how to cite article research

APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
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Standard Format

Formatting rules, various examples.

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Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

The following formats apply to all journals, periodicals, magazines, newspapers, etc. whether you found them in an online database, search engine, or in print.

• Volume, issue and page numbers in periodicals:  Continuous pagination throughout a volume: only cite the volume number (in italics), followed by a comma and then the page numbers: 20 , 344-367.
•   Do Not copy and paste URLS from library databases or other platforms that restrict public access.

See Ch. 10 pp. 313-352 of APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

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• Last Updated: Apr 22, 2024 9:37 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th

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Start your research.

• Research Process
• Find Background Info
• Find Sources through the Library
• Evaluate Your Info
• Cite Your Sources
• Evaluate, Write & Cite

• is the right thing to do  to give credit to those who had the idea
• shows that you have read and understand  what experts have had to say about your topic
• helps people find the sources  that you used in case they want to read more about the topic
• provides   evidence  for your arguments
• is professional and  standard practice   for students and scholars

What is a Citation?

A citation identifies for the reader the original source for an idea, information, or image that is referred to in a work.

• In the body of a paper, the  in-text citation  acknowledges the source of information used.
• At the end of a paper, the citations are compiled on a  References  or  Works Cited  list. A basic citation includes the author, title, and publication information of the source. 

From:  Lemieux  Library,  University  of Seattle 

Why Should You Cite?

Quoting Are you quoting two or more consecutive words from a source? Then the original source should be cited and the words or phrase placed in quotes. 

Paraphrasing If an idea or information comes from another source,  even if you put it in your own words , you still need to credit the source.  General vs. Unfamiliar Knowledge You do not need to cite material which is accepted common knowledge. If in doubt whether your information is common knowledge or not, cite it. Formats We usually think of books and articles. However, if you use material from web sites, films, music, graphs, tables, etc. you'll also need to cite these as well.

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. When you work on a research paper and use supporting material from works by others, it's okay to quote people and use their ideas, but you do need to correctly credit them. Even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages, you must acknowledge the original author.

Citation Style Help

Helpful links:

• MLA ,  Works Cited : A Quick Guide (a template of core elements)
• CSE  (Council of Science Editors)

For additional writing resources specific to styles listed here visit the  Purdue OWL Writing Lab

Citation and Bibliography Resources

• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License except where otherwise noted.

Land Acknowledgement

The land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.

The land acknowledgement used at UC Santa Cruz was developed in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman and the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the UCSC Arboretum .

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How to Cite a Research Paper

Last Updated: March 29, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 413,795 times.

When writing a paper for a research project, you may need to cite a research paper you used as a reference. The basic information included in your citation will be the same across all styles. However, the format in which that information is presented is somewhat different depending on whether you're using American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Chicago, or American Medical Association (AMA) style.

Referencing a Research Paper

• In APA style, cite the paper: Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title. Publisher.
• In Chicago style, cite the paper: Last Name, First Name. “Title.” Publisher, Year.
• In MLA style, cite the paper: Last Name, First Name. “Title.” Publisher. Year.

Citation Help

• For example: "Kringle, K., & Frost, J."

• For example: "Kringle, K., & Frost, J. (2012)."
• If the date, or any other information, are not available, use the guide at https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/05/missing-pieces.html .

• For example: "Kringle, K., & Frost, J. (2012). Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer."
• If you found the research paper in a database maintained by a university, corporation, or other organization, include any index number assigned to the paper in parentheses after the title. For example: "Kringle, K., & Frost, J. (2012). Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer. (Report No. 1234)."

• For example: "Kringle, K., & Frost, J. (2012). Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer. (Report No. 1234). Retrieved from Alaska University Library Archives, December 24, 2017."

• For example: "(Kringle & Frost, 2012)."
• If there was no date on the research paper, use the abbreviation n.d. : "(Kringle & Frost, n.d.)."

• For example: "Kringle, Kris, and Jack Frost."

• For example: "Kringle, Kris, and Jack Frost. "Red Noses, Warm Hearts: The Glowing Phenomenon among North Pole Reindeer." Master's thesis."

• For example: "Kringle, Kris, and Jack Frost. "Red Noses, Warm Hearts: The Glowing Phenomenon among North Pole Reindeer." Master's thesis, Alaska University, 2012."

