1,720,956 research outputs found
Screening for C-type lectin receptor (CLR)/bacteria interactions using a bovine CLR-Fc fusion protein library reveals recognition of Pasteurella multocida B:2 by MICL
No full textPattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are an essential component of the innate immune system. Myeloid C-type-lectin receptors (CLRs) serve as PRRs and play a crucial role in pathogen recognition. While the role of CLRs has been mainly studied in mice and humans, their function in cattle is poorly understood. To address this gap, we generated a novel bovine CLR-hFc fusion protein library, enabling high-throughput screening of bovine CLR/pathogen interactions. The functionality of the bovine CLR-hFc fusion proteins was validated with known CLR ligands using ELISA- and flow cytometry-based binding assays, by comparison of bovine CLRs with their murine, ovine and human orthologues. In a proof-of-principle pathogen binding study, we assessed CLR binding to Pasteurella (P.) multocida, a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen causing hemorrhagic septicemia in cattle. The bovine CLR myeloid inhibitory C-type lectin (MICL, Clec12A) was identified as a potential receptor for P. multocida, as it exhibited significant binding in flow cytometry binding assays. Cross-species analysis confirmed that murine and ovine MICL also binds P. multocida, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved recognition. To explore MICL-dependent innate responses to P. multocida-derived factors, cytokine assays were performed using dendritic cells (DCs) from wild-type (WT) and MICL-deficient (MICL-/-) mice. MICL-/- DCs produced higher levels of IL-6 and IL-12 upon stimulation with heat-killed P. multocida, suggesting a role for MICL in the down-modulation of innate responses. The results highlight MICL as a receptor in the recognition of P. multocida and demonstrate the utility of the generated bovine CLR-hFc fusion protein library for pathogen screening
In vitro matured oocytes have a higher developmental potential than in vivo matured oocytes after hormonal ovarian stimulation in Callithrix jacchus
No full textThe common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus, is an invaluable model in biomedical research. Its use includes genetic engineering applications, which require manipulations of oocytes and production of embryos in vitro. To maximize the recovery of oocytes suitable for embryo production and to fulfil the requirements of the 3R principles to the highest degree possible, optimization of ovarian stimulation protocols is crucial. Here, we compared the efficacy of two hormonal ovarian stimulation approaches: 1) stimulation of follicular growth with hFSH followed by triggering of oocyte maturation with hCG (FSH + hCG) and 2) stimulation with hFSH only (FSH-priming)
Vector and Host C-Type Lectin Receptor (CLR)–Fc Fusion Proteins as a Cross-Species Comparative Approach to Screen for CLR–Rift Valley Fever Virus Interactions
No full textRift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne bunyavirus endemic to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, which causes diseases in humans and livestock. C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) represent a superfamily of pattern recognition receptors that were reported to interact with diverse viruses and contribute to antiviral immune responses but may also act as attachment factors or entry receptors in diverse species. Human DC-SIGN and L-SIGN are known to interact with RVFV and to facilitate viral host cell entry, but the roles of further host and vector CLRs are still unknown. In this study, we present a CLR–Fc fusion protein library to screen RVFV–CLR interaction in a cross-species approach and identified novel murine, ovine, and Aedes aegypti RVFV candidate receptors. Furthermore, cross-species CLR binding studies enabled observations of the differences and similarities in binding preferences of RVFV between mammalian CLR homologues, as well as more distant vector/host CLRs
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
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