1,720,967 research outputs found
Role of RANKL Signaling in Bone Homeostasis
No full textRANKL and its cognate receptor RANK are crucial regulators of bone metabolism in physiological as well as in pathological conditions. Here we go through the works that unveiled the paramount role of this signaling pathway. We focus on the RANKL cytokine, whose alterations are responsible for rare and common bone diseases. We describe recent insights on the regulation of RANKL expression, which provide new hints for the pharmacological regulation of this molecule. Based on the multiple functions exerted by RANKL (within and outside the bone tissue), we advise caution regarding the potential unintended consequences of its inhibition
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation corrects osteopetrosis in a child carrying a novel homozygous mutation in the FERMT3 gene (vol 97, pg 126, 2017)
No full textHypothalamic-Ovarian axis and Adiposity Relationship in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Physiopathology and Therapeutic Options for the Management of Metabolic and Inflammatory Aspects
Get PDFPurpose of review: The goal of the present review is to address the main adiposity-related alterations in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) focusing on hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (H-P-O) axis and to provide an overview of nutraceutical and pharmacological therapeutic strategies. Recent findings: Female reproduction is a complex and delicate interplay between neuroendocrine signals involving the H-P-O axis. Elements that disrupt the balance of these interactions can lead to metabolic and reproductive disorders, such as PCOS. This disorder includes menstrual, metabolic, and biochemical abnormalities as well as hyperandrogenism, oligo-anovulatory menstrual cycles, insulin resistance, and hyperleptinemia which share an inflammatory state with other chronic diseases. Moreover, as in a self-feeding cycle, high androgen levels in PCOS lead to visceral fat deposition, resulting in insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, further stimulating ovarian and adrenal androgen production. In fact, regardless of age and BMI, women with PCOS have more adipose tissue and less lean mass than healthy women. Excessive adiposity, especially visceral adiposity, is capable of affecting female reproduction through direct mechanisms compromising the luteal phase, and indirect mechanisms as metabolic alterations able to affect the function of the H-P-O axis. The intricate crosstalk between adiposity, inflammatory status and H-P-O axis function contributes to the main adiposity-related alterations in PCOS, and alongside currently available hormonal treatments, nutraceutical and pharmacological therapeutic strategies can be exploited to treat these alterations, in order to enable a more comprehensive synergistic and tailored treatment
Adverse effects of bisphenol a exposure on glucose metabolism regulation
No full textBisphenol A (BPA) is used as basic chemical compound in the production of polycarbonate food containers or epoxy resins coating metallic cans for food and beverages conservation. Its xeno-estrogenic activity alters endocrine-metabolic pathways modulating glucose metabolism and increasing the risk of developing diabetes, insulin resistance, and obesity. Based on in vitro and in vivo experimental research, here we report some of the major BPA adverse effects on tissues that play a key role in the regulation on the whole body’s metabolism. Evidences have shown that BPA is able to exert its endocrine disrupting action altering glucose metabolism and contributing to the onset of metabolic disorders, acting on liver functions and affecting insulin production by the pancreas. Exposure to BPA has been reported also to modulate glucose utilization in muscles, as well as to interfere with adipose tissue endocrine function. In addition, to peripheral tissues, recent studies have shown that BPA by acting in the Central Nervous System affects neuroendocrine regulation of glucose metabolism, promoting glucose metabolism dysfunction such as glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Thus, exposure to BPA seems to be an important risk factor in the onset of obesity and metabolic syndrome. However, its mechanisms of action need to be further investigated to provide a major evaluation of risk assessment
Clinical Characteristics of Malignant Phosphaturic Mesenchymal Tumor Causing Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia
No full textContext: Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome usually caused by oversecretion of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) from a phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor (PMT). PMTs are usually benign neoplasms but some of them show malignant characteristics. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics of benign and malignant PMTs inducing TIO. Methods: On March 31, 2023, we performed a systematic review of individual patient data analysis in Medline, Google Scholar, Google book, and Cochrane Library using the terms "tumor induced osteomalacia," "oncogenic osteomalacia," "hypophosphatemia," with no language restrictions and according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria. Results: Overall, we collected data from 837 patients with TIO in which the diagnosis of benign and malignant PMT was specified. Of them, 89 were affected by malignant PMT and 748 by benign PMT. Patients with malignant PMTs were younger and presented bone pain, functional impairment, and bone deformities more frequently. Malignant PMTs showed higher values of intact FGF23 and a higher mortality rate. Conclusion: The study results identify the clinical characteristics of patients with malignant TIO, permitting the early identification of patients with PMT at increased risk of malignancy. This may significantly improve the diagnostic approach to disease. Further experimental studies are mandatory to clarify the role of FGF23 in the pathogenesis of malignancy in PMTs
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
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