• For example: "Kringle, Kris, and Jack Frost. "Red Noses, Warm Hearts: The Glowing Phenomenon among North Pole Reindeer." Master's thesis, Alaska University, 2012. Accessed at https://www.northpolemedical.com/raising_rudolf."

• Footnotes are essentially the same as the full citation, although the first and last names of the authors aren't inverted.
• For parenthetical citations, Chicago uses the Author-Date format. For example: "(Kringle and Frost 2012)."

• For example: "Kringle, Kris, and Frost, Jack."

• For example: "Kringle, Kris, and Frost, Jack. "Red Noses, Warm Hearts: The Glowing Phenomenon Among North Pole Reindeer.""

• For example, suppose you found the paper in a collection of paper housed in university archives. Your citation might be: "Kringle, Kris, and Frost, Jack. "Red Noses, Warm Hearts: The Glowing Phenomenon Among North Pole Reindeer." Master's Theses 2000-2010. University of Alaska Library Archives. Accessed December 24, 2017."

• For example: "(Kringle & Frost, p. 33)."

• For example: "Kringle K, Frost J."

• For example: "Kringle K, Frost J. Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer."

• For example: "Kringle K, Frost J. Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer. Nat Med. 2012; 18(9): 1429-1433."

• For example, if you're citing a paper presented at a conference, you'd write: "Kringle K, Frost J. Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer. Oral presentation at Arctic Health Association Annual Summit; December, 2017; Nome, Alaska."
• To cite a paper you read online, you'd write: "Kringle K, Frost J. Red noses, warm hearts: The glowing phenomenon among North Pole reindeer. https://www.northpolemedical.com/raising_rudolf"

• For example: "According to Kringle and Frost, these red noses indicate a subspecies of reindeer native to Alaska and Canada that have migrated to the North Pole and mingled with North Pole reindeer. 1 "

Community Q&A

• If you used a manual as a source in your research paper, you'll need to learn how to cite the manual also. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you use any figures in your research paper, you'll also need to know the proper way to cite them in MLA, APA, AMA, or Chicago. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/116659
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
• ↑ https://libanswers.snhu.edu/faq/48009
• ↑ https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/MLA8/location
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/ama_style/index.html

About This Article

To cite a paper APA style, start with the author's last name and first initial, and the year of publication. Then, list the title of the paper, where you found it, and the date that you accessed it. In a paper, use a parenthetical reference with the last name of the author and the publication year. For an MLA citation, list the author's last name and then first name and the title of the paper in quotations. Include where you accessed the paper and the date you retrieved it. In your paper, use a parenthetical reference with the author's last name and the page number. Keep reading for tips on Chicago and AMA citations and exceptions to the citation rules! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

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There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .

For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism . If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material .

This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students . If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules .

Table of contents

In-text citations and full references.

• Secondary referencing
• Page numbers
• Citing multiple sources published in the same year by the same author

Full reference examples

Referencing consists of two elements:

• in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author(s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
• full references, which are given in alphabetical order in reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right .

Difference between reference list and bibliography

a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text

a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment

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Examples of in-text citations

You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .

Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.

Online module materials

(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).

When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

OR, if there is no named author:

The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014&section=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.

For ebooks that do not contain print publication details

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).

Example with one author:

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

Example with two or three authors:

Goddard, J. and Barrett, S. (2015) The health needs of young people leaving care . Norwich: University of East Anglia, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.

Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.

Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.

If accessed online:

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

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Research and Citation Resources

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

If you are having trouble locating a specific resource please visit the  search page  or the  Site Map . The Citation Chart  provides a detailed overview of MLA Style, APA Style, and Chicago Manual of Style source documentation by category.

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These OWL resources will help you conduct research using primary source methods, such as interviews and observations, and secondary source methods, such as books, journals, and the Internet. This area also includes materials on evaluating research sources.

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These OWL resources will help you use the research you have conducted in your documents. This area includes material on quoting and paraphrasing your research sources, as well as material on how to avoid plagiarism.

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These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the Works Cited page, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster

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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Style

These resources describe how to structure papers, cite sources, format references, and handle the complexities of tables and figures according to the latest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) guidelines.

