1,721,182 research outputs found
Host genetics and outcome in meningococcal disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textVarious genes regulate the intensity of the inflammatory and coagulation response to infection and therefore might determine the severity and outcome of meningococcal disease. We systematically reviewed the published work for case–control studies on the influence of host genetics on severity and outcome in meningococcal disease and identified 27 studies including 7245 patients, with an overall mortality of 10% (range 1–19%). Despite flaws in the methods of the studies there was a clear association of host genetics with mortality and severity in meningococcal disease. Polymorphisms in SERPINE1 (odds ratio [OR] 2·23, 95% CI 1·48–3·35), IL1RN (OR 1·85, 95% CI 1·25–2·76) and IL1B (OR 1·81, 95% CI 1·09–2·97) were associated with mortality in our meta-analyses. In conclusion, gene variation influences severity and mortality in meningococcal disease. Polymorphisms might have potential as prognostic markers or to determine tailor-made adjunctive therapy. Carefully designed, prospective, whole-genome association studies and randomised clinical trials of treatments in specific genetic subgroups are neede
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
Global Case Fatality of Bacterial Meningitis During an 80-Year Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Full text linkIMPORTANCE
The impact of vaccination, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory treatment on pathogen distribution and outcome of bacterial meningitis over the past century is uncertain.
OBJECTIVE
To describe worldwide pathogen distribution and case fatality ratios of community-acquired bacterial meningitis.
DATA SOURCES
Google Scholar and MEDLINE were searched in January 2022 using the search terms bacterial meningitis and mortality.
STUDY SELECTION
Included studies reported at least 10 patients with bacterial meningitis and survival status. Studies that selected participants by a specific risk factor, had a mean observation period before 1940, or had more than 10% of patients with health care-associated meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, or missing outcome were excluded.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS
Data were extracted by 1 author and verified by a second author. The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Random-effects models stratified by age (ie, neonates, children, adults), Human Development Index (ie, low-income or high-income countries), and decade and meta-regression using the study period's year as an estimator variable were used.
MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE
Case fatality ratios of bacterial meningitis.
RESULTS
This review included 371 studies performed in 108 countries from January 1, 1935, to December 31, 2019, describing 157 656 episodes. Of the 33 295 episodes for which the patients' sex was reported, 13 452 (40%) occurred in females. Causative pathogens were reported in 104 598 episodes with Neisseria meningitidis in 26 344 (25%) episodes, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 26 035 (25%) episodes, Haemophilus influenzae in 22 722 (22%), other bacteria in 19 161 (18%) episodes, and unidentified pathogen in 10 336 (10%) episodes. The overall case fatality ratio was 18% (95% CI, 16%-19%), decreasing from 32% (95% CI, 24%-40%) before 1961 to 15% (95% CI, 12%-19%) after 2010. It was highest in meningitis caused by Listeria monocytogenes at 27% (95% CI, 24%-31%) and pneumococci at 24% (95% CI, 22%-26%), compared with meningitis caused by meningococci at 9% (95% CI, 8%-10%) or H influenzae at 11% (95% CI, 10%-13%). Meta-regression showed decreasing case fatality ratios overall and stratified by S pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, or Streptococcus agalactiae (P < .001).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
In this meta-analysis with meta-regression, declining case fatality ratios of community-acquired bacterial meningitis throughout the last century were observed, but a high burden of disease remained
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
Complications and outcome of bacterial meningitis
Full text linkBacteriële meningitis is een levensbedreigende infectieziekte. Ondanks behandeling met antibiotica en dexamethason blijft de morbiditeit en mortaliteit van deze aandoening hoog. In dit proefschrift beschrijven we de incidentie, klinische kenmerken, prognostische factoren en de microbiologische karakteristieken van 1412 patiënten tussen 2006 en 2014. Na de invoering van verschillende vaccinaties is de incidentie van bacteriële meningitis sterk gedaald. Ondanks het verbeteren van de prognose krijgt een groot gedeelte van de patiënten complicaties. Specifieke complicaties die we in dit proefschrift beschrijven zijn het voorkomen van herseninfarcten en endocarditis. Deze complicaties blijken vaak te leiden tot restverschijnselen of zelfs overlijden. In 2013 hebben we een stijging waargenomen van het aantal groep A streptokokken, wat mogelijk veroorzaakt werd door het verlengde griepseizoen in 2012-2013. Verder hebben we specifiek gekeken naar patiënten die die zich presenteren met een minimale score op de Glasgow Coma Scale. Drie procent van de bacteriële meningitis patiënten bleek zo slecht binnen te komen. Desalniettemin heeft 40% het overleefd en 23% van de patiënten had een goede functionele uitkomst, waaruit blijkt dat bij de behandeling van deze patiënten alles op alles moet worden gezet. Tenslotte hebben we een overzicht gegeven van de meest voorkomende restverschijnselen na een bacteriële meningitis, zowel bij kinderen als volwassenen. Dit zijn bijvoorbeeld focale uitvalsverschijnselen, gehoorverlies, epilepsie en cognitieve stoornissen. Het is van belang om deze restverschijnselen in een vroeg stadium te ontdekken, om een ontwikkelingsachterstand bij kinderen te voorkomen en om volwassenen weer succesvol terug te kunnen laten keren in de maatschappij
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
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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