1,721,111 research outputs found
Accelerated Trajectories of Walking Capacity Across the Adult Life Span in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis: An Underrecognized Challenge
No full textBackground. In the general population, trajectories of walking capacity is accelerated and nonlinear with advanced age. Whether this is more pronounced in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), along with the prevalence of dismobility (ie, slow gait speed), are currently unknown. Our objective was to investigate trajectories of walking capacity and prevalence of dismobility across the adult life span in pwMS versus healthy controls (HC). Methods. Data on maximal timed 25-foot walk test (T25FWT), 2-minute walk test (2MWT), and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) along with prevalence of dismobility were assembled from 2 RIMS multicenter studies (n = 502 pwMS; age range 21-77 years, 6 age groups: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70-79 years). HC data were extracted from studies containing normative reference values (n = 1070-3780 HC). Results. Age trajectories of walking capacity was nonlinear and accelerated in pwMS versus HC. While measures of walking capacity in pwMS were suppressed already early in life, the gap between pwMS and HC significantly widened across the 6 age groups (pwMS performed 64%, 70%, 57%, 59%, 51%, and 37% of HC, respectively). This coincided with high prevalences of dismobility in pwMS across the 6 age groups when using usual gait speed cut-point values <1.0 m/s (corresponding to 33%, 32%, 51%, 59%, 75%, and 100%) and <0.6 m/s (corresponding to 19%, 12%, 26%, 23%, 33%, and 43%), markedly exceeding that observed in HC. Conclusion. The present data on walking capacity provide evidence for an accelerated deterioration in pwMS with advanced age, coinciding with high prevalences of dismobility (ie, slow gait speed).The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was partially funded via an unrestricted educational grant from Novartis Pharma AG to Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis, the European network for best practice and research in MS rehabilitation (eurims.org).Hvid, LG (reprint author), Aarhus Univ, Sect Sport Sci, Dept Publ Hlth, Dalgas Ave 4, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
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Efficacy of Progressive Power Training in Enhancing Neuromuscular and Physical Function in Older Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Preliminary Results from the PoTOMS Trial
No full textoutcomes were Peak Power Output (PPO) of a graded exercise test (Watts), 10-Meter-Walk-Test (10MWT), Two-Minute-Walk-Test (2MWT), Six-Minute-Walk-Test (6MWT), Timed-Up-and-Go-Test (TUG) and Patient-Reported-Outcomes-Measurement-Information-System-Questionnaire (PROMIS) at baseline (T 0) and discharge after three weeks (T 1). Results: The study protocol is feasible (80% of participants completed 79% of planned series within planned sessions) and 88% of the data collection could be successfully achieved. Results of the interviews show high acceptability and motivation. The descriptive analysis of the secondary outcomes showed improvements of the mean values of all outcomes: Increase of 6.07% in Introduction: Fatigue is a complex, debilitating, and highly frequent symptom in people with multiple sclerosis (PWMS). The modified fatigue impact scale (MFIS) estimates fatigue and subdivides it into a physical (MFISphysical) and a cognitive component (MFIScognitive). Both aerobic training (AT) and resistance training (RT) reduce fatigue. However, the effects of the two modalities have not been directly compared. Objective: To perform a head-to-head comparison of the effectiveness of AT and RT on fatigue measured by MFIS in PWMS. Materials & Methods: A total of 150 PWMS (45±8 years, EDSS score 2.7 ± 1.6, 73 % women) were enrolled and randomized in a 2:2:1 ratio into either 12 weeks of AT (n=60, 30 sessions), RT (n=60, 30 sessions), or control ('usual care', n=30). Pre and post intervention assessments of isometric knee extensor muscle strength (MVC; isokinetic dynamometry), aerobic capacity (VO2peak; incremental exercise test), and fatigue (MFIS) were performed. Results: Aerobic capacity increased in AT vs. control by 5.6 [2.0;9.2] mL O 2 /min/kg (mean [95CI]) and in AT vs. RT by 3.6 [0.8;6.6], but not in RT vs. control (1.9 [-1.6;5.5]). Knee extensor muscle strength increased in RT vs. control by 1.03 [0.25;1.80] Nm/kg and in RT vs. AT 0.68 [0.27;1.08], but not in AT vs. control (0.35 [-0.42;1.13]). MFIS total seemed not to be reduced in neither RT vs. control-5.6 [-14.9; 3.7] points nor in AT vs. R
