1,721,048 research outputs found
Fetal Sex and Preterm Birth
No full textRates of preterm birth vary between different populations and ethnic groups. Epidemiologic studies have suggested that the incidence of preterm birth is also higher in pregnancies carrying a male fetus; the male:female difference is greater in earlier preterm pregnancy. Placental or chorion trophoblast cells from pregnancies with a male fetus produced more pro-inflammatory TNFα in response to LPS stimulation and less anti-inflammatory IL-10 and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) than cells from pregnancies with a female fetus, more prostaglandin synthase (PTGS-2) and less prostaglandin dehydrogenase (PGDH). These results suggest that in the presence of a male fetus the trophoblast has the potential to generate a more pro-inflammatory environment. Maturation of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and expression of placental genes, particularly 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-2 are also expressed in a sex dependent manner, consistent with the sex-biasing influences on gene networks. Sex differences in these activities may affect clinical outcomes of pre- and post-dates pregnancies and fetal/newborn wellbeing. These factors need consideration in studies of placental function and in the development of personalized strategies for the diagnosis of preterm labor and postnatal healt
Urocortin 2 stimulates estradiol secretion from cultured human placental cells: an effect mediated by the type 2 corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptor
No full textEstrogens produced by the placenta are pivotal in human pregnancy and parturition. Several hormones are involved in regulating estrogen production. Recently, the corticotrophin releasing hormone family of peptides has expanded and among the new members, urocortin 2 is expressed from human placenta. The aim of the current study was to determine urocortin 2 effects on estradiol secretion and cytochrome P450 aromatase mRNA levels and protein expression from cultured human trophoblast cells. Trophoblast cell cultures were treated with urocortin 2 and for comparison, corticotrophin releasing hormone, or urocortin 1 in the presence of estrogen precursors dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, androstenedione, and testosterone. Estradiol output was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cytochrome P450 aromatase mRNA levels and protein expression were evaluated using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Trophoblast cell cultures treated with increasing amounts of corticotrophin releasing hormone and urocortin 1 showed increased secretion of E2 in the presence of androstenedione. In the presence of urocortin 2, E2 output in cultures treated with dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, and testosterone was consistently raised in a time and dose-dependent manner to maximum values at 24 hours. P450 aromatase mRNA levels and protein expression were upregulated by urocortin 2 in the presence of C19 precursors. The addition of antisauvagine-30, a corticotrophin releasing hormone-receptor-2 antagonist, significantly reversed urocortin 2 effects on E2 secretion and P450 aromatase expression. Our results suggest that urocortin 2 may play a role in the regulation of E2 production throughout pregnancy, thereby contributing to the placental regulation of key reproductive events in pregnancy maintenance and parturition
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Neuroendocrine mechanism in pregnancy and parturition
No full textThe complex mechanisms controlling human parturition involves mother, fetus, and placenta, and stress is a key element activating a series of physiological adaptive responses. Preterm birth is a clinical syndrome that shares several characteristics with term birth. A major role for the neuroendocrine mechanisms has been proposed, and placenta/membranes are sources for neurohormones and peptides. Oxytocin (OT) is the neurohormone whose major target is uterine contractility and placenta represents a novel source that contributes to the mechanisms of parturition. The CRH/urocortin (Ucn) family is another important neuroendocrine pathway involved in term and preterm birth. The CRH/Ucn family consists of four ligands: CRH, Ucn, Ucn2, and Ucn3. These peptides have a pleyotropic function and are expressed by human placenta and fetal membranes. Uterine contractility, blood vessel tone, and immune function are influenced by CRH/Ucns during pregnancy and undergo major changes at parturition. Among the others, neurohormones, relaxin, parathyroid hormone-related protein, opioids, neurosteroids, and monoamines are expressed and secreted from placental tissues at parturition. Preterm birth is the consequence of a premature and sustained activation of endocrine and immune responses. A preterm birth evidence for a premature activation of OT secretion as well as increased maternal plasma CRH levels suggests a pathogenic role of these neurohormones. A decrease of maternal serum CRH-binding protein is a concurrent event. At midgestation, placental hypersecretion of CRH or Ucn has been proposed as a predictive marker of subsequent preterm delivery. While placenta represents the major source for CRH, fetus abundantly secretes Ucn and adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone in women with preterm birth. The relevant role of neuroendocrine mechanisms in preterm birth is sustained by basic and clinic implication
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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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