1,721,112 research outputs found

    Fasting may be an alternative treatment method recommended by physicians

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    Objective: Fasting is a practice found in many cultures both ancient and modern. Although, fasting (religious or otherwise) causes many physiological, biochemical, metabolic and spiritual changes in the body, there is no clear scientific consensus on its beneficial effects on health. Also, despite the popularity and potential promise of therapeutic fasting as a preventive measure, little is known about the prevalence of therapeutic fasting use. This study was performed to discuss whether could fasting be part of wellness

    Organ crosstalk: the potent roles of inflammation and fibrotic changes in the course of organ interactions

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    Background Organ crosstalk can be defined as the complex and mutual biological communication between distant organs mediated by signaling factors. Normally, crosstalk helps to coordinate and maintain homeostasis, but sudden or chronic dysfunction in any organ causes dysregulation in another organ. Many signal molecules, including cytokines and growth factors, are involved in the metabolic dysregulation, and excessive or inappropriate release of these molecules leads to organ dysfunction or disease (e.g., obesity, type 2 diabetes). Aim and method The aim of this review is to reveal the impact of organ crosstalk on the pathogenesis of diseases associated with organ interactions and the role of inflammatory and fibrotic changes in the organ dysfunction. After searching in MEDLINE, PubMed and Google Scholar databases using 'organ crosstalk' as a keyword, studies related to organ crosstalk and organ interaction were compiled and examined. Conclusion The organ crosstalk and the functional integration of organ systems are exceedingly complex processes. Organ crosstalk contributes to metabolic homeostasis and affects the inflammatory response, related pathways and fibrotic changes. As in the case of interactions between adipose tissue and intestine, stimulation of inflammatory mechanisms plays an active role in the development of diseases including insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes and hepatic steatosis. The increased level of knowledge about the 'crosstalk' between any organ and distant organs will facilitate the early diagnosis of the disease as well as the management of the treatment practices in the short- and long-term organ dysfunction

    Emerging roles of ADAMTS metalloproteinases in regenerative medicine and restorative biology

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    ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs) proteinases degrade proteoglycans and thereby have the potential to alter tissue architecture and regulate cellular function. Recent studies about the roles of these enzymes have produced new perspectives for the molecular mechanisms behind regenerative biology with clinical potential to generate therapeutic targets to resolve tissue injury. ADAMTS enzymes play an important role in the turnover of extracellular matrix proteins in various tissues and their dysregulation has been implicated in disease-related processes such as inflammation and fibrosis. Increasing evidence indicates that they may be of key significance in the physiological and pathological central nervous system. In this review, we summarize what is currently known about the roles of ADAMTS proteins in tissue repair and regeneration as well as in the pathogenesis of other important biological processes and diseases including arthritis, atherosclerosis, and cancer

    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
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