1,721,253 research outputs found
IPF: New insight on pathogenesis and treatment
No full textRecent years have seen a robust influx of exciting new observations regarding the mechanisms that regulate the initiation and progression of pulmonary fibrosis but the pathogenesis remains poorly understood. The search for an alternative hypothesis to unremitting, chronic inflammation as the primary explanation for the pathophysiology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) derives, in part, from the lack of therapeutic efficacy of high-dose immunosuppressive therapy in patients with IPF. The inflammatory hypothesis of IPF has since been challenged by the epithelial injury hypothesis, in which fibrosis is believed to result from epithelial injury, activation, and/or apoptosis with abnormal wound healing. This hypothesis suggests that recurrent unknown injury to distal pulmonary parenchyma causes repeated epithelial injury and apoptosis. The resultant loss of alveolar epithelium exposes the underlying basement membrane to oxidative damage and degradation. Emerging concepts suggest that IPF is the result of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction. The initiation of this fibrotic response may depend upon genetic factors and environmental triggers; the role of Th1 or Th2 cell-derived cytokines may also be important. This process appears to be unique to usual interstitial pneumonia/IPF. It is clear that IPF is a heterogeneous disease with variations in pathology, high-resolution computed tomography findings, and patterns of progression. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a complex disorder, and no unifying hypothesis has been identified at present that explains all the abnormalities
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
Recent advances in managing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis [version 1; referees: 4 approved]
Full text linkIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare pulmonary disease with a poor prognosis and severe impact on quality of life. Early diagnosis is still challenging and important delays are registered before final diagnosis can be reached. Available tools fail to predict the variable course of the disease and to evaluate response to antifibrotic drugs. Despite the recent approval of pirfenidone and nintedanib, significant challenges remain to improve prognosis and quality of life. It is hoped that the new insights gained in pathobiology in the last few years will lead to further advances in the diagnosis and management of IPF. Currently, early diagnosis and prompt initiation of treatments reducing lung function loss offer the best hope for improved outcomes. This article aims at providing an overview of recent advances in managing patients with IPF and has a particular focus on how to reach a diagnosis, manage comorbidities and lung transplantation, care for the non-pharmacological needs of patients, and address palliative care
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