187,729 research outputs found
A physical model for co-evolution of QSOs and of their spheroidal hosts
No full textAt variance with most semi-analytic models, in the Anti-hierarchical Baryon
Collapse scenario (Granato et al. 2001, 2004) the main driver of the galaxy formation and
evolution is not the merging sequence but are baryon processes. This approach emphasizes,
still in the framework of the hierarchical clustering paradigm for dark matter halos, feedback
processes from supernova explosions and from active nuclei, that tie together star formation
in spheroidal galaxies and the growth of black holes at their centers.We review some recent
results showing the remarkably successful predictive power of this scenario, which allows
us to account for the evolution with cosmic time of a broad variety of properties of galaxies and active nuclei, which proved to be very challenging for competing models
Instrumental assessment of physiotherapy and onabolulinumtoxin-A on cervical and headache parameters in chronic migraine
No full textIntroduction: The purpose of the present study is to compare the effect of the physiotherapy to onabolulinumtoxin-A, and their combination, in relation to cervical and headache parameters in patients with chronic migraine. Methods: This is an observational cohort study conducted by a headache center and a physiotherapy degree course on 30 patients with chronic migraine. The patients were distributed in three groups of treatments for three months: onabolulinumtoxin-A only, physiotherapy only, and onabolulinumtoxin-A plus physiotherapy. The patients were evaluated, before and after each treatment, using the following: the postural assessment software SAPO for the forward head posture; the CROM goniometer for the cervical range of motion; the Migraine Disability Assessment Score for headache parameters. Results: After 3 months of each treatment, the scores obtained for the headache-related disability and the frequency of migraine decreased significantly for all groups, but the pain intensity scores changed significantly only in the onabolulinumtoxin-A (p = 0.01) and in the onabolulinumtoxin-A plus physiotherapy groups (p = 0.007). On the other hand, the forward head posture was reduced significantly in the physiotherapy (p = 0.002) and in the onabolulinumtoxin-A plus physiotherapy groups (p = 0.003). The cervical range of motion increased significantly in certain directions in the physiotherapy group and in the onabolulinumtoxin-A plus physiotherapy groups. Conclusions: The physiotherapy improved the cervical parameters. The onabolulinumtoxin-A decreased pain intensity. As a consequence, it can be said that the combined treatment was more useful than a mono-therapy alone. From our results, it can be concluded that onabolulinumtoxin-A plus physiotherapy could be a good option in the management of chronic migraine
Twenty-five years of total antioxidant capacity measurement of foods and biological fluids: merits and limitations
No full textThis review summarises 25 years of investigations on antioxidants research in foods and biological fluids and critically analyses the merits and limitations of using the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) measurement in the metabolomic era. An enormous bulk of knowledge was produced regarding the antioxidant capacity of foods and large TAC databases were developed. A direct link between a food TAC value and any health benefit is erroneous and has led to several cases of consumer deception. However, the striking epidemiological evidence associating a high dietary TAC with some disease prevention and the availability of well-constructed TAC databases deserve attention and must be taken into account to establish the usefulness of measuring TAC in both foods and biological samples. The in vivo TAC measurement, usually performed in plasma, is influenced by many external factors, such as dietary habits, as well as environmental and behavioural factors, which are integrated towards homeostatic control by fine physiological mechanisms with high inter-individual variability. Therefore, plasma TAC cannot be considered as a unique biomarker of individual antioxidant status. However, the combined evaluation of plasma TAC with known markers of disease, individual metabolism, inflammation and genetics, as well as with markers of gut microbiota composition and activity, may lead to the identification of populations that are more responsive to food/diet TAC. In this framework, the appropriate use of TAC measurement both in food and in vivo can still provide support for the interpretation of complex phenomena and be a tool for sample screening when making a quick decision toward in-depth research investigations.</p
Affinity and selectivity of plant proteins for red wine components relevant to color and aroma traits
No full textThe effects of fining with various plant proteins were assessed on Aglianico red wine, using both the young wine and wine aged for twelve and twenty-four months, and including wine unfined or fined with gelatin as controls. Color traits and fining efficiency were considered, along with the content of various types of phenolics and of aroma-related compounds of either varietal or fermentative origin. All agents had comparable fining efficiency, although with distinct kinetics, and had similar effects on wine color. Individual plant proteins and enzymatic hydrolyzates differed in their ability to interact with some anthocyanins, with specific proanthocyanidins complexes, and with some aroma components of fermentative origin. Changes in varietal aroma components upon fining were very limited or absent. Effects of all the fining agents tested in this study on the anthocyanidin components were most noticeable in young red wine, and decreased markedly with increasing wine ageing
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Genotoxicity induced by fine urban air particulate matter in the macrophages cell line RAW 264.7
No full textRecent studies support a participation of fine airborne particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm in the effects of air pollutants on health. Particulate matter was collected in an urban area of L'Aquila during the winter 2004. Fine particulate samples were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to determine the chemical inventory of the aerosol particle surfaces and to evaluate the weight of characteristic functional groups of the most frequent carbon-containing organic pollutant compounds (C-C/C-H, C-O/C-N, C{double bond, long}O, COOH). The most important contributor to the mass of fine particulate matter was carbon. The overall purpose of this work was to determine the in vitro toxicity and genotoxicity of fine PM in cultured macrophages (RAW 264.7 cells) since the biological target of inhaled PM are the pulmonary epithelium and resident macrophages. In parallel in vitro toxicity assays were used including cell viability and apoptosis. Genotoxicity was evaluated by the micronucleus (MN) assay. The viability of macrophages was assessed by the MTT method; apoptosis by an ELISA test for programmed cell death (PCD) was determined after RAW 264.7 cells treatment. Concentration of 1, 3 and 10 μg/cm2 of fine particles induced micronuclei in a dose-dependent manner. We also compared the effects of fine PM with those of fine carbon black particles (CB) in similar doses. Fine carbon black particles were consistently less genotoxic than the fine atmospheric particles, suggesting that the contaminants adsorbed on them (i.e. carbon-containing organic compounds in addition to metal oxides and metal salts) are involved in genotoxicity. Fine PM reduced cellular proliferation. Overall, the results presented here demonstrate the utility of in vitro tests in mouse cells for testing genotoxicity of urban air particulate matter. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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