1,720,988 research outputs found
Lipid-lowering activity of artichoke extracts: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
No full textArtichoke is a component of the Mediterranean diet. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to determine if artichoke extract supplementation affected human lipid parameters. The search included PubMed-Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases up to March 28, 2017, to identify RCTs investigating the impact of artichoke extracts on plasma lipid levels. Quantitative data synthesis was performed using a random-effects model, with weighed mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) as summary statistics. Meta-analysis of data from 9 trials including 702 subjects suggested a significant decrease in plasma concentrations of total cholesterol (WMD: -17.6 mg/dL, 95%CI: -22.0, -13.3, p < 0.001), Low Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (LDL-C; WMD: -14.9 mg/dL, 95%CI: -20.4, -9.5, p = 0.011) and triglycerides (WMD: -9.2 mg/dL, 95%CI: -16.2, -2.1, p = 0.011). No significant alteration in plasma High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations was observed (WMD: 1.0 mg/dL, 95%CI: -1.1, 3.1, p = 0.333). A significant association between the LDL-lowering effect of artichoke and baseline LDL-C concentrations (slope: -0.170; 95%CI: -0.288, 0.051; p = 0.005) was observed. Thus, supplementation with artichoke extract was associated with a significant reduction in both total and LDL-C, and triglycerides, suggesting that supplementation may be synergistic with lipid-lowering therapy in patients with hyperlipidemia
Use of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Regression to Guide Therapy and Management of Cardiac Risks.
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Evaluation of the clinical and cost effectiveness of intermediate care clinics for diabetes (ICCD): A multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial
No full textBACKGROUND: Configuring high quality care for the rapidly increasing number of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major challenge worldwide for both providers and commissioners. In the UK, about two thirds of people with T2D are managed entirely in primary care, with wide variation in management strategies and achievement of targets. Pay for performance, introduced in 2004, initially resulted in improvements but disparities exist in ethnic minorities and the improvements are levelling off. Community based, intermediate care clinics for diabetes (ICCDs) were considered one solution and are functioning across the UK. However, there is no randomised trial evidence for the effectiveness of such clinics. TRIAL DESIGN, METHODS AND FINDINGS: This is a cluster-randomised trial, involving 3 primary care trusts, with 49 general practices randomised to usual care (n=25) or intervention (ICCDs; n=24). All eligible adult patients with T2D were invited; 1997 were recruited and 1280 followed-up after 18-months intervention. PRIMARY OUTCOME: achievement of all three of the NICE targets [(HbA1c ≤ 7.0%/53 mmol/mol; Blood Pressure <140/80 mmHg; cholesterol <154 mg/dl (4 mmol/l)]. PRIMARY OUTCOME was achieved in 14.3% in the intervention arm vs. 9.3% in the control arm (p=0.059 after adjustment for covariates). The odds ratio (95% CI) for achieving primary outcome in the intervention group was 1.56 (0.98, 2.49). Primary care and community clinic costs were significantly higher in the intervention group, but there were no significant differences in hospital costs or overall healthcare costs. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of +£7,778 per QALY gained, indicated ICCD was marginally more expensive at producing health gain. CONCLUSIONS: Intermediate care clinics can contribute to improving target achievement in patients with diabetes. Further work is needed to investigate the optimal scale and organisational structure of ICCD services and whether, over time, their role may change as skill levels in primary care increase. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00945204; National Research Register (NRR) M0014178167
The Effect of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists on Weight Loss in Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Mixed Treatment Comparison Meta-Analysis.
Get PDFAimsTo determine the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists compared with placebo and other anti-diabetic agents on weight loss in overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.MethodsElectronic searches were conducted for randomised controlled trials that compared a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist therapy at a clinically relevant dose with a comparator treatment (other type 2 diabetes treatment or placebo) in adults with type 2 diabetes and a mean body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2. Pair-wise meta-analyses and mixed treatment comparisons were conducted to examine the difference in weight change at six months between the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and each comparator.ResultsIn the mixed treatment comparison (27 trials), the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists were the most successful in terms of weight loss; exenatide 2 mg/week: -1.62 kg (95% CrI: -2.95 kg, -0.30 kg), exenatide 20 μg: -1.37 kg (95% CI: -222 kg, -0.52 kg), liraglutide 1.2 mg: -1.01 kg (95%CrI: -2.41 kg, 0.38 kg) and liraglutide 1.8 mg: -1.51 kg (95% CI: -2.67 kg, -0.37 kg) compared with placebo. There were no differences between the GLP-1 receptor agonists in terms of weight loss.ConclusionsThis review provides evidence that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist therapies are associated with weight loss in overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes with no difference in weight loss seen between the different types of GLP-1 receptor agonists assessed
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe 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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