1,720,985 research outputs found
Lung volume reduction eligibility in patients with COPD completing pulmonary rehabilitation: results from the UK National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme
No full textObjectives: to establish what proportion of patients completing a UK pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programme meet the 2018 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) guideline (NG115) criteria to have a respiratory review to establish whether referral to a lung volume reduction multidisciplinary team would be appropriate. This respiratory review would include evaluation of the presence of hyperinflation and the presence of emphysema on CT scan. The NICE criteria include measures of breathlessness and exercise capacity but these parameters are not completely defined.Design: observational study.Setting: PR programmes across the UK in 2015 (210 centres) and 2017 (184 centres) entering data into the Royal College of Physicians’ National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme.Participants: 8295 (55.7%) of 14 889 patients in programmes using incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) or 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as an outcome measure completed PR, and 4856 (32.6%) had complete data recorded (6MWT/ISWT, baseline spirometry, Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea score).Results: depending on the walking test safety threshold adopted for the ISWT (≥140 m or ≥ 80 m) and the MRC dyspnoea score threshold used (MRC score ≥3 or ≥4 at the end of PR), between 4.9% and 18.1% of PR completers met the NICE criteria for a lung volume reduction-focused respiratory review.Conclusions: lung volume reduction therapies are beneficial in appropriately selected patients with COPD, but few procedures are performed, and treatment pathways are unclear. These data help to inform the feasibility of the approach recommended by NICE and highlight the need for future systematic pathways to reduce inequalities in patients being considered for effective treatment
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
Dietary nitrate supplementation to enhance exercise capacity in hypoxic COPD: EDEN-OX, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised cross-over study
No full textRationale: dietary nitrate supplementation improves skeletal muscle oxygen utilisation and vascular endothelial function. We hypothesised that these effects might be sufficient to improve exercise performance in patients with COPD and hypoxia severe enough to require supplemental oxygen.Methods: we conducted a single-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study, enrolling adults with COPD who were established users of long-term oxygen therapy. Participants performed an endurance shuttle walk test, using their prescribed oxygen, 3 hours after consuming either 140 mL of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BRJ) (12.9 mmol nitrate) or placebo (nitrate-depleted BRJ). Treatment order was allocated (1:1) by computer-generated block randomisation.Measurements: the primary outcome was endurance shuttle walk test time. The secondary outcomes included area under the curve to isotime for fingertip oxygen saturation and heart rate parameters during the test, blood pressure, and endothelial function assessed using flow-mediated dilatation. Plasma nitrate and nitrite levels as well as FENO were also measured.Main results: 20 participants were recruited and all completed the study. Nitrate-rich BRJ supplementation prolonged exercise endurance time in all participants as compared with placebo: median (IQR) 194.6 (147.5-411.7) s vs 159.1 (121.9-298.5) s, estimated treatment effect 62 (33-106) s (p<0.0001). Supplementation also improved endothelial function: NR-BRJ group +4.1% (-1.1% to 14.8%) vs placebo BRJ group -5.0% (-10.6% to -0.6%) (p=0.0003).Conclusion: acute dietary nitrate supplementation increases exercise endurance in patients with COPD who require supplemental oxygen.Trial registration number ISRCTN14888729.</p
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
Physiological demands of singing for lung health compared with treadmill walking
No full textIntroduction: participating in singing is considered to have a range of social and psychological benefits. However, the physiological demands of singing and its intensity as a physical activity are not well understood.Methods: we compared cardiorespiratory parameters while completing components of Singing for Lung Health sessions, with treadmill walking at differing speeds (2, 4 and 6 km/hour).Results: eight healthy adults were included, none of whom reported regular participation in formal singing activities. Singing induced acute physiological responses that were consistent with moderate intensity activity (metabolic equivalents: median 4.12, IQR 2.72–4.78), with oxygen consumption, heart rate and volume per breath above those seen walking at 4 km/hour. Minute ventilation was higher during singing (median 22.42 L/min, IQR 16.83–30.54) than at rest (11 L/min, 9–13), lower than 6 km/hour walking (30.35 L/min, 26.94–41.11), but not statistically different from 2 km/hour (18.77 L/min, 16.89–21.35) or 4 km/hour (23.27 L/min, 20.09–26.37) walking.Conclusions: our findings suggest the acute metabolic demands of singing are comparable with walking at a moderately brisk pace, hence, physical effects may contribute to the health and well-being benefits attributed to singing participation. However, if physical training benefits result remains uncertain. Further research including different singing styles, singers and physical performance impacts when used as a training modality is encouraged.Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov registry (NCT04121351)
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
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