1,720,975 research outputs found
Association of serum lipoprotein(a) levels and apolipoprotein(a) size polymorphism with target-organ damage in arterial hypertension
No full textObjective.-To investigate the association between lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and other plasma lipids and apolipoproteins and target-organ damage (TOD) in patients with arteria[ hypertension. Design.-Cross-sectional study of a case series. Setting.-University medical center. Participants.-Lipoprotein(a) and apolipoproteins were analyzed in 277 untreated patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension and in 102 healthy controls. Apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] phenotypes were additionally analyzed in an independent sample set of 106 hypertensive and 105 control subjects. Main Outcome Measures.-Staging of TOD obtained according to World Health Organization guidelines by clinical evaluation, and laboratory tests including measurments of creatinine clearance, proteinuria, ophthalmoscopy, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and ultrasound examination of major arteries; levels of lipids, apolipoproteins, Lp(a), fibrinogen, and apo(a) phenotypes. Results.-Blood pressure, duration of hypertension, and levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, Lp(a), and fibrinogen were significantly related to the presence and severity of TOD in univariate analysis. Stepwise multivariate analysis showed Lp(a) levels (P<.001) to be the best discriminator of the presence of TOD, followed by systolic blood pressure (P<.001), duration of hypertension (P=.01), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=.04). The Lp(a) levels were related to TOD independent of the level of blood pressure. We confirmed this association between Lp(a) concentrations and severity of TOD in a second independent sample set and observed a significantly higher frequency of low-molecular-weight apo(a) isoforms with increasing severity of TOD (P=.02). Conclusions.-Lipoprotein(a) and apo(a) phenotype are sensitive indicators of the severity of TOD in patients with essential hypertension, and their evaluation might permit identification of hypertensive subjects liable to the development of organ damage. The higher frequency of low-molecular-weight apo(a) isoforms in patients with TOD demonstrates a genetically determined risk for the development of TOD in hypertensive patients
Genetic control of lipoprotein(a) concentrations is different in Africans and Caucasians
No full textGenetische Einflußfaktoren auf den Lipidstoffwechsel
Full text linkHerz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen als Folge arteriosklerotischer Prozesse sind die häufigste Todesursache weltweit. Lipidstoffwechselstörungen sind ein wichtiger Risikofaktor für die Pathogenese der Arteriosklerose. Komplexe Phänotypen, wie z.B. der Lipidstoffwechsel, werden durch eine Vielzahl von genetischen und Umweltfaktoren beeinflusst. Obwohl der Lipidstoffwechsel biochemisch gut charakterisiert ist und viele Gene, die für Proteine innerhalb des Lipidstoffwechsels kodieren bekannt sind, sind die spezifischen genetischen Faktoren, die die Variabilität des Lipidstoffwechsels beeinflussen, weitgehend unbekannt. Die vorgelegten Studien zeigen verschiedene Ansätze, wie genetische Faktoren, die die Variabilität des Lipidstoffwechsels beeinflussen, identifiziert und quantifiziert werden können. Dabei wird ein besonderer Schwerpunkt auf die Untersuchung der Variabilität im nicht-pathologischen Bereich des Stoffwechsels gelegt. Im Rahmen der durchgeführten Arbeiten wurden: 1. modifizierende Genorte bei familiären Hyperlipidämien identifiziert. Dieser Ansatz wurde am Beispiel von zwei Familien mit familiärer Hypercholesterinämie aus Israel und Syrien illustriert. Mit Hilfe der Familie aus Israel wurde ein Genort, der für einen Cholesterin-senkenden Effekt verantwortlich ist, kartiert. Mit Hilfe der Familie aus Syrien wurde ein Gen für die Ausprägung von Xanthomen postuliert. 1. der Einfluß von Genen und Genorten auf die Variabilität des Lipidstoffwechsels in einer Zwillingspopulation nachgewiesen. Dieser Anstz wurde anhand von Genorten auf Chromosom 13q (Cholesterin-senkender Genort), auf Chromosom 8 (Lipioprotein Lipase und Makrophagen Scavenger Rezeptor) und dem PPAR?-Gen auf Chromosom 3 illsutriert. 3. der Einfluß einzelner genetischer Varianten in sechs Kandidatengenen des Lipidstoffwechsels in einer familienbasierten Stichprobe quantifiziert. 4. ein mathematisches Modell des Lipidstoffwechsels entwickelt, mit dem Ziel, sich der Komplexität des Stoffwechsels sowohl von experimenteller als auch von theoretischer Seite her zu nähern.Cardiovascular disease resultung from atherosclerotic processes are the most commonest cause of death worldwide. Lipid disturbances are a major risk factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Complex phenotypes, e.g. lipid metabolism, are influenced by a variety of genetic and environmental factors. Although lipid metabolism is well characterized biochemically and many genes, coding for proteins of lipid metabolism are known, the specific genetic variants, influencing the variability of lipid metabolism are largely unknown. The studies presented show different approaches to the identification of genetic factors contributing quantitatively and qualitatively to the variability of lipid metabolism. This work puts an emphasis on the variability in the non-pathological range of lipid concentrations. The following issues are addressed in the context of this work: 1. Identification of modifying genes of familial lipid disorders. This approach is illustrated for two families with familial hypercholesterolemia from Israel and Syria. The family from Israel allowed the mapping and identification of a cholesterol-lowering gene locus. The family from Syria helped postulating a giant xanthoma gene. 2. The influence of genes and gene loci on the variability of lipid metabolism using a twin cohort. This approach was illustrated for gene loci on chromosome 13q (cholesterol-lowering gene locus), chromosome 8 (Lipoprotein lipase and macrophage scavenger receptor gene locus), and the PPAR?-gene on chromosome 3. 3. The influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms in six lipid metabolism relevant genes using a family based association approach. 5. A mathematical model of lipid metabolism was developed. The goal was to approach the complexity of lipid metabolism experimentally as well as theoretically
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
Chromosomal localization of the genes (CLNS1A and CLNS1B) coding for the swelling-dependent chloride channel I(Cln)
No full textICln is a cloned chloride channel paramount for regulatory volume decrease. Two different loci that carry the coding region for ICln were identified in the human genome. By PCR strategies an intronless copy of the gene was located on chromosome 6 at position 6p12.1-6q13 (CLNS1B). By fluorescence in situ hybridization a copy carrying introns with a putative length of 19 kb was located at chromosome 11 on position 11q13.5-q14.1 (CLNS1A). The characterization and chromosomal localization of the ICln gene offer the opportunity to study the regulatory sites of this gene in greater detail and could be helpful in establishing linkages between ICln and potential human diseases
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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