1,720,959 research outputs found
Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation in Patients with Statin-Associated Muscle Symptoms and Low Vitamin D Levels
No full text: Background: Statin therapy is a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention. Unfortunately, 7%-29% of statin-treated patients complain of muscular fatigue, cramps, and/or pain (statin-associated muscle symptoms [SAMS]). In recent years, the important role of vitamin D in muscle health maintenance has been highlighted. In addition, hypovitaminosis D is very prevalent, and might be a reversible risk factor for SAMS occurrence. Methods: In our controlled intervention study, patients suffering from both SAMS and hypovitaminosis D underwent vitamin D replacement for 6 months. SAMS intensity and its impact on the quality of life were evaluated with a questionnaire during follow-up. A subgroup of patients who were not at the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target attempted a statin rechallenge after 3 months. Control subjects, with SAMS only, were not treated. Results: Blood vitamin D levels reached 261% of baseline values. Pain intensity was reduced by 63%, and all life quality indicators improved. At follow-up, percentage variations in SAMS intensity and in vitamin D levels were inversely related (r = 0.57, P = 0.002). In a multiple regression analysis, this association was found to be independent. Among the rechallenge subgroup, 75% successfully tolerated high-intensity statins during the follow-up. The parameters of interest were unchanged in control subjects. Conclusions: In our findings, the amount of increase in vitamin D concentrations is directly related to SAMS improvement. Although randomized studies are needed, 25(OH)D levels can be measured, and eventually supplemented, in all patients suffering from SAMS, and this can be done together with a statin rechallenge after 3 months for patients who are not at the LDL-C target. Register: The study protocol was registered with the EudraCT clinical trial register [ID: 2019-003250-83] in date April 8, 2020
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
Effect of ageing on carotid artery morphology, hemodynamics, and the development of atherosclerosis.
Get PDFCardiovascular diseases and ageing are two main challenges for health services. Cardiovascular disease is characterised by atherosclerosis, leading to heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis is a focal disease and occurs preferentially in regions of arterial bifurcation and curvature where complex flow features are observed.
The carotid arteries represent a region of significant involvement in atherosclerosis. Previous studies have shown that haemodynamic factors are important determinants of the local distribution of atherosclerosis. However, longitudinal studies are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate age-related changes in carotid artery morphology and haemodynamics based on longitudinal data acquired from a group of middle-aged subjects recruited to a cardiovascular disease prevention programme in Italy. The longitudinal study started in 1996 and participants were examined twice 12 years apart.
All subjects underwent blood viscosity measurements and echo-Doppler examinations of the common carotid artery at baseline and follow-up. From the acquired ultrasound data, common carotid artery diameter, blood flow velocity, and intima-media thickness were measured, and wall shear stress, circumferential wall tension and Peterson elastic modulus were calculated.
It was found that with ageing, blood viscosity increased, common carotid artery diameter increased, mean blood velocity and wall shear stress decreased, while intima-media thickness, circumferential wall tension and arterial stiffness increased. Interrelationships of the data were also examined: reductions in common carotid wall shear stress were independently associated with intima-media thickening. Furthermore, ageing-associated wall shear stress reduction predicted the development of atherosclerotic plaques, independently of known cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, in participants presenting shear stress reductions in only one side of the common carotid artery, development of atherosclerosis in the carotid tree was limited to the same body side.
In conclusion, this longitudinal study confirms the role of arterial wall shear stress as a mediator of the effects of ageing on atherosclerosis.Open Acces
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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