47 research outputs found
Google Scholar as a source for citation and impact analysis for a non-ISI indexed medical journal
Get PDFIt is difficult to determine the influence and impact of journals which are not covered by the ISI databases and Journal Citation Report. However, with the availability of databases such as MyAIS (Malaysian Abstracting and Indexing System), which offers sufficient information to support bibliometric analysis as well as being indexed by Google Scholar which provides citation information, it has become possible to obtain productivity, citation and impact information for non-ISI indexed journals. The bibliometric tool Harzing's Publish and Perish was used to collate citation information from Google scholar. The study examines article productivity, the citations obtained by articles and calculates the impact factor of Medical Journal of Malaysia (MJM) published between 2004 and 2008. MJM is the oldest medical journal in Malaysia and the unit of analysis is 580 articles. The results indicate that once a journal is covered by MyAIS it becomes visible and accessible on the Web because Google Scholarindexes MyAIS. The results show that contributors to MJM were mainly Malaysian (91) and the number of Malaysian-Foreign collaborated papers were very small (28 articles, 4.8). However, citation information from Google scholar indicates that out of the 580 articles, 76.8 (446) have been cited over the 5-year period. The citations were received from both mainstrean foreign as well as Malaysian journals and the top three citors were from China, Malaysia and the United States. In general more citations were received from East Asian countries, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The 2-yearly impact factor calculated for MJM is 0.378 in 2009, 0.367 in 2008, 0.616 in 2007 and 0.456 in 2006. The 5-year impact factor is calculated as 0.577. The results show that although MJM is a Malaysian journal and not ISI indexed its contents have some international significance based on the citations and impact score it receives, indicating the importance of being visible especially in Google scholar
Response Spectrum Analysis of Multi Storied Building on Sloping Ground with Ground, Middle and Top Soft Storey
No full textAuthor Correction:The power of genetic diversity in genome-wide association studies of lipids
No full textIn the version of this article initially published, Noha A. Yousri (Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar and Department of Computer and Systems Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt) and Steven C. Hunt (Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA and Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar) were not included in the author list. In addition, Hieab H. H. Adams (Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) was shown with an incorrect second affiliation in the HTML and PDF versions of the article. Finally, in the HTML version, Cristen J. Willer was mistakenly listed with an extra affiliation (Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Centre of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders (PACER-HD), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). The authors and affiliations have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
Plasma homocysteine, folate and vitamin B(12) compared between rural Gambian and UK adults.
Get PDFThe disease risk indicator plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, including folate and vitamin B(12) status. Little is known about the determinants of tHcy in rural West Africa. We explored the hypothesis that tHcy in rural Gambian adults might vary between the sexes and physiological groups, and/or with folate and vitamin B(12) status. Comparisons were made with a British national survey. Non-pregnant Gambian women (n 158) had tHcy concentrations (geometric mean 9.0 micromol/l) similar to those of non-pregnant UK women (n 449; 9.4 micromol/l), whereas pregnant Gambian women (n 12) had significantly lower values (6.2 micromol/l). Gambian men (n 22) had significantly higher values (14.7 micromol/l) than British men (n 354; 10.8 micromol/l). Gambian lactating women and British men and women exhibited significant inverse relationships between log(e)(tHcy) and folate status; however, only the British subjects exhibited significant inverse relationships between loge(tHcy) and vitamin B(12) status. In the British sample, and in Gambian lactating women, folate and vitamin B(12) status variations together accounted for 20-25 % of the variation in log(e)(tHcy). Within the UK, black-skinned adults had folate and tHcy levels similar to those of their white-skinned counterparts, but significantly higher vitamin B(12) values. We conclude that, whereas folate and vitamin B(12) status are similar between British and rural Gambian populations, tHcy is higher in Gambian men and lower in pregnant Gambian women, and that serum vitamin B(12) values appear to be higher in black-skinned than white-skinned British subjects. Possible reasons are discussed