American Medical Association (AMA) Style

These resources provide guidance on how to cite sources using American Medical Association (AMA) Style, 10th Ed., including examples for print and electronic sources.

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We live in an age overflowing with sources of information. With so many information sources at our fingertips, knowing where to start, sorting through it all and finding what we want can be overwhelming! This handout provides answers to the following research-related questions: Where do I begin? Where should I look for information? What types of sources are available?

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Helping women get better sleep by calming the relentless 'to-do lists' in their heads

Yuki Noguchi

Katie Krimitsos is among the majority of American women who have trouble getting healthy sleep, according to a new Gallup survey. Krimitsos launched a podcast called Sleep Meditation for Women to offer some help. Natalie Champa Jennings/Natalie Jennings, courtesy of Katie Krimitsos hide caption

Katie Krimitsos is among the majority of American women who have trouble getting healthy sleep, according to a new Gallup survey. Krimitsos launched a podcast called Sleep Meditation for Women to offer some help.

When Katie Krimitsos lies awake watching sleepless hours tick by, it's almost always because her mind is wrestling with a mental checklist of things she has to do. In high school, that was made up of homework, tests or a big upcoming sports game.

"I would be wide awake, just my brain completely spinning in chaos until two in the morning," says Krimitsos.

There were periods in adulthood, too, when sleep wouldn't come easily, like when she started a podcasting company in Tampa, or nursed her first daughter eight years ago. "I was already very used to the grainy eyes," she says.

Now 43, Krimitsos says in recent years she found that mounting worries brought those sleepless spells more often. Her mind would spin through "a million, gazillion" details of running a company and a family: paying the electric bill, making dinner and dentist appointments, monitoring the pets' food supply or her parents' health checkups. This checklist never, ever shrank, despite her best efforts, and perpetually chased away her sleep.

"So we feel like there are these enormous boulders that we are carrying on our shoulders that we walk into the bedroom with," she says. "And that's what we're laying down with."

By "we," Krimitsos means herself and the many other women she talks to or works with who complain of fatigue.

Women are one of the most sleep-troubled demographics, according to a recent Gallup survey that found sleep patterns of Americans deteriorating rapidly over the past decade.

"When you look in particular at adult women under the age of 50, that's the group where we're seeing the most steep movement in terms of their rate of sleeping less or feeling less satisfied with their sleep and also their rate of stress," says Gallup senior researcher Sarah Fioroni.

Overall, Americans' sleep is at an all time low, in terms of both quantity and quality.

A majority – 57% – now say they could use more sleep, which is a big jump from a decade ago. It's an acceleration of an ongoing trend, according to the survey. In 1942, 59% of Americans said that they slept 8 hours or more; today, that applies to only 26% of Americans. One in five people, also an all-time high, now sleep fewer than 5 hours a day.

Popular myths about sleep, debunked

"If you have poor sleep, then it's all things bad," says Gina Marie Mathew, a post-doctoral sleep researcher at Stony Brook Medicine in New York. The Gallup survey did not cite reasons for the rapid decline, but Mathew says her research shows that smartphones keep us — and especially teenagers — up later.

She says sleep, as well as diet and exercise, is considered one of the three pillars of health. Yet American culture devalues rest.

"In terms of structural and policy change, we need to recognize that a lot of these systems that are in place are not conducive to women in particular getting enough sleep or getting the sleep that they need," she says, arguing things like paid family leave and flexible work hours might help women sleep more, and better.

No one person can change a culture that discourages sleep. But when faced with her own sleeplessness, Tampa mom Katie Krimitsos started a podcast called Sleep Meditation for Women , a soothing series of episodes in which she acknowledges and tries to calm the stresses typical of many women.

Shots - Health News

Many grouchy, error-prone workers just need more sleep.

That podcast alone averages about a million unique listeners a month, and is one of 20 podcasts produced by Krimitsos's firm, Women's Meditation Network.

"Seven of those 20 podcasts are dedicated to sleep in some way, and they make up for 50% of my listenership," Krimitsos notes. "So yeah, it's the biggest pain point."

Krimitsos says she thinks women bear the burdens of a pace of life that keeps accelerating. "Our interpretation of how fast life should be and what we should 'accomplish' or have or do has exponentially increased," she says.

