1,720,957 research outputs found
The societal impact of treatment with natalizumab of relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis in Italian clinical practice: The Tysabri® PharmacoEconomics (TyPE) Study
Get PDFMultiple sclerosis progressively impairs patients’ ability to independently perform activities of daily living, reduces
working capacity, and negatively affects social interactions and relationships, imposing a cost for the society. The aim
of this study was to explore the impact on society of treatment of multiple sclerosis with natalizumab in Italian clinical
practice. A prospective, observational study was conducted in 24 specialized centers throughout Italy. Direct and
indirect costs, as well as the health-related quality of life of patients undergoing treatments, were estimated, while
societal impacts were determined using a cost-utility approach. Non-medical direct and indirect costs accounted
for 55.7% of the total cost prior to treatment and up to 47.5% after treatment with natalizumab. From the social
perspective, greater medical direct costs for second-line drug treatment are nearly offset by savings on non-medical
direct costs and by greater productivity, resulting in a +0.5% incremental cost. Assuming a societal perspective, the
first year of treatment with natalizumab in real-world clinical practice results in an incremental cost of €2814.8/qualityadjusted
life year gained. Multiple sclerosis imposes a considerable burden on patients, their families, and caregivers,
stressing the importance of considering the societal perspective in the appraisal process. Treatment with natalizumab
shows a noteworthy benefit in social terms
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of natalizumab in pediatric patients with RRMS
No full textObjectiveThis phase I study investigated pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of natalizumab in pediatric patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).MethodsPediatric patients with RRMS who were prescribed natalizumab 300 mg IV every 4 weeks were enrolled. Blood samples were collected on days 1, 2, 8, 15, and 22 and at weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16 to estimate PK parameters; PD properties were evaluated by measuring α4-integrin saturation and lymphocyte counts over time. Natalizumab's safety profile was also evaluated.ResultsPK parameters were similar to those reported in adult patients; natalizumab concentrations peaked approximately 1 day after infusion in most of the participants (Cmax 142.9 g/mL, AUClast 47389.4 hrg/mL), followed by a biphasic decline with a rapid distribution phase and a slow elimination phase, with a terminal half-life of 215.1 hours. In terms of PD, both time course and magnitude of α4-integrin saturation and increase in lymphocyte counts were similar to those observed in adults. During the 16-week study follow-up, 3 adverse events attributed to natalizumab were observed; no unexpected safety events occurred.ConclusionsPK profile, α4-integrin saturation, lymphocyte counts, and safety observed in these pediatric patients are comparable to those reported in adults.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class I evidence that natalizumab PK/PD parameters and safety profile are similar in adults and pediatric patients in the short term. Longer studies, also including a larger number of younger subjects (aged 10-12 years), are required to further inform about long-term PK and PD parameters in pediatric patients with MS
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe 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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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