2,167 research outputs found
"The love that made hell, paradise." Ouida re-writing the Paolo and Francesca theme in Held in Bondage
No full textThe bestselling Victorian author Ouida reveals in her novels, and, in particular, Held in Bondage, an extraordinary knowledge od Dante, by using characters and themes from the Commedia. The Paolo and Francesca theme actually constitutes part of the plot of the novel and is to be found in many of her other works, short stories and non-fiction writing
HERStory Makers 2023: Francesca Fotheringham
No full textFrancesca Fotheringham is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Edinburgh studying educational psychology with a focus on neurodiversity. She took part in HERStory Makers 2023.What is HERStory Makers?HERStory Makers is a social media competition for female-identifying early career researchers to share their research, their career journeys, and to inspire the next generation. Winners are selected by public vote. HERStory Makers is also part of EXPLORATHON, Scotland's contribution to European Researchers' Night.In 2022-23, EXPLORATHON Francescasupported by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/X020762/1].Author contributions to contentFrancesca conceived, planned, and recorded the video content. Kirsty Ross edited the video content to insert HERStory Maker credits, added subtitles, and reduce video length to below Twitter/X limit of 2 mins and 20 secs.</p
New Generation of Osteoinductive and Antimicrobial Polycaprolactone-Based Scaffolds in Bone Tissue Engineering: A Review
No full textWith respect to other fields, bone tissue engineering has significantly expanded in recent years, leading not only to relevant advances in biomedical applications but also to innovative perspectives. Polycaprolactone (PCL), produced in the beginning of the 1930s, is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer. Due to its mechanical and physicochemical features, as well as being easily shapeable, PCL-based constructs can be produced with different shapes and degradation kinetics. Moreover, due to various development processes, PCL can be made as 3D scaffolds or fibres for bone tissue regeneration applications. This outstanding biopolymer is versatile because it can be modified by adding agents with antimicrobial properties, not only antibiotics/antifungals, but also metal ions or natural compounds. In addition, to ameliorate its osteoproliferative features, it can be blended with calcium phosphates. This review is an overview of the current state of our recent investigation into PCL modifications designed to impair microbial adhesive capability and, in parallel, to allow eukaryotic cell viability and integration, in comparison with previous reviews and excellent research papers. Our recent results demonstrated that the developed 3D constructs had a high interconnected porosity, and the addition of biphasic calcium phosphate improved human cell attachment and proliferation. The incorporation of alternative antimicrobials—for instance, silver and essential oils—at tuneable concentrations counteracted microbial growth and biofilm formation, without affecting eukaryotic cells’ viability. Notably, this challenging research area needs the multidisciplinary work of material scientists, biologists, and orthopaedic surgeons to determine the most suitable modifications on biomaterials to design favourable 3D scaffolds based on PCL for the targeted healing of damaged bone tissue
Medicina illuminata. La Biblioteca Lancisiana di Roma
No full textL'articolo presenta i codici miniati della Biblioteca Lancisiana di Roma. La prima parte, del coautore, è dedicata alla Biblioteca. La seconda parte, di F. Manzari, tratta dei manoscritti miniati, costituiti da due codici con le opere di Avicenna e dal Liber fraternitatis della Confraternita dell'Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia a Roma.The article introduces the illuminated manuscripts of the Biblioteca Lancisiana in Rome. The first part of the article, by the co-author, is dedicated to the Library. The second part, by Francesca Manzari, illustrates the manuscipts; these are two manuscripts with the works of Avicenna and the Liber fraternitatis of the Confraternity of the Hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome
Critical Residues in the CC′ Ridge of the Human Nectin1 Receptor V Domain Enable Herpes Simplex Virus Entry into the Cell and Act Synergistically with the Downstream Region
No full textAbstractThe site on nectin1 receptor required for herpes simplex virus (HSV) entry into the cell was previously mapped to the 64–94 region, encompassing the predicted CC′C" region of the immunoglobulin V domain. Within it lies a minimal HSV entry site (residues 77–94). Here we transferred the 65–76 region (C strand and CC′ loop) and portions, or single amino acids, thereof to nectin2, a homolog nonfunctional for wt HSV-1 entry. Replacement of the seven- or of three-amino-acid-long stretches from nectin1 to nectin2 (amino acids 69–75, 69–71, or 72–75) transferred wt HSV-1 and BHV-1 entry activity and enhanced HSV-2, PrV, and HSV-HSV(U21) entry to levels observed with nectin1. Thus, the CC′ ridge is sufficient to mediate wt HSV entry at a reduced level and responsible for the wide virus range of the receptor. Altogether the HSV entry site appears to be composed of contiguous synergistic regions, 64–76 and 77–94, each independently capable of mediating virus entry at reduced efficiency
The herpes simplex virus JMP mutant enters receptor-negative J cells through a novel pathway independent of the known receptors nectin1, HveA, and nectin2.
