1,720,986 research outputs found
Insight into Prevention of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae: A Short Review
No full textNeisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcus) and Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) are important global pathogens which cause the sexually transmitted diseases gonorrhea and meningitis, respectively, as well as sepsis. We prepared a review according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), with the aims of (a) evaluating the data on the MenB vaccination as protection against sexually transmitted infections by N. gonorrhoeae and (b) to briefly comment on the data of ongoing studies of new vaccines. We evaluated existing evidence on the effect of 4CMenB, a multi-component vaccine, on invasive diseases caused by different meningococcal serogroups and on gonorrhea. Non-B meningococcal serogroups showed that the 4CMenB vaccine could potentially offer some level of protection against non-B meningococcal serogroups and N. gonorrhoeae. The assessment of the potential protection conferred by 4CMenB is further challenged by the fact that further studies are still needed to fully understand natural immune responses against gonococcal infections. A further limitation could be the potential differences between the protection mechanisms against N. gonorrhoeae, which causes local infections, and the protection mechanisms against N. meningitidis, which causes systemic infections
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
Trend of MDR-microorganisms isolated from the biological samples of patients with HAI and from the surfaces around that patient
Full text linkHealthcare-associated infections (HAI) continue to be a major public health concern. A number of epidemiologically relevant HAI microorganisms are multidrug-resistant (MDR) germs that can spread rapidly and/or carry multiple resistance to antibiotics. They are the cause of high mortality and possible nosocomial epidemics. For this reason, we implemented microbiological surveillance acquiring samples from patients with HAI and environmental samples from the surfaces surrounding those patients. A retrospective study was carried out from January 2014 to December 2016 in two departments of the University Hospital in Messina, Italy: the Microbiology and the Hygiene Laboratories. A comparison was made between the microbiological isolates found on the patients and the microorganisms typed further to environmental sampling on the surfaces adjacent to the patient with HAI. There was a 24% match in 2014, 22% in 2015 and 20% in 2016 on total isolates. The most common isolates belonged to the Enterobacteriacae family: in particular, an ever-increasing trend has been registered for Klebsiella spp; Acinetobacter baumannii and multiresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa have seen a growing trend for both patient and environmental samples. During the three years, the highest infection prevalence rate was found in Anaesthesia and Resuscitation, followed by Thoracic and Vascular Surgery
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
Quality and management care improvement of patients with chronic kidney disease: from data analysis to the definition of a targeted clinical pathway in an Italian Region
Full text linkBackground: Clinical Diagnostic Care Pathways(CDCP) are widespread throughout the world and they could improve the quality of patient care through a well-organized care continuum and could enhance the patient\u27s "risk-adjusted" outcomes; indeed they could optimize the management of resources. They are important especially for the management of chronic degenerative diseases such as chronic kidney disease; for this disease incidence and prevalence is increasing worldwide, with an estimated 11-13% of the population being affected. So the application of a CDCP is much important for its management.Methods: the aim of this study is the creation of a CDCP for patients in Lazio with stage 5 CKD that allows proper patient management with a reduction in the possible complications and patient migration to facilities outside the region. The study was conducted in collaboration between the National Institute of Health, the University of Messina and the S. Giovanni Addolorata Hospital.Results: We analyzed the data for the KCD in Roma and in the San Giovanni Addolarata Hospital and we found a drop out of the patient, probably to other region or however other hospital. So we make a CDCP that has been adopted as a model in the San Giovanni Addolorata hospital and the reduction of outpatient migration and emergency hospital access are currently being monitored.Conclusions: the optimization of patient management and the organization of adequate health care is therefore essential to ensure the sustainability of the Italian NHS, which today is comparable to a "ship that is heading towards a perfect storm"
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
HPV vaccine and autoimmune diseases: systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature
Full text linkBackground: Human papillomavirus is one of the commonest sexually transmitted viruses worldwide. Though an effective vaccine is available in 65 countries, the worldwide vaccine coverage remains low. One of the reasons of this is the onset of adverse events as autoimmune disease.Methods: We carried out a systematic review to identify all scientific publications dealing with the correlation between vaccine anti-papillomavirus and new onset of autoimmune diseases. To evaluate the safety of HPV vaccines, the dichotomous data on the number of subjects experiencing an autoimmune disorder in the study vaccine group and the placebo group were extracted from each study with subsequent determination of the risk ratios and their 95% confidence intervals. We combined data statistically using a random effects model. Results: We identified 3 studies reporting on bivalent HPV vaccines and 3 studies on quadrivalent vaccines. The total number of subjects included in the meta-analysis comprised 243,289 in the vaccine group and 248,820 in control groups. Four of the six trials had a Jadad score of 3 or 4 indicating an adequate trial quality. The most frequent autoimmune disease observed across the six studies were musculoskeletal,CNS conditions and endocrinological conditions . The results of the meta-analysis demonstrated no correlation between autoimmune disorders and HPV vaccines (pooled OR 1.038, 95% CI 0.689–1.562).Conclusions: No correlation was identified for bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines. It’s therefore essential to correctly inform the general population in order to try to increase both Italian and international vaccination coverage.
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