1,720,969 research outputs found

    Mathematical Investigation of the Interactions Between the Inflammatory Response and Mechanical Aspects of Dermal Wound Repair

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    Dermal wound repair involves complex interactions between cells, cytokines and mechanics to close injuries to the skin. In particular, we investigate the contribution of fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, TGF , collagen and local tissue mechanics to wound repair in the human dermis. We develop a morphoelastic model where a realistic representation of tissue mechanics is key, and a fibrocontractive model that involves a reasonable approximation to the true kinetics of the important bioactive species. We use each of these descriptions to elucidate the mechanisms that generate pathologies such as hypertrophic scars, contractures and keloids. We find that for hypertrophic scar and contracture development, factors regulating the myofibroblast phenotype are critical, with heightened myofibroblast activation, reduced myofibroblast apoptosis or prolonged inflammation all predicted as mediators for scar hypertrophy and contractures. Prevention of these pathologies is predicted when myofibroblast apoptosis is induced, myofibroblast activation is blocked or TGF is neutralised. To investigate keloid invasion, we develop a caricature representation of the fibrocontractive model and find that TGF spread is the driving factor behind keloid growth. Blocking activation of TGF is found to cause keloid regression. Thus, we recommend myofibroblasts and TGF as targets for clinicians when developing intervention strategies for prevention and cure of fibrotic scars

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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

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    We 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

    Persistency of debris accumulation in tidal estuaries using Lagrangian coherent structures

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    Coastal and estuarine ecosystems are heavily influenced through floating debris pollution. This often leads to low-quality coastal water and a negative impact on ecosystem health. The fate of debris, mostly originating from land is impacted by factors including river/tidal currents, winds, waves, and density gradients. The ability to predict hotspots of accumulation of debris has a strong socio-economic importance particularly in efficient debris clean-up operations. We show this can be done using Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs), a technique highly robust to hydrodynamic model uncertainties. Here we present a comprehensive study showing the utility of this approach to predict areas of spontaneous material accumulation in Moreton Bay, a semi-enclosed subtropical embayment on the southeast Queensland of Australia. The backward finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) is used as a diagnostic for attracting LCSs, which identifies 11 debris accumulation hotspots. The material accumulation in these identified areas is asymmetric with most events occurring during the ebb tide and most pronounced in the spring tidal cycle, indicating a strong role of outflow in debris accumulation. The impact of wind enhances a high concentration of material accumulation in 8 identified areas of Moreton Bay. Importantly, the identified hotspots, mostly in the vicinity of islands and headland, match the areas in which there is a high level of historical debris collection. This approach thus provides a useful tool for effective clean-up management of vulnerable regions and marine protected areas.No Full Tex

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We 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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