She only started sleeping better, she says, when she deliberately cut back on activities and commitments, both for herself and her two kids. "I feel more satisfied at the end of the day. I feel more fulfilled and I feel more willing to allow things that are not complete to let go."

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Time zones and tiredness strongly influence NBA results, study of 25,000 matches shows

The body clock has a significant impact on the performance of NBA players, according to study published in the peer-reviewed journal Chronobiology International .

The authors say their findings, from more than 25,000 matches, show elite basketball coaches and teams should consider the physical and mental effects of time zone travel when planning games and preparing for games.

A first of its kind, the research is based on the achievements at home and away of NBA (National Basketball Association) league players across 21 consecutive seasons. Considered the most competitive in the world, NBA athletes frequently travel to matches across the five US time zones used by NBA teams.

The findings show that there is a near 10% better win ratio difference for home teams from the western time zone area (PDT) when playing against a team from the eastern EDT time zone, compared to when an EDT team hosts a PDT team.

• When PDT teams play at home against EDT teams the winning percentage is 63.5%.
• When EDT teams host a PDT team, the winning percentage drops to 55.0%.

In addition, the findings also show that teams win more home games when players' sleep-wake cycles -- linked to their circadian rhythm (CR) -- are 'ahead' of the local time. This is after they have returned west from competing in a city further east where the local time is earlier.

For example, if the LA Lakers play an away match at Miami (EDT) and then return to Los Angeles (PDT) to play a home game without much CR adaptation time (CR is ahead of the local time), the Lakers play the next home game with a CR advantage against whomever their opponents are.

Teams do not have the same success when players' internal body clocks are either behind or synchronized with the local time where their home arena or stadium is based, according to the results.

Experts from Dokuz Eylül University and Yildiz Technical University, in Turkey, led the study. Dr Firat Özdalyan, a Sport Physiology expert from Dokuz Eylül, explains that they found NBA teams need to become used to the local time when they play away games to perform well.

"One of the most important results of this research for the home games of the NBA teams is that while traveling to the west increases the performance, traveling to the east decreases the performance," he states.

"Another notable finding is that the success of NBA teams increases when they are fully adapted to the local time for away games.

"Home teams who will be exposed to such a CR phase shift (traveling from west to east) should be mindful of these potential performance detriments when constructing game plans.

"It can be suggested that coaches (of away teams) should bear this (the low shooting success) in mind during the game preparation period."

A circadian rhythm (CR) is the body's sleep-wake pattern over a 24-hour day. A CR phase shift means bedtime and wake-up times move earlier or later in the day.

This means the body clock gets out of sync with the environment which can lead to sleeplessness, daytime tiredness and other issues. The body clock needs 24 hours to adapt for every one-hour time zone change.

The study investigated the effect of a CR shift on the performance of professional NBA athletes.

Data was analyzed from 25,016 regular games across 21 consecutive seasons between 2000 to 2021. Information included the date, location, game result and home or away team. Time zones of the cities where all games were played were identified to calculate the CR phase shifts of the teams.

The expert team say teams in the Pacific time zone may have an advantage in regular season home games such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Seattle Supersonics.

Anaerobic performance could explain why home teams who travel from east to west do better, say the authors. This type of activity which is crucial for scoring, defending and other feats peaks later in the day.

The authors add that the body clock adapts more easily to a long rather than a short day. The day becomes longer traveling east to west and a natural circadian rhythm is slightly longer than 24 hours. So this means basketball players are traveling in the direction their bodies want to go.

As for away teams, the authors say that travel fatigue is more likely to blame for poor performance than phase shifts in CR.

Players who have rest time between games or have not traveled across time zones for an away match are more able to synchronize their body with the local time. As such, they are not as tired and play better.

A limitation of this research is that the traveling schedules of the teams are not known. Since this information was not available, it was not possible to determine how long the teams stayed in which city/time zone; how much they adapted to the local UTC; and what extent they were exposed to a CR phase shift with real data. Therefore, the team used a predictive model for the traveling plans and CR adaptations of the teams by following the rules determined by previous research.

Another limitation is that the games were not separated according to teams' ability differences.

