1,720,955 research outputs found
Effect of a new oral contraceptive with estradiol valerate/dienogest on carbohydrate metabolism
No full textBackground: Insulin resistance may be induced by both the estrogen and progestin component in hormonal contraception. When estrogen dose is reduced from 50 to 20 mcg, the extent of hyperinsulinemia decreases. Recently, the oral combination contraceptive (COC) containing estradiol valerate (E2V) in combination with dienogest (DNG) was developed in a new estrogen step-down, progesterone step-up dosing strategy (Qlaira, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals). This study was conducted to evaluate of the effect of a 3-month treatment with E2V/DNG on carbohydrate metabolism in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and insulin resistance.
Study Design: Study consisted of subjects attending the gynecological clinic of Siena or Pisa, with PCOS and insulin resistance, and without contraindications for the use of COCs. PCOS females (n=20) aged 18 to 33 years were treated with a contraceptive formulation containing E2V/DNG for 3 months. Before treatment and during the third month of therapy, body mass index (BMI) measurement and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed.
Results: Median values of insulin after treatment were lower than median values before treatment. In particular, the median value of insulin at To was reduced by 54.6% (p<.001), and the mean difference between time 0 and 30 min was significantly reduced [42.96 (9.99) mU/mL vs 38.00 (15.10) mU/mL; p<.05]. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance levels were significantly decreased following treatment. OGTT after treatment revealed median fasting glucose levels to be stable (p=.895) at T-0. At T-30, T-60, T-120 and T-180 min, glucose median values were moderately reduced in comparison to median values before treatment. No significant difference was observed between median BMI values before [26 (4.8) kg/m(2)] and after treatment [26 (3.7) kg/m(2)].
Conclusions: Median insulin levels at T-0 and the mean difference between time 0 and 30 of insulin following OGTT were significantly reduced than values before treatment with E2V/DNG for 3 months. Median BMI and glucose levels were not significantly modified. Natural estradiol and nonandrogenic progestogen in the Qlaira formulation could be recommended as an oral contraceptive in women with PCOS who are insulin resistant or who are overweigh
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
Reading Mario Rigoni Stern at primary school. Historical analysis and new perspectives
Full text linkopenI libri di lettura possono essere un utile strumento per valutare l’ampiezza e la consistenza dell’offerta formativa erogata nella scuola primaria. Al loro interno, talvolta, risulta carente l’attenzione che viene dedicata a scrittori di assoluto rilievo nel panorama letterario nazionale. È il caso, questo, di Mario Rigoni Stern. Nonostante il notevole successo di critica e pubblico riscosso in vita, l’opera dell’autore veneto non ha mai trovato piena affermazione nell’ambito delle proposte dedicate agli alunni del primo ciclo di istruzione. Se fino alla metà degli anni Novanta, infatti, soltanto il suo romanzo più noto, “Il sergente nella neve”, trovava collocazione nei testi scolastici, oggi il nome dello scrittore è scomparso quasi del tutto da questo scenario editoriale.
Partendo dalla ricostruzione del quadro storico dell’ultimo mezzo secolo, che ha visto un progressivo abbandono dell’opera rigoniana nella scuola primaria, il presente lavoro si prefigge di conseguire un duplice scopo: da una parte, comprendere quale sia il grado di familiarità degli insegnanti di oggi con l’opera di Rigoni Stern; dall’altra, porre enfasi sulle specifiche peculiarità narrative che rendono questo autore adatto all’esperienza letteraria dei bambini. Nello specifico, la ricostruzione del quadro storico avverrà attraverso l’analisi dei più diffusi libri di lettura che, nel corso dei decenni, sono stati adottati nella scuola primaria italiana. La notorietà dello scrittore presso la vasta popolazione degli insegnanti di oggi, invece, sarà valutata ricorrendo alla somministrazione di opportuni questionari. Le caratteristiche che rendono le opere in questione fruibili da parte dei bambini, infine, verranno messe in luce con appropriati rimandi alla variegata produzione di Rigoni Stern.
In conclusione, saranno presentate e discusse ipotetiche strategie di intervento che potrebbero, da un lato, favorire il potenziamento del patrimonio di conoscenze degli insegnanti in un’ottica di formazione continua e, dall’altro, stimolare negli alunni della scuola primaria la curiosità verso testimoni preziosi della nostra cultura.The reading books can be a useful tool for assessing the breadth and consistence of the educational offer provided at primary school. Sometimes, within them, very little attention is paid to authors of absolute prominence in the national literary landscape. That’s exactly what happened to Mario Rigoni Stern. Although he obtains critical and public success when he was alive, his work has never found full affirmation in the context of proposals aimed at primary school pupils. If until the mid-1990s only his best-known novel, “The Sergeant in the Snow”, found a place in the primary school textbooks, currently his name has almost completely disappeared from this specific publishing scenario.
Starting from the reconstruction of the last half century historical framework concerning the gradual abandonment of the Rigoni Stern’s work, this dissertation is aimed to achieve a dual purpose. On one hand, the goal is to gain insight into how much primary school teachers are familiar with Mario Rigoni Stern’s work. On the other hand, the aim is to emphasize those narrative features that make this author suitable for being read by children. More precisely, the reconstruction of historical framework will take place through the analysis of the most popular reading books which, over the decades, have been adopted at Italian primary school. The degree of teachers’ familiarity with our author, instead, will be assessed through the administration of appropriate questionnaires. Lastly, in order to highlight the appropriateness of Rigoni Stern novels for reading at the primary school, a brief compendium of some significant excerpts from his work will be presented.
Finally, the very last part of this thesis will be focused on some hypothetical strategies for improving the strength of teachers continuing education processes. These strategies, if properly designed, can stimulate pupils’ curiosity about valuable personalities of our culture
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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