1,720,974 research outputs found
Clustering of rare peptide segments in the HCV immunome
No full textOur previous research and a comprehensive meta-analysis of data from the literature on epitope mapping has revealed that the B cell epitope repertoire is allocated to rare peptide motifs, i.e., antigenic peptide sequences endowed with a low level of similarity to the host proteome. From a clinical point of view, low-similarity peptides able to evoke an immune response appear to be of special interest for the rational design of vaccines for poorly treatable diseases such as hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection. Indeed, low similarity peptides would guarantee the highest specificity and lowest cross-reactivity, i.e., effectiveness without adverse side-effects. In this study, aimed at gaining further information for the development of effective anti-HCV peptide-based vaccines, the HCV epitopes recognized by human antibodies and currently catalogued in the Immune Epitope Data Base (IEDB) were examined for pentamer sequence similarities to the human proteome. We report that the analyzed HCV determinants are characterized by the presence of fragment absent from (or scarcely represented in) human proteins. These data confirm the low-similarity hypothesis, according to which a low-similarity to the host proteome defines the nonself character of microbial antigens and modulates peptide immunogenicity. Moreover, this study indicates a concrete and safe immunotherapeutic approach which might be used in a universal anti-HCV vaccine
The in vivo effect of Augmenter of Liver regeneration (ALR) on signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 (Stat3)
No full textAugmenter of liver regeneration: un enzima ad attività sulfidril-ossidasica in grado di inibire l'apoptosi nel fegato
No full textLa crescita cellulare è il risultato tra la spinta proliferativa dei fattori di crescita (GF) e L'attivazione dell'apoptosi, un fenomeno biologico di cui poco noti sono i fattori regolatori. Nel nostro laboratorio è stato identificato ed isolato un GF epatico (1), con attività enzimatica sulfidril-ossidasica (2),L'Augmenter of Liver Regeneration (ALR). Tale fattore è presente in tutti i tessuti (3) ed ha la capacità di"aumentare" la spinta proliferativa, in vivo, in cellule in cui il ciclo cellulare sia stato già avviato (1). Pur tuttavia non è stato ancora identificato il meccanismo d'azione attraverso cui L'ALR partecipa al processo proliferativ
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
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