1,720,965 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
Effective immunosuppressive therapy in a patient with primary pulmonary hypertension
No full textI.F:5.0
Immunosuppressive therapy for idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis: a retrospective analysis of 26 cases
No full textIdiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis is characterized by the extensive development of inflammatory fibrotic tissue in the retroperitoneum, leading to the compression and obstruction of the ureters and other adjacent organs [1], [2] and [3]. Ureterolysis and omental wrapping [4] and [5] do not always prevent the recurrence of ureteral obstruction and are associated with substantial morbidity and occasional mortality [4], [6], [7] and [8]. Periodic ureteral stenting in combination with medical treatment with a variety of agents, including tamoxifen, seems to provide an effective alternative to surgery [1], [6], [7], [9], [10], [11] and [12]. Tamoxifen is thought to be effective because it increases the production of transforming growth factor β, an immunosuppressive cytokine that modulates fibroblast activit
Immunosuppressive therapy prevents development of recurrent pericarditis
No full textOBJECTIVES:
This study reviews the clinical outcome of a series of patients with recurrent pericarditis before and after immunosuppressive therapy.
BACKGROUND:
Despite anti-inflammatory treatment, some patients with acute pericarditis experience repeated relapses of the disease. The use of steroids for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis remains controversial.
METHODS:
Twelve patients (4 women, 8 men; mean [+/- SD] age 35.9 +/- 17.2 years, range 15 to 65) with recurrent pericarditis unrelated to any systemic disease were selected. All 12 patients previously received ineffective short-term courses of low dose steroids and had a total of 39 relapses during a mean follow-up period of 14.2 months (range 4 to 50). A 3-month course of treatment with prednisone, at an immunosuppressive dosage, was started (1 to 1.5 mg/kg body weight per day for 4 weeks, then gradually withdrawn). When prednisone reduction was undertaken, all patients started a 5-month course of treatment with aspirin (1.6 g/day until steroid suspension, then reduced to 0.8 g/day).
RESULTS:
During a mean follow-up period of 41.6 months (range 7 to 104), immunosuppressive treatment with high dose prednisone resulted in stable remission in all except one patient, who experienced one relapse. In this patient, the addition of azathioprine to prednisone induced a persistent remission, which remained after 1-year follow-up. During treatment, three patients had severe steroid-related adverse effects that in two patients required replacement of prednisone with azathioprine and cyclophosphamide, respectively. This variation in the immunosuppressive regimen did not modify the favorable clinical outcome.
CONCLUSIONS:
The dose and duration of steroid treatment are critical factors in preventing recurrent pericarditis. High dose prednisone with aspirin should be considered in the treatment of recurrent pericarditis resistant to anti-inflammatory therapy. Cyclophosphamide or azathioprine should be reserved for patients who do not respond to high dose prednisone or who experience severe complications related to steroid therapy
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