1,720,965 research outputs found
Influenza vaccination: protecting the most vulnerable
No full textInfluenza virus infection causes seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics, leading to huge morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vaccination against influenza is needed annually as protection from constantly mutating strains is required. Groups at high risk of poor outcomes include the elderly, the very young, pregnant women and those with chronic health conditions. However, vaccine effectiveness in the elderly is generally poor due to immunosenescence and may be altered due to “original antigenic sin”. Strategies to overcome these challenges in the elderly include high-dose or adjuvant vaccines. Other options include vaccinating healthcare workers and children as this reduces community-level influenza transmission. Current guidelines in the UK are that young children receive a live attenuated nasal spray vaccine, adults aged >65 years receive an adjuvanted trivalent inactivated vaccine and adults aged <65 years with comorbidities receive a quadrivalent inactivated vaccine. The goal of a universal influenza vaccine targeting conserved regions of the virus and avoiding the need for annual vaccination is edging closer with early-phase trials under way.</p
Physical distancing in schools for SARS-CoV-2 and the resurgence of rhinovirus
No full textChildren have greater difficulty adhering to physical distancing rules but are believed to transmit the virus less efficiently than adults. Rhinoviruses normally circulate year-round with seasonal peaks in spring and autumn and are transmitted in largely the same manner as SARS-CoV-2. Children are the main drivers of transmission of rhinovirus, with subsequent transmission to adults associated with exacerbations of airways disease and hospitalisations.2In Southampton, UK, we tested adult medical patients admitted to hospital for a wide range of respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, from the height of the pandemic. We compared the rate of respiratory virus detection in 2020 with the same period in 2019. Around 2 weeks after the concurrent re-opening of state primary and secondary schools in early September, there was a sharp increase in the number of detections similar to that seen in 2019. Our data support previous reports that children are a major reservoir for rhinovirus infection, and a key driver of transmission to adults
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
Increase in circulation of non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses following easing of social distancing is associated with increasing hospital attendance
No full textIn this Journal we recently reported that the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 and the accompanying social restrictions were associated with a dramatic reduction in circulation of non-SARS-CoV-2 viruses.1 We have also previously reported on the resurgence of rhinovirus circulation following the re-opening of schools in the United Kingdom in September 2020.2 Apprehension now surrounds the effects of complete cessation of social distancing measures in the United Kingdom on the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other respiratory viruses. The effect of social distancing on suppressing respiratory viruses are well documented and as these restrictions ease multiple routes of transmission increase.3 At University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHSFT), UK, we have tested all adult medical patients admitted to hospital using point-of-care multiplex PCR testing (using the QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 panel and the BioFire Respiratory Panel 2.1 plus) for a wide range of respiratory viruses, since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.4 From 20th March 2020 to the 30th June 2021, 17804 adult patients have been tested. There was a near absence of detection of non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses following introduction of social distancing measuring during the first wave of the pandemic. In addition to the increases seen in rhinovirus detection after September 2020, detections of parainfluenza viruses and non-SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses were seen to increase after the 18th April 2021, corresponding with the opening of non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality in England on the 12th April 2021. There was a further sharp increase following the resumption of indoor socialising and hospitality which started on the 17th May 2021 (figure 1). At peak circulation, 13% of admitted adult patients had parainfluenza viruses detected and 5% had non-SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses detected. These findings are consistent with national surveillance data.5 Concurrently, Emergency Department attendances for acute respiratory illness increased at UHSFT following schools returning after the Easter holidays on the 8th March 2021 corresponding with an increase in rhinovirus detection. Thereafter, a further sustained increase in attendances has been seen coinciding with increased parainfluenza and non-SARS-CoV-2 detection (figure 2).Our data is aligned with previous research supporting the impact of social distancing on reducing the circulation of non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses, and that non-enveloped viruses such as rhinovirus, re-emerge initially as social distancing is eased followed by other viruses.1,2 The increase in detection of non-SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses is in keeping with other reports of increased respiratory virus detections outside of the normal viral epidemiological cycles.6 These findings might have important implications for the complete relaxing of social distancing measures in the coming months and particularly on the forthcoming circulation of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza viruses. <br/
SARS-CoV-2 Viral load at presentation to hospital is independently associated with the risk of death
No full textObjectives Previous studies have suggested that SARS-CoV-2 viral load, measured on upper respiratory tract samples at presentation to hospital using PCR Cycle threshold (Ct) value, has prognostic utility. However, these studies have not comprehensively adjusted for factors known to be intimately related to viral load. We aimed to evaluate the association between Ct value at admission and patient outcome whilst adjusting carefully for covariates. Methods We evaluated the association between Ct value at presentation and the outcomes of ICU admission and death, in patients hospitalised during the first wave of the pandemic in Southampton, UK. We adjusted for covariates including age, duration of illness and antibody sero-status, measured by neutralisation assay. Results 185 patients were analysed, with a median [IQR] Ct value of 27.9 [22.6–32.1]. On univariate analysis the Ct value at presentation was associated with the risk of both ICU admission and death. In addition, Ct value significantly differed according to age, the duration of illness at presentation and antibody sero-status. On multivariate analysis, Ct value was independently associated with risk of death (aOR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72–0.96; p = 0.011) but not ICU admission (aOR 1.04, 95% CI 0.93–1.16; p = 0.507). Neutralising antibody status at presentation was not associated with mortality or ICU admission (aOR 10.62, 95% CI 0.47–889; p = 0.199 and aOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.10–2.00; p = 0.302, respectively). Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 Ct value on admission to hospital was independently associated with mortality, when comprehensively adjusting for other factors and could be used for risk stratification.</p
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
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