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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
Evaluation of a therapeutic protocol against Neospora caninum-induced abortion in domestic buffalo (Bubalus bubalus) in Italy
No full textNeospora caninum is a coccidian protozoa that very closely resembles Toxoplasma gondii and causes abortion
in a variety of farm animals. This organism was first identified in 1988 as a cause of abortion in dogs and, shortly
after a different strain of Neospora was described as causing abortions in dairy cows. Neospora has been found
worldwide and is the most common cause of abortions and congenital disease in ruminants. N. caninum has a
two-host life cycle in which the infection is acquired through ingestion of coccidial oocysts shed by the definitive
host (wild or domestic canids). Antibodies against this agent have been reported in cattle, horses, goats, sheep,
deer,
hosts. A field evaluation of treatment against N. caninum induced abortions in domestic buffaloes was
undertaken in three selected dairy herds of Central Italy (named A,B,C) with a history of high number of
abortions. 430 animals, which were serologically negative for BoHV-1, BoHV-4, BVDV, Leptospira hardjo and
Chlamydophila abortus were included in the study. In the farm A all animals were treated and sera were
collected after 1 year. In the farm B all animals were treated following the same protocol of farm A, but the
control sera were collected after six months and, finally, in the farm C only a little group of animals were treated
and maintained in the infected farm. Sulphadiazine 200mg/ml and Trimethoprim 40mg/ml was given to the
animals at 15mg/kg body weight following different age-depending protocols. Toltrazuril 50mg/ml was also given
at 20mg/kg body weight to newborn buffalo and once every three months to the dogs present in the farms. The
environment of the farm was disinfected with phenolic disinfectants periodically. A significant reduction of
serological values was observed in farms A and B but not in C. Similarly, the percentage of abortions decreased
from 24.7 to 3.2 in farm A and from 13 to 1 in farm B (p>0.001), while no difference was observed in farm C. The
treatment with Sulphadiazine/Trimethoprim and/or Toltrazuril resulted in drastic reduction in both abortions and
seroprevalence since after six months from treatment in farm A and B, while when treated animals were
maintained in an infected environment and in contact with infected animals, the proposed therapeutic treatment
failed
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
Three years evaluation of a therapeutic protocol against Neospora caninum - induced abortion in domestic bovidae in Central Italy
No full textAIM OF THE STUDY
A retrospective study of Toltrazuril and/or Sulphadiazine and Trimethoprim based therapeutic protocol against Neospora caninum – induced abortion in Cattle and Buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis) was carried out in Central Italy to assess the benefits of this therapeutic tool as control strategy in terms of reduction of abortion and seropositive prevalence.
BACKGROUND
Neospora caninum is a protozoal parasite considered to be one of the major causes of foetal and economic losses in the dairy bovidae industry worldwide (Dubey JP, 2003).
Explorative investigations had shown that Toltrazuril can be effective against experimental Neosporosis in the murine (Eperon et al. 1999; Gottstein et al. 2001; Darius et al. 2004), bovine (Kritzner et al., 2002; Cuteri et al., 2005) and buffalo (Cuteri et al., 2006) model. Besides reducing abortion and infertility rates in pregnant bovidae, Toltrazuril-treatment also affected directly the infection course in the fetuses, which is best demonstrated by the lack of postnatal death in offspring of Toltrazuril-treated mothers vs postnatal death of some of the newborns of non-treated mothers (Gottstein et al., 2005).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
54 cattle and 12 domestic buffalo dairy herds with a known considerable abortion rates per year were investigated in a three years study. Serological survey was carried out to ascertain the degree of Neospora caninum prevalence in the herds. Toltrazuril 50mg/ml was administered to all newborn bovidae present in the farms at 20mg/kg bw. Sulphadiazine 200mg/ml and Trimethoprim 40mg/ml was given to the bovidae at 20mg/kg bw, as per age-dependent protocols, and phenolic disinfectant was employed for periodic treatment of the environment.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
Serological investigation in all farms revealed a Neospora caninum mean seroprevalence of 58.65%.
Application of the therapeutic protocol to all animals present in the farm plus periodic treatment of the environment results in a steady declined of mean abortion rate from 9.5% to 0.5%, and mean seroprevalence of N. caninum from 58.65% to 0.57% in all evaluated herds during the three years study period (2006 – 2008).
This study confirmed the efficacy of Toltrazuril and/ or Sulphadiazine and Trimethoprim based therapeutic protocol in the control of Neospora caninum – induced abortion in dairy bovidae herds.
In summary, it can be concluded that serology is an appropriate tool to assess efficiency of the treatment of Neosporosis in bovidae, and that the Toltrazuril and/or Sulphadiazine and Trimethoprim therapeutic protocol has a great potential to reduce Neospora caninum-induced abortion in cattle and buffalo
Clinical field trial to assess the efficacy of two different enrofloxacin (Baytril® 2.5%) oral concentrations against scours in lambs due to E. coli
No full textAIM OF THE STUDY
Multicentric, controlled and randomised study was carried out to verify and compare the clinical and bacteriological efficacy of two different oral therapeutic protocols (Baytril® 2.5%, Bayer, Italy) against E. coli induced clinical diarrhoea in lambs.
