1,720,970 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
Psychological features in men with erectile dysfunction with or without preclinical atherosclerosis
No full textPsychological distress was assessed with a multidimensional self-report questionnaire (Symptom
Check-List-90R) in 247 men complaining of erectile dysfunction (ED), with or without preclinical
atherosclerosis. This was estimated by ultrasound determination of intima-media thickness (IMT)
in common carotid arteries (CC). Psychological distress was reported in 31% of men and was more
prevalent in those with a vascular damage. A higher level of obsessive–compulsive (OC) features
was observed in men with high CC-IMT (P1⁄40.0069; OR 3.18, CL 1.31–7.80). Among a large number
of vascular risk factors, elevated CC-IMT and a severe ED resulted independently associated with
an elevated level of OC features (OR 3.36, CL 1.38–8.15; OR 2.60, CL 1.01–6.70, respectively). Mental
stress driven by OC features may link ED and vascular disease by activating reciprocal exacerbating
mechanisms. Psychological distress identifies men at risk for cardiovascular disease that deserve a
vigorous treatment of ED to reduce risk of vascular event
Seminal macrophages in ejaculates from men with couple infertility
No full textSeminal macrophages are occasionally reported though their relevance in the
evaluation of human ejaculate is unknown. Activated macrophages, engaging in
sperm phagocytosis (spermiophages), might represent a marker of innate
immunosystem activation. We investigated whether the presence of spermiophages
in non-leukocytospermic ejaculates from men complaining for couple
infertility is associated with altered sperm features. Four hundred and thirtyfour
ejaculates were retrospectively analysed after excluding samples with antisperm
antibodies, or a leukocyte number ‡1 · 106 ⁄ mL. Semen quality was
compared in samples with or without spermiophages detected with transmission
electron microscope. Presence of spermiophages, observed in 27% of ejaculates,
was associated with a decreased number of sperm total count
(p < 0.0001), of sperm forward motility (p = 0.048), and to an increased fraction
of degenerating sperm (p = 0.0002) compared to ejaculates without spermiophages.
A low number of total ejaculated sperm and an increased number
of degenerating sperm independently predicted the presence of spermiophages
(odds ratio 1.72; 95% confidence intervals 1.10 to 2.28 and odds ratio 1.85;
95% confidence intervals 1.19 to 2.88 respectively). Data demonstrate that activated
macrophages, a marker of the innate immunosystem activation, are frequently
observed in non-leukocytospermic ejaculates of men suffering for
couple infertility and this may be associated with altered sperm parameters.
Ultrastructural analysis gives qualitative informations, hence sensitive
quantitative tests should better define the association between semen activated
macrophages and oligoasthenozoospermia and the possible relevance of this
finding in the clinical evaluation of the male partner of couple infertility
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
Treatment of erectile dysfunction reduces psychological distress
No full textMental stress is a risk factor for cardiovascular events in men with vascular risk factors (VRFs) and is also associated with erectile dysfunction (ED), a frequent complaint of men with VRFs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of inhibition of phosphodiesterase-5 or of placebo in men with ED and VRFs on self-evaluated psychological distress, erectile function and quality of sexual life. Thirty-six men with ED and VRFs were randomized to 4 weeks of tadalafil (20 mg/every other day) or placebo treatment. Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM), questions 1-3 of Life Satisfaction (LiSat) questionnaire, Symptom Check-List-90R, a multidimensional inventory exploring psychological dimensions were applied before and after treatment. The SHIM score improved after treatment with tadalafil compared with baseline and with placebo (F = 10.38; p = 0.0030). Sexual life satisfaction (LiSat-2) was significantly improved after tadalafil and after placebo, but a strong positive correlation was observed between LiSat-2 and SHIM score after tadalafil treatment (r = 0.59, p = 0.0003) and not after placebo (r = 0.22, p = 0.189). Psychological features were significantly changed after treatment, although a specific effect of tadalafil vs. placebo was observed only for interpersonal sensitivity (F = 4.48; p = 0.042). Obsessive-compulsive dimension, depression, anxiety, psychoticism were significantly improved in the tadalafil group and in the placebo group, although the improvement was always more relevant after treatment with tadalafil. These preliminary data suggest that a short treatment of ED reduced psychological distress and improved quality of sexual life in men with VRFs
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
- …
