1,720,978 research outputs found
Screening for hypovitaminosis D: Cost-effective or not?
No full textFew topics have elicited more emotion than the issue of screening for vitamin D status and the discussion on the need for global supplementation with vitamin D metabolites. The importance of the problem is highlighted by the USPSTF posted draft research plan with the aim of making an update recommendations statement, possibly next year. Here, we discuss two different viewpoints on screening for vitamin D status: for and against. In the literature there are scientifically sound opinions supporting pro and cons positions. However, we believe that the best way to definitively elucidate this issue is the implementation of a randomized controlled trial evaluating clinical outcomes or harms in persons screened versus those not screened for vitamin D defi ciency. The feasibility of such a trial is probably questionable owing to uncertainties still present concerning th reshold for vitamin D sufficiency and end points (that is, for example, improved bone mineral density, reduced risk of falls and so on) to be reached
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
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
Investigating the Impact of Exercise Training on Pain Sensitivity in Veterans with Chronic Widespread Pain by Gunnar A. Roberge A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science (Kinesiology) at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON 2025
No full textChronic pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide and its prevalence continues to rise (Grol-Prokopczyk, 2017; James et al., 2018; Rice et al., 2016). The pain that most patients experience can often be attributed to an underlying condition such as osteoarthritis, in which the pain is–at least initially–driven by ongoing nociceptive inputs from damaged tissue or persistent inflammation (i.e., nociceptive pain). Pain can also result from damage to the somatosensory nervous system (i.e., neuropathic pain) caused by diseases such as postherpetic neuralgia or multiple sclerosis. However, there are several conditions in which the patients’ pain cannot be explained by any identifiable tissue damage or nervous system injury. Common examples of these conditions include fibromyalgia syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, temporomandibular disorder, migraine, and Gulf War illnesses. Many of these patients also experience fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and several additional symptoms.
To begin addressing certain gaps in the literature, our group conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the effects of a 16-week resistance exercise training (RET) intervention on clinical symptoms, physical performance, experimental pain ratings, physical activity, and neuroimaging outcomes in Gulf War veterans with chronic widespread pain compared to a waitlist control (WLC) group. In addition to evaluating the safety and efficacy of RET for this population, the overall trial included several exploratory aims designed to investigate potential mechanisms underlying any observed effects.
One of these aims was to investigate the effects of exercise training on sensory sensitivity. This was assessed by recording participants’ pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings in response to noxious thermal stimuli delivered during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions. These thermal stimuli included three absolute temperatures (45.0℃, 47.0℃, & 48.9℃) and one relative temperature that elicited “moderate” to “slightly intense” pain (11-13 on our pain intensity scale) for each individual participant at baseline. In this thesis, I
begin to address this aim by determining whether the RET intervention influenced the level of pain induced by these stimuli, with the hypothesis that participants in the RET group would report lower pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings over the course of the trial compared to those in the WLC group.
The results of this thesis will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between exercise and hypersensitivity within the central nervous system. In the long term, this line of research aims to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms driving chronic multisymptom illnesses such as fibromyalgia syndrome and Gulf War illness, and to inform the development of effective treatments for these conditions
Cerebral hemodynamics to acute exercise in Veterans with Gulf War Illness
No full textIntroduction: Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multisymptom illness (CMI) affecting approximately one third of Veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf War (GW). A characteristic feature of GWI is post-exertional malaise (PEM), where symptoms worsen following physical and/or mental exertion. The pathophysiology of PEM remains unknown, yet an emerging area of research has focused on cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation in GWI and its possible role in disease pathophysiology.
Purpose: To investigate CBF regulation in Veterans with GWI prior to and following an acute bout of aerobic exercise, and to explore its relationship to symptom outcomes.
Methods: Veterans with GWI (n = 45) and healthy GW Veteran controls (n = 34) completed symptom questionnaires and CBF testing prior to and following a submaximal exercise test (30-minutes at 70 5% of age-predicted heart rate reserve). Symptom responses post-exercise were quantified using a symptom score metric derived from the Kansas Symptom Inventory. Autoregulatory indices (ARI) were calculated from sit-to-stand tests as a measure of dynamic cerebral autoregulation. Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) was assessed via hypercapnic (8% CO2) and hypocapnic (hyperventilation protocol) stimulation and quantified using reactivity slopes. Linear mixed effects models were used to test differences in CBF regulation between groups, pre- to post-exercise. Stepwise linear regression models assessed the relationship between changes in CBF regulation and symptoms outcomes.
Results: Veterans with GWI reported worse baseline health (Hedge’s g: 1.34 - 1.96; p < 0.05) and a higher peak rating of perceived exertion during exercise (Hedge’s g = -0.47; p = 0.04). Linear mixed effect models revealed a significant Group x Time interaction for ARI (p < 0.05) that was not present for CVR to hypercapnia or hypocapnia. Decreases in ARI from pre- to post-exercise were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with higher neurologic symptom scores and lower mood symptom scores in Veterans with GWI.
Conclusion: Acute exercise led to a decrease in dynamic cerebral autoregulation in Veterans with GWI that was not seen in healthy GW Veteran controls. Such decreases were associated with worse neurologic, fatigue, and cognitive symptoms following exercise. Further studies are needed to clarify these findings, particularly exploring CBF regulation in the sub-acute (0 - 24 hours) following exercise in Veterans with GWI
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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