1,721,038 research outputs found
Procalcitonin, and cytokines document a dynamic inflammatory state in non-infected cirrhotic patients with ascites
No full textAIM: To quantitate the simultaneous serum and ascitic fluid levels of procalcitonin and inflammatory markers in cirrhotics with and without ascites. METHODS: A total of 88 consecutive severe cirrhotic patients seen in a large city hospital liver clinic were studied and divided into two groups, those with and without ascites. Group 1 consisted of 41 cirrhotic patients with massive ascites, as demonstrated by necessity for therapeutic large-volume paracentesis. Group 2 consisted of 47 cirrhotic patients without any clinically documented ascites to include either a recent abdominal computed tomography scan or ultrasound study. Serum and ascitic fluid levels of an array of inflammatory markers, including procalcitonin, were measured and compared to each other and a normal plasma panel (NPP). RESULTS: The values for inflammatory markers assayed in the serum of Groups 1 and 2, and ascitic fluid of the Group 1. The plasma levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, interferon gamma (IFN gamma) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were all significantly greater in the serum of Group 1 as compared to that of the serum obtained from the Group 2 subjects (all P < 0.05). There were significantly greater serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor and EGF when comparing Group 2 to the NPP. There was no significant difference for IL-1A, IL-1B, IL-2, IL-4 and IFN gamma levels between these two groups. Serum procalcitonin levels were increased in cirrhotics with ascites compared to cirrhotics without ascites, but serum levels were similar to ascites levels within the ascites group. Furthermore, many of these cytokines, but not procalcitonin, demonstrate an ascites-to-serum gradient. Serum procalcitonin does not demonstrate any significant difference segregated by liver etiology in the ascites group; but ascitic fluid procalcitonin is elevated significantly in cardiac cirrhosis/miscellaneous subgroup compared to the hepatitis C virus and alcoholic cirrhosis subgroups. CONCLUSION: Procalcitonin in the ascitic fluid, but not in the serum, differentiates between cirrhotic subgroup reflecting the dynamic interplay of ascites, bacterial translocation and the peri-peritoneal cytokine. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved
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
An Update on the Prevalence and Characterization of H-PF4 Antibodies in Asian-Indian Patients
No full textHeparin is the second most widely used anticoagulant/antithrombotic agent besides warfarin and is commonly used for various purposes such as treatment and surgical indications. A significant adverse effect of heparin treatment can occur when heparin binds platelet factor 4 (H-PF4) to form a complex that results in formation of H-PF4 antibodies, which in turn leads to platelet/endothelial cell activation followed by heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Based on the heparin-induced platelet aggregation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests, the H-PF4 antibody (HIT antibody) was diagnosed in 6% of Indian patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery who received unfractionated heparin, but the frequency of occurrence rose to 15% when the patients were tested with the C-14-serotonin release assay. This highlights some methodological variations in the diagnosis of HIT antibodies. It was also found that all the HIT-positive patients were either homozygous or heterozygous for the Fc gamma RIIa polymorphism, which also highlights the role of this polymorphism in the occurrence of HIT. Very recent studies show that increases in HIT antibody production may also be due to heparin contaminants. Although these antibodies do not result in thrombocytopenia, contaminants in heparin may be capable of triggering a differential immunogenic response in comparison with contaminant-free heparin. Here we discuss the methodological differences in diagnosing HIT, the potential impact of contaminants in heparin, as well as future considerations
European Community and US-FDA Approval of Recombinant Human Antithrombin Produced in Genetically Altered Goats
No full textThrombin and factor Xa play a central role in thrombogenesis in both medical and surgical patients. Antithrombin (AT) is the key inhibitor, which controls the action of these enzymes in hypercoagulable states. The AT concentrates prepared from human blood have been used to treat patients with thrombotic disorders and heparin resistance. The AT concentrates are prepared from pooled human plasma and beside limited supply, suffer from viral and other biological contaminants. The availability of recombinant human AT (rhAT) obtained from genetically engineered goats provide a biologically equivalent product that can be used in practically all indications where human AT is indicated including heparin resistance. Moreover, because of its high affinity to heparin and related drugs, recombinant AT can also be developed in further indications. On review of the preclinical and clinical data on the safety and efficacy, the European Union and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) have recently approved the use of rhAT in specified clinical indications
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
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