1,720,968 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
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
Bacterial gliding motility is mediated by apicomplexan-like cleavage of a surface adhesin
No full textSingle Myxococcus xanthus cells are capable of “gliding” over solid surfaces in the absence of flagella and type IV pili (T4P); this process involves coordination between several protein modules in focal adhesion complexes (FACs) that span the cell envelope. However, the mechanism by which the Glt gliding machinery engages with the underlying substratum remains unknown. The CglB protein is an ideal candidate for this role as (i) it has been identified in the outer membrane (OM), (ii) it can be transferred between bacteria via cell-cell contact, and (iii) is essential for gliding. Fold recognition, 3D structure modelling, and evolutionary couplings analyses revealed that CglB was structurally similar to known microbial tip pilin surface adhesins. Site-directed mutagenesis of an identified metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) motif and motility complementation studies further supported the functional homology with adhesins. Tracking of fluorescent FACs in ΔcglB cells revealed continued trafficking of intact Glt motility complexes inside the cell, despite a complete lack of single-cell motility. To directly examine motor–surface coupling, polystyrene beads were placed on wild-type and ΔcglB cell surfaces via optical trap, followed by particle-tracking analyses of bead translocation events, which were severely compromised in the latter strain. Finally, α-CglB immunofluorescence labelling of gliding M. xanthus cells detected CglB at stationary FACs, with foci remaining substratum-fixed even after cell passage. These data indicate that CglB at FACs is responsible for coupling the trafficked motility complexes inside the cell to the substratum to power single-cell propulsion. Intriguingly, CglB was found to be depleted in cells lacking all OM gliding machine components; however, the corresponding supernatants in these mutants were enriched for CglB. Supernatant CglB was smaller than the variant from intact cells, suggesting that proteolytic cleavage was responsible for its release from the cell. Inhibition of metalloprotease activity via ion chelation restored detectable amounts of CglB in non-retaining mutant backgrounds, supporting metalloprotease-dependent liberation of CglB from intact cells. These results are remarkably similar to the Plasmodium (malaria parasite) mechanism of gliding motility in which a substratum-adhered TRAP adhesin protein, linked to the microbial cytoskeleton, is translocated towards the rear of the cell and must be cleaved from the tip of a surface-bound adhesion point before a new adhesion can be formed at the leading pole. These findings also have implications for T4P retraction and subsequent re-extension as they provide evidence of tip pilin proteolysis (as opposed to recycling) in a bacterium
Structural and Functional Characterization of O-Antigen Translocation and Polymerization in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1
No full textBookmarks within the document have been provided for ease of access to a particular section in the body of the thesis. Each entry in the Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures has been "linked" to its respective position and as such can be clicked for direct access to the entry. Similarly, each in-text Figure or Table reference has been "linked" to its respective figure/table for direct access to the entry.Heteropolymeric O antigen (O-Ag)-capped lipopolysaccharide is the principal constituent of the Gram-negative bacterial cell surface. It is assembled via the integral inner membrane (IM) Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Wzx translocates lipid-linked anionic O-Ag subunits from the cytoplasmic to the periplasmic leaflets of the IM, where Wzy polymerizes the subunits to lengths regulated by Wzz1/2. The Wzx and Wzy IM topologies were mapped using random C-terminal-truncation fusions to PhoALacZα, which displays PhoA/LacZ activity dependent upon its subcellular localization. Twelve transmembrane segments (TMS) containing charged residues were identified for Wzx. Fourteen TMS, two sizeable cytoplasmic loops (CL), and two large periplasmic loops (PL3 and PL5 of comparable size) were characterized for Wzy. Despite Wzy PL3–PL5 sequence homology, these loops were distinguished by respective cationic and anionic charge properties. Site-directed mutagenesis identified functionally-essential Arg residues in both loops. These results led to the proposition of a “catch-and-release” mechanism for Wzy function. The abovementioned Arg residues and intra-Wzy PL3–PL5 sequence homology were conserved among phylogenetically diverse Wzy homologues, indicating widespread potential for the proposed mechanism. Unexpectedly, Wzy CL6 mutations disrupted Wzz1-mediated regulation of shorter O-Ag chains, providing the first evidence for direct Wzy–Wzz interaction. Mutagenesis studies identified functionally-important charged and aromatic TMS residues localized to either the interior vestibule or TMS bundles in a 3D homology model constructed for Wzx. Substrate-binding or energy-coupling roles were proposed for these residues, respectively. The Wzx interior was found to be cationic, consistent with translocation of anionic O-Ag subunits. To test these hypotheses, Wzx was overexpressed, purified, and reconstituted in proteoliposomes loaded with I−. Common transport coupling ions were introduced to “open” the protein and allow detection of I− flux via reconstituted Wzx. Extraliposomal changes in H+ induced I− flux, while Na+ addition had no effect, suggesting H+-dependent Wzx gating. Putative energy-coupling residue mutants demonstrated defective H+-dependent halide flux. Wzx also mediated H+ uptake as detected through fluorescence shifts from proteoliposomes loaded with pH-sensitive dye. Consequently, Wzx was proposed to function via H+-coupled antiport. In summary, this research has contributed structural and functional knowledge leading to novel mechanistic understandings for O-Ag biosynthesis in bacteria.Canadian Institutes of Health ResearchCystic Fibrosis CanadaUniversity of GuelphOntario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technolog
Dispelling 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
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
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