1,720,959 research outputs found
The effect of hyaluronic acid on human fibroblasts: An in vitro study
No full textThe linear glycosaminoglycan hyaluronic acid is a component of many body organs and tissues, such as the extracellular matrix of connective tissue, skin, synovial fluid, and embryonic mesenchymal tissue, naturally occurring with a high molecular weight. Hyaluronic acid can also be detected in the soft periodontal tissues (gingiva and periodontal ligament). Hyaluronic acid biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, non-immunogenic and non-inflammatory properties make it applicable to bioengineering and biomedicine fields. Its molecular weight influences the biological effects of hyaluronic acid. High-molecular weight hyaluronic acid causes the suppression of immune response, avoiding the exacerbations of inflammation; on the other hand, low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid takes part in tissue damage signaling and immune cell mobilization. Thanks to these properties, hyaluronic acid can be considered a promoter of soft tissue and bone healing. This study evaluates the effect of hyaluronic acid with different molecular weights on fibroblasts
From pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals: bridging disease prevention and management
No full textNutraceuticals, up today, do not have a specific definition distinct from those of other food-derived categories, e.g. food supplements, herbal products, pre and probiotics, functional foods, etc. They have, however, a pharmacological beneficial effect on health. Many studies have been recently addressed to assess their safety, efficacy, and regulation since they are getting growing attention by market and research, with the aim to clear the difference between them and other market available food-derived products that claim beneficial effect on health. Areas covered: The understanding of the potential mechanisms of action of pharmaceutically active substances contained in nutraceuticals that may improve health and reduce the risk of pathological conditions while enhancing overall well-being is the challenge for nutraceuticals to be considered as a preventive and therapeutic efficient tool in facing some diseases. Expert commentary: It is of utmost importance to have a proper and unequivocal definition of nutraceuticals and a shared regulation. Nevertheless, there is a lack of clear information and, often, the claimed health benefits may not be properly substantiated by safety and by efficacy in vivo data, which can induce false expectations and miss the target for a product to be effective, as claimed
Fruit-based juices: Focus on antioxidant properties—Study approach and update
No full textThis paper proposes a perspective literature review of the antioxidant properties in fruit-based juices. The total antioxidant properties due to compounds such as carotenoids, polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins as well as the assessment of interactions between natural active compounds and other food matrix components can be seen as the first step in the study of potential health benefits of fruit-based juices. A brief summary is given on the significance of antioxidant properties of fruit juices, the conventional methods for antioxidant activity evaluation, and on the newly emerged sample analysis and data interpretation strategies, that is, chemometric analysis based on spectroscopic data. The effect of fruit processing techniques and the addition of ingredients on the antioxidant properties of fruit-based juices are also discussed
Abscisic acid identification in Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus L. (Moench): perspective nutraceutical use for the treatment of diabetes
No full textOkra, Abelmoschus esculentus L. (Moench), also known as Lady's Fingers, gombo, or bamje, is an annual plant belonging to the Malvaceae family. Traditional olistic medicine since centuries directly associates this plant and its parts to a beneficial health hypoglycemic effect. Since the abscisic acid (ABA) has been associated to an interesting hypoglycemic effect, this triggered us to verify and quantify the presence of the abscisic acid in the okra phytocomplex. In particular, ABA, a plant derived hormone, has been proven by recent studies to be effective on mammals. To determine and quantify the ABA content, different parts of the Okra plant extracts have been evaluated, and HPLC-DAD analysis has been used allowing us to report for the first time the presence of this isoprenoid compound. Bioaccessibility has been also investigated using a simulated gastro intestinal (GI) digestion protocol with the aim of explore the possibility of okra extract as nutraceutical
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
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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