322,824 research outputs found
Tumour-derived high molecular weight M-CSF induces monocyte differentiation into M2- polarized macrophages
No full textExperimental and clinical evidence has highlighted that tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) represent the principal component of the leukocyte infiltrate and are usually associated with tumour growth, progression and metastasis. Macrophage population is generally divided into two distinct subsets: M1 and M2. M1 macrophages act as a first line of defence against pathogens whereas M2 cells participate in wound repair and maintenance of tissue integrity.
In the tumour micro-environment TAM interactions with the extracellular matrix, neighboring cells, and soluble stimuli largely influence their gene expression and behavior.
To investigate the role of the tumor micro-environment on macrophage differentiation, we cultured freshly isolated human monocytes with pancreatic cancer cell line supernatants, in the absence of exogenous cytokine addition.. In selected cultures, about 50% of the monocytes differentiated after 5 days into macrophages. The phenotype analysis of tumor-conditioned macrophages (TC-macro) demonstrated high expression of the mannose receptor, CD16, CD68 and low levels of MHC class II. TC-macro produced IL-10, IL-6, TNF but not IL-12, even after LPS stimulation. Moreover, TC-macro produced a panel of chemokines including CCL2, CXCL8, CCL17 and CXCL10. The transcriptional profile of TC-macro revealed that several genes in line with an M2 polarization are highly expressed. The nature of the tumor-derived factors inducing macrophage differentiation is currently under investigation; biochemical analysis indicated that the biological activity is excluded from exosomes and have a high molecular weight (>100.000 KDa). IL-3 and IL-6 were not detectable in tumor supernatants whereas M-CSF was present at low levels. By mass spectrometric techniques, we surprisingly found that the tumor-derived M-CSF had peculiar migration patterns which were different from those expected for the common human homodimeric glycosilated protein, suggesting an interesting structural differences for the tumor-secreted isoforms of this primary regulator of mononuclear phagocyte. The characterization of tumor-derived factors inducing macrophage differentiation could better clarify the intricate cross-talk between tumor cells and macrophages and thus might aid in the process of devising novel anti-tumor treatments
Diffusive author(s), cohesive author: Analysis of S/N (1994)
No full textThis study indicates the ways in which various aspects of the author(s) are brought forth in Dumb type’s performance art, the S/N production. Previous research has suggested a non-hierarchical organization of Dumb type and the absence of a “privileged author” in Dumb type’s collaborative work, S/N. However, the results that I have investigated from member’s interviews on the creative process of S/N along with my analysis of the recorded images of S/N, indicate a different aspect of the author(s). First, S/N was created through, so to speak, the collective ideas of the members of Dumb type. Further, S/N has at least nine quotations from previous performances, installations, and printed writings, besides the work-in-progress technique. Explicating one of the “author functions” as given by Michel Foucault, each text has plural subjects of the author. However, it has been revealed from members’ interviews that Teiji Furuhashi had a decision-making role in selecting the members’ ideas within the performance. Since then, S/N has had plural subjects of creation; however, Furuhashi is one of the subjects of creation along with the “privileged author.” S/N has plural authors (diffusive authors) yet at the same time, it has a “privileged author,” Teiji Furuhashi (cohesive author)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Modelling micropollutant cycle in Lake Como in a winter scenario: Implications for water use and reuse, ecosystem services, and the EU zero pollution action plan
No full textThe fate and effects of 42 pharmaceuticals was studied in Lake Como (Italy), in wastewater treatment plants delivering water to the lake, in two rivers and in potable water obtained from lake water. Lake Como is one of the deepest and largest lakes in Northern Italy, serving important ecosystem services (i.e., drinking water, recreational, industrial, irrigation uses), some of which are currently at risk giving the current water scarcity and climate change scenarios. The highest concentrations measured in lake water were those of diclofenac, followed by carbamazepine, its metabolite, and clarithromycin. The data measured allowed to calibrate and run a fugacity-based lake model, which showed that the most important chemical load generally comes from the advective water from the north of the lake, rather than from the direct wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharges. This indicates that only an important reduction of chemical discharge (reduced use or extensive treatment) at a drainage basin level could significantly reduce concentrations in water. This has strong implications on how to implement the EU zero pollution action plan to significantly improve water ecosystem and human health protection
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
Mesenchymal stromal cell-secreted chemerin is a novel immunomodulatory molecule driving the migration of ChemR23-expressing cells.
No full textAuthor's address:
No full textCan archives of audiovisual TV interviews be used to make authors more visible to students, and thereby reduce the learning gap between native and non-native language speakers in college classes? We examined students in a college course who learned about one scholar's ideas through watching an audiovisual TV interview (i.e., visible author format) and about another scholar's ideas through reading a formal text description (i.e., invisible author format). For the invisible author, native language speakers scored significantly higher than the non-native language speakers on a corresponding exam question (i.e., a cognitive measure), generated more words on the exam question (i.e., a motivational measure), and mentioned the author's name more often in answering the exam question (i.e., an affective measure). For the visible author, the groups did not differ on any of these measures. These findings provide evidence for the idea that making the author visible through audiovisual TV interviews can eliminate the learning gap between native and non-native language speakers. 3 Universities around the world serve students who are non-native speakers of th
The vanishing author in computer-generated works: a critical analysis of recent Australian case law
No full textAbstract
The use of software is ubiquitous in the creation of many copyright works, yet the requirement in copyright law that every work have a human author who engages in independent intellectual effort means that its use may prevent copyright subsistence. Several recent Australian cases have refocused attention on authorship as an essential criterion of copyright subsistence, and these cases suggest that much computer-produced output may be authorless and thus lack copyright protection. This article, the first in a two-part series, analyses how each case deals with the question of authorship of computer-produced works and why the use of software diminishes copyright protection for a significant number of computer-generated works. The article critiques the application of conventional notions of human authorship developed in the pre-computer age to modern productions and suggests alternative approaches to authorship that satisfy both the major objectives of copyright policy and the need to adapt to the computer age. The article argues that, without a broader judicial approach to authorship of computer-generated works, Parliament must remedy the lacuna in protection for these ‘authorless’ works. Possible solutions for reform are suggested. In a forthcoming article, the author comprehensively examines those reform proposals
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
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