1,721,104 research outputs found
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
Resectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer: where we are now and where do we go from here?
About the Recently Published Paper on JAMA Oncology “Radioembolization Plus Chemotherapy for First-Line Treatment of Locally Advanced Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial”
We read with great interest the paper by Edeline et al. published on JAMA Oncology in 2019 [1], prospectively assessing the results of combined radioembolization (selective internal radiation therapy, SIRT) and chemotherapy as first-line treatment option in locally advanced, unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).
This multicenter study enrolled 41 patients with unresectable ICC and no or limited extrahepatic disease, who received gemcitabine plus cisplatin for at least six cycles and concomitant SIRT during cycle 1 (unilobar disease) or cycles 1 and 3 (bilobar disease).
Authors reported favorable outcomes, with 98% disease control rate at 3 months according to RECIST, up to 93% Choi response rate, median progression-free survival (PFS) of 14 months and median overall survival (OS) of 22 months. These results compare favorably to previous studies, reporting 14–15-month median OS in the general unresectable ICC population treated with SIRT [2, 3].
Toxicity of such treatment protocol could be a matter of concern. Edeline et al. reported 71% of grade 3–4 adverse events and more liver toxic effects in cirrhotic patients, with nine out of 12 cirrhotic patients experiencing liver failure, which was nonreversible in five cases. Of interest, all cases with liver failure received whole-liver SIRT. Thus, intensive combined treatment should be regarded with caution when dealing with patients with cirrhosis and impaired liver function.
The most interesting finding of the trial is represented by the relatively high percentage of patients who were downstaged to resection (n = 9, 22%), with postsurgical 24-month PFS and OS of 66.7% and 88.9%, respectively. These results are consistent with the data reported by the BILCAP trial, using adjuvant capecitabine after resection of biliary tract cancers [4].
These preliminary findings may introduce a new perspective in the treatment management of unresectable ICC. It becomes essential to better delineate the clinical features of those patients, who are excluded from upfront resection, but for whom a more intensive first-line treatment regimen, combining loco-regional treatments with chemotherapy, could open the way to resection and long-term chances of cure. The rational of this approach is highlighted by recent reports showing that advanced ICC treated with systemic therapy only has a better survival compared to other non-ICC biliary tract cancers [5]. In the paper by Edeline et al., the vast majority of downstaged patients had liver-only disease, with unifocal lesion confined to one hemiliver and no cirrhosis. In this highly selected population, tumor shrinkage combined with the contralateral liver lobe hypertrophy induced by SIRT could overcome the initial unresectability and allow safe R0 resection.
Thus, in the heterogeneous scenario of what is today defined “unresectable ICC,” efforts are needed to identify a subgroup of highly selected patients that could be defined as “potentially resectable” and for whom combination therapies could be the first choice. This could also help in designing future trials investigating modalities and outcomes of ICC downstaging.
In the meantime, targetable biomarkers, such as FGFR (fibroblast growth factor receptors) or IDH (isocitrate dehydrogenase) gene alterations, are being actively investigated, and preliminary data on emerging molecular-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors are extremely encouraging [6,7,8].
Thus, in the next future, clinical data, tumor extension and molecular profiling will be integrated in a multimodal approach, enabling proper definition of subgroups of patients and active integration of systemic therapies, surgery and loco-regional treatments
Fem and analytical modeling of the incipient chip formation for the generation of micro-features
This paper explores the modeling of incipient cutting by Abaqus, LS-Dyna, and Ansys Finite Element Methods (FEMs), by comparing also experimentally the results on different material classes, including common aluminum and steel alloys and an acetal polymer. The target application is the sustainable manufacturing of gecko adhesives by micromachining a durable mold for injection molding. The challenges posed by the mold shape include undercuts and sharp tips, which can be machined by a special diamond blade, which enters the material, forms a chip, and exits. An analytical model to predict the shape of the incipient chip and of the formed grove as a function of the material properties and of the cutting parameters is provided. The main scientific merit of the current work is to approach theoretically, numerically, and experimentally the very early phase of the cutting tool penetration for new sustainable machining and micro-machining processes
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
Moving beyond sorafenib alone in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: Is hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy the best option?
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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