169,837 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Copper-functionalized hydroxyapatite nanoparticles to counteract fungal infections
No full textDrug-resistant fungal pathogens pose an increasing threat to human health. Nanoparticles are promising tools for treating and limiting fungal resistance due to their ability to attack microorganisms via multiple mechanisms. In this work, hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles were synthesized and functionalized with copper by ionic exchange at different solution concentrations (from 0.01 to 0.2 M). The physico-chemical properties of the samples were studied using low-temperature N2 adsorption volumetry, elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and IR spectroscopy of adsorbed CO. All the obtained HA particles were poorly crystalline, elongated in the c-axis direction, and had a high specific surface area (ca. 200 m2/g). Copper was incorporated into HA surface layers with a Cu2+ doping content proportional to the initial concentration, reaching a maximum value of 14 %wt. The antifungal activity of the samples was tested against drug-resistant clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans and several Candida species strains (C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. auris). Minimal inhibitory concentrations and fungal growth curves were determined. Cytocompatibility evaluation showed that both undoped and Cu-doped HA samples were not toxic to mammalian cells. The Cu-containing HA samples demonstrated potential as effective and safe antifungal agents with wide-spectrum activity, representing a promising candidate for therapeutic approaches against diverse fungal infections
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Smalto naturale green modificato con oli essenziali per il trattamento delle onicomicosi
No full textIntroduzione. Le onicomicosi (OM) sono infezioni fungine che possono interessare la lamina, la matrice o il letto dell’unghia. Rappresentano circa il 50% dei disturbi ungueali dei paesi industrializzati (1) e si manifestano con decolorazione, ispessimento e onicolisi dell’unghia. In questo contesto gli oli essenziali (OEs), composti aromatici naturali noti per la loro attività antimicrobica (2-4), stanno trovando il loro posto come nuove alternative per la prevenzione e il trattamento di tali infezioni. Lo scopo dello studio è stato di valutare l’efficacia antifungina di 7 OEs e di un MIX commerciale nei confronti di 10 funghi dermatofiti responsabili di OM al fine di formulare uno smalto green naturale (GNNP), da utilizzare a scopo preventivo o curativo. Materiali e Metodi. Il profilo chimico dei composti naturali è stato valutato tramite microestrazione in fase solida accoppiata alla gas cromatografia e spettrometria di massa ( SPME/GC-MS. Sono stati eseguiti test di micro-brodo diluizione per valutare l’efficacia antifungina e un sondaggio di gradimento olfattivo per selezionare il composto migliore. La SPME/GC-MS è stata utilizzata anche per valutare il rilascio nel tempo dei composti attivi dei 2 GNNP modificati con l’aggiunta dell’OE più efficace o del MIX (GNNP-m-OE/MIX). L’azione preventiva e curativa dei due GNNP-m è stata valutata con esperimenti ex vivo su unghie sane o colonizzate con T. mentagrophytes testando concentrazioni scalari di OE o MIX comprese tra 4% v/v e 1% v/v. Risultati. Dei 3 OEs che hanno mostrato la più elevata attività antifungina (C. giganteus, C. citratus e C.martini), il C. citratus (IC90=0.5% v/v, CC90=1% v/v) è stato preferito dal 46.67% dei partecipanti al sondaggio di gradimento e selezionato per formulare il GNNP-m-OE. Il picco massimo di rilascio dei componenti attivi delle due formulazioni GNNP-m è raggiunto al 3° giorno e si mantiene costante fino al 6° per GNNP-m-MIX. Al 4% i GNNP-m mostrano azione fungicida su tutti i ceppi, al 2% GNNP-m-OE su tutti tranne M. canis ma non risulta attivo all’1%; al 2% e 1% GNNP-m-MIX risulta invece attivo solo su T. rubrum (Fig. 1). Nei confronti di T. mentagrophytes, i dati degli esperimenti ex vivo mostrano l’azione preventiva di entrambi i GNNP-m al 4%, mentre GNNP-m-OE presenta anche azione curativa. Discussione. A concentrazioni diverse, i due GNNP-m inibiscono in parte o totalmente la crescita dei dermatofiti responsabili delle OM. In particolare, il GNNP-m-MIX presenta un’azione inibente e il rilascio dei suoi componenti è compatibile con un trattamento ogni 7 giorni, mentre il GNNP-m-OE mostra anche un’azione citocida sulle unghie colonizzate e può quindi agire come farmaco naturale, richiedendo però 2 applicazioni alla settimana. In conclusione, per il trattamento delle OM gli OEs possono considerarsi una valida risorsa naturale ad azione antifungina per lo sviluppo di nuovi approcci preventivi e terapeutici
