1,721,046 research outputs found
Recensione a Tassinari D., Nemo tenetur se detegere. La libertà dale autoincriminazioni nella struttura del reato
No full textRecensione a Tassinari D., Nemo tenetur se detegere. La libertà dale autoincriminazioni nella struttura del reat
Future aims for palliative care
No full textThe rediscovery of palliative care in oncology represents an important aspect in the clinical assistance of cancer patients with advanced or terminal disease. The main characteristic aspects of the renewed medical discipline are: the inclusion of palliative care within the comprehensive care of the oncologic patient (simultaneous care); the inclusion of the palliative care institutions (Hospices and Home Care Units) within the oncologic departments; the comprehensive approach towards the sick person and his family in a model of global care; the identification of quality of life as the main end point of a palliative approach. An adequate approach to the needs of the patient with advanced or terminal disease or to the needs of his family has to be based upon a correct assessment of the patient, and consequently of patient's prognosis. Moreover, clinical research should be based on rational principles and conducted with adequate and well-founded methodologies. Future aims for palliative care will be: the identification of foundation confirmed by basic or translational research, the conduction of trials that could validate the results of biological research in the clinical context, and the large application of the results of clinical research in clinical practice. Nevertheless, all the efforts to improve the quality of clinical research in palliative care will have to be focused on protocols of global interventions
Prognostic assessment in terminally ill cancer patients: From evidence-based knowledge to a patient-physician relationship and back
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Transdermal opioids as front line treatment of moderate to severe cancer pain: A systemic review
No full textBackground: To assess the role of transdermal opioids as a front-line approach to moderate to severe cancer pain.Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed by two authors. An analysis of the level of evidence and risk/benefit ratio was performed for all of the selected trials. A combined analysis of the included studies to assess the level of evidence, risk/benefit ratio and strength of the recommendations was performed to determine the place of transdermal opioids in the treatment of cancer when compared with oral morphine.Results: Thirteen papers were included in the analysis. The level of evidence was considered low for transdermal opioids (without distinction between transdermal fentanyl and transdermal buprenorphine) or transdermal fentanyl, and very low for transdermal buprenorphine. The risk/benefit ratio was considered uncertain for both transdermal opioids (fentanyl and buprenorphine) considered together and transdermal fentanyl or buprenorphine alone. The strength of the final recommendations (using the GRADE system) was weak negative for transdermal opioids (transdermal fentanyl plus transdermal buprenorphine) and transdermal fentanyl, and strong negative for transdermal buprenorphine.Conclusions: The use of slow release oral morphine probably remains the preferred approach for these patients, with the use of transdermal opioids to be reserved for selected patients. © 2011 The Author(s)
Palliative care in advanced cancer
No full textPalliative care represents a new field among clinical approaches to patients with advanced or terminal cancer. The modern concept of palliative care can be considered in several ways: 1) the relationship between palliative care and primary treatments of cancer (surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy); 2) the treatment of symptoms and the relationship between symptom control and quality of life; 3) end-of-life care. With regard to the relationship between palliative care and primary cancer treatments, it is common opinion that a continuity of care is needed from diagnosis to the terminal phase of the disease, and oncology departments could represent the ideal dimension in which to fulfil this requirement. In a continuity-of-care setting, symptom control becomes vitally important to improve quality of life of the patient throughout all the stages of the disease. Moreover, support for the patient and his/her family during the terminal phase of the disease is one of the most important dimensions of palliative care. In addition, assistance provided during the last hours of life and support for the family after the patient's death represent the so-called global assistance, which is distinctive of palliative care
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
Cancer incidence and mortality in the province of Ferrara 1989-1990
No full textBackground: Mortality data have clearly highlighted the province of Ferrara as an area with a particular distribution of tumors strictly related with environmental factors. Methods: The project of a tumor registry has been planned for a better description of cancer incidence and for a deeper insight into etiologic factors, considering the typical features of the province from geographic and occupational points of view. Results: This study presents the registration results of the first 2 years, in order to verify the quality level of data recruitment and to confirm that observed in previous studies. The population covered by the registry was 151,968 males and 165,835 females, with high representation of the elderly. In this period 2,087 tumors in men and 1,778 in women were observed. Lung cancer reaches one of the highest levels in Italy, according to that observed in Lombardy and Veneto regions and the northern Adriatic coast. Incidence and mortality are, however, significantly higher than in other Emilia-Romagna areas, as pointed out by the registries of Parma, Modena and Forli. Colon cancer also presents high frequencies in comparison with neighboring areas, whereas non-Hodgkin lymphomas reach the highest level in Italy. Gastric tumors, although well represented in males and females, show lower levels than the high-risk neighboring Romagna region. In women, a low incidence of cervix uteri tumors and high levels of breast cancer have also been observed. Conclusions: The distribution of such neoplasms and the differences observed among neighboring areas deserve further analytical studies, with the aim of a better reading of cancer onset and diffusion. The quality of data obtained (about 70% of histocytologic confirmations, and 5% of 'final' death-certificate-only cases), appears to reach satisfying levels, considering the starting phase of the registry
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