1,720,977 research outputs found
A feasibility study for the reporting of cervical large loop excisions of the transformation zone (LLETZ) biopsies by consultant biomedical scientists in the UK
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Biomedical Science.Objective – A previous pilot study had shown that there was potential to extend the roles of advanced biomedical scientist practitioner (ABMSPs) now referred to as Consultant Biomedical Scientists (BMS) to report the histology of large loop excision biopsies of the cervical transformation zone (LLETZ) within the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP).
Methods - 157 consecutive LLETZ specimens reported by four experienced Gynae-specialist Consultant Histopathologists at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, were also reported by six Consultant BMS, and compared against the final issued report. Neoplastic abnormalities were reported to NHSCSP standards as well as the Bethesda system. Completeness of excision and histological features associated with the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection were also assessed. The reporting of HPV is part of the proforma for reporting cervical samples, it does not affect the patient management but allows for correlation with the cervical cytology report and hence was included as part of the study.
Results - There was overall good inter-observer agreement for both the three tier and two tier system of grading squamous lesions plus good agreement for glandular and invasive carcinomas identified by the Consultant BMS. There was variable inter-observer agreement for the
completeness of the excision of the margins and the presence of HPV.
Conclusions - This report provides evidence that suitably experienced Consultant BMS can be ‘fast-tracked’ through an approved training programme of selected specimens to meet the needs of the Histopathology service that is facing a chronic shortage of Histopathologists in a timely manner and provide a cost-effective solution
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Defining the molecular, genetic and transcriptomic mechanisms underlying the variation in glycation gap between individuals
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.The discrepancy between HbA1c and fructosamine estimations in the assessment of glycaemia has frequently been observed and is referred to as the glycation gap (G-gap). This could be explained by the higher activity of the fructosamine-3-kinase (FN3K) deglycating enzyme in the negative G-gap group (patients with lower than predicted HbA1c for their mean glycaemia) as compared to the positive G-gap group. This G-gap is linked with differences in complications in patients with diabetes and this potentially happens because of dissimilarities in deglycation. The difference in deglycation rate in turn leads to altered production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These AGEs are both receptor dependent and receptor independent. It was hypothesised that variations in the level of the deglycating enzyme fructosamine-3-kinase (FN3K) might be as a result of known Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs): rs1056534, rs3848403 and rs1046896 in FN3K gene, SNP in ferroportin1/SLC40A1 gene (rs11568350 linked with FN3K activity), differentially expressed genes (DEGs), differentially expressed transcripts or alternatively spliced transcript variants. Previous studies reported accelerated telomere length shortening in patients with diabetes.
In this study, 184 patients with diabetes were included as dichotomised groups with either a strongly negative or positive G-gap. This study was conducted to analyse the differences in genotype frequency of specific SNPs via real time qPCR,determine soluble receptors for AGE (sRAGE) concentration via ELISA, finding association of sRAGE concentration with SNPs genotype, and evaluate relative average telomere length ratio via real time qPCR. This study also aimed at the investigation of underlying mechanisms of G-gap via transcriptome study for the identification of the DEGs and differentially expressed transcripts and to consequently identify pathways, biological processes and diseases linked to situations in which DEGs were enriched. The relative length of the telomere was normalised to the expression of a single copy gene (S). Chi-squared test was used for estimating the expected genotype frequencies in diabetic patients with negative and positive G-gap.
Genotype frequencies of FN3K SNPs (rs1056534, rs3848403 and rs1046896) and SLC40A1/ferroportin1 SNP (rs11568350) polymorphisms within the studied groups were non-significant. With respect to genotypes, the rs1046896 genotype (CT) and rs11568350 genotype (AC) were only found in heterozygous state in all the investigated cohorts. No association between sRAGE concentration and FN3K SNPs (rs3848403 and rs1056534) was observed as the sRAGE concentration was also found not to be different between the groups. Similarly, the relative average telomere length was not different in both groups. Plasma sRAGE levels were not different in the cohort studied even though the Wolverhampton Diabetes Research Group (WDRG) previously reported that AGE is higher in positive G-gap. The latter is a more likely consequence of lower FN3K activities. In this study, it was found that SNPs in the FN3K/ferroportin1 gene are not responsible for the discrepancy in average glycaemia. The transcriptomic study via RNA-Seq mapped a total of 64451 gene transcripts to the human transcriptome. The DEGs and differentially expressed transcripts were 103 and 342 respectively (p 1.5). Of 103 DEGs, 61 were downregulated in G-gap positive and 42 were upregulated in positive G-gap individuals while 14 genes produced alternatively spliced transcript variants. Four pathways (Viral carcinogenesis, Ribosome, Phagosome and Dorso-ventral axis) were identified in the bioinformatics analysis of samples in which DEGs were enriched. These DEGs were also found to be associated with raised blood pressure and glycated haemoglobin (conditions that coexist with diabetes). Future analysis based on these results will be necessary to elucidate the significant drivers of gene expression leading to the G-gap in these patients
Variations on the Author
No full text“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
No full textWe 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
The effects of the adipocyte-secreted proteins resistin and visfatin on the pancreatic beta-cell
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for degree of Doctor of PhilosophyAdipose tissue secreted proteins (adipokines) have been proposed to form a link between obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Resistin and visfatin are two adipokines which have been previously suggested as having roles in the pancreatic islet. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the regulatory role of the adipokines resistin and visfatin in the pancreatic beta-cell. In order to do this, pancreatic β-cell lines from rat (BRIN-BD11) and mouse (βTC-6) were used to study the effect of exogenous incubation with physiological and pathological concentrations of resistin and visfatin on diverse elements of beta-cell biology including cell viability, gene expression and insulin secretion. In addition to this the expression levels of these two adipokines was also measured in the beta-cell. PCR array analysis showed that resistin and visfatin treatment resulted in significant changes in the expression of key beta-cell specific genes. Interestingly, both resistin and visfatin are highly expressed in the beta-cells. This suggests that the roles of these adipokines are not confined to adipose tissue but also in other endocrine organs. Resistin treatment significantly increased viability of the beta-cells at physiological concentrations however there was no increase with the elevated pathological concentrations. Resistin at elevated concentrations decreased insulin receptor expression in the beta-cells however there was no significant effect at lower concentrations. Both physiological and elevated resistin concentrations did not have any effect on glucose stimulated insulin secretion. Incubation of visfatin induced phosphorylation of insulin receptor and the intracellular signalling MAPK, ERK1/2. Visfatin treatment at 200ng/ml also significantly increased insulin secretion. These effects were replicated by incubation of beta-cells with the product of visfatin’s enzymatic action, nicotinamide mononucleotide and were reversed by visfatin inhibitor FK866. Visfatin treatment at low concentrations did not have any effect on cell viability however the elevated concentrations resulted in a decline. These data indicate that both resistin and visfatin potentially play important roles in beta-cell function and viability and that they form a significant link between adipose tissue and the pancreatic islet in type 2 diabetes
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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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