1,721,056 research outputs found
Case report: Recurrent nocturnal awakenings in cluster headache: a different type of ghost attack
No full textIntroductionCluster headache (CH) is a trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia characterized by attacks of severe unilateral pain associated with ipsilateral autonomic symptoms. Cluster headache attacks exhibit nocturnal predilection, and sleep disorders could be the first manifestation of an incipient cluster period. Sleep alterations in cluster headache patients may reflect the pivotal role of the hypothalamus, which is crucially involved in the pathophysiology of this primary headache. We describe the case of a patient affected by episodic cluster headache who experienced a sleep disorder after starting therapy with verapamil. Case presentationA 47-year-old man was affected by episodic cluster headache, characterized by attacks of excruciating pain in the left orbital and temporal regions, associated with prominent ipsilateral vegetative symptoms. Headaches occurred during the night, with one or two nocturnal attacks appearing at 11.30-12 p.m. and 4-4.30 a.m. Preventive treatment with verapamil was started, with immediate pain relief. Later, he experienced consecutive nocturnal awakenings for a couple of weeks, always at the same time, without any pain or autonomic symptoms. He was not agitated and did not need to get out of bed; after the awakenings, he reported sleep disturbances with vivid dreams. Discussion and conclusionThis case represents the first description of recurrent cyclic nocturnal awakenings, without pain and autonomic symptoms, in a patient with episodic cluster headache during the active phase of a cluster bout. Nocturnal awakenings, started after the introduction of effective preventive therapy, might be an unusual form of "ghost attacks." After the beginning of prophylactic therapy, patients often describe mild pain or localized pressure in the same localization of CH attack. Similarly, the appearance of sleep disturbances, without any pain or vegetative symptoms, should be regarded as a warning sign of a still active cluster bout. Since these manifestations may influence therapeutic management, they should be carefully investigated
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
La rabbia nel mantenimento del legame affettivo
No full textQuesto breve intervento vuole mettere in evidenza alcuni processi osservabili nei legami conflittuali in cui lo “stare insieme” ed il “separarsi “ appaiono due poli tra cui la coppia oscilla nel mantenimento della relazione. Il litigio può sfociare in episodi di violenza ove la rabbia espressa invece che portare alla rottura del legame ne determina il mantenimento. L’osservazione di questi processi necessita nel professionista l’assunzione di una posizione terza in modo tale da poter cogliere non la responsabilità o la colpa dei contendenti ma “in che modo” essi stessi partecipano alla creazione e mantenimento della transazione
The objective assessment of sleep in cluster headache: State of the art and future directions
Full text link: Several lines of evidence suggest that cluster headache is related to chronobiology and sleep. Nevertheless, the nature of such a relationship is unclear. In this view, the objective evaluation of sleep in cluster headache has strong theoretical and clinical relevance. Here, we provide an in-depth narrative review of the literature on objective sleep assessment in cluster headache. We found that only a small number of studies (N = 12) focused on this topic. The key research aims were directed to assess: (a) the relationship between cluster headache and sleep breathing disorders; (b) the temporal relationship between sleep stages/events and cluster headache attacks; (c) sleep macrostructure in patients with cluster headache. No studies considered sleep microstructure. The reviewed studies are heterogeneous, conducted by a few research groups, and often characterised by relevant methodological flaws. Results are substantially inconclusive considering the main hypothesis. We outline several methodological points that should be considered for future research, and suggest that evaluating sleep microstructure, local sleep electrophysiology and actigraphic measures may strongly increase knowledge on the relationship between sleep and cluster headache
How we fall asleep: regional and temporal differences in electroencephalographic synchronization at sleep onset
No full textObjectives: We hypothesized that the brain shows specific and predictable patterns of spatial and temporal differences during sleep onset (SO) reflecting a temporal uncoupling of electrical activity between different cortical regions and a dissociated wakelike and sleeplike electrocortical activity in different cortical areas. Methods: We analyzed full-scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of 40 healthy subjects to investigate spatial and temporal changes of EEG activity across the wake-sleep transition. We quantified EEG sleep recordings by a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm and by a better oscillation (BOSC) detection method to the EEG signals, which measured oscillatory activity within a signal containing a nonrhythmic portion. Results: The most representative spatial change at SO is the frontalization of slow-wave activity (SWA), while the θ activity, which mostly shares a similar temporal and spatial pattern with SWA, exhibits a temporo-occipital diffusion. The time course of these oscillations confirms that the changes of the dominant waves coexist with topographic changes. The waking occipital prevalence of α oscillations is progressively replaced by an occipital prevalence of θ oscillations. On the other hand, more anterior areas show a wide synchronization pattern mainly expressed by slow waves just below 4. Hz and by spindle oscillations. Conclusions: The whole pattern of results confirms that the centrofrontal areas showed an earlier synchronization (i.e., they fall asleep first). This finding implies a coexistence of wakelike and sleeplike electrical activity during sleep in different cortical areas. It also implies that the process of progressive brain disconnection from the external world as we fall asleep does not necessarily affect primary and higher-order cortices at the same time. © 2013 Elsevier B.V
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
- …
