124,597 research outputs found
Characterization of dendritic cell phenotype in allergic conjunctiva: increased expression of Fc epsilon RI, the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E
No full textAbstract
PURPOSE:
Dendritic cells (DCs) express the high-affinity receptor for IgE (Fc(epsilon)RI) on their surface, which may enhance their ability to capture and internalize antigens for presentation to T-lymphocytes. The aim of this study was to determine if expression of Fc(epsilon)RI(+) DCs is increased in the conjunctivae of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) patients compared with those of normal controls.
METHODS:
Conjunctival biopsies were obtained from non-atopic and VKC patients. Double immunohistochemical staining was carried out using antibodies against Fc(epsilon)RI and the CD1a antigen, a DC marker. The double-positive cells were counted in five representative fields of view for each conjunctival sample.
RESULTS:
Fc(epsilon)RI(+) CD1a(+) cells were present in significantly higher numbers in VKC conjunctivae compared with normal controls (mean cell count of 21.3 in VKC vs5.0 in controls, P<0.005). In normal patients the Fc(epsilon)RI-expressing DCs tended to be confined to the epithelial layer or the superficial substantia propria, but in the VKC samples these Fc(epsilon)RI(+) cells were mainly concentrated in the deeper substantia propria.
CONCLUSIONS:
Fc(epsilon)RI(+) DC numbers are elevated in the conjunctivae of VKC patients, a finding consistent with the results of other studies focusing on atopic conditions. Elevated expression of Fc(epsilon)RI on DCs would facilitate antigen presentation and enhance T-cell priming, thereby contributing to ocular symptoms
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
Characterisation of the phenotype and function of monocyte-derived dendritic cells in allergic conjunctiva
No full textAbstract
BACKGROUND:
Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells involved in initiating the immune response, presenting antigens to T cells and leading to T cell proliferation. In an immature state, DCs lack accessory signals required for T cell stimulation but are highly specialised to capture antigens. Full DC maturation changes the cell surface phenotype and facilitates stimulation of T cell proliferative responses. To examine the degree of DC maturity associated with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), the authors examined the phenotype and antigen-presentation capability of blood derived DCs from VKC patients and from normal controls.
METHODS:
Flow cytometry was used to identify the cell surface expression of markers of DC maturity (CD83, CD86, major histocompatibility complex class II) and mixed leucocyte reactions to assess DC induction of T cell proliferation.
RESULTS:
DCs derived from VKC patients were of a more mature phenotype than those from normal controls. However, these VKC DCs had reduced capability for induction of T cell proliferation compared with DCs from controls.
CONCLUSION:
The increased maturity of DCs in VKC patients correlates with the heightened immune responsiveness associated with this disorder. A number of mechanisms may underlie the impaired ability of DCs in atopy to stimulate T cell proliferation. This impairment of DC induction of T cell activation is likely to be one factor which contributes to the modified inflammatory response seen in VKC patients and the recognised susceptibility of these patients to viral infection
Pragmatic Case Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology
No full textTo unify or not to unify applied psychology: that is the question. In this article we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question—from a comprehensive, positivist, “top-down,” deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 60s, to a postmodern no since then. A rationale and proposal for a limited, “bottom-up,” inductive yes in applied psychology is then presented, employing a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. This paradigm is labeled “pragmatic psychology” and, its specific use of case studies, the “Pragmatic Case Study Method” (“PCS Method”). We call for the creation of peer-reviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies as a foundational source of unifying applied knowledge in our discipline. As one example, the potential of the PCS Method for unifying different angles of theoretical regard is illustrated in an area of applied psychology, psychotherapy, via the case of Mrs. B. The article then turns to the broader historical and epistemological arguments for the unifying nature of the PCS Method in both applied and basic psychology.Peer reviewe
Dr. Edwin Wright Collection: Author Unknown
No full textNotes - The author relates several short stories about his neighbours including Alex McDonell, homesteading and life around Meanook and Athabasca (1 page
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(B0→K∗0γ )/B(B0s→φγ ) and the directCP asymmetry inB 0→K∗0γ
No full textThe ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0→K⁎0γ and B0s→ϕγ has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7TeV. The value obtained is
B(B0→K⁎0γ)B(B0s→ϕγ)=1.23±0.06(stat.)±0.04(syst.)±0.10(fs/fd),
where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for B(B0→K⁎0γ), the branching fraction B(B0s→ϕγ) is measured to be (3.5±0.4)×10−5.
The direct CP asymmetry in B0→K⁎0γ decays has also been measured with the same data and found to be
ACP(B0→K⁎0γ)=(0.8±1.7(stat.)±0.9(syst.))%.
Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the previous experimental results and theoretical expectations
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
Branching fraction and CP asymmetry of the decays B+→K0Sπ+ and B+→K0SK+
No full textAn analysis of B+ → K0
Sπ+ and B+ → K0
S K+ decays is performed with the LHCb experiment. The pp
collision data used correspond to integrated luminosities of 1 fb−1 and 2 fb−1 collected at centre-ofmass
energies of
√
s = 7 TeV and
√
s = 8 TeV, respectively. The ratio of branching fractions and the
direct CP asymmetries are measured to be B(B+ → K0
S K+
)/B(B+ → K0
Sπ+
) = 0.064 ± 0.009 (stat.) ±
0.004 (syst.), ACP(B+ → K0
Sπ+
) = −0.022 ± 0.025 (stat.) ± 0.010 (syst.) and ACP(B+ → K0
S K+
) =
−0.21 ± 0.14 (stat.) ± 0.01 (syst.). The data sample taken at
√
s = 7 TeV is used to search for
B+
c
→ K0
S K+ decays and results in the upper limit ( fc · B(B+
c
→ K0
S K+
))/( fu · B(B+ → K0
Sπ+
)) <
5.8 × 10−2 at 90% confidence level, where fc and fu denote the hadronisation fractions of a ¯b
quark
into a B+
c or a B+ meson, respectively
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