1,720,964 research outputs found
Essential oil of Myrtus communis inhibits inflammation in rats by reducing serum IL-6 and TNF-α
No full textThe topical antiinflammatory activity of the essential oil of Myrtus communis L. was studied using croton oil induced ear edema and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in mice, and cotton pellet induced granuloma, and serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in rats. On topical application, the oil exhibited a significant decrease in the ear edema as well as MPO activity. The oil also inhibited cotton pellet-induced granuloma and serum TNF-α and IL-6. It can be concluded that the essential oil of Myrtus communis reduces leukocyte migration to the damaged tissue and exhibits antiinflammatory activity
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
Pistacia lentiscus L. essential oil inhibits cotton pellet granuloma in rats: involvement of IL-6 and TNF-a
No full textEssential oil of Pistacia lentiscus L. inhibits carrageenan-induced inflammation in rats. Orhan et al. have reported that a-pinene is responsible for the antinflammatory activity. In the present study we report inhibitory effect of P. lentiscus essential oil in cotton pellet-induced granuloma and reduction in serum level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a
An ethnobotanical study of traditional antinflammatory plants used in the folk medicine of Ogliastra (central eastern Sardinia, Italy)
No full textIn this work the authors propose the results of an ethnobotanical investigation developed in Ogliastra, a subregion of Sardinia, whose territory, between the sea and mountains, is characterized by a variety of natural environments. In this territory there is a strictly traditionalist structure and an evident cultural isolation. These conditions have consolidated the relationship between humans and the environment, people and plants. Previous ethnobotanical studies (Ballero et al., 1994, 1997a, b, 1998, 2001; Bruni et al., 1997; Loi et al., 2002, 2004; Palmese et al., 2001; Sanna et al., 2006) showed in Sardinia a rich contingent of plant species for medicine uses: 397 plants (about 16% of the total) are recognized as medicinal herbs (Gastaldo, 1987) and 20 are included in the F.U.I. The investigation presented in this work was carried out by the method of the survey led by an interview, aimed at filling in a pre-formulated form, semi-structured, according to present indications of ethnobotanical investigation (Waller, 1993; Cotton 2002). The 317 interviews have highlighted a contingent of 36 plant species belonging to 35 genera and 27 families, used in folk medicine for the treatment of inflammatory processes. With regard to taking, the investigation showed a greater use of the decoction (23.4% of reports), followed by the directly application on the skin of fresh parts of the plant (23.2%), the infusion (19.5%) and the cataplasm (12.9%). There are no signs of more complex handling of the drugs. The main parts used are the leaves (28.3%), whole plant (21.7%), fruits (6.9%), flowers (6.9%) and root (6.8% ), moreover latex (4.8%) and resin (2.1%) are also used
Antidepressant activity of Ceratonia siliqua L. fruit extract, a source of polyphenols
No full textA previous study from our laboratory has shown the facilitatory effect of Ceratonia siliqua L. (Fabaceae) on the dopaminergic function. This study investigates the involvement of monoamines in the antidepressant activity of the total polyphenol content of Ceratonia siliqua extract (CS) in mice using a tail suspension test (TST) and forced swim test (FST). The immobility time in the TST and FST were significantly reduced by CS (25 and 50 mg kg(-1), i.p.). The extract considerably attenuated the duration of immobility induced by prazosin (62.5 mu g kg(-1), i.p., an alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist) and eticlopride (0.1 mu g kg(-1), i.p., a classical D(2)-like dopamine receptor antagonist) in both TST and FST, whereas the extract could not modify the immobility in mice treated with p-chlorophenylalanine (100 mg kg(-1), i.p., x3 days; an inhibitor of serotonin synthesis) and baclofen (10 mg kg(-1), i.p., GABA(B) agonist). This suggests that the antidepressant effect of CS is mediated by dopamine and noradrenaline
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
Effect of ethanolic extract of Rubia peregrina L. (Rubiaceae) on monoamine-mediated behaviour
No full textIn the traditional system of medicine in Sardinia, Rubia peregrina (RP) is reported as an aphrodisiac herb. Since aphrodisiacs may also have dopaminergic activity, and there can be a reciprocal relationship between dopaminergic and serotonergic functions in the central nervous system, the aim here was to study the effect of the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of R. peregrina on monoamine-mediated behaviour. The RP (100 and 200mgkg -1 intraperitoneally) significantly inhibited haloperidol (1mgkg -1 i.p.) induced catalepsy in mice (p<0.01, dopamine-mediated response) lithium sulphate induced head twitches in rats (serotonin-mediated response) and was without effect on clonidine-induced hypothermia in rats (noradrenaline-mediated response). The study concludes that R. peregrina improves the dopaminergic function, diminishes the serotonin-mediated function and is devoid of any effect on the noradrenergic function. The study suggests that we should carry out further experiments to investigate the psychopharmacological profile of R. peregrina
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