1,721,330 research outputs found
Time for a "plan B" in peritoneal metastatic disease
Full text linkPeritoneal involvement in cancer is the harbinger of a particularly unfavorable prognosis. The peritoneal cavity microenvironment is skewed toward immunoregulatory conditions promoted by macrophage populations and innate-like B-1 B cells, which provide immune privilege to malignant cell foci. In this issue of Cancer Research, Haro and colleagues demonstrate that triggering innate IgM-mediated B-1a immune responses via pathogen- or danger-associated molecular pattern recognition exerts antitumor effects on peritoneal metastases by inducing classical complement cascade activation. Exploitation of innate B-1 humoral responses and noncellular immunity is a promising strategy to counter the "castling" of metastatic tumor cells in the peritoneal immunoprivileged site
Heterogeneity Fair: Commentary to Menter and Tzankov "lymphomas and Their Microenvironment: A Multifaceted Relationship"
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Definition of model-based control strategies for the Molten Salt Fast Reactor nuclear power plant
No full textIn this paper, different control strategies for the full-power mode operation (i.e. from 50% to 100% of reactor rated power) of the MSFR are identified, developed, and their performances tested, starting from the results of a MSFR power plant simulator. In order to support the qualitative results gained from the free-dynamics outcomes, a technique known as Relative Gain Array is employed to obtain a quantitative measure of the degree of interaction between the various input and output variables, and to identify the most favorable couplings. In the development of control strategies, particular attention is placed on several specific aspects, in particular the load-following capabilities of the power plant, the need to keep the molten salts temperatures within a rather narrow window to avoid boiling or freezing risks during operational transients, and the need to maintain the operating conditions of the energy conversion system as constant as possible. Four different decentralized-feedback control strategies are implemented – with different number of controlled outputs – by employing conventional PID controllers, which are designed and tuned with appropriate phase and gain margins to account for modeling uncertainties. The different control strategies are then tested on the power plant simulator in two typical controlled operational transients, highlighting the very promising behavior of the MSFR in terms of load-following capabilities. The results of the present work will also provide valuable insights in support to the optimization and finalization of the MSFR power plant design
Exploring a regulatory role for mast cells: 'MCregs'?
No full textRegulatory cells can mould the fate of the immune response by direct suppression of specific subsets of effector cells, or by redirecting effectors against invading pathogens and infected or neoplastic cells. These functions have been classically, although not exclusively, ascribed to different subsets of T cells. Recently, mast cells have been shown to regulate physiological and pathological immune responses, and thus to act at the interface between innate and adaptive immunity assuming different functions and behaviors at discrete stages of the immune response. Here, we focus on these poorly defined, and sometimes apparently conflicting, functions of mast cells
Object-oriented modeling, simulation and control of a 6-DoF parallel kinematic manipulator for remote handling in DONES facility
Full text linkThis paper describes the modeling and simulation activities performed, within the EUROfusion framework, to
support the engineering design and the development of the control system of the DONES Parallel Kinematic
Manipulator (PKM), a 6-DoF parallel robot part of the Remote Handling System of the DONES facility. The main
tasks of the PKM are the planned annual replacement of the Target Assembly and the High Flux Test Module, two
of the crucial and most activated components of DONES. The PKM model, developed using the Modelica objectoriented language, is able to simulate the dynamics of the entire robots, including the main non-linear effects due
to backlashes and static friction. The simulator is employed to support the preliminary design of the control
system, based on an independent-joint approach with dual-loop cascade-PID logic. Simulations are then conducted to assess robot performances in terms of resolution, accuracy, repeatability and generated forces
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
An update on the xenograft and mouse models suitable for investigating new therapeutic compounds for the treatment of B-cell malignancies
No full textB-cell malignancies account for over the 90% of all lymphoid neoplasms. The clonal proliferations of B-cells show a high degree of variation in terms of clinical and presenting features, histopathology, immunophenotype, and genetics. Primary tumor samples are useful for examining the characteristics of a patient's own tumor, although both primary leukemic cells and cell lines provide an initial step for screening novel compounds for their activity in some hematological malignancies, they should be followed by models in intact animals. In this review, we try to summarize the animal models generated to study B-cell malignancies, in particular, B-cell lymphoma, B-cell CLL and MM that represent the major part of B-cell malignancies. Animals that spontaneously develop cancer are flawed to predict human disease. The development of human tumor xenograft models represented a big step towards more clinically relevant models. The major problems of these models are the requirement of immuno-compromised animals and the inability of these models to recapitulate the complex relationship between the tumor and the microenvironment. A number of strategies have been also applied to develop genetically engineered models of malignancies, in which the tumor arises "naturally" in the host. The disadvantages of these models include the differences between rodent and human stroma and that they can not be used to characterise anti-tumor activity of many immunotherapeutic drugs. These models can be used to study the molecular processes critical for the development, proliferation and survival of hematological malignancies and to characterise potential therapeutic targets
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