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    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

    Direct effects of rapid-acting insulin analogues on insulin signaling in human pancreatic islets in vitro

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    Abstract: Aims. - Studies suggest that insulin-signaling molecules are present in the pancreatic islets. For this reason, the effects of insulin glulisine, insulin aspart and regular human insulin (RH I) on the function and molecular features of isolated human pancreatic islets were investigated. Methods. - Human pancreatic islets were prepared by collagenase digestion and density-gradient purification of pancreata from multiple organ donors. Islets were then cultured for 48 h in the presence of 5.5 (normal) or 22.2 (high) mmol/L of glucose with and without glulisine, aspart and RHI (10 or 100 nmol/L). Functional (glucose-stimulated insulin secretion) and molecular (quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblot) studies were performed at the end of the different incubation conditions. Results. - Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was blunted in islets cultured in 22.2 mmol/L of glucose, with no significant effects from the exogenous added insulins. In islets maintained at 5.5 mmol/L of glucose, insulin receptor (IR) expression was reduced by low RHI, while phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase p110-alpha (PI3K) was enhanced by both concentrations of glulisine and aspart, and by high RHI. In islets preexposed to high glucose, IR expression was increased by both concentrations of aspart and RHI, but not by glulisine. Glulisine at high concentration significantly (P < 0.05) increased PI3K expression. Glulisine and RHI significantly increased IRS-2 phosphorylation compared with control and aspart (P < 0.05). Conclusion. - Insulin analogues have differential effects on the expression of insulin-signaling molecules in human pancreatic islets that are also dependent on the degree of glucose exposure. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

    The direct effects of GLP-1 and GIP, alone or in combination, on human pancreatic islets

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    GLP-1 and GIP are incretins known to affect beta-cell function and turnover. However, information on the direct actions of these hormones on human islet cells is limited. We tested the effects of acute (45min) or prolonged (2days) exposure to GLP-1 or GIP, alone or in combination, on the function and some molecular features of human islets isolated from non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic multiorgan donors. Acutely, both GLP-1 and, more markedly so, GIP, significantly potentiated glucose-stimulated insulin release, with no apparent synergic action. Some of these effects were observed with type 2 diabetic islets as well. Following prolonged exposure to the incretins, improved insulin secretion was observed, and transcription of insulin, PDX-1 and Bcl-2 was increased in both non-diabetic and diabetic islets, with the combination of GLP-1 and GIP showing more significant effects. Although it is still unclear at what extent these beta-cell direct actions of individual or combined incretins occur in-vivo in humans, nevertheless the results of the present study suggest that enhancing the exposure of pancreatic islets to circulating levels of both incretins may be useful for therapeutical purposes

    Variations on the Author

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    “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
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