1,720,964 research outputs found
Pharmacogenetics: a promising tool to personalize immunosuppressive therapy in renal transplantation.
No full textIl trapianto renale rappresenta la terapia d’elezione per la malattia renale allo stadio terminale, una condizione clinica caratterizzata da gravi alterazioni biologiche/biochimiche che richiedono una terapia sostitutiva della funzione renale per garantire la sopravvivenza dei pazienti. Il trapianto è seguito, nella maggior parte dei casi, da un significativo miglioramento della qualità di vita dei pazienti, da una riduzione delle spese mediche e da un prolungamento della vita. Tuttavia i pazienti nefro-trapiantati devono assumere diversi farmaci immunosoppressori (inibitori della calcineurina, inibitori di mTOR e antimetaboliti) caratterizzati da un basso indice terapeutico, che, in alcuni casi, potrebbero determinare importanti effetti collaterali. Per evitare tossicità e reazioni avverse al farmaco, è importante che gli immunosoppressori siano somministrati correttamente sulla base dei livelli ematici degli stessi. Tuttavia questa metodologia risulta spesso poco riproducibile e poco efficiente. Inoltre, come in gran parte descritto, differenze ereditarie nel metabolismo e nella disposizione dei farmaci, e la variabilità genetica nei bersagli terapeutici (es recettori) possono inficiare significativamente i loro effetti e la tossicità. Pertanto, numerosi studi si stanno focalizzando sulla identificazione di biomarcatori utili per personalizzare la terapia sulla base delle caratteristiche genetiche dei pazienti. In questo contesto, riteniamo che le tecniche "omiche" potrebbero rappresentare in futuro potenti strumenti che, se impiegate regolarmente, potrebbero contribuire a raggiungere questo obiettivo
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
The relationship between calcium kidney stones, arterial stiffness and bone density: unraveling the stone-bone-vessel liaison
No full textBackground and objectives: Kidney stone disease is associated with a higher incidence of cardio-vascular (CV) events for still unclear reasons. Reduced bone density is also a frequent finding in calcium kidney stones. The association of reduced bone density with increased vascular stiffness and calcification has been discovered in a number of conditions. We investigated the hypothesis that patients with calcium kidney stones have increased arterial stiffness, which would be associated with reduced bone density and higher CV risk. Design, setting, participants, and measurements: We compared measures of arterial stiffness [carotid-radial pulse-wave velocity (CR-PWV), carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (CF-PWV) and augmentation index (AI)] and of bone density (T-scores determined at lumbar spine, neck and hip) among 42 idiopathic calcium stone formers compared with 42 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Results: Stone formers had higher values of CR-PWV, CF-PWV and AI, and lower values of all T-scores. Furthermore, the prevalence of abnormal arterial stiffness and reduced bone density was significantly higher among stone formers. Statistical adjustment for age, sex, body mass index and other covariates did not change the results. Conclusions: Our study confirms that stone formers have increased arterial stiffness and reduced bone density. Abnormal arterial stiffness appears to be independent of reduced bone density and may explain the higher CV risk observed in stone formers
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
Nephrolithiasis: A Red Flag for Cardiovascular Risk
Full text linkEpidemiological evidence shows that nephrolithiasis is associated with cardiovascular (CV) morbidities. The association between nephrolithiasis and CV disease is not surprising because both diseases share conditions that facilitate their development. Metabolic conditions, encompassed in the definition of metabolic syndrome (MS), and habits that promote nephrolithiasis by altering urine composition also promote clinical manifestations of CV disease. By inducing oxidative stress, these conditions cause endothelial dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness, which are both well-known predictors of CV disease. Furthermore, the subtle systemic metabolic acidosis observed in stone formers with CV disease may have a pathogenic role by increasing bone turnover and leading to reduced mineral content and osteoporosis/osteopenia. Heart valves and/or coronary artery and aortic calcifications are frequently associated with reduced mineral density. This is known as the ‘calcification paradox’ in osteoporosis and has also been observed in subjects with calcium nephrolithiasis. Evidence supports the hypothesis that osteoporosis/osteopenia is an independent risk factor for the development of CV calcifications. In the long term, episodes of renal stones may occur from the onset of metabolic derangements/MS to arterial stiffness/atherosclerosis and CV morbidities. These episodes should be considered a warning sign of an ongoing and silent atherosclerotic process. The evaluation of cardiometabolic risk factors and MS components should be routine in the assessment of renal stone formers. This would allow for treatment and prevention of the development of CV complications, which are much more severe for the patient and for public health
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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