1,721,056 research outputs found
Directly observed therapy for treating tuberculosis.
Get PDFBackgroundUp to half the people with tuberculosis do not complete their treatment. Strategies to improve adherence to diagnostic and treatment regimens are therefore important.ObjectivesTo assess the effects of directly observed therapy by an appointed agent (health worker, community volunteer, or family member) on cure and treatment completion in people on treatment for tuberculosis.Search strategyWe searched The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group specialized trials register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and reference lists of articles. We also contacted experts in the field.Selection criteriaRandomized and quasi-randomized trials of direct observation of tablet swallowing compared with self treatment for tuberculosis.Data collection and analysisTwo reviewers independently assessed trial quality and extracted data.Main resultsFour studies (n = 1603 participants) included. There was no difference detected between direct observation and self treatment for cure (Relative Risk [RR] 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98 to 1.14); and for cure plus treatment completion (RR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.13). A stratified analysis by the appointed agent (health professional, lay health worker, or family/community member) did not reveal any important differences. One study conducted in an optimal setting in which patients were given a choice of supervisor did show modest benefit: cure (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.24); cure plus treatment completion (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.18).Reviewer's conclusionsRandomized trials provide no evidence that directly observed therapy in low and middle income country settings improves cure or treatment completion rates in patients with tuberculosis
Steroids for tuberculous pleurisy : a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.Corticosteroids used in addition to anti-tuberculous therapy have been reported to benefit people with tuberculous pleurisy. However, research findings are not consistent, raising doubt as to whether such treatment is worthwhile. Concem also exists regarding the potential adverse effects of steroids, especially in HIV positive patients. An earlier Cochrane review summarized the existing evidence on the effects of steroids in people with tuberculous pleurisy. This review updates the evidence and, for the first time sheds light on the effects of steroids in patients with tuberculous pleurisy co-infected with HIV
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Confronting the illusion of certainty : what has clinical epidemiology contributed?
Get PDF11 A4 pages in pdf format. Includes charts and bibliographical references.Inaugural address delivered on 19 September 2006 by Prof J Volmink, Deputy Dean (Research), Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University
Preventing cardiovascular disease in Africa – we must act now
Get PDFA tsunami of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer is threatening to engulf Africa. Globally, the vast majority of NCD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries placing a significant burden on the world’s poor. In 2004, one-quarter of all deaths in sub-Saharan Africa were due to NCDs; by 2030 this figure will rise to almost half.(2) Age-standardised death rates from NCDs are already higher in some African countries (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa) than in high income countries.(3) NCDs share several modifiable risk factors, in particular unhealthy diets, tobacco use, physical inactivity and excessive use of alcohol. This presents an opportunity for action to limit the profound human and economic costs of NCDs predicted for African countries already reeling under the weight of infectious diseases and injuries. A concerted, multi-sectoral and sustained effort will, however, be required which must be implemented without further delay
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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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