117,277 research outputs found
Homocysteine and cardiovascular risk in patients with intestinal transplantation.
No full textPLASMA TOTAL HOMOCYSTEINE (HCY) AS ADDITIONAL CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTOR IN PATIENTS WITH INTESTINAL TRANSPLANTATION
G Bianchi, E Pompignoli, A Lauro, G Passerini, R Chianese, A Pinna, M Zoli
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Cardioangiologia, Epatologia and Centro Trapianti, Università di Bologna
Transplanted patients show an increased rate of cardiovascular events, probably due to metabolic changes induced by immunosuppressive therapy. Among cardiovascular risk factors, high plasma homocysteine (HiHCY) has an indepedent role. No data are available about HiHCY prevalence in subjects with intestinal transplant (ITX) as effect of immunosuppressive drugs.
21 subjects, ageing 24 to 57, with ITX dating 6 months or more (median 29 months; range 6-69) were tested in 79 determinations. All patients received Tacrolimus (FK) as major immunosuppressive agent. Total Hcy was assayed on chromatography. Routine laboratory data, history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, overweight and cardiovascular events, occurred over 6 months from ITX, were recorded. Additional events were recorded during the study period.
ITX subjects showed increased Hcy levels (median 19 mmol/L, range 8.6 – 80.6). 75% of ITX patients had Hcy >15 μmol/L. The same prevalence was observed for patients with mild kidney failure (creatinine levels above 1.7 mg/dl). Patients with normal and increased creatinine did not differ significantly for HCY or prevalence of HiHCY, and no relation was present between the two variables. Total homocysteine plasma levels were related to tacrolimus serum levels (R = 0.305, P < 0.01).
One heart ischemic problem was observed in a patient with severe kidney failure; two patients had problems in abdominal and/or peripheral venous districts, with HiHCY and some signs of the metabolic syndrome. HiHCY is frequently found in ITX patients. Its role in the genesis of cardiovascular events and the usefulness of a HiHCY lowering therapy remains to verify
A New Approach for NaI(Tl) Detector Efficiency Calibration Using 41Ar Radionuclide for Air Exhaust Systems
No full textArgon-41 is an essential gaseous radionuclide that must be monitored in gaseous effluents from nuclear facilities. Therefore, a precise evaluation of Ar-41 activity is highly desired. Gamma spectroscopy with a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector coupled with a multichannel analyzer (MCA) is one of the widely used techniques for the identification and activity measurements of radioisotopes. However, the efficiency calibration of these kinds of monitoring systems highly depends on the source-detector geometry, and a large amount of uncertainty may complicate the calibration. This paper presents the evaluation of the full peak efficiency of a 2 x 2-in. NaI(Tl) scintillation detector coupled with a stable MCA for a Ar-41 source with 1293.5 keV energy in two different source-detector geometries, duct and Marinelli beaker, using the FLUKA code. A new experimental technique is considered to produce Ar-41 in a controlled geometry, like a Marinelli beaker, through neutron irradiation of natural argon inside a cyclotron bunker. The simulation data were compared with the experimental results for Marinelli beaker geometry, and the ratio was evaluated as 0.99 +/- 0.07. The ratio was considered a scaling factor for the final efficiency calibration of duct geometry
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?
No full textIn this Presidential Address, the author takes the reader on a reconnaissance of his life and time as a regional scientist. He points out scenery he found scintillating along the way, hoping that some may pick up the banner and chew on a few of the ideas for a while. He suggests a revisit to Albert O. Hirschman’s notion of key sectors and more empirical analysis related to Marcus Berliant’s and Masahisa Fujita’s notion of knowledge creation and transfer.Presidential Address, San Antonio, Texas, March 29, 2014 (53rd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
Letter from unknown writer to Jesse L. Boyce
No full textLetter to Jesse L. Boyce from unknown author (possibly Jack) about the investigation into the powder magazine located in the Grand Canyon. Some personal news is included in the letter such as the writer's marriage to the daughter of C.A. Taylor, former Supervisor of Cochise County
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
The Influence of Menstrual Cycle on Bioimpedance Vector Patterns, Performance, and Flexibility in Elite Soccer Players
No full textPurpose: To examine whether menstrual cycle affects body composition and bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA) patterns, jumping and sprinting ability, and flexibility in elite soccer players. Methods: A total of 20 elite female soccer players (age: 23.8 [3.4] y, height: 1.63 [0.04] m, body mass: 61.4 [5.9] kg, and body mass index: 22.5 [2.4] kg/m2) were monitored during the early follicular and ovulatory phase across 2 consecutive menstrual cycles. Bioimpedance analysis was performed using foot-to-hand technology, and total body water and fat mass were determined by specific equations developed for athletes. Bioelectrical resistance and reactance were adjusted according to the BIVA procedures and plotted as a vector within the resistance-reactance graph. In addition, countermovement jump, 20-m sprint, and sit and reach were assessed. Results: A time effect (P < .05) was found for body mass, total body water, bioelectrical resistance and reactance, and flexibility. Specifically, body mass increased (P = .021) along with a gain in total body water (P = .001) from the ovulatory to the early follicular phase, while it decreased from the early follicular to the ovulatory phase during the second menstrual cycle. The BIVA vector shortened during the early follicular phases (P < .001). No change in jumping and sprinting capacity was observed (P > .05). Flexibility was impaired during the early follicular phases (P < .05). Conclusions: Specific bioelectrical impedance analysis and BIVA procedures are able to detect menstrual cycle-induced changes in body composition in elite soccer players. The early follicular phase resulted in fluid accumulations and BIVA vector shortening. In addition, while menstrual cycle did not affect performance, a fluctuation in flexibility was observed
Sarah L. Blum Author Visit - Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing
No full textHear Sarah L. Blum, author of Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military, discuss her newest book, Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing followed by a Q&A and book signing.
Sarah L. Blum is a decorated Vietnam veteran who served as an operating room nurse during the intense fighting of 1967. In recognition of her service, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
Sponsored by CWU Veterans Center and CWU Libraries.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/libraryevents/1252/thumbnail.jp
Lillian L. Lambert, Author, Speaker, and Entrepreneur
No full textLillian L. Lambert, Author, Speaker, and Entrepreneu
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