Tricaine, eugenol and etomidate for repetitive procedural anesthesia in adult zebrafish, Danio rerio : effect on stress and behavior
No full textZebrafish has emerged as a popular animal model in biomedical research. Numerous procedures and interventions require occasionally repetitive anesthesia. Tricaine is the most frequently used anesthetic for zebrafish and its efficacy is well established. However, the safety and efficacy of other anesthetics used for zebrafish require further examination, especially regarding repetitive anesthesia. Hence, we compare three anesthetics: tricaine (150 mg/l), eugenol (55 mg/l) and etomidate (4 mg/l) in wildtype adult zebrafish with and without interventions in the form of intraperitoneal injections. Groups of fish receiving the injections are named as (+ injection). We quantify anesthesia induction and recovery times as well as swimming behavior and cortisol levels as indicators of stress. Swimming behavior is quantified with the novel tank method as tank preference and number of turnings. Adult zebrafish are randomly divided into seven groups; tricaine (n = 15), tricaine (+injection; n = 15), eugenol (n = 15), eugenol (+injection; n = 14), etomidate (n = 15), etomidate (+injection; n = 15) and sham (n = 10), and anesthetized until they reach stage 4 anesthesia, daily for 10 days. Following anesthesia induction, injection groups are given daily intraperitoneal injections with 0.9% saline (4 ml/kg) before transfer to a recovery tank to study the effect of a painful procedure (the intraperitoneal injection) during anesthesia on stress. The novel tank method is used for analyzing behavior at day 2 (beginning), day 5/6 (middle) and day 10 (end). Chronic stress is evaluated by whole-body cortisol measurement at the end of the 10-day experiment. Additionally, acute stress is evaluated by whole-body cortisol measurement 30 min after single anesthesia in five groups: tricaine (n = 5), eugenol (n = 5), etomidate (n = 5), sham (n = 5), and untreated controls (n = 5). We find that fish anesthetized with tricaine recover fast (~ 1.5 min) and show normal swimming behavior. Fish anesthetized with eugenol show recovery time (~ 2.5 min) and swimming behavior similar to that of fish receiving tricaine. Fish anesthetized with etomidate have the longest recovery time (~ 5.5 min) and exhibit stressed swimming behavior. Cortisol levels remain at similar levels. Our study supports the use of tricaine as the anesthetic-of-choice for repetitive anesthesia of short duration in zebrafish, followed by eugenol.Peer reviewe
Fecal microbiota profiles of growing pigs and their relation to growth performance
Get PDFThe early gut microbiota composition is fundamentally important for piglet health, affecting long-term microbiome development and immunity. In this study, the gut microbiota of postparturient dams was compared with that of their offspring in three Finnish pig farms at three growth phases. The differences in fecal microbiota of three study development groups (Good, Poorly, and PrematureDeath) were analyzed at birth (initial exposure phase), weaning (transitional phase), and before slaughter (stable phase). Dam Lactobacillaceae abundance was lower than in piglets at birth. Limosilactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus amylovorus were dominantly expressed in dams and their offspring. Altogether 17 piglets (68%) were identified with Lactobacillaceae at the initial exposure phase, divided unevenly among the development groups: 85% of Good, 37.5% of Poorly, and 75% of PrematureDeath pigs. The development group Good was identified with the highest microbial diversity, whereas the development group PrematureDeath had the lowest diversity. After weaning, the abundance and versatility of Lactobacillaceae in piglets diminished, shifting towards the microbiome of the dam. In conclusion, the fecal microbiota of pigs tends to develop towards a similar alpha and beta diversity despite development group and rearing environment.The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland (Grant number: 504/03.01.02/2018; https://mmm.fi/etusivu), Vetcare Ltd. (Grant number: 031019; https://www.vetcare.fi/), and A-Farmers Ltd. (Grant number: 281019; https://www.atriatuottajat.fi/) funded the research project of M.H., including this study. Additionally, at the time this study was conducted, S.B. was an employee of Vetcare Ltd. (Grant number: 031019; https://www.vetcare.fi/). The specific roles of this author are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. Further, E.K. was funded with material grants for this study by the Finnish Veterinary Foundation (https://etts.fi/en/frontpage/) and the Finnish Foundation of Veterinary Research(https://www.sels.fi/). The Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation funded the work of M.C.C. (CEX2021-001189-S/ MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033, https://www.aei.gob.es/). Open access was funded by Helsinki University Library. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe
