1,720,978 research outputs found
Ipossia ed infiammazione nella progressione del carcinoma vescicale
Full text linkDimostrare che il microambiente del tumore della vescica, nel corso della fase iniziale di crescita diventa ipossico, attivando l’asse HIF/NFkB e mediante i geni così trascritti, è responsabile della progressione maligna. Mediante la microdissezione dei campioni chirurgici ed estrazione degli acidi nucleici e proteine dalle frazioni omogenee (cellule di tessuto tumorale e cellule di tessuto ospite) si è proceduto all’analisi molecolare tramite card microfluide customizzate con geni HIF e NFkB dipendenti ed analisi delle proteine in Western Blot per confermare i livelli di espressione dei geni rilevati (sia nel tessuto ospite che nel tumorale) responsabili dell’acquisizione delle proprietà della malignità. Conferma dell'attivazione e della sovraespressione dei geni dipendenti da HIF-1: geni per la neoangiogenesi VEGFs; geni per i recettori delle allarmine RAGE/P2X7; geni proinfiammatori CXCR4; geni per l’invasione tumorale MMP9/SOCS-1; geni per la riparazione del danno tissutale EGFR. Confermata l’attivazione e la sovraespressione di NFkB e dei geni dipendenti: geni proinfiammatori COX2/NOS2; proteine di fase acuta PTX3, etc. È stato studiato l’effetto dell’ipossia sulle cellule staminali isolate dal carcinoma vescicale uroteliale con lo scopo di verificare che le sovraespressioni geniche indotte dall’ipossia siano presenti anche in esse. Le cellule staminali tumorali rispondono ai vari modificatori biologici e svolgono un ruolo fondamentale nella formazione delle metastasi. Tali cellule sono state incubate in condizioni di ipossia per 60 minuti. L’analisi trascrittomica ottenuta utilizzando la nostra inflammocard (contenente un totale di 48 geni rappresentativi dell’espressione dipendente dall’asse HIF/NFkB) rivela un’aumentata espressione genica di tutti i geni HIF/NFkB-dipendenti rispetto alle condizioni normossiche in varia maniera associati alle caratteristiche della malignità. È stato eseguito un Western Blot sia sui campioni vescicali tumorali che su quelli ospite del tumore per escludere la presenza di infiltrati leucocitari (cellule CD45+). L’analisi dell’espressione proinfiammatoria delle cellule tumorali indotta dall’attivazione dell’asse HIF/NFkB si presenta simile ad una risposta Th1 o risposta cellulo-mediata. Le cellule tumorali producono soprattutto citochine Th1, rispondono con la migrazione alle chemochine e ai fattori chemiotattici per linfociti, NK e macrofagi e producono mediatori con la stessa cinetica della risposta Th1. Inoltre, nel tessuto tumorale richiamano soprattutto linfociti, macrofagi, NK e cellule dendritiche. La risposta migratoria del tumore primitivo all’homing per la metastasi è prevalentemente legata a stimoli periferici di tipo Th1. Infine, la definizione del ruolo dell’asse HIF/NFkB nella progressione maligna, suggerisce che un array a bassa densità (contenente 48-96 geni opportunamente selezionati tra le varie famiglie geniche dimostrate coinvolte nell’acquisizione delle caratteristiche della malignità) può definire la progressione di un tumore della vescica e, pertanto, dare una base molecolare e meccanicistica alla stadiazione di un tumore, indipendentemente dal grado istologico
Genetic predispositions and parental bonding interact in modulating Instagram social behaviour in humans
No full textThe interaction between parental care and the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene affect social behaviours in adulthood. However, conspecifics socially act towards the real and virtual world in displaying multiple and complex social interactions. Hence, the mechanisms underlying the virtual social relationship in humans remain largely unknown. Here, we hypothesized interaction between genetic factors (oxytocin receptor, OXTR) and parental bonding patterns (Parental Bonding Instrument) in shaping virtual social behaviour (Instagram). A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate participants’ (n = 173; 115 females) parental bonding in childhood (Parental Bonding Instrument, formed by the four subscales Maternal Care, Paternal Care, Maternal Overprotection, Paternal Overprotection) while social media activities on Instagram were collected applying an automatic Python algorithm through which four indexes were extracted: the number of following users, followers, posts and tags from other users’ posts. To assess participants’ genetic predispositions, buccal mucosa cell samples were collected, and regions rs2254298, rs53576 were genotyped. We found multiple gene * environment interactions on a number of Instagram followers by running eight ANOVAs and correcting the p-value by the number of the tests. For rs53576 two significant effects of the interaction between 1) maternal care, genotype, age and between 2) paternal overprotection, genotype, age were respectively found. For rs2254298 two significant effects of the interaction between 1) maternal care, genotype, age and between 2) paternal care, genotype, age were found. These effects could represent an indirect pathway through which genes and parental behaviour interact to shape social media interactions
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
P.0516 Genotype rs25531 polymorphisms and quality in peer relationships adjust the neural response of the anterior prefrontal cortex to cry
No full textMajor theories in developmental psychobiology have demonstrated that emotional regulation depends on social experiences (i.e., confidence, seeking attention, discomfort with closeness) and on genetic characteristics that modulate the sensitivity to contextual social cues [1]. Amidst numerous genes, a targeted allelic variation of the serotonin transporter gene, namely 5HTT rs25531, could be linked to expectations and needs in social interactions [2]. The elaboration of social cues occurs in the brain's prefrontal area, integrating information from the limbic system, deputed to emotion processes, and the premotor cortex, involved in planning a behavioural response [3]. However, there is a lack of evidence for gene-by-environment mechanisms related to 5HTT rs25531. With this study, we hypothesized different oxygenated haemoglobin (HbO) concentrations in the prefrontal cortex to stressors between genetic carriers with different susceptibility to social environments.
