1,720,972 research outputs found
HDL and endothelial function: from molecular mechanisms to clinical observations
No full textIn addition to their role in reverse cholesterol transport, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) exerts several beneficial effects, including the prevention and correction of endothelial dysfunction. HDL promotes proliferation of the endothelium and decreases endothelial apoptosis; it plays a key role in vasorelaxation by increasing the release of nitric oxide and prostacyclin through inducing the expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and the coupling of cyclo-oxygenase 2 and prostacyclin synthase. In addition, HDL affects coagulation, fibrynolisis, platelet adhesion, expression of adhesion molecules and protease, and exerts anti-oxidant activity. These effects are achieved at the gene expression level and are dependent upon the activation of several intracellular signaling pathways, including PI3 kinase/Akt, extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2, protein kinase C (PKC) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. The complexity of the signaling pathways modulated by HDL reflects the different effects of the components of this class of lipoproteins, such as apolipoproteins or lipids on endothelial cell gene expression and the subsequent modulation of endothelial function observed. The in vivo relevance of these findings to endothelial recovery during physiological or pathological conditions remains to be addressed, nevertheless the results of clinical studies with synthetic HDL, apolipoprotein A-I mimetics and drugs selectively affecting HDL plasma levels and biological functions that are becoming available support the importance of the correction of endothelial function by HD
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
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
Circulating soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products is inversely associated with body mass index and waist/hip ratio in the general population
No full textAdvanced glycation end products, AGEs, and its specific receptor, RAGE, are involved in vascular complications. A role for the soluble form of RAGE (sRAGE), which acts as a decoy for AGE, has been documented in patients with diabetes but no information is available in non-diabetic subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of plasma levels of sRAGE with cardiometabolic risk factors in the general population. In addition we evaluated the relation of the common -374A/T polymorphism of RAGE with plasma levels of sRAGE. One hundred and seventy-six healthy subjects free of diabetes or coronary artery disease untreated for hypertension, dyslipidemia or cardiometabolic related diseases were randomly selected for this study from the general population. Plasma sRAGE were negatively and significantly correlated with BMI, waist/hip circumference ratio and fasting glycemia, while a positive correlation was observed with apolipoprotein A-I. These correlations were observed mainly in women who showed significantly higher sRAGE levels (1744+/-660 pg/mL vs 1414+/-649 pg/mL; P25 kg/m(2)) plasma sRAGE was significantly lower compared to lean subjects (1460+/-640 pg/mL vs 1710+/-693 pg/mL; P<0.05). In healthy subjects plasma levels of sRAGE were negatively correlated with BMI and waist/hip ratio supporting a possible protective role for these proteins before any evidence of diabetic or vascular complications
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
Post-prandial endothelial dysfunction in hypertriglyceridemic subjects : molecular mechanisms and gene expression studies
No full textOBJECTIVE: Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TGRLs) are a cardiovascular risk factor and induce endothelial dysfunction. In the present study, we investigated the effects of post-prandial TGRLs from type IV hyperlipidemic subjects on endothelial activation addressing the effects of the lipoproteins on intracellular pathways and gene expression. METHODS: Thirty fasted hypertriglyceridemic patients were given an oral fat load (OFL) and blood samples were collected before the OFL (T0) and 2, 4, 6 and 8h thereafter. Endothelial function, determined as flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery, was assessed at the same time points. TGRLs were isolated at T0 and T4 (PP-TGRL) for in vitro studies. RESULTS: Compared with TGRLs, PP-TGRLs induced to a larger extent phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, CREB and IKB-alpha in human endothelial cells and increased the DNA binding activity of CREB, NFAT and NF-kappaB. Furthermore, PP-TRGLs upregulated the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes including vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), PECAM-1, ELAM-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), P-selectin, MCP-1, interleukin-6 (IL-6), TLR-4, CD40, ADAMTS1 and PAI-1. CONCLUSION: These effects may relate to the severe impairment of endothelial function seen during the post-prandial phase in hypertriglyceridemic patient
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