnosis of acromegaly or after neurosurgery. CONCLUSION: The GHR polymorphism seems to have a relevant impact on the posttreatment biochemical assessment of acromegaly. Moreover, the d3-GHR isoform could be an independent predictor of GH and IGF-I discrepancy during the follow-up in acromegaly
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
An unusual location of hand, foot and mouth disease
Full text linkHand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a childhood febrile disease. Oral lesions and papulovesicular lesions on the hands and feet are the clinical signs of the disease. In our case, a 17-year-old boy presented to the emergency department, where he was diagnosed with HFMD. After 6days, he felt intense pain in his right testicle, and therefore an ultrasound (US) examination was performed. US detected a hypoechoic mass-like area in the right testis. Viral etiology was suspected, and no therapy was prescribed. After a little more than 3months, US examination showed a reduced lesion size. Viral epididymo-orchitis should be suspected in young men with a recent history of HFMD and testicular pain
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
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