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EFFECTOR CELLS FROM PARACENTROTUS LIVIDUS AS SOURCE OF NEW ANTI-STAPHYLOCOCCI BIOFILM AGENTS
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Self-selected music enhances bench press performance compared to no-music alone and mood compared to stimulative and no-music conditions
No full textPrevious studies on music and performance mainly considered isometric contractions or endurance exercises and rarely included power output measures or a no-music condition as control. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of self-selected (SSM) and stimulative (STM) music, compared to a no-music condition (NM), on muscle power and affective states in the bench press (BP). Twenty regional-level athletes (age 23.5 ± 3.2 years; body mass 84.0 ± 10.0 kg; height 1.79 ± 0.08 m) underwent three sets of eight repetitions at 75% of their one repetition maximum for each music condition. Each repetition’s average power (PAVG) and peak power (PPEAK) were calculated. The Borg scale CR-10 (RPE), the Feeling scale (FS), and the Felt arousal scale (FAS) were administered. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures was performed to assess the effects of music and sets on power performance. PPEAK (p < 0.05) and PAVG (p < 0.05) resulted greater in SSM than NM and decreased among sets (p < 0.001). Friedman test revealed that activation was greater in SSM than STM (p < 0.05) and NM (p < 0.01). Listening to music enhanced power performance, but listening to SSM could lead to higher psychophysical activation than STM. Therefore, we encourage listening to self-selected music during power training
Role of tristetraprolin phosphorylation in paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Get PDFBACKGROUND Intestinal inflammation and epithelial injury are the leading actors of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing an excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines expression. Tristetraprolin (TTP), an mRNA binding protein, plays a role in regulating the inflammatory factors, recognizing specific sequences on the 3’ untranslated region of cytokine mRNAs. TTP activity depends on its phosphorylation state: the unphosphorylated TTP degrades pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNAs; on the contrary, the phosphorylated TTP fails to destabilize mRNAs furthering their expression. The phospho-TTP forms a complex with the chaperone protein 14-3-3. This binding could be one of the factors that promote intestinal inflammation as a cause of disease progression. AIM To assess if TTP phosphorylation has a role in paediatric IBD. METHODS The study was carried out on a cohort of paediatric IBD patients. For each patient enrolled, a specimen of inflamed and non-inflamed colonic mucosa was collected. Furthermore, the experiments were conducted on macrophages differentiated from blood samples of the same patients. Macrophages from healthy donors’ blood were used as controls. Co-immunoprecipitation assay and immunoblotting analyses were performed to observe the formation of the phospho-TTP/14-3-3 complex. In the same samples TNF-α expression was also evaluated as major factor of the pro-inflammatory activity. RESULTS In this work we studied indirectly the phosphorylation of TTP through the binding with the chaperone protein 14-3-3. In inflamed and non-inflamed colon mucosa of IBD paediatric patients immunoblot assay demonstrated a higher expression of the TTP in inflamed samples respect to the non-inflamed; the co-immunoprecipitated 14-3-3 protein showed the same trend of expression. In the TNF-α gene expression analysis higher levels of the cytokine in inflamed tissues compared to controls were evident. The same experiments were conducted on macrophages from IBD paediatric patients and healthy controls. The immunoblot results demonstrated a high expression of both TTP and co-immunoprecipitated 14-4-3 protein in IBD-derived macrophages in comparison to healthy donors. TNF-α protein levels from macrophages lysates showed the same trend of expression in favour of IBD paediatric patients compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSION In this work, for the first time, we describe a relation between phospho-TTP/14-3-3 complex and IBD. Indeed, a higher expression of TTP/14-3-3 was recorded in IBD samples in comparison to controls
ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES FROM COELOMOCYTES CYTOSOL OF PARACENTROTUS LIVIDUS WITH PHARMACEUTICAL POTENTIAL AS ANTI-STAPHYLOCOCCI BIOFILM AGENTS
No full textAims: To evaluate the anti-biofilm activity of the commercially available essential
oils from two Boswellia species.
Methods and Results: The susceptibility of staphylococcal and Candida albicans
biofilms was determined by methyltiazotetrazolium (MTT) staining. At concentrations
ranging from 217Æ3 lg ml)1 (25% v ⁄ v) to 6Æ8 lg ml)1 (0Æ75% v ⁄ v),
the essential oil of Boswellia papyrifera showed considerable activity against
both Staphylococcus epidermidis DSM 3269 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC
29213 biofilms. The anti-microbial efficacy of this oil against S. epidermidis
RP62A biofilms was also tested using live ⁄ dead staining in combination with
fluorescence microscopy, and we observed that the essential oil of B. papyrifera
showed an evident anti-biofilm effect and a prevention of adhesion at sub-MIC
concentrations. Boswellia rivae essential oil was very active against preformed
C. albicans ATCC 10231 biofilms and inhibited the formation of C. albicans
biofilms at a sub-MIC concentration.
Conclusions: Essential oils of Boswellia spp. could effectively inhibit the growth
of biofilms of medical relevance.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Boswellia spp. essential oils represent an
interesting source of anti-microbial agents in the development of new strategies
to prevent and treat biofilms
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the defensive profile in breast cancer women: A pilot study
Get PDFThis study analyzed the defensive functioning and profile of nine breast cancer women and identifies the differences from other cancer patients (N0) in the way they deal with internal conflicts and stressful situations related to the illness. Patients were interviewed and evaluated using the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale Q-sort. Mean differences analysis showed that breast cancer patients use more reaction formation, omnipotence, and rationalization and less idealization of others-image and autistic fantasy, compared with other-site cancer patients. From the qualitative analysis of the defensive profile, displacement and repression appeared among the most representative defense mechanisms of breast cancer patients
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe 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
TDM coupled with Bayesian forecasting should be considered an invaluable tool for optimizing vancomycin daily exposure in unstable critically ill patients
No full textA randomized two-arm prospective study was planned to assess the role of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) coupled with a Bayesian approach in tailoring vancomycin dosages in unstable critically ill patients. Group A (n=16) had their regimen adjusted day-by-day according to TDM and Bayesian forecasting (Da); group B (n=16) had their regimen adjusted day-by-day according to Moellering's nomogram (DM). Blood samples were collected every 1-2 days to assess the trough and peak plasma concentrations. In group A, the tailored Da required for optimizing vancomycin exposure were considerably higher than the DM in 7/16 cases, and lower than the DM in 1/16 cases. In group B, standard DM caused under-treatment in 3/16 cases and over-treatment in 4/16 cases. Most of these patients concomitantly had some conditions that might have altered vancomycin disposition. The TDM-guided Bayesian-based approach should be considered an invaluable tool for clinicians to handle appropriately on real-time vancomycin therapy in critically ill patients. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved
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