305,198 research outputs found

    Molecular identification of Borrelia valaisiana and HGE-Ehrlichia in Ixodes ricinus tick sampled in North East Italy: first report in Veneto region

    No full text
    PCR amplification was applied to screen the presence of both Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and Ehrlichia species in pools of field-collected Ixodes ricinus ticks. The specimens so far analysed (n = 55), grouped in 11 pools, were sampled in Feltre area (Veneto region, NE Italy). Five pools proved positive for B. valaisiana (45%) and one of them (9%) was also positive for Ehrlichia, that was further characterised as a HGE-like Ehrlichia. This is the first report of the two bacteria in the Veneto region. The pool positive for both pathogens was used to adjust a multiplex PCR assay, which allowed the detection and identification of both parasites in a single experiment. The advantages offered by this assay, when standardised, will substantially broaden the perspectives of ecological and epidemiological investigations on animal/human Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis, greatly facilitating disease surveillance and control programs

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

    No full text
    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

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

    No full text
    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

    Leptospirosis survey in wild rodents living in urban areas of Rome.

    No full text
    The aim of the study was to survey the current extension of the infected brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) living on the site Ripa Grande-San Michele port located in the center of the sity along the accessible right bank of the Tiber river by using a specific molecular technology. The detection of Leptospira, in 11 trapped brown rats, by tube-based Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed. The amplified samples were analysed by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Sequence analysis of the amplified DNAs confirmed the specificity of the detection of leptospires. Five out of 11 brown rats exhibited positivity for Leptospira. The survey points out the high rate of leptospiral infection in the brown rats living in the most ancient urban area of Rome

    Determinazione di anticorpi specifici anti-Rickettsia conori

    No full text
    The authors tested by three methods Weil Felix serodiagnosis, C.M.F and ELISA, the sera of 32 patients with "fievre boutonneuse". For the latter two techniques, a specific antigen of R. conori was employed. The best results were obtained by the immune enzymatic assay

    Author, publisher and bookseller : a tripartite synergy in Nigerian book industry

    No full text
    This work is about the roles of Author, Publisher and Bookseller in Book development in Nigeria. The paper started by delving into the history of Book Publishing in Nigeria after which it proceeded by defining who an author, a publisher, and a bookseller is and expatiated on the indispensable roles of these key actors in Nigerian Book Industry and in the emerging Information Society. Furthermore, the various constraints to book development were identified while the paper advised on how the Book Industry can be further promoted in Nigeria. However, the paper concluded and made recommendations on how the Book sector can help in enhancing scholarship in the country

    I trend dei tumori in Italia negli anni duemila (1998-2005). Italian Cancer Trend (1998-2005).

    No full text
    Objective: the aim of this collaborative project of the Italian Network of Cancer Registries (Airtum; www.registri-tumori.it) was to analyse cancer incidence and mortality trends in Italy with special reference to the period 1998-2005. Method: the study was based on the Airtum database, which collects and checks data from all the Airtum registries. The present study was based on 20 general and 2 specific population based cancer registries. Overall, we analysed 818,017 incident cases and 342,444 cancer deaths for the time period 1998-2005. Seventy percent of the analysed population was from the North of Italy, 17% from the Centre, and 13% from the South. A joinpoint analysis was carried out to detect the point in time where the trend changed; trends are described by means of the estimated annual percent change (APC), with appropriate 95% confidence intervals. Crude and standardized incidence and mortality rates were computed for 36 cancer sites, for both sexes, three age-classes (0-49, 50-69 and 70+ years), and three geographic areas (North, Centre, and South of Italy). Specific chapters are devoted to long-term trends (1986-2005), differences among age-groups, and international comparisons. Results: In 1998-2005, cancer mortality for all sites showed a statistically significant decrease among men (APC - 1.7) and women (- 0.8). Mortality significantly decreased in both sexes for stomach cancer, rectum cancer, liver cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Mortality also decreased among men for cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, oesophagus, lung, prostate, urinary bladder, and leukaemia. Among women mortality decreased for cancers of the colon, bone, breast, and uterus not otherwise specified. An increase in mortality was recorded for lung cancer among women (+1.5) and melanoma among men (+2.6). Incidence for all cancers together (except non-melanoma skin cancers) increased among men (APC +0.3) and remained stable among women. Cancer sites which showed increasing incidence were thyroid and melanoma in both sexes, colon, testis, soft tissue among men, and lung and Hodgkin lymphoma among women. For several cancer sites incidence decreased, e.g., stomach and Kaposi sarcoma (men and women), upper aerodigestive tract, oesophagus, lung, urinary bladder, myeloma and leukaemia (men), gallbladder, cervix uteri and ovary (women). Conclusions: this monograph presents a detailed description of cancer incidence and mortality trends in Italy. It is based on the Italian Network of Cancer Registries which presently covers about one-third of the whole Italian population. This monograph is a useful scientific tool for all those, be they researchers or public health administrators, who are involved in the fields of cancer prevention and care
    corecore