1,720,975 research outputs found
Analysis of acute COVID-19 including chronic morbidity: protocol for the deep phenotyping National Pandemic Cohort Network in Germany (NAPKON-HAP)
No full textAbstract Background The severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic causes a high burden of acute and long-term morbidity and mortality worldwide despite global efforts in containment, prophylaxis, and therapy. With unprecedented speed, the global scientific community has generated pivotal insights into the pathogen and the host response evoked by the infection. However, deeper characterization of the pathophysiology and pathology remains a high priority to reduce morbidity and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods NAPKON-HAP is a multi‐centered prospective observational study with a long‐term follow‐up phase of up to 36 months post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. It constitutes a central platform for harmonized data and biospecimen for interdisciplinary characterization of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and long-term outcomes of diverging disease severities of hospitalized patients. Results Primary outcome measures include clinical scores and quality of life assessment captured during hospitalization and at outpatient follow-up visits to assess acute and chronic morbidity. Secondary measures include results of biomolecular and immunological investigations and assessment of organ-specific involvement during and post-COVID-19 infection. NAPKON-HAP constitutes a national platform to provide accessibility and usability of the comprehensive data and biospecimen collection to global research. Conclusion NAPKON-HAP establishes a platform with standardized high-resolution data and biospecimen collection of hospitalized COVID-19 patients of different disease severities in Germany. With this study, we will add significant scientific insights and provide high-quality data to aid researchers to investigate COVID-19 pathophysiology, pathology, and chronic morbidity
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
Wirksamkeit und Wirkmechanismus synthetischer GPI-Glykokonjugat-Impfstoffe bei zerebraler Malaria im Mausmodell
No full textBackground: Cerebral malaria is the most severe manifestation of Plasmodium
falciparum malaria. Sensing of Plasmodium-specific pathogen-associated
molecular patterns such as glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) by the host
pattern recognition receptors leads to the induction of pro inflammatory
pathways, and has been shown to be a major contributor to cerebral malaria
pathogenesis. Carbohydrate-based vaccines have widely been applied and
successfully prevented disease and death in recent decades. An antitoxic GPI
glycoconjugate vaccine therefore represents a promising approach to preventing
cerebral malaria pathogenesis. Method: Six structurally distinct GPI glycans
were synthesized and conjugated to CRM197. GPI1 and GPI2 both containing
Man3-GlcN, with PEthN attached to GPI2; GPI3 and GPI4 core structures
containing Man4-GlcN, with PEthN attached to GPI4; and GPI5 (Man3-GlcN) and
GPI6 (Man4 GlcN) both containing PEthN and PI. Glycoconjugates were tested for
immunogenicity and efficacy in C57BL/6JRj mice susceptible to experimental
cerebral malaria (ECM). Mice were immunized three times intraperitoneally at
14-day intervals and were finally challenged with 1x106 erythrocytes infected
with P. berghei ANKA (PbA). Serum samples were obtained before immunizations
to determine anti GPI antibody level. Prior to onset of ECM (day 6 post
infection), 5 mice per group were sacrificed to investigate spleen cell
composition, brain T cell sequestration and vaccine specific T cell re-
stimulation. The remaining 10 mice per group were used for survival studies.
Results: Mice immunized with GPI2, GPI4, GPI5 and GPI6 developed significantly
increased anti GPI antibodies compared to control mice. Only a slight increase
was observed in mice immunized with GPI1 and GPI3. Control mice succumbed to
experimental cerebral malaria in 100% of cases, whereas all GPI-
CRM197-immunized mice displayed an improved survival. In particular,
GPI5-vaccinated mice were significantly protected against PbA-induced
encephalopathy with 40% survival. Immunological characterization of spleen
cell population and serum cytokines did not reveal significant differences
between GPI-CRM197-vaccinated groups. However, distinct trends were observed,
with GPI5 showing decreased cellular activation and reduced levels of serum
cytokines TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-6. Conclusion: In this study, the efficacy and
immunogenicity of structurally distinct GPI glycoconjugate vaccines was
investigated. For the first time, the approved non-toxic mutant of diphtheria
toxin CRM197 and alum were applied in this glycoconjugate formulation. A
structure activity relationship of different synthetic GPIs with respect to
immunogenicity by glycan array analysis was established. Further, the
effectiveness of the GPI-antitoxic vaccine approach could be reproduced with a
diminished pro inflammatory immune response against Plasmodium GPI, preventing
disease pathology and death in some of the glycoconjugates tested. In
conclusion, this study adds to current evidence that a GPI-antitoxic vaccine
provides protection against Plasmodium GPI-induced ECM.Hintergrund: Die zerebrale Malaria gehört zu den schwersten Verlaufsformen der
durch Plasmodium falciparum verursachten Malaria tropica. Die Erkennung von
pathogen-assoziierten molekularen Mustern, wie beispielsweise parasitäres
Glykosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) durch Mustererkennungsrezeptoren, führt zur
Induktion einer proinflammatorischen Reaktion des Wirtes. Dieser konnte eine
entscheidende Rolle in der Pathogenese der zerebralen Malaria nachgewiesen
werden. Kohlenhydrat-basierte Impfstoffe sind ein essentieller Bestandteil der
aktuell zugelassenen Vakzine und spielen eine wichtige Rolle in der Prävention
von Infektionskrankheiten. Ein antitoxischer GPI-Glykokonjugat-Impfstoff ist
daher ein vielversprechender Ansatz zur Prävention der zerebralen Malaria.
