1,721,190 research outputs found
Correlation between M36I in HIV protease and selection/maintenance of L90M after treatment with protease inhibitors.
No full textMultiple viral infections
No full textIndividuals at risk of HIV are concomitantly at risk of acquiring parenterally or sexually transmitted viruses. Multiple hepatitis co-infection (HBV+HCV; HBV+HDV; HBV+HDV+HCV) has not been systematically sought after in the large cohorts of HIV-infected patients, but has been reported in 0.4% to more than 50% of patients. HIV-infected patients with multiple hepatitis have a higher rate of liver-related morbidity and mortality than patients with HIV infection alone or with a single hepatitis co-infection. The degree of immunodepression is an important factor in liver disease progression. Since GBV-C virus is transmitted parenterally or by sexual contact, a high prevalence was found in chronic hepatitis C and in HIV-infected patients. Patients with multiple hepatitis have been excluded from randomised therapeutic trials of viral hepatitis in HIV-infected and HIV-negative patients. Thus, the therapeutic approach is based on the results of a small series and empirically oriented toward the prevailing infection. HIV-infected patients should be tested for hepatitis B, C and D systematically and hepatitis B vaccination should be considered for those with HCV co-infection and absence of HBV markers. Studies are needed to assess treatment strategies
A comparison between abacavir and efavirenz as the third drug used in combination with a background therapy regimen of 2 nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors in patients with initially suppressed viral loads
No full textBackground. Our objective was to compare the rate of viral rebound and therapy failure in patients receiving abacavir or efavirenz as the third drug ( in addition to 2 non-abacavir nucleosides) in combination antiretroviral therapy ( cART) and to compare the rate of metabolic alteration associated with these regimens.Methods. We conducted a multicohort prospective observational study of human immunodeficiency virus infected patients who had attained viral loads <= 80 copies/mL while receiving cART, without having previously received antiretrovirals. The rates of virological rebound, therapy failure, and lipid-level alteration during follow-up were calculated as the number of events divided by person-years of follow-up ( PYFU). A multivariable analysis was performed using a Poisson regression model.Results. We studied a total of 744 patients; the median age was 37 years, 27% of the patients were female, and 41% were heterosexual. There was a total of 854 PYFU spent receiving efavirenz and 285 spent receiving abacavir. The nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor pairs most frequently used were zidovudine/lamivudine ( 66% of PYFU), stavudine/lamivudine ( 17.6%), and stavudine/didanosine ( 5.4%). The adjusted relative rates of virological failure and therapy failure for abacavir, compared with those for efavirenz, were 2.17 ( 95% confidence interval [ CI], 1.12 - 4.18;) and 1.41 ( 95% CI, 1.01 - 2.01;), respectively. P = .02 P = .05Conclusions. Patients with virological suppression while receiving regimens containing abacavir appear more likely to experience virological and therapy failure than those receiving efavirenz as their third drug. Although this is a selected group of adherent patients, bias cannot be ruled out, because this is a nonrandomized comparison
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
Interruption of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV clinical practice: results from the I.Co.N.A study
No full textPredicting the magnitude of short-term CD4+ T-cell recovery in HIV-infected patients during first-line highly active antiretroviral therapy
No full textBackground: The extent of short-term CD4+ T-cell recovery in patients tolerating first-line highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and attaining undetectable HIV RNA levels is inadequately defined. Methods: We retrospectively analysed patients In four Italian cohorts who started HAART between January 1996 and September 2006. All patients had known HCV coinfection status, did not modify the regimen for 6 months and had <50 HIV RNA copies/ml at the end of the sixth month. Results: The analysis Involved 1,488 patients (1,096 males, 73.7%) with a median age of 43 years (interquartile range [IQR] 39-49); 435 (29.2%) were positive for HCV, 71 (4.8%) were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and 76 (5.1%) had experienced a previous AIDSdefining event. At baseline, patient CD4+ T-cell counts were 226 cells/μl (IQR 99-332), CD4+ T-cell percentages were 14.7% (IQR 8.7-21.2) and HIV RNA levels were 4.91 log10 copies/ml (IQR 4.38-5.34). Overall, 24-week CD4+ T-cell recovery was 144 cells/μl (IQR 70-240). At multivariable analysis, T-cell recovery was positively related to the use of a boosted protease Inhibitor (P<0.0001) or thymidine analogues (P<0.0001), baseline HIV RNA levels (P<0.0001), the baseline percentage of CD4 + T-cells (P<0.0001) and the absence of HCV coinfection (P=0.006). Age, gender, baseline CD4+/CD8+ T-cell ratio and a history of AIDS-defining events had no independent effect on CD4+ T-cell recovery. Conclusions: Among HIV-infected patients tolerating first-line HAART and with undetectable HIV RNA after 6 months, CD4+ T-cell recovery is significantly greater in those without HCV coinfection, with a high baseline viral load, a high baseline percentage of CD4+ T-cells and In those treated with a boosted protease Inhibitor
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
Relationship between HAART adherence and adipose tissue alterations
No full textSummary: Adipose tissue alterations (ATA), which are common among persons treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), can have substantial psychologic repercussions, with a subsequent negative impact on the patient's quality of life and on HAART adherence. However, the cross-sectional nature of the studies precludes establishing the direction and causality of the relationship. The authors evaluated the longitudinal relationship between ATA and adherence to HAART. The analysis included all participants in the AdICoNA and the LipoICoNA substudies of the Italian Cohort Naive Antiretrovirals (ICoNA). Adherence was assessed using a 16-item self-administered questionnaire, which also included a question on self-perceived fat accumulation experienced during the past 4 weeks. ATA was diagnosed by physicians at enrollment and evaluated every 6 months thereafter. There were 207 patients, with a median age of 35 years; 73% were men; and 34% acquired HIV through injection drug use. At baseline, nonadherence was reported by 63% of participants, and ATA was self-perceived by 15% and clinically diagnosed in 25%. Using Cox regression analysis, patients with good adherence at baseline were more likely to develop ATA (RH = 2.58; 95% CI, 1.09-6.11) and developed it sooner. Self-perceived ATA at baseline was independently related to subsequent nonadherence (OR, 4.67; 95% CI, 1.01-22.4), but clinically diagnosed ATA was not (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.37-1.61). Patients' adherence to HAART is a dynamic process that interacts with ATA. Better adherence is associated with a higher risk of subsequent occurrence of ATA, while patient-perceived onset of morphologic alterations can reduce adherence to antiretroviral therapy
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
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