1,720,980 research outputs found
Dietary predictors of bone mineral density, hip fractures, mobility and muscle strength - in community-dwelling older persons
Full text linkBackground: The aging process involves decline of both muscle and bone mass. The loss of muscle mass is associated with decreased muscle strength and mobility, while loss of bone mass leads to osteoporosis and increased risk of fractures. This process maybe accelerated due to poor dietary quality, low energy intake and undernutrition. Fish is a good source of nutrients that are associated with preserving both muscle and bone mass. In particular, fish is contributing substantially to vitamin D intake. Overall aim: The overall aim of this PhD-project was to investigate dietary predictors of bone mineral density, risk of hip fractures, muscle strength and mobility in community-dwelling older persons. Specific aims: The aim was to summarize the available literature in a systematic literature search on randomized clinical trials investigating the effects of vitamin D supplementation (with or without calcium supplementation) on muscle strength and mobility in community-dwelling older persons, presented as a narrative systematic review and a formal meta-analysis on measures of muscle strength and mobility. The aim was to examine the association of fish intake with bone mineral density and risk of hip fractures in the Hordaland Health Study (HUSK), by conducting a) a cross sectional analysis of the association between fish intake and bone mineral density in middle - aged and older participants, and b) a prospective analysis of the association of baseline fish intake with the risk of hip fractures in the older cohort during a follow -up of ten years. The aim was to conduct a clinical observational study on weight change and mobility in community-dwelling hip fracture patients during the first two to three months after the fracture. Results: The systematic review included 15 studies. In the majority of studies, no improvements in muscle strength or mobility were observed after administration of vitamin D with or without calcium supplementation. The quantitative meta-analysis did not reveal any clinically relevant effects of vitamin D supplementation neither on handgrip strength (seven studies) nor on the timed-up-and-go test (five studies). a) Cross-sectional analyses from the HUSK study showed an association between high fish intake and higher bone mineral density in older women, but not in middleaged women or in men. b) A low intake of fish was associated with increased risk of hip fracture in older men during a follow-up of ten years. This association was not evident in older women. Among community-dwelling hip fracture patients with normal cognitive function, age and weight loss were associated with insufficient mobility two months after the fracture. Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation had no clinically relevant effect on measures of muscle strength and mobility. Fish intake did not have consistent effects on bone mineral density and risk of hip fractures. The findings of positive effects of fish intake in subgroups but not in the entire population have to be interpreted with care. Age and weight loss were the main determinants of mobility in patients after a hip fracture. In conclusion, maintenance of weight, muscle mass and bone mineral density are key issues for health of older persons. The results of the present investigations suggest that the there is a need for more studies regarding diet and health outcomes in community-dwelling older persons
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
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
The Association of Isocaloric Subtitution of Dietary Protein in Middle Age with Muscle Mass and Strength in Old Age: The Hordaland Health Study
Full text linkBackground
Age-associated loss of muscle mass and strength is an important predictor of disability in older persons. Although several mechanisms contribute to the decline in muscle mass and function seen with aging, the process is thought to be accelerated by an inadequate protein intake. However, the optimal amount and source of protein and the role of dietary protein intake over the life course remain uncertain.
Objectives
In a sample of community-dwelling adults in Western Norway, the current study examined both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations over 20 y of dietary protein intake with appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) and muscle strength measured by handgrip strength (HGS) in older age.
Methods
Dietary intake was assessed using food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) in middle age (46–49 y) and older age (67–70 y) within the community-based Hordaland Health Study.
Results
Adjusted, multivariate linear regression analyses revealed a negative cross-sectional association between the substitution of total protein (TP) and animal protein (AP), with fat and carbohydrates, on ASMM in women but not in men. No longitudinal associations were found between substitution of dietary protein intake and ASMM in either sex in adjusted models. Similarly, no cross-sectional or longitudinal associations were evident between substitution of dietary protein intake and HGS in either sex in adjusted models.
Conclusion
The findings in the current study highlight the need to clarify the role of dietary protein intake in the maintenance of muscle mass and muscle strength in healthy older adults.publishedVersio
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