1,721,107 research outputs found
COPD mortality and exacerbations in the placebo group of clinical trials over two decades: a systematic review and meta-regression
No full textA decreasing trend in exacerbation rates has been observed in COPD. Because mortality is linked to exacerbations, it is of interest to investigate whether a similar time trend is also present in mortality rates. We performed a systematic review of placebo groups in published randomised controlled trials. Mortality rate was modelled based on a Poisson distribution for the event counts. Adding information on mortality as well as on newly published studies on a previous database, we performed a meta-regression. Among the 56 included studies representing 14 166 patients, an annual decrease in mortality rates of 6.1% (−0.6%, 12.6%) (p=0.073) was observed. Consistent results were obtained in subgroups as well as when adjusting for potential confounders. The correlation between exacerbation rate and mortality rate was positive but weak as well as insignificant. In summary, analysis of randomised controlled trials in COPD patients showed a decrease in mortality in the placebo arms over the last two decades. This effect is comparable to the previously observed decrease in annual exacerbation rate. Albeit insignificant, our results suggest that care is needed in the design of new trials or when comparing results from trials published many years apart
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
The German Perioperative Procedural Time Glossary A concerted recommendation of the German societies of anaesthesiology, surgery and operating room management
No full textSuccessful operating-room management aims at reorganisation and optimisation of perioperative processes, whereas a sufficient reporting system is essential to an efficient management. The management of perioperative processes depends on the recording and analysis of appropriate variables which were initially defined in consensus by the appropriate societies in 2008. Due to the increasing complexity of the operating-room workflow an even more sophisticated template of process variables seemed to be desirable. Based on an updated review of the literature and the current clinical routine, significant markers of perioperative processes are defined. A precise description of each variable is given together with an exact interpretation of the variable's meanings. Three categories are discriminated: patient logistics, anaesthesia, and surgery with special emphasis on those variables which are of crucial importance to process documentation and analysis. Therefore, this glossary provides a concerted list of precisely defined variables reflecting perioperative processes proofed by the German societies of anaesthesiology, surgery and operating room management. Based on the defined variables, process analysis and the reorganisation of current and future generations of operating room managers may improve. Furthermore, a standardised definition of medical emergencies and the corresponding coordinative reaction have been added
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
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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