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• Fırat Özdalyan, Erhan Çene, Hikmet Gümüş, Osman Açıkgöz. Investigation of the effect of circadian rhythm on the performances of NBA teams . Chronobiology International , 2024; 1 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2024.2325641

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Title: from chatgpt, dall-e 3 to sora: how has generative ai changed digital humanities research and services.

Abstract: Generative large-scale language models create the fifth paradigm of scientific research, organically combine data science and computational intelligence, transform the research paradigm of natural language processing and multimodal information processing, promote the new trend of AI-enabled social science research, and provide new ideas for digital humanities research and application. This article profoundly explores the application of large-scale language models in digital humanities research, revealing their significant potential in ancient book protection, intelligent processing, and academic innovation. The article first outlines the importance of ancient book resources and the necessity of digital preservation, followed by a detailed introduction to developing large-scale language models, such as ChatGPT, and their applications in document management, content understanding, and cross-cultural research. Through specific cases, the article demonstrates how AI can assist in the organization, classification, and content generation of ancient books. Then, it explores the prospects of AI applications in artistic innovation and cultural heritage preservation. Finally, the article explores the challenges and opportunities in the interaction of technology, information, and society in the digital humanities triggered by AI technologies.

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The effect of T cell aging on the change of human tissue structure

• Ling-ling Xu 1 ,
• Xiang Chen 1 &
• Jing-ping Cheng 2  

Immunity & Ageing volume  21 , Article number:  26 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The trend of aging of the global population is becoming more and more significant, and the incidence of age-related diseases continues to rise.This phenomenon makes the problem of aging gradually attracted wide attention of the society, and gradually developed into an independent research field.As a vital defense mechanism of the human body, the immune system changes significantly during the aging process.Age-induced changes in the body’s immune system are considered harmful and are commonly referred to as immune aging, which may represent the beginning of systemic aging.Immune cells, especially T cells, are the biggest influencers and participants in age-related deterioration of immune function, making older people more susceptible to different age-related diseases.More and more evidence shows that T cells play an important role in the change of human tissue structure after aging, which fundamentally affects the health and survival of the elderly.In this review, we discuss the general characteristics of age-related T cell immune alterations and the possible effects of aging T cells in various tissue structures in the human body.

Aging and T cell changes

It is well known that during the aging process, the immune system changes, that is, the disorder and decline of immune system function.In the aging state, the immune system usually shows a relatively continuous state of low activation; When stimulated by the outside world, its dynamic response becomes weaker and the amplitude is reduced, and this combination of chronic inflammatory state and reduced effective defense ability is often referred to as immune aging.

Studies have found that immune aging is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in the elderly [ 1 ]。At present, many studies have found relevant factors leading to immune senescence, which are believed to be related to Langerhans cells, dendritic (DC) cells, natural killer (NK) cells, neutrophilic granulocyte function, T cell and B cell function and lineage [ 2 ]。Although immune aging affects both the innate and acquired immune systems, the most significant is T-cell immunity [ 3 ]。Liu et al. studied various biomarkers associated with human aging in peripheral blood T cells and observed a positive relationship between chronological age and p16 expression as well as telomere shortening, confirming that T cells age with age [ 4 ]。With age, the most significant changes are the decrease of the initial T-cell (Tn) library and the increase of the Memory T cell (Tm) library, the decrease of T-cell diversity, the decrease of the number of available TCR S , and the decline of T-cell immune response function.In addition, extreme differentiation of memory T cells was observed in the elderly, and co stimulatory molecules such as CD28 and CD27 were no longer expressed, resulting in T cell aging or depletion [ 5 ].While aging and depleted T cells exhibit molecular features of aging (such as mitochondrial dysfunction and epigenetic remodeling); Second, the aging of T cells showed signs of DNA damage and short telomeres, and activate signaling pathways associated with aging [ 6 ], at the same time a series of factors, these factors are called the senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) [ 7 ]; With the increase of age, T cells with aging phenotype will continue to accumulate, further promoting immune aging, resulting in a decrease in immune function and an increase in pro-inflammatory function.

