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    HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors reduce acetyl LDL endocytosis in mouse peritoneal macrophages

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    We previously reported thai mevalonate starvation elicited by hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors reduced cholesterol accumulation promoted in murine macrophages by acetylated LDL (AcLDL). In the present study we investigated the cellular mechanism of this effect. Our results indicate that the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors fluvastatin and simvastatin reduce, in a concentration-dependent manner, more then 50% of the 125I-AcLDL degradation by macrophages. This effect was not due to a decrease of lysosomal enzyme activity, and it was paralleled by lilt retention of AcLDL-associated cholesteryl osier in the incubation medium. The ability of fluvastatin to inhibit AcLDL degradation was completely overcome by mevalonate and its derivative geranylgeraniol. Evaluation at 4°C of 125I-AcLDL binding to plasma membrane suggested that the inhibitory effect of fluvastatin on lipoprotein catabolism was not due to a decreased expression of scavenger receptors. Fluorescent microscope analysis of cellular internalization of AcLDL labeled with the fluorochrome 3,3'- dioctadecyl indocarbocyanine demonstrated that fluvastatin inhibits lipoprotein endocytosis, an effect reversed by mevalonate. Studies performed with native 125I-LDL indicated that fluvastatin did not inhibit but rather increased the degradation of LDL taken up by the normal LDL receptor. These results exclude a generalized depression of the cellular endocytotic activity by the drug. The ability of fluvastatin to reduce AcLDL catabolism and cholesterol esterification was more pronounced in cholesterol-enriched macrophages compared with normal cells. In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors may reduce the in vitro cholesterol accumulation in macrophages by inhibiting AcLDL endocytosis

    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

    The molecular structure of apolipoprotein A-II modulates the capacity of HDL to promote cell cholesterol efflux

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    The influence of apolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) molecular structure on the capacity of high density lipoproteins (HDL) to promote cellular cholesterol efflux was investigated in cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPM). Conversion by reduction and carboxamidomethylation of the naturally occurring dimeric apoA-II to its monomeric form in both native or reconstituted HDL did not change apolipoprotein secondary structure and lipoprotein size/composition. All particles containing monomeric apoA-II, i.e., native HDL, or reconstituted HDL with or without apoA-I, showed a higher ability to promote cholesterol efflux originating from plasma membrane and intracellular stores, compared to particles containing dimeric apoA-II. These findings indicate that apolipoprotein molecular structure is a major determinant of HDL capacity to promote cholesterol efflux from cells

    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

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We 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

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We 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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