1,720,956 research outputs found
Evaluation of direct 16S rRNA PCR from clinical samples for bacterial detection in normally sterile body sites
No full textIntroduction: In addition to antibiotic treatment, slow-growing and non-cultivable bacteria can lead to false-negative results for sterile body site infections. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for such infections. Methodology: Following routine culture procedures, 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) PCR was performed for samples collected from sterile body sites between July 2017and September 2018. The samples were separated into two groups for likely (group 1) and unlikely infections (group 2) based on clinical and laboratory findings, as well as clinician opinion. Sequence analysis was performed for PCR-positive samples using 16S rRNA primers. Mixed chromatograms were analyzed with the RipSeq Mixed program, and Stata 15.1 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Eighty-seven of 139 samples collected from 116 patients were placed in group 1, and 52 were placed in group 2. Compared with culture as the reference method, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for 16S rRNA PCR were 89.8%, 85.6%, 77.2%, and 93.9%, respectively. 16S rRNA PCR identified infections in 13 culture-negative samples. Among these, three had Bartonella quintana, Mycoplasma salivarium, and Mycobacterium avium complex infections, which cannot be detected with commercial multiplex PCR kits. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that 16S rRNA PCR is effective for the diagnosis of sterile body site infections, especially for cases of meningitis and infective endocarditis where routine cultures fail
An Evaluation of Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Frequency and the Anti-hepatitis B Surface Seropositivity of Syrian Refugees in the Karabuk Province
No full textObjectives: To investigate the frequency of hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and HCV with anti- hepatitis B Surface (HBs) seropositivity using serological and molecular methods in Syrian refugees in the Karabuk. Materials and Methods: The study included the HBs Antigen (HBsAg), anti-HBs, anti-HCV, HCV-RNA, HBV-DNA, and HCV genotyping results of Syrian refugees who presented at the Karabuk University Training and Research Hospital between January 2016 and March 2019. Results: The 809 patients were comprised of 536 (66.3%) females and 273 (33.7%) males with a mean age of 34 years. HBsAg was found to be positive in 2.3% of patients and in all HBV-DNA were positive. The anti-HBs seropositivity rate was determined as 21.6% and a significant difference was determined between age groups (p=0.001). The anti-HCV was positive in 8 (1%) patients and the HCV-RNA viral load was determined in 7/8. In these 7 patients, the HCV genotype was determined as genotype 1b in 3, genotype 3 in 2, and genotype 4 in 2. Conclusion: This study showed that while the frequency of HBV and HCV in Syrian refugees was similar to the data for Turkey, anti-HBs seropositivity was extremely low. Hepatitis B vaccination programs for Syrian refugees should be implemented and regularly followed up
Alterations in AdeS and AdeR regulatory proteins in 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine responsive colistin resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii
No full textColistin resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains are of great concern worldwide. However, the role of efflux pumps in colistin resistance needs to be elucidated. We investigated the changes in colistin MICs of 29 colistin resistant A. baumannii isolates in response to resistance-nodulation-division (RND)-type efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) and the alterations in AdeR and AdeS two-component regulatory proteins previously associated with the overproduction of AdeAB. The EPI, 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine (NMP), led to significant reductions in colistin MICs. At least one of the following amino acid substitutions was found in AdeS proteins from 18 of the isolates: L172P, A94V, V27I, V32I, G186V, and G164A. Besides, A136V and V120I alterations were identified in AdeR from five isolates. Therefore, EPI-responsive colistin resistance in our isolates is most likely due to the action of an RND-type efflux system. The underlying mechanism of resistance might be the result of certain AdeRS alterations, leading to AdeAB overexpression
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
CAN CELL POPULATION DATA ON THE UNICEL DXH800 COULTER CELLULAR ANALYZER DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN VIRAL AND BACTERIAL ETIOLOGY OF LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION: A PRELIMINARY STUDY
No full textDispelling 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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