1,720,963 research outputs found
Changes in the global hospitalisation burden of respiratory syncytial virus in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis
No full textBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic is reported to have affected the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which could have important implications for RSV prevention and control strategies. We aimed to assess the hospitalisation burden of RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in children younger than 5 years during the pandemic period and the possible changes in RSV epidemiology from a global perspective. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search for studies published between Jan 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, in MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, Web of Science, the WHO COVID-19 Research Database, CINAHL, LILACS, OpenGrey, CNKI, WanFang, and CqVip. We included unpublished data on RSV epidemiology shared by international collaborators. Eligible studies reported data on at least one of the following measures for children (aged <5 years) hospitalised with RSV-associated ALRI: hospital admission rates, in-hospital case fatality ratio, and the proportion of hospitalised children requiring supplemental oxygen or requiring mechanical ventilation or admission to intensive care. We used a generalised linear mixed-effects model for data synthesis to measure the changes in the incidence, age distribution, and disease severity of children hospitalised with RSV-associated ALRI during the pandemic, compared with the year 2019. Findings: We included 61 studies from 19 countries, of which 14 (23%) studies were from the published literature (4052 identified records) and 47 (77%) were from unpublished datasets. Most (51 [84%]) studies were from high-income countries; nine (15%) were from upper-middle-income countries, one (2%) was from a lower-middle-income country (Kenya), and none were from a low-income country. 15 studies contributed to the estimates of hospitalisation rate and 57 studies contributed to the severity analyses. Compared with 2019, the rates of RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisation in all children (aged 0–60 months) in 2020 decreased by 79·7% (325 000 cases vs 66 000 cases) in high-income countries, 13·8% (581 000 cases vs 501 000 cases) in upper-middle-income countries, and 42·3% (1 378 000 cases vs 795 000 cases) in Kenya. In high-income countries, annualised rates started to rise in 2021, and by March, 2022, had returned to a level similar to 2019 (6·0 cases per 1000 children [95% uncertainty interval 5·4–6·8] in April, 2021, to March, 2022, vs 5·0 cases per 1000 children [3·6–6·8] in 2019). By contrast, in middle-income countries, rates remained lower in the latest period with data available than in 2019 (for upper-middle-income countries, 2·1 cases [0·7–6·1] in April, 2021, to March, 2022, vs 3·4 [1·2–9·7] in 2019; for Kenya, 2·2 cases [1·8–2·7] in 2021 vs 4·1 [3·5–4·7] in 2019). Across all time periods and income regions, hospitalisation rates peaked in younger infants (aged 0 to <3 months) and decreased with increasing age. A significantly higher proportion of children aged 12–24 months were hospitalised with RSV-associated ALRI in high-income and upper-middle-income countries during the pandemic years than in 2019, with odds ratios ranging from 1·30 (95% uncertainty interval 1·07–1·59) to 2·05 (1·66–2·54). No consistent changes in disease severity were observed. Interpretation: The hospitalisation burden of RSV-associated ALRI in children younger than 5 years was significantly reduced during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rebound in hospitalisation rates to pre-pandemic rates observed in the high-income region but not in the middle-income region by March, 2022, suggests a persistent negative impact of the pandemic on health-care systems and health-care access in the middle-income region. RSV surveillance needs to be established (or re-established) to monitor changes in RSV epidemiology, particularly in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Funding: EU Innovative Medicines Initiative Preparing for RSV Immunisation and Surveillance in Europe (PROMISE), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and WHO. © 2023 World Health Organization11Nsciescopu
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
Phenotypes of atopic dermatitis by using cluster analysis in early childhood
No full textPurpose: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease in childhood. The characteristics of AD are pruritis, typical distribution and morphology, and personal or family history of other allergic disease. Most of which develops in early childhood and into a heterogeneous disease during childhood. Clinical course and approach to treatment of AD can be different according to their phenotypes and/or endotypes. We aimed to identify clinical phenotypes of AD in early childhood
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical features and laboratory findings of 572 children who visited Asan medical center with AD younger than 3 years of age between November 2012 and December 2015. Data including gender, age at onset, age at diagnosis, family history of atopic dermatitis, the presence of recurrent wheezing and scoring atopic dermatitis index were included. White blood cell (WBC) count, Eosinophil count, CRP, total erum immunoglobulin E (IgE) level and sensitization to food and inhalant allergens were checked. Transepidermal water loss i was measured if it could be possible. Cluster analysis was applied to these 11 variables.
