1,721,060 research outputs found
Switching first-line disease-modifying therapy after failure: impact on the course of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
No full textBACKGROUND: Options for non-responders to relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) first-line disease-modifying therapies (DMT) are limited. We explored whether switching first-line DMT is effective. METHODS: Patients with RRMS who first received interferon-beta (IFNB) or glatiramer acetate (GA) were classified in three categories: DMT change because of suboptimal response, DMT change because of other reasons, and no DMT change during follow-up. Outcomes included annualized relapse rate (ARR) and relapse-free proportions. RESULTS: We identified 597 patients who initiated first-line DMT. For patients who did not change DMT (n = 240), pre-DMT and on-DMT median ARR were 0.50 and 0 (P < 0.0001). At 24 months, 76% (95%CI = 69-81%) of patients who did not change DMT were relapse-free. Of the 155 who switched because of suboptimal response, 101 switched to another first-line DMT. Median ARR pre-DMT, on first DMT and second DMT were: 0.50, 0.55, and 0.25 for switchers from IFNB to GA (IFNB/GA, n = 12) (pre-DMT versus first DMT: P = 0.92; first versus second DMT: P = 0.31); 0.90, 0.50, and 0 for switchers from GA to IFNB (GA/IFNB, n = 18; P = 0.19; P = 0.01); 0.50, 0.68, and 0 for switchers from an IFNB to another IFNB (IFNB/IFNB', n = 71; P = 0.34; P = 0.02). Estimated relapse-free proportion after 24 months of treatment was 42% (95%CI=15-66%) during the period on IFNB versus 53% (95%CI = 17-80%) on GA for IFNB/GA (P = 0.21); 12% (95%CI = 0-40%) on GA versus 87% (95%CI = 59-97%) on IFNB for GA/IFNB (P = 0.001); and 41% (95%CI = 29-52%) on initial IFNB versus 67% (95%CI = 53-79%) on subsequent IFNB for IFNB/IFNB' (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Switching first-line DMT in patients with RRMS failing initial therapy may be effective in many cases
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
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
Orthotopic bladder reconstruction in women
No full textThe feasibility of performing orthotopic bladder reconstruction in women after radical cystectomy for transitional cell bladder carcinoma is gaining increasing acceptance. Traditionally, it was generally believed that this type of operation in women was not indicated for two main reasons: 1) scepticism about the possibility of preserving urinary continence after removal of the bladder neck; and 2) concern over performing incomplete radical cancer surgery and, therefore, of possible local recurrence if part of the bladder neck were spared. On the contrary, more recent studies indicate that retention of the bladder neck is not essential to the preservation of continence because continence is mainly assured by the external urethral sphincter, with its component of striated, slow-twitch variety muscle fibres, situated in the mid-urethra. Sparing this area, together with the creation of a detubularized high compliance reservoir, assures, as for men, a good functional result. Also, local recurrence incidence may be reduced to a minimum by careful selection of patients, excluding cases of neoplasm infiltration into the cervico-urethral area through preoperative and frozen section biopsies, and opting for external drainage in cases of high stage and grade tumors. Finally, urethral mucosectomy can prove useful to further reduce the risk of recurrence, especially in cases of associated carcinoma in situ. Based on these assumptions, the authors have reported their experience of 10 cases of orthotopic neobladder reconstruction in women, performed between 1983 and 1995. The first four were performed without detubularization of the isolated intestinal segment (Camey I technique), the last 6 with detubularization of the ileum (2 using the Camey 2 technique, and 4 adopting a personal, stapled technique: Simplified Ileal Bladder). Of the 6 detubularized cases, 5 have had good functional results (complete diurnal continence, and nocturnal continence supported by one or two scheduled voidings); one case shows posterior sagging of the neobladder which has caused a high postvoiding residual and the subsequent necessity for intermittent self-catheterization. Systematic use of neobladder suspension to the periosteum of the pubis (Cooper's ligament) can obviate the complication. There has been one case of local recurrence, accompanied, however, by distant metastases, in a patient presenting a high stage primary tumor upon whom reconstruction was performed given her young age. The authors believe that the use of strict selection criteria and of careful surgical dissection techniques can allow, even in women, for orthotopic bladder reconstruction following cystectomy with positive results regarding continence and excellent cancer control
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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