1,721,038 research outputs found
Health Status and Quality of Life at Extremely Advanced Ages: an Investigation on People 98 Years of Age and Over in a Province of Northern Italy.
No full textThis study aims at investigating the socio-demographic characteristics and health conditions of very elderly people in the Mantova province (North Italy).
By March 31st 1998 a total of 117 subjects aged 98+ (including 39 centenarians) were resident in the Mantova province. 84 subjects (72% of the population aged 98+) agreed to participate in the study. The survey was carried out in the shortest time possible in order to minimize bias due to the high mortality rate among very elderly people. 77 surviving subjects were administered a protocol including an interview about socio-economic conditions, lifetime habits, as well as medical examination, evaluation of physical and cognitive function, evaluation of state of depression and performance-based tests. Data on the health status, quality of life and social network of very long-lived people in the Mantova province are discussed and compared with findings from studies on Italian centenarians. Among the very elderly people in the Mantova province a high prevalence of functional and cognitive impairment was found. However, the degree of perceived well-being was good and no symptoms of depressions were observed. Despite the poor health status of the long-lived, the burden of care falls mainly on the families, and the presence of living children is a protective factor against institutionalization
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
Results of a multi-level therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease subjects in the "real world" (CRONOS project): a 36-week follow-up study
No full textResults of a multi-level therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease subjects in the "real world" (CRONOS project): a 36-week follow-up study
No full textBackground and aims: Recently, the Italian Ministry of Health started a national project (CRONOS project), aiming at assessing how a multi-level therapeutic approach - including 2-year free-of-charge treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors (ChE-I), pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management of behavioral disorders, periodic multi-dimensional assessment, and informal caregivers' counseling - performs in subjects with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Five hundred and three Alzheimer Evaluation Units (AEUs) were instituted for this purpose all over Italy. In this paper we present the results of this approach in a large population of AD subjects followed for 36 weeks by 14 AEUs in Eastern Lombardy, Italy. Methods: The project lasted for two years (September 2000-September 2002). Subjects eligible for the CRONOS project had a diagnosis of probable AD, a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score at baseline ranging from 10 to 26, and onset of cognitive disorders between 40 and 90 years of age. Periodic clinical and multi-dimensional assessments, including MMSE, Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were made at 12 and 36 weeks; ChE-I doses, psychotropic and antidepressant drugs were also re-assessed at all clinical examinations. Caregivers were instructed about dementia and drug-related problems. Results: Of the 808 subjects who completed the 36-week follow-up, 441 were naives (i.e., never previously treated with ChE-I drugs) and 367 non-naives. At 12 weeks, both naives (mean variation from baseline= 0.8 points) and non-naives (mean variation from baseline= 0.5 points) improved their MMSE scores, while at 36 weeks only naives improved (mean variation from baseline= 0.1) and non-naives decreased (mean variation from baseline= -1.2). The IADL and ADL scores progressively and mildly declined from baseline to the 36(th) week (ADL, mean variation from baseline= -0.5 for naives, -0.3 for non-naives; IADL= -0.7 for naives, mean variation from baseline = -0.4). However, when the MMSE, ADL and IADL variations were controlled for age, sex and education, no significant time effect was found (MMSE, Wilks' lambda p=0.34; ADL, Wilks' lambda p=0.25; IADL, Wilks' lambda p=0.3, respectively). These patterns were apparently unrelated to ChE-I doses. Neuroleptic use doubled in naives and antidepressants increased in both groups. Conclusions: This multi-level therapeutic approach seems to slow down progression in cognitive and functional performance.. in both naive and non-naive subjects. The possibility of recurrent examinations by specialized physicians, accurate, close management of psychotropic drugs, and informal counseling to caregivers probably aid in achieving such results in a "real world" population of AD elderly subjects living at home. Future studies are needed to assess whether a multi-level therapeutic approach including higher ChE-I dose may perform better in these subjects
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
Predicting mortality in older patients. The VELCA Study
No full textMortality at older age, during and after hospitalization, can be determined by several factors, beyond the direct cause for hospital admission, which are not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess predictors of inpatient mortality and one-year mortality in older Italians, hospitalized for dementia, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, hip fracture and myocardial infarction at the Verona Teaching Hospital, Northern Italy
A qualitative analysis of the mini mental state examination on Alzheimer's disease patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors
No full textThe improvement in cognitive performances due to cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEls) is not homogeneous among Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects. Aim of this study is to evaluate whether a specific pattern of change in mini mental state examination (MMSE) could be observed in AD subjects after 9-month treatment with ChEls. From September 2000 to September 2002, 99 subjects enrolled in the CRONOS project. They have never been previously treated with ChEls. All of them completed both the 3- and the 9-month follow-up. The multidimensional assessment included MMSE, activity of daily living (ADL), instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), somatic health status, according to design of the CRONOS project. The MMSE was analyzed both as a total score and disaggregated in 11 items. All subjects were divided in 2 groups according to the degree of change in MMSE total score from baseline to the 9th month. Subjects with a change less than or equal to -1 were defined as non-responders (NR), whereas those with a change greater than or equal to0 as responders (R). At start, no statistically significant differences were found between the 2 groups. MMSE score was significantly higher in the R group both at 3 (p < 0.0001) and 9 months (p < 0.0001), while functional status (ADL and IADL) was significantly lower in NR group at 9 months (p = 0.025; p = 0.018, respectively). In MMSE qualitative analysis of 3-month, NR significantly worsened in temporal (p less than or equal to 0.05) and spatial orientation (p less than or equal to 0.001), and in delayed recall items (p less than or equal to 0.0005) in comparison to their counterpart. At 9-month the differences between the 2 groups were observed also for registration (p less than or equal to 0.001), attention (p less than or equal to 0.0005), obeying oral commands (p less than or equal to 0.0005), reading and obeying commands (p less than or equal to 0.0005), writing a sentence (p less than or equal to 0.0005) and copying a design (p less than or equal to 0.05). In a multivariate regression model, after adjustment for demographic (age, education, gender) and clinical factors (duration of disease), only the change at 3 months in 5 MMSE items (temporal and spatial orientation, delayed recall, obeying an oral command and reading and obeying command) is associated with global cognitive change observed at 9 months. Data suggest that the change in cognitive performances of AD subjects treated with ChEls involves few and specific MMSE items at 3-month, while it tend to generalize to almost all the others at 9-month treatment
- …
