1,721,045 research outputs found
HIV replication, inflammation and atherogenesis : dangerous liaisons
No full textComment on:
Treatment-related changes in serum lipids and inflammation: clinical relevance remains unclear. Analyses from the Women's Interagency HIV study. [AIDS. 2013 Jun 1;27(9):1516-9]
Notes on the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus infection
No full textThe acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a clinically multifaceted disease induced by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Infection with HIV is usually followed by a period of clinical latency which is followed by development of AIDS and death. The factors that influence the evolution of HIV infection, and therefore determine the natural history of the disease in each patient are currently unknown, but the profound dysregulation of immunity characteristic of HIV infection is likely to play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the disease. Thus, the complex interplay between two different factors, HIV itself and the immune response to the virus, is at the basis of the disease. In this brief review we will summarize the evidences indicating that HIV infection is a virus-induced and mainly immunologically mediated diseas
Vaccine strategies for infectious diseases
No full textInfectious diseases are the major cause of death worldwide; in developing countries such diseases are responsible for nearly half the burden of premature death and disability. Therefore, the need for the development of new vaccine strategies aimed at preventing or limiting disease is extremely urgent. Important successes have been achieved against some infectious diseases that were once endemic or, even, epidemic (e.g., polio, smallpox, diptheria). Advances in our knowledge of the pathogenesis and immune correlates of protections are needed to develop novel vaccinal approaches to diseases such as hepatitis C, AIDS and malaria. In this review we will analyse the biological problems associated with the prevention of development and/or improvement of vaccine strategies for infectious diseases, focusing on the difficulties facing the creation of new effective vaccines for HIV infection and malaria
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
HIV/AIDS : epidemic update, new treatment strategies and impact on autoimmunity
No full textHuman Immunodefi ciency Virus (HIV)infection represents one of the most serious challenges to global public
health, since more than 30 million
people are living with HIV/AIDS
worldwide. Highly active antiretroviral
treatment (HAART) introduction has
dramatically changed the mortality
and morbidity of HIV-affected subjects
in industrialized countries but has implied
an evolution of many HIV-related
aspects, both in the utilisation of new
antiretroviral drugs options and in the
newly-observed spectrum of HIV-associated
diseases, including the rheumatic
pathology.
Current epidemiological, therapeutic,
autoimmune and rheumatic aspects of
HIV-1 infection are here discussed
Effects of Lactobacillus salivarius LS01 (DSM 22775) treatment on adult atopic dermatitis : a randomized placebo-controlled study
No full textAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease characterized by
xerosis, pruritus and eczema. The role of probiotics in the prevention and the
treatment of AD have been extensively studied in children with controversial
results while there are few studies on an adult population. The aim of this
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is to evaluate the clinical
efficacy of the intake of a probiotic strain (Lactobacillus salivarius LS01) in
the treatment of adult patients with AD. A group of 38 patients was treated with
probiotics or placebo (maltodextrin) for 16 weeks. The study was performed from
January (T0) to May, 2009 (T16). The assessment of efficacy was based on change
in SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) index, dermatology life quality index
(DLQI) improvement, cytokine production by PBMCs and ability to modify faecal
microbial flora. No significant adverse events were recorded during the study.
Patients treated with probiotics showed a statistically improvement of both
clinical parameters (SCORAD p<0.0001 and DLQI p= 0.021) at the end of
treatment (T16) compared with the placebo group. Furthermore, after four months
of treatment there was a significant reduction of Th1 cytokines (IL-12+IFNgamma)
(p= 0.03) and Th1/Th2 ratio (IL-12+IFNgamma/IL-4+IL-5) (p= 0.019) only in
placebo-treated patients. A statistically relevant decrease of staphylococci in
faeces of the probiotictreated group was also observed at the end of treatment.
In our study, the administration of L. salivarius LS01 was well tolerated and was
associated with a significant improvement of clinical manifestation and QoL. This
probiotic strain could have an important role in modulating Th1/Th2 cytokine
profiles and could be considered as an important adjunctive therapy in the
treatment of adult AD
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