1,721,168 research outputs found
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
COVID-19 vaccines: where we stand and challenges ahead
No full textIn the eleven months elapsed since the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its genome, an exceptional effort by the scientific community has led to the development of over 300 vaccine projects. Over 40 are now undergoing clinical evaluation, ten of these are in Phase III clinical trials, three of them have ended Phase III with positive results. A few of these new vaccines are being approved for emergency use. Existing data suggest that new vaccine candidates may be instrumental in protecting individuals and reducing the spread of pandemic. The conceptual and technological platforms exploited are diverse, and it is likely that different vaccines will show to be better suited to distinct groups of the human population. Moreover, it remains to be elucidated whether and to what extent the capacity of vaccines under evaluation and of unrelated vaccines such as BCG can increase immunological fitness by training innate immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and pathogen-agnostic protection. Due to the short development time and the novelty of the technologies adopted, these vaccines will be deployed with several unresolved issues that only the passage of time will permit to clarify. Technical problems connected with the production of billions of doses and ethical ones connected with the availably of these vaccines also in the poorest countries, are imminent challenges facing us. It is our tenet that in the long run more than one vaccine will be needed to ensure equitable global access, protection of diverse subjects and immunity against viral variants
Zoledronic acid impairs mammary carcinogenesis in BALB/c mice transgenic for the Her-2/neu oncogene
No full textEffective anti-tumor immunomodulatory properties of zoledronic acid in Balb/c mice transgenic for the her-2/Neu oncogene
No full textEffective anti-tumor immunomodulatory properties of zoledronic acid
No full textIntroduction. Zoledronic acid (Zol) is the most potent aminobisphosphonates clinically available. Preclinical in vivo data suggest that it modulates the development of bone disease, decreases tumor burden with a direct anti-cancer activity, and reduces the migration and the metastatic invasion of cancer cells. Zol efficacy in anti-cancer adjuvant therapy also rests on its anti-angiogenic properties and ability to expand gamma/delta T cells, both in vitro and in vivo. The published data thus far
available concern murine models of transplanted tumors. Present work was made to assess Zol immune-mediated activity in impairing spontaneous carcinogenesis in a transgenic mouse model. Materials and Methods. To asses Zol anti-tumor and immunomodulant properties, BALBneuT mice were treated with 16 administrations of 100 μg/Kg of Zol divided into four courses of a single weekly injections for four weeks followed by a three weeks rest. Zol administration was started when mice were 7 weeks old and therefore when all the 10 mammary glands display
a widespread atypical hyperplasia. Zol was administered intravenously (i.v.) or into the mammary pad (i.mam.). Mice were evaluated for: 1) tumor onset, 2) tumor multiplicity and 3) overall survival. Results. Data obtained from these first experiments have shown that a similar significant tumor growth impairment was evident in mice receiving Zol administered i.v. or i.mam. Preliminary results have demonstrated Zol capacity to induce a significant increase in the percentage of gammadelta
T cells in the spleen and in the lymphonode of Zol-treated mice. Even more importantly, data obtained in IFNg knocked out -NeuT mice have shown that Zol capacity to delay tumor onset and growth and to improve NeuT-mice survival is strictly dependent on the presence of IFNgamma, which is a well known mediator of innate and adaptive immune responses. Zol immune-mediated anti-tumor properties are further and even more convincingly supported by the evidence that NeuT mice knocked-out for the gene encoding for the Fcg receptor (FcgR-KO NeuT) and NeuT mice knocked-out for the gene encoding for the perforin (PF-KO NeuT) did not benefit of Zol anti-tumor action. Conclusions. All together, these data show for the first time that Zol in vivo antitumor functions at least partially relies on broad immunomodulant properties, involving cellular and humoral immunity
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