1,721,045 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

    The frailty syndrome: a critical issue in geriatric oncology

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    Evidence exists that the geriatric intervention guided by Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) has positive effects on a number of important health outcomes in frail older patients. Although a number of observational studies, editorials, special articles and clinical reports, suggest that CGA should be used to guide the assessment and clinical decision-making in older cancer patients, there is limited support to this view in the literature. Older patients that are diagnosed with cancer are usually healthier and less problematic than persons of the same age who are randomly sampled from the general population. In these persons, the cancer dominates the clinical picture and, therefore, instruments especially tuned for the frail elderly may provide little information. The concept of the frailty syndrome, characterized by high susceptibility, low functional reserve and unstable homeostasis, has recently received a lot of attention by the geriatric community. A CGA approach, which also evaluates elements of the frailty syndrome, may be of great interest for those oncologists who want to identify older patients likely to develop severe toxicity and severe side effects in response to aggressive treatment. Improvements in the definition of the frailty syndrome may profit from the clinical experience of oncologists. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

    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

    High-frequency vibration training increases muscle power in postmenopausal women

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    Objective: To test whether training on a high-frequency (28Hz) vibrating platform improves muscle power and bone characteristics in postmenopausal women. Design: Randomized controlled trial with 6-month follow-up. Setting: Outpatient clinic in a general hospital in Italy. Participants: Twenty-nine postmenopausal women (intervention group, n = 14; matched controls, n = 15). Intervention: Participants stood on a ground-based oscillating platform for three 2-minute sessions for a total of 6 minutes per training session, twice weekly for 6 months. The controls did not receive any training. Both groups were evaluated at baseline and after 6 months. Main Outcome Measure: Muscle power, calculated from ground reaction forces produced by landing after jumping as high as possible on a forceplate, cortical bone density, and biomarkers of bone turnover. Results: Over 6 months, muscle power improved by about 5% in women who received the intervention, and it remained unchanged in controls (P=.004). Muscle force remained stable in both the intervention and control groups. No significant changes were observed in bone characteristics. Conclusion: Reflex muscular contractions induced by vibration training improve muscle power in postmenopausal women

    The origins of age-related proinflammatory state

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    We hypothesized that the rising levels of inflammatory markers, with aging is explained by cardiovascular risk factors and morbidity becoming progressively more prevalent in older persons. information on inflammatory markers, cardiovascular risk factors, and diseases was collected in 595 men and 748 women sampled from the general population (age, 20-102 years). In both men and women, older age was associated with higher levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), IL-18, C-reactive protein (CRIP), and fibrinogen, while soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6r) increased significantly with age only in men. Adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors and morbidity, the age regression coefficients became substantially smaller in models predicting IL-6, IL-1ra, IL-18, and fibrinogen and larger in the model predicting sIL6r. Adjustment for cardiovascular morbidity substantially reduced the effect of age on CRP in men but not in women. Findings were confirmed in a subgroup of 51 men and 45 women with low risk profile and no cardiovascular morbidity. Part of the "proinflammatory state" in older persons is related to the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factor and morbidity. (c) 2005 by The American Society of Hematology
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