1,720,967 research outputs found
Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 and echocardiography in sepsis
Full text linkSoluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) has emerged as a biomarker of cardiac stretch or remodeling, and has demonstrated a role in acutely decompensated heart failure. However, its role in sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction is still unknown. We explored whether sST2 serum concentration reflects either systolic or diastolic dysfunction as measured by Doppler echocardiography. In a total of 127 patients with sepsis, correlations between sST2 and blood pressure, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV diastolic filling (ratio of early transmitral flow velocity to early diastolic mitral annulus velocity), and resting pulmonary arterial pressure were evaluated. Correlations between sST2 and other sepsis biomarkers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] and procalcitonin) were also examined. sST2 showed a moderate correlation with mean arterial pressure (r=-0.3499) but no correlation with LV ejection fraction, diastolic filling, or resting pulmonary hypertension. It showed moderate correlations with hs-CRP and procalcitonin (r=0.2608 and r=0.3829, respectively). sST2 might have a role as a biomarker of shock or inflammation, but it cannot reflect echocardiographic findings of LV ejection fraction or diastolic filling in sepsis
Reference Intervals of Platelets, Lymphocytes and Cardiac Biomarkers in Umbilical Cord Blood
Full text linkThe umbilical cord blood (UCB) can be used for early detection of neonatal diseases. The UCB can be used for early detection of neonatal diseases. Establishing reference intervals is essential for appropriate interpretation of results of laboratory tests using UCB and for correct medical decisions of pediatricians and neonatologists. The use of proper refer‐ ence intervals provides reliable information to pediatricians and neonatologists; thus, they could make correct medical decisions for neonates. This chapter discussed refer‐ ence intervals of platelets, lymphocytes, and cardiac biomarkers in UCB according to the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Except iatrogenic anemia, thrombo‐ cytopenia is the most common hematologic abnormality in neonates. Immature platelet fraction is a novel parameter to estimate megakaryopoiesis and can be useful to under‐ stand the mechanism of thrombocytopenia, platelet destruction or bone marrow failure, in neonates. Lymphocyte counts, T cell and B cell, can reflect status of immune system in fetus and neonates. Especially Tregs in UCB may contribute to maintain the immune homeostasis in the feto‐maternal relationship, and the presence of Tregs would be essen‐ tial to prevent immune dysregulation in fetus and neonates. Congenital heart disease or defect is the most common birth defect in newborns. Cardiac biomarkers are essential to evaluate heart function and to give information of myocardial injury, necrosis, or myo‐ cardial stretch. There are no current guidelines for their routine use in children
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
Soluble ST2 has a prognostic role in patients with suspected sepsis
No full textBackground: Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) has emerged as a novel biomarker for heart failure, and serum sST2 concentrations could be increased in inflammatory diseases. We explored whether sST2 is related to cardiac dysfunction/failure and has a prognostic role in patients with suspected sepsis. Methods: In a total of 397 patients with suspected sepsis, sST2 concentrations were measured by using the Presage ST2 Assay (Critical Diagnostics, USA). sST2 concentrations were analyzed according to procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations, cardiovascular subscores of the sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and clinical outcomes. Results: sST2 concentrations were increased significantly according to the five groups of PCT concentrations and cardiovascular subscores of the SOFA score ( P <0.000001 and P =0.036, respectively). In-hospital mortality was significantly higher among patients with sST2 concentrations above 35 ng/mL ( P =0.0213) and among patients with increased concentrations of both sST2 and PCT ( P =0.0028). Conclusions: sST2 seems to be related to both cardiac dysfunction/failure and severity in sepsis. Measurement of sST2 and PCT in combination would be useful for risk stratification and prognosis prediction in patients with suspected sepsis
Multi-marker approach using procalcitonin, presepsin, galectin-3, and soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 for the prediction of mortality in sepsis
Full text linkBackground: Biomarker could be objective and reliable tools to predict mortality in sepsis. We explored the prognostic utilities of emerging biomarkers in septic patients and questioned whether adding biomarkers to the clinical variables would improve the prediction of mortality in sepsis. Methods: This retrospective study included 157 septic patients (112 patients with sepsis; 45 patients with septic shock). Procalcitonin (PCT), presepsin, galectin-3, and soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) concentrations were analyzed in relation to the 30-day all-cause mortality. Their value added on top of Sequential (Sepsis-related) Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and white blood cells was also analyzed. Results: PCT could not predict 30-day mortality. Univariate hazard ratio [HR with 95% confidence interval (CI)] of the other dichotomized variables was: 1.33 (0.55–3.194) for presepsin; 7.87 (2.29–26.96) for galectin-3; 1.55 (0.71–3.38) for sST2; and 2.18 (1.01–4.75) for SOFA score. The risk of 30-day mortality increased stepwise as the number of biomarkers above optimal cutoff values increased, and the highest risk was observed when all four biomarkers and SOFA score increased (HR = 14.5). Multi-marker approach predicted 30-day mortality better than SOFA score [area under the curves (95% CI), 0.769 (0.695–0.833) vs. 0.615 (0.535–0.692)]. In reclassification analyses, adding biomarkers to clinical variables improved the prediction of mortality. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a possible prognostic utility of PCT, presepsin, galectin-3, and sST2 in sepsis. Multi-marker approach could be beneficial for an optimized management of patients with sepsis
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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