1,720,981 research outputs found
The flipped house and the bubble. Domestic space in the time of coronavirus
No full textThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic put the spatial layouts of contemporary housing to the test.
During the strict lockdowns in the early phases of the outbreak and the limited, temporary restrictions of the later phases, the safeguarding of public health was inevitably enforced by confining people at home, thus severing, by reasons of force majeure, the traditional relationship between the house and the city.
As a result, every household had to contain within itself all aspects of public and private life, regardless of the spatial qualities and the extension of the dwelling. The unexpected new role of the last defence line against the virus showed all the advantages and limits of contemporary housing and the need for a rethinking of some of their typical features. The aim of this article is to investigate how the residential space, as a whole and in its constituent parts, has become a fundamental element in a difficult period, managing to incorporate unexpected functions and requirements but also revealing a series of congenital weaknesses
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
Gabapentin-induced modulation of interictal epileptiform activity related to different vigilance levels
No full textObjectives: Gabapentin (GBP) is a novel antiepileptic drug (AED), currently used as add-on therapy in patients with partial seizures. Similar to other AEDs, little is known about its effects on nocturnal sleep, despite the strict relationship between sleep and epileptic discharges. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of chronic therapy with GBP on both nocturnal sleep and on interictal epileptiform abnormalities (IEA) in relation to the different sleep stages. Methods: Eighteen patients affected by partial seizures resistant to common AEDs were submitted to nocturnal polygraphic recordings under baseline conditions and after 4 months of add-on GBP treatment. Results: We observed a significant increase in unilateral/focal IEA during light NREM sleep and a significant reduction in bilateral/diffuse IEA during wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) with respect to the baseline condition. A significant increase in REM sleep and slow wave sleep (SWS) associated with a reduction in the number of awakenings and Stage 1 was also observed after GBP chronic therapy. Conclusions: GBP therapy improves the sleep pattern of epileptic patients and it seems to modulate the expression of IEA with different effects in relation to the various vigilance levels. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
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
Effect of lamotrigine on EEG paroxysmal abnormalities and background activity: a computerized analysis
No full text1. Little information is available about the action of lamotrigine (LTG) on EEG paroxysmal abnormalities and background activity. On the contrary, several clinical trials have shown the therapeutic efficacy of the drug in preventing partial and generalized seizures. 2. We performed computerized EEG monitoring in 21 patients suffering from focal and generalized epilepsy before and 4 months after addition of LTG. The anticonvulsant modified the EEG ictal events by reducing their frequency and duration. A statistically significant decrease of the interictal spikes was observed. The decrease involved mainly the spreading component of the interictal events leading to a better spatial definition of the epileptic focus. 3. In the presence of LTG, generalized tonic-clonic attacks were completely controlled, whereas partial seizures were decreased. 4. The EEG background activity was not modified by the addition of the drug. 5. Our findings suggest a specific role for LTG in the generation and propagation processes of epileptiform activity without interfering with the EEG background activity
Sodium valproate and mental processes in newly referred epileptic patients. A computerized EEG study
No full textSeventeen epileptic patients suffering from generalized idiopathic epilepsy who underwent antiepileptic treatment with sodium valproate (NaVPA) for the first time were studied. The EEG was recorded at rest with eyes closed (EC), during blocking reaction, fixation and mental arithmetic tasks. The computerized EEG study, performed before and after therapy, utilized spectral analysis; data underwent statistical evaluation including ANOVA and correlation analysis. Before NaVPA therapy, a significant decrease of beta 1 and beta 2 relative power, compared with control subjects, was observed in epileptic patients at rest with EC, whereas fast activity increased during mental tasks. After treatment, no significant variations in fast activity were observed during tasks, with a pattern similar to that observed in the control population. Therefore, considering the effect of NaVPA primarily on fast activity, which reflects rather well preserved mental functioning processes, it is possible to hypothesize that the drug interferes positively with mental activities
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
Development of myoclonus in patients with partial epilepsy during treatment with vigabatrin: an electroencephalographic study
No full textIn the context of a study of the effects of gamma-vinyl-GABA (GVG) on seizure occurrence and on EEG abnormalities we present three cases with focal epilepsy in which new clinical and EEG paroxysmal manifestations were observed during GVG therapy. At that time, whereas an amelioration or no change in patients' habitual seizures were observed, myoclonic jerks appeared with related changes in the EEG paroxysmal abnormalities, represented by generalized polyspike and wave complexes. An electroclinical correlation was recorded in one case. These data indicate that, although occurring rarely, it is possible to have epileptic myoclonus during GVG treatment. Mechanisms underlying these manifestations are difficult to explain. Probably a shift in the anti/proconvulsant GABAergic balance towards the latter may compromise the therapeutic effect of GVG
Quantitative EEG evaluation in normal elderly subjects during mental processes: age-related changes
No full textComputerized EEG study was performed on 39 healthy elderly subjects (50-90 years), divided into two cohorts of increasing age (old, older) and on a group of 21 young controls. The EEG was recorded at rest, with eyes closed (EC) and during blocking reaction (BR), fixation (FIX) and mental arithmetic (MA) tasks. At rest with EC, the only significant variation was an increase of beta 1 relative power in old subjects which was positively correlated with age. During the performance of the mental tasks, in the elderly population when compared to young controls, the slow activity decreased slightly or was not significantly modified, while the alpha reactivity progressively decreased, showing a negative correlation with age in the older group. Beta 2 increased significantly in elderly subjects during BR and FIX but such change was less consistent with increasing age. Data show that at rest, the EEG in the elderly population differs only from that of young controls by showing a more pronounced fast activity, while only during mental processes is it possible to evidence changes that can be utilized as physiological "markers" of normal aging
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