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    A de novo G to T transversion in a pro-alpha 1(I) collagen gene for a moderate case of osteogenesis imperfecta. Substitution of cysteine for glycine 178 in the triple helical domain

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    Cultured fibroblasts from a patient affected with a moderate form of osteogenesis imperfecta were defective for the synthesis of type I collagen molecules; about half of the α1(I) chains contained a cysteine residue in the triple helical domain and a disulfide link formed when two mutant α1(I) chains were incorporated into a type I collagen heterotrimer. The proband's parents were clinically and biochemically normal. The cysteine was localized within peptide α1(I)CB8 between residues 170 and 200 of the triple helical domain using a chemical procedure with 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid (Tenni, R., Rossi, A., Valli, M., Mottes, M., Pignatti, P.F., and Cetta, G. (1990) Matrix 10, 20-26). Type I procollagen heterotrimers containing either one or two mutant chains showed (i) a slight abnormality in secretion from cells, (ii) a low degree of post-translational overmodifications; (iii) the same, but lower than normal, thermal stability. Total RNA was isolated from the proband's dermal fibroblast cultures, and cDNAs for pro-α1(I) were prepared using total RNA. A portion of cDNA, coding for the region encompassing residues 119-193 of α1(I) triple helical domain, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. A single base pair mismatch was identified by chemical cleavage of DNA·DNA heteroduplexes, indicating a possible substitution of a guanine in the triplet coding for glycine 178 or 181. The same unique mismatch was detected by chemical cleavage in about one-half of the molecules in heteroduplexes formed between patient's pro-α1(I) mRNAs and a normal cDNA probe.The amplified products were cloned and sequenced, confirming the heterozygous nature of the patient and demonstrating the presence and the location of a missense mutation; a single T for G substitution was found in the first base of the triplet coding for residue 178 of α1(I) triple helical domain, leading to a cysteine for glycine substitution. Allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization to amplified DNA confirmed a de novo point mutation in the proband's genome. The findings in this patient are in accord with the phenotypic gradient model, which correlates the localization of the structural defect with the clinical outcome of osteogenesis imperfecta. The mutant protein has some properties that differ from that caused by the cysteine for glycine 175 substitution, suggesting a direct influence of the neighboring amino acids on the effects of the mutation

    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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