124,911 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Access to social and health services as a health opportunity. Effects of pandemic on older people
No full textDispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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 contribution of small-Airway abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease clinical manifestations: More than a functional issue
No full textThe contribution of small airways abnormalities - i.e. those occurring in the peripheral membranous bronchioles with internal diameter < 2 mm [1,2] - in driving the clinical manifestations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is well recognised and already encapsulated in the definition of the disease [3]. Several studies have already demonstrated the relative contribution of small airway and lung parenchyma abnormalities to the severity of airflow limitation, mainly related to peripheral airway collapse and/or emphysema [1,4]. Furthermore, a milestone study on this topic by Hogg and colleagues [5] showed strong correlations between the severity of lung function impairment and the degree of luminal occlusion and the inflammatory infiltrate of the small airways in COPD patients. Notably, small airways abnormalities seem to antedate the development of spirometrically detectable airflow obstructionm as shown in asymptomatic smokers [6]. Taken together, these observations strongly suggest that small airway inflammatory and structural abnormalities may represent the incipit towards the development and progression of COPD in smokers.
In the current issue, Crisafulli et al. aimed at establishing the prevalence of small airway impairment in COPD patients, evaluated by impulse oscillometry system (IOS). Interestingly, the prevalence of small airway impairment was assessed across COPD severity by means of “A to D grade classification” according to the recent GOLD guidelines [1]. This classification, beside lung function, takes into account the assessment of symptoms/quality of life and the risk of exacerbations as determinants of COPD severity. The authors found a similar higher impairment in small airway function in GOLD stage B (symptomatic patients, with mild airflow obstruction) and C (pauci-symptomatic patients, but with more severe airflow obstruction) compared to GOLD stage A (pauci-symptomatic patients, and mild airflow obstruction); of note, the percentage of patients with small airway impairment [defined as peripheral airway resistance (R5-R20) value >0.07 kPa·s·L-1 at IOS] was significantly lower in GOLD C than in GOLD B. This latter group of patients (individuals who are highly symptomatic despite mild airflow obstruction), has been shown to experience worse long-term survival rates when compared to patients with more severe airflow obstruction but milder symptomatology [7]. Thus the symptomatic and/or COPD patients with poor quality of life can be those characterised by predominant small airway abnormalities which, in turn, contribute to the severity of the clinical manifestation of the disease.
The current paper has also the merit of having identified a proportion of subjects with an established diagnosis of COPD who do not show functional features of small airway abnormalities. These findings confirm that the population of COPD patients is heterogeneous not only in terms of symptoms and lung function, but also with regard to the prevalent component of the disease (i.e. small airway disease vs. emphysema). The current findings, together with previous publications [5,8] showing that small airway abnormalities affect the severity of the clinical manifestation of COPD, call for a more comprehensive lung functional evaluation that should include measurements of the peripheral portion of the airways in a routine manner.
We support the concept that not only small airway impairment contributes to airflow obstruction in COPD but also, and even more importantly, to the clinical manifestations of the disease hampering the symptom-related quality of life and possibly the long term prognosis
Interactions of airway pathogens and inflammatory processes
No full textThe clinical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is punctuated by recurrent episodes of increases in dyspnea, cough, or sputum production named exacerbations. In addition to increasing COPD-associated morbidity and mortality, exacerbations contribute to loss of lung function and impaired health status in COPD patients (1)
Interactions of airway pathogens and inflammatory processes
No full textThe clinical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is punctuated by recurrent episodes of increases in dyspnea, cough, or sputum production named exacer- bations. In addition to increasing COPD-associated morbidity and mortality, exacerbations contribute to loss of lung function and impaired health status in COPD patients (1).
Although it is often assumed that exacerbations are associated with increased airway inflammation, there is little information on the nature of the acute-on-chronic inflammation that characterizes these episodes. Most of the data currently available refer to soluble indirect markers of airway inflammation rather than inflammatory cell infiltration per se (2).
Infections of the tracheobronchial tree, together with air pollution, are considered the most common causes of COPD exacerbations (1). Whether different patterns of airway inflammation correspond to different etiologies is largely unknown. Better understanding of these relationships and of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms would give the opportunity to identify relevant targets (pathogens and inflammation) for the treatment and prevention of COPD exacerbations.
Many exacerbations are associated with symptoms of infection of the tracheobron- chial tree, and bacteria have been considered the main infective cause of exacerbations (1). Determining the contribution of bacteria to exacerbations is difficult, as COPD patients are often colonized with bacteria even when clinically stable (3). The proportion of patients with positive bacterial cultures and a high bacterial load increases during exacerbations in most, although not in all, studies (4–6). Newer molecular techniques have recently shown that colonization is not a static condition and there is a frequent turnover of different strains of bacteria evoking specific host responses (7). Thus, it is likely that a change in the strain but not the organism may be responsible for the exacerbations. Therefore, previous studies lacking in the molecular characterization of bacterial strains may have missed evidence of a new infection. Indeed, it has been documented that the acquisition of a new strain of colonizing bacteria increases the risk of an exacerbation (8). In the last few decades, the use of highly sensitive diagnostic methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), to evaluate the association between respiratory virus infections and COPD exacerbations has shown that viruses are responsible for a much higher proportion of exacerbations than was previously realized. In a study of the East London COPD cohort, respiratory viruses were detected in 39% of exacerbations, the most common being rhinoviruses that accounted for 58% of viruses (9). A respiratory virus was detected in around 50% of patients with severe COPD exacerbation admitted to hospitals in Germany and Italy, with rhinovirus again being the most common (5,10). In patients with very severe COPD exacerbations requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation, viruses were identified in 47% of patients (11). At variance with bacterial infections, the respiratory viruses more commonly found at exacerbations were virtually absent in stable state (5,12), suggesting that they play a relevant role in the etiology of the acute episodes
Pragmatic Case Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology
No full textTo unify or not to unify applied psychology: that is the question. In this article we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question—from a comprehensive, positivist, “top-down,” deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 60s, to a postmodern no since then. A rationale and proposal for a limited, “bottom-up,” inductive yes in applied psychology is then presented, employing a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. This paradigm is labeled “pragmatic psychology” and, its specific use of case studies, the “Pragmatic Case Study Method” (“PCS Method”). We call for the creation of peer-reviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies as a foundational source of unifying applied knowledge in our discipline. As one example, the potential of the PCS Method for unifying different angles of theoretical regard is illustrated in an area of applied psychology, psychotherapy, via the case of Mrs. B. The article then turns to the broader historical and epistemological arguments for the unifying nature of the PCS Method in both applied and basic psychology.Peer reviewe
Dr. Edwin Wright Collection: Author Unknown
No full textNotes - The author relates several short stories about his neighbours including Alex McDonell, homesteading and life around Meanook and Athabasca (1 page
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