1,720,960 research outputs found
C1q is responsible of the anti-inflammatory behavior of decidual endothelial cells
No full textPROBLEM: Endothelial cells (ECs), although similar in function and morphology, represent an heterogeneous population of cells in terms of secretion of inflammatory mediators, modulation of adhesion molecules, leakiness and pro-coagulant activity and play a fundamental role in the control of the inflammatory response. Excessive inflammation at foetal-maternal interface is thought to be a key contributor in a compromised pregnancy. Intrauterine infections have been associated with pregnancy complications such as preterm labor, intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia.
We demonstrated that decidual endothelial cells (DECs) compared to ECs isolated from adult skin (ADMECs) are ipo-responsive to the pro-inflammatory stimulus LPS for the expression of adhesion molecules and cytokines secretion. We showed also that DECs express lower level of TLR4, MD2 and MyD88 compared to ADMECs and this may be important for the control of the inflammatory response at foeto-maternal interface.
We have previously shown that DECs acquired the ability to synthesize C1q during pregnancy which is to a large extent localized on the cell surface. Since it has been demonstrated that C1q suppressed LPS-induced IL-12p40 production in bone marrow-derived DC (BMDC) we hypothesised that C1q can play a role in the control of DECs response to LPS.
METHODS: We investigated the expression of TLR4, MD-2, and MyD88 in ADMECs previously incubated for two hours with C1q in cells stimulated or not with LPS by Real Time PCR, Western blotting and cytofluorimetric analysis.
RESULTS: Our results showed that C1q affects mRNA expression of TLR4, MD-2, and MyD88 both in resting and in stimulated cells,
CONCLUSION: The presence of C1q at foeto maternal interface may be responsible of the control of inflammation during pregnancy
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
Ruolo dell'endotelio nel controllo dell'infiammazione a livello dell'interfaccia materno-fetale
Full text link2010/2011La gravidanza costituisce una delle maggiori sfide per il sistema immunitario (SI) materno in quanto il feto costituisce un trapianto semi-allogenico. Il SI materno deve creare una situazione di tolleranza nei confronti degli alloantigeni paterni e deve garantire la protezione contro le infezioni spesso associate a patologie della gravidanza. L’endotelio è un organo dinamico ed eterogeneo, con funzioni sintetiche, secretorie ed immunologiche. Le cellule endoteliali (EC) pur essendo simili, sono estremamente plastiche ed eterogenee per funzione e morfologia nei diversi organi. Le cellule endoteliali deciduali (DEC) sono cellule particolari dal punto di vista immunologico in quanto sono le uniche EC che in condizioni fisiologiche sono in grado di produrre C1q, una delle molecole di riconoscimento del sistema del complemento.
Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di analizzare il comportamento delle DEC e di confrontarlo con un endotelio tipicamente pro-infiammatorio derivato dal microcircolo cutaneo, sia in condizioni basali che in risposta all’LPS. L’attivazione cellulare è stata valutata in termini di produzione di citochine mediante Luminex ed espressione di molecole di adesione. E’ stata indagata anche l’espressione del TLR4, MD2 e del CD14 ed inoltre, tramite Western blot, l’attivazione delle proteine responsabili delle due vie di trasduzione del segnale mediata dal complesso TLR4-LPS. I nostri dati dimostrano che le DEC sono iporesponsive agli stimoli pro-infiammatori, e che il C1q è responsabile della bassa risposta all’LPS andando a ridurre l’espressione genica di TLR4, MD-2, MyD88 e TRIF e di alcune citochine proinfiammatorie.
In conclusione i nostri dati indicano che l’endotelio deciduale presentando un fenotipo anti-infiammatorio costituisce uno dei principali regolatori del corretto livello dell’infiammazione a livello placentare.XXIV Ciclo198
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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