1,720,970 research outputs found
Prehypertension and elevated risk of cardiovascular disease: physiopathologic mechanisms.
No full text
Effects of a nutraceutical combination (berberine, red yeast rice and policosanols) on lipid levels and endothelial function randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
No full textBACKGROUND AND AIMS: Some nutraceuticals are prescribed as lipid-lowering substances. However, doubts remain about their efficacy. We evaluated the effects of a nutraceutical combination (NC), consisting of 500mg berberine, 200mg red yeast rice and 10mg policosanols, on cholesterol levels and endothelial function in patients with hypercholesterolemia. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this single centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 50 hypercholesterolemic patients (26 males and 24 females, mean age 55+/-7 years, total cholesterol 6.55+/-0.75mmol/l, BMI 28+/-3.5) were randomized to 6 weeks of treatment with a daily oral dose of NC (25 patients) or placebo (25 patients). In a subsequent open-label extension of 4 weeks, the whole sample received NC. The main outcome measure was decrease total cholesterol (C) levels in the NC arm. Secondary outcome measures were decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels, and improved endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and insulin sensitivity in relation to NC. Evaluation of absolute changes from baseline showed significant reductions in NC versus placebo for C and LDL-C (C: -1.14+/-0.88 and -0.03+/-0.78mmol/l, p<0.001; LDL-C: -1.06+/-0.75 and -00.4+/-0.54mmol/l, p<0.001), and a significant improvement of FMD (3+/-4\% and 0+/-3\% respectively, p<0.05). After the extension phase, triglyceride levels decreased significantly from 1.57+/-0.77 to 1.26+/-0.63mmol/l, p<0.05 and insulin sensitivity improved in a patient subgroup with insulin resistance at baseline (HOMA: from 3.3+/-0.4 to 2.5+/-1.3, p<0.05). No adverse effect was reported. CONCLUSIONS: This NC reduces cholesterol levels. The reduction is associated with improved endothelial function and insulin sensitivity
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
- …
