Dalbavancin is a novel long-acting semi-synthetic lipoglycopeptide. It is licensed for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, ...including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Many studies on dalbavancin alternative use in clinical practice have been published recently, including osteomyelitis, prosthetic joint infections (PJIs), and infective endocarditis (IE). Thus, we conducted a narrative review on dalbavancin efficacy in difficult-to-treat infections, such as osteomyelitis, PJIs, and IE. We performed a comprehensive literature search through electronic databases (PubMed-MEDLINE) and search engines (Google Scholar). We included peer-reviewed publications (articles and reviews), and grey literature on dalbavancin use in osteomyelitis, PJIs, and IE. No time or language restrictions have been established. Despite the great interest in clinical practice, only observational studies and case series on the use of dalbavancin in infections other than ABSSSI are available. The reported success rate was extremely variable between studies, ranging from 44% to 100%. A low success rate has been reported for osteomyelitis and joint infections, while in endocarditis, the success rate was higher than 70% in all studies. However, there is no literature agreement about the correct regimen of dalbavancin for this type of infection heretofore. Dalbavancin showed great efficacy and a good safety profile, not only in patients with ABSSSI but also in those with osteomyelitis, PJIs, and endocarditis. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to assess the optimal dosing schedule depending on the site of infection. Implementing therapeutic drug monitoring for dalbavancin may represent the future step to achieving optimal pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic target attainment.
The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART) has deeply modified the outcome of HIV patients by improving their overall survival and ameliorating their quality of life (QoL). The ...prolongation of these patients' survival has led to an increased risk of highly diffused non-infectious diseases, e.g., cardiovascular diseases, endocrine disease, neurological diseases, and cancer. The management of antiretroviral therapy and anticancer agents (AC) can be challenging, due to the possible drug-drug interactions (DDI) between AC and ART. For this reason, a multidisciplinary approach is always preferred as demonstrated by the GICAT (Italian Cooperation Group on AIDS and Tumors). This review aims to analyze the current scientific data regarding the possible effects of ART on the management of HIV-positive cancer patients and to evaluate the possible DDIs that must be taken into consideration when co-administrating ART and AC. A collaboration between all the involved professional figures, particularly infectious disease specialists and oncologists, represents the key to the correct managing of these patients in order to guarantee the best oncological outcome possible.
Cultural Heritage (CH) resources are partial, heterogeneous, discontinuous, and subject to ongoing updates and revisions. The use of semantic web technologies associated with 3D graphical tools is ...proposed to improve access, exploration, exploitation and enrichment of these CH data in a standardized and more structured form. This article presents the monitoring work developed for more than ten years on the excavation of the Xlendi site. Around an exceptional shipwreck, the oldest from the Archaic period in the Western Mediterranean, we have set up a unique excavation at a depth of 110m assisted by a rigorous and continuous photogrammetry campaign. All the collected results are modelled by an ontology and visualized with virtual and augmented reality tools that allow a bidirectional link between the proposed graphical representations and the non-graphical archaeological data. It is also important to highlight the development of an innovative 3D mobile app that lets users study and understand the site as well as experience sensations close to those of a diver visiting the site.
The lattice structures are a particular type of structures made by the repetition of a unit cell and show great design opportunities. In addition, their structure is really close to some ...physiological tissues, which can allow their use to develop prostheses needed to the rehabilitation or replacement of a body part. However, their use is still limited, mainly due to the lack of methods to fully implement them during the production and to virtually predict all their mechanical properties. This problem is mostly caused by the computational effort and number of design parameters that the implementation of these materials in a Finite Element Modelling (FEM) analysis requires. Moreover, many common CAD software have a lack of materials libraries and geometry flexibility.
In this work, samples with different lattice structures were manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion technique using Co-Cr-Mo alloy. Compression tests were carried out to characterize their mechanical behavior.
Subsequently, modelling and FE simulations were carried out to predict their mechanical response. In fact, a Finite Element Analysis allows to have a preview of final designed structure and to reduce the experimental tests otherwise needed to reach the final design, saving time and resources. Numerical simulations of the compression test were performed by FEM code Abaqus, in order to explore the possibilities and limitations of this approach for the study of lattice structures. Results of numerical simulations were compared with experimental data. Finally, NTopology software was also used to study the stiffness of the lattice structures according to the geometry of the investigated unit cells.
Cultural Heritage (CH) resources are partial, heterogeneous, discontinuous, and subject to ongoing updates and revisions. The use of semantic web technologies associated with 3D graphical tools is ...proposed to improve access, exploration, exploitation and enrichment of these CH data in a standardized and more structured form. This article presents the monitoring work developed for more than ten years on the excavation of the Xlendi site. Around an exceptional shipwreck, the oldest from the Archaic period in the Western Mediterranean, we have set up a unique excavation at a depth of 110m assisted by a rigorous and continuous photogrammetry campaign. All the collected results are modelled by an ontology and visualized with virtual and augmented reality tools that allow a bidirectional link between the proposed graphical representations and the non-graphical archaeological data. It is also important to highlight the development of an innovative 3D mobile app that lets users study and understand the site as well as experience sensations close to those of a diver visiting the site.
