1,721,022 research outputs found
Human papillomavirus infection in systemic rheumatic disorders: Current concepts, challenges and expectations
No full textThere is strong evidence that women with systemic rheumatic disorders, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk for developing cervical cancer. Several epidemiological studies have shown causal relationship between human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical neoplasia in general population, nevertheless; information about the impact of HPV infection in women with rheumatic disorders treated with immunosuppressive drugs or biologic therapy is still evolving. HPV infection is more frequently observed in some rheumatic systemic diseases mainly in SLE with relevant data available. Prevalence figures in SLE for HPV infection vary from 11.8% to 54%. Recently, our group reported in Mexican women with SLE, HPV infection is 14.7%, a figure that is important for Latin America where cervical cancer is highly prevalent. Longitudinal designs have been rarely performed; one study reported an increase in frequency of HPV infection from 12.5% to 25% after 3 years of follow-up. In SLE there is a high frequency of infection with several type of virus (around 17%), most of them considered as high-risk virus for cervical neoplasia. Data in African American women with SLE show that around 3% have high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 1.2% cervical cancer. Epidemiological studies of HPV infection in other rheumatic diseases are infrequent; our group reported HPV infection in 31% of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, whereas others reported 3% in Sjögren syndrome. Although common risk factors such as age, occupation, lifetime sexual partners, other sexually transmitted co-infections, or early age at first intercourse, are related with HPV; in rheumatic disorders the association between HPV infection with utilization of immunosuppressive drugs or with longer duration of treatment with corticosteroids but with no disease activity is relevant. Some immune abnormalities induced by the treatment have been associated with an increased frequency of HPV, where lower levels of B lymphocytes and NK cells in peripheral blood are observed in SLE under treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. TNF-α is involved in signaling apoptosis in infected cells, participating in the inhibition of viral replication, therefore TNF inhibitors may theoretically increase the risk for persistent infection but data supporting this hypothesis are still insufficient. HPV immunization with recombinant vaccine is useful to prevent precancerous cervical lesions, although; some autoimmune adverse events have been developed after the vaccine application including Guillain-Barré, transverse myelitis, optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis or myasthenia gravis, and there are some rare case-reports of RA, SLE, mixed connective tissue disease, Sjogren syndrome, dermatomyositis and scleroderma developed after the vaccination. On counterpart, vaccination is safe in patients with inactive RA or SLE. No significant differences in seroconversion rates have been observed between users and non users of immunosuppressive drugs except for mycophenolate mofetil. In summary, HPV infection in rheumatic disorders is an exciting area for research and a future task is to design a clinical guide for preventive measures in these patients, as well as a strategy for follow-up and treatment in those patients who have HPV infection; particularly for those who receive immunosuppressive therapy or anti-TNF agents. © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved
Efficacy of methotrexate in ankylosing spondylitis: A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial
No full textObjective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of methotrexate (MTX) compared with placebo in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods. This 24 week, double bind, randomized, placebo controlled trial compared the response between MTX 7.5 mg/week or placebo in patients with active AS. The primary outcome measure was a composite index of improvement in 5 of the following scales: severity of morning stiffness, physical well being, the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), the Health Assessment Questionnaire for Spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-S), and physician and patient global assessment of disease activity. Results. Seventeen patients received MTX and 18 placebo. In the intention-to-treat analysis at 24 weeks, 53% of patients in the MTX group had a treatment response, compared with 17% in the placebo group (p = 0.03). We observed significant improvements with MTX in physical well being (p = 0.009), BASDAI (p = 0.02), BASFI (p = 0.02), physician global assessment (p < 0.001), patient global assessment (p = 0.03), and HAQ-S (p = 0.02). In the adjusted analysis only MTX determined the improvement in the primary outcome. At the end of the trial, one patient with MTX withdrew due to a lack of compliance, and one with placebo due to a lack of efficacy. We did not observe significant differences in rates of side effects between the 2 groups. Conclusion. MTX is safe and effective for patients with AS. Longterm studies are needed to evaluate the permanence of its benefit
Human papillomavirus infection in systemic rheumatic disorders: Current concepts, challenges and expectations
