1,720,990 research outputs found

    Corticosteroid-induced bradycardia in multiple sclerosis and maturity-onset diabetes of the young due to hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-alpha mutation: A case report

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    BACKGROUND: Intravenous steroid pulse therapy is the treatment of choice for acute exacerbation of multiple sclerosis (MS). Although steroid administration is generally well-tolerated, cases of cardiac arrhythmia have been reported. Herein, we describe a young woman who developed marked sinus bradycardia and T-wave abnormalities after corticosteroid administration. We also present plausible explanations for the abnormalities observed in this patient. CASE SUMMARY: An 18-year-old woman experienced vertiginous dizziness and binocular diplopia 1 wk prior to admission. Neurological examination revealed left internuclear ophthalmoplegia with left peripheral-type facial palsy. The initial laboratory results were consistent with those of type 2 diabetes. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed multifocal, non-enhancing, symptomatic lesions and multiple enhancing lesions. She was diagnosed with MS and maturity-onset diabetes of the young. Intravenous methylprednisolone was administered. On day 5 after methylprednisolone infusion, marked bradycardia with T-wave abnormalities were observed. Genetic evaluation to elucidate the underlying conditions revealed a hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-alpha (HNF4A) gene mutation. Steroid treatment was discontinued under suspicion of corticosteroid-induced bradycardia. Her electrocardiogram changes returned to normal without complications two days after steroid discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Corticosteroid-induced bradycardia may have a significant clinical impact, especially in patients with comorbidities, such as HNF4A mutations

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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

    Efficacy and Safety of Pregabalin for Muscle Cramps in Liver Cirrhosis: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

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    Background: Muscle cramp is possibly related to peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (PNH), and one of the most debilitating symptoms frequently encountered in patients with liver cirrhosis. We investigated whether pregabalin, a gamma-aminobutyric acid analogue, can suppress neuronal excitability and reduce muscle cramps in cirrhotic patients. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which study participants with cirrhosis from a single tertiary center were enrolled. Primary endpoint was the relative change in cramp frequency from the run-in to standard dose treatment phase (4 weeks per each). Secondary endpoints included the responder rate, and the changes in cramp frequency during sleep, pain intensity, health-related quality of life (Liver Disease Quality of Life Instrument, Short Form-36) and electrophysiological measures of PNH. Results: This study was terminated early because of insufficient accrual. 80% (n = 56) of the target number of participants (n = 70) were randomized to pregabalin (n = 29) or placebo (n = 27). Median baseline frequency of muscle cramps (interquartile range) was 5.8 (3.5-10) per week in the pregabalin group and 6.5 (4.0-10) in the placebo group (P = 0.970). The primary analysis showed a significant reduction in cramp frequency with pregabalin compared to placebo (-36% vs. 4.5% for the percentage change, P = 0.010). Secondary outcomes did not differ significantly between the two groups. Adverse effects with pregabalin were mainly dizziness and lethargy. Conclusion: With multiple problems emerging from premature termination in mind, the results suggested an acceptable safety profile and favorable effect of pregabalin in reducing muscle cramps compared to placebo in cirrhotic patients.N

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We 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
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