1,720,979 research outputs found
Nutraceutical properties and health-promoting biological activities of fruits of watermelon cultivars with different origins
Full text linkThis study was focused on biologically active compounds extracted from pulp and rind of watermelon fruits (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, 1916) cultivars with different origins (Italy, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador and Santana-Romania). Total polyphenols and flavonoids, lycopene and L-citrulline, were extracted from the pulp and their content determined spectrophotometrically. L-citrulline was also measured in the rind. In addition, the determination of some biological activities (antioxidant activity and inhibition of the amylase and lipase enzymes) of watermelon pulp was carried out. The examined pulp of the watermelon cultivars revealed to have a high content of antioxidants (e.g., lycopene up to 39.68 ± 0.13 μg/g FW in an Italian cultivar) and bioactive molecules (e.g., L-citrulline up to 0.87 mg/g FW in the Ecuadorian cultivar). Watermelon rind had higher contents of L-citrulline (up to 2.60 mg/g FW) compared to pulp. The comparisons between watermelons cultivars revealed the significant inhibitory of lipase (values ranging from 117.10 to 312.12 IC50) and α-amylase (values ranging from 145.52 to 322.13 IC50), so confirming their health-promoting potential. All these factors taken together make watermelon a high-value food with evident benefits on human health. The results of this study could facilitate the discovery, improvement and utilization of new watermelon cultivars with high nutraceutical properties
Chemical and biological diversity of bergamot (Citrus bergamia) in relation to environmental factors
No full textIn vitro Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibiting activity of Salsola oppositifolia Desf., Salsola soda L. and Salsola tragus L
No full textChemical and biological diversity of Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) in relation to environmental factors
No full textOil of bergamot is receiving renewed popularity in aromatherapy. The biovariability of Citrus bergamia grown wild in Calabria (Italy) was investigated as far as chemical markers (linalool, linalyl acetate and bergapten) content and antioxidant and antifungal activities of the methanolic extracts. The average content in the markers presents slight variations with the altitude and more evident changes with the latitude of the areas of plant collection
Comparative chemical composition and variability of biological activity of methanolic extracts from Hypericum perforatum L
No full textThe biovariability of Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John’s Wort) grown wild in Calabria and Sardinia (Italy) was reported with the aim to characterize the species through the isolation, detection, and quantitative evaluations of chemical markers (hypericin, quercetin, rutin) by HPLC analysis. Antioxidant activity of the
methanolic H. perforatum extracts showed that the Calabrian samples were more active than those from Sardinia. The antibacterial activity evidenced the best performance on the gram positive bacteria with a MIC value of 50 mg/mL. Moreover, antifungal activity of all the extracts was also tested which showed interesting results particularly on the phytopathogene fungus P. ultimum. The variability shown by the samples could be attributed to environmental factors such as chemical-physical properties, composition of the soil, geographical coordinate, altitude, and solar exposure. The phytochemical analysis and the biological activity data suggested a possible use of H. perforatum extracts in the alimentary, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical fields
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
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