Efficacy of Progressive Power Training in Enhancing Neuromuscular and Physical Function in Older Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Preliminary Results from the PoTOMS Trial
No full textoutcomes were Peak Power Output (PPO) of a graded exercise test (Watts), 10-Meter-Walk-Test (10MWT), Two-Minute-Walk-Test (2MWT), Six-Minute-Walk-Test (6MWT), Timed-Up-and-Go-Test (TUG) and Patient-Reported-Outcomes-Measurement-Information-System-Questionnaire (PROMIS) at baseline (T 0) and discharge after three weeks (T 1). Results: The study protocol is feasible (80% of participants completed 79% of planned series within planned sessions) and 88% of the data collection could be successfully achieved. Results of the interviews show high acceptability and motivation. The descriptive analysis of the secondary outcomes showed improvements of the mean values of all outcomes: Increase of 6.07% in Introduction: Fatigue is a complex, debilitating, and highly frequent symptom in people with multiple sclerosis (PWMS). The modified fatigue impact scale (MFIS) estimates fatigue and subdivides it into a physical (MFISphysical) and a cognitive component (MFIScognitive). Both aerobic training (AT) and resistance training (RT) reduce fatigue. However, the effects of the two modalities have not been directly compared. Objective: To perform a head-to-head comparison of the effectiveness of AT and RT on fatigue measured by MFIS in PWMS. Materials & Methods: A total of 150 PWMS (45±8 years, EDSS score 2.7 ± 1.6, 73 % women) were enrolled and randomized in a 2:2:1 ratio into either 12 weeks of AT (n=60, 30 sessions), RT (n=60, 30 sessions), or control ('usual care', n=30). Pre and post intervention assessments of isometric knee extensor muscle strength (MVC; isokinetic dynamometry), aerobic capacity (VO2peak; incremental exercise test), and fatigue (MFIS) were performed. Results: Aerobic capacity increased in AT vs. control by 5.6 [2.0;9.2] mL O 2 /min/kg (mean [95CI]) and in AT vs. RT by 3.6 [0.8;6.6], but not in RT vs. control (1.9 [-1.6;5.5]). Knee extensor muscle strength increased in RT vs. control by 1.03 [0.25;1.80] Nm/kg and in RT vs. AT 0.68 [0.27;1.08], but not in AT vs. control (0.35 [-0.42;1.13]). MFIS total seemed not to be reduced in neither RT vs. control-5.6 [-14.9; 3.7] points nor in AT vs. R
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
Myosin content of single muscle fibers following short-term disuse and active recovery in young and old healthy men
No full textShort-term disuse and subsequent recovery affect whole muscle and single myofiber contractile function in
young and old. While the loss and recovery of singlemyofiber specific force (SF) following disuse and rehabilitation
has been shown to correlatewith alterations inmyosin concentrations in young, it is unknownwhether similar
relationships exist in old. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of 14 days
lower limb disuse followed by 28 days of active recovery on single muscle fiber myosin content in old (68 yrs)
and young (24 yrs) recreationally physically active healthy men. Following disuse, myosin content decreased
(p b 0.05) in MHC 1 (young −28%, old −19%) and 2a fibers (young −23%, old −32%). In old, myosin content
decreased more (p b 0.05) in MHC 2a vs 1 fibers. Following recovery, myosin content increased (p b 0.05) and
returned to pre-disuse levels for both young and old in both fiber types, with MHC 2a fibers demonstrating an
overshooting in young (+31%, p b 0.05) but not old. Strong correlationswere observed between myosin content
and single fiber SF in both young and old, with greater slope steepness in MHC 2a vs 1 fibers indicating an enhanced
intrinsic contractile capacity of MHC 2a fibers. In conclusion, adaptive changes in myofiber myosin content
appear to occur rapidly following brief periods of disuse (2 wks) and after subsequent active recovery
(4 wks) in young and old, which contribute to alterations in contractile function at the single muscle fiber
level. Changes inmyosin content appear to occur independently of age, while influenced by fiber type (MHC isoform)
in young but not old
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
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