1,721,182 research outputs found
Reference Values of Total Serum IgE and Their Significance in the Diagnosis of Allergy in Young European Adults.
No full textAllergic sensitization mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the basis of allergic diseases, and elevated total IgE, in spite of some well-known limitations, is frequently included as a diagnostic criterion for allergic diseases. The reference value of total IgE (IgE-t) in the literature (1.5-144 kU/l) was established almost 2 decades ago. The aim of this study was to establish IgE-t reference values, establishing an updated cutoff value able to identify atopic subjects, defined as a positive CAP-radioallergosorbent test to at least one of a panel of common allergens, among young European adults. The study included 6,670 subjects from 10 Western European countries within the framework of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II. IgE-t and specific IgE (IgE-s) were measured for the main inhalant allergens; IgE-s in class 0 for all allergens (66.2%) characterized non-atopy. The reference values were estimated by means of linear regression using a 50% random subsample of non-atopic subjects. Two non-atopic subsamples were examined so that one subsample could be used to establish reference IgE-t values, and these values were compared to those in the second non-atopic subsample to validate the findings. Sensitivity and specificity for atopy were assessed on the other 50% of non-atopic and on all atopic subjects. The 95th percentile of IgE-t reference values in non-smokers was 148 kU/l in women and 169 kU/l in men, while it was 194 and 220 kU/l in female and male smokers, respectively: serum IgE-t above the 95th percentile identifies 90% and below the 99th percentile identifies >95% of non-atopic adults (good specificity). Due to the adequate specificity, IgE-t values exceeding the normal limits confirm a suspected atopic status; however, because of the low sensitivity, values below the cutoff seem not to exclude an atopic status with sufficient accuracy
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
Mobile Technology in Allergic Rhinitis: Evolution in Management or Revolution in Health and Care?
No full textIs cat-keeping the main determinant of new-onset adulthood cat sensitization? Reply
No full textWe thank Liccardi et al for their comments on our article dealing with new-onset cat sensitization in adults.We maintain that cat-keeping and allowing a cat in the bedroom are the main determinants of indoor cat allergen levels in the general European population, as shown by a previous European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) study (reference 10 of our article). Cat allergen levels in the mattress were 200 times higher in cat-keeping homes (geometric mean, 61.4 mg/g; 95% CI, 48.4-77.9) with respect to nevercat-keeping homes (geometric mean, 0.29 mg/g; 95% CI, 0.27-0.31). Moreover, log-transformed geometric mean of Fel d 1 was 10 times lower when the cat was not allowed inside the house and 4 to 5 times lower when the cat was not allowed inside the bedroom. Liccardi et al reported similar conclusions in a review.The modalities of cat exposure proposed by Liccardi et al could be useful to detail the level of cat allergen exposure. However, the category ‘‘direct contact elsewhere’’ could lead to the same level of cat exposure as ‘‘direct domestic contact,’’ as in domestic cleaners in houses with cats, or could stand for occasional contact with cats in friends’ or relatives’ houses. This classification would need careful validation.We acknowledge that cat sensitization can also occur without direct cat exposure. However, we maintain that cat ownership is one of the main determinants of cat sensitization in adulthood. After examining Table I in a publication by Liccardi et al, we found that it shows strong support for our conclusions; in 1665 patients evaluated in an Allergy Service, direct exposure to cat was present in 52.4% of the people sensitized to cat but only in 2.1% of the people not sensitized—(148-118)/(1665-225)=2.1%(P<.001). Anyway, to cope with indirect exposure to cat allergen, in multivariable analysis we adjusted for community prevalence of cat ownership.In conclusion, cat ownership is the main determinant of cat allergen levels in dwellings. Acquiring a cat is a risk factor for new-onset cat sensitization in adults, even after controlling for 12 other factors, although we cannot exclude other known or unknown risk factors
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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