1,720,962 research outputs found
Is Altered BDNF Biosynthesis a General Feature in Patients with Cognitive Dysfunctions?
No full textSevere cognitive deficits are a frequent outcome of both neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. In the attempt to define new clinical biomarkers, current research trends aim at the identification of common molecular features in these pathologies rather than searching for differences. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has attracted great interest as possible biomarker because of its key role in synaptic remodeling during cognitive processes. BDNF undergoes proteolytic processing and studies in animal models have highlighted that different forms of learning and memory require either the proBDNF precursor or the mature BDNF form. Significantly, an altered expression of BDNF forms was found in postmortem brains and serum from patients with schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders. Based on these studies, this review puts forward the hypothesis that abnormalities in proBDNF or mBDNF biosynthesis may correspond to different cognitive dysfunctions in these brain diseases, while the role of truncated BDNF remains unknown
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
The Meaning of Food Preferences in the Human Behaviour and Personalities.
No full textLearned predisposition to choice in a favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given food is a complex and plastic trait resulting from interactions between both nutritional properties of food and individual chemosensory perception, this last modulated by personality properties and interoceptive awareness (alexithymia).
We report data obtained by a total of ~700 individuals (aged 18-76) coming from 6 different small villages in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northern Italy. Participants completed a food preferences questionnaire on 66 different foods, rating their liking of each item on a 9 point scale ranging from “extremely like” to “extremely dislike”. Standardized questionnaires were also administered to characterize subjects on selected personality traits (Temperament and Character Inventory – TCI) and alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale – TAS-20).
We conducted a linear regression between the mean of all food preferences and neuropsychological traits, using sex and age as covariates. The mean of food preferences was associated negatively with TAS total score (p=7.5e-05) and externally oriented cognitive style (subitem 3 of TAS-20) (p=2.0e-07), and was positively associated with self-transcendence total score (ST) (p=5.9e-04) and spiritual acceptance (ST3) (p=6.5e-04) among TCI dimensions.
We conclude that food preferences are modulated by the enduring tendency to transcend contingent sensorimotor representations (ST) on the one hand, by difficulty distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal, and concrete thinking, often with the exclusion of emotional responses to stimuli of the other.
These results can provide insight to a clearer understanding of the motivations of consumers and their effects to choice diets
Analysis of functional variants reveals new candidate genes associated with alexithymia
No full textIn this study we explored the possible association between 36,915 functional variants and alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by the inability to identify and describe emotions and feelings. From our analysis, variants in the genes ABCB4, TP53AIP1, ARHGAP32 and TMEM88B were identified linked to the alexithymia phenotype
The Role Of Personality Traits On Taste Perception and Food Preferences.
No full textThe relationship between individual differences in taste perception and personality dimensions has not been thoroughly examined. The genetically determined sensitivity to certain bitter tastes, such as PROP and PTC, is one of the most studied individual differences in humans. It is in part explained from genotypic variation of TAS2R38 gene, but others factors including personal characteristics could be involved. Our study aimed to analyse the possible relationship between personality traits, PROP bitterness and food preferences. We report data obtained from a total of ~700 healthy individuals (aged 18-76) coming from 6 different small villages in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northern Italy. PROP taste phenotype was determined using a method previously described (Zhao et al, 2003). Individuals completed also a food preferences questionnaire on different foods, rating their liking of each item on a 9-point scale ranging from “like extremely” to “dislike extremely”. Standardized questionnaires were administered to characterize subjects on selected personality traits (Temperament and Character Inventory – TCI) and alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale – TAS-20), a personality construct characterized by an impaired ability to identify, differentiate and describe feelings and to distinguish between feelings and bodily sensations of emotional arousal.
Regression analysis detected an association between PROP intensity and alexithymia (TAS Total score), such that high alexithymic individuals showed a reduced PROP responsiveness (p-value=0.0147). Furthermore, these same subjects exhibited a statistically significant lower preference for specific foods, including broccoli, red radish, artichokes, black olives, fava beans. Our results suggest that bitter taste perception and food preferences could be modulated by difficulty in distinguishing and describing feelings and emotional responses to stimuli that characterized the alexithymic personality.
This study can also provide insight to a clearer understanding of the motivations of consumers and their effects to choice diets
Understanding the role of personality and alexithymia in food preferences and PROP taste perception
No full textTaste perception and food preferences are influenced by a variety of factors, including personality characteristics. The aims of this study were to examine the role of personality characteristics, such as alexithymia (a personality construct characterized by inability to identify, describe, and work with one's own feelings), in: 1) taste responses to the bitter genetic taste-marker PROP and 2) food liking. We studied 649 healthy subjects residing in six genetically-isolated villages of Northeast Italy. Data on PROP taste responsiveness, food liking, personality characteristics and TAS2R28 genotypes were collected. Results showed that PROP non-tasters had higher alexithymia scores than PROP tasters. Moreover, the presence of alexithymia in heterozygous individuals for the rs1726886 polymorphism of the TAS2R38 gene was associated with a reduction in the perceived intensity of PROP. Finally, higher alexithymia scores were associated with liking of alcohol, sweets and fats/meats whereas lower alexithymia scores were related to liking of vegetables, condiments and strong cheeses, Measures of temperament, character, anxiety and depression were also related to food liking. Our findings suggest that: 1) alexithymia, in addition to the TAS2R38 polymorphism, may play a role in responsiveness to the aversive and bitter taste of PROP; and 2) alexithymia, in combination with other personality traits, may provide important insights for better understanding food liking
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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