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
Characterization of four major human B-cell epitopes on the surface of HCV E2 glycoprotein by generation of human monoclonal Fab from phage display antibody librariesis
No full textA Multi-Language Comparison of Influences on Author Verification using Character N-Grams
No full textWe create a new multi-language corpus for author verification based on Wikipedia talkpages, and evaluate the influence that differences in topic and time have on character n-gram author profiles. Topic alignment between two texts is found to increase author verification precision, and an authors writing style is found to change over time, but not more significantly after 3 years than after 1 year.Information ArchitectureWISElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
A 0.12mm<sup>2</sup> Wien-Bridge Temperature Sensor with 0.1°C (3σ) Inaccuracy from -40°C to 180°C
No full text Resistor-based temperature sensors can achieve much higher resolution and energy efficiency than conventional BJT-based sensors [1], but they typically occupy more area (> 0.25 mm 2 ) and have lower operating temperatures (le 125 {circ} {C}) [2]-[4]. This work describes a 0.12mm 2 resistor-based sensor that uses a Wien-bridge (WB) filter to achieve 0.1 {circ} {C} (3 sigma) inaccuracy from - 40 {circ} {C} to 180 {circ} {C}. Compared to a state-of-the-art WB sensor [4], it occupies 6 × less area and achieves comparable relative accuracy over a 76% wider operating range. Session 10.3 Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic InstrumentationMicroelectronic
Mapping B-cell epitopes of hepatitis C virus E2 glycoprotein using human monoclonal antibodies from phage display libraries
No full textClinical and experimental evidence indicates that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 glycoprotein (HCV/E2) is
the most promising candidate for the development of an effective anti-HCV vaccine. Identification of the human
epitopes that are conserved among isolates and are able to elicit protective antibodies would constitute a
significant step forward. This work describes the mapping of the B-cell epitopes present on the surface of
HCV/E2, as recognized by the immune system during infection, by the analysis of the reciprocal interactions
of a panel of human recombinant Fabs derived from an HCV-infected patient. Three unrelated epitopes
recognized by antibodies with no neutralization-of-binding (NOB) activity were identified; a fourth, major
epitope was defined as a clustering of minor epitopes recognized by Fabs endowed with strong NOB activity
Design and Characterization of Myristoylated and Non-Myristoylated Peptides Effective against Candida spp. Clinical Isolates
No full textThe increasing resistance of fungi to antibiotics is a severe challenge in public health, and newly effective drugs are required. Promising potential medications are lipopeptides, linear antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) conjugated to a lipid tail, usually at the N-terminus. In this paper, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of three short myristoylated and nonmyristoylated peptides derived from a mutant of the AMP Chionodracine. We determined their interaction with anionic and zwitterionic membrane-mimicking vesicles and their structure during this interaction. We then investigated their cytotoxic and hemolytic activity against mammalian cells. Lipidated peptides showed a broad spectrum of activity against a relevant panel of pathogen fungi belonging to Candida spp., including the multidrug-resistant C. auris. The antifungal activity was also observed vs. biofilms of C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. auris. Finally, a pilot efficacy study was conducted on the in vivo model consisting of Galleria mellonella larvae. Treatment with the most-promising myristoylated peptide was effective in counteracting the infection from C. auris and C. albicans and the death of the larvae. Therefore, this myristoylated peptide is a potential candidate to develop antifungal agents against human fungal pathogens
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