1,720,975 research outputs found
Intravenous pulses of methylprednisolone for systemic lupus erythematosus
No full textBackground: Intravenous (IV) pulses of methylprednisolone (MEP) commonly are used to treat severe manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, despite wide use of this treatment the best dose, timing, and the situations in which this treatment should be used remain largely anecdotal. Aim: To review the mechanisms of action and evidence for clinical use of IV MEP in the treatment of SLE.Method: The literature on MEP use in SLE from 1966 to 2002, using PubMed from the National Library of Medicine, was reviewed. Results: As with other modes of corticosteroid administration, IV MEP has significant anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive actions. These actions have been shown to be effective in treating SLE in clinical trials, for lupus nephritis. The studies are mainly uncontrolled and retrospective. Long-term observations from a few double-blind prospective trials suggest that monthly pulses of MEP, in addition to IV cyclophosphamide, may be useful. Pulse MEP is beneficial for several serious manifestations of SLE, such as neuro-psychiatric lupus, pulmonary hemorrhage, severe blood dyscrasias, cardiomyopathy, and vasculitis. However, significant side effects may occur, mostly infections, which are worse in patients with hypoalbuminemia. Conclusion: IV pulses of MEP rapidly immunosuppress patients with organ and/or life-threatening manifestations of SLE. However, the gold standard 1 g/day for 3 consecutive days is associated with significant infectious complications and lower doses may be just as useful
Rheumatoid arthritis disease activity and vitamin D deficiency in an Asian resident population.
No full textAIM
We aimed to assess the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity in a UAE population.
METHODS
Forty-five consecutive subjects were prospectively recruited during the early summer with their clinical examination and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) being recorded at a clinic appointment, along with their blood sample being taken for the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) total test.
RESULTS
Thirty-five (76%) patients claimed to be exposed to sunlight for < 30 min daily. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (20-30 ng/mL) and deficiency (< 20 ng/mL) was 36% and 29%, respectively. RA patients who exposed their hands and feet (29 ng/mL) or more (34 ng/mL) to the sunlight had serum vitamin D levels higher than those who exposed their hands alone (18 ng/mL) or less (19 ng/mL) (P < 0.05). The variations in vitamin D levels due to skin color did not reach significance. No significant correlation was seen between serum vitamin D levels and Disease Activity Score (DAS28) or HAQ scores. A direct relationship was observed between HAQ scores and DAS28 scores (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
We highlight the importance of skin exposure to sunlight in a conservative dressing culture. No association was observed between vitamin D and disease activity. However, the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency may negatively impact on bone health of these patients in the future
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
Barriers to achieving controlled rheumatoid arthritis in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study
No full textTo better understand the factors that affect low disease activity (DAS28 ≤ 3.2, LDA) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and barriers within the UAE, demographic/treatment data and DAS28 scores were collected through chart reviews of 182 consecutive RA patients seen at a private clinic in Dubai over a 2-month period. Patients were separated into a LDA group and a group comprised of moderate (3.2 < DAS28 < 5.1) or high disease activity (DAS28 ≥ 5.1) (MHDA). We then examined variables that may be associated with LDA and re-examined the MHDA group for barriers. While 97 (53 %) of the 182 patients had achieved the treatment target of DAS28 ≤ 3.2, 85 (47 %) had MHDA. A significantly larger portion of LDA patients had been previously treated with sulfasalazine (36 in LDA vs. 14 in MHDA, P = 0.002) or was presently on biological treatments (24 vs. 9, P = 0.013). For the 85 MHDA patients, 40 (22 % of 182) exhibited resistant disease with 25 (13.7 % of 182) failing their current first tier disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment or combinations and 15 (8.2 % of 182) failing current anti-TNF or biologic treatment. Reasons listed were primarily socioeconomic with 40 % of the resistant disease group unable to afford biologicals and 52 % of the patient-driven preference group discontinuing DMARDs against professional advice. Going forward, emphasis on the agreement between patient and rheumatologist on treatment, specifically regarding how DMARDs help relieve symptoms and their proper use, could help reduce the percentage of MHDA patients in the UAE
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
- …
