1,720,991 research outputs found

    Autologous bone marrow transplantation in 44 patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at University ''La Sapienza'' of Rome

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    High dose therapy followed by infusion of autologous bone narrow has become a major treatment option for an increasing number of poor prognosis non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients. In our study we analyzed the outcome of autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) in 44 high grade NHL patients transplanted at our institution between 1985 and 1992. Median age was 31 years (range 12-61); nineteen were in partial remission (PR) after first line chemotherapy and 25 in sensitive relapse (SR). Of the 25 patients transplanted in SR, 14 relapsed after a median time of 5.5 months (range 1-26), 8 are in complete remission after a median follow up of 41.5 months and three died from toxicity. Of the 19 patients grafted in PR, 11 are alive and progression free after a median follow up of 52 months, while 8 relapsed at a median time of 5 months. The overall progression free survival (PFS) projected at 6 years is 35% with a 47% PFS for patients transplanted in PR and 28% for patients in SR. In conclusion, high dose therapy and ABMT has achieved widespread use as salvage therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory high grade NHL. In particular, our experience confirms that myeloablative treatment is a safe and well tolerated procedure for patients in PR, that may be easily applied as early salvage therapy without major toxicities

    Galactomannan detection in Geotrichum capitatum invasive infections: report of 2 new cases and review of diagnostic options

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    We report 2 cases of Geotrichum capitatum infection in leukemia patients for which Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) assay was positive. The diagnostic options of G. capitatum infections in hematologic patients were reviewed. Although the pathogen was isolated from blood in 77% of cases, diagnostic difficulties remain and GM assay may have a role. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

    Prospective Cytomegalovirus Monitoring During First-Line Chemotherapy in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia

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    Little is known about the incidence and clinical impact of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in patients with acute myeloid leukemia at the time of diagnosis and during chemotherapy. The aims of the present study were to assess prospectively the incidence of active CMV infection in 69 consecutive patients with acute myeloid leukemia and to describe the outcomes of treatment. pp65 antigenemia was monitored at diagnosis, post-induction and post-consolidation chemotherapy, and whenever CMV reactivation was suspected. Patients with pp65 antigenemia received pre-emptive anti-CMV treatment. Fifty-nine patients achieved complete remission. Baseline CMV serology results were available for 56 of the 59 patients: 52 patients (93%) were IgG positive. The overall incidence of pp65 antigenemia in patients in complete remission after chemotherapy was 35% (21/59): 9 patients after induction and 12 post-consolidation. Sixteen of the 21 pp65-positive patients received anti-CMV treatment: 15 as pre-emptive therapy and 1 for interstitial CMV pneumonitis. Five patients received no anti-CMV treatment and did not develop CMV disease. Patients with pp65 antigenemia had more hospital admissions (2.57 vs. 2.16; P=0.009), while patients with >10 pp65-positive cells had more clinical complications (8/9 vs. 2/12; P=0.002). In conclusion, patients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving chemotherapy should be monitored for active CMV infection. CMV reactivation in these patients was associated with an increased number of hospital admissions, and high levels of pp65 antigenemia were associated with more clinical complications. Controlled studies are needed to assess the relevance of pre-emptive anti-CMV therapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving chemotherapy. J. Med. Virol. 82:1201-1207, 2010. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc

    High-dose idarubicin, busulphan and melphalan for autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma responsive to DAV chemotherapy: Comparison with a historical control

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    Since 1997, 32 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients responsive to DAV chemotherapy were autografted with idarubicin- intensified busulphan-melphalan (ida-bu-mel). Main endpoints of the study were transplant-related toxicity, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The results were compared with a historical control group of 38 patients treated with the 'standard' bu-mel regimen. Concerning time to engraftment, no significant difference was observed between the two groups, while toxicity was significantly higher in the intensive conditioning group, regarding grade IV mucositis, duration of profound neutropenia, incidence of infections and platelet requirement. Five-year OS and PFS are 73 versus 78% and 37 versus 48% for the intensive and standard regimen, respectively (p value not significant). The ida-bu-mel schedule appears to be a feasible and effective regimen for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients; nevertheless, no apparent benefit in OS and PFS arises from the comparison with a historical control treated with standard bu-mel, which is better tolerated and at least equally effective. Copyright (C) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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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