1,720,961 research outputs found
Intranasal Human-Recombinant Nerve Growth Factor Enhances Motor and Cognitive Function Recovery in a Child with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
No full textIntroduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in pediatric population is responsible for significant mortality and morbidity, particularly among children aged 0–4 and young adults aged 15–24. The developing brain’s unique characteristics may increase vulnerability to injuries, potentially leading to long-term cognitive and motor deficits. Current therapeutic options for neuronal regeneration post-TBI are limited, although neurotrophins, especially nerve growth factor (NGF), show promise in enhancing recovery. NGF can mitigate excitotoxicity and promote neuroprotection, particularly by intranasal administration, which is attractive because of its non-invasive nature. Case Presentation: A three-year-old boy suffered from severe TBI due to a car accident, leading to multiple complications, including a basilar skull fracture and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Initial assessments revealed significant neurological impairments. After intensive care and rehabilitation, the child exhibited gradual improvements in consciousness and motor functions but continued to face challenges, particularly with left-sided hemiparesis. Nine months post-injury, he began intranasal administration of human-recombinant NGF (hr-NGF) as part of a clinical trial. Discussion: Following hr-NGF treatment, the child demonstrated notable advancements in motor function, achieving independent standing and walking. Cognitive assessments indicated improvements in various domains, including verbal comprehension and executive functioning. EEG results showed reduced epileptiform activity. These findings suggest that hr-NGF may facilitate recovery in pediatric TBI cases by enhancing both motor and cognitive outcomes. Conclusions: This case highlights the potential role of intranasal hr-NGF administration as a therapeutic strategy for improving neurological recovery in children with severe TBI. The positive clinical outcomes support further exploration of NGF as a viable treatment option to mitigate long-term sequelae associated with pediatric brain injuries
Outcome of Neonatal Hydronephrosis, a New Cut-Off to Identify Patients with Spontaneous Resolution
No full textBackground/Objectives: The anteroposterior renal pelvis diameter (APRPD) is used to assess the grade of urinary tract dilatation (UTD). There is no univocal method stratifying the risk of complications related to postnatal UTD. This study aims to identify APRPD cut-offs at birth to determine outcome stratification and second-level exams. Methods: The records of a cohort of newborns with unilateral or bilateral UTD confirmed or detected by ultrasound after birth between 2010 and 2020 were analyzed. These children underwent further examinations at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of age. Results: We managed 500 children with postnatal UTD, with a median APRPD at 0–2 months of age of 7.7 mm [IQR 6.0–10.0]. As for UTD resolution, 279 (55.8%) patients had a complete resolution at the age of 6 months; an additional 55, for a total of 344 (68.8%), at 9–12 months; and 19, for a total of 353 (70.6%), at 24 months. An APRPD value ≤ 8.5 mm showed a sensitivity of 80.4% (95% CI [76.0–84.4]) and a specificity of 100.0% (95% CI [76.8–100.0]) in identifying candidates for spontaneous resolution within 24 months of life. An APRPD value ≤ 8.5 mm was also an independent prognostic factor of resolution at the age of 24 months (p = 0.000). Conclusions: Isolated hydronephrosis is the most frequent urinary tract abnormality detected in pregnancy. A well-structured prenatal and postnatal management plan is indeed necessary. According to our analyses, 8.5 mm can be used as a cut-off to reassure parents and clinicians of the benignity of the postnatal dilatation
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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
The Role of Sex Differences in Bone Health and Healing
No full textSimple Summary Fracture healing is a complex process that includes a framework of events triggered by tissue injury. Clinical experience with bone healing revealed a series of cellular and biochemical actors encompassing the repair mechanisms in human beings. However, the different responses of individuals in this scenario are still a matter of debate. We analyze herein in some detail the disparity between men and women in this process. Based on the literature, we suggest that different mechanisms could underlie bone healing in men and women and that the role of estrogen could be pivotal in delayed fracture repair observed in women. Fracture healing is a long-term and complex process influenced by a huge variety of factors. Among these, there is a sex/gender disparity. Based on significant differences observed in the outcome of bone healing in males and females, in the present review, we report the main findings, hypotheses and pitfalls that could lead to these differences. In particular, the role of sex hormones and inflammation has been reported to have a role in the observed less efficient bone healing in females in comparison with that observed in males. In addition, estrogen-induced cellular processes such as autophagic cell cycle impairment and molecular signals suppressing cell cycle progression seem also to play a role in female fracture healing delay. In conclusion, it seems conceivable that a complex framework of events could contribute to the female bias in bone healing, and we suggest that a reappraisal of the compelling factors could contribute to the mitigation of sex/gender disparity and improve bone healing outcomes
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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