1,720,962 research outputs found
Migration and infectious disease in the etiology of multiple sclerosis: A case-control study
No full textEpidemiological study on multiple sclerosis risk of migration from South to North Italy
A multicenter study. Part 2, methodologic experience from a multicenter case-control study (on multiple sclerosis) in Italy. The Italian Multiple Sclerosis Study Group
No full textMulticenter national study on exogenous risk factors of multiple sclerosis in Italy. Methodologic experience in a case-control study carried out by the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Study Group
MRI activity and neutralising antibody as predictors of response to interferon beta treatment in multiple sclerosis
No full textWe aimed to evaluate the safety and MRI efficacy of interferon beta-1b (IFN beta-1b) 375 mu g (subcutaneously [sc] every other day [eod]) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with a suboptimal response to IFN beta-1b 250 mu g, i.e., with MRI activity or relapses.
The OPTimization of Interferon for MS (OPTIMS) study was a prospective multicenter randomized phase 2 trial comprising a 6-month run-in phase (to identify suboptimal responders) and a 6-month randomized phase of
open-label clinical and blinded MRI follow-up. During run-in all patients were treated with IFN beta-1b 250 mu g sc eod; during the study phase suboptimal treatment responders were randomized either to IFN mu-1b 250 or 375 mu g sc eod. Primary outcome was the proportion of patients without MRI activity during study Months 9-12 according to the intention-to-treat principle. 216 RRMS patients entered the study: 83 suboptimal responders were identified and randomized, 7 refused to continue treatment, 76 were included in the analysis. More patients
treated with 375 mu g had no MRI activity at Months 9-12 (30/36 vs. 16/40; relative risk, 0.28; 95 % confidence interval, 0.08-0.47; p = 0.0001). Sensitivity analysis ("worst case scenario") confirmed the results. No new or nexpected adverse events were observed, but there was a trend towards more withdrawals in the 375 mu g group. Increasing the dose of IFN beta-1b from 250 mu g to 375 mu g is a successful strategy for reducing subclinical signs of disease activity in RRMS patients. Further studies are needed to show whether this dose may also
improve clinical efficacy
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
Guidelines on the clinical use for the detection of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to IFN beta in multiple sclerosis therapy: report from the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Study group
No full textInterferon beta (IFNβ) was the first specific disease-modifying treatment licensed for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and is still one of the most commonly prescribed treatments. A strong body of evidence supports the effectiveness of IFNβ preparations in reducing the annual relapse rate, magnetic resonance (MRI) disease activity and disease progression. However, the development of binding/neutralizing antibodies (BAbs/NAbs) during treatment negatively affects clinical and MRI outcomes. Therefore, guidelines for the clinical use for the detection of NAbs in MS may result in better treatment of these patients. In October 2012, a panel of Italian neurologists from 17 MS clinics convened in Milan to review and discuss data on NAbs and their clinical relevance in the treatment of MS. In this paper, we report the panel’s recommendations for the use of IFNβ Nabs detection in the early identification of IFNβ non-responsiveness and the management of patients on IFNβ treatment in Italy, according to a model of therapeutically appropriate care
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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