1,720,958 research outputs found
A Link Weight Assignment Algorithm for Traffic-Engineered Networks
No full textIn this paper we address issues related to the definition of effective metrics for the application of load-balancing techniques inside providers’ core networks. We will present an original approach to the problem of assigning appropriate weights to the network links. The main contribution of our work resides in having devised a solution relying on a cost function which depends on link utilization in a non-linear fashion. The paper discusses the rationale behind the choice of such a cost function and provides some experimental results and preliminary performance analysis
An efficient experimental approach for the uncertainty estimation of QoS parameters in communication networks
No full textFrequency, Symptoms Evolution and Pathophysiological Correlates in Prospectively Identified Patients With Postinfectious Dyspepsia
No full textBackground and aims: Functional bowel disorders may follow acute intestinal infection. A
single, large, retrospective study showed that a subset of dyspeptic patients had a history
of gastroenteritis. No data are however currently available in patients with prospectively
identified postinfectious dyspepsia (PD). Our aim was to characterize frequency, symptoms
evolution and underlying mechanisms of functional dyspepsia, up to 12 months after acute
gastroenteritis. Subjects and Methods: A total of 150 consecutive patients with undergoing
acute gastroenteritis were screened and followed-up for 1 month. In patients with symptoms
persistence upper GI endoscopy, gastric emptying study (13C-octanoic acid breath test) and
satiety testing (as a surrogate of gastric fundus accommodation) were performed. Pattern
and severity of dyspeptic symptoms were scored at 3, 6 and 12 months by standardized
questionnaire. Gastric emptying and satiety testing were repeated at 6 months. Patients with
previous diagnosis of FGIDs or organic disease at endoscopy were excluded. Cut-off values
for normal gastric emptying rate and meal-induced satiety (120 min and 890 kcal, respect-
ively) were obtained on 20 age/sex matched healthy subjects. Results: At baseline no signs
of infection by common pathogens were found in the majority of the patients, except than
giardia lamblia and salmonella tiphy in 3 and 1 patients, that were respectively treated and
followed up. Persistence of dyspeptic symptoms at 1 month was observed in 31 subjects
(18 male, age 28±10), with postprandial fullness, bloating, belching, nausea, epigastric pain,
early satiety and vomiting being reported by 85, 70, 70, 56, 67, 48 and 19 % of the patients,
respectively; systematic analysis revealed that such pattern of symptoms was quite stable
along the times. Although severity was gradually reducing for the majority of the symptoms,
only the proportion of patients reporting moderate or severe belching were significantly
reduced at 12 months (70 vs. 12 %, p<0.05). At baseline, delayed gastric emptying and
impaired satiety testing were present in 60% and 85% of the patients with a similar percentage
at 6 months (58 and 90%, respectively). Conclusions: We showed that at least 20% of
prospectively evaluated patients with acute gastroenteritis develop and maintain dyspeptic
symptoms after the resolution of the acute phase. In these patients symptoms severity was
gradually reducing, but still persistent up to 1 year. Persistent delayed gastric emptying
of solid meal and impaired gastric accommodation are putative mechanisms involved in
symptoms generatio
Does the Preload of a Non-Caloric Carbonated Beverage, During a Standardized Solid and Liquid Meal, Affect Gastric Volume and Energy Intake in Healthy Subjects?
No full textBackground and Aim: Carbon dioxide (CO2), contained in carbonated beverages, could increase gastric volume inducing epigastric discomfort and reducing meal intake. We aimed
to verify effect of a sugar-free carbonated beverage (CB) preload compared to a CB without CO2 (DCB) and water (W) during a standardized solid (SM) and liquid (LM) meal on gastric
volume, gastrointestinal symptoms and eating perceptions. Subjects & Methods: After 300 ml of CB, DCB and W a standardized SM or LM was administered at constant rate (100
kcal/5 min) to ten healthy subjects (4 females, aged 22-30 years; BMI 21-24) on six days in a random order (D1: CB+SM; D2: DCB+SM; D3: W+SM; D4: CB+LM; D5: DCB+LM;
D6: W+LM). Gastrointestinal symptoms (bloating and epigastric pain), eating perceptions (desire to eat, hunger, prospective of food consumption) and maximum satiety (MS) as total
kcals intake were measured. Total gastric (TGV) and gas volumes by MRI after the beverages and at MS were also evaluated. All data are expressed as mean±SD. Results: Epigastric pain
was absent in all experiment. A slight presence of epigastric bloating was found during the SM and LM without differences among beverages. Desire to eat, hunger and prospective of
food consumption were not different among beverages and meals. TGV and gas volumes after beverages were significantly higher with CB than DCB and W (TGV: 715±194 ml,
521±83, 478±63, p<0.01; gas: 306±107, 101±29, 107±40, p<0.01). TGV at MS were not different during SM (665±129; 670±147; 664±167; ) and LM (702±252; 674±206; 709±264)
respectively. Gas volumes at MS markedly decrease (p<0.01) respect to evalution after beverage and were not different among beverages during SM (20±8, 13±7, 12±5) and LM
(15±12, 22±19, 17±17) respectively. Total kcal intakes at MS were not different among beverages during SM (D1: 774±209; D2:837±208; D3: 783±244) and LM (D4: 585±299;
D5:585±280; D6: 630±353) respectively. However kcal intakes were higher with SM than LM (p<0.01) independently of beverage preload. Conclusions: A preload of 300 ml of non
caloric carbonated beverage does not determine gastrointestinal symptoms and does not affect satiety ratings and eating perceptions in healthy subjects. Other factors as time of
administration, volume and carbon dioxide concentration of carbonated beverage must be explored to exclude interference with gastric functio
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
Association between inducibile nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) genetic polymorphisms and postinfectious dyspepsia: a preliminary report
No full textDispelling 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
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