1,720,964 research outputs found
Shining a light on defective autophagy by proteomics approaches: implications for neurodegenerative illnesses
No full textIntroduction: Autophagy is one of the most conserved clearance systems through which eukaryotes manage to handle dysfunctional and excess organelles and macromolecules. This catabolic process has not only a role in the maintenance of basal turnover of cellular components, but it is also essential in cells adaptation to stress conditions. In the last decades, defects in autophagic machinery have been identified as a feature in neurodegenerative diseases. In this context, mass spectrometry-based proteomics has become an important tool in the comprehensive analysis of proteins involved in the autophagic flux. Area covered: In this review, we discuss recent contributions of proteomic techniques in the study of defective autophagy related to neurodegenerative illness. Particular emphasis is given to the identification of i) shared autophagic markers between different disorders, which support common pathological mechanisms; ii) unique autophagic signature, which could aid to discriminate among diseases. Expert opinion: Proteomic approaches are valuable in the identification of alterations of components to the autophagic process at different steps of the process. The investigation of autophagic defects associated with neurological disorders is crucial in order to unravel all the potential mechanism leading to neurodegeneration and propose effective therapeutic strategies targeting autophagy
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
A portable electrochemiluminescence aptasensor for β-lactoglobulin detection
Full text linkCow’s milk allergy is one of the most common food allergies in children with a prevalence of around 2.5%. Milk contains several allergens; the main ones are caseins and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG). At regulatory level, β-LG is not explicitly named, but milk is included in the list of substances or products causing allergies or intolerances. Hence, the presence of β-LG can be a useful marker for determining the presence of milk in food. In this work, we present an aptasensor based on electrochemiluminescence (ECL) for the quantification of β-LG in real food matrices displaying integrated advantages consisting of high specificity, good sensitivity, portability, and cost effectiveness. The performance and applicability of this sensor were tested by analyzing a sample of skimmed milk and an oat-based drink proposed as a vegetable substitute for milk of animal origin. We obtained a linear correlation between the intensity of the signal and the concentration of β-LG standard solutions (y = x * 0.00653 + 1.038, R2 = 0.99). The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be 1.36 and 4.55 μg L−1, respectively. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.
Congenital central nervous system abnormalities, idiopathic hypopituitarism and breech delivery: what is the connection?
No full textAn Effective Label-Free Electrochemical Aptasensor Based on Gold Nanoparticles for Gluten Detection
Full text linkNanomaterials can be used to modify electrodes and improve the conductivity and the performance of electrochemical sensors. Among various nanomaterials, gold-based nanostructures have been used as an anchoring platform for the functionalization of biosensor surfaces. One of the main advantages of using gold for the modification of electrodes is its great affinity for thiol-containing molecules, such as proteins, forming a strong Au-S bond. In this work, we present an impedimetric biosensor based on gold nanoparticles and a truncated aptamer for the quantification of gluten in hydrolyzed matrices such as beer and soy sauce. A good relationship between the Rct values and PWG-Gliadin concentration was found in the range between 0.1–1 mg L−1 of gliadin (corresponding to 0.2–2 mg L−1 of gluten) with a limit of detection of 0.05 mg L−1 of gliadin (corresponding to 0.1 mg L−1 of gluten). The label-free assay was also successfully applied for the determination of real food samples
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
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
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