1,720,976 research outputs found
Physiology of pregnancy : Interaction between Mother and Child
No full textIn the last years evidence has shown how lifelong well-being strongly depends on intrauterine growth and development
during intrauterine life. Fetal growth can achieve its full potential only with an adequate and fine-tuned interaction between
mother, placenta and fetus. Several environmental and maternal factors like maternal diet, body composition and endocrine status may alter this delicate equilibrium. Moreover, placental function and metabolism contribute and regulate the availability of fetal nutrients. Changes in
this complex mechanism may compromise the pregnancy outcome. In this chapter we wish to elucidate the physiologic mechanisms that regulate this interaction and how also
little modifications may predispose to pathologies like intrauterine growth restriction and gestational diabetes with important consequences on fetal and adult health
Maternal micronutrients, placental growth and fetal outcome
No full textPregnancy can be regarded as a three-compartment model, with the mother, placenta, and fetus interacting to ensure proper fetal growth and development. Maternal health, along with maternal diet, body composition, metabolism, and placental nutrient supply, is the main fac- tor that can negatively or positively influence fetal development. Before reaching the fetus, nutrients from maternal diet are used by the placenta for its own metabolism. The quality and quantity of nutrients that reach the fetus are indeed influenced by placental shape, size, and characteristics. Placental growth and develgpment are influenced by the maternal diet itself.
This chapter aims to show how fetal and postnatal growth and development are strictly dependent on proper maternal nutritional intake before and during pregnancy and how over- supply, deficiency, or poor quality of nutrients may influence placental development and adversely affect pregnancy outcome and expression offetal genetic potential
Long chain fatty acids and dietary fats in fetal nutrition
Full text linkLong chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential nutrients for a healthy diet. The different kinds consumed by the mother during gestation and lactation may influence pregnancy, fetal and also neonatal outcome. The amount of fatty acids transferred from mother to fetus depends not only on maternal metabolism but also on placental function, i.e. by the uptake, metabolism and then transfer of fatty acids to the fetus. The third trimester of gestation is characterized by an increase of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the fetal circulation, in particular docosahexaenoic acid, especially to support brain growth and visual development. These mechanisms may be altered in pathological conditions, such as intrauterine growth restriction and diabetes, when maternal and fetal plasma levels of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids undergo significant changes. The aim of this review is to describe the maternal and placental factors involved in determining fetal fatty acid availability and metabolism, focusing on the specific role of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in normal and pathological pregnancies
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
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