1,720,958 research outputs found
A promising novel aquatic model for assessing cellular and physiological response to personal care product additives
No full textOriginating from the Pacific Ocean, the pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata (Röding, 1798) stands as one of the first “Lessepsian migrants” to reach the Mediterranean Sea via Suez. Since the 2000s, the species has established a successful population in the transitional waterways of the “Capo Peloro Lagoon natural reserve”, exhibiting exceptional abundance owing to its remarkable adaptability across various hydrological, climatic, environmental, and pollution conditions. With reference to recent studies1,2 and considering its biological traits, P. imbricata appears to embody the qualities of an effective bioindicator and model organism for ecotoxicological investigations. The relevance of the availability of suitable bioindicators and model organisms stems from the growing awareness of identifying and addressing stress conditions that affect aquatic ecosystems, primarily due to human-induced pressures. Effectively, aquatic ecosystems are among the main target environments for biomonitoring strategies, as they represent one of the main receptors of pollutants. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of personal hygiene products, containing compounds, e.g. preservatives, that may threaten aquatic ecosystems. Preservatives include various categories including quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), recognized for their ability to withstand metabolic degradation and persistence in wastewater due to their lipophilic nature. Among QACs is quaternium-15, which is widely incorporated in various personal care products (PCPs). Therefore, this study aims to assess the physiological and cellular responses of P. imbricata's haemocytes to different concentrations of quaternium-15 (0.1 and 1 mg L-1) in vitro, to determine the suitability of the species as an experimental model in ecotoxicological studies and the toxicity of the substance. The investigation included cell viability and phagocytosis assays, along with modulation of γ-actin (γAct) and oxidative stress-related gene expression (Cat, MnSod, Zn/CuSod, GPx). Findings revealed a significant reduction in haemocyte viability and phagocytosis activity after exposure to both concentrations. The decreasing phagocytosis activity was also supported by the gene expression modulation of γAct, which is involved in cytoskeleton rearrangement. The qPCR data revealed significant alterations in the antioxidant response, resulting in the upregulation of Cat and GPx and the downregulation of MnSod and Zn/CuSod. These data indicate that exposure to quaternium-15 caused harmful effects on the immune-mediated response of haemocytes, which act as the primary defence mechanism for bivalve molluscs against xenobiotics. Additionally, there is evidence of a time and dose-dependent response, highlighting the importance of exploring sustainable alternatives to replace harmful additives in PCPs and promoting P. imbricata as a valuable model for future ecotoxicological studies.
1Kuchel, R.P., et al. (2010). Haemocyte morphology and function in the Akoya pearl oyster, Pinctada imbricata. J. Invertebr. Pathol., 105(1), 36-48.
2Pagano, M., et al. (2023). A first insight into haemocytes of Pinctada imbricata radiata: A morpho‐functional characterization. Micros. Res. Techniq., 86(3), 368-377
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
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902
No full textIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
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