1,721,004 research outputs found
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
Effects of a higher acute protein intake post muscle-damaging exercise on muscle recovery in older female endurance runners
Full text linkMasters endurance athletes who train and compete in organised competitive endurance events, appear to take longer to recover after muscle-damaging exercise than younger athletes. A reduced sensitivity to increase skeletal muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in response to the anabolic stimuli of protein and exercise may be contributing to the slower repair and remodelling of muscle fibres. This decreased stimulus for MPS negatively affects recovery in this older cohort of athletes, although evidence supports the notion that the ingestion of a higher dose of protein than the current recommendation of 20 grams, post muscle-damaging exercise, demonstrates improvements in muscle function of male masters triathletes. However, the efficacy for a higher protein intake in female masters endurance athletes has not been established.
Chapter 2 investigates the effects of ingesting a higher acute dose of protein (40 g) compared to the current recommended dose (20 g) on muscle recovery following exercise-induced muscle damage in older female (≥48 y) endurance runners. The study assessed muscle recovery by measuring isometric maximal voluntary contraction of the knee extensors, peak countermovement jump height, perceived muscle soreness, and flexibility prior to, and at 3 and 24 hours following a downhill running protocol, used to elicit muscle damage. The study recruited six well trained female endurance runners, 48 years of age and older (mean ± SD: age; 52 ± 5.6 y, body mass; 61.4 ± 6.2 kg) to take part in three downhill running trials, each separated by one week. Participants consumed one of three energy matched (1190 kJ) recovery beverages immediately following the run. Beverage composition was either a 70 g carbohydrate placebo or one of two protein supplements; 20 g of protein and 50 g of carbohydrate, or 40 g of protein and 30 g of carbohydrate. The 40 g of protein had a likely small beneficial effect compared to the placebo (ES = 0.24 ± 0.5) and 20 g of protein (ES = 0.25 ± 0.29) for improving maximum voluntary contraction from baseline to 24 hours. The 40 g of protein had a likely small beneficial effect for improving countermovement jump height compared to 20 g of protein from baseline to 3 hours (ES = 2.9 ± 4.9), and to 24 hours compared to the placebo (ES = 0.32 ± 0.39) and 20 g of protein (ES = 0.27 ± 0.19). The 40 g of protein had an unclear effect on muscle soreness and flexibility. The findings of this current study suggest that the acute ingestion of 40 grams of whey protein isolate following muscle-damaging exercise, had a small beneficial effect on improving muscle function within 24 hours, in masters female runners
The Effect of a Menstrual Cycle Phase-Based Rehabilitation Programme for Females After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
No full textAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury rates are rising in females in New Zealand and worldwide. It is well reported that females, overall, have inferior outcomes following rehabilitation compared to men. Specifically, females have reduced quadricep strength recovery as compared to men after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Recent research provides support for follicular phase (FP)-based resistance training (RT) for enhancing RT strength outcomes in eumenorrheic females. This research also recommends that, when possible, athletes with an ovulatory menstrual cycle (MC) focus on RT during the FP of their MC. This thesis is, therefore, focused on the development and the evaluation of a novel, MC phase-based rehabilitation (MCPBR) programme for females post ACLR.
In Chapter 2 via a scoping review, the first step was to establish what is known about MC phase-based RT in injured and non-injured females. The authors searched seven databases for primary studies or reviews describing MC phase-based RT programmes. Fourteen studies were included in the final analysis (eight primary studies). No studies were found that investigated MC phase-based RT in females post-ACLR. Studies were limited by methodological issues. However, the results suggest that MC phase-based training may influence outcomes pertinent to females post-ACLR. Furthermore, the results suggested that there is scope to investigate FP-based RT in females following ACLR.
However, it was unclear whether health professionals and athletes routinely and openly discuss this sometimes-sensitive topic in the sports medicine clinic, and if there would be barriers to discussing the MC in the sports medicine clinic. Therefore, Chapter 3 explored different members of the sports medicine community's knowledge, perceptions of, and comfort in discussing the MC. Focus group sessions were conducted with athletes, patients post ACLR, physiotherapists, and orthopaedic surgeons. Overall, participants described the MC as 'a pertinent and evolving topic in the sports medicine clinic'. Whilst participants reported a dearth of education, perceived lack of MC knowledge, and some hesitancy with discussing the MC in the sports medicine clinic, the participants, specifically health professionals, described pragmatic approaches to tackle these barriers. They described developing trust, giving context, and being aware of athletes' concerns and sociocultural status as important when discussing the MC in the sports medicine clinic. Therefore, it was considered feasible to discuss the MC as part of a study investigating MC phase-based training in the sports medicine clinic.
