1,720,959 research outputs found
Topical distribution of initial paresis of the limbs to predict clinically relevant spasticity after ischemic stroke: a retrospective cohort study.
No full textBackground: The degree of initial paresis relates to spasticity development in stroke patients. However, the importance of proximal and distal paresis in predicting spasticity after stroke is unclear.Aim: To investigate the role of topical distribution of initial limb paresis to predict clinically relevant spasticity in adults with stroke.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Methods: Seventy-two first-ever ischemic stroke patients were examined. At the acute phase of illness, demographics and the European Stroke Scale motor items (maintenance of outstretched arm position, arm raising, wrist extension, grip strength, maintenance of outstretched leg position, leg flexion, foot dorsiflexion) were evaluated. At six months after the stroke onset, spasticity was assessed at the upper and lower limb with the modified Ashworth Scale. Clinically relevant spasticity was defined as modified Ashworth Scale ≥3 (0-5).Results: The degree of initial paresis of the proximal muscles of the upper limb and the distal muscles of the lower limb showed the strongest association and the best profile of sensitivity-specificity in predicting clinically relevant spasticity at the upper and lower limb, respectively. Younger age showed higher risk for developing clinically relevant spasticity in the upper limb.Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that the initial degree of proximal paresis of the upper limb and distal paresis of the lower limb as well as age may be considered early predictors of clinically relevant spasticity in adults with ischemic stroke.Clinical rehabilitation impact: Our findings further improve the role of initial paresis as predictor of spasticity after stroke
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
COVID-19 related fatigue: which role for rehabilitation in post-COVID-19 patients? A case series
No full textAIM: of this paper was to characterize the impact of rehabilitation in reducing fatigue in a series of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) free patients, attested by two negative Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) swab tests. We described 7 post-COVID-19 patients, mean aged 65.7±11.9 years, referred to a Northern-Italy Rehabilitation Unit due to generalized muscle weakness. They came from specialized COVID-19 Unit after two negative SARS-CoV-2 swab tests. The 57.1% suffered from severe dyspnoea affecting activities of daily living. We noticed that almost all patients (85.7%) showed a perception of exertion, but only Case 2, that needed intensive care unit in the acute phase, presented a severe fatigue (Borg Category Ratio 10 scale=7). After the rehabilitation treatment the 71.4% showed no fatigue and the other 2 cases reported only a very light perception of exertion. This case series suggested that, starting from an adequate assessment of functional complications, a patient-tailored rehabilitation intervention should be planned for reducing fatigue and improving functioning in COVID-19 free patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation compared with botulinum toxin type a in the treatment of spastic equinus in adults with chronic stroke: a pilot randomized controlled trial.
No full textBACKGROUND: Therapeutic ultrasound and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) have been described as being effective in the treatment of spasticity. No previous study compared these physical modalities with a first-line treatment for spasticity, such as botulinum toxin type A. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of therapeutic ultrasound and TENS with botulinum toxin type A on spasticity after stroke. METHODS: Thirty patients with chronic stroke and spastic equinus were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 1 group received therapeutic ultrasound to the affected leg calf muscles, 1 group underwent TENS to the tibial nerve of the affected leg, and 1 group was injected with onabotulinum toxin A in the spastic gastrocnemius. All patients were evaluated immediately before treatment and 15, 30, and 90 days after the first clinical evaluation. The following outcome measures were considered: ankle passive dorsiflexion range of motion and the modified Ashworth scale. RESULTS: Patients injected with botulinum toxin type A had significantly better ankle passive range of motion than those treated with physical modalities at all posttreatment evaluations. At second and third posttreatment evaluations, the modified Ashworth scale indicated significantly greater improvement in patients injected with botulinum toxin type A than in those treated with physical modalities. No difference was found between groups treated with physical modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis that botulinum toxin type A is more effective than therapeutic ultrasound and TENS for treating focal spasticity in patients with chronic stroke
Botulinum toxin type a injection into the gastrocnemius muscle for spastic equinus in adults with stroke: a randomized controlled trial comparing manual needle placement, electrical stimulation and ultrasonography-guided injection techniques.
No full textObjective: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of manual needle placement, electrical stimulation, and ultrasonography-guided techniques for botulinum toxin injection into the gastrocnemius of adults with spastic equinus after stroke.
Design: After randomization into three groups, each patient received the same dose of botulinum toxin type A into the lateral and medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle (OnabotulinumtoxinA, 100U per head) of the affected leg. The manual needle placement group (n = 15) underwent injections using anatomic landmarks and palpation; the electrical stimulation group (n = 15) received injections with electrical stimulation guidance; and the ultrasonography group (n = 17) was injected under sonographic guidance. The modified Ashworth scale, the Tardieu scale, and the ankle passive range of motion were measured at baseline and 1 mo after injection. Nonparametric statistical analysis was used.
Results: One month after injection, the modified Ashworth scale improved better in the ultrasonography group than in the manual needle placement group (P = 0.008). The ankle passive range of motion improved better in the ultrasonography group than in the electrical stimulation (P = 0.004) and manual needle placement (P < 0.001) groups. No difference was found between groups for the Tardieu scale.
Conclusions: Ultrasonography-guided injection technique could improve the clinical outcome of botulinum toxin injections into the gastrocnemius of adults with spastic equinus
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
- …
