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A simple healthy lifestyle index as a proxy of wellness : a proof of concept
No full textThe evidence supporting the importance of a healthy lifestyle (active life, healthy diet, not smoking, and low stress) as a part of programs for primary and secondary prevention of cardiometabolic diseases is strong, compelling, and continuously growing. In this study, we test whether a simple web-based healthy lifestyle index, using self-reports, is related to indices of cardiovascular health and metabolic syndrome and could be employed in large wellness programs intended to promote healthy lifestyle. We studied 411 workers in an Italian multinational factory who were enrolled in a voluntary program consisting of a health checkup and an online questionnaire on lifestyle. These domains were combined into a single simple index. Participants were subdivided into three healthy lifestyle index (HI) groups (red, yellow, and green) ranging from poor to good HI quality (HI from red to green: 41.8 ± 14.6; 75.7 ± 8.5; 93.8 ± 2.2; p < 0.05). The groups differed in indicators of cardiovascular and metabolic health (waist circumference females: 82.1 ± 9.56, 78.9 ± 9.3, 72.7 ± 6.6; males: 95.2 ± 11.7, 90.0 ± 9.5, 85.7 ± 6.1 cm; group difference p < 0.05). Moreover, they differed significantly in the likelihood of having more components of the metabolic syndrome and, conversely, fewer components of the ideal cardiovascular health profile (with red having the worst profile). The red group was also characterized by the highest absenteeism. We report for the first time that a web-based self-reported poor health behavior was significantly associated with clinical and laboratory (partial correlation between HI and high-density cholesterol 0.192; body mass index -0.288; systolic blood pressure -0.130; all p < 0.05) results indicating a negative cardiometabolic profile
Innovative technologies for knee rehabilitation in subjects with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
No full textIntroduction Recent theoretical studies indicate that during leg extension exercises
the tibiofemoral shear forces and the ACL strain-forces can be externally modulated.
These modulations can be obtained by a controlled displacement of the application
point of the resistance force along the lower-leg during the knee flexion/extension
(Biscarini, 2008), or through an external compressive force applied on the knee joint
(Fleming et al., 2007). Methods We have designed and developed two innovative
leg extension prototypes which integrate these functions. In the first prototype, the
resistance lever of a standard leg-extension equipment was replaced by a linear
guide along with the resistance pad can slide. The pad movement along the guide is
generated by an electric motor controlled by an angular encoder placed on the
rotation axis of the equipment, and a linear encoder installed along the linear guide.
A feedback control algorithm was developed to provide an accurate and fast
dynamic control of the pad positioning. In the second prototype, a foot platform
was inserted at the distal side of the resistance lever to exert a controlled axial
compression on the lower limb during the exercise. Two protocols for surface EMG
and imaging techniques measurement were designed to assess and compare the
levels of hamstring co-contraction (which is known to represent a protective factor
for the ACL) and the anterior tibial translation (which is proportional to the ACL
strain-force), during the exercise with these two new prototypes and the standard
equipment, at different levels of external resistances. Each trial was also repeated
encouraging the subjects to intentionally enhance hamstring co-activation during
the exercise. Results EMG data collected on seventeen healthy subjects indicate that
hamstring co-activation is not influenced by pad movement and axial compression.
However, the hamstring co-activation was increased from two to four times when
the subjects were encouraged to intentionally co-contract the knee flexor muscles
during the leg extension exercise. Discussion Intentional hamstring co-contraction in
leg extension exercises can be an effective strategy for ACL protection and
tibiofemoral joint stability in ACL deficient patients, and in rehabilitation programs
after cruciate ligament reconstruction. Further investigations with imaging
techniques will definitely asses the effectiveness of the two prototypes. References
Biscarini (2008). Medical Engineering & Physics 30(8), 1032-1041 Fleming et al.
(2003). Am J Sports Med 31(5), 701-70
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
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