1,720,975 research outputs found
Role of Imaging in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy: A Systematic Review
No full textIntroduction: Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a treatable immune-mediated neuropathy with a relapsing-remitting course and symmetrical proximal and distal weakness. Diagnosis relies on nerve conduction studies (NCS) to detect demyelination but can be difficult in atypical cases. In such instances, nerve ultrasound (US) and MRI of the brachial and lumbosacral plexuses help improve diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment. This review examines the role of imaging in CIDP, focusing on its contribution to diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up. Methods: A total of 183 articles were identified in the PubMed database using the search terms: “CIDP AND imaging,” “CIDP AND ULTRASOUND,” and “CIDP AND MRI.” Based on predefined inclusion criteria, 106 articles were selected for review (63 related to US and 43 to MRI). From each included study, data were extracted on the study population, imaging protocols used, outcome measures applied, and main findings relevant to the review's aim. Results: The most used ultrasound and MRI protocols, along with their associated outcome measures, are discussed. Furthermore, the roles of each imaging modality in diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up are analysed. Conclusion: Although NCS remain the primary instrumental test for the diagnosis of CIDP, US and MRI can be valuable adjuncts in cases with diagnostic uncertainty. Additionally, these imaging modalities may be more useful than NCS in prognostic evaluation, helping in predict treatment response and monitoring subclinical disease activity
S43ZeOxaNMulti trial: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of oral zeolite “Multizeo Med” (based on PMA-zeolite – a double activated zeolite clinoptilolite called also Panalite) to prevent chemotherapy-induced side effects, in particular peripheral neuropathy
No full textUse of Corticosteroids in Myasthenia Gravis: Expert Opinion for Daily Management
No full textIntroduction: Myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by muscle weakness and fatigue, it is a mainly B-cell mediated condition with antibodies directed against the acetylcholine receptor or functionally related molecules at the neuromuscular junction. Corticosteroids are still the most used treatment, as they are cheap and characterized by a rapid response. However, their long-term administration is associated with frequent and often severe side effects. Methods: We used the Expert Opinion methodology: a panel of eight neurologists, known to be experts in the management of MG patients, and one specialist in pharmacoeconomics, were brought together to discuss clinical relevant issues about the use of corticosteroids in MG. Results: Increasing doses of corticosteroids may temporarily exacerbate the symptoms of MG and clinical exacerbations can lead to severe consequences. In addition, prolonged chronic corticosteroid therapy carries a burden in terms of indirect costs due to side effects, which has prompted strategies to obtain the maximum benefits with minimal side effects. Conclusion: The panel concludes that, in the near future, therapeutic strategies based on the use drugs with better tolerability and potentially lower direct and indirect costs, will be necessary
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
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