No full textThe herpes simplex virus type 1(JMP) [HSV-1(JMP)] mutant was selected for its ability to grow and form plaques in receptor-negative J cells. It enters J cells through a novel gD-dependent pathway, independent of all known HSV receptors, nectin1, nectin2, and HveA. Evidence that the pathway is dependent on a nectin3 binding site on HSV-1(JMP) and requires three mutations in gD rests on the following. We derived monoclonal antibodies to nectin3 and show that J cells express nectin3. HSV-1(JMP) entry and cell-to-cell spread were inhibited by soluble nectin3-Fc, demonstrating that virions carry a binding site for nectin3. The site is either directly involved in HSV-1(JMP) entry, or nectin3 binding to its site affects the gD domains involved in entry (entry site). HSV-1(JMP) entry and cell-to-cell spread in J cells were also inhibited by soluble nectin1-Fc, showing that the nectin1 binding site on gD(JMP) overlaps with the entry site or that nectin1 binding to gD affects the entry site. gD(JMP) carries three mutations, S140N, R340H, and Q344R. The latter two lie in the C tail and are present in the parental HSV-1(MP). HSV-1 strain R5000 carrying the S140N substitution was not infectious in J cells, indicating that this substitution was not sufficient. We constructed two recombinants, one carrying the three substitutions and the other carrying the two C-tail substitutions. Only the first recombinant infected J cells with an efficiency similar to that of HSV-1(JMP), indicating that the three mutations are required for the novel entry pathway. The results highlight plasticity in gD which accounts for changes in receptor usage
A DH-Leavened Musicological Toolbox
No full textGraduate-level training in music research methodologies tends to ignore digital humanities work and overlook the use of digital tools created in support of new forms of reading. Training instead focuses on source material in the student’s area of interest. This material includes secondary and primary (archival) resources, as well as information resources, such as: monuments of music and critical editions; indexes; bibliographies and thematic catalogs; dictionaries and encyclopedias; digital libraries of scores or editions; and databases of period-specific newspapers or journals. Graduate students taking research methods courses already have a toolbox built from their experiences as musicians and students of music, including the ability to read and interpret music notation, to understand theoretical and analytical concepts in music, as well as a command of music history, including the canon of musical works.
Digital humanities has become a major area of academic endeavor at the “interface of technological development, epistemological change and methodological concerns." An important characteristic of digital humanities research has been its interdisciplinarity. We argue that graduate training in musicology needs to include coverage of methodologies applied by digital humanists in support of new forms of reading, not only to broaden the canon of research topics in musicology, but also to build common ground with researchers of other disciplines. We propose that librarians are well positioned to provide this expertise and training
A novel mtDNA point mutation in tRNAVal is associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and MELAS
No full textBackground. Pathological mutations of mitochondrial (mt) DNA may cause specific diseases such as cardiomyopathies or hearing loss, or syndromes such as mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episode (MELAS) syndrome. We describe a novel mtDNA mutation in a patient with severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with MELAS. The familial phenotype included 1) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and MELAS, 2) clinically mild cardiac hypertrophy, and 3) deafness. Methods. The proband and her first degree relatives underwent echo and electrocardiograms, and biochemical tests. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed in the proband. mtDNA was fully analyzed by sequencing. DNA purification, polymerase chain reaction and direct automated sequencing were performed following standard procedures. Heteroplasmy of the novel mutation was quantified by densitometric analysis. Results. A novel G1644A transition affecting the tRNAVal was identified in the proband and maternal relatives. The mutation has been interpreted as pathological because the G at the 1644 position is a highly conserved base, is heteroplasmic with higher levels of mutant DNA in the proband than in the relatives, is located in the unique tRNAVal, is very close to a mutation described as causative of MELAS, and finally has not been found in 100 healthy controls. Conclusions. Although it is rare for patients with MELAS to be referred to cardiological evaluation because of coexisting cardiomyopathy, cardiologists should be aware of this association as well as of the non cardiac signs that may address the diagnosis to mtDNA defect-related disease in families with a variable phenotype. © 2004 CEPI Srl
A Twitter Case Study for Assessing Digital Sound
No full textAcademic and cultural heritage institutions around the world have made measurable strides in the development of digital sound archives oriented towards research and access, but their impact on scholarship and society has been little studied. Traditionally, impact has been measured by citations; yet these are problematic metrics for non-traditional outputs like sound recordings. Social media data provide a promising avenue of investigation for measuring scholarly as well as societal impact. Twitter in particular has been shown to provide a high number of references for cultural and research outputs in all disciplines. This study analyzes Twitter references pertaining to the collections of five digital sound archives: British Library Sounds, Europeana Sounds, the Internet Archive Audio Archive, PennSound and UbuWeb. Using text analysis methods to identify high frequency events and trends, and labeling them with a rubric designed for measuring the impact of digital heritage resources, this study provides preliminary insights on user values as they relate to digital sound collections. Despite the limitations of using social media data, the evidence gathered in this case study characterizes aspects of the use of digital sound collections, and may point to future priorities for the digital preservation of sound.Peer reviewe
Against the Grain: Reading for the Challenges of Collaborative DH Pedagogy
No full textThis article provides a critical review of the past five years of literature in digital humanities pedagogy and faculty-librarian collaboration, commingled with reflections on personal practice, which extend findings from the literature. Faculty-librarian partnerships in DH pedagogy reflect a rapidly evolving area of engagement calling for expertise in teaching, subject knowledge, scholarly communication, digital technologies, and DH research methodologies. Although there is a rapidly expanding body of literature on these partnerships, the challenges of the work tend to be minimized. This article expands upon commonly encountered difficulties, and it points to potential solutions and best practices.Peer reviewe
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