1,722,331 research outputs found
Cellular resistance to HIV-1 infection in target cells coincides with a rapid induction of X-DING-CD4 mRNA: Indication of the unique host innate response to virus regulated through function of the X-DING-CD4 gene
No full text Clinical reports indicate that some infected individuals control HIV-1 replication through undefined mechanisms. Our group reported that a human protein named X-DING-CD4 holds a potent antiviral activity, blocking transcription of HIV-1 LTR through the inhibition of NF-κB/DNA binding. Based on observations that transformed HIV-1 resistant CD4+ T cells produce higher levels of soluble X-DING-CD4 protein upon their exposure to virus, we hypothesized that resistance to HIV-1 in these cells may be regulated through function of the X-DING-CD4 gene. Real-time PCR evaluations of X-DING-CD4 mRNA expression confirmed our hypothesis; HIV-1 exposure caused rapid up-regulation of X-DING-CD4 mRNA in resistant, but not susceptible, cells; and the burst of X-DING-CD4 mRNA expression correlated with restriction of HIV-1 transcription. Subsequently, we examined the activity of the X-DING-CD4 gene in monocytes and macrophages from ( n = 13) HIV-negative donors. The assessment of HIV-1 gag mRNA showed that the majority of cells were permissive to virus replication; however, macrophages from four donors were refractory to HIV-1 infection. In response to virus, these cells up-regulated X-DING-CD4 gene expression by 2- to 1000-fold. These data provide evidence that the X-DING-CD4 gene contributes to early cellular protection from HIV infection in some individuals and this protection depends solely on the unique genetic regulation of the host. </jats:p
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
Native X-DING-CD4 protein secreted by HIV-1 resistant CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells blocks activity of IL-8 promoter in human endothelial cells infected with enteric bacteria
No full text Onsets of bacterial infections devastate the compromised immune system in AIDS patients. Damaged gut mucosa permits dissemination of bacterial toxins into deeper layers and hyper-activation of the immune system. We previously reported that the unfractionated supernatants of HIV-resistant CD4+ T cells impeded the NF-κB/DNA binding in macrophages induced by either HIV-1 or LPS. The active component of this soluble material was identified as X-DING-CD4 (extracellular DING from CD4 T cells). We hypothesized that the anti-inflammatory effect of the X-DING-CD4 protein might extend to non-immune cells, for example endothelial cells, undergoing persistent endotoxin stimulation in the course of advanced HIV disease. To test this proposition, we evaluated the efficiency of NF-κB and Ap-1 binding to the IL-8 promoter in LPS-activated endothelial cells and control human macrophages exposed to native X-DING-CD4 protein. We found a deficiency of NF-κB- but not AP-1-DNA binding in the systems where cells were treated with native soluble X-DING-CD4 protein. The X-DING-CD4-mediated inhibition of the IL-8 promoter also resulted in a reduction of the soluble IL-8 protein in endothelial cells and human macrophages infected with a subset of enteric bacteria frequently causing diarrhea in progressive HIV disease . Bacterial endotoxin did not induce the endogenous X-DING-CD4 mRNA activity in human macrophages and transformed CD4+T cells, indicating that the reduction of LPS-mediated IL-8 promoter activation was not related to de novo X-DING-CD4 protein synthesis, but depended on function of the exogenous X-DING-CD4 protein. This study provides evidence that the X-DING-CD4 protein might be developed as a novel biotherapeutic to control LPS-mediated inflammation in advanced HIV disease. </jats:p
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
A New Family of Deployable Mechanisms Based on the Hoekens Linkage
No full textThe paper proposes a family of novel deployable prism mechanisms based on the Hoekens straight-line linkage. The prism can be deployed and compacted in a single dimension. First, a novel planar deployable unit is described, and its kinematics, statics, and singularities are analyzed. The magnification ratio is calculated as a function of the physical size of the links. Then, we describe the possibility and the principles of combining multiple unit mechanisms into a larger deployable mechanism. This process allows the creation of a series of deployable mast units, which are used to design the novel family of deployable prism mechanisms, each with one degree of freedom and an invariable cross section. The best choice of actuator is determined through static analysis and the structural behavior of the mechanism is analyzed by simulatio
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