1,721,020 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
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
Epidemiology and risk factors of pneumonia in critically ill patients. Intensive Care Unit Group for Infection Control
No full textRisk factors for pneumonia were analysed in a large population of critically ill patients, collected in two prospective multicentre "pneumonia studies" in Italy. Twenty-three intensive care units were involved and the study time was 150 unit months. Only patients without previous pulmonary infection, with intensive care unit stay greater than or equal to 48 hours and no rapidly irreversible illness at admission were included. The incidence of pneumonia in the 1475 selected patients was 15% (220 cases). 239 patients died in ICU; the mortality rate was significantly higher in patients developing pneumonia (p less than 0.0001); pneumonia was found to be an independent highly significant risk factor for death in critically ill patients (OR = 3.88; p less than 0.0001). Multivariate analysis of seven risk factors for pneumonia showed a significantly higher risk in patients with neuromuscular disease (OR = 3.8, p less than 0.002), impairment of airway reflexes at admission (OR = 2.93, p less than 0.0001), and greater than or equal to 24h respiratory assistance (OR = 3.05, p less than 0.0001). Impairment of airway reflexes at admission to the emergency room or intensive care unit identifies the population who will experience 3/4 of the overall lower respiratory tract infections. Rapid recognition of at-risk patients seems clinically important and may improve awareness programs and preventive approaches
[Patient involvement in medical decision-making].
No full textThe increasing interest in the Shared Decision Making approach is linked to an improvement of the clinical outcomes. This paper proposes an update of the literature review on Shared Decision-Making in the clinical setting in Italy, describing the areas of application, the objectives, the instruments used and the main results
Long-term respiratory support and risk of pneumonia in critically ill patients. Intensive Care Unit Group of Infection Control
No full textIn 724 critically ill patients who had received prolonged (greater than 24 h) ventilatory assistance since admission to the ward, we analyzed the relationship between artificial ventilatory support and pulmonary infection. Two different approaches were used. The first, plotting the incidence of pneumonia versus the duration of ventilatory support, confirms previous data: the incidence rises from 5% in patients receiving one day of respiratory assistance to 68.8% in patients receiving more than 30 days. In the second approach, the same data were computed as an actuarial life table with the day of pneumonia onset as terminal event. This different approach, focusing on the onset of infection rather than on incidence, allows a new insight into the problem of nosocomial infection: pneumonia in patients with respiratory support is an early occurrence with a high and constant rate of acquisition and, therefore, a high risk of infection in the first eight to ten days. Later pneumonia acquisitions were rare, and the risk after ten days of ventilatory support is low
Prevention of pneumonia in an intensive care unit: a randomized multicenter clinical trial. Intensive Care Unit Group of Infection Control
No full textIn a randomized multicenter clinical trial on antibiotic prophylaxis, 1,319 patients in 23 ICUs were enrolled over a 4-month period. The end-point of the study was the prevention of early onset pneumonia (EOP), defined as acquired pneumonia diagnosed within 4 days of ICU admission; this accounted for greater than 50% of overall pneumonia. Patients eligible for the study were divided into three groups which received either cefoxitin (2 g iv for three doses/8 h), penicillin G (2 million U iv for four doses/6 h), or no antibiotic (control group). In the overall population, the incidence of EOP was 6.1% in the prophylaxis recipients vs. 7.2% in the control group (a 15.3% reduction). No statistically different rates of pneumonia or death were found among the groups. Patients with impaired reflexes on admission or prolonged ventilatory support were noted to have a lower incidence of EOP and an improved outcome when treated with cefoxitin
Is pneumonia developing in patients in intensive care always a typical "nosocomial" infection?
No full textEarly onset pneumonia: a multicenter study in intensive care units.
No full textA prospective multicenter study concerning the incidence, onset time, risk factors and mortality of pneumonia was carried out by the Intensive Care Units Collaborative Group for Infection Control in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Out of 1304 patients admitted over 3 months in 16 intensive care units (ICUs), 441 met the criteria for the protocol (no previous pulmonary infection or irreversible terminal illness, ICU stay greater than 48 h). The incidence of acquired pneumonia was 21.3% (94/441), with 54.2% of cases diagnosed within 4 days of admission (early onset pneumonia). Impairment of airway reflexes on admission and more than 24 h respiratory assistance were shown as significant risk factors (RR) for early onset pneumonia (respectively RR = 12.4, with 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.3-28.9 and RR = 3.3, with 95% CI = 1.8-5.9). A suggested pathogenetic mechanism is aspiration of oropharyngeal contents at the onset of acute illness, due to depression of protective reflexes with delayed clearance of bacterial contamination. No protection was offered by routinely applied prophylactic antibiotic therapy
- …
