1,722,386 research outputs found

    Jing Tong Yu Shu, a traditional Chinese medicine, suppresses IL-1β and IL-6 gene expressions in macrophages, and alleviates endometriosis

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    Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a traditional Chinese medicine, Jing Tong Yu Shu (JTYS) on endometriosis in a rat surgical model. Methods: Endometriosis was induced in 40 female rats. The rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: three JTYS groups given different doses of the drug, and a saline group. After four weeks of treatment with JTYS, the volume of the endometriotic explants was measured, and the levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in peritoneal fluid and serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The production of cytokine IL-1β and IL-6 by peritoneal macrophages was also measured for each group. Results: JTYS treatment brought about regression of implants and inhibition of IL-1β and IL-6 production in a dose-dependent manner, with high-dose JTYS eliciting 66.76 % reduction in mean endometriotic explant volume. Plasma and peritoneal fluid levels of IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly lower in the high-dose JTYS group than in the saline group (p < 0.05). However, JTYS treatment significantly inhibited IL-1β and IL-6 production in peritoneal macrophages (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that JTYS treatment leads to regression of endometriotic lesions in rat. Thus, JTYS has the potential to be developed into a new drug for the treatment of endometriosis. Keywords: Endometriosis, Interleukins, Traditional Chinese medicine, Jing Tong Yu Shu Macrophage

    Agent-Based Modeling of the Prediction Markets

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    We propose a simple agent-based model of the political election prediction market which reflects the intrinsic feature of the prediction market as an information aggregation mechanism. Each agent has a vote, and all agents’ votes determine the election result. Some of the agents participate in the prediction market. Agents form their beliefs by observing their neighbors’ voting disposition, and trade with these beliefs by following some forms of the zero-intelligence strategy. In this model, the mean price of the market is used as a forecast of the election result. We study the effect of the radius of agents’ neighborhood and the geographical distribution of information on the prediction accuracy. In addition, we also identify one of the mechanisms which can replicate the favorite-longshot bias, a stylized fact in the prediction market. This model can then provide a framework for further analysis on the prediction market when market participants have more sophisticated trading behavior.Prediction market, Agent-based simulation, Information aggregation mechanism, Prediction accuracy, Zero-intelligence agents, Favorite-longshot bias

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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

    Bioactive terpenoid constituents from Eclipta prostrata

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    Yu, Shu-Juan, Yu, Jin-Hai, Yu, Zhi-Pu, Yan, Xue, Zhang, Jun-Sheng, Sun, Jin-yue, Zhang, Hua (2020): Bioactive terpenoid constituents from Eclipta prostrata. Phytochemistry (112192) 170: 1-8, DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2019.112192, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2019.11219
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