1,721,044 research outputs found
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
About the Recently Published Paper on JAMA Oncology “Radioembolization Plus Chemotherapy for First-Line Treatment of Locally Advanced Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial”
No full textWe read with great interest the paper by Edeline et al. published on JAMA Oncology in 2019 [1], prospectively assessing the results of combined radioembolization (selective internal radiation therapy, SIRT) and chemotherapy as first-line treatment option in locally advanced, unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).
This multicenter study enrolled 41 patients with unresectable ICC and no or limited extrahepatic disease, who received gemcitabine plus cisplatin for at least six cycles and concomitant SIRT during cycle 1 (unilobar disease) or cycles 1 and 3 (bilobar disease).
Authors reported favorable outcomes, with 98% disease control rate at 3 months according to RECIST, up to 93% Choi response rate, median progression-free survival (PFS) of 14 months and median overall survival (OS) of 22 months. These results compare favorably to previous studies, reporting 14–15-month median OS in the general unresectable ICC population treated with SIRT [2, 3].
Toxicity of such treatment protocol could be a matter of concern. Edeline et al. reported 71% of grade 3–4 adverse events and more liver toxic effects in cirrhotic patients, with nine out of 12 cirrhotic patients experiencing liver failure, which was nonreversible in five cases. Of interest, all cases with liver failure received whole-liver SIRT. Thus, intensive combined treatment should be regarded with caution when dealing with patients with cirrhosis and impaired liver function.
The most interesting finding of the trial is represented by the relatively high percentage of patients who were downstaged to resection (n = 9, 22%), with postsurgical 24-month PFS and OS of 66.7% and 88.9%, respectively. These results are consistent with the data reported by the BILCAP trial, using adjuvant capecitabine after resection of biliary tract cancers [4].
These preliminary findings may introduce a new perspective in the treatment management of unresectable ICC. It becomes essential to better delineate the clinical features of those patients, who are excluded from upfront resection, but for whom a more intensive first-line treatment regimen, combining loco-regional treatments with chemotherapy, could open the way to resection and long-term chances of cure. The rational of this approach is highlighted by recent reports showing that advanced ICC treated with systemic therapy only has a better survival compared to other non-ICC biliary tract cancers [5]. In the paper by Edeline et al., the vast majority of downstaged patients had liver-only disease, with unifocal lesion confined to one hemiliver and no cirrhosis. In this highly selected population, tumor shrinkage combined with the contralateral liver lobe hypertrophy induced by SIRT could overcome the initial unresectability and allow safe R0 resection.
Thus, in the heterogeneous scenario of what is today defined “unresectable ICC,” efforts are needed to identify a subgroup of highly selected patients that could be defined as “potentially resectable” and for whom combination therapies could be the first choice. This could also help in designing future trials investigating modalities and outcomes of ICC downstaging.
In the meantime, targetable biomarkers, such as FGFR (fibroblast growth factor receptors) or IDH (isocitrate dehydrogenase) gene alterations, are being actively investigated, and preliminary data on emerging molecular-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors are extremely encouraging [6,7,8].
Thus, in the next future, clinical data, tumor extension and molecular profiling will be integrated in a multimodal approach, enabling proper definition of subgroups of patients and active integration of systemic therapies, surgery and loco-regional treatments
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
Loco-regional treatment of HCC: current status
No full textHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents one of the few cancers for which locoregional treatments are recognised as being able to cure and/or prolong survival and are included in international guidelines. This is due to the unique nature of HCC, in most cases occurring in patients with underlying virus- or alcohol-related cirrhosis. The treatment choice in patients with HCC is therefore driven not only by tumour staging, as in the great majority of cancers, but also by careful evaluation of liver function and physical status. Another specific feature of HCC is that it is the only tumour that can be cured by organ transplantation, with the aim of treating both the cancer and underlying liver disease. These characteristics configure a complex scenario and prompt the need for close cooperation among interventional oncologists, surgeons, hepatologists, and anaesthesiologists. In patients with limited hepatic disease, preserved hepatic function and good performance status, categorised as very early and early-stage HCC according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification, image-guided tumour ablation is included among the curative treatments. More than half of patients with HCC are, however, diagnosed late, despite the widespread implementation of surveillance programmes, when curative treatments cannot be applied. For patients presenting with multinodular HCC and relatively preserved liver function, absence of cancer-related symptoms, and no evidence of vascular invasion or extrahepatic spread transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is the current standard of care. Although anti-tumour activity and promising survival results has been reported in cohorts of patients with advanced HCC treated with radio-embolisation, systemic treatment with the multi-kinase inhibitor, sorafenib, is still recommended for patients at this stage. In this article, current treatment strategies for HCC according to tumour stage are discussed, underlining the latest advances in the literature and technical developments
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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