2,159 research outputs found
The role of microRNAs in thyroid carcinomas
No full textThyroid cancers (TCs) are the most common malignancies of endocrine organs. They originate from cells of different origin within the thyroid gland, which is located at the base of the neck. Several forms of TCs have been classified and great variability is observed in molecular, cellular and clinical features. The most common forms have favorable prognosis but a number of very aggressive TCs, which are characterized by a less differentiated cellular phenotype, have no effective treatment at the moment. While TC causes are not completely understood, many genetic factors involved in their onset have been discovered. In particular, activating mutations of BRAF, RET or RAS genes are known to be specifically associated with TC initiation, progression and outcome. The involvement of microRNAs in thyroid neoplasms has recently changed the paradigm for biomarker discovery in TC, suggesting that these small non-coding RNAs could be used to develop, refine or strengthen strategies for diagnosis and management of TCs. In this review, the importance of microRNA profiling in TC is explored suggesting that these molecules can be included in procedures that can perform better than any known clinical index in the identification of adverse outcomes
"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
BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 modulates microRNA expression in thyroid cancer cells
No full textAnaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) represents the most lethal thyroid cancer sub-type, currently unresponsive to standard treatments. Recently, bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins have emerged as attractive therapeutic targets in several diseases, including cancer. In different cancer models, the anti-neoplastic activity of BET inhibitors such as JQ1, I-BET762 and I-BET151 have already been established, due to both direct and indirect effects. miRNAs are 20-22 nucleotide transcriptional regulators which play important roles in proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Hitherto, the relationship between JQ1 and miRNAs has not been explored. The goal of this study was to delineate JQ1-associated miRNA regulation in ATC cells. Two ATC-derived cell lines (SW1736 and 8505c) were treated with either 5 μM JQ1 or vehicle for 48 or 72 h. A non-tumorigenic thyroid cell line (Nthy-ori 3-1) was used as a control. miRNome analysis displayed a JQ1-related dysregulation of several miRNAs, 7 of which turned out to be commonly dysregulated in both cell lines at both time-points. Furthermore, miR-4516 turned out to be downregulated in both ATC cell lines, when compared to the non-tumorigenic ones and notably, JQ1 treatment in both ATC cell lines induced its upregulation, restoring, in some way, its basal expression
levels. We, therefore, focused on miR-4516 expression and STAT3 levels, since it was previously predicted to be a putative target of this microRNA. Consistently, phospho-STAT3 and its target p21Waf1/Cip1 turned out to be downregulated and upregulated in both JQ1-treated ATC cell lines, respectively.
Thus, our data revealed that modulation of miRNA expression is one of the multiple mechanisms of the effect of JQ1 in thyroid cancer cells
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
Fibronectin-1 expression is increased in aggressive thyroid cancer and favors the migration and invasion of cancer cells
No full textn this study we analyzed the expression levels of markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in several papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) and the relation with tumor genotypes and clinicopathological characteristics. The role of fibronectin-1 (FN1) was investigated by analyzing the effects of FN1 silencing in two human thyroid cancer cell lines. Most of EMT markers were significantly over-expressed in a group of 36 PTCs. In particular, FN1 mRNA levels were higher in tumor vs non-tumor tissue (117.3, p < 0.001) and also in aggressive and BRAF(V600E) samples. Similar results were observed (and confirmed at the protein level) when FN1 expression was analyzed in a validation group of 50 PTCs and six lymph node (LN) metastases. Silencing of FN1 in TPC-1 and BCPAP thyroid cancer cells significantly reduced proliferation, adhesion, migration, and invasion in both cell lines. Collectively, our data indicate that FN1 overexpression is an important determinant of thyroid cancer aggressiveness
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 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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