1,720,956 research outputs found
Venomous bites and stings
No full textIntroduction
Venomous bites and stings are a serious medical, social and economic problem in many parts of the world, especially in tropical countries of Africa, South America, South East Asia and Middle East. They are an occupational disease of many professionals with consequences underestimated and never projected truly in health statistics. Objective of this study was to detect and evaluate the true burden, effects of envenoming, distribution and epidemiology of bites and stings in the Sultanate of Oman (SO).
Methods
This was an observational study recording the last 5 years cases of bites/stings (BS) of reptiles, arthropods (scorpions, spiders, insects, bees and wasps) and venomous marine animals. Data were collected from all the referral hospitals of the all 11 different regions of the SO, from the Armed Forces Hospitals and the Ministry of Health.
Settings and classifications of the different species of venomous animals were described, such as clinical history and features, diagnosis, principles of management and outcome of the treatment protocols applied.
Results
The Sultanate of Oman is inhabited by a number of venomous animals which are of potential medical importance. The incidence rate for the last 5 years showed a total of 1527 cases of snakebites (19 species); 17872 cases of scorpion stings (24 species and subspecies), Leiurus, Androctonus, Buthus and Nebo are the most important genera from the medical point of view. Incidence of that BS in SO is double compared to that of the close Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 0.02% vs 0.04% for snakebite and 0.2% vs 0.4% for scorpions. 9788 cases of bees/wasps stings and spider bites were reported, data doubled within 5 years. Furthermore 178 cases from marine animal and 1963 cases from unknown insect bite. Timing of therapeutic intervention appear to be critical to decrease morbidity, pain and mortality.
Conclusions
Venomous bites and stings are an important medical emergency and cause of hospital admission. Mortality and morbidity (mainly chronic) remain uncertain because of inadequate information. Antidotes are not always readily available, are often expensive and have a short-term expiration date, thus our mapping should help to plan and set up specifically equipped and easily accessible services
Unpleasant and stinking hosts
No full textBackground
Feet can suffer of several pathologies due to bacteria/fungal infections. Discomfort can be determinate by uncomfortable/tight shoes which can injure the feet and by the increase of bacteria/fungi due a reduction of the escape of the sweat into the air. Good hygiene is the first step in maintaining the feet in good health. While socks can easily be washed and disinfected, shoes, in many case, can not. For this reason procedures and substances which can hygienize the inner part of the shoes are a relevant aspect of primary prevention against foot infections and from strong odor.The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a hygienic compound for shoes in the reduction of bacteria/fungi contamination.
Methods
This is an ongoing study in which few subjects are treating for 5 consecutive days one of their shoes, with a natural guar compound for reducing the load of bacteria, and did not treat the other shoes.An overall of 40 samples per shoe have been collected and investigations have been conducted on overall bacteria count at 22 and 36 C°, and for Staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa(PA), Enterococci (Ent), Escherichia Coli (EC), and fungi. The Wilcoxon matched pair test was used to assess statistical differences (p<0.05) between the treated/not treated shoes.
Results
Early results showed a decrease of the bacteria/yeasts and molds counts in the treated shoes compared to the untreated ones in all the comparisons. Reduction was statistical significant for overall bacteria count at 22 C°(p=0.043), 36 C°(p=0.043) and for Coliforms (p=0.0422). Reduction was obtained also on molds (p=0.0782), ranging from 3 to 0 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)\0.1ml for the treated shoes versus 42 to 13 CFU\0.1ml, on the untreated ones. EC decreased (p=0.0897), the treated shoes had a maximum of 2 CFU\0.1ml versus a mean of 18 CFU\0.1ml on the untreated shoes. PA was not found in any shoes.
Conclusion
The intervention can reinforce personal hygiene in reducing bacteria/fungi contamination. It could be useful i)to study a larger population to obtain more stable results, ii)to verify the possible advantages on people which are at higher risk/consequences of feet infection, such diabetes patients and iii)to estimate the cost/benefits of such intervention.
Keywords: shoes, contaminatio
Punture e morsi velenosi
No full textINTRODUZIONE
Le punture e i morsi velenosi sono un serio problema medico, sociale ed economico in molte parti del mondo, soprattutto nei paesi tropicali di Africa, Sud America, Sud Est Asiatico e Medio Oriente. Anche come malattia professionale essi hanno conseguenze sottovalutate e mai proiettate nelle statistiche sanitarie. Obiettivo di questo studio è la rilevazione dell’epidemiologia (distribuzione ed effetti) di morsi e punture nel Sultanato dell’ Oman.
METODI
Studio osservazionale di registrazione dei casi degli ultimi 5 anni di morsi / punture (MP) di rettili, artropodi (scorpioni, ragni, insetti, api e vespe) e animali marini velenosi. Sono stati raccolti i dati di tutti gli ospedali civili di riferimento e di tutte le 11 regioni del Sultanato dell’Oman, nonchè degli Ospedali delle Forze Armate e il Ministero della Salute.
Sono state descritte le distribuzioni e le classificazioni delle diverse specie di animali velenosi, così come la storia clinica e le caratteristiche, le diagnosi, i principi di gestione e l'esito dei protocolli terapeutici applicati.
RISULTATI
Il Sultanato dell'Oman è abitato da un gran numero di animali velenosi, di potenziale importanza medica. Negli ultimi 5 anni si sono riscontrati un totale di 1527 casi di morsi di serpente (19 specie), 17872 casi di punture di scorpione (24 specie e sottospecie). Leiurus, Androctonus, Buthus e Nebo sono i generi più importanti dal punto di vista medico. L'incidenza di tali MP nel Sultanato dell’Oman è doppia rispetto a quella del vicino Regno dell'Arabia Saudita (0,02% vs 0,04% per i morsi di serpente e 0,2% vs 0,4% per le punture di scorpioni). Sono stati segnalati 9788 casi di punture di api / vespe e morsi di ragno, dati che sono raddoppiati negli ultimi 5 anni. Inoltre sono stati registrati 178 casi di MP da animali marini e 1963 casi di punture d'insetti sconosciuti. I tempi di intervento terapeutico sembrano essere fondamentali per ridurre morbosità, morbilità, dolore e mortalità.
CONCLUSIONI
Punture e morsi velenosi sono un'emergenza importante in campo medico e frequente causa di ricovero ospedaliero. Mortalità, morbilità e morbosità restano incerte a causa di informazioni inadeguate ma restano sottostimate. Gli antidoti non sono sempre immediatamente disponibili, sono spesso costosi e hanno date di scadenza a breve termine. La nostra mappatura dovrebbe contribuire a pianificare e configurare servizi specificamente attrezzati e facilmente accessibili
Obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease - A new target for treatment
No full textObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of partial (hypopnea) or complete interruption (apnea) in breathing during sleep due to airway collapse in the oral or pharyngeal region. Prospective studies have established the adverse cardiovascular consequences of OSA, including an increased risk for developing hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure. However, more studies are needed to better assess the impact of OSA, and possible benefit of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on cardiovascular mortality. The leading pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the changes triggered by OSA include intermittent hypoxemia and re-oxygenation, arousals and changes in intrathoracic pressure. Hypertension is strongly related with activation of the sympathetic nervous system, stimulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and endothelial dysfunction. OSA should be suspected in hypertensive individuals, particularly in patients with resistant hypertension. CPAP treatment reduces blood pressure, and its effects are more pronounced in patients with high baseline blood pressure and elevated treatment compliance. At present, no clear evidence supports CPAP treatment for primary or secondary cardiovascular disease prevention
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
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
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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe 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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