1,721,049 research outputs found

    Effect of carnitine supplementation on lipid profile and anemia in children on chronic dialysis.

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    Pediatr Nephrol. 2007 May;22(5):727-33. Epub 2007 Feb 3. Effect of carnitine supplementation on lipid profile and anemia in children on chronic dialysis. Verrina E, Caruso U, Calevo MG, Emma F, Sorino P, De Palo T, Lavoratti G, Turrini Dertenois L, Cassanello M, Cerone R, Perfumo F; Italian Registry of Pediatric Chronic Dialysis. Abstract We prospectively evaluated the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on plasma free carnitine (FC) levels, serum lipid profile, and erythropoietin (rhEPO) requirement in 24 children treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD; n=16) or hemodialysis (HD; n=8). The study was divided into a 3-month observation period, and a 3-month treatment period during which patients received 20 mg/kg per day of L-carnitine given orally. Clinical, biochemical, and hematological data were collected every 3 months. FC levels were measured in plasma and peritoneal dialysate by tandem mass spectrometry. There were no statistically significant changes in lipid levels, hemoglobin, or rhEPO requirements during the course of the study. Fifteen patients (13 PD, 2 HD) had plasma FC levels measured before and after treatment; FC levels increased from 32.1 +/- 14.1 micromol/l to 80.9 +/- 38.7 micromol/l (P<0.001). In PD patients, dialysate FC losses increased from 106 +/- 78 micromol/day at baseline to 178 +/- 119 micromol/day after supplementation. Positive correlations between FC plasma levels and dialysate levels (R=0.507) or daily excretion (R=0.603) were found after treatment. In our case series, an oral dose of 20 mg/kg per day of L-carnitine restored FC levels and produced a positive carnitine balance with no significant effects on hematological parameters or lipid profile over a 3-month period. Prolonged treatment duration may be required to obtain significant results

    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

    Discordant evolution of nephrotic syndrome in mono- and dizygotic twins

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    Twins represent a powerful resource for revealing multifactorial mechanisms in human diseases. Few reports are available on nephrotic syndrome in twins, and most furnish only a partial description of genetic identity based on human leukocyte antigens (HLA) analysis. We describe two pairs of mono and dizygotic twins with nephrotic syndrome who presented discordant outcomes in terms of length and required therapies. In one case, evolution to focal glomerulosclerosis was also documented. The basic molecular work-up included analysis of concordance based on 10 polymorphic markers (D3S1358, vVA, FGA, amelogenin, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820) and exclusion of the major slit-diaphragm gene mutation (NPHS2, CD2AP, WT1) causing nephrotic syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first description of long-term outcome in mono- and dizygotic twins with proven genetic concordance. Discordant outcomes indicate a major influence of environmental and/or epigenetic multifactorial mechanisms on persistence and evolution of the disease to focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis
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