1,721,077 research outputs found
S-adenosylmethionine and methionine metabolism in Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD)
No full textBACKGROUND: Prior experimental studies found associations of alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) with abnormal methionine metabolism. Aberrant methionine metabolism
may play a central role in the pathogenesis of ALD. AIM: To establish profiles of plasma methionine metabolites in ALD patients compared to those found in healthy control subjects and alcoholics without clinical or biochemical evidence of liver disease, and to define the relationship of these profiles to clinical and pathological severity of ALD. PATIENTS AND
METHODS: Serum levels of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH),homocysteine (Hcy), methionine, dimethylglycine (DMG), cysteine, and cystathionine were measured by GCMS and LCMS in 32 patients with ALD (group A), 20 chronic alcoholics without liver disease (group B), and 20 healthy control subjects (group C). Liver biopsies were performed in 20 ALD patients. Patients with creatinine ? 1.4 were excluded. RESULTS: The
mean age of all subjects was 47 ± 9.7 years (range 28-67), with 27.8 % women. No age or gender difference between the 3 groups. The mean duration of abstinence was 71 days for group A, and 1.3 days for group B. AST, Bilirubin, Alkaline Phosphatase, and INR were significantly higher in group A compared to the other 2 groups (all p< 0.0001). SAM, SAH, and DMG were significantly higher in group A compared to groups B and C, while Hcy was significantly higher in group A and B vs group C. Increased DMG is consistent with activation of betaine hydoxymethyltransferase in response to elevated Hcy. Methionine was similar in the three groups. SAM was significantly correlated with cysteine serum level (r= 0.34, p= 0.02), indicating a possible effect of diminished kidney function on SAM serum levels. Liver histology showed 5 patients with no steatosis, 3 grade 1, 4 had grade 2, and 8 grade 4; one patient did not 2 have fibrosis, 4 had stage 1, 4 stage 2, 5 stage 3 and 6 stage 4. On bivariate analysis, the duration of abstinence correlated significantly with the severity of steatosis (p= 0.02). On multivariate
analysis, predictors of steatosis severity were AST, bilirubin, creatinine, albumin, and serum Hcy (p=0.0002); predictors of stage of fibrosis were hispanic ethnicity, ALT, SAM/SAH, and Hcy (p= 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum Hcy is elevated in alcoholics, with the highest levels in those with ALD. The original correlation between Hcy and severity of histopathology score emphasizes the link between methionine metabolism and clinical ALD.BACKGROUND: precedenti studi hanno indicato la correlazione tra l’epatopatia alcolica ed alterazioni del metabolismo della metionina. SCOPI: Il primo scopo (Aim 1) e’ di definire i profili sierici dei componenti del metabolismo della metionina in pazienti con epatopatia alcolica, in alcolisti senza epatopatia ed in soggetti sani e definire la loro relazione con parametri bioumorali ed istologici di severita’ di epatopatia alcolica. Il secondo scopo (Aim 2) e’ di definire l’effetto della somministrazione orale di S-adenosilmetionina (SAM) verso placebo in soggetti con epatopatia alcolica. Il trial clinico e’ ancora in corso, dunque vengono qui presentati
i risultati del Aim 1. PAZIENTI E METODI: i livelli sierici di SAM, S-adenosilomocisteina (SAH), omocisteina (HCY), metionina, dimetilglicina, cisteina e cistationina sono stati misurati mediante GCMS e LCMS in 32 pazienti con epatopatia alcolica (grupp A), 20 alcolisti senza evidenza di malattia epatica (gruppo B), e 20 soggetti sani (gruppo C). Le biopsie epatiche sono state eseguite al tempo 0 e dopo 6 mesi di trial. I pazienti con creatinina > 1.4 sono stati esclusi
dallo studio. RISULTATI: L’eta’ media dell’intero gruppo e’ 47 ± 9.7 anni (range 28-67). Il 27.8 % sono donne. Non si e’ rilevata nessuna significativa differenza di eta’ tra i 3 gruppi. La durata media dell’astinenza e’ di 71 giorni per il gruppo A e di 1.3 giorni per il gruppo B. I parametri bioumorali di epatopatia alcolica erano tutti significativamente alterati nel gruppo A rispetto agli altri 2 gruppi. SAM, SAH e DMG erano significativamente elevati nel gruppo A rispetto al
gruppo B e C, mentre HCY era significativamente elevata nel gruppo A e B rispetto al gruppo C. L’aumento di DMG e’ spiegabile dall’attivazione della salvage pathway che porta alla sintesi di metionina in caso di uso di alcol. L’istologia epatica ha dimostrato 5 pazienti senza steatosi, 3
con grado 1, 4 con grado 2, e 8 con grado 4; un paziente non ha dimostrato fibrosi epatica, 4 hanno dimostrato stage 1, 4 stage 2, 5 stage 3 e 6 stage 4. Secondo la correlazione bivariata, la durata dell’astinenza alcolica e’ correlata postivamente con la severita’ della steatosi (p=0.02).
L’analisi multivariata, fattori predittivi di steatosi sono risultati essere i livelli di AST, bilirubina, creatinina, albumina, e HCY (p=0.0002). Fattori predittivi di fibrosis sono risultati essere l’etnia ispanica, ALT, SAM/SAH e HCY (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONI PRELIMINARI: I livelli sierici di HCY sono elevati nell’epatopatia alcolica e rivestono un ruolo importante nel predire la severita’ della steatosi e della fibrosi
Tordylium apulum L.: caratterizzazione dell'olio essenziale e valutazione dell'attività antimicrobica ed antiossidante
No full textIn questa sede vengono presentati i risultati della caratterizzazione dell'olio essenziale diTordylium apulum L., una ombrellifera diffusa in tutto il bacino del Mediterraneo, in Europa
continentale e in Asia Minore
The Challenges of Nutritional Assessment in Cirrhosis
Full text linkNutritional status in patients with cirrhosis is very frequently associated with macro- and micronutrient deficiencies. Cirrhosis itself is the cause of malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies but these conditions have to be identified and addressed properly as they can worsen the prognosis of cirrhosis. The goals of this review are to 1) identify and describe the challenges associated with nutritional assessment in cirrhosis and 2) describe recent advancements when using clinical, laboratory, and instrumental tools in the evaluation of malnourished patients with liver diseases
Residential Timber-based Architecture: Opportunities for Kosovo
No full textThe topic of the research is residential timber-based architecture and construction; it’s development in Europe and opportunities for a sustainable timber-based application in Kosovo. The aim of the study is to introduce a strategic platform that would support development of timber architecture, therefore achieve the benefits for Kosovo, with regards to architectural expression, urban development, forestry, wood industry and national economy. The main research objectives are introduced in the paper with the proposed methodology of data collection, classification and discussion. As a conclusion, a model for the key-role players in supporting timber application is recommended. Research activities and experiences in the context of the overall study process of the explicated topic and further developments are addressed
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
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
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