1,721,463 research outputs found
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Inhibitors: the Challenge to Defeat Cancer Stem Cells
No full textCancer is made of a heterogeneous community of different cells governed by cooperative interactions. A small percentage of them, bearing stem-like properties, plays more than most a key role in tumour perpetuating and progression, being endowed with indefinite self-renewal ability and aberrant differentiation capacity. Differently from tumour bulk cells, cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are able to resist to cytotoxic treatments commonly exploited to target rapidly dividing cells, as they are characterized by a slow mitotic activity possibly associated with a quiescent G0/G1 state. Hence, rather than being eradicated, CSCs turn out to be selected over the cancer bulk, being free to drive tumour relapse and mediate metastasis. Therefore, they represent the reference sub-population that should be brought into focus, as undermining self-renewal signaling pathways supporting their growth and residence in the stem state may represent an effective strategy to wipe out efficiently the whole tumour architecture. Indeed, experience gained in the management of different malignancies proof the concept that targeting cancer stem cells improve patient outcomes by preventing tumours recurrences, increasing chemotherapy efficacy and reversing chemotherapy resistance. [1]
CSCs exhibit high levels of the cytoplasmic enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase, ALDH. Besides being acknowledged as the distinctive hallmark of this type of cancer cell sub-population, ALDH plays also a crucial role in stem cells vitality, being involved in the differentiation of progenitor cells into mature entities. Its overexpression is also decisive for tumor invasion, thus having a prognostic value for poor clinical outcomes. Accordingly, targeting this enzyme might represent a successful strategy to put in place a keystone molecular treatment of cancer. [2]
Here we present a series of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives, developed as ALDH inhibitors. The novel compounds proved to block the catalytic activity of ALDH1A3 isoenzyme, showing high degrees of selectivity against the parent ALDH1A1 and ALDH1A2 subtypes. Tested in vitro on different populations of CSCs, including glioma and prostate cancer stem cells, the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives displayed also a relevant anti-proliferative efficacy. Results obtained will be discussed
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
Aldose reductase inhibitors: 2013-present
No full textIntroduction: Aldose reductase (ALR2) is both the key enzyme of the polyol pathway, whose activation under hyperglycemic conditions leads to the development of chronic diabetic complications, and the crucial promoter of inflammatory and cytotoxic conditions, even under a normoglycemic status. Accordingly, it represents an excellent drug target and a huge effort is being done to disclose novel compounds able to inhibit it. Areas covered: This literature survey summarizes patents and patent applications published over the last 5 years and filed for natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic ALR2 inhibitors. Compounds described have been discussed and analyzed from both chemical and functional angles. Expert opinion: Several ALR2 inhibitors with a promising pre-clinical ability to address diabetic complications and inflammatory diseases are being developed during the observed timeframe. Natural compounds and plant extracts are the prevalent ones, thus confirming the use of phytopharmaceuticals as an increasingly pursued therapeutic trend also in the ALR2 inhibitors field. Intriguing hints may be taken from synthetic derivatives, the most significant ones being represented by the differential inhibitors ARDIs. Differently from classical ARIs, these compounds should fire up the therapeutic efficacy of the class while minimizing its side effects, thus overcoming the existing limits of this kind of inhibitors
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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