1,720,970 research outputs found
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
SNPs and Somatic Mutation on Long Non-Coding RNA: New Frontier in the Cancer Studies?
No full textIn the last decade, it has been demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in cancer development. The great majority of studies on lncRNAs report alterations, principally on their expression profiles, in several tumor types with respect to the normal tissues of origin. Conversely, since lncRNAs constitute a relatively novel class of RNAs compared to protein-coding transcripts (mRNAs), the landscape of their mutations and variations has not yet been extensively studied. However, in recent years an ever-increasing number of articles have described mutations of lncRNAs. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that occur within the lncRNA transcripts can affect the structure and function of these RNA molecules, while the presence of a SNP in the promoter region of a lncRNA could alter its expression level. Also, somatic mutations that occur within lncRNAs have been shown to exert important effects in cancer and preliminary data are promising. Overall, the evidence suggests that SNPs and somatic mutation on lncRNAs may play a role in the pathogenesis of cancer, and indicates strong potential for further development of lncRNAs as biomarkers
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
The Network of Non-coding RNAs in Cancer Drug Resistance
Full text linkNon-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been implicated in most cellular functions. The disruption of their function through somatic mutations, genomic imprinting, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation, plays an ever-increasing role in cancer development. ncRNAs, including notorious microRNAs, have been thus proposed to function as tumor suppressors or oncogenes, often in a context-dependent fashion. In parallel, ncRNAs with altered expression in cancer have been reported to exert a key role in determining drug sensitivity or restoring drug responsiveness in resistant cells. Acquisition of resistance to anti-cancer drugs is a major hindrance to effective chemotherapy and is one of the most important causes of relapse and mortality in cancer patients. For these reasons, non-coding RNAs have become recent focuses as prognostic agents and modifiers of chemo-sensitivity. This review starts with a brief outline of the role of most studied non-coding RNAs in cancer and then highlights the modulation of cancer drug resistance via known ncRNAs based mechanisms. We identified from literature 388 ncRNA-drugs interactions and analyzed them using an unsupervised approach. Essentially, we performed a network analysis of the non-coding RNAs with direct relations with cancer drugs. Within such a machine-learning framework we detected the most representative ncRNAs-drug associations and groups. We finally discussed the higher integration of the drug-ncRNA clusters with the goal of disentangling effectors from downstream effects and further clarify the involvement of ncRNAs in the cellular mechanisms underlying resistance to cancer treatments
THE PLANTS AND THEIR SEASONAL CHANGES: TEACHING BIOLOGY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL USING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
No full textWith a view to the active learning, that makes the students protagonist, responsible and aware of the learning process, the present study presents an experimental work designed to demonstrate the usefulness and the validity of the scientific method as the basic element of the teaching of Life Sciences.Scientific training adopts an inductive approach to knowledge that allows us to observe, imagine, discover, verify, generalize, providing the tools needed to understand the reality. This research focused on the study of seasonality in the first class of a Primary School in Treviso (Italy), using a teaching approach based on direct field exploration and planning activities in which the sensory perceptual aspect is only the starting point. Those activities were based on both the observational comparative method (characteristic of Evolutionary Biology), and the experimental method (a feature of Functional Biology).Prior to the experimental out a preliminary investigation work was carried, involving the teachers of Natural Sciences and Experimental of some Italian Primary Schools. This survey allowed to paint a partial picture of how it the teaching of the Biology is performed, with particular reference to the seasonality, which was the starting point to develop and test a didactic approach of adequate originality.The addressed topics were divided in four stages corresponding to the seasons, and covered aspects of plant morphology (leafs, vascular tissues, flowers, fruits), plant physiology (the color changes of the leafs, leaf abscission, plant nutrition, fruit development) and the concept of biodiversity.The obtained results showed that, using the scientific method and laboratory tools such as the stereoscope and the optical microscope, conceptualizations planned for second cycle of the Primary School can be met with success in the first class, helping to reach the programmed goals optimally and often excellently, facilitating the achievement of competences such as the use of a correct scientific nomenclature. With this approach, the young students were motivated, stimulated, intrigued, and this potentially provides a meaningful, authentic and transferable Lifelong Learning and the development of a scientific culture together with an early interest in the Sciences
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
Pfas environmental pollution and antioxidant responses: An overview of the impact on human field
Full text linkDue to their unique properties, perfluorinated substances (PFAS) are widely used in multiple industrial and commercial applications, but they are toxic for animals, humans included. This review presents some available data on the PFAS environmental distribution in the world, and in particular in Europe and in the Veneto region of Italy, where it has become a serious problem for human health. The consumption of contaminated food and drinking water is considered one of the major source of exposure for humans. Worldwide epidemiological studies report the negative effects that PFAS have on human health, due to environmental pollution, including infertility, steroid hormone perturbation, thyroid, liver and kidney disorders, and metabolic disfunctions. In vitro and in vivo researches correlated PFAS exposure to oxidative stress effects (in mammals as well as in other vertebrates of human interest), produced by a PFAS-induced increase of reactive oxygen species formation. The cellular antioxidant defense system is activated by PFAS, but it is only partially able to avoid the oxidative damage to biomolecules
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