1,720,969 research outputs found

    Prevention of cardiovascular events in early menopause: a possible role for hormone replacement therapy

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    Heart disease is a major cause of illness and death in women. It is well known that there is an increase in cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors after the menopause, but it is still unclear whether the change in risk factors after the menopause is only related to the aging process or is principally due to estrogen deprivation. Observational studies suggest a protective role for estrogens, whereas recent randomized controlled trials report a negative effect of oral estrogens on primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. The role of inflammation in the process of atherogenesis and in determining the cardiovascular disease risk in postmenopausal women has been focused only recently as well as the role of the estrogen receptor system in different tissues and the role of genetic susceptibility to adverse events during estrogen therapy. The objective of this work was to review the current understanding of the relationships between cardiovascular disease risk factors and hormonal age-related changes in postmenopausal women and particularly in early and surgical postmenopausal women, for a more appropriate evaluation of the expected effects of therapy with exogenous estrogens in a specific sample of the large population of postmenopausal women

    Diagnosing and treating depression in older and oldest old

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    Depression is very common in older people and it is associated with negative consequences such as functional decline, increased morbidity and mortality and higher healthcare costs. Despite this, it is still underdiagnosed and undertreated and the issue is particularly relevant for people older than 80 years. The main reasons for underdiagnosis are: atypical presentation, concomitant cognitive decline, inadequate diagnostic tools, and prejudice that depression is a normal part of ageing. On the other hand, the main reasons for undertreatment are: multimorbidity, concerns about adverse events and drug interactions, lack of confidence in the efficacy and safety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments in the oldest old depressed patients, who are underrepresented in clinical studies. The new antidepressants are the drugs most frequently used, due to their perceived more favorable safety profile than older antidepressants. Psychotherapy is equally effective but less frequently used and should request some adaptive strategies for the peculiarities of octogenarians. Electroconvulsive therapy is limited to severe psychotic late-life depression resistant to other treatments. In light of the heterogeneity of people aged 80 years and over, with multiple and different medical, functional, socioeconomic problems, a multidimensional approach is probably the most suitable both for diagnosis and treatment, in order to develop an individualized care plan. These considerations should guide the formulation of future research studies, specifically tailored for the oldest depressed patients

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    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

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    “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

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    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
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