1,720,954 research outputs found
Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) extract reduces tumour necrosis factor alpha-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase in vascular smooth muscle cells
No full textNatural 'bioactive' factors have the ability to attenuate atherogenesis in in vitro and in vivo models. The effects of cranberry on the expression of two inflammation-linked enzymes, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), were examined in aortic smooth muscle (A7r5) cells in the absence/presence of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). Western blot analysis revealed that while cranberry did not affect base-line protein expression of COX-2, it did reduce base-line levels of iNOS protein. Cranberry was able to effectively reduce the T'NF alpha-stimulated induction of both these enzymes. This reduction was observed after 6, 12, and 24 hours pre-exposure to cranberry prior to exposure to TNF alpha., and after a 6 hour co-incubation of cranberry with TNF. NFkB (a transcriptional regulator of COX-2 and iNOS) expression was assessed in response to cranberry treatment. Base-line cytosolic, I levels of the phosphorylated form of NFkB (p-NFkB) were reduced following exposure to cranberry. Cranberry also reduced TNF(alpha-stimulated p-NFkB levels. Taken together, these results suggest that cranberry may partly modulate the inflammatory response observed in atherosclerosis by affecting the expression of COX-2 and iNOS, and that this modulation may occur through interaction with the NFkB; transcription factor. The temporal/ signal transduction mechanisms involved are being studied
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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
The effects of long-term whole cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) consumption on markers of metabolic syndrome in the cholesterol challenged JCR:LA-cp corpulant rat model
No full textA novel approach to battling metabolic syndrome involves the use of foods to modulate the underlying molecular processes that contribute to disease on-set and progression. The American Cranberry fruit (Vaccinium macrocarpon ) has high concentrations of compounds thought to possess anti-oxidant and other health promoting properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of whole cranberry, incorporated as 3% of dietary intake, on various parameters of metabolic syndrome using the obese JCR: LA-cp rat model. After two weeks acclimatization to purified diet, forty animals were divided into four diet groups: control (CON), 1% added cholesterol (CHOL), 3% added cranberry (CRAN), and cranberry plus cholesterol (CRAN + CHOL). Animals were maintained on the diet for a period of twelve weeks at the end of which time blood and tissues were collected and analyzed. Results demonstrate that cranberry-feeding improved several markers of metabolic syndrome, and these improvements were mostly related to hepatic activities. To highlight, plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were lower, and the ratio of high density to low density lipoprotein ratio (HDL/LDL) was higher in cranberry-fed animals. Also, when fed in conjunction with cholesterol, cranberry prevented the significant induction of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) observed in CHOL diet group. Furthermore, hepatic tissue analysis revealed that cranberry consumption conferred protection against oxidative insults, as cranberry-fed animals had significantly higher ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione and significantly lower glutathione peroxidase activity. Plasma markers of inflammation and insulin resistance were not affected by cranberry treatment. In conclusion, dietary cranberry, incorporated at physiologically relevant concentrations, has both cardio- and hepato-protective properties and could be incorporated into a viable cardio-protective protocol.Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, page: 3370
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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