1,720,961 research outputs found
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
Assessment of Imatinib Anti-Remodeling Activity on a Human Precision Cut Lung Slices Model
Get PDFRecent studies have emphasized the critical role of alteration in cellular plasticity in the development of fibrotic disorders, particularly pulmonary fibrosis, prompting further investigation into molecular mechanisms and therapeutic approaches. In this context, Precision Cut Lung Slices (PCLSs) emerge as a valuable ex vivo research tool. The process of PCLSs generation preserves most features of the naïve lung tissue, such as its architecture and complex cellular composition. We previously stimulated normal lung PCLSs with two different stimuli (fibrotic cocktail, composed by platelet lysate and TGFβ, or neutrophil extracellular traps) and we observed a significant elevation of Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) markers from 24 h to 72 h of culture. The aim of our work was to exploit this PCLSs based ex vivo model of EMT, to evaluate the effect of imatinib, an old tyrosine kinase inhibitor with reported anti-remodeling activities in vitro and in animal models. Imatinib treatment significantly decreased α-SMA and collagen expression already starting from 24 h on stimulated PCLS. Imatinib showed a significant toxicity on unstimulated cells (3-fold increase in ACTA2 expression levels at 24 h, 1.5-fold increase in COL1A1 expression levels at 24 h, 2-fold increase in COL3A1 expression levels at 72 h). Further evaluations on specific cell lines pointed out that drug effects were mainly directed towards A549 and LFs. In conclusion, our model confirms the anti-remodeling activity of imatinib but suggests that its direct delivery to alveolar epithelial cells as recently attempted by inhalatory preparation of the drug might be associated with a non-negligible epithelial cell toxicity
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
Phenotypes and Serum Biomarkers in Sarcoidosis
No full textSarcoidosis is a multisystem disease, which is diagnosed on a compatible clinical presentation, non-necrotizing granulomatous inflammation in one or more tissue samples, and exclusion of alternative causes of granulomatous disease. Considering its heterogeneity, numerous aspects of the disease remain to be elucidated. In this context, the identification and integration of biomarkers may hold significance in clinical practice, aiding in appropriate selection of patients for targeted clinical trials. This work aims to discuss and analyze how validated biomarkers are currently integrated in disease category definitions. Future studies are mandatory to unravel the diverse contributions of genetics, socioeconomic status, environmental exposures, and other sociodemographic variables to disease severity and phenotypic presentation. Furthermore, the implementation of transcriptomics, multidisciplinary approaches, and consideration of patients’ perspectives, reporting innovative insights, could be pivotal for a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and the optimization of clinical assistance
Lung mesenchymal cells from patients with COVID-19 driven lung fibrosis: Several features with CTD-ILD derived cells but with higher response to fibrogenic signals and might be more pro-inflammatory
Get PDFA subset of severe COVID19 patients develop pulmonary fibrosis, but the pathophysiology of this complication is still unclear. We previously described the possibility to isolate lung mesenchymal cells (LMC) by culturing broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) cells from patients with pulmonary fibrosis or chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Aim of this study was to investigate the possibility to isolate and characterize LMC from BAL of patients that, two months after discharge for severe COVID19, show CT signs of post-COVID19 fibrosis (Post-COVID) and in some cases has been considered transplant indication. Results were compared with those from BAL of patients with collagen tissue disease-associated interstitial fibrosis (CTD-ILD). BAL fluid levels of TGF & beta;, VEGF, TIMP2, RANTES, IL6, IL8, and PAI1 were assessed. LMC were cultured and expanded, phenotyped by flow cytometry, and tested for osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Finally, we tested immunomodulatory and proliferative capabilities, collagen I production + /- TGF-beta stimulation. BAL cytokine and growth factor levels were comparable in the two groups. Efficiency of isolation from BAL was 100% in post-COVID compared to 63% in CTD-ILD. LMC from post-COVID were positive for CD105, CD73, CD90, and negative for CD45, CD34, CD19 and HLA-DR as in CTD-ILD samples. Post-COVID LMC displayed higher collagen production with respect to CTD-ILD LMC. Immunomodulatory capacity towards lymphocytes was very low, while Post-COVID LMC significantly upregulated pro-inflammatory cytokine production by healthy PBMCs. Our preliminary data suggest that LMC from post-COVID19 fibrosis patients share several features with CTD-ILD ones but might have a higher response to fibrogenic signals and pro-inflammatory profile
Economic impact of anti-IL-5 agents in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma: a population-based cohort study
No full textDispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe 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
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