1,720,983 research outputs found
BIOCHEMICAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROFILE OF SPONTANEOUSLY DIFFERENTIATED HUMAN MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES IN PATIENTS WITH ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE
Full text linkBackground: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which oxidative stress and macrophages play fundamental roles. Macrophages are heterogeneous cells in term of morphology and function and the prevalence of a specific morpho-phenotype may influence the progression or the regression of the plaque. Human coronary plaque macrophages are not easily obtainable and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) are widely accepted as a good surrogate. Our previous study has reported that healthy subjects show two dominant MDM morphotypes, spindle and round, present in the same percentage.
Aim: The aims of the study were to assess the biochemical and functional profile of MDMs obtained from CAD patients and to investigate the relationship between these characteristics and plaque features detected in vivo.
Material and methods: ninety CAD patients and twenty-five healthy volunteers were enrolled. MDMs were obtained by culturing monocytes for 7 days in medium supplemented with 10% autologous serum. Transglutaminase2 (TG2), tissue factor (TF), nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme-oxygenase (HO-1) were determined by western blotting and immunofluorescence. The uptake of apoptotic Jurkat T cells was detected by flow cytometry and thrombin formation was assessed by thrombinoscope. Fatty acids composition and oxidative stress status, determined as the ratio between the reduced and oxidized forms of glutathione (GSH and GSSG, respectively) were analyzed by liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Plaque features were detected in vivo by optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Results: MDMs obtained from CAD patients were characterized by the predominance of round cells. These cells exhibited a lower efferocytic capacity and higher capacity to generate thrombin in respect to those of healthy subjects, reflecting the low expression of TG2 and the enhance of TF levels. Moreover, MDMs of CAD patients showed a higher oxidative stress status, evidenced by the lower GSH/GSSG ratio, in respect to those of healthy subjects. Finally, we found a positive correlation between oxidative stress status and membrane fluidity (MFI) as evidenced by the ratio of C18:1 (oleic acid)/C18:2 (linoleic acid), as well as MFI and capacity to engulf apoptotic cells. Regarding OCT analysis, patients with a higher round MDMs prevalence exhibited more frequently a lipid rich plaque, a TCFA (thin cap fibroatheroma), a greater intra-plaque macrophage content, and a ruptured plaque, characteristics of vulnerable plaque. Furthermore, patients with high TF levels more frequently presented a intra-plaque macrophages accumulation, a ruptured plaque and a presence of thrombus. In addition, vulnerable plaque characteristics were associated with high HO-1 levels.
Conclusions: MDMs of CAD patients present a pro-inflammatory and high thrombogenic profile in respect to those of healthy volunteers. The high oxidative stress present in these cells influences the membrane fluidity that in turn influences the efferocytic capability. This specific cellular profile detected in in vitro obtained MDMs is associated with the detection of high-risk and rupture-prone coronary plaques in vivo, at OCT investigation.
Different MDM phenotypes might be novel diagnostic and therapeutic target able to counteract the progression of atherosclerosis
Se con la formatura laser si segue la tecnica origami
No full textIn this work, the achievement of complex shapes by a diode laser forming process operated according to origami's technique is investigated. In particular, the manufacturing of a geometric item called "origami spoon" was looked into, trying to form the bottom spoon alone. The experimental approach allowed the selection of a technological window, in which high bending angles are achievable without impairing the surface. In addition, required paths and appropriate operational routes to conform the most the manufactured items to the prescribed design were identified
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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