1,720,972 research outputs found
Celiac children at diagnosis and after gluten-free diet: dominant mucosa-associated microbiota
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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
DOGS AS SOURCE OF TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI INFECTION IN RURAL AREAS OF THE CHACO REGION (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA)
No full textINTRODUCTION:
Chagas disease continues to be an important sanitary problem in the Americas, even if the risk of transmission in Latin American
endemic countries has been reduced by safer blood transfusions and vector-control measures applied (WHO, 2010, 75-9).
Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of this anthropo-zoonosis, has been detected in more than 100 mammal species (Barretto,
1968, Rev Brasil Biologia, 28:481-94), but the role played by each species in the dispersion/maintenance of the parasite in each area of
its occurrence is not completely known (Cortez et al., 2006, Expl Parasitol, 14:305-13). This is true for Bolivia, where only few studies on
this topic have been undertaken (Albarracin-Velzaga, 1999, Rev Saude Publica, 3:230-6; Medrano-Mercado, 2008, Mem Inst Oswaldo
Cruz, 103:423-30), and where a serosurvey carried out in Chuquisaca and Santa Cruz Dep.s detected antibodies in ≈70% of people
(Gabrielli et al., 2008, Parassitologia, 50:85).
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of dogs as source of infection for kissing bugs vectors and, indirectly, for humans living in two
rural Bolivian communities (Ivamirapinta and Bartolo).
By venepuncture, blood samples were drawn from 101 dogs living around people resident in study areas, and used to prepare Giemsa
stained thick and thin smears, and to impregnate (300-500μL) filter papers. From these dried blood spots DNAs were extracted and a
region of 330bp from kDNA was PCR-amplified (Enriquez et al., 2013, Acta Trop J, 126 (3): 211-217); amplicons were sequenced, and
sequences were BLAST compared with available sequences to confirm the species.
RESULTS:
As expected, smears proved negative to the microscopic analysis whereas 24 blood spots (23.7%) were positive to T. cruzi (8/48 in
Ivamirapinta and 16/53 in Bartolo). The presence of the parasite in the bloodstream of ≈24% examined dogs suggests that they can
play an important role as source of infection for kissing bugs in endemic rural areas.
CONCLUSIONS:
This result disagrees with data collected in the city of Cochabamba (Medrano-Mercado et al., 2008, Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 103:423-
30), but it is in total agreement with studies carried out in rural areas of N-W Argentina, where dogs proved to be a source of infection
for bugs more important than cats, humans and chicken (Gurtler et al., 2007, Parasitology, 134:69-82). In rural areas, the environment
offers more opportunity for kissing bugs to feed on dogs, and general conditions of dogs (as malnutrition) maybe contribute to
poorly control the parasite reproduction in the bloodstream. So, this animal may be the main domestic reservoir of T. cruzi and a
risk factor for parasite transmission, as demonstrated by the report in this host of all the discrete typing units of T. cruzi identified in
humans (Ramírez et al., 2013, Vet Parasitol, 196:216-9). Therefore, improved detection of T. cruzi infections in dogs is relevant for risk
assessment. Local veterinaries should pay attention to the problem, and check dogs regularly for this parasite
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
Behaviour of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus in the presence of Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus.
No full textThe present study aimed to characterize the behavior of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus in the presence of Staphylococcus aureus. B. bacteriovorus was co-cultured with S. aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Streptococcus mutans, in planktonic and sessile conditions. Co-cultures were studied by Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), turbidimetry, quantitative PCR (qPCR), and sequencing of gene Bd0108 of B. bacteriovorus. Results indicated that B. bacteriovorus comparably inhibited planktonic growth of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, but not of S. mutans. FESEM and STEM showed that B. bacteriovorus interacts with S. aureus affecting its cell wall and membrane. Sequencing of gene Bd0108 did not reveal any of the mutations that can arise from hit locus. Although some Gram-negative species are reported to be B. bacteriovorus prey, it seems that in case of nutrient deficiency this predatory bacterium can also take advantage of some Gram-positive species. B. bacteriovorus behaviour in the presence of S. aureus is relevant for its possible therapeutic use in several pathologies, like cystic fibrosis in which S. aureus and P. aeruginosa frequently coexist as infectious agents
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
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