Results: Four-clusters of AD were identified in children younger than 3 years of age. Cluster A (n=141) had early onset AD. It had higher blood eosinophil count and higher serum total IgE level. This cluster had higher rate of allergic sensitization to food allergen. Cluster B (n=218) had early onset AD. Children in cluster B had lower blood eosinophil count and serum total IgE level than other clusters. They had lower rate of allergic sensitization to both food allergen and inhalant allergen. Children in Cluster C (n=53) began symptoms of AD early. It was characterized by higher CRP and higher WBC count. Cluster D (n=160) had late onset of AD and were diagnosed later than the other clusters. This cluster had higher serum total IgE level and higher rate of allergic sensitization to inhalant allergens. Cluster B was the largest group and Cluster C was the smallest group. In SCORAD and TEWL of lesion of AD, which showed severity of AD, cluster A had the highest SCORAD and the highest TEWL of lesion of AD. Age at onset, age at diagnosis, WBC count, eosinophil count, CRP, and serum total IgE level were identified as the strongest predictors of cluster assignment. These 6 variables alone resulted in correct classification of 95.5% of the original subjects.
Conclusions: Our results indicated that four clinical phenotypes of AD were identified in children younger than 3 years of age. A four-cluster model best fit our population. This results support heterogeneity of AD in even early childhood.
목적: 아토피 피부염은 만성적으로 재발하는 염증성 피부 질환으로 소양감, 전형적인 습진 형태와 피부의 분포, 다른 알레르기 질환의 과거력 또는 가족력을 특징으로 한다. 아토피 피부염 환자의 대부분은 초기 소아기에 발생하며 소아기 동안 이질적인 질병 양상을 보인다. 아토피 피부염의 표현형과 내재형에 따라 아토피 피부염의 임상 경과와 치료에 대한 접근이 다르게 되어야 할 것이다. 이 연구는 초기 소아기에 볼 수 있는 아토피 피부염의 임상적인 표현형을 분석하고자 한다.
방법: 우리는 2012년 11월부터 2015년 12월까지 서울 아산 병원에 내원한 3세 이하의 아토피 피부염 환자 572명의 임상적인 특징들과 실험실 결과들을 후향적으로 분석하였다. 성별, 증상이 발생한 나이, 진단 시 나이, 아토피 피부염의 가족력, 재발성 천명의 여부, Scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) 점수를 포함한 데이터를 평가하였다. 백혈구 수, 혈액 호산구 수, CRP, 혈청 면역글로불린 E, 음식 알레르겐과 호흡기 알레르겐에 대한 감작 여부도 평가하였다. 만약 측정이 가능했다면 경피 수분 손실량도 확인하였다. 이러한 11가지 변수를 이용하여 군집분석을 실시하였다.
결과: 3세 이하의 아토피 피부염 환자들을 4개의 군집으로 분류할 수 있었다. 141명이 속한 군집 A는 아토피 피부염이 일찍 발생했다. 이 군집은 혈액 호산구 수가 높게 측정되었고 혈장 면역글로불린 E 또한 높게 측정되었다. 음식 알레르겐에 대한 감작율이 다른 군집에 비해 높았다. 216명이 속한 군집 B는 아토피 피부염이 일찍 발생했다. 군집 B에 속한 환자들은 혈장 면역글로불린 E가 낮게 측정되었고 음식 알레르겐과 호흡기 알레르겐 모두에 대한 감작율이 낮았다. 53명이 속한 군집 C는 아토피 피부염이 일찍 발생하였고 CRP와 백혈구 수가 높게 측정되었다. 160명이 속한 군집 D는 아토피 피부염이 늦게 발생하였고 늦게 진단되었다. 이 군집은 혈장 면역글로불린 E가 높게 측정되었고 호흡기 알레르겐에 대한 감작율도 높게 나타났다. 가장 적은 수의 환자들이 군집 B에 속하였고 가장 많은 수의 환자들이 군집 C에 속하였다. 아토피 피부염의 중증도를 나타내는 SCORAD 점수와 경피 수분 손실량(병변)의 경우, 군집 A가 SCORAD 점수와 경피 수분 손실량이 가장 높았다. 증상 발생 나이, 진단 시 나이, 백혈구 수, 호산구 수, CRP, 혈장 면역글로불린 E가 군집을 분류하는데 가장 강한 인자로써 이 6가지 인자로 군집 분석을 시행했을 때 11개의 인자를 이용하여 분류한 군집과 95.5%의 일치율을 보였다.
결론: 초기 소아기 아토피 피부염 환자들의 임상적인 표현형은 4가지로 분류되었고 각각의 군집을 구분하는데 가장 큰 영향을 준 요인은 증상 발생 나이, 진단 시 나이, 백혈구 수, 호산구 수, CRP, 혈장 면역글로불린 E 수치였다. 이 결과는 초기 소아기에 발생한 아토피 피부염 또한 이질적인 질병 양상을 가진다는 것을 보여주었으며 이렇게 이질적인 아토피 피부염이 동질적인 특징을 가지는 하위 그룹으로 분류된다는 것을 보여주었다.Maste
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
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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