1,721,697 research outputs found
[Simplification of antiretroviral therapy: proposal for a score for the evaluation of patients with suppressed viremia]
No full textSimplification of a suppressive triple antiretroviral therapy to a dual or monotherapy has demonstrated safety and efficacy in a high proportion of stable patients. The key rationales behind regimen simplification are to improve the patient's quality of life and to maintain long-term compliance, without enhancing the risk of virological failure. A simplified startegy offers the potential advantages of a decreased risk of toxicities associated with the use of nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Moreover, the use of high genetic barrier antiretroviral drugs (basically, PIs/r) in dual regimen or in monotherapy regimen minimises the selection of drug-resistant HIV variants. The aim of this paper is to present a score that taking into account all the data in the literature relating to the simplification studies to monotherapy with PI/r allows the clinician to have more information to choose with less chance of error by the patient simplify
eBusiness Applications in SMEs of industrial disctricts: the textile and wood/furniture cases”
No full textAbstract The paper presents the results of a study dealing with the adoption of
eBusiness applications in two Italian industrial districts: the textile district in Como
and the wood/furniture district in the area of Brianza. These two districts are part of
important ‘‘made in Italy’’ industries, with a high volume of worldwide exports. The
goal of the paper is to show how Internet technology is changing the behavior of
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in these two local (but with worldwide
relevance) districts and to understand how the potential benefits and constraints for
SMEs pointed out in several literature contributions are really acting in these
districts
Positioning of HIV-protease inhibitors in clinical practice
No full textThe availability of more than 20 drugs for the treatment of HIV infection, and the success of the current antiretroviral regimens, should not overlook the difficulty of long-term maintaining the control of viral replication. The therapy needs to be continued for decades, if not for lifetime, and there are clear evidences that, even in patients fully suppressed for many years, HIV starts again its replication cycles in case antiviral pressure is removed. The development of resistance is a natural event at the time of virological failure, that needs to be taken into account in the global strategy against HIV in each particular patient. Taking all together, therapeutic regiments must be embedded, since the beginning, in a long-term strategy whose main task is the stable control of the replication of HIV. To do so, the choice of the first antiviral regimen has to be highly appropriate to keep the virus in check, and at the same time maintain future therapeutic options. Change of therapy at the time of failure has to be also appropriate, in term of timing, diagnostic strategy, and selection of drugs. Under these circumstances, the use of protease inhibitors in the first line acquires a strong rationale, that balances the greater pure potency of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), and makes them a valuable options for many patients that need to start antiviral therapy
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
Real-World Use of Dalbavancin in the Era of Empowerment of Outpatient Antimicrobial Treatment: A Careful Appraisal Beyond Approved Indications Focusing on Unmet Clinical Needs
Full text linkMilo Gatti,1,2 Massimo Andreoni,3,4 Federico Pea,1,2 Pierluigi Viale1,5 1Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 2SSD Clinical Pharmacology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 3Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy; 4Infectious Diseases Clinic, University Hospital “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy; 5Infectious Disease Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, ItalyCorrespondence: Milo GattiDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 9, Bologna, 40138, ItalyTel +39 051 214 3627Email [email protected]: Dalbavancin is a novel, long-acting lipoglycopeptide characterized by a long elimination half-life coupled with excellent in vitro activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-positives. Although it is currently approved only for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, an ever-growing amount of evidence supports the efficacy of dalbavancin as a long-term therapy in osteomyelitis, prosthetic joint infections, endocarditis, and bloodstream infections. This article provides a critical reappraisal of real-world use of dalbavancin for off-label indications. A search strategy using specific keywords (dalbavancin, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, long-term suppressive therapy, bloodstream infection, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile) until April 2021 was performed on the PubMed-MEDLINE database. As for other novel antibiotics, a conundrum between approved indications and potential innovative therapeutic uses has emerged for dalbavancin as well. The promising efficacy in challenging scenarios (i.e., osteomyelitis, endocarditis, prosthetic joint infections), coupled with the unique pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, makes dalbavancin a valuable alternative to daily in-hospital intravenous or outpatient antimicrobial regimens in the treatment of long-term Gram-positive infections. This makes dalbavancin valuable in the current COVID-19 scenario, in which hospitalization and territorial medicine empowerment are unavoidable.Keywords: dalbavancin, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, long-term suppressive therapy, PK/PD properties, COVID-1
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
CMV infection management in transplant patients in Italy
No full textTransplant represents an effective strategy in the management of chronic organ dysfunction. Nonetheless, life threatening risks remain, especially in the post-transplant; among them, human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major concern, currently causing active infections in at least one-third of transplant recipients. Microbiologist and transplant scientific societies redefined guidance on CMV disease prevention and the best use for universal prophylaxis and pre-emptive virological monitoring. Developments in molecular diagnostic supported the spread of the pre-emptive strategy, and quantitative Real Time-PCR assays has unravelled the potential of viral load measurement as a predictor of the infection development in CMV post-transplant management. However, despite the WHO 1st CMV International Standard, the standardization of diagnostic and clinical practice has been limited by the absence of algorithms for calculating conversion factor to International Units and the lack of shared monitoring procedure, both at national and international level. At a regional level, the Italian scientific societies, AMCLI (Italian Clinical Microbiologist Association), SITO (Organ Transplant Italian Society), GITMO (Italian Group for Bone Marrow Transplant), recently tried to define a consensus for post-transplant monitoring. The concerted practice encompasses molecular quantitative PCR assays technical aspects and endorses the relevance of immunologic monitoring for improvement in patient risk stratification and prognosis. Here, we provide an overview of the state of the art of CMV management strategies, with a specific focus on the clinical practices and on the scientific societies' initiatives that aim to implement international standardization guidelines at a national level.Transplant represents an effective strategy in the management of chronic organ dysfunction. Nonetheless, life threatening risks remain, especially in the post-transplant; among them, human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major concern, currently causing active infections in at least one-third of transplant recipients. Microbiologist and transplant scientific societies redefined guidance on CMV disease prevention and the best use for universal prophylaxis and pre-emptive virological monitoring. Developments in molecular diagnostic supported the spread of the pre-emptive strategy, and quantitative Real Time-PCR assays has unravelled the potential of viral load measurement as a predictor of the infection development in CMV post-transplant management. However, despite the WHO 1st CMV International Standard, the standardization of diagnostic and clinical practice has been limited by the absence of algorithms for calculating conversion factor to International Units and the lack of shared monitoring procedure, both at national and international level. At a regional level, the Italian scientific societies, AMCLI (Italian Clinical Microbiologist Association), SITO (Organ Transplant Italian Society), GITMO (Italian Group for Bone Marrow Transplant), recently tried to define a consensus for post-transplant monitoring. The concerted practice encompasses molecular quantitative PCR assays technical aspects and endorses the relevance of immunologic monitoring for improvement in patient risk stratification and prognosis. Here, we provide an overview of the state of the art of CMV management strategies, with a specific focus on the clinical practices and on the scientific societies' initiatives that aim to implement international standardization guidelines at a national level
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