1,721,024 research outputs found

    Osteoarthritis

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    Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis and a leading cause of locomotor disability. Over 4.4 million people in the United Kingdom have moderate to severe OA. It is a chronic disease that causes a significant burden to society and healthcare resources and its impact is likely to increase with an ageing population and rising levels of obesity

    The management of chronic insomnia in young children: a survey of UK general practice

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    Objectives: Chronic insomnia (CI), the most common sleep disorder in young children, is associated with negative outcomes for the child and family. This study explores the beliefs, current practice, and understanding of UK primary health care professionals (PCPs) regarding CI in children under 5 years.Method: an online survey of UK PCPs (e.g. general practitioners (GPs), practice nurses) recruited through Clinical Research Networks. The survey consisted of Likert-style and closed- questions regarding beliefs, current practice, and training/knowledge. Data were analyzed descriptively.Results: two hundred and ninety-five PCPs took part (mostly GPs, n = 244). Respondents believe that CI has a large impact on children and family. 80% agreed that CI should be managed in health care and 66.3% in primary care. However, consultations with families regarding CI were reported as infrequent. 91.6% agreed that CI should be managed with behavioral approaches, and more than  85% of respondents recommend positive bedtime routines. Respondents had varied confidence and knowledge about management. They had received little to no professional education about CI.Conclusions: PCPs recognize the importance of CI and understand some principles of management, though they lack training and confidence. Improved training and awareness of evidence-based resources for support would improve management in primary care

    A qualitative study of patients' perceptions of acute infective conjunctivitis

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    Background: acute infective conjunctivitis is a self-limiting condition that commonly presents to primary care. Patients' understanding of conjunctivitis, their reasons for attendance, and their responses to different management strategies, are unknown.Aim: to explore patients' understanding of conjunctivitis and its management.Design of study: qualitative study using semi-structured one-to-one interviews.Setting: three general practices in Hampshire and Wiltshire.Method: twenty-five patients presenting with conjunctivitis at their general practices were interviewed. Main outcome measures were patients' perceptions of conjunctivitis, their experience and knowledge of the disease, beliefs regarding treatment, and their responses to different management strategies and a patient information leaflet.Results: patients regarded conjunctivitis as a minor illness, although some considered it might become more serious if not treated. Nearly all were confident at recognising conjunctivitis. They stated a preference for not taking medication, but believed that conjunctivitis would not clear up without treatment. However, they were open to alternative management approaches; for example, the delayed prescription approach, because they trusted their general practitioners' (GPs') judgement. Once they were aware of the self-limiting nature of conjunctivitis, patients felt they would prefer to wait a few days to see if the condition improved before seeking medical advice, even if this resulted in a few more days of symptoms.Conclusion: patients who attend their general practices with conjunctivitis present for treatment because they are not aware of its self-limiting nature. Providing patients with this information may enable patients, enhance self-management, and reduce the use of topical antibiotics and the demand for urgent general practice appointments

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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
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