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    Evaluation of the occurrence of genetic determinants of multi-drug resistance among Acinetobacter baumannii strains

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    Introduction: The aim of the study was the analysis of occurrence of genetic determinants of multi-drug resistance and the assessment of genetic relationship among Acinetobacter baumannii strains. Methods: Multiplex-PCR method was performed in order to: (1) confirm the phenotypic identification and (2) detect the presence of CHDL oxacillinases in the group of thirty A. baumannii strains. Further PCR studies included the analysis of the occurrence of genetic determinants associated with efflux pump, insertion sequence and biofilm formation. The relationship between bacterial strains was assayed using 6 primers in RAPD-PCR method. Results: Detection of the blaOXA51likbla_{OX A-51- lik} e gene confirmed that the strains belong to the A. baumannii species. In the multiplex-PCR, the presence of the blaOXA23likebla_{OXA-23-like} and blaOXA40likebla_{OXA-40-like} genes was detected in 3 (10%) and 27 (90%) isolates, respectively. Moreover, some strains showed the coexistence of the blaOXA51likebla_{OX A-51- like} and blaOXA23likebla_{OXA-23-like} genes (10%, n=3) or blaOXA51likebla_{OX A-51- like} and blaOXA40likbla_{OXA-40-lik}e (90%, n=27). In the group of analysed strains the presence of the efflux pump gene (adeA) and the insertion sequence ISAba1 were demonstrated in all tested isolates. Biofilm-related genes (abaI, csuE) were found in 100% and 97% (n=29) tested strains adequately. The RAPD-PCR studies revealed the presence of 10 unrelated genotypes. Conclusions: The obtained results suggest that the phenomenon of multi-drug resistance in the studied A. baumannii strains could be attributed to the occurrence of CHDL oxacillinases, AdeABC efflux pump, insertion sequence ISAba1 and the biofilm formation

    Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) colonize human skin and mucosal membranes, which is why they are considered harmless commensal bacteria. Two species, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus belong to the group of CoNS species and are most frequently isolated from nosocomial infections, including device-associated healthcare-associated infections (DA-HAIs) and local or systemic body-related infections (FBRIs). Methicillin resistance, initially described in Staphylococcus aureus, has also been reported in CoNS species. It is mediated by the mecA gene within the staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCCmec). SCCmec typing, primarily using PCR-based methods, has been employed as a molecular epidemiological tool. However, the introduction of whole genome sequencing (WGS) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) has enabled the identification and verification of new SCCmec types. This review describes the current distribution of SCCmec types, subtypes, and variants among CoNS species, including S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, and S. capitis. The literature review focuses on recent research articles from the past decade that discuss new combinations of SCCmec in coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. The high genetic diversity and gaps in CoNS SCCmec annotation rules underscore the need for an efficient typing system. Typing SCCmec cassettes in CoNS strains is crucial to continuously updating databases and developing a unified classification system

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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

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    We 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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