1,721,505 research outputs found
Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors and bivalirudin in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
No full textPercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is currently the standard of care for patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), as well those patients with "stable" angina who have failed medical therapy in whom PCI is an acceptable alternative to surgical revascularization. The aim of adjunctive antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy during PCI is to alleviate the risks associated with platelet activation and aggregation, iatrogenic plaque rupture, and thrombus formation during. The aim of this review is to summarize the evidence that has emerged from the randomized studies comparing a strategy combining heparin and a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) with that of bivalirudin in patients undergoing elective and urgent PCI
DNA damage and repair in atherosclerosis
No full textThere is increasing evidence that human atherosclerosis is associated with damage to the DNA of both circulating cells, and cells of the vessel wall. Reactive oxygen species are the most likely agents inducing DNA damage in atherosclerosis. DNA damage produces a variety of responses, including cell senescence, apoptosis and DNA repair. This review summarises the evidence for DNA damage in atherosclerosis, the cellular responses to damage and the mechanisms of signalling DNA damage
Biomolecular Corona Affects Controlled Release of Drug Payloads from Nanocarriers
No full textNanomedicine has been widely used for a wide range of biomedical applications including drug delivery. Although many factors including the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) and the payload efficacy of nanocarriers have been thoroughly investigated, the crucial role of the biomolecular corona in drug delivery and the release efficacy of nanocarriers demands further attention. This review highlights not only the crucial importance of the biomolecular corona to the drug release capacity of various types of nanocarriers, but also its interfer-ence with drug release measurements. A full consideration of the effects of the biomolecular corona on the controlled release and drug delivery of nanocarriers will help researchers design safer and more efficient nanobased drug delivery systems
Atherogenesis: the role of inflammation and infection
No full textAtherosclerosis is no longer considered a disorder of lipid accumulation, but a disease process characterized by the dynamic interaction between endothelial dysfunction, subendothelial inflammation and the 'wound healing response' of the vascular smooth muscle cells. Prospective epidemiological studies have unequivocally demonstrated increased vascular risk in individuals with elevated levels of (i) cytokines such as interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha, (ii) cell adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and P-selectin, and (iii) acute-phase proteins such as C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and serum amyloid A. Furthermore, evidence from clinical trials have demonstrated that risk reduction achieved with anti-inflammatory agents such as statins is significantly greater in patients with evidence of inflammation. A number of risk factors for atherogenesis, including infectious agents, have been shown to exert their influence via inflammatory mechanisms. However, despite compelling experimental evidence, clinical studies looking at the role of infection in atherogenesis have lacked consistency. The clinical product of this dynamic process is variable and unpredictable between individuals, even those with apparently similar risk profile
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
Exploitation of nanoparticle-protein corona for emerging therapeutic and diagnostic applications
No full textExposure of nanoparticles (NPs) to biological fluids (e.g., plasma, interstitial fluid, and cytoplasm) leads to the absorption of proteins on the NP surface, forming a protein corona (PC) that drastically influences the NP physicochemical properties. Herein, we highlight the emerging applications of PC towards its use in therapeutics and diagnostics. In particular, special emphasis is given to the exploitation of PC for targeted delivery of nanomaterials and early cancer detection. By highlighting such recent applications of PC, we hope to demonstrate that this bio-entity has the potential to determine the success of NPs in biomedicine beyond their currently envisioned purposes
Effect of molecular crowding on the biological identity of liposomes: an overlooked factor at the bio-nano interface
No full textOnce embedded in a physiological environment, the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) gets covered with a biomolecular corona (BC) that alters their synthetic characteristics and subsequently gives them a peculiar biological identity. Despite recent studies having clarified the role of NP composition, surface chemistry and biological source (e.g., human/animal serum or plasma) in the formation of the BC, little is known about the possible impact of molecular crowding. To fill this gap, we used a cationic liposomal formulation as a model system and studied its biological identity upon incubation with human plasma, at a fixed liposome-to-plasma volume ratio and different concentrations. We carried out dynamic light scattering measurements to quantify the size and zeta potential of the investigated systems and gel electrophoresis to evaluate the composition of the corresponding coronas. Our findings suggest that NP stability may be compromised by molecular crowding, but the corona composition is stable over a wide range of concentrations, which extend over more than two orders of magnitude. As the biological identity of NPs eventually determines their final fate in vivo, we predict that this study could contribute to the development of a safe and effective nanosystem for the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents
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