At present, it has been found that aging T cells may promote pathological changes in the tissue structure of various systems of the human body through a variety of mechanisms, thereby leading to related diseases and fundamentally affecting the health of the elderly.First, aging T cells continue to produce cytokines that directly promote inflammation; Secondly, aging T cells may not be able to perform the function of monitoring aging, so that they cannot clear the irreversibly damaged cells that become sensory cells, and cannot play the corresponding function in time.In addition, aging T cells can lead to the loss of autoimmune tolerance and secrete cytotoxic substances that directly damage tissues.Finally, aging T cells can also indirectly participate in various changes by regulating intestinal homeostasis.

T cells and vascular function

In recent years, with the increasing aging trend, the risk of cardiovascular disease is also increasing, which is directly related to the appearance of vascular aging [ 8 ].Vascular aging is a degenerative disease of the cardiovascular system with the increase of age, which is usually accompanied by increased stiffness of elastic arteries, decreased compliance, dysfunction of vascular endothelial cells, and weakened ability of vascular repair and regeneration [ 9 ].Vascular endothelial cell dysfunction is the early sign of vascular aging, but also the key event.Data from both in vitro and clinical studies suggest that immune system aging affects endothelial cell function and leads to age-related vascular disease [ 1 , 10 ].In fact, inflammation is an important factor in endothelial cell dysfunction, chronic inflammation can lead to vascular endothelial structure and function changes.Aging of the immune system can promote chronic inflammation, which is a key mechanism of vascular endothelial injury [ 11 ].

Trott et al. demonstrated that dysfunctional T cells in older mice are involved in inducing vascular inflammation and associated vascular dysfunction [ 12 ], and that these changes may be caused by T cell senescence.Senescent T cells release SASP, including inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6), chemokines (GRO1), protease (MMP), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), NO and other signaling molecules, and hormones inducing pro-inflammatory response [ 13 , 14 ], so that the body can maintain chronic inflammation.The resulting pro-inflammatory microenvironment of blood vessel wall will promote vascular dysfunction, impair cell metabolism, increase cell apoptosis, and lead to the occurrence of corresponding vascular diseases [ 15 ]; Secondly, these inflammatory cytokines promote vascular oxidative stress to a certain extent, induce the activation of matrixmetalloproteinase (MMP), degrade vascular wall collagen and elastase, and thus impair the function of vascular endothelial cells, leading to vascular wall remodeling [ 16 ]. In addition, the inflammatory factor TNF-a can regulate the damage of endothelial cells through the NF-kB signaling pathway, and TNF-a can stimulate the degradation of IkB protein in cells and activate the NF-kB signaling pathway, resulting in the transcription of genes dependent on NF-kB activation and increased binding to nuclear DNA, thus inducing apoptosis of endothelial cells and accelerating the occurrence of vascular aging [ 17 ].Importantly, selective inhibition of NF-κB in the vascular system has been shown to improve blood flow regulation, reduce systemic inflammation, exert beneficial metabolic effects and extend healthy lifespan [ 18 ].

On the other hand, studies have found that sirtuins (SIRTs) proteins play an important role in the aging process of blood vessels [ 19 ]. Sirtuin (SIRT) or Silence-information regulatory Factor 2 (Sir2) proteins are a class of proteins with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) -dependent deacetylase activity or ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, which are widely distributed in cells.Currently, it has been found that SIRT1 is the most important factor involved in vascular homeostasis and disease in the SIRT family, and SIRT1 is highly expressed in endothelial cells [ 19 ].However, studies have found that SIRT1 protein levels in various aging models gradually decrease with the aging process [ 20 ].When T cells age, the expression level of SIRT1 decreases [ 21 ].However, downregulation of SIRT1 expression may lead to increased activity of proteins that inhibit cell cycle such as p53, thus inducing endothelial cell senescence [ 19 ].

In conclusion, senescent T cells, especially senescent CD8 + T cells, have reduced or depleted expression of the surface co-stimulatory molecule CD28, which is mainly clinically manifested as a significant increase in circulating CD8 + CD28-T cell subsets with aging.Studies have found that from birth to 80 years old, the proportion of CD8 + CD28-T cell subsets in the blood of healthy people increases from 0 to about 60% [ 22 ].Compared with CD28 + T cells, CD28-T cells have decreased proliferation capacity and increased expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and play an important role in various age-related cardiovascular diseases [ 23 , 24 ].Therefore, the detection of CD8 + CD28-T lymphocytes in blood may also serve as an assessment of vascular aging and prediction of cardiovascular risk [ 25 ].