BACKGROUND
Infectious diarrhoea of neonatal animals is one of the most common and economically devastating conditions encountered in the animal agriculture industry. Recent studies suggest that 30% of lambs may be affected, with a mortality rate in Europe of 10%. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is considered as the most important bacterial pathogen and diarrhoea-causing E. coli possess colonization antigens or adhesins that enable the bacteria to colonize the small intestines. The K99 (F5) fimbrial antigen has been reported to be associated with a majority of enterotoxigenic E. coli isolated from cases of diarrhoea most commonly in lambs between 2-15 days old.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field trial were carried out on 80 lambs aged between 2-15 days resulted bacteriologically positive to E. coli sensitive to Enrofloxacin. The lambs were submitted to the enrolment visit and enclosed if they showed acute or hyperacute diarrhoea, body temperature higher than 39.6°C, decreased appetite and/or lethargy and/or other general signs of disease. Lambs receiving systemic treatments, either anti-infective or anti-inflammatory, within the previous ten days were excluded. After a randomly allotment to one of two treatment groups (group A: 2.5mg/kg b.w. of Enrofloxacin (Baytril® 2.5%-Bayer) orally once for 3 consecutive days, and group B: 5mg/kg b.w. of Enrofloxacin (Baytril® 2.5%-Bayer) orally once for 3 consecutive days), all lambs received a daily physical examination on days 1 (enrolment day), 2, 3, 5, 7 and 14. The following evaluation parameters were gathered: rectal temperature, general conditions, faecal consistency, dehydration, and on days 1 (before treatment), 5, and 14, faecal swabs to evaluate the bacteriological cure of animals were collected.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
Enrofloxacin (Baytril® 2.5%-Bayer) orally administered improved the general conditions, the faecal consistency and the dehydration state of all animals. Compared to the group A, the lambs receiving double dose of Enrofloxacin showed a significative shorter bacteriological and clinical cure at 5th (P=0.0056) and 3rd day post treatment (PT) (P=0.0015), respectively. Moreover, already after 3 days (PT) a normal faecal consistency was observed in 50% of lambs belonging to the group B in comparison to 10% of animals of group A (P=0.0001). The double oral concentration significantly improved hydration status (P<0.0017): at 5th day (PT) a 72.5% vs 97.5% of lambs had a completely recovery (hydration), respectively in group A and B.
The oral administration of Enrofloxacin (Baytril® 2.5%-Bayer) is a quick, practical and efficacious way to treat diarrhoea in lambs due to E. coli. The facility in use (employment) and the attractiveness characterize this product that at the concentration of 5mg/kg b.w can be recommended as a good support for a fast bacteriological and clinical recovery of diarrhoea in lambs
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
Application of a new therapeutic protocol against Neospora caninum-induced abortion in cattle: a field study.
No full textA field evaluation of a new therapeutic protocol based on Toltrazuril and/or Sulphadiazine and Trimethoprim was carried out for treatment of Neospora caninum-induced abortion in dairy cattle. 936 randomly chosen Friesian bovine belonging to 18 dairy herds of Central and South Italy with history of high number of abortions per year were considered.
Since the high N. caninum seroprevalence, Sulphadiazine 200 mg/ml and Trimethoprim 40 mg/ml was given to the cattle at a dosage of 20 mg/kg bw, following different age-depending protocols. Toltrazuril 50 mg/ml was also given at 20 mg/kg bw to newborn cattle and once every three months for one year to the dogs present in the farm; a periodic treatment of environment was carried out with a phenolic disinfectant.
The concomitant treatment of all the animals present in the herd, dogs included, with a Toltrazuril and/or Sulphadiazine and Trimethoprim based protocol was efficacious for treatment of N. caninum infection in dairy cows. The efficacy of this protocol was demonstrated by drastic reduction of abortion (from 188 to 9) and of N. caninum seroprevalence (from 68.7% to 0%) after one year of treatment
CLINICAL EVALUATION OF ENROFLOXACIN (BAYTRIL® 5% INJECTABLE SOLUTION, BAYER, ITALY) AGAINST STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS CLINICAL MASTITIS IN SHEEP
No full textMastitis in ewes has been reported to occur in all the major sheep-breeding countries. The disease is economically important for both sheep and dairy farmers, because of premature culling of ewes and the reduced performance of lambs that nurse from mastitis ewes. The objective of this research were to evaluate the potential role of commercially available enrofloxacin (Baytril®, Bayer, Italy) in controlling the severity of the clinical signs, to improve cure rates against Staphylococcus aureus and to minimize the effects of the disease on the mammary gland.. These studies were conducted in commercial dairy herds where there was ongoing intensive monitoring of subclinical mastitis by Somatic Cell Count (SCC) and bacteriology. From these herds, 2 different groups namely Group A (n=34 animals) and Group B (n=39 animals) were selected and treated with enrofloxacin (Baytril® 5% injectable solution) 2.5mg/kg/bw and 5mg/kg/bw, respectively for three consecutive days (2 dose per day). The efficiency of the enrofloxacin in curing the S. aureus-induced clinical mastitis were monitored with SCC, rectal temperature, local mammary reaction and systemic reaction from the day 1 (D1) to 14th day (D14) of post treatment. The presence or absence of S. aureus in the sheep was confirmed by bacteriological examination and followed by PCR with specific primer, SA nuc, before and after the treatment.
The percentage of bacteriological cure was 39% in Group A and the 82% in Group B. The SCC reduction from D1 to D14 was statistically significant (P<0.001) for both group and also between the groups. The mean rectal temperature also decreased significantly (P<0.001) from D1 to D14 in both groups. The local mammary reaction and systemic reaction were decreased significantly in both treated groups.
In conclusion, both enrofloxacin concentration shows good response in reducing clinical signs of mastitis like reduction in SCC, rectal temperature, better attitude and bacteriological cure, but the 5mg/kg/bw concentration used in Group B shows best results when compared with 2.5mg/kg/bw concentration of Group A. The present study provides the evidence that Baytril® 5% injectable solution could helps in controlling the S. aureus-induced clinical mastitis in sheep
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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