1,720,973 research outputs found
Tissue print of prostate biopsy: a novel tool in the diagnostic procedure of prostate cancer
No full textBackground: Nowadays, the histological examination of prostate core needle biopsies is still regarded as the gold standard in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). We investigated if the tissue print of core needle biopsy (biopsy print) could be used as adjunctive molecular investigative procedures in conjunction with routine histological examination of biopsy to improve PCa diagnosis. Methods: The direct contact of PCa core biopsy to nitrocellulose membrane resulted in the release of a cellular micropeel that was used for downstream analytical procedures. Results: By zymogram print-phoresis we demonstrated that matrix metalloproteases MMP-2 and MMP-9 could be visualized in biopsy prints and that the gelatinolytic activity was positively correlated with immunohistochemistry analysis of the same markers in matched bioptic specimens. Moreover, we compared the ability to detect the PCa-associated hypermethylation of GSTP1 promoter in DNA extracted from biopsy prints with those of the corresponding core needle biopsies. Biopsy prints demonstrated the same specificity of biopsies in detecting PCa (50%) while the sensitivity and the positive predictive value were lower than biopsies (56% vs 78% and 63% vs 70%, respectively). Conclusions: Biopsy print, combining a molecular point of view to the routinely hystopathological analysis of prostate biopsies, should be a useful tool to improve the diagnosis of PCa
Protect and Counter-attack: Nutritional Supplementation with Essential Amino acid Ratios Reduces Doxorubicin–induced Cardiotoxicity in vivo and promote Cancer Cell Death in vitro
No full textProtect and counter-attack: nutritional supplementation with essential amino acid ratios reduces doxorubicin–induced cardiotoxicity in vivo and promote cancer cell death in vitro
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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
Src inhibition potentiates antitumoral effect of paclitaxel by blocking tumor-induced angiogenesis
No full textThe protein kinase Src is frequently over-activated in advanced cancers where it modulates the signaling transduction cascade of several growth factors. The feasibility of combination treatment of Src inhibitors with chemotherapy is currently under investigation. We evaluated the anti-tumoral effect of paclitaxel (PTX) in combination with S13, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with a prevalent specificity for Src, in a hormone-insensible prostate cancer (PCa) cell model. In vivo, combination treatment with PTX and S13 reduced dramatically PCa tumor growth with a relevant difference in the density of new blood vessels with respect to control and single treatments. This reduction was determined by a concomitant impairment of endothelial cell migration and of VEGF release by cancer cells. In fact, S13, when used alone, was sufficient to reduce tubule formation in vivo, and to inhibit VEGFR2 activation and FAK expression in endothelial cells. In addition, the combination treatment determined a significant reduction in ROS production and HIF-1 stabilization in PCa cells respect to single treatments with S13 or PTX. In conclusion, Src-inhibition could be an effective therapeutic strategy aimed at supporting the anti-angiogenic action of PTX in aggressive PCa
Therapeutic potential of Askina® Gel in regenerative medicine
No full textNeovascularization is a critical determinant in wound-healing outcomes for several kinds of injuries. Tissue engineering is continuously searching for matrixes, scaffolds, cells and growth factors to create microenvironment able to promote tissue regeneration. Moreover, an adequate vascularization of the wound milieu is a necessary goal in regenerative medicine also in the case of transplanted cells utilization. A new focus of interest in regenerative medicine research is represented by the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). They are capable of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and can be considered a potential autologous cell source. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) represent an abundant source of MSCs easily accessible from subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue. ASCs can be cultured as monolayers on tissue culture plastic loosing in this way cell-specific properties and so poorly reflect in vivo ASCs behaviour. We suggest that a sterile hydrogel (Askina® Gel) containing a modified starch polymer and commonly used in surgery, could serve as scaffold to improve neovascularization and cell regeneration. Therefore, we first evaluated the ability of this hydrogel to promote tubule formation in vitro using mouse endothelial cells (MS-1). We observed that when cultured on hydrogel, MS-1 form spontaneously capillary-like structures after 36-48 h from seeding. Conversely, MS-1 pretreated with an inhibitor of VEGFR2 (SU 1498) were not able to make tubules at the same times. In parallel, hydrogel samples were surgically implanted in the back of CD-1 mouse, and harvested at 7-10 days post-implantation. The analysis of hydrogel plugs cryosections by H&E staining and by immunofluorescence revealed a remarkable neovascularization in hydrogel plugs preloaded with growth factors. Finally, since ACSs can form three-dimensional spheroids with increased stemness capability when cultured on biomaterials, we tested the ability of ASCs isolated from human abdominal adipose tissue recovered from obese subjects (35-45 years old), to form spheroids on hydrogel. We demonstrated that hydrogel was effectively able to promote spherical cell aggregates formation that most of the cells into spheroids were viable. In conclusion, these preliminary results suggest that hydrogel, besides conventional use in surgery, could be used as good vehicle for the retention of transplanted stem cells at the cell graft promoting neo-angiogenesis and tissue regeneration
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
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