T cells and intestinal mucosal barrier

It is well known that aging is closely related to the integrity of the intestinal barrier [ 16 ].The permeability of the intestinal barrier changes with age.Experiments have confirmed that the intestinal permeability of elderly rodents to macromolecules increases, indicating that aging is also related to the deterioration of intestinal barrier function and integrity [ 26 ].Evidence shows that T lymphocytes play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier [ 27 , 28 ]。At the same time, immunosuppression and immune imbalance may lead to or aggravate intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction [ 29 ].

Firstly, there are a large number of TRM cells (resident memory T cells), TReg cells (regulatory T cells) and γδT cells in the intestine [ 23 ].Gamma-delta T cells, which are most closely related to intestinal mucosal barrier function, produce regenerative factors such as keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and IGF1 to regulate tissue homeostasis and promote epithelial cell proliferation [ 30 , 31 ], epithelial integrity is also promoted through the secretion of mediators such as TGFβ1, TGFβ3, and prothymosinβ4 [ 32 ].However, it has been found in animal experiments that the proportion of γδT cells is reduced in the gut of elderly mice [ 33 ], so we believe that the decline in the number of γδT cells during aging is also an important part of the damage of intestinal mucosal barrier.

Secondly, aging T cells may lead to increased inflammatory response, and a large number of inflammatory factors may lead to dysfunction or excessive apoptosis of intestinal mucosal epithelial cells and impair intestinal mucosal barrier function [ 34 ]; In addition, a large number of inflammatory mediators will activate NF-KB (nuclear transcription factor). When NF-KB in intestinal immune cells is activated, downstream signaling molecules will be activated to promote the expression of inflammatory factors, and intestinal immune cells will be activated to cause damage to their mucosal barrier [ 35 ].

On the other hand, with the aging of T cells, the immune tolerance of T cells is decreased and the immune regulatory function is impaired, and the ability to recognize beneficial microorganisms in the intestine and immune monitoring and related regulation of harmful microorganisms is decreased, so that the intestinal mucosal barrier is out of balance.Dysfunctional gut microbiota has also been linked to unhealthy aging and age-related chronic inflammatory diseases [ 36 ]. Studies have confirmed that T cells promote local IgA responses in germinal centers, thus ensuring tolerance to symbiotic microorganisms [ 37 ], but germinal center reactions require a balance of TH17 cells and Treg cells [ 38 , 39 ]. Their future also will be divided into Tfh cells and T follicular regulatory cells. Recently, iNKT cells have also been shown to control IgA by regulating intestinal flora, as well as regulating the function of intestinal Treg cells [ 40 ]. However, dysfunctional germinal center Tfh cell and excessive T follicular regulatory cell activity observed in older mice may affect gut microbiota remodeling during aging [ 41 , 42 ]. Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that germinal center defects and antigen-specific IgA defects are prone to occur in the elderly [ 43 ]. These findings suggest that T cells contribute to the maintenance of a healthy and balanced gut microbiome, and that dysregulation of the gut microbiome can result from T cell aging. In addition, when intestinal flora disorders occur in the body, harmful bacteria increase in the intestine, resulting in dysfunction of intestinal mucosal barrier function and increased permeability, thus activating effector T cells, destroying the balance between them and immunosuppressive regulatory T cells, and further leading to immune function impairment [ 44 ]. In short, this loss of host-microbiome symbiosis will aggravate the destruction of the intestinal barrier, promote the spread of intestinal bacterial products throughout the body, cause inflammation, and generate pathological feedback loops that amplify this inflammatory response [ 45 , 46 ].

In conclusion, T cell aging may affect the immune function, inflammatory state, immune regulation and repair ability of intestinal mucosal barrier, and thus affect the entire intestinal health state.In the elderly population, the continuous decline of intestinal mucosal immune barrier function weakens the intestinal tolerance to its own flora, external infection, malnutrition, dehydration and other conditions, thus providing favorable conditions for the invasion of gastrointestinal pathogens.Therefore, given the role of T cells in regulating intestinal stem cell(ISC) fate and intestinal integrity [ 47 ], coupled with their ability to control the gut microbiome, microbiota-T cell interactions have emerged as a potential regulator of health in older adults.Therefore, it is necessary to further study whether the function of aging T cells can be improved by regulating the intestinal microbiota (intestinal microbiota transplantation, oral probiotics, etc.), so as to curb its adverse effects.