Clinical assessment of Renal Ischaemic Injury and the Role of Cryopreservation; Peritoneal Cooling an Non-Heart-Beating Donation and Topical Cooling for Laparoscopic Surgery
No full textAbstract
The project aims focussed on three main areas of study; ischaemic injury assessment, laparoscopic renal cryopreservation and peritoneal cooling for non-heart-beating organ donation. The effects of renal ischaemia represent significant challenges for transplantation and urological surgery in that with sufficient unchecked ischaemic duration, permanent loss of function is inevitable. Prior to consideration of novel approaches to ischaemic protection, aimed at producing improved graft quality for transplantation and an increased safe operating times for partial renal resections, deficiencies in the literature regarding the efficacy of viability testing were targeted. Techniques of ischaemic injury assessment are intended to allow identification of retrieved kidneys which are likely to have lost the potential for adequate function if transplanted. Such organs can then be discarded, thus improving outcomes and decreasing rates of primary non-function.
Results pertaining to ischaemic injury assessment provided support for protocols of viability assessment based on hypothermic machine perfusion. The effect of warm ischaemia on renal viability criteria has been successfully demonstrated in a large animal model, and novel approaches to the use of such assessments have been explored in order to maximise organ resource opportunities and utilisation.
The project has made an important contribution in the technical approach to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and laparoscopic renal hypothermia. The studies involving the ‘Newcastle Laparoscopic Renal Cooling Device’ succeeded in achieving ‘proof of concept’ with demonstration of effective renal cooling and preservation..
Studies relating to preservation interventions in the porcine model of the uncontrolled NHBD have produced striking results. These results strongly suggest that uncontrolled NHBD centres employing cold in-situ perfusion approaches to preservation would be wise to consider supplementary techniques of organ cooling
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History in the literary imagination: the telling of Nongqawuse and the Xhosa Cattle-Killing in South African literature and culture (1891-1937)
Get PDFThis thesis takes as its subject the millenarian movement of 1856–7, commonly known as the Xhosa Cattle-Killing. My project examines a range of literary representations of this seminal moment in South African history: novels, plays, and short stories in English or English translation. The period under consideration encompasses the earliest literary responses to the Cattle-Killing and includes critical historical-political moments such as: the incorporation of the last independent black territory into the Cape Colony, the creation of the Union of South Africa, the passing of the Land Act, the enfranchisement of white women and the enactment of Hertzog’s ‘native bills’. The project consists of close, contextual readings, and the approach is cross-cultural and interdisciplinary.
In this dissertation I examine the meaning that has accrued to the Cattle-Killing, and the role that literary accounts have played in interpreting and defining this pivotal event in the historical consciousness of their sometimes considerable audiences. In some cases, these creative works have anticipated trends in formal historiography and suggested new ways to interrogate the evidence. But the accounts do more than creatively reconstruct the past. They are also implicated in their respective presents and use the Cattle-Killing to ‘write out’ contemporaneous concerns: be it female emancipation, ‘native education’ or Black Nationalism. The various manifestations of the Cattle-Killing story chart not only the shifting ‘truth’ of the event but also the ways in which it has been made relevant and useable for different communities at various points in South Africa’s history. To read these accounts of the Cattle-Killing, I argue, is to ‘read’ the history of this period.
