1,720,966 research outputs found
The Alexis® system for laparoscopic splenectomy in pediatric patients
Full text linkThe laparoscopic splenectomy in pediatric patients is performed worldwide but often the disproportion between size of patients and size of organs requires an extra laparotomic access for spleen removal. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Alexis® system to retrieve the spleen without additional laparotomic access. The charts of all patients who underwent splenectomy at our center during the last 5 years were retrieved. In all the cases the Alexis® system was placed in the umbilicus, thru which a 10 mm camera was inserted. Three additional 5 mm standard trocars were inserted. Seven patients, affected by spherocytosis (3), epidermoid cyst (2), idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (2) and thalassemia (1), underwent laparoscopic splenectomy at a median age of 10 years (range: 8–17). Median patients’ weight was 32.5 kg (range: 25–71) and spleen size 15 cm (11–18). In all the cases, upon removal of the camera, the retrieval bag was inserted thru the umbilicus under direct view, the spleen retrieved, morcellated, and removed. No conversion nor enlargement of one of the ports nor an extra laparotomic access were required. The patients were discharged on the fifth post-operative day and the cosmetic results were excellent. Removal of the spleen can be safely performed without any additional laparotomy thru the Alexis® system placed in the umbilicus. This system is effective also in case of major patient/organ size disproportion and the final cosmetic aspect is excellent
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
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
Progress in the development of childhood cancer therapy
No full textDespite the continuous improvement of cancer treatment protocols, altered testicular function and infertility frequently represent major adverse effects of oncologic treatments. Thus, strong efforts are needed to avoid or at least to reduce these complications that are particularly relevant in young men without offspring. Furthermore in the last years, concerns have been raised about the possible mutagenic effect of chemotherapy on sperm. Alkylating agents are frequently and successfully used in the treatment of paediatric tumors despite their well-known gonadotoxic effect. While gonadal toxicity of cyclophosphamide has been well demonstrated, little and conflicting data are reported about the effects on testicular function of ifosfamide. The aim of this study was to compare long-term effects of ifosfamide versus cyclophosphamide based therapies, on testicular function, fertility and sperm aneuploidies in a group of 33 young males survivors of childhood cancer. Patients who had received cyclophosphamide showed a severe gonadal failure characterized by reduced testicular size, very low sperm count and some degree of Leydig cell impairment. On the contrary, in subjects who had received ifosfamide all parameters of testicular function including sperm aneuploidies were in the normal range, despite of different dose, protocol of infusion and pubertal stage at treatment. In conclusion, our results confirm data of literature reporting the high gonadal toxicity of cyclophosphamide and suggest that ifosfamide treatment seems to be safer for testicular function and fertility
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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