1,720,953 research outputs found
#3704 Plasma cell infiltration predicts elevated steroid demand during short-term management of severe ANCA-associated renal vasculitides
Abstract Background and Aims Steroid-sparing regimen are key to improved management of the potentially life-threatening autoimmune conditions ANCA-associated renal vasculitides (AArV). However, treatment reality is hallmarked by undeniable steroid dependency necessitating indulgent weighting of steroid dosing and tapering due to steroid's toxicities and sequelae. Though outcome guidance heavily depends on renal histopathology, to date, impacting factors predicting steroid demand remain elusive. Therefore, we aimed to identify histopathological denominators of an increased steroid demand during the initial hospitalization phase in patients with AArV. Method A retrospective single-center study enrolling all cases of biopsy-affirmed AArV within the observational period of 2015 until 2021 was performed. After ethics approval, medical records were utilized to assess patient characteristics (age, sex, comorbidities, medication), date of admission and discharge from hospital, laboratory serum parameters at baseline (creatinine, eGFR, BUN, potassium, white blood cells, platelets, C-reactive protein, C3/C4 levels), and conducted treatment measures to induce remission (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, plasma exchange). Cumulative prednisolone demand (CPD) and ICU scores were calculated (APACHE II, SAPS II, SAPS III). Blinded histopathological analysis was independently performed by two nephropathologists evaluating the extent of tubulointerstitial immune cell infiltration, especially plasma cell (PC) richness (PC+) vs. PC scarcity (PC-). ROC curve analysis and maximized Youden index (MYI) calculation was conducted. Survival curve analyses were performed by means of Kaplan-Meier method and log rank testing. The event was defined as achieving a CPD level above the total cohort median of 2395 mg, exitus was censored. Results The total cohort (TC) contained n = 50 patients (22/50 being female) with a median age of 63 y (53–74), an in-hospital stay of 14 d (7–26) and a mean CPD of 2582 ± 1683 mg. CPD independently correlated with APACHE II score (β = 0.51, P < 0.001) implying the state of critical illness to be crucial for CPD elevation. We then identified the cut-off of 15.5 points (APACHE II) by means of MYI calculation in line with ROC curve analysis (AUC: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.7–0.9, P = 0.0003) (Fig. 1A), which enabled cohort subgrouping (ICU vs. non-ICU). Subgroup baseline characteristics were compared: sig. increase of CPD levels (4.5 g ± 1.1 g vs. 2.1 g ± 1.4 g, P < 0.0001) and sig. elevation of serum creatinine levels, 5.6 (4.4–7.2) mg/dL vs. 2.0 (1.1–3.6) mg/dL, characterized the ICU subgroup. CPD levels independently correlated with serum creatinine elevation (TC: β = ß.53, P = 0.019; ICU: β = 0.65, P < 0.029) (Fig. 1B) and PC infiltration (TC: β = 0.328, P = 0.03; ICU: β = 0.71, P = 0.033) (Fig. 1B), which was not observable in the non-ICU group. Finally, we performed a survival curve analysis applying the ICU-subgroup median of PC infiltration (0.3%) as a cut-off defining two groups: PC+ vs. PC−. PC infiltration of >0.3% sig. predicted increased CPD levels (logrank: P = 0.0036, HR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1–6.7) (Fig. 1C). Conclusion We here show that prognosis-affecting steroid demand during short-term management is determinable depending on distinct histopathological lesions and the state of critical illness, which might be implemented in future models enabling individualized outcome prediction for patients with ANCA-associated renal vasculitides
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The 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
“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
We 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
We 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
We 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.
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902
In Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
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