1,720,969 research outputs found
Exploring New Pharmacological Strategies to Treat Binge-Like Eating Behavior
Full text linkBinge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder. It is characterized
by recurrent episodes of binge eating, during which individuals consume, in a discrete
period of time, amounts of food larger than most people would eat under similar
circumstances, while experiencing loss of control towards their eating behavior. BED
has a strong negative impact on the functionality and quality of life, and it is associated
with negative health consequences, including obesity and other psychiatric disorders.
Psychological therapy is generally recommended for the treatment of BED, but
unfortunately not all of the patients positively respond to this approach. Thus,
pharmacological approaches are strongly required for the management of this
pathology. To date, only Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX) has been approved for
the treatment of BED by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015, even
though its clinical efficacy is limited by the adverse effects associated to this
psychostimulant, in particular the increase in heart rate and blood pressure, which
might lead to cardiovascular adverse events. The research for innovative
pharmacological strategies is necessary, and the development of animal models of
binge eating is a useful approach to investigate the neurobiological processes
underlying binge eating behavior and to test the efficacy of innovative compounds to
block binge eating episodes. Based on this premises, in this experimental thesis I tested
the effects of two innovative compounds which might represent useful
pharmacological agents for the treatment of binge eating behavior, and I also
investigated potential neurobiological alterations underlying compulsive-like eating
behavior, using an animal model of binge eating developed by Cifani et al. in 2009.
This animal model involves the use of female rats, which develop a compulsive-like
eating behavior towards highly palatable food (HPF), after being exposed to cycles of caloric restriction/refeeding plus a frustration stress procedure. This animal model is
characterized by a high degree of face, construct and predictive validity. The first
target analyzed in this thesis is the Sigma 1 receptor (σ1R), a chaperone-like protein
which has been demonstrated to promote binge eating behavior. In particular, I tested
the effect of a highly selective σ1R antagonist in the binge eating model of Cifani et
al., observing that this compound was able to block the binge eating episode in female
rats, without affecting anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors. Thus, the results of
this study evidenced that antagonism of the σ1R is a pharmacological strategy to
selectively target and block the neuronal mechanisms that lead to the binge eating
episode. The second target of my experimental thesis is orexin-A (OX-A) and the
orexin-1 receptor (OX1R), importantly implicated in driving non-homeostatic
consumption of HPF. Specifically, I tested the effect of a selective OX1R antagonist
(SO1RA) developed by Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, named ACT-539313, on binge
eating behavior. This compound blocked the binge eating episode in female rats under
both acute and chronic administration regimens, without sign of tolerance. I also
investigated by immunohistochemistry whether binge eating rats might display
alterations in Orexin-A (OX-A) and Delta FosB protein expression (marker of long-
term neuronal adaptation and plasticity) in multiple brain regions implicated in binge
eating behavior. Rats chronically exposed to the binge eating protocol displayed a
down-regulation of OX-A protein expression in different extra-hypothalamic sites,
such as the central amygdala (CeA), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and paraventricular
nucleus of the thalamus (PVT), which could represent a protective mechanism against
overconsumption of palatable food. In contrast, no changes in Delta FosB protein
expression were found in all brain regions analyzed in binge eating rats. I also
investigated whether chronic administration of ACT-539313 might produce changes in the expression of OX-A and delta FosB. Chronic treatment with the SO1RA led to
an increase in the number of OX-A positive neurons in the hypothalamus, reflecting a
compensatory increase in OX-A expression in response to the SO1RA, and also to an
increase in the number of hypothalamic delta-FosB positive cells, suggesting
activation of populations of neurons in the hypothalamus. Collectively, these results
support the use of SO1RAs in the treatment of binge eating, with efficacy observed
even under chronic administration regimen. Furthermore, changes in OX-A protein
expression at extra-hypothalamic brain regions appear to represent a marker of binge
eating behavior. In conclusion, the data obtained in my experimental thesis provide
novel insights about the potential role of the σ1R and OX1R in driving binge eating
behavior, and support the clinical evaluation of antagonists of these receptors in
humans affected by BED
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
The role of motivation in eating disorders: understanding sex differences in the circuits
Full text linkVariations 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
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
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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