No full textThere is strong evidence that women with systemic rheumatic disorders, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk for developing cervical cancer. Several epidemiological studies have shown causal relationship between human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical neoplasia in general population, nevertheless; information about the impact of HPV infection in women with rheumatic disorders treated with immunosuppressive drugs or biologic therapy is still evolving. HPV infection is more frequently observed in some rheumatic systemic diseases mainly in SLE with relevant data available. Prevalence figures in SLE for HPV infection vary from 11.8% to 54%. Recently, our group reported in Mexican women with SLE, HPV infection is 14.7%, a figure that is important for Latin America where cervical cancer is highly prevalent. Longitudinal designs have been rarely performed; one study reported an increase in frequency of HPV infection from 12.5% to 25% after 3 years of follow-up. In SLE there is a high frequency of infection with several type of virus (around 17%), most of them considered as high-risk virus for cervical neoplasia. Data in African American women with SLE show that around 3% have high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 1.2% cervical cancer. Epidemiological studies of HPV infection in other rheumatic diseases are infrequent; our group reported HPV infection in 31% of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, whereas others reported 3% in Sj�gren syndrome. Although common risk factors such as age, occupation, lifetime sexual partners, other sexually transmitted co-infections, or early age at first intercourse, are related with HPV; in rheumatic disorders the association between HPV infection with utilization of immunosuppressive drugs or with longer duration of treatment with corticosteroids but with no disease activity is relevant. Some immune abnormalities induced by the treatment have been associated with an increased frequency of HPV, where lower levels of B lymphocytes and NK cells in peripheral blood are observed in SLE under treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. TNF-? is involved in signaling apoptosis in infected cells, participating in the inhibition of viral replication, therefore TNF inhibitors may theoretically increase the risk for persistent infection but data supporting this hypothesis are still insufficient. HPV immunization with recombinant vaccine is useful to prevent precancerous cervical lesions, although; some autoimmune adverse events have been developed after the vaccine application including Guillain-Barr�, transverse myelitis, optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis or myasthenia gravis, and there are some rare case-reports of RA, SLE, mixed connective tissue disease, Sjogren syndrome, dermatomyositis and scleroderma developed after the vaccination. On counterpart, vaccination is safe in patients with inactive RA or SLE. No significant differences in seroconversion rates have been observed between users and non users of immunosuppressive drugs except for mycophenolate mofetil. In summary, HPV infection in rheumatic disorders is an exciting area for research and a future task is to design a clinical guide for preventive measures in these patients, as well as a strategy for follow-up and treatment in those patients who have HPV infection; particularly for those who receive immunosuppressive therapy or anti-TNF agents. � 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved
Efficacy of methotrexate in ankylosing spondylitis: A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial
No full textObjective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of methotrexate (MTX) compared with placebo in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods. This 24 week, double bind, randomized, placebo controlled trial compared the response between MTX 7.5 mg/week or placebo in patients with active AS. The primary outcome measure was a composite index of improvement in 5 of the following scales: severity of morning stiffness, physical well being, the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), the Health Assessment Questionnaire for Spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-S), and physician and patient global assessment of disease activity. Results. Seventeen patients received MTX and 18 placebo. In the intention-to-treat analysis at 24 weeks, 53% of patients in the MTX group had a treatment response, compared with 17% in the placebo group (p = 0.03). We observed significant improvements with MTX in physical well being (p = 0.009), BASDAI (p = 0.02), BASFI (p = 0.02), physician global assessment (p < 0.001), patient global assessment (p = 0.03), and HAQ-S (p = 0.02). In the adjusted analysis only MTX determined the improvement in the primary outcome. At the end of the trial, one patient with MTX withdrew due to a lack of compliance, and one with placebo due to a lack of efficacy. We did not observe significant differences in rates of side effects between the 2 groups. Conclusion. MTX is safe and effective for patients with AS. Longterm studies are needed to evaluate the permanence of its benefit
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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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