1,721,017 research outputs found
Effects of a Novel Fixed Combination of Nutraceuticals on Serum Uric Acid Concentrations and the Lipid Profile in Asymptomatic Hyperuricemic Patients : Results from the PICONZ-UA Study
No full textAsymptomatic hyperuricemia is not a current indication for therapy as the definite role of serum uric acid elevation as a cardiovascular risk factor is extremely likely but still controversial
Renin-angiotensin system modulation: instructions for use
No full textAngiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and AT1 receptor blockers have long been considered as two classes of drugs with strictly comparable effect in cardiovascular diseases, on the assumption that both classes act on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The results of large clinical intervention trials, which failed to demonstrate any significant difference between the effects of these two pharmacological classes in patients with essential hypertension, acute myocardial infarction and heart failure, supported this concept. The recent observation that a combination of ACE-inhibitors and AT1 receptor blockers improves the prognosis of these pathological conditions better than monotherapy at higher doses focused on the difference between their mechanisms of action. The results of pathophysiological studies have suggested that in the heart, as well as in the kidney, AT1 receptor blockers act in the early stages of the disease, improving left ventricular dysfunction in hypertensive patients and preventing microalbuminuria in diabetic animals. It seems reliable to suggest that AT1 receptor blockers are to be preferred to ACE-inhibitors for an early prevention of cardiovascular and renal disease. The new inhibitors of renin activity may further amplify our chances, also blocking the negative effects mediated by angiotensin II escape and by stimulation of the prorenin/renin receptors
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
Nutraceuticals for treatment of high blood pressure values in patients with metabolic syndrome.
No full textTo assess whether the association of a dietary supplement with a correct diet can decrease the incidence of metabolic syndrome. In particular, we studied the effect of a combination of Ortosiphon staminensis, which in rats exerts a diuretic effect, with policosanol, red yeast rice extract, berberine, folic acid and coenzyme Q(10) on the determinants of metabolic syndrome diagnosis.The analysed sample consisted of 21 males and 9 females, who were comparable in age, in order to obtain an adequate comparison between groups with similar demographic characteristics. Thirty patients with metabolic syndrome were divided into two study arms. Both groups received the usual diet recommended by the doctor according to their clinical conditions and placebo for 2 weeks before the beginning of the study, and then they were randomly assigned to two different drug regimens: placebo or the combination of nutraceuticals previously described, and were followed-up for 6 weeks.At baseline, there were no significant differences between the study and control groups for age, sex distribution, waist measurement, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, familiarity for cardiovascular events, smoking habit, fasting glucose and lipid profile.At the end of the follow-up, only in the study group was there a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (-19.6±9.7 vs -3.6±8.1 mmHg and -13.6±5.5 vs -2.3±5.3 mmHg; all p < 0.0001) associated with amarked decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride plasma levels. Consequently, 10 of 15 patients in this group no longer satisfied the criteria for metabolic syndrome, while in the control group the ratio was of 2 of 15.The addition of Ortosiphon staminensis to the combination of policosanol, red yeast rice extract, berberine, folic acid and coenzyme Q(10) provides an antihypertensive effect, which allows an effective control of blood pressure in patients with metabolic syndrome
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
Effects of a new combination of nutraceuticals on postmenopausal symptoms and metabolic profile: a crossover, randomized, double-blind trial
No full textThis study was designed to measure the beneficial effects of a combination of nutraceutics (NUT; AkP04, Morestril(®), Akademy Pharma) containing soy isoflavones (80 mg), dry extract of Angelica sinensis (50 mg), dry extract of Morus alba leaf (200 mg) and magnesium (56.25 mg) in the relief of somatic, psychological, and urogenital symptoms in postmenopausal patients, using the validated Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and cardiovascular risk factors
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