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    Morphometry of the soft tissues of the orbital region in Northern Sudanese persons

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    The orbital region plays a predominant role in the evaluation of the craniofacial complex. No current normative data exist for Northern Sudanese subjects. In the current study information about normal sex- and age-related dimensions of the orbital region was provided. The three-dimensional coordinates of ten landmarks on the orbital soft tissues were obtained using a hand-held laser scanner in 654 healthy Northern Sudanese subjects aged 4–30 years. From the landmarks, biocular and intercanthal widths, paired height and inclination of the orbit relative to both the true horizontal (head in natural head position) and Frankfurt plane, length and inclination of the eye fissure, the relevant ratios, were calculated, and averaged for age and sex. Comparisons were performed by factorial analysis of variance. All analysed linear soft-tissue orbital dimensions, except intercanthal width and left orbital height, were significantly larger in men than in women (p < 0.01). A significant sexual dimorphism was found also for the height-to-width ratios (larger in women in most age groups), the orbital inclinations vs. the true horizontal and Frankfurt plane (both measurements were almost always larger in men than in women), and the right side inclination of the eye fissure vs. the true horizontal (larger in women than in men), while no sex-related differences were observed for the left side inclination of the eye fissure vs. the true horizontal. All measurements but the right side inclination of the eye fissure vs. the true horizontal underwent significant modifications as a function of age, with several significant age × sex interactions. Biocular and intercanthal widths, orbital height, length of the eye fissure, all increased from childhood to young adulthood; in the second decade of life all age-related increments were larger in men than in women. Overall, when compared to literature data for African and Caucasoid subjects, several differences were found, pointing to the necessity of ethnic-specific data. Data collected in the present investigation could serve as a database for the quantitative description of human orbital morphology during normal growth and development. Forensic applications (evaluations of traumas, craniofacial alterations, teratogenic-induced conditions, facial reconstruction, ageing of living and dead people, personal identification) may also benefit from age- and sex-based data banks

    Gender- and age-related changes in three dimensional facial profiles of healthy Northern Sudanese persons

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    The knowledge of variations in the large intestine and liver is of clinical importance from the anatomical and embryological points of view. Different positions of the hepatic flexure of large intestine, although generally asymptomatic, may have different impact on manifestations of disease. During routine cadaveric study of the abdominal region we observed a case where the hepatic flexure was interposed between the right dome of the diaphragm and the anterior surface of the liver. The liver appeared bilobulated and on the anterior surface the right and left hepatic lobes were separated by a deep furrow. The left wall of the furrow was attached to the falciform ligament. We have tried to explain such high position of hepatic flexure from an embryological point of view and to evaluate its possible clinical relevance. This abnormal site of hepatic flexure could cause chronic respiratory infections, twisting of the gut, volvulus and intestinal obstruction. Moreover it may alter the normal liver dullness on percussion. So clinicians and surgeons should be aware of this variant position of the hepatic flexure

    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

    Morphometry of the Orbital Region Soft Tissues in Down Syndrome

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    The orbital region of subjects with Down syndrome (DS) has been scanty described so far. We wanted to detail the morphologic characteristics of the soft tissue orbital region in Italian and North Sudanese subjects with DS.The three-dimensional coordinates of 10 landmarks on the orbital soft tissues were obtained using computerized anthropometry in 53 Italian and 64 North Sudanese subjects with DS aged 4 to 52 years, and in 461 (Italian) and 682 (North Sudanese) sex- and age-matched controls. From the landmarks, linear distances, ratios, areas, and angles were calculated, z scores computed, and compared by t-tests and analyses of covariance.In North Sudanese DS subjects, intercanthal width and height-to-length ratio were increased; biorbital width, eye height, length, and area were reduced. Eye fissure and orbital inclinations relative to Frankfort plane were reduced, whereas orbital inclinations versus the true horizontal were increased. In Italian DS men, orbital height and height-to-length ratio were increased, eye length was decreased; orbital inclination versus the true horizontal was increased. For almost all measurements, a significant effect of age was found. No effects of sex were found. Ethnic group influenced orbital height, area, and orbital inclination versus Frankfort plane. All paired measurements had similar discrepancies on both sides.The orbital soft tissues of North Sudanese DS subjects differed from those of their reference subjects, but this was only partially true for Italian subjects. The 2 ethnic groups had different alterations in their soft tissue orbital regions that were influenced by age, but not by sex

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We 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

    Abnormal variations in the facial soft tissues of individuals with Down Syndrome : Sudan versus Italy

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    Objective : To provide quantitative information about the facial soft tissue of Italian and Northern Sudanese subjects with Down syndrome by using summary anthropometric measurements. Design, Setting, and Patients : The three-dimensional coordinates of soft tissue facial landmarks were obtained using a computerized digitizer in 54 Italian subjects with Down syndrome (20 females and 34 males, 13 to 52 years), in 64 Northern Sudanese subjects with Down syndrome (18 females and 46 males, 5 to 34 years), and in 578 Italian and 653 Northern Sudanese reference subjects, matched for sex and age. From the landmarks, 16 facial dimensions were calculated. Data from subjects with Down syndrome were compared with those collected from control individuals by computing z scores. Two summary anthropometric measurements for quantifying craniofacial variations were obtained: the mean z score (an index of overall facial size) and its standard deviation, the craniofacial variability index (an index of facial harmony). Results : In subjects with Down syndrome, facial size was significantly smaller and craniofacial variability was significantly greater than in typically developed individuals; 93% of Italian and 81% of Northern Sudanese subjects with Down syndrome had one or both values outside the normal interval. Overall, Italian subjects with Down syndrome differed more from the norm than did those from Northern Sudan. In the Northern Sudanese subjects, the mean z scores and the craniofacial variability index were significantly influenced by age: Older Northern Sudanese subjects with Down syndrome had smaller mean z scores and craniofacial variability index values than younger subjects. Conclusions : The two ethnic groups had different alterations in their soft tissue facial dimensions that were partially influenced by age
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