1,721,108 research outputs found

    Anatomy of the Cervical Spine

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    The vertebral column is divided into regions and consists of 32-35 vertebrae, separated from each other by intervertebral discs. Functionally, the vertebrae form a single structure designed to maintain an upright posture and balance countering gravity, enabling locomotion and every other kinetic movement against applied force and resistance. Therefore, the two basic requirements of the spine are rigidity, for static efficiency and protection of the spinal cord and spinal nerves, and flexibility, for the kinematics of the spine. Vertebrae forming the different parts of the spine have joints that allow diverse spine movements, such as rotation, inclination, flexion and extension of the head. The cervical spine is mainly innervated by the cervical plexus. The cervical plexus is composed of the anastomosis of ventral branches of the first four cervical nerves and by an anastomotic branch of fifth one, forming the ansa cervicalis

    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 eSports conundrum: Is the sports sciences community ready to face them? A perspective

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    The reality of eSports is something much more complex than individual users playing video games. There are several characteristics that eSports have in common with traditional sports: from the spirit of competition to the structural composition of the teams, including the increase in performance with training and practice, up to the injuries and physical and psychological stress of the athlete. The number of scientific papers interested in this reality is still relatively low, although in recent years there has been a significant increase in this regard. Probably the lack of knowledge of the world of eSports by inexperts can represent an initial obstacle in the approach to this environment. Therefore, an all-round analysis of the eSports industry is fundamental: including the figures that characterize them, the different eSports disciplines, the possible physical and mental consequences for athletes. Emphasizing the similarities between electronic and non-electronic sports is essential in order to make people, and the scientific community in particular, understand how they should be considered equal to the “traditional” vision of sports especially in the need for professional medical support. The number of professional and amateur eSports players increase every day as well as the birth of professional organizations and national teams while medical monitoring seems to have fallen behind. In the near future, we hope that the scientific community and in particular the medical disciplines will be able to closely support the world of eSports to guarantee the correct assistance to all professional and non-professional athletes. An increase in the number of scientific work and specific studies will certainly bring benefits in countering physical attrition, reducing the risk of injury, in psychological support to athletes and in the fight against doping reality

    Preoperative considerations on the thorax: Anatomy and surgical landmarks

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    The thoracic wall is the higher part of the thorax consisting of a musculoskeletal structure including the mediastinum, the pleuropulmonary cavities, viscera, lymphatic, vascular, and nervous structures. Its dimensions are influenced by age, gender, and life style including physical training. It changes constantly in shape and size according to respiration: Generally, males show an abdominal pattern while females have usually a thoracic respiration pattern. The anatomy of the chest differs between men and women, with considerable variations among different ages and races. The skin is thicker in male than in female. In the male thorax, hair is frequently present and the mammary glands are underdeveloped. In this area, pathologic scar formation is relatively common. The clavicle and manubrium stern create the upper edge of the thorax, while xiphoid and the synchondrosis joints from seventh to tenth rib form the lower edge. The diaphragm, separating from the abdomen, is attached to the posterior surfaces of the xiphoid process and the lower six ribs and costal cartilages. Lateral limit of the chest is represented by the anterior axillary fold, which is formed by the pectoralis major tendon’s insertions onto the lateral lip of the intertubercular sulcus of the humerus

    Three-Dimensional Bioprinting for Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Insights into Naturally-Derived Bioinks from Land and Marine Sources

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    In regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, the possibility to: (I) customize the shape and size of scaffolds, (II) develop highly mimicked tissues with a precise digital control, (III) manufacture complex structures and (IV) reduce the wastes related to the production process, are the main advantages of additive manufacturing technologies such as three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. Specifically, this technique, which uses suitable hydrogel-based bioinks, enriched with cells and/or growth factors, has received significant consideration, especially in cartilage tissue engineering (CTE). In this field of interest, it may allow mimicking the complex native zonal hyaline cartilage organization by further enhancing its biological cues. However, there are still some limitations that need to be overcome before 3D bioprinting may be globally used for scaffolds’ development and their clinical translation. One of them is represented by the poor availability of appropriate, biocompatible and eco-friendly biomaterials, which should present a series of specific requirements to be used and transformed into a proper bioink for CTE. In this scenario, considering that, nowadays, the environmental decline is of the highest concerns worldwide, exploring naturally-derived hydrogels has attracted outstanding attention throughout the scientific community. For this reason, a comprehensive review of the naturally-derived hydrogels, commonly employed as bioinks in CTE, was carried out. In particular, the current state of art regarding eco-friendly and natural bioinks’ development for CTE was explored. Overall, this paper gives an overview of 3D bioprinting for CTE to guide future research towards the development of more reliable, customized, eco-friendly and innovative strategies for this field of interest

    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

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We 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
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