1,720,962 research outputs found
Galactooligosaccharide fibres exert immunomodulatory properties and interfere with riboflavin derivatives in an ex-vivo study
No full textMucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are T lymphocytes with a key role in immune surveillance. Riboflavin derivatives produced by the gut microbiota are MAIT cell ligands(Reference Patel, Kjer-Nielsen and Le Nours1). Evidence suggests that unknown metabolites synthesised by probiotic strains modulate MAIT cell function(Reference Johansson, Bjorkander and Mata Forsberg2,Reference Hinks3) . Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) are prebiotics produced via transgalactosylation by β-galactosidases, which are expressed by gut bacteria(Reference Grimaldi, Swann and Vulevic4). We aim to assess whether GOS modulate the function of MAIT cells or other peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets and whether cells respond differently to a riboflavin derivative in presence of GOS.Healthy PBMCs (n = 8) were cultured for 20 h with GOS (Bimuno®) (12 mg/mL), or a riboflavin derivative (5-A-RU 0.18 μM + methylglyoxal 1 μM), or co-stimulated with both. Unstimulated cells were used as control. One-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Bonferroni's or Dunn's post-hoc test were performed depending upon data distribution.Treatment with GOS did not affect viability. PBMCs incubated with GOS presented lower CD4 expression on T helper cells (MFI 14,561 ± 612.3 vs 17,593 ± 2,157; p = 0.0053) and secreted more IL-8 (104.0 ± 62.9 ng/mL vs 3.8 ± 2.6 ng/mL; p = 0.0005) compared to control. Intracellular staining revealed that monocytes were responsible for the upregulated IL-8 expression. Co-treatment of cells with the riboflavin derivative and GOS resulted in decreased CD69 expression by lymphocytes (MFI 19,076 ± 2,648 vs 15,761 ± 1,158 p = 0.0017), T cells (MFI 20,317 ± 2,303 vs 16,572 ± 1,439 p < 0.0001) and cytotoxic T cells (MFI 24,669 ± 4,249 vs 20,188 ± 3,485 p = 0.0205) compared to riboflavin derivative alone, and in lower % MAIT cells expressing IL-17A vs riboflavin derivative alone (0.03 ± 0.03 vs 0.49 ± 0.40 p = 0.0008).Overall, GOS showed immunomodulatory effects, including the modulation of CD4 expression and enhancement of IL-8 secretion. PBMCs responded differently to ligand challenge in presence of GOS, suggesting that the prebiotic may interfere with riboflavin metabolites or signal via similar pathways
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
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
Prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus in Ixodes ricinus from a novel endemic area of North Eastern Italy.
No full textIn Alpine area of extreme North Eastern Italy the first autochthonous case of TBE was reported in 1998 and was followed by 45 cases during the period 2001–2007, thus defining this area as definitely endemic. An ecological survey evaluated the tick density and the Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection prevalence in tick collected in selected sites. In addition, TBE strains were characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Overall, 2,361 ticks (2,198 nymphs and 163 adults) of the Ixodes ricinus L. species collected during 2005 and 2006 were examined. Five samples were positive for TBEV, corresponding to an overall prevalence rate of 0.21%. When analyzed by place, TBEV was discovered in three sites where the highest tick density was found. Phylogenetic analysis showed that four sequences clustered with the Neudoerfl prototype, while the other clustered with the Isosaari 17 strain and with a number of Slovenian isolates
Varroa destructor exacerbates the negative effect of cold contributing to honey bee mortality
Full text linkSeveral concurrent stress factors can impact honey bee health and colony stability. Although a satisfactory knowledge of the effect of almost every single factor is now available, a mechanistic understanding of the many possible interactions between stressors is still largely lacking. Here we studied, both at the individual and colony level, how honey bees are affected by concurrent exposure to cold and parasitic infection. We found that the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, further than increasing the natural mortality of bees, can induce an anorexia that reduces their capacity to thermoregulate and thus react to sub-optimal temperatures. This, in turn, could affect the collective response of the bee colony to cold temperatures aggravating the effect already observed at the individual level. These results highlight the important role that biotic factors can have by shaping the response to abiotic factors and the strategic need to consider the potential interactions between stressors at all levels of the biological organization to better understand their impact
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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