1,721,083 research outputs found
Spatial analysis of community-onset Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in Queensland, Australia
No full textObjectives. To investigate and describe the relationship between indigenous Australian populations, residential aged care services, and community-onset Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) among patients admitted to public hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Design. Ecological study. Methods. We used administrative healthcare data linked to microbiology results from patients with SAB admitted to Queensland public hospitals from 2005 through 2010 to identify community-onset infections. Data about indigenous Australian population and residential aged care services at the local government area level were obtained from the Queensland Office of Economic and Statistical Research. Associations between community-onset SAB and indigenous Australian population and residential aged care services were calculated using Poisson regression models in a Bayesian framework. Choropleth maps were used to describe the spatial patterns of SAB risk. Results. We observed a 21% increase in relative risk (RR) of bacteremia with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA; RR, 1.21 [95% credible interval, 1.15-1.26]) and a 24% increase in RR with nonmultiresistant methicillin-resistant S. aureus (nmMRSA; RR, 1.24 [95% credible interval, 1.13-1.34]) with a 10% increase in the indigenous Australian population proportion. There was no significant association between RR of SAB and the number of residential aged care services. Areas with the highest RR for nmMRSA and MSSA bacteremia were identified in the northern and western regions of Queensland. Conclusions. The RR of community-onset SAB varied spatially across Queensland. There was increased RR of community-onset SAB with nmMRSA and MSSA in areas of Queensland with increased indigenous population proportions. Additional research should be undertaken to understand other factors that increase the risk of infection due to this organism
Typing early Australian healthcare-associated MRSA: confirmation of major clones and emergence of ST1-MRSA-IV and novel ST2249-MRSA-III
No full textAims: To investigate the evolutionary origins of Australian healthcare-associated (HCA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from a panel of historical isolates typed using current genotyping techniques. Methods: Nineteen MRSA isolates from 1965 to 1981 were examined and antibiotic susceptibility profiles determined. Genetic characterisation included real-time (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to identify single nucleotide polymorhpism (SNP) clonal complexes (SNP CC) and sequence type (SNP ST), multi locus sequence typing (MLST) and staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec typing. Results: All SNP CC30 isolates belonged to a novel sequence type, ST2249. All SNP CC239 isolates were confirmed as ST239-MRSA-III, except for a new single locus variant of ST239, ST2275. A further new type, ST2276, was identified. Conclusions: The earliest MRSA examined from 1965 was confirmed as ST250-MRSA-I, consistent with archaic European types. Identification of ST1-MRSA-IV in 1981 is the earliest appearance of this clinically important lineage which manifested in Australia and the United States in the 1990s. A previously unknown multi-resistant clone, ST2249-MRSA-III, was identified from 1973. Gentamicin resistance first appeared in this novel strain from 1976 and not ST239 as previously suspected. Thus, ST2249 was present in the earliest phase of the HCA MRSA epidemic in eastern Australia and was perhaps related to the emergence of the globally epidemic strain ST239.Office of the Snr Dep Vice Chancellor, Institute for GlycomicsNo Full Tex
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
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
The use of Normal Human Immunoglobulin (NHIG) in the public health management of communicable diseases: effectiveness and efficiency
No full textPassive immunisation is an important means of preventing communicable diseases post-exposure, particularly for subpopulations most vulnerable to complications from infection. The blood product normal human immunoglobulin (NHIG) is used in Australia for post-exposure prophylaxis in certain non-immune populations to prevent measles and hepatitis A and is recommended in certain circumstances for non-immune pregnant women to prevent rubella and congenital rubella syndrome. Practices with respect to passive immunisation post-exposure for these conditions vary around the globe and importantly, vary among countries similar to Australia such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The series of studies presented here aimed to understand the possible reasons behind these differences in practice and, using this information, make recommendations for the most effective and efficient use of NHIG in public health practice in Australia.
An overview of passive immunisation, rubella, measles, and hepatitis A and the public health management of these conditions, current at the time of thesis commencement, is provided. This is followed by an exploration of why practices of passive immunisation post-exposure to measles, rubella and hepatitis A might vary among high-income countries, concluding that a lack of collated evidence of the effectiveness of passive immunisation for preventing measles and rubella, unanswered questions about the minimum effective doses of NHIG as post-exposure prophylaxis for each disease, and differences in disease-specific antibodies in available immunoglobulin products may be significant.
