1,720,953 research outputs found

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type IV pilus and resistance to the antimicrobial properties of surfactant protein-A

    Get PDF
    The lung contains numerous innate immune cells and effector proteins. One important component of this immune system is the surfactant protein-A (SP-A), which facilitates microbial clearance by opsonization and membrane permeabilization. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is a major Gram-negative bacterial pathogen commonly associated with chronic lung infection in cystic fibrosis. In order to resist the antibacterial effects of SP-A, PA expresses various structural and secreted virulence factors. Previously, Wu et al (2003) have shown that Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are important in resisting SP-A-mediated membrane permeabilization. Zhang et al (2005) performed a comparative signature-tagged mutagenesis screen to identify PA virulence factors needed to resist SP-A-mediated lung clearance, and identified PchA (isochorismate synthase) and PtsP (phosphoenolpyruvate protein phosphotransferase) as important for resisting SP-A-mediated membrane permeability. Zhang et al (2007) further showed that PA flagellum is important for resisting SP-A-mediated membrane permeabilization. Finally, Kuang et al (2011) have shown PA elastase degrades SP-A, allowing an avenue for PA to escape SP-A-mediated opsonization and membrane permeabilization. In this study, we demonstrated that type IV pilus (Tfp) is important in the resistance of lung clearance both in the presence and absence of SP-A. The Tfp-deficient mutant, ΔpilA, is severely attenuated in an acute pneumonia model of infection in the lungs of wild-type mice that it allows similar bacterial load as PAO1 in the lungs of SP-A-/- mice. The ΔpilA bacteria are more susceptible to SP-A-mediated aggregation and opsonization. In addition, the integrity of the outer membranes of ΔpilA bacteria is compromised, rendering them more susceptible to SP-A-mediated membrane permeabilization. By using Tfp extension and retraction mutants, we demonstrate that the increased susceptibility of ΔpilA to SP-A-mediated opsonization is caused by the total absence of Tfp from PA cells. Finally, we provide evidence that increased expression of an 18 kDa nonpilus adhesin OprH in ΔpilA, may explain why there is an increased susceptibility to SP-A-mediated phagocytosis. In addition, we also have shown that Tfp glycosylation with O-antigen subunits allows for increased resistance to SP-A. We have also shown the glycosyltransferase mutant, 1244G7, which is deficient in O-antigen, is more susceptible to SP-A-mediated lung clearance and phagocytosis, but not membrane permeability. Finally, we have shown that the increase susceptibility of 1244G7 is associated with exposure of putative mannose residues.Item withdrawn by Mark Zulauf ([email protected]) on 2013-09-23T20:00:12Z Item was in collections: University of Illinois Theses & Dissertations (ID: 1) No. of bitstreams: 2 Rommel Tan PhD Thesis Dissertation.docx: 5359511 bytes, checksum: cedbfd036610c20ff942637fde162bad (MD5) Rommel Tan PhD Thesis Dissertation.pdf: 1622691 bytes, checksum: d866a4a590e3d005b81d113f80a32d5a (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2014-01-16T18:25:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Rommel Max_Tan.pdf: 1622969 bytes, checksum: 2884de0619c5ad0978bcb1c427d056a3 (MD5) Rommel Tan PhD Thesis Dissertation.docx: 5360751 bytes, checksum: 48a75a50d7ae7af80847280f9d16f748 (MD5) license.txt: 4061 bytes, checksum: 8301f21d5033576203961985671fb787 (MD5)Restriction data tranferred 2014-07-01T11:36:42-05:00 Original Data Group with Access Administrator Release Date: 2016-01-16 12:27:27 UTC Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemItem marked as restricted to the 'Administrator' Group (id=1) by Seth Robbins ([email protected]) on 2014-01-16T18:27:29Z Item is restricted until 2016-01-16T18:27:27ZLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 46901 on 2016-01-16T11:02:18Z

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

    Get PDF
    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

    Get PDF
    “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

    Get PDF
    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

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

    Get PDF
    We 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

    Author Index

    No full text
    Nao informado

    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

    No full text
    We 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 Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902

    No full text
    In Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
    corecore