1,720,961 research outputs found
Short-term recall of usual diet and current cognitive difficulties in a cohort of free-living elderly people in southern Italy
No full textThe effect of a soy rich diet on the vaginal epithelium in postmenopause: a randomized double blind trial
No full textBackground: A traditional asiatic phytoestrogen-rich diet is associated with a lower incidence of estrogen-dependent cancers and clinical consequences of postmenopausal estrogen deficiency. First Wilcox in 1990, showed an increase of the vaginal cell maturation with phytoestrogens on postmenopausal women, but this has not been confirmed in some subsequent studies. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the effects of a 6-month soy-rich diet on the vaginal epithelium of asymptomatic postmenopausal women in a randomized clinical trial. 187 women were recruited for the study and divided into three groups: a phytoestrogen rich diet group; a hormonal replacement group, and a control group. A vaginal sample for hormonal cytology was taken before and at the end of the study, and sent unnamed to a cytologist. Results: The karyopycnotic index (KI) increased significantly in the diet group and in the HRT group but not in the control group. The maturation value (MV) had an identical trend to the KI. Conclusion: We conclude that a soy rich diet is efficacious in increasing the maturation indices of vaginal cells. This effect could be a useful marker of the efficacy of a dietary intervention with phytoestrogen rich foods, and should be considered during preventive interventions against menopausal effects and vaginal atrophy. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
Hypolactasia and metabolic changes in post-menopausal women
No full textThe aims of the study were to evaluate the prevalence of hypolactasia in a group of post-menopausal women in Southern Italy, and to relate hypolactasia to possible changes occurring in biochemical indicators of carbohydrate and fat metabolism as well as in biochemical markers of bone metabolism.
METHODS:
Fifty post-menopausal women entered the study. Lactose malabsorbers were identified by breath hydrogen test. The kinetics of D-xylose was evaluated by a graphic-mathematical analysis after oral administration of a solution of 10 g of D-xylose in water. Serum glucose, insulin, C-peptide, cholesterol and triglycerides were assayed by commercial kits. The evaluation of dietary habits and physical activities was performed by a questionnaire. The assessment of bone turnover was obtained by measuring osteocalcin, serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium, phosphorus, and urinary hydroxyproline and urinary calcium expressed as a ratio or urinary creatinine.
RESULTS:
Twenty-six of 50 women showed hypolactasia. Significant differences were found in serum levels of insulin, glucose, and triglycerides, which were lower in malabsorbers than lactose absorbers, and in HDL-cholesterol levels which were higher in the first group than in the second. As regards bone turnover, dietary habits or lactose intake, there were no significant differences between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS:
The significant differences found in serum levels of glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol between lactose absorbers and malabsorbers may be imputable to the low or absent lactase activity which does not allow the whole amount of lactose in the small bowel of malabsorbers to be metabolized. Moreover, changes in lactose absorbing capacity of intestinal mucosa did not modify the intake of milk or its by-products in malabsorbers as demonstrated by the analysis of food
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
Diet and myocardial infarction: a nested case-control study in a cohort of elderly subjects in a Mediterranean area of southern Italy
No full textWe evaluated the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) in
a population of Southern Italy and the relationship of dietary macronutrients with incident MI. The ONCONUT cohort included 5632 subjects followed-up, over 50 years,
recruited in 1992. At baseline, they completed a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and gave details of their medical history. After 5years they were traced by their
family physician, who found 108 incident MI. Ninety-seven of them and 194 controls, sampled from the noncases at baseline and paired for diabetes to the cases, entered this nested case-control study. MI rate per 1000 person-years was 9.6 in males and 3.7 in females. In non-diabetics, saturated fat were associated with MI directly (odds ratio (OR): tertile 2 vs. 1 Z 2.32,
tertile 3 vs. 1 Z 2.82; chi-square for trend, p Z 0.03) and polyunsaturated fats inversely (OR: tertile 2 vs. 1Z0.80, tertile 3 vs. 1Z0.37; chi-square for trend, pZ0.05), while in diabetics,
starchy carbohydrates (OR: tertile 2 vs. 1 Z 1.51, tertile 3 vs. 1 Z 6.73; chi-square for trend, p Z 0.01) and glycaemic index (OR: tertile 2 vs. 1 Z 2.74, tertile 3 vs. 1 Z 5.34; chi-square for trend, p Z 0.01) were associated directly with MI. MI incidence in this population was lower than that found in northern countries. In non-diabetics, saturated fats were associated directly and polyunsaturated fat inversely
with MI; in diabetics, starchy carbohydrates and high-glycaemic-index foods were associated directly with MI
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