T cells and skeletal muscle

Closely related to age - sarcopenia. It has been reported that immune aging stimulates muscle loss during aging, which can be regarded as a key factor leading to sarcopenia [ 48 ]. And T cells play an important role in the middle.

Experiments with T cell-deficient mice and activated spleen T cell mice have shown that the adaptive immune response of T cells to release cytokines to damaged muscles promotes the continuous proliferation of skeletal muscle stem cells, and aging may alter the function of T cell-induced muscle precursor cells (MPC), leading to the occurrence of sarcopenia [ 49 ]. Immune aging causes a decrease in the number of muscle stem cells (satellite cells) and transfers muscle stem cells to the fibrogenic phenotype [ 50 ], which disrupts muscle regeneration and leads to muscle atrophy. One of the findings suggests that age-related sarcopenia is directly related to muscle stem cell (MuSC) dysfunction, and that high expression of the cell surface marker CD47 (a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily) may lead to decreased proliferation of aging MuSC subpopulations. By blocking CD47 selective polyadenylation mediated by morph or blocking Thrombospondin-1 (THBS1) /CD47 signaling pathway by antibodies, the defects of MuSC regeneration in elderly mice can be overcome, thus improving muscle regeneration in elderly mice [ 51 ], which has therapeutic significance. The results of this study provide a new therapeutic target for improving muscle repair ability during aging.

Secondly, aging T cells will secrete inflammatory factors such as senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) to accelerate the formation of human inflammatory microenvironment. In the inflammatory microenvironment, excessive cytokines promote the deterioration of skeletal muscle fiber diameter and protein content.It also promotes skeletal muscle metabolic breakdown [ 52 ], leading to muscle proteolysis and muscle cell apoptosis [ 53 ], and eventually sarcopenia.In addition, T cells also play a role in regulating repair and regeneration after muscle injury. Aging T cells may weaken this regulatory effect, leading to a decline in muscle regeneration.In particular, aging T cells may affect the activity of satellite cells (muscle stem cells), which are essential for muscle regeneration.

On the other hand, animal experiments have found that mice transplanted with probiotics or healthy intestinal microbes have increased skeletal muscle mass, decreased muscle atrophy markers, and enhanced muscle oxidative metabolism, suggesting that intestinal flora plays an important role in skeletal muscle metabolism [ 54 ]. Intestinal flora can affect muscle mass by changing amino acid bioavailability, participating in lipid metabolism regulation, and affecting bile acid metabolism [ 55 ]. Therefore, T cells can indirectly affect skeletal muscle metabolism by regulating intestinal flora.

In conclusion, aging T cells affect skeletal muscle metabolism through multiple mechanisms such as chronic inflammation, muscle regeneration, muscle remodeling, muscle atrophy, and intestinal flora, leading to impaired muscle function and a decline in muscle mass and strength. So maintaining a healthy immune system and slowing down T-cell aging may help maintain muscle health and function.

Conclusion and prospect

A healthy immune system seems to be the secret to centenarians’ longevity, which is also contributing to our growing understanding of immune aging.To study the interrelationship between T cell aging and human tissue structure, and to understand the underlying mechanism is an important basis for clinical intervention, hoping to find the key to improve the healthy life span of the elderly.In conclusion, the imbalance of T cell metabolism is the regulator that drives aging-related diseases, so T cell targeted therapy, including clearing senescent T cells and maintaining T cell function, may open up a new therapeutic direction for aging-related diseases.

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Medical College, School of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430065, Hubei, China

Ling-ling Xu & Xiang Chen

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Xu, Ll., Chen, X. & Cheng, Jp. The effect of T cell aging on the change of human tissue structure. Immun Ageing 21 , 26 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12979-024-00433-4

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Received : 03 December 2023

Accepted : 23 April 2024

Published : 30 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12979-024-00433-4

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