1,721,021 research outputs found
Are the Organoid Models an Invaluable Contribution to ZIKA Virus Research?
Full text linkAbstract: In order to prevent new pathogen outbreaks and avoid possible new global health threats, it
is important to study the mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis, screen new antiviral agents and test
new vaccines using the best methods. In the last decade, organoids have provided a groundbreaking
opportunity for modeling pathogen infections in human brains, including Zika virus (ZIKV) infection.
ZIKV is a member of the Flavivirus genus, and it is recognized as an emerging infectious agent
and a serious threat to global health. Organoids are 3D complex cellular models that offer an inscale organ that is physiologically alike to the original one, useful for exploring the mechanisms
behind pathogens infection; additionally, organoids integrate data generated in vitro with traditional
tools and often support those obtained in vivo with animal model. In this mini-review the value of
organoids for ZIKV research is examined and sustained by the most recent literature. Within a 3D
viewpoint, tissue engineered models are proposed as future biological systems to help in deciphering
pathogenic processes and evaluate preventive and therapeutic strategies against ZIKV. The next
steps in this field constitute a challenge that may protect people and future generations from severe
brain defect
Diagnostic procedures in B19 infection
No full textIn immunologic normal hosts, both children and adults, B19 can cause acute, generally self-limiting diseases. The infection leads to a viremia that can be present, at high titre, for about one week, then the onset of a specific immune response controls the infection. B19 infection in pregnancy can be associated with non-immunologic foetal hydrops or foetal death. In immunocompromised hosts, B19 can persist over several months and sometimes years. Persistent or recurrent B19 infections can be associated with chronic clinical manifestations or with transient clinical syndromes, generally related to the recrudescence of viral replication. Since the infection has been associated with a wide variety of clinical manifestations and some clinical features of B19 infection, such as anemia, artropathy and rash, can be common to other pathogens, a laboratory diagnosis of B19 infection is required. A diagnostic protocol must consider both the type of pathology and the type of patient. In immunocompetent individuals serological and virological testing is complementary, while in immunocompromised patients viral detection is the diagnosis of choice. Viral detection methods are generally based, nowadays, on the direct detection of B19 genome in clinical specimens. B19 DNA is mainly detected by hybridizations assays and by the most sensitive PCR assays. Serological diagnosis of B19 infection is generally achieved by detection of IgM and IgG antibodies to the B19 structural proteins VP1 and VP2. IgM detection is most often performed by capture assays, both in EIA and RIA formats, IgG are mainly detected by indirect EIA and immunofluorescence tests. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS
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
Complete genome sequence of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 11A causing meningitis in an adult patient, Italy 2022.
Full text linkStreptococcus pneumoniae is a major global health concern, being a common cause of meningitis in both children and adults. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of P10_PNE_LCR, a S. pneumoniae 11A strain isolated in Northern Italy from an adult patient diagnosed with meningitis
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
A system to enhance the sensitivity of digoxigenin-labelled probe: Detection of B19 DNA in serum samples
No full textA highly sensitive dot-blot hybridisation assay for the routine screening of numerous samples is described, using parvovirus B19 as a model. Digoxigenin-labelled B19 DNA probe was constructed by PCR, hybrids were detected by an anti-digoxigenin monoclonal antibody followed by a second step, using anti-mouse antibodies conjugated to an alkaline phosphatase-dextran complex (EnVisionTM, Dako) was carried out. The sensitivity of the assay was evaluated using both colourimetric and chemiluminescent substrates for the alkaline phosphatase and was compared with a dot-blot hybridisation assay using the digoxigenin-labelled probe and a standard detection system. With the colourimetric substrate, the EnVisionTM system was able to detect 10 fg of B19 DNA, while with the chemiluminescent substrate the sensitivity increased by up to 2 fg (6 × 102 genome copies). This detection system was shown to increase the sensitivity of the assay compared to the standard colourimetric visualisation for the digoxigenin-labelled probe, which could detect 0.1 pg. On account of its sensitivity and specificity the dot-blot hybridisation assay together with the chemiluminescent substrate for the EnVisionTM detection system was used to analyse 760 serum samples; the same sera were tested for B19 DNA with the standard colourimetric visualisation for the digoxigenin-labelled probe used routinely in the diagnostic laboratory. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V
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