1,354,118 research outputs found
Automated behavioral phenotyping of inbred mouse strains and mouse models of Alzheimer disease
No full textBehavioral characterization of various mouse strains created as models for human diseases such as Alzheimer disease requires robust phenotyping methods. Previous work on inbred mouse strains has shown that some of the widely used behavioral methods yield inconsistent results across laboratories, in spite of standardization efforts. One approach to minimize experimenter induced variability relies on development of automated methods.The aims of this thesis were to evaluate an automated device - the IntelliCage - which enables behavioral testing of group-housed mice. In a multi-center study, inter- laboratory consistency of behavioral measurements in IntelliCage was evaluated [study I]. Three strains of mice: C57BL/6NCrl (B6), DBA/2NCrl (D2) and (C57BL/6 x DBA/2) F1/NCrl (C6D2F1) were tested simultaneously in four laboratories (n=78/lab). No statistically significant interaction effect of Laboratory x Strain was obtained, indicating that strains were consistently ranked across laboratories. Significant Laboratory effects were obtained for several Activity and Learning variables due to uncontrolled local factors. Phenotypically, the mouse strains were not discriminated during the initial exploratory phase. During the following adaptation phases the B6 mice made more visits to IntelliCage corners than the D2 mice. For unconditioned phases, the visit number for F1 mice was between that of the inbred strains. For conditioned phases F1 mice performed the smallest number of visits. B6 mice discriminated best following place learning and D2 were best at re-learning the task. F1 ranked last on both place learning and reversal measures of learning.Using the same multi-center study design and the same mouse strains, we evaluated the effect of additional components (add-ons) availability on IntelliCage measures [study II]. In the enriched condition (IntelliMaze) access to additional space was made through the “SocialBox” and “AnimalGate” add-on devices. The unconditioned activity during adaptation dark phases was reduced in the presence of add-ons. During the place conditioning paradigms, the overall number of trials needed to reach the learning criterion, was lower in the presence of add-ons. The strain ranks for activity measures were consistent with the results of study I.Dissociation in cognitive abilities of B6 and D2 mice has been proposed as a natural model to study hippocampal (dys)function. Behavioral predictive validity of animal models for Alzheimer disease is implied by impairments in hippocampal dependent tasks.In study III, a double transgenic Amyloid precursor protein model of Alzheiemer disease, (the tg-ArcSwe) was tested longitudinally in the IntelliCage. Lower body weight was found throughout the adult life-span of the tg-APPArcSwe mice. Lower activity counts were seen at 4 month of age, but not at 14 months. A deficit in extinguishing place preference for a previously rewarded corner at 4 month was shown. At 14 months the tg-APPArcSwe mice were impaired in a passive avoidance test in the IntelliCage. During the training phase of the passive avoidance test the behavior (preference for the punished corner) of tg-ArcSwe was found to moderately and inversely correlate with the level of CALB immunoreactivity in the polymorphic layer of the DG.Finally, the effects of IntelliCage exposure as well as relationships between variables obtained during IntelliCage testing and Elevated Plus Maze, Open field, Rotarod, Morris Water Maze and Fear conditioning were explored [study IV]. We found that only a limited amount of variance in the conventional tests could be accounted for by IntelliCage variables.In conclusion we have shown that mouse strains can be discriminated using the IntelliCage. Similarly, the behavior of tg-ArcSwe and non-tg mice was dissociated by this metholodogy. Although some degree of correlation was found between the results of conventional studies and IntelliCage variables, only a small part of the variance in conventional studies was explained by variables obtained in the IntelliCage.List of scientific papersI. Consistent behavioral phenotype differences between inbred mouse strains in the IntelliCage. S. Krackow, E. Vannoni, A. Codita, A. H. Mohammed, F. Cirulli, I. Branchi, E. Alleva, A. Reichelt, A. Willuweit, V. Voikar, G. Colacicco, D. P.Wolfer, J. U. F. Buschmann, K. Safi, H.-P. Lipp. Genes Brain Behav. 2010; 9:722-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2010.00606.x II. Effects of spatial and cognitive enrichment on activity pattern and learning performance in three strains of mice in the IntelliMaze. A. Codita, A. H. Mohammed, A. Willuweit, A. Reichelt, E. Alleva, I. Branchi, F. Cirulli, G. Colacicco, V. Voikar, D.P. Wolfer, F.J.U. Buschmann, H-P Lipp, E. Vannoni, S. Krackow. [Submitted]III. Impaired behavior of female tg-ArcSwe APP mice in the IntelliCage: A longitudinal study. A. Codita, A.Gumucio, L. Lannfelt, P. Gellerfors, B. Winblad, A. H. Mohammed, L.N.G. Nilsson. Behav Brain Res. 2010; 215:83-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2010.06.034 IV. Influence of IntelliCage testing on subsequent behavioral measures; Intra-test and inter-test relationships between automated measures of home cage behavior and behavioral measures from conventional tests. A. Codita, M. Mitrovic, A. Horvath, R. Rabl, B. Hutter–Paier, M. Windisch, A. H. Mohammed. [Manuscript]</p
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
Variations on the Author
No full text“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
No full textWe 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
Sleep and influenza A viral infections in murine models
