1,720,965 research outputs found
Gene-environment interactions in eating disorders and obesity
Full text linkThis thesis investigates gene-environment interplay underlying molecular basis of eating disorders and obesity. We focused the attention on the role of epigenetic mechanisms controlling expression of relevant feeding-modulating homeostatic and hedonic genes, analyzed also in the attempt to suggest nutritional intervention by gut microbiota modulation. The major finding was the selective regulation of genes belonging to the
endogenous cannabinoid system in different conditions. We observed epigenetic regulation of cannabinoid receptor type type I gene (Cnr1) in hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens of the activity-based model of anorexia nervosa (ABA), namely a significant reduction of gene expression correlated with higher DNA methylation at specific CpG sites in ABA rats compared to controls. Consistent hypermethylation was observed at Cnr1 in a subset of restricted human subjects where, with different environmental cues (i.e. hyperactivity, stressful events and dieting history) relevant for the epigenetic regulation of the gene. In an animal model of obesity, we reported the exactly opposite direction of changes for Cnr1 in the hypothalamus, that were confirmed in human subjects. We also explored effects of dietary intervention with selected probiotic strain in the anx/anx mice model of anorexia,
observing a reverted expression of the central Cnr1 gene, as well as tendency to lower inflammatory markers in the colon. The transcriptional regulation of relevant endogenous system genes, such as those belonging again to the endocannabinoid but also to the opioid system, was also analyzed in an animal model of Diet Induced Obesity. A selective epigenetic regulation was observed for Cnr1 and mu opioid receptor gene just at the beginning of the development of the obese phenotype. Finally, we also investigated the transcriptional regulation of endocannabinoid system components in an animal model of binge eating behavior where the selective altered gene expression of the enzyme responsible for endocannabinoids degradation, fatty acid amide hydrolase, was observed in the hypothalamus of rats displaying binge behavior compared to controls. These changes were correlated with altered histone acetylation at gene promoter. Our findings suggest novel biomarkers for eating disorders and obesity, and due to the reversible nature of the epigenetic hallmark, open avenues for environmental strategies of intervention
Epigenetic regulation of endocannbinoid system in Activity-based model of Anorexia nervosa
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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
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
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