1,721,140 research outputs found
Population-based birth cohort studies in epidemiology
Full text linkBirth cohort studies are the most appropriate type of design to determine the causal relationship between potential risk factors during the prenatal or postnatal period and the health status of the newborn up to childhood and potentially adulthood. To date, there has been a growth in interest regarding observational population-based studies which are performed to provide answers to specific research questions for defined populations, for instance, assessing the exposure to environmental pollutants or drugs on the risk of developing a disease. Birth cohorts based on the recruitment and active follow-up of mothers and children allow the collection of biological material, and specific clinical and genetic information. However, they require a considerable amount of time and resources and, besides being usually of limited size, they are exposed to the risk of the loss of subjects to follow-up, with decreased statistical power and possible selection bias. For these reasons, linking the medical birth register with administrative health records for mothers and babies is increasingly being used in countries with a universal healthcare system, allowing researchers to identify large and unselected populations from birth, and to reconstruct relevant traits and care pathways of mothers and newborns. This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health focuses on the current state of knowledge on perinatal and postnatal exposures and adverse pregnancy, maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes through population-based birth cohort studies, with a specific focus on real-word data. The 12 accepted articles covered a wide range of themes that can be addressed specifically through birth cohort study design; however, only three were based on real word data with record-linkage to health administrative databases. In particular, two papers have addressed the topic of socioeconomic status considering several indicators both at the individual and contextual level. Two papers focused on inflammatory bowel diseases, both as an outcome of perinatal and antibiotic exposure in early life and as a condition associated with asthma, among children identified in a birth cohort based on a Regional Medical Birth Register. Three articles focused on medication use during pregnancy and its impact on maternal and fetal health. The effect of exposure to prenatal environmental risk factors on perinatal and childhood outcomes has been considered in two papers. Two papers analyzed ad hoc nationwide prospective birth cohorts set in Japan and UK. Finally, we included a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate the relation between growth restriction at birth and congenital heart defects. We think that this Special Issue may contribute to enriching the discussion of future challenges, opportunities, strengths and limitations for all research topics that can be investigated using a population-based birth cohort study design
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
Driving Safety & Awareness Cooperative Business Model exploiting the 5GMETA platform
No full textThe introduction of the 5G in the automotive sector paves the way to new business opportunities and stakeholders collaboration, thanks to the availability of new connected vehicles technologies. To emphasise the opportunities of improved data sharing, different business modelling approaches exist, depending on the phase of the data value chain that technologies are able to cover. The 5GMETA open platform aims to leverage CCAM-based captured data to stimulate, facilitate and feed innovative products and services exploring the possibilities enabled by collaborative business models. This paper describes a new business model which focuses on a Use Case (UC) on "Driving Safety and Awareness" that exploit the 5GMETA platform, and highlight its business innovation. In this context, the value proposition relies in the ability to increase road safety thanks to a better driving-misbehaviour detection, thus providing benefits to a wide range of potential stakeholders. The UC has its foundation in the real-time data collected, in a scalable and reliable way, by the platform. The main innovation that the adoption of such business model will bring is the creation of new partnerships that may be enforced by a clear definition of the profit-sharing strategy between the actors involved
Prevalence of pressure ulcers in hospitalised patients: A cross-sectional study
No full textObjective: The main aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of pressure ulcers (PU) and related risk factors of PU development in hospitalised patients in Italy. Furthermore, the study investigated the association between risk factors for PU present on admission and the development during hospitalisation (hospital-acquired pressure ulcer, HAPU). Methods: A cross-sectional study, using two separate designs at two separate timepoints: 2010 and 2015. The methodology used to measure PU prevalence was that recommended by the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP). Results: The total sample was 7681 hospitalised patients (3011 patients in 2010, 4670 in 2015). Prevalence of PU in hospital was 19.5% in 2010 and 17% in 2015. The number of patients with PU present on admission were 9.60% in 2010 and 9.42% in 2015. Patients with HAPU were 5.08% in 2010 and 5.87% in 2015. Older age and comorbidities, and a total Braden score of ≤16 were positively associated with PU present on admission and HAPU in hospitals (p30 days and being admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). Conclusion: Our results are comparable with other European and Italian studies. Most of the risk factors associated with PU development have been confirmed. However, further studies are needed to examine the effects of context on PU present on arrival and HAPU, especially regarding hospital length of stay
The Barthel index as an indicator of hospital outcomes: A retrospective cross-sectional study with healthcare data from older people
No full textAims: The assessment of functional status is a more appropriate measure in the older people than traditional healthcare outcomes. The present study aimed to analyse the association between functional status assessed using the Barthel Index and length of stay, in-hospital mortality, discharge destination, and Diagnosis-Related Groups-based cost. Design: This study was a retrospective study that used administrative data from patients older than 65 discharged from the University Hospital of Padua (Italy) in 2016. Methods: A logistic regression model for categorical variables (length of stay, in-hospital mortality, and discharge destination) and a generalized linear model with gamma distributions and log links for continuous variables (cost of hospitalization) were used to evaluate associations with the Barthel Index. Results: A total of 13,484 admissions were included in the analysis. In-hospital mortality, safe discharge, and length of stay were higher in patients with severe dependence than in patients with mild/no dependence with a 12-fold increased risk of death (OR = 12.81; 95% CI 9.22–18.14), a 4 times greater likelihood of safe discharge (OR = 4.64; 95% CI 3.96–5.45), and a 2-fold increase in length of stay (OR = 2.56; 95% CI 2.34–2.81). On the other hand, no significant association was found between the cost of hospitalization and the Barthel Index. Conclusions: Barthel Index was strongly associated with in-hospital mortality, discharge destination, and length of stay. The costs of hospitalization, however, were not related to patients’ functional impairment. Impact: The study considers functional status as an indicator of hospital outcomes. Better comprehension of the relationship between functional status and healthcare outcomes may help with early and adequate healthcare planning and resource management
Evaluation of the medication reconciliation process and classification of discrepancies at hospital admission and discharge in Italy
No full textBackground Medication errors at different transitions of care are common and potentially harmful. Medication reconciliation process should be evaluated to reduce the unintentional discrepancies. Objective This study aims to identify and classify unintentional medication discrepancies at hospital admission and discharge and associated risk factors. Setting Two general internal medicine and a pulmonology wards of an Italian non-academic hospital. Method A retrospective observational study was conducted among adult patients admitted to the wards. In order to evaluate the current medication reconciliation process of these wards, the frequency and type of unintentional chronic medication discrepancies between the physician assessment of home medication and hospital admission and discharge prescriptions were studied. Patients’ characteristic associated with the presence of at least one unintentional discrepancy were evaluated. Main outcome measure Frequencies of unintentional medication discrepancies upon admission and discharge and associated patients’ characteristics. Results Among the 144 patients enrolled in the study, 53 and 64 unintentional medication discrepancies were identified at hospital admission and at discharge, respectively. Both at admission and discharge a quarter of patients had at least one unintentional discrepancy. ‘Medication omission’ was the most frequent type of discrepancy identified and respiratory system and nervous system were the classes of medication with the highest rate of unintentional discrepancies. Unintentional discrepancies were more likely to occur in patients receiving more medicine pre-admission, longer hospitalization stays and coming from or discharged to a nursing home. Conclusion Transitions of care are critical moments for patient safety in terms of unintentional medication discrepancies and a more structured medication reconciliation process is needed. The medication reconciliation process should be considered in terms of a multidisciplinary approach involving all health professionals as well as patients and caregivers directly
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
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