In Chapter 4, a focus group methodology was also used to develop a novel MC phase-based ACLR rehabilitation (MCPBR) programme appropriate for testing on females following ACLR. Participants reported a preference for a consistent gym-based programme, however they need support from the physiotherapists to attend and engage. In addition, physiotherapists reported that strength is important but challenging to measure. Overall, input from these key stakeholders enabled the development of a new MCPBR programme. In Chapter 5, a randomised controlled trial assessed the effectiveness of MCPBR versus UC on limb symmetry index (LSI) quadriceps maximum strength and self-reported lower limb function for females following ACLR. Forty one females participated in a 12-week intervention from six to 18 weeks post ACLR. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: MCPBR or UC. Thirty eight females completed the trial, and a further four were excluded in post hoc analysis. Females were highly engaged with both MCBPR and UC. Participants had similar LSIs and self-reported function following MCPBR and UC at 18 weeks post ACLR. Overall, both groups achieved excellent limb symmetry and self-reported functional outcomes. Therefore, this thesis supports twice-weekly, supervised, gym-based rehabilitation, with targeted quadriceps strengthening and regular strength testing for females following ACLR.
In conclusion, MCPBR and UC following ACLR rehabilitation in this study showed similar but positive results on knee strength and function at 18 weeks post operatively. Future research should investigate MCPBR in a larger cohort of females, including pre and post strength measures of both legs over a longer period. Similarly, it would be pertinent to understand female's experience of MCPBR post-ACLR. Furthermore, this thesis should assist health professionals and researchers in considering female-specific approaches that could improve outcomes for females post-ACLR. Future research should address the thesis limitations and build on the ideas presented in this thesis for a better understanding of the role of the MC hormonal fluctuations, sex-specific considerations, and female outcomes following ACLR
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
Female athlete health: The silent risks of high performance
Full text linkDespite female athlete health becoming a growing area of interest in sport science reasearch, there are still gaps to be filled in the literature. Low energy availabilty (LEA) and iron deficiency are two prevalent issues in women (or female athletes) that are under high loads of exercise stress from training. Thus, it is critical that measurement and identification of these parameters is accurate. The first part of this thesis reviews the literature surrounding LEA and iron deficiency with a focus on current identification techniques used in research and clinical settings. The second part of this thesis includes two original investigations. The first study, Chapter 2, had two aims; 1) to investigate the test-retest reliabilty of an indirect calorimetry analyser (Parvo Medics TrueOne), and 2) compare measured RMR with three RMR-predictive (pRMR) equations in female athletes. To address the first aim, 12 recreationally-exercising women (mean ± SD; age 27.5 ± 12.3 y) performed two RMR assessments, on separate days, utilising the Parvo Medics TrueOne analyser. To address the second aim, 25 females (mean ± SD; age 30.1 ± 10.2 y) underwent an RMR assessment using the Parvo Medics TrueOne analyser, which was compared to three calculated pRMR equations (Harris-Benedict [H-B], Mifflin-St Jeor [M], World Health Organisation [WHO]). Test-retest reliability for the TrueOne analyser was deemed acceptable (CV = 5.3%, ICC = 0.92). The validity of pRMR when compared to measured RMR showed low levels of agreement in all 3 predictive equations (M: CV = 21.4%, TEE = 269 kcal•day⁻¹, r = 0.16, WHO: CV = 21.5%, TEE = 270 kcal•day⁻¹, r = 0.13 H-B: CV = 21.6%, TEE = 270 kcal•day⁻¹, r = 0.13).
The second study, Chapter 3, was designed to investigate specific health parameters related to iron, resting metabolic rate and energy balance in a cohort of highly-trained women. Thirteen highly-trained female endurance athletes (mean ± SD; age 32 ± 7 y, training volume 18.5 ± 4.1 hrs) provided a blood test to assess iron markers (haemoglobin [Hb], haematocrit [Hct], C-reactive protein [Crp], serum iron, serum ferritin and transferrin). Additional measures included resting metabolic rate (RMR) assessment, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans, diet and training diaries and menstrual cycle tracking to identify any additional risk factors which may be associated with relative energy deficiency in sport. Analysis revealed that 46% (6/13) of this population had iron levels below optimal. Serum iron, serum ferritin and transferrin were all significantly decreased in the iron deficient (ID) group (p < 0.05). When compared to the non-iron deficient (non-ID) group haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit (Hct) were significantly lower in the ID group compared with the non-ID group (p < 0.05). The relationship between Crp and serum iron revealed a large negative correlation (r = -0.66), Crp and serum ferritin a very large negative correlation (r = -0.72) and transferrin presented a large correlation with Crp (r = 0.70). In conclusion, the outcomes of these studies demonstrate the need for greater stratification of risk thresholds for this (emerging) group of highly-trained, non-professional female athletes
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