1,720,961 research outputs found
Early-onset sepsis risk calculator: a review of its effectiveness and comparative study with our evidence-based local guidelines
Full text linkBackground: According to most early-onset sepsis (EOS) management guidelines, approximately 10% of the total
neonatal population are exposed to antibiotics in the first postnatal days with subsequent increase of neonatal and
pediatric comorbidities. A review of literature demonstrates the effectiveness of EOS calculator in reducing
antibiotic overtreatment and NICU admission among neonates ≥34 weeks’ gestational age (GA); however, some
missed cases of culture-positive EOS have also been described.
Methods: Single-center retrospective study from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 conducted in the
Division of Neonatology at Santa Chiara Hospital (Pisa, Italy). Neonates ≥34 weeks’ GA with birth weight ≤ 1500 g,
34–36 weeks’ GA neonates with suspected intraamniotic infection and neonates ≥34 weeks’ GA with three clinical
signs of EOS or two signs and one risk factor for EOS receive empirical antibiotics. Neonates ≥34 weeks’ GA with
risk factors for EOS or with one clinical indicator of EOS undergo serial measurements of C-reactive protein and
procalcitonin in the first 48–72 h of life; they receive empirical antibiotics in case of abnormalities at blood exams
with one or more clinical signs of EOS. Two hundred sixty-five patients at risk for EOS met inclusion criteria; they
were divided into 3 study groups: 34–36 weeks’ GA newborns (n = 95, group A), ≥ 37 weeks’ GA newborns (n =
170, group B), and ≥ 34 weeks’ GA newborns (n = 265, group A + B). For each group, we compared the number of
patients for which antibiotics would have been needed, based on EOS calculator, and the number of the same
patients we treated with antibiotics during the study period. Comparisons between the groups were performed
using McNemar’s test and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05; post-hoc power analysis was carried out to
evaluate the sample sizes.
Results: 32/265 (12.1%) neonates ≥34 weeks’ GA received antibiotics within the first 12 h of life. According to EOS
calculator 55/265 (20.7%) patients would have received antibiotics with EOS incidence 2/1000 live births (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion: Our evidence-based protocol entails a further decrease of antibiotic overtreatment compared to EOS
calculator. No negative consequences for patients were observed
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
Erythema multiforme as first sign of incomplete Kawasaki disease
Full text linkABSTRACT: Incomplete Kawasaki disease represents a diagnostic challenge for pediatricians. In the absence of classical presentation, the laboratoristic evaluation of systemic inflammation can help in placing the correct diagnosis to promptly start adequate therapy. Erythema multiforme is an acute, self-limiting condition considered to be a hypersensitivity reaction commonly associated with various infections or medications. This aspecific skin condition has been rarely described as a sign of Kawasaki disease. We report on the case of a 4 years old boy presenting high-grade fever associated with erythema multiforme and evidence of systemic inflammation who showed a good response to prompt treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins
Kangaroo mother care: four years of experience in very low birth weight and preterm infants.
No full textAbstract
AIM: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a method of providing care for preterm infants through skin-to-skin contact with the mother and, preferably, exclusive breastfeeding. The growing interest in KMC at the Neonatology Unit of Pisa has provided the occasion for a retrospective analysis of the last four years, comparing the clinical effects of the kangaroo method vs. those obtained with conventional care (CNC) with respect to indicators of the general health of the infants (indices of growth, and duration of breastfeeding and hospitalization).
METHODS: A total of 213 infants, aged <37 gestational weeks and weighing ≤1500 g were enrolled for the study; these were divided into two groups for the purpose of comparison (91 in KMC vs. 71 in CNC).
RESULTS: The indices of growth and the duration of the infants in hospital were not significantly different in the two groups. Nevertheless, it is worth noting how KMC is more efficacious in the very tiny VLBW infants, and that the means of the growth parameters in the KMC infants are greater than those referring to the CNC subjects, body temperatures taken at the beginning and end of a KMC session are higher, and that the mother-child relationship facilitates better sucking-feeding.
CONCLUSION: While KMC is equivalent to CNC in terms of safety, thermal protection, morbidity and auxologic development, it appears to promote humanisation of infant care and mother-child bond more quickly
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
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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