To redress these deficits, two systematic reviews collated existing evidence of the effectiveness of passive immunisation for preventing measles, and rubella and congenital rubella syndrome; disease-specific antibody concentrations were measured in samples of Australian blood products used for passive immunisation; and simulation modelling validated by the preliminary results of a clinical trial were used to estimate the minimum effective doses of NHIG required for post-exposure prophylaxis for each disease. A budgetary impact assessment was then conducted utilising the data from a study of NHIG usage in Australia to examine the financial implications of the recommended changes to passive immunisation practice in Australia made as a result of the newly available evidence.
The first systematic review collated and synthesised the evidence of the effectiveness of passive immunisation for preventing measles post-exposure concluding that passive immunisation is effective for preventing measles up to seven days post-exposure and that a dose-response is likely. The second systematic review collated and synthesised the evidence of the effectiveness of passive immunisation for preventing rubella and congenital rubella syndrome post-exposure concluding that passive immunisation seems to be effective for preventing rubella up to five days post-exposure, but that insufficient evidence exists to directly examine effectiveness for preventing congenital rubella syndrome. Again, a dose-response seemed likely.
The concentrations of measles and rubella antibodies in Australian NHIG and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) were quantified. Measles titres in Australian NHIG ranged from 51 to 76 IU/mL and those in IVIG ranged from 6 to 24 IU/mL as measured by the plaque-reduction neutralisation test. The minimum concentration of rubella antibodies measured in Australian NHIG was 2108 IU/mL, while in Australian IVIG it was 268 IU/mL as measured by a chemiluminescent assay. Australian NHIG is made to the European Pharmacopoeia standard of 100 IU/mL of hepatitis A antibodies, so these were not further quantified.
Pharmacokinetic modelling using a two-compartment model with first order absorption estimated the minimum effective doses of NHIG required to prevent measles, rubella and hepatitis A. The minimum effective dose of measles-specific antibodies was estimated as 25.5 IU/kg. The minimum effective dose of rubella-specific antibodies was estimated as less than 13 IU/kg. The minimum effective dose of hepatitis Aspecific antibodies was estimated at 3.6 IU/kg. Model predictions of serum concentrations of hepatitis A antibodies seemed consistent with the preliminary results of the clinical trial of NHIG administration to healthy non-immune volunteers.
Comparing the estimated minimum effective doses alongside the evidence of effectiveness with current practice resulted in the following recommendations for alterations to post-exposure passive immunisation in Australia:
* For measles control: Increase the dose of NHIG recommended to 0.5 mL/kg without a volume limit. Where calculated doses are large, consider including the option of intravenous IG dosing and if this is adopted, limit the recommendations for post-exposure passive immunisation to those most vulnerable to measles complications.
* For rubella control: Decrease the dose of NHIG to 0.5 mL for non-immune pregnant women weighing up to 160kg or 1 mL for those weighing greater than 160 kg. Offer post-exposure passive immunisation within five days of first exposure followed by serial serology to enable identification of asymptomatic disease.
* For hepatitis A control: Individual clinical assessment may indicate an increased dose is warranted for contacts weighing more than 85 kg. In this case, the recommended dose is 0.036 mL/kg.
The use of NHIG in public health practice in Queensland and Australia over a decade was documented from routinely collected data, highlighting that NHIG was used variably for measles post-exposure prophylaxis, rarely for hepatitis A post-exposure prophylaxis and hadn’t been documented for rubella post-exposure prophylaxis. The potential budgetary impact at a national level of implementing the recommended changes to passive immunisation practice using the cost calculator method was found to be minimal, even in a ‘worst case’ scenario analysis where the maximal spend was for measles control and was less than AU$350 000 per year. When the scenario for analysis approximated historical estimates, implementing the recommended changes was either approximately equal in cost to current practice, or cost saving.
It was therefore concluded that public health practice with respect to passive immunisation post-exposure to measles, rubella and hepatitis A should change in Australia in line with the above recommendations.
Adoption of the recommendations of this program of research on the effectiveness and efficiency of passive immunisation for the public health management of measles, rubella and hepatitis A in Australia may improve the effectiveness of this intervention and either minimally impact on government health spending or be cost saving. A number of the studies contained herein provide valid benchmarks for future research or quality audits, including the first published concentrations of measles and rubella antibodies in Australian NHIG and IVIG, and the first published Australian usage of NHIG for post-exposure prophylaxis. At a global level, the systematic reviews of effectiveness of passive immunisation for preventing measles and rubella and congenital rubella post-exposure, and also the published pharmacokinetic model, have application for countries revising their own public health guidelines.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)School of MedicineGriffith HealthFull Tex
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
- …
