1,720,973 research outputs found
The CX3C-Chemokine Fractalkine in Kidney Diseases
No full textThe chemokine CX3C-L/FKN is expressed in both soluble and transmembrane/mucin hybrid forms, thus combining chemoattractant functions together with receptor/adhesion molecule properties. In contrast to other chemokine receptors, CX3C-R is expressed not only on lymphoid cell populations, but also on several intrinsic cells including tubular epithelial cells and renal fibroblasts where it regulates various aspects of cell viability, matrix synthesis and degradation, migration, inflammation as well as oxidative stress. In the kidney, the chemokines/receptor pair has been shown to play a role in nephrogenesis as well as in the pathogenesis primary and secondary nephropathies. In several animal models and human specimens with acute and chronic renal failure including allograft nephropathy, CX3C-L/CX3C-R has been shown to exert immune and non-immune mediated renal damages. A blockade of this chemokine system ameliorated acute and chronic renal damages, though the latter to a more robust extent. There seems to a role of the CX3C-L/CX3C-R pair in mediating acute renal inflammation as well as in progressive chronic renal failure. However, functional studies are lacking for many aspects and further studies are necessary to better define the functional properties of CX3 C-L/FKN and its receptor
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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 PDFWe 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 PDFWe 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
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
Therapeutic response to glucocorticoids, anticoagulation and plasma exchange in a patient with primary antiphospholipid syndrome presenting with purpura fulminans
No full textWe report the case of a 25-year-old female patient who presented with purpura fulminans as a manifestation of primary antiphospholipid syndrome. Purpura fulminans is considered a rare cutaneous manifestation of antiphospholipid syndrome. Most frequently, it occurs in the context of catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, either due to loss of affected extremities or thromboembolic damage to internal organs. After insufficient efficacy of parenteral anticoagulation and oral glucocorticosteroid treatment, we escalated treatment to high-dose intravenous glucocorticosteroid and five consecutive sessions of plasma exchange with good and sustained clinical response. At follow-up six months after admission, skin manifestations had healed with scarring, and no additional thrombotic events had occurred. Plasma exchange may hold promise as a therapeutic option in refractory or severe cases of antiphospholipid syndrome-related purpura fulminans with extensive cutaneous necrosis, although evidence is limited
AB0283 Choreoathethosis and Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis as Rare and Severe Manifestations of Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome – a Two-Center Experience
No full textBackground: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can affect almost any organ system. Nevertheless, Lupus nephritis and neuropsychiatric manifestations (NPSLE) are associated with increased mortality (1). Therapeutic options include glucocorticoids, often pulse methylprednisolone (MP), and other immunosuppressive therapies. In refractory cases, therapeutic plasma exchange, rituximab, or intravenous immunoglobulins are often used (2). However, an optimal therapeutic strategy has not been established because NPSLE is an exclusion criterion in most clinical trials. In addition, NPSLE can present with a broad spectrum of manifestations ranging from cognitive dysfunction to severe and life-threatening disease with choreoathetosis or transverse myelitis (TM). In primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), neurological manifestations most often include peripheral neuropathies, but TM has also been reported. Objectives: To analyze the clinical presentation and outcomes after treatment in severe, life-threatening NPSLE. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical, laboratory, and imaging features in severe NPSLE manifestations in SLE and pSS patients at two tertiary academic centers (University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany, and ASST Spedali Civili Brescia, Italy) with a high volume of SLE patients. Severe NPSLE was defined as either severe movement disorder or extensive tetra- or paraplegia secondary to (longitudinally extensive) transverse myelitis. Results: Our retrospective chart review resulted in seven patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria (six with SLE and 1 with pSS). Of these, five were females (71.4%). Median age was 26 (16-55) years. Three were of Asian origin, four were of European descent. Median disease duration was 15 (2-228) months. Three patients presented with severe choreoathetosis, all had positive ANA, anti-dsDNA antibodies (abs), and complement consumption. Of note, all three had at least one positive antiphospholipid antibody (APLA). All patients received IV MP 1g x 3 and mycophenolate mofetil and achieved complete remission. Of the four patients with longitudinally extensive TM, all were ANA positive, only two had anti-dsDNA abs. None of them had APLA, and only one tested positive for anti-aquaporine-4 abs. Of all patients, only one had positive ribosomal P-abs. Patients with TM received IV MP 1g x 5 and either RTX (4 cycles with 375 mg/m 2 or IVIg 0.4 g/kg/d x 5). All four TM patients improved; two improved markedly, two only moderately with residual deficits as assessed by EDMUS-grading scale and functional independence measure. Conclusion: Severe NPSLE, defined as choreoathetosis or TM require intensive treatment. While the former patients achieved complete remission, two of four patients with TM only achieved partial remission. Our data support the use of early and aggressive immunosuppressive therapy. Nevertheless, therapy for TM in the context remains insufficient and should be assessed in a controlled clinical trial setting. References: [1]Monahan RC, et al. Mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and neuropsychiatric involvement: A retrospective analysis from a tertiary referral center in the Netherlands. Lupus. 