1,721,006 research outputs found
Selenium status, birth weight, and breast-feeding: pattern in the first month
Selenium (Se) is an essential nutritional element for humans. A low Se status has been documented in formula-fed small-for-gestational age (SGA) newborns in the first month of life. The aim of the study was to compare the nutritional selenium status in adequate-for-gestational age (AGA) and in SGA newborns in the first month of life in relation to feeding type. Se status was assessed by plasma and erythrocyte concentrations, determined by pulsed Zeeman effect-atomic absorption spectrophotometry. We studied 210 newborns divided in groups according to birth weight (129 AGA, 81 SGA ) and feeding type (breast milk, formula, mixed) in wk 1-4 of postnatal life. Erythrocyte Se levels are affected neither by feeding type nor by birth weight. Se plasmatic concentrations were lower in SGA than in AGA newborns. Significant differences in mean plasma concentrations were found between formula-fed and breast-fed (p=0.013) and between formula-fed and mixed-fed (p=0.006) SGA newborns. The difference was not significant in AGA neonates. Breast-fed SGA newborns consistently showed higher plasma Se concentrations than formula-fed newborns. Unless supplemented from birth, Se intake will be inadequate in bottle-fed SGA infants
Blood pressure in the small-for-date newborn
AIM:
The aim of the paper is to verify the existence of an inverse correlation between birth weight and blood pressure (BP) in neonates, infants and adolescents.
METHODS:
BP was measured at 7 days, 3, 6, 9, 12 months and 7-18 years in 432 subjects born at term at the Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, University of Siena; 228 of these subjects were small for gestational age (SGA) and 204 appropriate for gestational age (AGA). For small babies, BP was measured with a DYNAMAP oscillometer which provides digital visualisation of systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure and heart rate. In older children, a mercury sphygmomanometer was used. Statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS 8.01 software using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality of populations.
RESULTS:
Statistical analysis did not reveal any significant differences between SGA and AGA subjects in the various age classes of the first 12 months of life. Significant correlation was found between 7 and 18 years with differences in the various age classes for systolic pressure. Subjects with normal birthweight had lower systolic and diastolic BP. SGA males had higher risk of high systolic and diastolic pressure, whereas SGA females were only at higher risk for elevated diastolic pressure.
CONCLUSIONS:
SGA subjects should be monitored for BP and life-style between 7 and 18 years to risk of cardiovascular disease
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
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
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
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