1,721,126 research outputs found
Molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of the regulation of the MHC Class II transcription activator (CIITA)
No full textAdipokines and Migraine: A Systematic Review
No full textBackground Migraine is comorbid with obesity. Recent research suggests an association between migraine and adipocytokines, proteins that are predominantly secreted from adipose tissue and which participate in energy homeostasis and inflammatory processes. Objectives In this review, we first briefly discuss the association between migraine and obesity and the importance of adipose tissue as a neuroendocrine organ. We then present a systematic review of the extant literature evaluating circulating levels of adiponectin and leptin in those with migraine. Methods A search of the PubMed database was conducted using the keywords "migraine," "adiponectin," and "leptin." In addition reference lists of relevant articles were reviewed for possible inclusion. English language studies published between 2005 and 2015 evaluating circulating blood concentration of adiponectin or leptin in those with migraine were included. Conclusions While the existing data are suggestive that adipokines may be associated with migraine, substantial study design differences and conflicting results limit definitive conclusions. Future research utilizing carefully considered designs and methodology is warranted. In particular careful and systematic characterization of pain states at the time of samples, as well as systematic consideration of demographic (eg, age, sex) and other vital covariates (eg, obesity status, lipids) are needed to determine if adipokines play a role in migraine pathophysiology and if any adipokine represents a viable, novel migraine biomarker, or drug target
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
Abnormal expression of dysferlin in skeletal muscle and monocytes supports primary dysferlinopathy in patients with one mutated allele
No full textBackground: In some cases, a definitive confirmation of dysferlinopathy cannot be achieved by DNA test, because the mutation is detected in one allele only. Patients and methods: Dysferlin expression in skeletal muscle and peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) was studied by Western blot in two unrelated adult patients. The comparative CT method (ΔΔCT) was used to calculate relative changes in dysferlin mRNA determined from real-time quantitative PCR experiments. The dysferlin gene was studied by direct sequencing of cDNA and genomic DNA and by Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) analysis. Results: A comparable severe reduction in dysferlin was demonstrated in both skeletal muscle and PBM. The expression of dysferlin mRNA was significantly reduced. A novel mutation in exon 47 (c.5289G>C) of the dysferlin gene in the heterozygous state, causing an amino acid change (p.Glu1763Asp), was detected in both patients. The MLPA analysis did not reveal any deletion or duplication. Conclusions: Dysferlin and/or dysferlin mRNA abnormalities are diagnostic for dysferlinopathy when mutational analysis detects a mutation in one allele only. Analysis of dysferlin mRNA can be helpful for distinguishing symptomatic heterozygotes from such patients. © 2010 The Author(s). European Journal of Neurology © 2010 EFNS
Progetto EUROCRAN: Interazione gene-ambiente nelle schisi orofacciali non-sindromiche
No full textLe schisi orofacciali (SOF) non-sindromiche, comprendenti le labiopalatoschisi (LPS) e le palatoschisi (PS), sono malformazioni congenite la cui eziologia si ritiene sia riconducibile complessa interazione tra fattori di rischio genetici e fattori di rischio ambientali.
Una ampia casistica multi-centrica, comprendente 1169 triadi composte da pazienti SOF e relativi genitori, è stata raccolta nel periodo 2001-2005 in 10 Paesi Europei nel contesto del workpackage-2 del progetto EUROCRAN, finalizzato allo studio dell’interazione gene-ambiente nelle SOF non-sindromiche.
L’analisi un pannello di varianti polimorfiche in geni candidati, comprendenti MTHFR, TGFA, TGFB3, SATB2, MSX1, CYP1A1, GST e NAT2, è stata condotta applicando l’analisi-log-lineare ed il TDT (transmission disequilibrium test).
Risultati preliminari evidenziano interazione gene-ambiente tra il genotipo MTHFR 677TT sia con la supplementazione in gravidanza con acido folico (FA) che con l’esposizione al fumo di tabacco. Nelle madri con supplementazione con AF il genotipo MTHFR 677TT si associa ad un effetto protettivo sia per LPS che e PS. In assenza di uso di tabacco durante la gravidanza, il genotipo materno MTHFR 677TT si accompagna a riduzione del rischio di LPS ma non di PS. Nei figli il genotipo MTHFR 677TT si associa a riduzione del rischio per SOF indipendentemente dalla supplementazione in gravidanza con AF o dalla non-esposizione al fumo di tabacco
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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