1,721,023 research outputs found
Retrospective analysis of the effect of interferon therapy on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in cirrhosis
No full textPrevalence and incidence of cholecystolithiasis in cirrhosis and relation to the etiology of liver disease
No full textTo assess prevalence and incidence of cholecystolithiasis in cirrhosis, 356 consecutive cirrhotics and 247 consecutive cases of chronic hepatitis without cirrhosis were studied by ultrasonography. Cholecystolithiasis was significantly more frequent in cirrhotics than in patients with chronic hepatitis (p lt 0.001) after stratification for age and for alcohol abuse, and its prevalence in the former was affected by Child's class (p lt 0.001) and duration (p lt 0.001) of cirrhosis and was higher in HBsAg-negative as compared with HBsAg-positive cases (36.2 vs. 11.9%) and in patients with previous alcohol abuse (41.5 vs. 28.3%), while no difference was noted in relation to sex. By multivariate analysis, duration and Child's class of cirrhosis and HBsAg-negative status were statistically associated with cholecystolithiasis. One hundred and eighty-two of the 356 cirrhotic patients without gallstones at inclusion were followed prospectively, and 21 (11.5%) of them developed cholecystolithiasis, and duration of cirrhosis and past alcohol abuse were found to be independent risk factors for gallstone development by multivariate analysis. Cirrhosis is a significant risk factor for cholecystolithiasis, except for HBsAg-positive patients who have prevalence and incidence similar to noncirrhotics. Severity and duration of cirrhosis and previous alcohol abuse are associated with an increased risk of gallstone formation
Significato clinico della infezione da virus dell'epatite C in pazienti con epatite cronica HBsAg positiva.
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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
Concurrent hepatitis B and C virus infection and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis. A prospective study
No full textBACKGROUND. Patients with cirrhosis have a high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but it is unclear how the etiology of liver disease influences tumor development. The authors evaluated hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infection in cirrhosis in relation to the risk of HCC. METHODS. Two hundred and ninety consecutive cirrhotic patients were followed prospectively with periodic ultrasound examination. At entry, patients were tested for markers of HBV and HCV to assess relation to tumor development during follow-up. RESULTS. Twenty and five-tenths percent of patients were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive and 68.9% were positive for HCV antibodies. Previous alcohol abuse was present in 26.2%. During follow-up (46.3 +/- 21.4 months), HCC developed in 32 patients (11.0%) (annual incidence approximately 3%) including 19.6% of HBsAg-positive patients, 12.2% of HCV antibody positive patients and 14.4% of patients with a history of alcohol abuse. The highest rate of HCC was in patients with dual HBsAg and anti-HCV positivity with or without previous alcohol abuse, whereas the lowest incidence (0%) was in cases without risk factors. By univariate analysis, age older than 59 years (P < 0.005), longer duration of cirrhosis (P < 0.005), serum alpha-fetoprotein levels higher than 20 ng/ml (P < 0.05), and dual HBsAg and HCV positivity (P < 0.02) appeared to be associated with HCC. By multivariate analysis, age (P < 0.01), positivity for HBsAg and HCV antibodies (P < 0.05), male sex (P < 0.05), and previous alcohol abuse (P < 0.08) were independently related to tumor appearance. CONCLUSIONS. These results, although confirming that male sex and previous alcohol abuse are risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis, indicate that concurrent hepatitis B and C virus infection determines the highest risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma
Retrospective analysis of the effect of interferon therapy on the clinical outcome of patients with viral cirrhosis
No full textBACKGROUND. Recent data suggest that interferon therapy (IFN) can reduce the risk of progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis. METHODS. A cohort of 189 patients with Child's Stage A cirrhosis of viral etiology followed prospectively were analyzed retrospectively to assess the effects of IFN on the clinical course and development of HCC. RESULTS. During a mean follow-up of 71.5 +/- 23.6 months, 7.9% of 88 treated and 21.8% of 101 untreated patients showed worsening of the Child's disease stage (P < 0.01); 5.6% of treated and 26.7% of untreated patients developed HCC (P < 0.001); and 3.4% of treated and 19.8% of untreated patients died of liver disease or underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) (P < 0.005). Using Cox's regression analysis, no treatment with IFN, high bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, and low leukocyte counts and prothrombin activity (PT) were associated significantly with worsening of Child's disease stage; no treatment with IFN, long term disease, low albumin and PT, and high gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were related significantly to HCC development; and no treatment with IFN, low albumin and PT, and high GGT and ALP were associated significantly with reduced survival. After adjustment for independent risk factors identified by multivariate analysis, the estimated cumulative probability of worsening of cirrhosis (P < 0.05), development of HCC (P < 0.001), and death or OLT (P < 0.006) was significantly lower in IFN-treated patients compared with untreated patients. This beneficial effect of therapy was statistically evident only in HCV positive patients. CONCLUSIONS. These results support the hypothesis that IFN improves clinical outcomes and reduces progression to HCC in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis. These conclusions, based on retrospective data, should be confirmed prospective
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