No full textNarcolepsy is a rare neurological sleep disorder. However, after the beginning of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, an increased incidence of narcolepsy was observed, especially in young people aged between 4-19 years. In the present study, infection of Rag1-/- (lacking B and T cells) and wild-type mice with a mouse-neuroadapted or a 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus strain was used to elucidate pathogenetic mechanisms. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and actimetry were recorded by NeuroLogger® device which allows the mouse to move freely in its cage. Infected mice were sacrificed following the onset of sickness signs and brain samples were collected. In Rag1-/- mice, immunohistochemistry for antigens of the mouse-neuroadapted influenza strain showed hypothalamic and upper brainstem viral localization, including neurons involved in sleep-wakefulness regulation. Moreover, preliminary EEG analyses showed severe changes in the sleep-wake pattern in the infected Rag1-/- mice. Levels of viral RNA and inflammatory markers were analysed by RT-PCR. Interestingly, preliminary data indicate that the presence of transcripts encoding the non-structural viral protein (NS1) in the brain of mice infected with either viral strain was transient in wild-type mice, but persisted in the Rag1-/- mice. Up-regulation of transcripts of inducible nitric oxide synthase was seen in infected wild-type mice. In conclusion, our data suggest that infection of wild-type and Rag1-/- mice may provide useful models to study changes in sleep patterns caused by H1N1 influenza A virus strains, and may increase our understanding of the role of direct viral versus innate and adaptive immune response effects.
(Supported by Swedish MPA
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
Author, publisher and bookseller : a tripartite synergy in Nigerian book industry
No full textThis work is about the roles of Author, Publisher and Bookseller in Book development in
Nigeria. The paper started by delving into the history of Book Publishing in Nigeria after
which it proceeded by defining who an author, a publisher, and a bookseller is and
expatiated on the indispensable roles of these key actors in Nigerian Book Industry and in
the emerging Information Society. Furthermore, the various constraints to book
development were identified while the paper advised on how the Book Industry can be
further promoted in Nigeria. However, the paper concluded and made recommendations
on how the Book sector can help in enhancing scholarship in the country
The Thursday Murder Club: Launching a megabrand author - a publishing case study
No full textIn 2020, the Christmas book charts in the UK made headlines: Barack Obama’s eagerly awaited autobiography, The Promised Land, was beaten to the top spot by The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, a debut cosy crime novel set in a retirement village. Not only did Osman’s book beat the former US president’s expected bestseller, it also broke records, becoming the fastest-selling debut crime novel of all time. Although Osman has a certain level of fame in the UK from his TV appearances on shows such as Pointless, his celebrity status does not entirely explain the novel’s huge sales. This article tracks the acquisition, publication, and promotion journey of The Thursday Murder Club in order to understand the industry and cultural context of its success and to interrogate the role of celebrity in the creation of author brands. The findings suggest that the unexpected scale of the success of the book owed to a number of factors, including in-depth editing by the novel’s agent, editor, and author to tighten up the plot, an extensive and strategic promotional campaign, the pandemic (which drove interest in the book’s genre and themes), and the quality of the writing. We find that the book’s success was accentuated by Osman’s celebrity status rather than being entirely reliant on it. This research adds to the growing scholarship on celebrity authorship by means of an in-depth case study and provides insight into the processes behind publishing a ‘celebrity’ book and launching a megabrand author
Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902
No full textIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
The vanishing author in computer-generated works: a critical analysis of recent Australian case law
No full textAbstract
The use of software is ubiquitous in the creation of many copyright works, yet the requirement in copyright law that every work have a human author who engages in independent intellectual effort means that its use may prevent copyright subsistence. Several recent Australian cases have refocused attention on authorship as an essential criterion of copyright subsistence, and these cases suggest that much computer-produced output may be authorless and thus lack copyright protection. This article, the first in a two-part series, analyses how each case deals with the question of authorship of computer-produced works and why the use of software diminishes copyright protection for a significant number of computer-generated works. The article critiques the application of conventional notions of human authorship developed in the pre-computer age to modern productions and suggests alternative approaches to authorship that satisfy both the major objectives of copyright policy and the need to adapt to the computer age. The article argues that, without a broader judicial approach to authorship of computer-generated works, Parliament must remedy the lacuna in protection for these ‘authorless’ works. Possible solutions for reform are suggested. In a forthcoming article, the author comprehensively examines those reform proposals
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