1,720,978 research outputs found
The changing face of the epidemiology of type A, B, and D viral hepatitis in Italy, following the implementation of vaccination
No full textThe morbidity and mortality rates of viral hepatitis A, B and Delta have dramatically dropped in Italy during the last decades. Thanks to the general improvements in hygiene and sanitation, hepatitis A has shifted from a high to an intermediate/low endemicity status. Vaccination against hepatitis A is recommended to people at increased risk, including travellers to endemic areas, military personnel and individuals at occupational risk. The implementation of universal anti-hepatitis B vaccination of infants and adolescents has resulted in a dramatic decline in disease burden and in the carrier rate. An additional benefit of hepatitis B vaccination is that hepatitis Delta has also substantially declined
Evaluation of sera from patients infected with hepatitis E virus (HEV) against recombinant ORF2 antigen originated from a swine genotype III strain
No full textEvaluation of sera from patients infected with hepatitis E virus (HEV) against recombinant ORF2 antigen originated from a swine genotype III strai
Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus among blood donors in northern Italy (Sondrio, Lombardy) determined by three different assays
Full text linkSieroepidemiologia delle epatiti virali a trasmissione enterica (HAV e HEV) in Italia: progetto CAMELIA
No full textIntroduzione: In Italia, il miglioramento delle condizioni igienico sanitarie ha determinato negli ultimi decenni un notevole cambiamento del quadro epidemiologico delle infezioni a trasmissione enterica, tra cui l’epatite A ed E. Tuttavia, dati recenti di sieroprevalenza delle dell’infezione da HAV e da HEV nella popolazione generale sono scarsi. Nell’ambito del Progetto CAMELIA è stata studiata la prevalenza di anti-HAV e di anti-HEV in due differenti campioni di popolazione rappresentativi del nord e del sud Italia.
Metodi: Sono stati arruolati 3.365 soggetti di età compresa tra 18 e 75 anni. Di questi 2.554 erano residente ad Abbiategrasso (provincia di Milano) e 992 a Cittanova (provincia di Reggio Calabria). Di ciascun partecipante sono stati raccolti i dati socio-demografici (mediante apposito questionario) ed un campione di sangue per i test di laboratorio. Tutti i campioni raccolti sono stati sottoposti alla ricerca di anticorpi anti-HAV e anti-HEV mediante test del commercio (HAV Ab e HEV IgG, Dia.Pro Diagnostic BioProbes, Italy).
Risultati: Complessivamente, la prevalenza di anti-HAV nella popolazione italiana è risultata del 57.4% mentre quella per anti-HEV è risultata dell’11.3%. Tuttavia, i valori di sieroprevalenza sono risultati sono risultati significativamente più elevati per il campione del sud rispetto a quelli del nord: 71.3% versus 52.5% per anti-HAV e 17.8% versus 9% per anti-HEV. In entrambi i campioni di popolazione, la sieroprevalenza di HAV e HEV evidenzia una significativa riduzione in relazione all’anno di nascita: infatti, l’età dei soggetti positivi per HAV e HEV risulta più elevata rispetto ai soggetti negativi per entrambi i gruppi.
Conclusioni: I risultati di questo studio evidenziano una maggior prevalenza dell’epatite A rispetto all’epatite E in Italia, e che la prevalenza di HAV ed HEV è differente nelle popolazioni del nord rispetto a quelle del sud. La relazione tra incremento di positività per anticorpi e aumento dell’età sembra indicare un tipico effetto coorte
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
Persistence of anti-HBs antibody and immune memory 18-19 years after vaccination against hepatitis B in Italy in two cohorts of individuals primed as infants or adolescents
No full textIntroduction: We assessed the anti-HBs persistence and immune memory 18-19 years after vaccination against hepatitis B in healthy individuals primed as infants or adolescents, respectively.
Methods: Study population included 405 teenagers (Group A) vaccinated as infants, and 409 blood donors (Group B) vaccinated as adolescents. All vaccinees were tested for anti-HBs and anti-HBc; those found anti-HBc+ were further tested for HBsAg and HBV DNA. Individuals with anti-HBs concentration ≥10 mIU/ml were considered protected while those with anti-HBs concentration <10 mIU/ml were offered a booster dose and re-tested 2 weeks later.
Results: Overall, 68.1% individuals showed anti-HBs concentrations ≥10 mIU/ml (48.9% in Group A vs 87% in Group B; p<0.001). The geometric mean concentration (GMC) was higher in Group B than in Group A (102.5 mIU/ml vs 6.9 mIU/ml; p<0.001). Eight individuals of Group B were positive for anti-HBc alone. When boosted, 93.7% of Group A and 94.7% of Group B showed an anamnestic response. Post-booster GMCs were similar in both groups (435.7 mIU/ml, Group A vs 710 mIU/ml, Group B, p=0.45).
Conclusion: A strong immunological memory persists for at least 18-19 years after immunization of infants or adolescents with a primary course of vaccination. Booster doses are not needed
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
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