1,720,956 research outputs found
Visual rehabilitation with pattern biofeedback and traditional exercises: comparing three methods
No full textThe present invistigation compares the effectivenes of three visual rehabilitation methods in patients with central scotoma. One group underwent standard rehabilitation, with exercises, and two groups received modern rehabilitation with biofeedback, using two different stimulus presentation methods: in one group the stimulus was structured, represented by a flickering pattern, while in the oder group a simple target stimulus was used. We want to evaluate, by comparing the pre and post rehabilitation assessments, the actual effectiveness of these methods in improving visual performance of patient
Effectiveness of Mp-3 microperimetric biofeedback fixation training for low vision rehabilitation in patients treated with corticosteroid Ivt in retinal vein occlusions
Full text linkBackground: The success of fixation training using microperimetric biofeedback (MP-3 MBFT) in the realm of visual rehabilitation for patients with central vision loss caused by macular pathologies is well established. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of visual rehabilitation with microperimetric biofeedback in consolidating the benefits obtained, with the goal of reducing the need for repeated intravitreal injections (IVT). Specifically, the focus is on the eyes of patients with central vision loss treated with slow-release corticosteroid IVT following retinal venous thrombosis (RVO), aiming to enhance and maintain postoperative efficacy. Methods: This retrospective review involved the examination of 44 eyes affected by macular edema due to RVO associated with central vision loss. Patients were divided into two groups, with only one undergoing ten sessions of 10-minute visual rehabilitation with a microperimeter (MP-3 MBFT) after IVT over a period of 20 weeks. Results: All the treated patients demonstrated good tolerance to the procedure, with no reported complications. A comparison of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), retinal sensitivity recorded with a microperimeter, and pre-IVT fixation stability revealed statistically significant improvements at the end of the first month after IVT. However, the treatment group continued to exhibit superior and more enduring results at four months post-IV. Conclusion: The synergistic use of MP-3 MBFT rehabilitation after IVT with slow-release corticosteroids has proven particularly effective in improving BCVA and long-term fixation stability. This led to a significant reduction in the number of required IVTs, with no related adverse events. The authors argue that biofeedback utilization represents a noninvasive therapeutic option devoid of contraindications and easy to implement and that it positively contributes to the overall patient experience regarding quality of life in advanced stages of macular diseases
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
Computerized evaluation of deambulatory pattern before and after visual rehabilitation treatment performed with biofeedback in visually impaired patients suffering from macular degeneration
Full text linkAims: The aim of this study was double: the primary endpoint was to evaluate the efficacy of visual rehabilitation of visually
impaired patients with macular degeneration (AMD). The secondary endpoint was to assess the effect of rehabilitation treatment
on the ambulatory pattern using a computerized evaluation of walking, focusing the attention on space-time parameters that are
influenced in patients with visual impairment.
Methods: 10 patients with AMD were enrolled, 6 males and 4 females, and examined 15 eyes, at Department of Sense Organs,
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Visual rehabilitation was carried out with the use of a microperimeter MP1 using the examination of biofeedback. Patients are
asked to move their eyes in coordination with an audible feedback that alerts the patient when he is setting properly the fixation
target previously selected. All patients were subjected to 10 sessions lasting 15 minutes each for each eye, 1 time per week. The best
corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was assessed by far with the ETDRS optotype IN LOG MAR, and by close to 25 cm by adding + 4
ball (addition to near) to the BCVA. For each eye the PB ( print body) on the distance of 25 cm was measured; It fixation stability
for 30 seconds was examined by microperimeter. Gait Analysis was performed with system ELITE BTS SpA (Milan, Italy).
Results: At the end of the rehabilitation treatment with biofeedback it was found a marked improvement in BCVA. The BCVA
before the rehabilitation treatment was ETDRS 12 LETTERS = 0.86 logMAR. At the end of the visual rehabilitation 16
LETTERS = 0.78 logMAR. The near visual acuity presented a decrease of the printer body measurement (PB) and a statistically
significant improvement in the fixation stability.
Analysis of the spatial and temporal parameters of gait cycle, aimed at assessing the global aspects of gait (speed, rhythm, symmetry,
fluidity, dynamic balance) showed no significant changes after the treatment, indicating that the previously structured locomotor
pattern was not modified.
Conclusions: The results obtained by the visual rehabilitation with Biofeedback show a pronounced and statistically significant
improvement in visual performance. In fact, the absolute values of retinal sensitivity before and after the visual rehabilitation cycle
with biofeedback showed a marked improvement of the specific retinal sensitivity and consequently an improvement of the vision
efficiency. Further studies are needed to better understand the "correlation" between low-vision and walking
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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