1,720,969 research outputs found
Dysbiosis in SARS-CoV-2–infected patients
No full textGastrointestinal symptoms are frequently observed in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but only limited knowledge is available regarding the ability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to influence the host microbiota composition. The entry of SARS-CoV-2 into intestinal cells down-regulates angiotensin-converting 2 receptors and causes microbial dysbiosis.1 , 2 An alteration of the microbial composition may impact the pulmonary defense mechanisms through the so-called gut–lung axis.3 We have read with interest the articles by Zuo et al4 confirming the impact of COVID-19 on the gastrointestinal tract's microbial community composition. Remarkably, their article represents, to our knowledge, the first publication exploring the complex association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and fungi, a neglected component of the gut microbiota. Gut bacteria inhibit the growth of Candida albicans and other gut fungi via the target of rapamycin signaling pathway and through those tryptophan metabolites, which are responsible for an interleukin-22–dependent mucosal response.5 , 6 Bacteria and fungi compete for some nutrients and, in this context, bacteria with probiotic properties may control Candida overgrowth. In healthy volunteers, a commercially available probiotic product has induced a significant fecal anti-Candida activity associated with the augmented production of interferon-alfa in the gastrointestinal tract.7 Another probiotic formulation administered to patients with COVID-19 has induced a significantly faster remission of gastrointestinal symptoms and other symptoms, such as fever, cough, dyspnea, headache, myalgia, and a decreased risk of evolving respiratory failure compared with nontreated patients.8 These preliminary data should encourage the scientific community to investigate the possible use of probiotics in patients with COVID-19, keeping in mind that not all probiotic formulations are equivalent for efficacy and safety in these fragile patients
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
Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli: Beta-Lactam Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Resistance
Full text linkMultiple-antibiotic-resistant (MAR) extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) represents one of the most frequent causes of human nosocomial and community-acquired infec-tions, whose eradication is of major concern for clinicians. ExPECs may inhabit indefinitely as commensal the gut of humans and other animals; from the intestine, they may move to colonize other tissues, where they are responsible for a number of diseases, including recurrent and uncomplicated UTIs, sepsis and neonatal meningitis. In the pre-antibiotic era, heavy metals were largely used as chemotherapeutics and/or as antimicrobials in human and animal healthcare. As with antibiotics, the global incidence of heavy metal tolerance in commensal, as well as in ExPEC, has increased following the ban in several countries of antibiotics as promoters of animal growth. Furthermore, it is believed that extensive bacterial exposure to heavy metals present in soil and water might have favored the increase in heavy-metal-tolerant microorganisms. The isolation of ExPEC strains with combined resistance to both antibiotics and heavy metals has become quite common and, remarkably, it has been recently shown that heavy metal resistance genes may co-select antibiotic-resistance genes. Despite their clinical relevance, the mechanisms underlining the development and spread of heavy metal tolerance have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this review is to present data regarding the development and spread of resistance to first-line antibiotics, such as beta-lactams, as well as tolerance to heavy metals in ExPEC strains
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
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