1,720,982 research outputs found
Interactions between Asaia, Plasmodium and Anopheles: new insights in mosquito symbiosis and implications in Malaria Symbiotic Control
No full textThe recent identification of acetic acid bacteria belonging to the genus Asaia, that are stably associated with larvae and adults of different species of malaria transmitting mosquitoes, in particular Anopheles stephensi, indicates this bacterium as a suitable candidate for the paratransgenic or symbiotic control of the malaria infection. The presence of Asaia in the mosquito reproductive system represents an additional intriguing feature, particularly important towards the development of Paratransgenetically Modified (PM) mosquitoes that can mix with natural populations. By the means of Real Time quantitative PCR I have investigated the relative amount of Asaia and Plasmodium in co-infected mosquitoes thus providing evidence that the malaria infection does not interfere with the blooming of Asaia that follows a blood meal. Furthermore, by immunological studies we provided evidences that Asaia induces ‘in vitro’ the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the mosquito and that, the adaptation of Asaia to the life into the insect, doesn’t appear to be related with a reduced immunogenicity, but with a resistance to the immune reaction. In addition, by fluorescent recombinant strains of both Asaia and Plasmodium, we were able to precisely define the co-localisation of these organisms at the level of mosquito midgut and salivary glands. It was also considered necessary to verify the Asaia role about the vitality of adults mosquitoes. For this aim, has been adopted a novel strategy using monoclonal antibodies against Asaia, to interfere with the function of these bacteria by antibody opsonization. \ud
These studies while confirming the potential suitable use of Asaia as microbial agent for the paratransgenic control of malaria infection. \ud
Beyond bacteria, yeast-like organisms were also present in the mosquito midgut and in reproductive systems. We have identified Wickerhamomyces anomalus (Saccharomycetales) as an important component of the yeast microbiome in this mosquito species, suggesting multiple transmission patterns. The possibility to easily manipulate yeast, and the chance to express effector molecules in a eukaryotic organism renders W. anomalus another good potential candidate for paratransgenesis.\u
Mosquito/microbiota interactions: from complex relationships to biotechnological perspectives.
Full text linkTo date around 3500 different species of mosquito have been described, several tens of which are vectors of pathogens of remarkable interest in public health. Mosquitoes are present all around the world showing a great ability to adapt to very different types of habitats where they play relevant ecological roles. It is very likely that components of the mosquito microbiota have given the mosquito a great capacity to adapt to different environments. Current advances in understanding the mosquito-microbiota relationships may have a great impact in a better understanding of some traits of mosquito biology and in the development of innovative mosquito-borne disease-control strategies aimed to reduce mosquito vectorial capacity and/or inhibiting pathogen transmission
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
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
Using symbiotic yeasts associated to mosquitoes to prevent plasmodial infection in malaria vectors: current status and future strategies for symbiotic control of mosquito borne diseases.
No full textUsing symbiotic yeasts associated to mosquitoes to prevent plasmodial infection in malaria vectors: current status and future strategies for symbiotic control of mosquito borne diseases
A killer yeast strain harboured in malaria vectors: new insights in the mosquito biology and possible implications in the malaria transmission blocking.
No full textA killer yeast strain harboured in malaria vectors: new insights in the mosquito biology and possible implications in the malaria transmission blocking
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