2020 Dec;29(14):1892–901. [2]Papachristos DA, et al. Management of inflammatory neurologic and psychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic review. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2020 Dec 17;51(1):49–71. Disclosure of Interests: PETER KORSTEN Consultant of: PK has received honoraria by Abbvie, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Chugai, Gilead, Glaxo Smith Kline, Janssen-Cilag, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis, all unrelated to this study., Grant/research support from: PK has received research grants from GSK, unrelated to this study., Marlene Plüß: None declared, Stefanie Glaubitz: None declared, Ala Jambus: None declared, Radovan Vasko: None declared, Bettina Meike Göricke: None declared, Silvia Piantoni: None declaredBackground: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can affect almost any organ system. Nevertheless, Lupus nephritis and neuropsychiatric manifestations (NPSLE) are associated with increased mortality (1). Therapeutic options include glucocorticoids, often pulse methylprednisolone (MP), and other immunosuppressive therapies. In refractory cases, therapeutic plasma exchange, rituximab, or intravenous immunoglobulins are often used (2). However, an optimal therapeutic strategy has not been established because NPSLE is an exclusion criterion in most clinical trials. In addition, NPSLE can present with a broad spectrum of manifestations ranging from cognitive dysfunction to severe and life-threatening disease with choreoathetosis or transverse myelitis (TM). In primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), neurological manifestations most often include peripheral neuropathies, but TM has also been reported. Objectives: To analyze the clinical presentation and outcomes after treatment in severe, life-threatening NPSLE. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical, laboratory, and imaging features in severe NPSLE manifestations in SLE and pSS patients at two tertiary academic centers (University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany, and ASST Spedali Civili Brescia, Italy) with a high volume of SLE patients. Severe NPSLE was defined as either severe movement disorder or extensive tetra- or paraplegia secondary to (longitudinally extensive) transverse myelitis. Results: Our retrospective chart review resulted in seven patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria (six with SLE and 1 with pSS). Of these, five were females (71.4%). Median age was 26 (16-55) years. Three were of Asian origin, four were of European descent. Median disease duration was 15 (2-228) months. Three patients presented with severe choreoathetosis, all had positive ANA, anti-dsDNA antibodies (abs), and complement consumption. Of note, all three had at least one positive antiphospholipid antibody (APLA). All patients received IV MP 1g x 3 and mycophenolate mofetil and achieved complete remission. Of the four patients with longitudinally extensive TM, all were ANA positive, only two had anti-dsDNA abs. None of them had APLA, and only one tested positive for anti-aquaporine-4 abs. Of all patients, only one had positive ribosomal P-abs. Patients with TM received IV MP 1g x 5 and either RTX (4 cycles with 375 mg/m 2 or IVIg 0.4 g/kg/d x 5). All four TM patients improved; two improved markedly, two only moderately with residual deficits as assessed by EDMUS-grading scale and functional independence measure. Conclusion: Severe NPSLE, defined as choreoathetosis or TM require intensive treatment. While the former patients achieved complete remission, two of four patients with TM only achieved partial remission. Our data support the use of early and aggressive immunosuppressive therapy. Nevertheless, therapy for TM in the context remains insufficient and should be assessed in a controlled clinical trial setting. References: [1]Monahan RC, et al. Mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and neuropsychiatric involvement: A retrospective analysis from a tertiary referral center in the Netherlands. Lupus. 2020 Dec;29(14):1892–901. [2]Papachristos DA, et al. Management of inflammatory neurologic and psychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic review. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2020 Dec 17;51(1):49–71. Disclosure of Interests: PETER KORSTEN Consultant of: PK has received honoraria by Abbvie, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Chugai, Gilead, Glaxo Smith Kline, Janssen-Cilag, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis, all unrelated to this study., Grant/research support from: PK has received research grants from GSK, unrelated to this study., Marlene Plüß: None declared, Stefanie Glaubitz: None declared, Ala Jambus: None declared, Radovan Vasko: None declared, Bettina Meike Göricke: None declared, Silvia Piantoni: None declare
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