1,720,989 research outputs found
Yolk utilization in Blattella germanica is sustained by a vitellin-processing pro-protease of maternal origin
No full textProtocol to generate an in vitro model to study vascular calcification using human endothelial and smooth muscle cells
Full text linkVascular calcification is a systemic disease characterized by calcium salt deposition
within vascular walls. Here, we present a protocol for establishing an
advanced dynamic in vitro co-culture system using endothelial and smooth muscle
cells to replicate vascular tissue complexity. We describe steps for cell culture
and seeding in a double-flow bioreactor that recreates the action of blood in humans.
We then detail the induction of calcification, setting up of the bioreactor,
followed by cell viability assessment and calcium quantification
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
Bone morphogenetic protein-4 system expression in human coronary artery endothelial and smooth muscle cells under dynamic flow: effect of medicated bioresorbable vascular scaffolds at low and normal shear stress.
No full textEndothelial and smooth muscle cell dysfunction is an early event at the onset of atherosclerosis, a heterogeneous and multifactorial pathology of the vascular wall. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-4, a mechanosensitive autocrine cytokine, and BMPR-1a, BMPR-1b, BMPR2 specific receptors play a key role in atherosclerotic plaque formation and vascular calcification, and BMP4 is regarded as a biomarker of endothelial cell activation. The study aimed to examine the BMP4 system expression by Real-Time PCR in Human Coronary Artery Endothelial (HCAECs) and Smooth Muscle Cells (HCASMCs) under different flow rates determining low or physiological shear stress in the presence/absence of medicated Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS). The HCAEC and HCASMC were subjected to 1-10-20 dyne/cm2 shear stress in a laminar-flow bioreactor system, with/without BVS+Everolimus (600 nM).
In HCAECs without BVS, the BMP4 expression was similar at 1,20 dyne/cm2, decreasing at 10 dyne/cm2, while adding BVS+Everolimus, it decreased both at 1,10 compared to 20 dyne/cm2. In HCASMCs without BVS+Everolimus, the BMP4 system mRNA expression was significantly reduced at 1,10 dyne/cm2 compared to 20 dyne/cm2, while in the presence of BVS+Everolimus, higher BMP4 mRNA levels were observed at 10 compared to 1,20 dyne/cm2. In HCAECs and HCASMCs, BMPRs were expressed in all experimental conditions except for BMPR-1a at 1 dyne/cm2 in HCAEC. Significant correlations were found between BMP4 and BMPRs.
The more negligible effect on BMP4 expression due to low shear stress in HCAEC compared to HCASMC and its reduction in the presence of BVS+Everolimus at low shear stress highlighted the protection BMP4-mediated against endothelial dysfunction and neo-atherogenesis
Characterization of extracellular vesicle cargo in Sjögren’s Syndrome through a SWATH-MS proteomics approach
No full textPrimary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a complex heterogeneous disease characterized by a wide spectrum of glandular and extra-glandular manifestations. In this pilot study, a SWATH-MS approach was used to monitor extracellular vesicles-enriched saliva (EVs) sub-proteome in pSS patients, to compare it with whole saliva (WS) proteome, and assess differential expressed proteins between pSS and healthy control EVs samples. Comparison between EVs and WS led to the characterization of compartment-specific proteins with a moderate degree of overlap. A total of 290 proteins were identified and quantified in EVs from healthy and pSS patients. Among those, 121 proteins were found to be differentially expressed in pSS, 82% were found to be upregulated, and 18% downregulated in pSS samples. The most representative functional pathways associated to the protein networks were related to immune-innate response, including several members of S100 protein family, annexin A2, resistin, serpin peptidase inhibitors, azurocidin, and CD14 monocyte differentiation antigen. Our results highlight the usefulness of EVs for the discovery of novel salivary-omic biomarkers and open novel perspectives in pSS for the identification of proteins of clinical relevance that could be used not only for the disease diagnosis but also to improve patients’ stratification and treatment-monitoring. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD025649. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
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