1,720,989 research outputs found
Will Research on COVID-19 Stimulate the Identification of Immunological Mechanisms Underlying Some Protective Effects?
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
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
“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
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
Is nutritional intake adequate in chronic heart failure patients?
OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to investigate the nutrition adequacy and energy availability for physical activity in free-living, clinically stable patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). BACKGROUND: Little information exists regarding the nutrition adequacy and alimentary habits of patients with clinically stable CHF. We hypothesized that CHF patients have an inadequate intake of calories and protein, leading to a negative calorie and nitrogen balance, an expression of increased tissue breakdown. METHODS: In 57 non-obese patients with CHF (52 males and 5 females; 52 +/- 3 years; body mass index <25 kg/m(2)) and in 49 healthy subjects (39 males and 10 females) matched for age, body mass index, and sedentary life style we evaluated total energy expenditure (TEE), calorie intake (kcal(I)), and nitrogen intake (N(I)) from a seven-day food diary, total nitrogen excretion (TNE), and energy availability (EA = kcal(I) - resting energy expenditure). A zero calorie balance (CB) occurred when kcal(I) = TEE; a nitrogen balance (NB) in equilibrium was set at NB (= N(I) - TNE) 0 +/- 1 g/day. RESULTS: In patients and controls kcal(I) and N(I) were similar. However, in CHF patients the kcal(I) was <TEE with a consequent negative CB (-186 +/- 305 kcal/day vs. + 104.2 +/- 273 kcal/day of controls; p < 0.01). Nitrogen balance resulted negative in CHF (-1.7 +/- 3.2 g/24 h vs. + 2.2 +/- 3.6 g/24 h in controls; p < 0.01). Energy availability in CHF patients was 41% lower than in controls (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Non-obese, free-living patients with clinically stable CHF have an inadequate intake of calories and protein and reduced energy availability for physical activit
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
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
Tumor-necrosis-factor soluble receptors in patients with various degrees of congestive-heart-failure
Background Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) increases in patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) and cachexia. Two naturally occurring modulators of TNF-alpha activity have been identified in human serum. These two soluble proteins are the extracellular domains of the TNF receptors (sTNF-RI and sTNF-RII, respectively). The determination of circulating sTNF-Rs could provide us with some additional information about the activation of this cytokine in CHF. Methods and Results This study was undertaken to examine the concentration of sTNF-Rs and of bioactive and antigenic TNF-alpha in 37 consecutive patients with various degrees of CHF compared with that of 26 age-matched healthy subjects. Antigenic TNF-alpha increased (from 14.3+/-7.08 to 33.5+/-13.1 pg/mL, P<.001) in preterminal patients with severe CHF (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class IV). In these patients, sTNF-Rs were also increased (sTNF-RI from 1.17+/-0.43 to 4.43+/-2.14 ng/mL and sTNF-RII from 2.2+/-0.44 to 7.55+/-2.28 ng/mL, P<.001). When measured by cytolytic bioassay, TNF-alpha was undetectable (<100 pg/mL). Addition of 625 pg/mL recombinant human TNF-alpha (rhTNF-alpha), corresponding in the bioassay to 60% of the lethal dose, to the serum of healthy subjects resulted in a significant increase of the expected cytotoxicity (from 625 to 1290+/-411 pg/mL, P<.001). Addition of the same dose of rhTNF-alpha to the serum of patients with mild to moderate CHF (NYHA classes II and III) increased the cytotoxicity from 625 to 877+/-132 pg/mL, P<.001. In 4 patients with severe CHF (class IV), the expected cytotoxicity was completely inhibited, whereas it was reduced from 625 to 263+/-198 pg/mL, P<.001, in the remaining 8 patients. Ten patients died within 1 month of entry into the study. They had the highest level of sTNF-RII (8.18+/-1.92 ng/mL). sTNF-RII was a more powerful independent indicator of mortality than TNF-alpha, sTNF-RI, NYHA class, norepinephrine, and atrial natriuretic peptide. Conclusions Measurement of sTNF-Rs, in addition to antigenic and bioactive TNF-alpha, is essential for evaluation of the activation of this cytokine in CHF. Both sTNF-Rs increase in preterminal patients with severe CHF and might inhibit the in vitro cytotoxicity of TNF-alpha. Antigenic TNF-alpha also increases in severe CHF. The increased levels of sTNF-RII independently correlate with poor short-term prognosis
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