1,720,954 research outputs found
ANALISI DI UNA NUOVA METODICA DI LABORATORIO PER LO STUDIO DELLA RISPOSTA IMMUNOLOGICA ALL’INFEZIONE LATENTE DA MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS
Full text linkIdentification and treatment of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is an important component of tuberculosis elimination strategies in low incidence countries. In this context, health care workers (HCWs) represent an important target population for LTBI screening programmes and serial testing is recommended for HCWs. Interferon–gamma release assays (IGRAs) are alternatives to the tuberculin skin test (TST) and have been recommended for serial testing, but data are scarce on the interpretation of repeated IGRAs results. Existing studies, although limited, suggest that conversions, reversions and non-specific variations occur. However, there is no definitive consensus on how to define and interpret IGRA conversions and reversions.
At Padua Hospital (Italy) we conducted two different studies. In the first, run during 2006, 1715 HCWs were requested to perform both a TST and a blood sample for QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QF-GIT) to compare the effectiveness and qualitative reproducibility of the QF-GIT versus TST for screening HCWs for LTBI. In the second investigation, which lasted three years since 2006 and was recently concluded, 530 HCWs were repeatedly screened (three or more times) for LTBI only with QF-GIT. The occurrence of consistently positive (or negative) results and different QF-GIT variations were thoroughly studied, and the variability and reproducibility of quantitative results evaluated. An analysis of association between consistently positive (or negative) results and personal characteristics was also performed, showing that the probability of being affected by LTBI is positively correlated with gender, age and professional qualification. Based on our results, it emerges that the QF-GIT test is reliable, its results are reproducible over time making it a valuable tool in selected populations, such as the HCWs, in surveillance programs and control of LTBI.L'identificazione ed il trattamento dei soggetti affetti da infezione tubercolare latente (LTBI) è un obiettivo importante nell'ambito delle stategie di eliminazione della tubercolosi nei paesi a bassa incidenza. In questo contesto, i lavoratori della sanità costituisono una popolazione target nei confronti della quale sono orientati i programmi di screening della LTBI e per la quale sono raccomandati controlli ripetuti. I test immunologici basati sul rilascio di interferone gamma (IGRAs) costituiscono un'alternativa al test tubercolinico cutaneo (TST) e sono raccomandati nei test di screening, anche se i dati di letteratura riguardanti l'intepretazione dei risultati seriali sono di fatto scarsi. Vi sono studi, peratro limitati, che hanno dimostrato l'occorrenza di conversioni, reversioni e alterazioni non specifiche degli IGRAs. Presso l'Ospedale di Padova sono stati condotti due diversi studi. Nel primo, svolto nel 2006, 1715 operatori sanitari sono stati invitati ad effettuare sia il TST che un prelievo ematico per il QuantiFERON TB Gold in Tube (QF-GIT) allo scopo di confrontare l'efficacia e la riproducibilità dell'esito qualitativo del QF-GIT rispetto a quello del TST nello screening di LTBI. Nel secondo studio, durato tre anni dal 2006 e recentemente concluso, 530 operatori sanitari sono stati ripetutamente sottoposti a screening per LTBI (in 3 o più occasioni) solo con il QF-GIT. E' stata studiata la frequenza di risultati concordemente positivi (o negativi) e le differenti variazioni del QF-GIT evidenziate. E' stata analizzata l'associazione tra i risultati persistentemente positivi (o negativi) e le caratteristiche individuali dei soggetti indagati, potendo dimostrare che l'LTBI è positivamente correlata con il sesso, l'età, e la qualifica professionale. Dai risultati di questo studio emerge che il QF-GIT è un test dai risultati affidabili e riproducibili che lo rendono un valido strumento diagnostico nelle programmi di prevenzione e controllo della LTBI in popolazionei selezionate, quali i lavoratori della sanità
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
Preparazione di campi personalizzati in radioterapia. Un misconosciuto rischio d'assorbimento di cadmio
No full textVariations 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
- …
