1,721,025 research outputs found
Gene Expression Profiling of Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Primary Breast Cancer Cell Culture
No full textBackground/Aim: Epithelial–mesenchymal transition
(EMT) is a process co-opted by cancer cells to invade and form
metastases. In the present study we analyzed gene expression
profiles of primary breast cancer cells in culture in order to
highlight genes related to EMT. Materials and Methods:
Microarray expression analysis of primary cells isolated from
a specimen of a patient with an infiltrating ductal carcinoma of
the breast was performed. Real-Time Quantitative Reverse
Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses validated microarray
gene expression trends. Results: Thirty-six candidate genes were
selected and used to generate a molecular network displaying
the tight relationship among them. The most significant Gene
Ontology biological processes characterizing this network were
involved in cell migration and motility. Conclusion: Our data
revealed the involvement of new genes which displayed tight
relationships among them, suggesting a molecular network in
which they could contribute to control of EMT in breast cancer.
This study may offer a basis for understanding complex
mechanisms which regulate breast cancer progression and for
designing individualized anticancer therapies
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
Role of prothrombotic polymorphisms in successful or unsuccessful aging.
No full textThe study of the genetic profile of centenarians aims to identify the genes and allelic variants which may influence a greater life expectancy and that can be considered as predisposing factors associated to the aging diseases, such as Alzheimer. Centenarians, that represent a cohort of selected survivors, show an hypercoagulability state characterised by striking signs of high coagulation enzyme activity, as directly assessed by the tested higher plasma level of some important factors involved in the haemostasis balance. Anyway, these individuals seem to have a reduced susceptibility to dementia, as well as to cardiovascular events. In this study we analyze the frequencies of Leiden Factor V polymorphism (G1691A), and G20210A of prothrombin (FII) in three cohorts of subjects: patients with Alzheimer's disease (unsuccessful aging), nonagenarians (successful aging) and young healthy controls, to assess whether allelic variants associated to the modification of haemostatic system function, may play a role in the protection or susceptibility to Alzheimer disease, as well as to reach a successful aging. No significant differences were observed in the frequencies of the three groups studied. These results indicate that the presence or absence of the gene variants examined did not influence the achievement of advanced age and are not risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. The state of hypercoagulability and the possession of these risk alleles appear to be compatible with the achievement of longevity and are not implied as risk factors in Alzheimer disease developmen
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
Inflammatory Response to a High Radiation Dose in Breast Cancer
No full textBackground: Radiation therapy (RT) is an essential treatment modality
used for breast cancer (BC) care. Radiations can stimulate the immune
system via the early activation of cytokine cascades, which can greatly
affect cellular radio-sensitivity. Our aim is to analyze inflammatory
response induced by high ionizing radiation (IR) doses, generated by
intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) treatment, to identify several potential
targets that may influence cell radio-response.
Methods: MCF10, MCF7 and MDA-MB231 BC cell lines have been
exposed to high IR (23 Gray and 9 Gray), delivered by IORT treatments.
Conditioned media (CM) were assayed at the time points: 0’, 30’, 1, 3, 6,
24, 48, and 72 hours, for production of cytokines, chemokines and growth
factors by using Luminex technology.
Results: We observed a very low cytokine concentration in MCF7 CM
and a greater expression, of TH1 and TH2 cytokines, IL-7, G-CSF and
MCP-1 in MCF10A CM. MDA-MB231 CM showed a reduced expression
of TH1 and TH2 cytokines, IL-7, G-CSF, MCP-1 and an up-regulation of
GM-CSF, IL-6 and IL-8 factors.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that cytokine production in most cases
is dose independent and time and cell type dependent. In particular, an
over production at 24 hours after IORT treatment was observed. In
addition, we speculate that MCF10A cells potentially exhibit an increased
capacity to activate the immune system after IR exposure, and that MDAMB231
cells could have a role in radio-resistance phenotype through IL-6
and IL-8 high production activated by IR
Analysis of polymorphisms Leiden Factor V G1691A and prothrombin G20210A as risk factors for acute myocardial infarction.
No full textThrombotic risk increases in elderly, therefore, the understanding of the genetic predisposition of hypercoagulability could make the difference in the prevention of venous and/or arterial thrombotic events. Laboratory evaluation of hyperfibrinogenemia, increased Factor VII levels, antiphospholipid antibodies presence and hyperhomocysteinemia are considered to have a consistent high predictivity for arterial thrombophilic diseases. Anyway, a large debate exists on the validity of testing Leiden Factor V (FV) G1691A and/or prothrombin (FII) G20210A polymorphisms in patients affected by arterial thrombotic diseases, despite of the several observations described. Here we report data strongly suggesting that at least the FII G20210A polymorphism might be considered an important risk factor for acute myocardial infarction in aged patients (55-80 years old). On the other hand, in spite of a not different genotypic and allelic distribution for the Leiden FV G1691A mutation, the presence of one or both the two polymorphisms is significantly higher among cases than in controls. In conclusion, our data suggest that FII G20210A and/or Leiden FV might be involved as risk factor for arterial disorders in about 5% of old subjects, justifying the opportunity of a genetic screening and an eventual preventive treatment, in particular in old subjects in which other and major risk factors, as hypertension and atherosclerosis, are detecte
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