Methode: Sechs strukturell verschiedene GPI-Glykane wurden synthetisiert und
an CRM197 konjugiert: GPI1 und GPI2 jeweils basierend auf Man3-GlcN, mit PEthN
zusätzlich an GPI2 gebunden; GPI3 und GPI4 basierend auf Man4-GlcN, mit PEthN
an GPI4 gebunden; sowie GPI5 (Man3-GlcN) und GPI6 (Man4-GlcN) jeweils mit
PEthN und PI versehen. Alle Glykokonjugate wurden an für die experimentelle
zerebrale Malaria (ECM) empfänglichen C57BL/6JRj Mäusen hinsichtlich
Immunogenität und Wirksamkeit getestet. Die Immunisierung wurde
intraperitoneal in 14-tägigen Abständen appliziert und den Versuchstieren
anschließend 1x106 P. berghei ANKA (PbA) infizierte Erythrozyten injiziert.
Serumproben wurden vor den Immunisierungen entnommen. 5 Mäuse wurden zur
detaillierten Analyse von Milzzellpopulationen, zerebraler T Zell
Sequestrierung und Impfstoff-spezifischen T-Zell Re-stimulation vor Auftreten
ECM spezifischer Symptome (Tag 6 post infectionem) pro Gruppe verwendet. Mit
den verbleibenden 10 Mäusen wurde die Wirksamkeit der Impfstoffe mittels
Überlebensstudien durchgeführt. Ergebnisse: GPI2, GPI4, GPI5 und GPI6
immunisierte Mäuse entwickelten signifikant höhere anti GPI Antikörper im
Vergleich zu Kontrolltieren. Für GPI1 und GPI3 konnte nur ein leichter Anstieg
beobachtet werden. Insgesamt war die Prävalenz der ECM bei den Kontrollmäusen
100%, wohingegen alle GPI CRM197 immunisierten Mäuse eine verbesserte
Überlebensrate aufwiesen. Insbesondere konnte bei GPI5 geimpften Mäusen ein
signifikanter Schutz gegen PbA induzierte Enzephalopathie festgestellt werden.
Die immunologische Charakterisierung von Milz Zellpopulation und Serum
Zytokinen zeigte keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den GPI-CRM197
geimpften Gruppen. Es konnten jedoch Tendenzen beobachtet werden, wobei GPI5
immunisierte Mäuse eine verringerte Zellaktivierung sowie ebenfalls
verringerte TNF-α, IFN-γ und IL-6 Spiegel im Serum aufwiesen. Diskussion: In
dieser Studie konnte die Wirksamkeit und der Wirkmechanismus eines GPI
Glykokonjugat-Impfstoffes weiter untersucht werden. Zum ersten Mal wurden das
zugelassene Trägerprotein CRM197 und Alum als Adjuvans verwendet. Es ließ sich
eine Struktur Funktionsbeziehung verschiedener synthetischer GPI-Konstrukte in
Bezug auf die Immunogenität mittels Glycan Array-Analyse herstellen. Ferner
konnte die anti inflammatorische Wirksamkeit antitoxischer GPI-Impfstoffe
reproduziert, sowie ein daraus resultierendes verbessertes Überleben in ECM-
empfänglichen Mäusen festgestellt werden. Zusammenfassend lässt sich
herausstellen, dass der Nachweis eines partiellen Impfschutzes gegen
Plasmodium GPI induzierte ECM durch synthetische GPI Vakzine gelungen ist
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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