1,721,003 research outputs found
Prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6b-11 and 16-18 in genital condylomas
No full textAbstract in Englis
An immunoperoxidase assay for the detection of specific IgA antibody in Epstein-Barr virus infections.
No full textA technique using indirect immunoperoxidase antibody was developed for the detection of specific serum IgA antibody to Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen and early antigen. The IgA technique was compared with an immunofluorescence antibody method. Epstein-Barr virus IgA antibody against viral capsid antigen was detected in all nine patients with Epstein-Barr virus associated undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, in 13 (72.2%) of 18 patients with infectious mononucleosis, in 21 (28.3%) of 74 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and in six (20%) of 30 patients who had recently had kidney transplants. Epstein-Barr virus IgA antibody against viral capsid antigen was also detected in four (10%) of 40 healthy subjects, but it was not found in any of 20 cord blood samples. Epstein-Barr virus IgA antibody to early antigen was detected in six (66.6%) patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and in two (2.7%) patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The immunoperoxidase assay for Epstein-Barr virus specific IgA was simple, reliable, and rapid and correlated well (r = 0.94) with the immunofluorescence antibody technique
Screening dell’infezione tubercolare latente in operatori sanitari con QuantiFERON-TB e test cutaneo tubercolinico [Screening of latent tuberculosis infection in health care workers by QuantiFERON-TB and tuberculin skin test]
No full textBackground. Recent guidelines (MMWR 2005) recommend the use of QuantiFERON-TB (QFT-TB) as an alternative to the tuberculin skin test (TST) for the screening of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in health care workers (HCWs). Materials and methods. 590 HCWs were screened for LTBI by TST and QFT-TB. Results were compared with risk factors for LTBI, determined by questionnaires. Results. Both tests were significantly associated with non-Italian nationality [TCT (OR=9.17), QFT-TB (OR=3.65)], age ≥ 45 years old [TCT (OR=1.81), QFT-TB (OR=2.36)], history of household contacts [TCT (OR=2.65), QFT-TB (OR=3.37], occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB) patients [TCT (OR=2.14), QFT-TB (OR=1.93)]. 55 cases were discordant (28 QFT-TB-negatives/TCT-positives; 27 QFT-TB-positives/TCT-negatives). Both tests were not associated with workplace risk factors or TB risk level assessed in different hospital units. Conclusions. In HCWs employed in a low TB incidence area both QFT-TB and TCT were more associated with non occupational risk factors (nationality, age, household contacts) than with main determinants of workplace risk for LTBI
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Use of the ligase chain reaction on urine of men and their female sexual partners for detection of genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection
No full textObjective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate an in vitro DNA amplification assay named the ligase chain reaction (LCR) for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis cryptic plasmid DNA in urine from men and women, in comparison with urethral swab culture in men and cervical swab culture in women. Methods: 591 patients (394 men with urethritis and 197 female sex partners) attending a center for sexually transmitted diseases in northern Italy between January 1994 and January 1995 were enrolled in this study. A cervical swab was collected from women and a urethral swab from men for standard tissue cell culture. From each patient 20 mL of the first stream of the urine (FVU), taken at least 2 h after the last urination, were collected for LCR analysis. Discrepant results were further analyzed by direct fluorescence and a LCR with alternative primers. Results: In men the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection by urethral culture was 13.45% and, after resolution of discordant results, the LCR method performed on FVU showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 89.4%, 100%, 100% and 98.2%, respectively; the sensitivity of tissue cell culture was 92.8%. In female sex partners, the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection by cervical culture was 3.04%; LCR detected eight true positive samples, two more than tissue cell culture, and no false-negative results. Conclusion: LCR analysis of FVU is a rapid, non-invasive technique and represents a good alternative to tissue cell culture. Further study is needed to investigate possible LCR inhibitors present in urine samples
Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by a ligase chain reaction amplification method
No full textBackground and Objectives: The ligase chain reaction is an in vitro DNA amplification technique that exponentially amplifies selected DNA sequences. Goal: To evaluate a ligase chain reaction assay for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis cryptic plasmid DNA (LCx Chlamydia) in patients routinely attending a sexually transmitted disease center in Italy. Study Design: Urethral or cervical swabs were obtained from 501 consecutive patients (334 men and 167 women). The samples were assayed in parallel with LCx Chlamydia and conventional tissue culture; discordant results were further assayed by direct immunofluorescence and a ligase chain reaction with alternate primers. Results: After resolution of discordant results, the LCx method showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100%, 99.3%, 96.7%, and 100% in men; 100%, 100%, 100%, and 100% in women; and 100%, 99.5%, 97.1%, and 100% overall, respectively. By comparison, the sensitivity of tissue culture was 81.4% in men, 50% in women, and 77.6% overall. Conclusions: The automated LCx method is sensitive, fast, and accurate and represents a useful diagnostic tool for C. trachomatis infection, even in low and medium prevalence populations
[Screening of latent tuberculosis infection in health care workers by QuantiFERON-TB and tuberculin skin test]
No full textRecent guidelines (MMWR 2005) recommend the use of QuantiFERON-TB (QFT-TB) as an alternative to the tuberculin skin test (TST) for the screening of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in health care workers (HCWs).MATERIALS AND METHODS: 590 HCWs were screened for LTBI by TST and QFT-TB. Results were compared with risk factors for LTBI, determined by questionnaires.RESULTS: Both tests were significantly associated with non-Italian nationality [TCT (OR = 9.17), QFT-TB (OR = 3.65)], age > or = 45 years old [TCT (OR = 1.81), QFT-TB (OR = 2.36)], history of household contacts [TCT (OR = 2.65), QFT-TB (OR = 3.37], occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB) patients [TCT (OR = 2.14), QFT-TB (OR = 1.93)]. 55 cases were discordant (28 QFT-TB-negatives/TCT-positives; 27 QFT-TB-positives/TCT-negatives). Both tests were not associated with workplace risk factors or TB risk level assessed in different hospital units.CONCLUSIONS: In HCWs employed in a low TB incidence area both QFT-TB and TCT were more associated with non occupational risk factors (nationality, age, household contacts) than with main determinants of workplace risk for LTBI
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
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