1,720,967 research outputs found
An open randomized study to compare narrow band UVB, topical pimecrolimus and topical tacrolimus in the treatment of vitiligo
Vitiligo is an acquired loss of pigmentation and its treatment remains very difficult up to date. Narrow band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) and topical immunomodulators are included among the most innovative approaches to vitiligo. We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of NB-UVB, topical pimecrolimus and tacrolimus in the treatment of vitiligo. Adult patients with chronic and stable vitiligo refractory to conventional therapies were enrolled in an open parallel groups study. The patients were scheduled on the basis of a computer-generated randomization into three groups: 13 patients received NB-UVB phototherapy 3 times a week, 15 patients were treated with pimecrolimus 1% cream b.i.d. and 16 patients applied tacrolimus 0.1% ointment b.i.d. All three treatment regimens were performed for 24 weeks. At baseline and every three weeks for the whole period of therapy the patients were examined through digital photographs and, at the end of the study, based on the percentage of repigmentation, treatment outcome was classified as "absent" (0), "slight" ( 75%). During the whole period of the study, possible side effects were recorded. The response to treatments varied according to the anatomical location of the lesions. No statistically significant differences in repigmentation for any anatomical site were recorded with the three treatments. The best results were obtained for lesions of the face with pimecrolimus cream and tacrolimus ointment and of the neck with NB-UVB. Statistically significant differences in repigmentation between photo-exposed and covered skin areas were recorded although the patients were asked to avoid direct UV exposition and to apply a very high protection sun screen on vitiligo lesions. All three treatments should be considered as a good option in the treatment of vitiligo. NB-UVB irradiation may represent the optimal choice in generalized vitiligo with topical immunomodulators in localized vitiligo
STUDIO RETROSPETTIVO SUL PROFILO DI SICUREZZA DELLA CICLOSPORINA A NEL TRATTAMENTO DELLA PSORIASI VOLGARE
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
The appearance of inflammatory papules in the skin surrounding areas treated with imiquimod cream for basal cell carcinoma
Cerebral perfusion and blood–brain barrier assessment in brain trauma using contrast-enhanced near-infrared spectroscopy with indocyanine green: A review
Contrast-enhanced near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with indocyanine green (ICG) can be a valid non-invasive, continuous, bedside neuromonitoring tool. However, its usage in moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients can be unprecise due to their clinical status. This review is targeted at researchers and clinicians involved in the development and application of contrast-enhanced NIRS for the care of TBI patients and can be used to design future studies. This review describes the methods developed to monitor the brain perfusion and the blood–brain barrier integrity using the changes of diffuse reflectance during the ICG passage and the results on studies in animals and humans. The limitations in accuracy of these methods when applied on TBI patients and the proposed solutions to overcome them are discussed. Finally, the analysis of relative parameters is proposed as a valid alternative over absolute values to address some current clinical needs in brain trauma care. In conclusion, care should be taken in the translation of the optical signal into absolute physiological parameters of TBI patients, as their clinical status must be taken into consideration. Discussion on where and how future studies should be directed to effectively incorporate contrast-enhanced NIRS into brain trauma care is given
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
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
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