1,720,989 research outputs found
EVOLUTION, ADAPTATION AND IMMUNE FUNCTIONS OF FISH LECTINS
No full textFish are equipped with a complex lectin repertoire that,
like mammals, are involved almost all the
immune reactions.
Carbohydrate recognition and interactions mediated by
lectins have been recognized involved in vertebrate innate
immunity, not only for recognition of potential pathogens, but
also acting in the agglutination, immobilization and other
functional steps. In fish, C, F types galectins, Rhamnose-bind-
ing lectin (RBL) and pentraxin have been identified in both car-
tilaginous and bony fish.
In addition, selectins and other genes
have been found in the currently available fish
genomes. On the basis of our results about F-type and RBL
lectins we showed that: lectin repertoires in fish are highly
diversified and include not only representatives of the lectin
families; described in mammals, but also members of lectin
families described for the first time in fish species like the F
type lectins and RBL; RBL and FTL have been identified in the
eggs and embryos but they are also present in the serum. The
characterization indicates that the tissue-specific expression
and localization of the diverse lectin repertoires and their
molecular partners is consistent with their distinct biological
roles in innate and adaptive immunity; Therefore, in order to
identify trends linked to cold adaptation in
antarctic fish, we try, to compare Perciformes and the Antartic fish
Trematomus bernacchii F lectins propertie
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
INFLAMMATION AND TENTACLE REGENERATION RESPONSES IN ANEMONIA VIRIDIS (ANTHOZOA, CNIDARIA)
No full textResponse of Sabella spallanzanii to multiple stressors. The combined effect of infection and copper sulphate
Full text linkThe aim of this work is to study the immune responses of the polychaete Sabella spallanzanii after exposure to
copper sulphate, an immunomodulating agent in marine organisms, and the multiple stresses caused by
Escherichia coli infection, to validate the species as a model organism in marine-coastal biomonitoring programmes.
Polychaetes were housed in laboratory and divided into five experimental groups: 1. Control (no
microinjected), 2. filtered seawater + TBS injection (control of point 3), 3. filtered seawater + E. coli injection
(control of point 4), 4. CuSO4 + TBS injection (control of point 5), and 5. CuSO4 + E. coli injection. The immune
variables, esterase and alkaline phosphatase activity, cytotoxicity and detoxifying/antioxidant enzymes such as
glutathione peroxidase were evaluated in total body extracts of the animals. Moreover, toll-like receptor, allograft
inflammatory factor-1, lysozyme and haemagglutinating activity were investigated to highlight possible
interactions. Indeed, the results of this work demonstrate the immunomodulating effect of copper sulphate on
S. spallanzanii total body extracts related to oxidative stress and inflammatory markers
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
METHYLMERCURY EFFECTS ON Mytilus galloprovincialis HAEMOCYTES ACTIVITY
No full textBivalves, filter-feeding organisms, due to their wide distri-bution, are used by many countries in biomonitoring, particu-larly in the assessment of xenobiotics in the marine ecosystem.These sentinel organisms are able to accumulate trace metalsand other substances in their tissues. Haemocytes are effectorsof cellular immunity in bivalves and are capable of respond-ing to stressors through activities such as phagocytosis or cyto-toxicity. In order to identify cellular markers to investigate pol-lution, the effect of different concentrations of organic mercury(CH3HgCl) on the morphology and responses of Mytilus gal-loprovincialishaemocytes was studied in this work. Sublethalconcentrations of methylmercury, as evidenced by the Trypanblue exclusion test, were used to investigate its effect on mor-phology, the efficiency of phagocytosis towards yeast cells,the maintenance of the lysosomal membrane and the ability torelease cytotoxic molecules. Alterations in haemocyte viabili-ty, morphological changes and alterations in the cytoskeletonwere observed. The spreading ability, a cell morphometricparameter, was also used as an additional method. Exposureto CH3HgCl influenced the percentage and index of phagocy-tosis. Finally, cytoskeletal and morphological modificationslead to a reduction in the ability to adhere to the substrate andincorporate the target. The cytotoxic activity of M. gallo-provincialis haemocytes towards erythrocytes and the activityrevealed from lysis plaque assay has not been modified byadequate concentrations of methylmercury in the medium. Inaddition, membrane permeability could be affected bymethylmercury due to the reduced retention capacity of neu-tral red by the cells. This evidence confirms that theMediterranean mussel M. galloprovincialisis a suitable modelorganism in the study of the state of health of the marine envi-ronment and in particular for investigation of pollution causedby xenobiotics
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
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
- …