This essay stages a critical conversation between Stuart Hall and Ernesto Laclau, comparing their different appropriations of Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. In the 1980s, Hall and Laclau ...engaged with Gramsci and with one another in order to conceptualize what they regarded as a triangular relation between the rise of Thatcherism, the crisis of the Left, and the emergence of new social movements. While many of their readers emphasize the undeniable similarities and mutual influences that exist between Hall and Laclau, this essay focuses on the differences between their theories of hegemony and locates the starkest contrast between them at the level of theoretical practice. While the main lesson that Hall drew from Gramsci was the privileging of conjunctural analysis, Laclau proceeded to locate the concept of hegemony at a higher level of abstraction, developing a political ontology increasingly indifferent to any specific conjuncture. The essay argues that this difference between conjunctural analysis and political ontology has a significant impact on Hall’s and Laclau’s respective understandings of two key political formations: populism and identity politics. Thus by focusing on these two formations, the essay argues that Hall’s work should not be read as a derivative or even undertheorized version of Laclau’s, for this tendency obscures substantial differences between their interventions as well as the fact that Hall’s theory of hegemony, as a theory of the conjuncture, ultimately possesses stronger explanatory power than Laclau’s political ontology.
Abstract
Background
Single group data present unique challenges for synthesises of evidence. Proportional meta-analysis is becoming an increasingly common technique employed for the synthesis of ...single group data. Proportional meta-analysis shares many similarities with the conduct and reporting of comparative, or pairwise, meta-analysis. While robust and comprehensive methods exist detailing how researchers can conduct a meta-analysis that compares two (or more) groups against a common intervention, there is a scarcity of methodological guidance available to assist synthesisers of evidence in the conduct, interpretation, and importance of proportional meta-analysis in systematic reviews.
Main body
This paper presents an overview targeted to synthesisers of evidence and systematic review authors that details the methods, importance, and interpretation of a proportional meta-analysis. We provide worked examples of how proportional meta-analyses have been conducted in research syntheses previously and consider the methods, statistical considerations, and presentation of this technique.
Conclusion
This overview is designed to serve as practical guidance for synthesisers of evidence in the conduct of proportional meta-analyses.
The objective of the study is to identify items and domains applicable for the quality assessment of prevalence studies.
We searched databases and the gray literature to identify tools or guides ...about the quality assessment of prevalence studies. After study selection, we abstracted questions applicable for prevalence studies and classified into at least one of the following domains: ‘population and setting’, ‘condition measurement’, ‘statistics’, and ‘other’. PROSPERO registration:CRD42018088437.
We included 30 tools: eight (26.7%) specifically designed to appraise prevalence studies and 22 (73.3%) adaptable for this purpose. We identified 12 unique items in the domain “population and setting”, 16 in the domain “condition measurement”, and 14 in the domain “statistics”. Of those, 25 (59.5%) were identified in the eight specific tools. Regarding the domain “other”, we identified 77 unique items, mainly related to manuscript writing and reporting (n = 48, 62.3%); of those, 24 (31.2%) were identified in the eight specific tools and 53 (68.8%) in the additional 22 nonspecific tools.
We provide a comprehensive set of items classified by domains that can guide the appraisal of prevalence studies, conduction of primary prevalence studies, and update or development of tools to evaluate prevalence studies.
There is a notable lack of methodological and reporting guidance for systematic reviews of prevalence data. This information void has the potential to result in reviews that are inconsistent and ...inadequate to inform healthcare policy and decision making. The aim of this meta-epidemiological study is to describe the methodology of recently published prevalence systematic reviews.
We searched MEDLINE (via PubMed) from February 2017 to February 2018 for systematic reviews of prevalence studies. We included systematic reviews assessing the prevalence of any clinical condition using patients as the unit of measurement and we summarized data related to reporting and methodology of the reviews.
A total of 235 systematic reviews of prevalence were analyzed. The median number of authors was 5 (interquartile range IQR 4-7), the median number of databases searched was 4 (3-6) and the median number of studies included in each review was 24 (IQR 15-41.5). Search strategies were presented for 68% of reviews. Forty five percent of reviews received external funding, and 24% did not provide funding information. Twenty three percent of included reviews had published or registered the systematic review protocol. Reporting guidelines were used in 72% of reviews. The quality of included studies was assessed in 80% of reviews. Nine reviews assessed the overall quality of evidence (4 using GRADE). Meta-analysis was conducted in 65% of reviews; 1% used Bayesian methods. Random effect meta-analysis was used in 94% of reviews; among them, 75% did not report the variance estimator used. Among the reviews with meta-analysis, 70% did not report how data was transformed; 59% percent conducted subgroup analysis, 38% conducted meta-regression and 2% estimated prediction interval; I
was estimated in 95% of analysis. Publication bias was examined in 48%. The most common software used was STATA (55%).
Our results indicate that there are significant inconsistencies regarding how these reviews are conducted. Many of these differences arose in the assessment of methodological quality and the formal synthesis of comparable data. This variability indicates the need for clearer reporting standards and consensus on methodological guidance for systematic reviews of prevalence data.
This article stages a confrontation between postcolonial theory and the decolonial option on the terrain of their respective engagements with Marxism. While prominent decolonial critics accuse ...postcolonial theory of relying too much on 'Eurocentric' theories, including Western Marxism, the article argues that this critique ignores what has been in fact a long-standing debate between postcolonial theory and its Marxist critics. Thus, the article questions this decolonial characterization and locates postcolonial theory itself in the crossfire of Marxist and decolonial critiques. First, it outlines the main objections that Marxist critics have formulated against postcolonial theory. Next, it discusses the decolonial critiques of postcolonial theory with an emphasis on the role played by Marxism in this confrontation. Finally, it proposes a 'relinking' between postcolonial theory and Marxism, understood not as a closure of the debate between these two theoretical formations but rather as an effort to hold that debate open. The article identifies the space of this open debate between postcolonial theory and its Marxist critics as a vantage point from which to articulate a critical response to the decolonial intervention.
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