1,720,963 research outputs found
Managing the Avian Microbiome in Health and Disease
No full textThis session begins with a review of avian gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology. The intestinal
microbiota of birds is examined focusing on important interactions that support avian immune system
function and homeostasis. Original scientific research in birds is presented, documenting the effects of
probiotic therapy in such diverse conditions as atoxoplasmosis, megabacteriosis, proventricular dilatation
disease, and IgA stimulation in hand-reared nestlings. The session concludes with a review and analysis
of products available to the avian practitioner
Avian Ganglioneuritis in Clinical Practice
No full textAvian ganglioneuritis (AG) comprises one of the most intricate pathologies in avian medicine and is researched worldwide. Avian bornavirus (ABV) has been shown to be a causative agent of proventricular dilatation disease in birds. The avian Bornaviridae represent a genetically diverse group of viruses that are widely distributed in captive and wild populations around the world. ABV and other infective agents are implicated as a cause of the autoimmune pathology that leads to AG, similar to human Guillain Barrè syndrome. Management of affected birds is beneficial and currently centered at reducing neurologic inflammation, managing secondary complications, and providing nutritional support
PARROT'S PDD IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE? NEW PATHOGENETIC EVIDENCES FOR AN AUTO-IMMUNE GANGLIONEURITIS
No full textIn the past we have demonstrated that the pathogenesis of the often fatal syndrome known as “Proventricular Dilatation Disease” (PDD) in parrot is an autoimmune reaction. During the PDD development, intramural myoenteric ganglia are progressively damaged by anti-ganglioside specific auto-antibodies and sensitized lymphocytes and monocytes. We have shown the presence and localization of these auto-antibodies by IHC and immunoelectron microscopy in the crop or gastrointestinal ganglia of parrots, some of which showing severe clinical signs of PDD. In 85% of 40 parrots (34 parrots) belonging to different genera and species, with various clinical signs and positive crop biopsies for PDD, we have evidenced an high titre of anti-gangliosides antibodies, detected by an ELISA test. Of these 34 parrots, 60% (20 parrots) showed avian bornavirus P40 protein specific antibodies in the ELISA test. EM examination showed the presence of dense deposits (probably antibody-complement complexes) over presynaptic motor axons, accompanied by ultrastructural signs of damage. Using immuno-electron microscopy, we observed deposits of antibodies equally distributed on both neuronal and perisynaptic Schwann cells (pSC) membranes, and ultrastructural evidences of injury at both sites. These data demonstrated that both presynaptic neuronal membranes and pSCs are targets for anti-ganglioside antibodies and that probably specific complement components might mediate the injury to both sites. In our opinion this pathogenetic mechanism is independent of a specific aetiological agent (i.e. Bornavirus, Paramyxovirus or other viruses or bacteria). To validate our hypothesis, we tested the 40 sera of PDD affected birds also for lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) from Campylobacter jejuni, which shows a remarkable structural and antigenic similarities with the gangliosides. The presence of cross-reactivity strengthens the autoimmune theory as the cause of the syndrome
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
- …
