1,720,960 research outputs found
Emerging Increase in the prevalence and severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: epidemiological study from general Mediterranean population
No full textBackground and Aims: The worldwide spread of obesity and
diabetes is leading to a drastic increase in nonalcoholic fatty liver
disease (NAFLD) and its complications.We aimed to assess prevalence
of NAFLD and of its severity among a general Mediterranean
population.
Methods:We considered 886 consecutive individuals included in the
ABCD study (ISRCTN15840340). Hepatic ultrasound (US) was used to
diagnose steatosis and FibroScan (M and XL probe) to measure
liver stiffness and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). Liver
stiffness >6.9 KPa was considered suggestive of significant liver
fibrosis (Petta S et al., Hepatology 2015), and CAP ≥ 310 dB was
considered suggestive of moderate-severe steatosis (de Ledinghen V
et al., JHEP 2014).
Results: Steatosis by USwas diagnosed in 396 individuals (44.6%) and
was significantly associated with male gender, type 2 diabetes, low
HDL (<40 mg/mL in males and <50 mg/mL in females), and visceral
obesity. When splitting the analysis according to gender, steatosis
was independently linked to visceral obesity (OR 2.63, 95% CI 1.62–
4.27, p < 0.001) and low HDL (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.10–3.85, p = 0.02) in
males, and to visceral obesity (OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.80–4.19, p < 0.001)
and type 2 diabetes (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.00–4.87, p = 0.05) in females.
The rate of US steatosis, stiffness >6.9 kPa and CAP ≥310 progressively
increased from males without obesity and low HDL (35.1% steatosis;
among theme 18.6% CAP ≥310, and 13.5% stiffness >6.9), to those with
one risk factor (from 57.7% to 62.1% steatosis; among them 42.8% CAP
≥310, and from 21.4% to 23.2% stiffness >6.9), and further to those
with both risk factors (74.2% steatosis; among them 35% CAP ≥310,
and 30% stiffness >6.9). Similarly, in females the rate of US steatosis,
stiffness >6.9 kPa and CAP ≥310 progressively increased from patients
without obesity and diabetes (23.7% steatosis; among them 6.1% CAP
≥310, and 6.1% stiffness >6.9), to those with only one risk factor (from
33.3% to 50.8% steatosis; among them CAP ≥310 from 30.5% to 54.5%,
and stiffness >6.9 from 11.1% to 27.2%), and further to those with both
risk factors (74.2% steatosis; among them 47.1% CAP ≥ 310, and 26.4%
stiffness >6.9).
Conclusions: NAFLD is present in more than 40% of general
population and its prevalence, as well as the prevalence of live
Endothelial function in obese patients treated with bariatric surgery
Full text linkPurpose: Bariatric surgery (BS) is becoming an increasingly frequent treatment option especially in people with morbid obesity, demonstrating that it is able to reduce total mortality and cardiovascular (CV) risk. Despite endothelial dysfunction is an essential requisite contributing to atherosclerosis and predicting CV events, only some studies have investigated the effects of BS on endothelial function with controversial results. In this study, the effects of weight loss on endothelial function were investigated in obese patients after BS and compared with patients after medical nutrition treatment (MNT). Patients and Methods: Seventeen obese patients who underwent BS procedures (9 adjustable gastric bands, 3 gastric by-passes and 5 biliopancreatic diversions) were included in the study and compared with 18 obese individuals who underwent MNT. Endothelial function was investigated by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Also, carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT) was measured as a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. Results: At the end of follow-up, the mean weight loss was 18.8% in the BS group and 7.0% in the MNT group. After treatment, FMD significantly decreased in the BS group (mean ± SD before: 9.0 ± 4.7; after: 6.1 ± 2.9%; P= 0.04); however, no significant change was observed in the MNT group (before: 9.4 ± 5.8; after: 8.3 ± 5.3; P= 0.41). The modification of endothelial function was negatively correlated with c-IMT change in the BS group (r= −0.63; P <0.007). Conclusion: A significant endothelial dysfunction occurred following BS but not after MNT. Furthermore, the decline of endothelial function observed in the BS group might have contributed to atherosclerosis
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
Ketogenic diet, physical activity, and hypertension—a narrative review
Full text linkSeveral studies link cardiovascular diseases (CVD) with unhealthy lifestyles (unhealthy dietary habits, alcohol consumption, smoking, and low levels of physical activity). Therefore, the strong need for CVD prevention may be pursued through an improved control of CVD risk factors (impaired lipid and glycemic profiles, high blood pressure, and obesity), which is achievable through an overall intervention aimed to favor a healthy lifestyle. Focusing on diet, different recommendations emphasize the need to increase or avoid consumption of entire classes of food, with only partly known and only partly foreseeable consequences on the overall level of health. In recent years, the ketogenic diet (KD) has been proposed to be an effective lifestyle intervention for metabolic syndrome, and although the beneficial effects on weight loss and glucose metabolism seems to be well established, the effects of a prolonged KD on the ability to perform different types of exercise and the influence of KD on blood pressure (BP) levels, both in normotensives and in hypertensives, are not so well understood. The objective of this review is to analyze, on the basis of current evidence, the relationship between KD, regular physical activity, and BP
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
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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