1,721,047 research outputs found
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
Neuromusculaire complicaties van kritiek ziekte
No full textICU-acquired weakness (ICUAW) is a frequent complication of critical illness. It presents as new onset symmetrical weakness of the peripheral and respiratory muscles during critical illness and cannot be explained by other causes than the acute illness or its treatment. ICUAW is caused by structural or functional damage to the nerves, the muscles or both and occurs in about half of the patients with sepsis, those with multiple organ failure and those receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. There is no consensus on the gold standard for diagnosis of this complication. Bedside manual muscle strength testing can be performed by trained (para-)medics, provided patients are awake and cooperative, and allows identification of clinically relevant weakness. Alternatively, electrophysiological screening can be used, also in patients who are not conscious. However, the importance of electrophysiological abnormalities, that develop very frequently, and their relationship with clinical weakness have not been explored in large populations. Several observational studies reported an association between ICUAW and poor short-term outcomes. This is not surprising as ICUAW is considered one of the pillars of multiple organ failure, hence reflecting disease severity. In addition, a recent follow-up study in relatively young acute respiratory stress disorder (ARDS) survivors, revealed striking results. First, these patients had a markedly reduced physical function and quality of life persisting up to 5 years following ICU admission. Second, the reduced physical function was mainly attributed to self-perceived weakness. This landmark paper hereby suggested that weakness, which develops in the ICU, may contribute to long-lasting disabilities. This is a very important concept, indicating that ICUAW could also have major socio-economic implications as the population of ICU survivors is rapidly increasing thanks to progress in general supportive measures and mechanical and pharmacological support.
Hence, the aim of this doctoral thesis was to gain further insight in the neuromuscular complications of critical illness and the burden entailed by these abnormalities. In a first study, we focused on the question whether ICUAW is just a marker of disease severity or actually contributes to worse outcomes. Because this question does not lend itself to a randomized study design, we used an alternative strategy aimed at reducing bias as much as possible. We prospectively evaluated 415 cooperative long-stay ICU patients (ICU stay ≥8 days) for weakness. All patients were included in the EPaNIC trial. This was a large, randomized controlled trial including 4640 patients that compared early (within 48 hours) with late (not within the first week) parenteral supplementation of deficient enteral feeding. Next, we carefully matched weak to no-weak patients for potential confounders, including baseline characteristics, illness severity and risk factor exposure prior to assessment. This rendered 122 matched pairs of weak and not weak patients. In this matched set, we found that weak patients as compared with not weak patients had worse acute morbidity, indicated by a lower likelihood for early live weaning from mechanical ventilation, live ICU and hospital discharge. Also, health care related hospitalization costs were higher and 1-year mortality was significantly increased in matched weak as compared to matched not-weak patients. These data support that ICUAW actually contributes to poor outcomes. We further demonstrated that persisting weakness at ICU discharge as well as the severity of weakness at that time further compromised 1-year survival. These findings stress the importance of research aimed at preventing this complication. Furthermore, it underscores that a clinical diagnosis of weakness provides important prognostic information.
However, a substantial amount of ICU patients is unconscious and uncooperative and cannot reliably perform such voluntary muscle strength tests. Therefore, we evaluated screening electrophysiology as a potential alternative or supplemental diagnostic tool for neuromuscular complications of critical illness in a second study. We explored the diagnostic properties of these electrophysiological screening tests in the ICU with clinically defined weakness as a reference. In addition, we examined the relationship between electrophysiological parameters and 1-year mortality, which we identified in the previous study as an important patient-centered outcome affected by ICUAW. We again focused on long-stay EPaNIC patients (ICU stay ≥8 days) at increased risk for neuromuscular complications. In addition, given the high incidence of electrophysiological abnormalities in critically ill patients and as the incidence of such abnormalities in ICU patients with a favorable recovery is unknown, it was very important for this research question to also include a random sample of short-stay patients. A total of 730 patients, of whom 88 short-stayers received screening electrophysiology and 432 of these patients were clinically evaluable for muscle strength. Screening electrophysiology showed that 1 week after ICU admission none of the electrophysiological parameters demonstrated both high sensitivity and high specificity for weakness and therefore cannot simply be used as a substitute. However, normal compound muscle action potential (CMAP) excluded weakness with a high negative predictive value. Strikingly, abnormal CMAP 1 week after ICU admission was associated with increased 1-year mortality, independent from weakness. These data indicate that electrophysiology provides information supplementing clinical data and suggests that patients with either weakness or early abnormal CMAP may benefit from close follow-up, also after hospital discharge.
Finally, we aimed to assess long-term recovery of muscle strength and related functional status in general survivors of critical illness and to identify factors associated with persisting impairment within this post-ICU period. For this purpose, we prospectively evaluated 117 EPaNIC patients 2 years after ICU admission. To reduce bias from patient selection, also home visits were performed. Data were compared with those obtained from 50 demographically matched controls. Results demonstrated that ICU survivors were significantly weaker than controls. This was associated with reduced functional status and accompanied by reduced quality of life. Paired biopsy samples from 8 of these patients who received a muscle biopsy in the ICU and at 2-year follow-up showed that myofiber atrophy is more pronounced 2 years after critical illness as compared to 1 week after ICU admission. These data indicate that persisting limitations are present, also in general ICU survivors, up to 2 years following ICU admission and suggest that the legacy of critical illness is not limited to ARDS patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated in 43 of these patients who were also evaluated after 1 year, that handgrip strength and maximal exercise capacity deteriorated within this time frame. Further research should identify potentially modifiable risk factors for this decline.
In conclusion, muscle weakness acquired during critical illness carries a burden both in terms of short-term morbidity as well as 1-year mortality. Weakness persists 2 years after critical illness and is accompanied by poor functional status and quality of life.status: Publishe
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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