98 Singaporean undergraduate students (63 females, 35 males) were involved in an auditory task. Three 15-seconds vocalizations (3-months baby cry, woman cry, cat cry) were presented ten times, while the prefrontal activity of six Broadmann Areas (BA08, BA09, BA10, BA45, BA46, BA47) was recorded by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy's (NIRS) 20 channels. We adopted the same NIRS data acquisition and pre-processing used previously [3]. Information about quality in social relationships was assessed by the self-report Attachment Style Questionnaire [4] across the five dimensions Trust, Fear of Intimacy, Relationship as Secondary (RaS), Need for Approval, and Worry with Relationship. Buccal mucosa samples were collected to evaluate genetic features of rs25531 (TT = 67; T/C = 31).
An averaged HbO response to each cry stimulus was calculated. Data distributions of continuous variables were inspected for normality; 125 outliers, defined as values 3 SDs above/below the mean, were removed. This exploratory quasi-experimental study applied a 2 × 3 × 5 factorial design. For each NIRS channel, one mixed repeated-measures ANCOVA was executed with the HbO level (Beta) as the dependent variable, the genotype rs25531 as a between-subjects factor, cry stimulus as within-subjects factor, and the dimensions as covariates (corrected α = 0.0025). Participants' sex was included as a between-subjects factor only in the models for which preliminary analysis showed an effect of sex (channels 7, 9, 14). Given our research aim, we considered only the effects of higher-order interactions with genotype, which survived the family-wise error rate.
The analysis highlighted one three-way interaction on the neural response. Genotype, RaS dimension and cry type emerged for HbO mean levels of channel 12 (BA10) (F(2, 96) = 8.11, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.10, power = 0.96). Correlational analysis (corrected α = 0.008) revealed that RaS, a measure of insecure and avoidant relationship with peers, was significantly and positively associated with prefrontal activity to baby cry for C-carriers ({t = 3.15, df = 29, r = 0.51, p = 0.003) but not for T/T homozygous (t = 1.01, df = 53, r = 0.14, ns). These results suggest the involvement of the anterior prefrontal cortex in affective regulation and promptness to action and stressors as a function of gene-by-environment determinants in non-parent adults [5]
The Interaction between Serotonin Transporter Allelic Variation and Maternal Care Modulates Instagram Sociability in a Sample of Singaporean Users
Full text linkHuman social interactions ensure recognition and approval from others, both in offline and online environments. This study applies a model from behavioral genetics on Instagram sociability to explore the impact of individual development on behavior on social networks. We hypothesize that sociable attitudes on Instagram resulted from an interaction between serotonin transporter gene alleles and the individual’s social relationship with caregivers. We assess the environmental and genetic components of 57 Instagram users. The self-report questionnaire Parental Bonding Instrument is adopted to determine the quality of parental bonding. The number of posts, followed users (“followings”), and followers are collected from Instagram as measures of online social activity. Additionally, the ratio between the number of followers and followings (“Social Desirability Index”) was calculated to estimate the asymmetry of each user’s social network. Finally, buccal mucosa cell samples were acquired, and the polymorphism rs25531 (T/T homozygotes vs. C-carriers) within the serotonin transporter gene was examined. In the preliminary analysis, we identified a gender effect on the number of followings. In addition, we specifically found a gene–environment interaction on the standardized Instagram “Social Desirability Index” in line with our predictions. Users with the genotype more sensitive to environmental influences (T/T homozygotes) showed a higher Instagram “Social Desirability Index” than nonsensitive ones (C-carriers) when they experienced positive maternal care. This result may contribute to understanding online social behavior from a gene*environment perspective
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
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