1,720,994 research outputs found

    The retinoblastoma family: Twins or distant cousins?

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    The destiny of a cell - whether it undergoes division, differentiation or death - results from an intricate balance of many regulators, including oncoproteins, tumor-suppressor proteins and cell-cycle-associated proteins. One of the better-studied tumor suppressors is the retinoblastoma protein, known as pRb or p105. Two recently identified proteins, pRb2/p130 and p107, show structural and functional similarities to pRb, and these proteins and their orthologs make up the retinoblastoma (Rb) family. Members of the family have been found in animals and plants, and a related protein is known in the alga Chlamydomonas. Members of the Rb family are bound and inactivated by viral proteins and, in turn, bind cellular transcription factors and repress their function, and can also form complexes with cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases and with histone deacetylases. The are found in the nucleus and their subnuclear localization depends on binding to the nuclear matrix. Members of the family form part of a signal-transduction pathway called the Rb pathway, which is important in cell-cycle regulation and have roles in growth suppression, differentiation and apoptosis in different organisms and cell types

    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

    Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) derived vectors: safety considerations and controversy over therapeutic applications

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    The latest generation of lentiviral vectors based on HIV-1 is one of the most efficient tools for gene transduction of mammalian cells. However, the possible employment of HIV-based vectors in clinical trials is a very controversial issue, mainly due to safety and ethical concerns. HIV-1 is a lethal pathogenic agent, which induces AIDS. Genetic vectors must derive either from viruses that are not pathogenic in humans, or that eventually just cause mild illnesses. Patients exposed to HIV-based vectors will test seropositive to certain components of HIV-1. In addition, there might be other possible adverse effects in patients that cannot be predicted, as many aspects of the pathogenesis of AIDS have not been completely understood yet. On these grounds, it seems necessary to improve the design of other lentiviral vectors, which derive from viruses that are not pathogenic in humans and are distantly related to primate retroviridae

    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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