While taking as its subject an event from 150 years ago, and literary responses from shortly after, my project contributes to wider, on-going conversations relating to history as a field of argument and literature as a social and historical force. A related aim is to contribute to the revaluation of early South African literature, which has been neglected or homogenized in recent years. My dissertation seeks to recuperate and complicate by representing a variety of subject positions and resuscitating voices discarded or forgotten
Author Correction: The power of genetic diversity in genome-wide association studies of lipids
Get PDFCorrection to "The power of genetic diversity in genome-wide association studies of lipids
Avaliação toxicológica em peixes da espécie Oreochromis niloticus expostos às águas do Rio Cubatão do Sul/SC: estudo genotóxico, epigenético e de estresse oxidativo
Get PDFTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Ambiental, Florianópolis, 2013.A poluição aquática é considerada uma das principais preocupações ambientais nas áreas urbanas. O aumento populacional, com o crescimento desordenado da urbanização próximo às margens dos rios introduz nestes ambientes, de forma direta e indireta, diversos compostos orgânicos e inorgânicos, muitos destes com potencial genotóxico e mutagênico. Num esforço de identificar os efeitos da exposição de organismos aquáticos a estes agentes potencialmente genotóxicos, este estudo teve por objetivo verificar o potencial genotóxico e mutagênico das águas do Rio Cubatão do Sul, importante manancial de captação e distribuição de água potável para a Região da Grande Florianópolis, sobre a espécie de peixe Oreochromis niloticus. O Rio Cubatão do Sul foi subdividido em 4 estações amostrais, de maneira a abranger as diferentes ocupações ao longo do curso de água, onde foram coletadas amostras de água quinzenalmente para a exposição de O. niloticus em laboratório por 280 dias. Foram realizados testes de frequência de células micronucleadas, testes epigenéticos e de verificação do estresse oxidativo. O teste do micronúcleo foi realizado com a determinação da frequência de células micronucleadas em eritrócitos de O. niloticus, a verificação do estresse oxidativo foi realizada com a quantificação das taxas do malondialdeído e as alterações epigenéticas verificadas através da quantificação do percentual de 5-metilcitosina. Os resultados indicaram que as amostras de água analisadas do Rio Cubatão do Sul provocaram efeitos tóxicos durante todo o período de estudo. A elevação na frequência de micronúcleos, assim como aumentos expressivos nas taxas de malondialdeído e 5-metilcitosina demonstraram que esta mistura ambiental complexa das águas do Rio Cubatão do Sul foram capazes de ocasionar danos genotóxicos em O. niloticus. A genotoxicidade verificada foi atribuída às fontes não pontuais de poluição provenientes do escoamento superficial de efluentes domésticos e agrícolas sem tratamento e serve de alerta ambiental, pois o Rio Cubatão do Sul é utilizado como manancial de água para abastecimento humano Aquatic pollution is considered a major environmental concerns in urban areas. The population increase, with the uncontrolled growth of urbanization near the river banks introduces, directly and indirectly, various organic and inorganic compounds, many of these with potential genotoxic and mutagenic. In an effort to identify the effects of exposure of aquatic organisms to these potentially genotoxic agents, this study aimed to verify the genotoxic and mutagenic potential of the waters of the Cubatão do Sul River, an important source of funding and distribution of drinking water for the region of Florianópolis on the fish species Oreochromis niloticus. The Cubatão do Sul River was divided into 4 sampling stations in order to cover the different occupations along the watercourse. The water samples were collected each 15 days, for exposure of O. niloticus in the laboratory for the period of 280 days. It was performed tests of frequency of micronucleated cells, epigenetic tests and the verification of oxidative stress. The micronucleus test was carried out to determine the frequency of cells with micronuclei in erythrocytes of O. niloticus, the verification of oxidative stress was performed with the quantification of the rates of malondialdehyde and the epigenetic alterations verified by quantifying the percentage of 5- methylcytosine. The water samples from the Cubatão do Sul River resulted in toxic effects throughout the study period. The increase in the frequency of micronuclei, as well as significant increases in rates of malondialdehyde and 5-methylcytosine demonstrated that this complex environmental mixture of water from Cubatão do Sul River was able to cause genotoxic damage in O. niloticus. The genotoxicity observed was attributed to non-point source pollution from runoff of agricultural and domestic effluents without treatment and serves as environmental alert because the Cubatão do Sul River is used as a source of water for human consumption
