1,721,030 research outputs found
Arterial benefits of green tea extract: Anti-hypertension and prevention of cardiovascular damage and endothelial dysfunction in angiotensin II-dependent hypertension
No full textLorenzo Gotte (1926-1991): a pioneer of elastin
Full text linkLorenzo Gotte (1926-1991) was an outstanding histologist at the School of Medicine of Padua. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his passing away - commemorated during the recent congress of the Italian Society for the Connective Tissue (SISC), held in Padua (September 30 - October 1, 2016). This brief note recalls this outstanding figure: indeed, forthose who knew him, Lorenzo Gotte was an exceptional scientist and at the same time, an unparalleled teacher - and, for many, a great friend. It is still difficult to separate these aspects of his personality, so intertwined in his life: studying elastin and elastic tissue was a passion central to Gotte's life
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
Prognostic relevance of MMP-2 (72-kD collagenase IV) in gastric cancer
Full text linkThe association of MMP-2 (matrix metalloproteinase 2, 72-kD collagenase IV) with invasive and metastatic capacity of tumor cells has implicated a potential role in the prognosis for cancer patients. However, no larger study has been done to prove this hypothesis. The present study was therefore designed to investigate the prognostic impact of MMP-2 in a prospective series of 203 gastric cancer patients. MMP-2 expression was measured immunohistochemically and scored semiquantitatively (score 0-3) in carcinoma cells, and results were correlated with clinicopathological tumor parameters and parameters of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system. Survival analyses were done using the Kaplan-Meier method (log-rank statistics) and multivariate Cox analysis. Significant correlations were found for MMP-2 and Lauren's classification, M stage and proteases/inhibitors of the uPA system in the primary tumor. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed an association of increasing MMP-2 expression with worse prognosis. This was especially seen in patients with a parallel high expression of uPA receptor. However, differences in survival probabilities between low and high MMP-2 levels were not significant. In a separate analysis of diffuse-type cancers, MMP-2 was significantly associated with disease-free (p = 0.0056) and overall survival (p = 0.0426). Multivariately, MMP-2 was not an independent parameter. Our results demonstrate that there is an association of immunohistochemical detection of MMP-2 with prognosis of cancer patients. For diffuse gastric cancers, it is a significant prognostic parameter, however, not of independent impact. The study further suggests that consideration of interrelated tumor-associated proteases like uPA receptor in combination with MMP-2 may improve its prognostic power
Regolazione del gene della preproendotelina umana (ET-1) da parte di flavonoidi antiossidanti: un meccanismo molecolare “candidato” del “paradosso”francese?
No full textRegulation of the human preproendothelin (ET)-1 by flavonoid antioxidants: a candidate molecular mechanism of the “french paradox”?
No full textSuppression of metastatic potential and up-regulation of gelatinases and uPA il LLC by protracted in vivo treatment with dacarbazine or razoxane
No full textAntidepressant hyperforin up-regulates VEGF in CNS tumour cells.
No full textVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key player in neo-angiogenesis; it sustains the progression of solid neoplasias, brain tumours included. It has recently been demonstrated that the use of antidepressants correlates with increasing VEGF levels in the central nervous system (CNS). In order to elucidate whether the most used natural antidepressant [St. John's wort (SJW) extract] modulates VEGF expression, possible relationship between ≤ μM hyperforin (Hyp, the bioactive component in SJW) and VEGF in CNS tumours has been now examined in medulloblastoma and glioblastoma cells. Real-time PCR and ELISA revealed that under Hyp VEGF expression increased more than three fold in DAOY medulloblastoma cells; while, U87 glioblastoma cells – constitutively expressing high VEGF levels – showed no significant differences. Moreover, Hyp induced endothelial pro-angiogenic behaviour in a multi-parametric Matrigel colonisation assay, and down-modulation of pro-MMP-2 and pro-MMP-9 activities as measured by gelatin zymography. Should these results be confirmed in vivo for this and other types of CNS tumour, the antidepressant use of SJW extracts must be carefully re-considered, in particular for brain tumour patients
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