1,720,956 research outputs found
FGF-23 but Not Klotho Predicts the Presence of Aortic Valve Calcifi cations in Moderate Chronic Kidney Disease
No full textBackground: Cardiovascular calcifi cation (CVC) is a frequent complication in chronic
kidney disease (CKD) patients. Abnormalities in vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation and
hyperphosphoremia are all supposed to contribute to CVC. Fibroblast Growth Factor 23
(FGF-23) is a phosphaturic glycoprotein, linked to phosphate and vitamin D metabolism
as well as poor outcome in CKD. We investigated association between FGF-23 and cardiac
valvular calcifi cation in moderate CKD.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 (60 men; mean age of 51 ± 4.6 years) CKD
stage IIIB-IV patients were enrolled and underwent laboratory (25-OH Vitamin D, Klotho,
FGF-23, CRP, serum calcium and phosphorus, iPTH, phosphaturia) and echocardiography
testing to assess mineral metabolism such as mitral and aortic valve calcifi cation.Parametric
and non-parametric tests were used. Finally, Receiving Operating Curve (ROC) was used
to test the model performance.
Results: Overall mean serum calcium (9,2±0,4 mg/dl), phosphorus (4,3±0,2 mg/dl)
25OH vitamin D (34,8±13,5 ng/ml) and iPTH (59,11±8,6 pg/ml) were within the reference
ranges. Serum FGF-23 and Klotho mean values were 10,4±1,7 pg/ml and 887,8±110,3
pg/ml, respectively. Phosphaturia was 1,043±258 g/day. At univariable and multivariable
adjusted analyses, aortic but not mitral valve calcifi cation was associated with FGF-23
levels. Notably, Klotho, iPTH, 25OH Vitamin D, serum phosphorous, phosphaturia and
CRP were not associated with either valvular calcifi cation.
Conclusions: Our data suggests that FGF-23 but not Klotho is strongly and
independently associated with aortic valvular calcifi cation. Future studies should test
whether therapeutic strategies aimed at lowering FGF23 (diet, phosphate binders,
calcimimetics) can affect calcifi cation progression and cardiovascular damage
[Management of color-Doppler imaging in dialysis patients]
No full text: In recent decades, the survival of dialysis patients has gradually increased thanks to the evolution of dialysis techniques and the availability of new drug therapies. These elements have led to an increased incidence of a series of dialysis-related diseases that might compromise the role of dialysis rehabilitation: vascular disease, skeletal muscle disease, infectious disease, cystic kidney disease and cancer. The nephrologist is therefore in charge of a patient group with complex characteristics including the presence of indwelling vascular and/or peritoneal catheters, conditions secondary to chronic renal failure (hyperparathyroidism, anemia, amyloid disease, etc.) and superimposed disorders due to old age (cardiac and respiratory failure, cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus, etc.). Early clinical and organizational management of such patients is essential in a modern and ''economic'' vision of nephrology. The direct provision of ultrasound services by the nephrologist responds to these requirements. A minimum level of expertise in diagnostic ultrasonography of the urinary tract and dialysis access should be part of the nephrologist's cultural heritage, acquired through theoretical and practical training programs validated by scientific societies, especially for those who choose to specialize in these procedures and become experts in imaging or interventional ultrasonography
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
Dispelling 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
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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