1,720,958 research outputs found

    Recent Advances in the Clinical Translation of Small-Cell Lung Cancer Therapeutics

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    Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a recalcitrant form of cancer, representing 15% of lung cancer cases globally. SCLC is classified within the range of neuroendocrine pulmonary neoplasms, exhibiting shared morphologic, ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and molecular genomic features. It is marked by rapid proliferation, a propensity for early metastasis, and an overall poor prognosis. The current conventional therapies involve platinum–etoposide-based chemotherapy in combination with immunotherapy. Nonetheless, the rapid emergence of therapeutic resistance continues to pose substantial difficulties. The genomic profiling of SCLC uncovers significant chromosomal rearrangements along with a considerable mutation burden, typically involving the functional inactivation of the tumor suppressor genes TP53 and RB1. Identifying biomarkers and evaluating new treatments is crucial for enhancing outcomes in patients with SCLC. Targeted therapies such as topoisomerase inhibitors, DLL3 inhibitors, HDAC inhibitors, PARP inhibitors, Chk1 inhibitors, etc., have introduced new therapeutic options for future applications. In this current review, we will attempt to outline the key molecular pathways that play a role in the development and progression of SCLC, together with a comprehensive overview of the most recent advancements in the development of novel targeted treatment strategies, as well as some ongoing clinical trials against SCLC, with the goal of improving patient outcomes

    Delivery Strategies for Nucleic Acids

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    Utilization of nucleic acids to manipulate genetic information within a cell is known as gene therapy. It has provided researchers with unprecedented opportunities in treatment and mitigation of several life-threatening diseases. Gene therapy is an attractive alternative to conventional chemotherapy or radiation therapy due to its high efficiency, minimal side effects, and potential to evade drug resistance. The versatility of gene therapy makes it useful for the treatment of diseases dangerous disease like cancer. However, delivery of nucleic acid payloads to the intended target has been the bottleneck in clinical translation of such therapies. Here, we have developed and evaluated three different delivery systems (lipid based, polymer based and lipid-polymer hybrid) which can complex nucleic acid payloads, able to target specific cell types and get dissembled on cellular internalization to release the therapeutic payload. Our lipid and lipid-polymer hybrid delivery systems utilize a novel bacterial peptide sequence which enables these vectors to “stick” to fibronectin present in tumor extracellular matrix making them attractive for intravesical administration in bladder cancer management. Additionally, these systems have pH responsive modalities which aids in vector dissemble under acidic endosomal pH conditions for efficient release of therapeutic cargos after internalization into target cells.In our efforts to develop an ideal delivery system with a tunable the assembly/disassembly properties, we synthesized a library of pendent polymer with biodegradable polycarbonate backbone. The ability of the pendent groups to form host-gest interaction with hydrophobic core of cationic cyclodextrins determined the stability of the delivery system. We demonstrate the capability of such polymer systems to form nano-dimensinal complexes with nucleic acid and transfect cancer cells. The above-mentioned property of cyclodextrins to form host-guest interaction with hydrophobic molecules also forms the basis of its utilization in the treatment of a rare metabolic disorder called Niemann Pick type C disease where there the cells loses the ability to remove stored cholesterol from endo-lysosomal compartments. Cyclodextrin forms host-gest complexes with aberrantly stored cholesterol and helps normalization of cellular cholesterol level. However, the soluble nature and small size of the cyclodextrin causes very rapid clearance for the body necessitating dosage levels as high as 9000mg/kg for therapeutic benefit. We have also developed a library of polyrotaxanes, where multiple cyclodextrins are threaded onto linear polymer chains and end-capped with bulky groups to prevent slippage. This kind to assembly drastically increases the systemic circulation time by preventing rapid renal clearance. We evaluated the ability of these constructs to serve as a long circulation delivery system for delivery of β-cyclodextrins for potential treatment of Niemann Pick type C disease. Finally, we have studied the structure-function relationships of these supramolecular assemblies to aid in rational design of therapeutic polyrotaxanes.</div

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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

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    We 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

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We 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
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