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MF59-Adjuvanted Influenza Vaccine (FLUAD®): Assessment of the Immunogenity Against Homologous and Heterologous Strains in Elderly Subjects
No full textHigher and broader immunogenicity following MF59-adjuvanted influenza vaccination (Fluad®) in at-risk adults (18-60 years of age) a randomized, controlled, observer-blind study
No full textMF59®-adjuvanted influenza vaccine (Fluad®) in the elderly: greater immunogenicity against a heterovariant A/H3N2 strain, compared with split and virosomal vaccines
No full textbackground and Aim: Influenza A/H3N2 infection emerged in
1968, causing a pandemic, and has subsequently undergone
considerable antigenic and genetic variation. A/H3N2 strains
have been associated with more severe epidemics than the
other currently circulating influenza viruses (A/H1N1 and B),
especially in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly with
underlying medical conditions. MF59TM adjuvant has been shown
to enhance immunogenicity of subunit influenza vaccine for
both homologous and heterologous influenza strains. Immunity
against heterologous strains is of particular medical significance
during influenza epidemics when mismatches between vaccine
strains and circulating influenza viruses occur. This study aimed
to confirm if the presence of MF59TM in the vaccine formulation
could improve immune responses against a heterovariant A/
H3N2 strain in elderly subjects with chronic conditions.
methods: In a randomized, double-blind trial, elderly nursing
home residents (≥65 years of age) in North-east Italy received
either an MF59TM adjuvanted influenza vaccine (Sub/MF5
9
;
FLUAD®, Novartis Vaccines) , a split vaccine (Split; Mutagrip®,
Pasteur Merieux MSD), or a virosomal vaccine (SVV; Inflexal-V®,
Swiss Serum and Vaccine Institute) during the winter season of
1998/9
9
; the majority of subjects had at least one underlying
chronic disease, including a heart or lung condition or diabetes
mellitus. Study vaccines contained the strains recommended
by the WHO for 1998/99 Northern Hemisphere formulation
(A/H3N2/Sydney/5/9
7
; A/H1N1/ Beijing/262/95 and B/
Beijing/184/93). Blood samples were obtained pre-vaccination
and at 4 weeks post-vaccination. Hemagglutination inhibition
(HI) titres were measured against the A/H3N2 influenza antigen
recommended for the 2006/07 vaccine formulation: A/H3N2/
Wisconsin/67/2005. Pre- and post-vaccination geometric mean
antibody titres (GMTs), the post-vaccination mean-fold increase
in HI antibodies (MFI), the number of subjects with protective HI
titers (≥40), and the number of subjects with a four-fold increase
in post-vaccination titers were calculated. Sera from 199 subjects
were available for analysis (Sub/MF59: n=7
2
; Split: n=8
8
; SVV:
n=39). More than 80% of subjects in each vaccination group
were over 75 years of age. The Split group included more healthy
subjects compared with the Sub/MF59 and SVV groups (39.8%,
12.5% and 20.5%, respectively). There were no male subjects in
the SVV group (vs. 6.9% in the Sub/MF59 and 27.3% in the Split
group).
results: No statistically significant differences in baseline GMTs
were observed between vaccine groups. Post-vaccination HI
antibody titres against the heterovariant A/H3N2 strain were
significantly higher (p=0.02) in the Sub/MF59 group, compared
with SVV and Split groups. Compared with Split and SVV vaccines,
MF59TM adjuvanted vaccine resulted in higher MFI (2.0, 2.0 and
3.1, respectively), and significantly greater proportions of subjects
with at least a fourfold increase in antibody titers (27.3%, 23.1%
and 41.7%, respectively, p=0.05). Seroprotective antibody levels
were achieved by more vaccinees in the MF59TM adjuvanted and
split vaccine groups (79.2% and 78.4%, respectively) than in the
virosomal group (56.4%).
Conclusion: MF59TM adjuvanted influenza vaccine induced higher
HI antibody levels against a heterovariant A/H3N2 strain in this
population of elderly people with chronic diseases, compared
with conventional split and virosomal vaccines. These results
confirm superior cross-reactive immunogenicity of MF59TM
adjuvanted influenza vaccines. Since A/H3N2 influenza viruses
are epidemiologically highly relevant for the elderly population,
the broader immunogenicity conferred by FLUAD® could be of
particular clinical benefit in seasons where an antigenic mismatch
occur
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
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
Il “software” GOELM come innovativa modalità di gestione della conoscenza e della prescrizione degli esami di laboratorio: l’esperienza di due Unità Sociosanitarie Locali
No full textLaboratory tests play a pivotal role in the diagnostic process. Unfortunately, their usefulness is undermined by a substantial proportion of inappropriateness. Up to now the employed strategies appear inadequate to solve the problem. This study presents a structural solution based on health information technology. In 2008 and 2010, an innovative way for prescribing laboratory tests was tested with the help of general practitioners of ULSS 18 Rovigo and ULSS 13 Mirano. It uses a software called GOELM (Guide Order Entry Laboratory Medicine). During the order entry, the software proposes indications about the clinical use of the laboratory test in real time. The general practitioner could accept or not the indication. The number of prescriptions formulated with the use of GOELM was compared with the number of prescriptions formulated by the same doctors without GOELM in the same period of the previous year. Our results demonstrate that the use of GOELM software
has achieved a reduction in the total number of prescriptions up to 38% in Rovigo and up to 26% in Mirano. This trial demonstrates that it is possible to make governance in prescription without political and/or administrative measures. GOELM was therefore proved effective in reducing the inappropriateness through knowledge managemen
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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