1,720,963 research outputs found
High-risk sexual behavior and HIV/STDs cascade of care in migrants: Results from an Italian dedicated outpatient clinic
No full textIntroduction: Ethnical segregation and migration influence sexual health. Differences in sexual networks and the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) between racial/ethnic minorities and the native population have been described in the literature. Methodology: We collected data on sexual behavior and physical examination. Basing on CDC 2015 guidelines on STDs, anamnesis, and clinical features, screening for HIV/STDs was proposed. Results: We enrolled 209 migrants, the median age was 32.5 (26-40) years, and 146 (69.9%) were male. The most represented nationalities were Nigerian, Senegalese, and Somali, with 85 (40.7%), 68 (32.5%), and 16 (7.7%) people, respectively. Twenty-two (10.5%) patients referred perianal/genital lesions, 6 (2.9%) abdominal/pelvic discomfort, and 183 (87.6%) were asymptomatic. Almost all symptomatic patients accepted the tests. 52/183 (28.4%) asymptomatic subjects accepted the tests, and only 24/52(46.2%) performed them. Among symptomatic patients were 6 (24%) HBsAg positivities and one (4%) HCV infection. Four (16%) people had latent syphilis; in 12 (48%) people, HPV-related genital warts were present, 7 (28%) people had Molluscum contagiosum, and 6 (24%) women had pelvic inflammatory diseases. Among patients referring no symptoms, there were 10 (41.7%) HBsAg positivities, one (4.2%) HIV infection, four (16.7%) latent syphilis, one (4.2%) HPV-related genital infection, and one (4.2%) PID. Being Nigerian and having symptoms were associated with a more high acceptance of the STDs test. Having a high-risk behavior was significantly associated with the development of at least one STD. Conclusions: migrants have high-risk sexual behavior. Despite this, they have a low perception of HIV/STDs risk and healthcare needs. Particular attention should be given to improve access to HIV/STDs services that provide screening and treatment and increase the perception of healthcare needs
Infectious diseases screening approach among refugees: Results from a single-center study
No full textIntroduction: Our aim was to evaluate a screening program, with active case-finding and treatment for active tuberculosis (TB), latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), blood-borne viruses (BBV), and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among refugees living in facility centers. Methodology: We collected data on refugees arriving to our attention in migrant centers in Sardinia, Italy. Socio-demographical data, anamnesis, and clinical features were collected. TST Mantoux was conducted, and X-ray chest (XRC) was performed if TST was positive. Blood-borne virus screening was proposed to all patients. Screening for STDs was offered according to guidelines, anamnesis, and physical examination. Results: Eighty-one patients were included. Seventy (86.4%) were male, and the mean age was 24.8±5.7 years. Thirty-three (40.7%) had scabies. Overall, 40/81 (49.4%) had a positive TST Mantoux. One (2.5%) was hospitalized and died for multi-drug-resistant TB. One (2.5%) patient had intestinal-TB. 52/81 (64.2%) refused HIV screening, whereas no positivity was found among tested migrants. Sixty-two (76.5%) accepted HCV screening, and one (1.6%) had a positive test. Fifty-eight (71.6%%) accepted HBV testing, and 29 (50%) of them had positive serology. Ten (12.3%) patients had anal or genital lesions due to syphilis, Molluscum contagiosum, and HPV in 7 (70%), 2 (20%), and one (10%) case, respectively. Conclusions: Infectious diseases control and prevention are a key strategy among refugees. The stay in a migrant center is an extraordinary occasion for healthcare provision. This condition could allow a broad screening program in which quick BBV screening tests could be a good method to implement uptake. More information and educational programs would allow a higher understanding and acceptance of HIV screening
Impact of the presence of the infectious disease specialist in addiction services (SerDs) as a point-of-care to meet WHO goal of HCV eradication
No full textClinical features, laboratory findings and predictors of death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Sardinia, Italy
No full textOBJECTIVE: Since December 2019, when the first SARS-CoV2 infections have been reported, the number of cases has increased exponentially. In our University Hospital Unit, the first patient with COVID-19 was admitted on the 8th of March 2020. We aimed to investigate the predictors of death among inpatients with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective, monocentric study, consecutively enrolling patients with SARS-CoV2 infection. Clinical, laboratory, and radiological data were collected from the 8th of March to the 8th of April 2020. We aimed to describe the most frequent clinical and laboratory features and predictors of death among patients admitted to our Unit. RESULTS: 87 patients were enrolled, 56 (64.4%) were male, with a median age of 72 (IQR 62.5-83.5) years. The majority of our population had at least one comorbidity in their medical anamnesis. Hypertension and cardiovascular disease were the most frequent, followed by obesity. Eighty (92%) patients had at least one symptom, whereas 7 (8%) were asymptomatic. The most common symptoms were fever and dyspnoea. Overall, 53 patients had lung disease confirmed at CT scan (60.9%). Twenty-five (28.7%) deaths occurred. Statistically significant predictors of death at multivariate analysis were lymphocytes count <900 cells/mm3, moderate ARDS, and lack of compliance at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first Italian experience available. Our results seem to be in line with international literature. As highlighted by our data, more studies are needed to investigate the role of lymphocytes subsets, CT scan values. Furthermore, therapy choice and timing in this challenging setting should be urgently investigated in randomized clinical trials
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
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