117,405 research outputs found

    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

    Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?

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    In this Presidential Address, the author takes the reader on a reconnaissance of his life and time as a regional scientist. He points out scenery he found scintillating along the way, hoping that some may pick up the banner and chew on a few of the ideas for a while. He suggests a revisit to Albert O. Hirschman’s notion of key sectors and more empirical analysis related to Marcus Berliant’s and Masahisa Fujita’s notion of knowledge creation and transfer.Presidential Address, San Antonio, Texas, March 29, 2014 (53rd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association

    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

    Letter from unknown writer to Jesse L. Boyce

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    Letter to Jesse L. Boyce from unknown author (possibly Jack) about the investigation into the powder magazine located in the Grand Canyon. Some personal news is included in the letter such as the writer's marriage to the daughter of C.A. Taylor, former Supervisor of Cochise County

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    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

    Esophageal atresia with proximal tracheoesophageal fistula: A missed diagnosis

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    Aim of the Study This retrospective study was performed to compare the relative incidence of esophageal atresia (EA) with proximal tracheoesophageal fistula (PTEF) at our institution with those reported in literature and to test the hypothesis that our higher relative incidence is caused by the routine use of tracheoscopy. Methods A total of 204 children with EA were managed at our institution from 1981 to 2012. The type of EA and the diagnostic assessment were noted, and the relative incidence of PTEF was calculated. For patients managed from 1981 to 2003 (Group 1), the PTEF was diagnosed by contrast esophagogram or during surgical repair. For those born after 2004 (Group 2), the final diagnosis was made by routine rigid tracheoscopy performed preoperatively. The relative incidence of PTEF was compared between these two groups and with those reported in 15 selected published large series, encompassing 4197 patients with EA. Main Results Of 204 patients with EA, 10 had PTEF, with a relative incidence of 4.9%, statistically higher than those reported in reference group (1.14%, P < 0.001). The routine employ of tracheoscopy involved a higher relative incidence of PTEF (Group 2 = 11.11%, Group 1 = 3.14%, P = 0.038). The age of diagnosis of PTEF was 2.8 days for children of Group 2 and 4.2 days for Group 1 (P = 0.038). Conclusion The presence of the proximal TEF should be always ruled out before surgery. Routine employ of rigid tracheoscopy avoids delay of the diagnosis, improves diagnostic accuracy, and involves a higher relative incidence of proximal fistul. This procedure should be recommended in children undergoing EA repair. © 2013 Elsevier Inc

    Sarah L. Blum Author Visit - Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing

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    Hear Sarah L. Blum, author of Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military, discuss her newest book, Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing followed by a Q&A and book signing. Sarah L. Blum is a decorated Vietnam veteran who served as an operating room nurse during the intense fighting of 1967. In recognition of her service, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. Sponsored by CWU Veterans Center and CWU Libraries.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/libraryevents/1252/thumbnail.jp

    Aortopexy for Tracheomalacia in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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    Introduction: Aortopexy is the most common surgical option for the treatment of severe tracheomalacia (TM) in children. Despite being described over 75 years ago, several aspects of the procedure remain controversial. Materials and Methods: A systematic review of aortopexy was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. All original articles describing at least one case of aortopexy performed in children for the treatment of TM were included. Patients’ characteristics, surgical indications, approaches and details were collected. Outcomes were reviewed, and potential factors associated with procedural success were investigated. Results: Of 243 papers, 17 were included in this review, encompassing a total of 473 patients who underwent aortopexy. Of these, 65.3% were male, with a mean age at surgery of 12.2 months (5 days–18 years). Primary TM accounted for 7.9% of cases, while 92.1% were secondary to other anomalies, including esophageal atresia (54.1%), aberrant innominate artery (16.1%) and vascular rings (8.3%). There is a general consensus on the surgical indication for TM with severe symptoms, although the definition of severity is not well established. Overall success was 84%, but 40.8% of patients experienced some persistent symptoms. Sternotomy and thoracotomy were the most successful approaches (92.6% and 84.2%, respectively). Thoracoscopy had a similar success rate to sternotomy when pericardiotomy, thymectomy and pledgeted suture were performed (86.4% vs. 92.6% p = 0.41). Conclusions: Aortopexy is associated with good outcomes, but no evidence-based guidelines are currently available. Success appears to be associated with specific surgical steps rather than the surgical approach. Prospective studies are desirable for establishing precise guidelines

    Chemotherapy in elderly patients with pancreatic cancer: Efficacy, feasibility and future perspectives

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    By 2030 70% of newly diagnosed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) will occur in older adults. Elderly patients, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as people older than 65 years, represent a heterogeneous group with different biological and functional characteristics that need personalized anticancer treatments. Since older patients are under-represented in randomized phase III trials, their management is mostly extrapolated from studies performed in younger patients, without robust evidence-based recommendations. However, data from retrospective studies and case-control series show that elderly may benefit from chemotherapy in both the adjuvant and advanced disease settings. Although with discordant results, gemcitabine-based treatment and dose-adapted fluorouracil combination regimens seem to be effective and well tolerated in this subset of patients.A proper balance of potential treatment benefits and side effects represent the crucial point for managing elderly patients with PDAC. Therefore an appropriate patient selection is essential to maximize the therapeutic benefit in the older population: randomized studies aiming to better standardizing fitness parameters and implementing the routine use of comprehensive geriatric assessments are strongly warranted. In this light, the detection of molecular prognostic markers able to detect patients who may benefit more from oncological treatments should be a primary endpoint of age-focused clinical trials. Altogether, the field of geriatric oncology will expand in the next years, and the clinical management of elderly patients affected by PDAC will become a major public health issue
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