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    Interleukin-12 drives the Th1 signaling pathway in Helicobacter pylori-infected human gastric mucosa

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    In this study we examined mechanisms that regulate T-helper lymphocyte I (Th1) commitment in Helico-bacter pylori-infected human gastric mucosa. The levels of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-12 in total extracts of gastric biopsies taken from H. pylori-infected and uninfected patients were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4), STAT6, and T-box expressed in T cells (T-bet) in total proteins extracted from gastric biopsies were determined by Western blotting. Finally, the effect of a neutralizing IL-12 antibody on expression of Th1 transcription factors and the levels of IFN-gamma in organ cultures of H. pylori-infected biopsies was examined. Increased levels of IFN-gamma and IL-12 were found in gastric biopsy samples of H. pylori-infected patients compared to the levels in uninfected patients. In addition, H. pylori-infected biopsies exhibited high levels of expression of phosphorylated STAT4 and T-bet. Higher levels of IFN-gamma and expression of Th1 transcription factors were associated with greater infiltration of mononuclear cells in the gastric mucosa. By contrast, production of IL-4 and expression of phosphorylated STAT6 were not associated with the intensity of mononuclear cell infiltration. In ex vivo organ cultures of H. pylori-infected biopsies, neutralization of endogenous IL-12 down-regulated the expression of phosphorylated STAT4 and T-bet and reduced IFN-gamma production. Our data indicated that IL-12 contributes to the Th1 cell commitment in H. pylori-infected human gastric mucosa

    Extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase mediates interleukin 17 (IL-17)-induced IL-8 secretion in Helicobacter pylori-infected human gastric epithelial cells

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    Helicobacter pylori-induced mucosal inflammation results in high production of interleukin 17 (IL-17), a potent inducer of IL-8 in gastric epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to investigate signaling pathways by which IL-17 regulates IL-8 production in human gastric epithelial cells. Activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases in both IL-17-stimulated MKN28 cells and epithelial cells isolated from H. pylori-colonized gastric mucosa was assessed by Western blotting. In IL-17-stimulated MKN28 cells the activation of activatior protein 1 (AP-1), nuclear factor (NF)-IL-6, and NF-ÎoB was also assessed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay IL-8 production was evaluated by reverse transcription-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) both for IL-17-stimulated MKN28 cells treated with specific MAP kinase inhibitors and gastric biopsy cultures treated with a neutralizing IL-17 antibody. Serum from H. pylori-infected patients was tested for immunoglobulin G response to CagA by ELISA. Treatment of MKN28 cells with IL-17 caused activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) but not other MAP kinases and had the downstream effects of AP-1 and NFÎo-B activation and IL-8 synthesis. Blocking ERK 1/2 activity inhibited AP-1-mediated, but not NF-ÎoB-mediated, IL-8 induction. Enhanced activation of ERK 1/2 was seen in gastric epithelial cells isolated from H. pylori-infected patients in comparison to uninfected controls, and this was associated with high IL-8. These effects were even more pronounced in patients seropositive for CagA than in seronegative ones. In gastric biopsy cultures, the addition of a neutralizing IL-17 antibody decreased ERK 1/2 activation, thus resulting in a significant inhibition of IL-8. In H. pylori-colonized gastric epithelial cells, IL-17-induced IL-8 synthesis is associated with and depends at least in part on the activation of ERK 1/2 MAP kinase

    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
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