1,721,224 research outputs found
Il decorso del disturbo ossessivo-compulsivo nell’adulto: uno studio di follow-up a 15 anni
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
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
Obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults: efficacy of combined and sequential treatments
Objective: the aims of the present paper are to review literature data on pharmacological and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combination treatments for adult patients with OCD and answer the following questions: 1) does combination treatment add benefits as compared to either monotherapy? 2) is a sequential combination useful for patients with residual symptoms or resistant patients?
Method: we reviewed available data concerning combining Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SRIs) and CBT in the treatment of OCD. Only studies performed in adults were selected. A separate analysis was made for studies which investigated combined treatments ab initio and for those which evaluated the efficacy of sequential treatments.
Results: we identified eight controlled studies which investigated the efficacy of combination treatments versus CBT alone and five which evaluated the efficacy of combination versus medications alone. Six studies, one of which double-blind, investigated sequential treatments. Methodologies and results of these studies are presented and discussed.
Conclusions: the combination ab initio of CBT, or better Exposure and Response Prevention techniques (ERP), and SRIs has not been found to be clearly superior to either therapy alone in most studies that have examined this question, except for patients with severe depression who might benefit more from the combination than from CBT only. A sequential administration of CBT after medications is useful in promoting remission in patients who responded to drugs and in promoting response in patients who failed to respond to medication
Variations on the Author
“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
Principi farmacodinamici e farmacocinetici dello switch ottimale tra antipsicotici: focus su asenapina
Objectives
A correct switch between two antipsychotics, carried out to
overcome suboptimal efficacy or the onset of adverse effects of
a drug, is a relatively difficult task. The purpose of this review is
to present the main aspects that psychiatrists have to consider
planning a switch between antipsychotics. In particular, the issues
concerning the switch from first and second generation antypychotics
to asenapine, the latest second generation available
molecule, have been underlined.
Methods
A search on the main articles on the switch between antispychotics
published after 2005, and particularly in the last years,
was made on Pubmed and Medline. The most important studies
on pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of antipsychotic
drugs have also been taken into account.
Results
The different pharmacodynamic properties of antipsychotics
depend on their affinities for receptors subclasses. In particular,
antipsychotic drugs with greater affinity for dopamine D2
receptors are generally more efficacious, but are also associated
with worse adverse effects (e.g. extrapiramidal symptoms
and hyperprolactinemia), at least if the action on D2 receptor
is not counterbalanced by a similar or superior action on effect
on serotonine 5HT2A receptor. Asenapine, however, has a
more affinity for 5HT2A receptor than for D2 receptor and this
may explain both these two receptorial subclasses and efficacy
on psychotic and maniacal symptoms and its fair tolerability;
furthermore, its low affinity for histaminergic and cholinergic receptors
is likely to be the reason for the low incidence of sedative
and anticholinergic effects.
The halflife of antipsychotic drugs is the most important pharmacokinetic
parameter to consider planning a switch. In fact,
the incidence of rebound effects is maximal when pre- and
post-switch drugs have markedly different pharmacodynamic
(i.e. receptorial affinity) or pharmacokinetic (i.e. halflife) characteristics.
This is particularly true when the pre-switch drug has
a short halflife, especially when switch is abrupt. Therefore, different
strategies to reduce the probability of the occurrence of
rebound effects have been described. For example, the switch
to asenapine, which has a relatively long halflife, from other
antipsychotics, should not be abrupt, but follow preferably a
“plateau cross-taper” mode.
Conclusions
A successful switch between antipsychotics depends on a wise
planning and knowledge of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic
features of the involved drugs
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
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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