showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Targeted Repolarization of Tumor‐Associated Macrophages via Imidazoquinoline‐Linked Nanobodies
2021
Abstract Tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) promote the immune suppressive microenvironment inside tumors and are, therefore, considered as a promising target for the next generation of cancer immunotherapies. To repolarize their phenotype into a tumoricidal state, the Toll‐like receptor 7/8 agonist imidazoquinoline IMDQ is site‐specifically and quantitatively coupled to single chain antibody fragments, so‐called nanobodies, targeting the macrophage mannose receptor (MMR) on TAMs. Intravenous injection of these conjugates result in a tumor‐ and cell‐specific delivery of IMDQ into MMRhigh TAMs, causing a significant decline in tumor growth. This is accompanied by a repolarization of TAMs to…
Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Passion for Work on Performance Variables in Sports Clubs
2021
Entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work have been widely studied due to their effects on the behaviour and attitude of management teams in the short- and long-term. However, despite the influences of these variables on the sustainability and survival of an entity, there is a gap when considering the effects of these two performance variables in sports organisations. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to understand the influences of entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work on service quality and sporting performance. To this end, 199 Spanish non-profit sports clubs were analysed using instruments with good psychometric properties. Data analysis was carried out…
Solubility of Monazite–Cheralite and Xenotime in Granitic Melts, and Experimental Evidence of Liquid–Liquid Immiscibility in Concentrating REE
2021
Abstract We provide new experimental data on monazite, xenotime and U–Th-bearing cheralite solubility in slightly peralkaline to peraluminous granitic melts using dissolution and reverse (i.e. recrystallization after dissolution) experiments in water-saturated and flux-bearing (P + F + Li) granitic melts, at 800 °C and 200 MPa. Although a positive correlation between rare earth element (REE) solubility and melt peralkalinity is confirmed, monazite solubilities reported here are much lower than the values previously published. We suggest that the presence of elevated phosphorus concentrations in our melts depresses monazite solubility, principally because phosphorus complexes with Al and alk…
'What can I do? Any tips?' Online communities and agoraphobia, an open channel for shared participation in management of medical treatment
2021
espanolEn este articulo se analizan las entradas producidas en tres grupos de la red social Facebook creados y utilizados por personas diagnosticadas de agorafobia mediante un analisis del discurso. Se identifica que las comunidades virtuales constituyen espacios que favorecen la emergencia de un posicionamiento activo de sus participantes en la co-gestion de su medicacion a partir de tres ejes: a) espacio extra-medico de iguales que favorece el intercambio de informacion, la formacion y la consulta; b) espacio que posibilita el nacimiento y puesta en comun de narrativas alternativas a la farmacologica, y; c) espacio de conflicto entre narrativas sobre la medicacion que, en algunos casos, f…
Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the mechanisms underpinning ageing and fecundity in social insects.
2021
The exceptional longevity of social insect queens despite their lifelong high fecundity remains poorly understood in ageing biology. To gain insights into the mechanisms that might underlie ageing in social insects, we compared gene expression patterns between young and old castes (both queens and workers) across different lineages of social insects (two termite, two bee and two ant species). After global analyses, we paid particular attention to genes of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling (IIS)/target of rapamycin (TOR)/juvenile hormone (JH) network, which is well known to regulate lifespan and the trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance in solitary insects…
Can buccal infiltration of articaine replace traditional inferior alveolar nerve block for the treatment of mandibular molars in pediatric patients?:…
2021
Background It is unclear if buccal articaine infiltration can be used as an alternative to standard inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) for treating mandibular molars in pediatric patients. Therefore, this study aimed to pool evidence to compare the efficacy of buccal infiltration of articaine vs IANB with lignocaine for pediatric dental procedures. Material and Methods We searched the PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the two techniques in pediatric patients and reporting the success of anesthesia and/or pain during treatment. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Results Seven RCTs were included. Pooled analy…
Où sont les femmes dans la ville ? La visibilisation des femmes en question
2021
International audience
Queen loss increases worker survival in leaf-cutting ants under paraquat-induced oxidative stress
2021
Longevity is traded off with fecundity in most solitary species, but the two traits are positively linked in social insects. In ants, the most fecund individuals (queens and kings) live longer than the non-reproductive individuals, the workers. In many species, workers may become fertile following queen loss, and recent evidence suggests that worker fecundity extends worker lifespan. We postulated that this effect is in part owing to improved resilience to oxidative stress, and tested this hypothesis in three Myrmicine ants: Temnothorax rugatulus, and the leaf-cutting ants Atta colombica and Acromyrmex echinatior . We removed the queen from colonies to induce worker reproduction and subjec…
Anomaly‐based intrusion detection systems: The requirements, methods, measurements, and datasets
2021
International audience; With the Internet's unprecedented growth and nations' reliance on computer networks, new cyber‐attacks are created every day as means for achieving financial gain, imposing political agendas, and developing cyberwarfare arsenals. Network security is thus acquiring increasing attention among researchers, practitioners, network architects, policy makers, and others. To defend organizations' networks from existing, foreseen, and future threats, intrusion detection systems (IDSs) are becoming a must. Existing surveys on anomaly‐based IDS (AIDS) focus on specific components such as detection mechanisms and lack many others. In contrast to existing surveys, this article co…
Molecular regulation of lifespan extension in fertile ant workers.
2021
The evolution of sociality in insects caused a divergence in lifespan between reproductive and non-reproductive castes. Ant queens can live for decades, while most workers survive only weeks to a few years. In most organisms, longevity is traded-off with reproduction, but in social insects, these two life-history traits are positively linked. Once fertility is induced in workers, e.g. by queen removal, worker lifespan increases. The molecular regulation of this positive link between fecundity and longevity and generally the molecular underpinnings of caste-specific senescence are not well understood. Here, we investigate the transcriptomic regulation of lifespan and reproduction in fat bod…
Performance Assessment of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile Restoration Experiment on Dead matte Twelve Years after Planting—Structural and Functional M…
2021
Following the restoration of natural conditions by reducing human pressures, reforestation is currently considered a possible option to accelerate the recovery of seagrass habitats. Long-term monitoring programs theoretically represent an ideal solution to assess whether a reforestation plan has produced the desired results. Here, we report on the performance of a 20 m2 patch of Posidonia oceanica transplanted on dead matte twelve years after transplantation in the Gulf of Palermo, northwestern Sicily. Photo mosaic performed in the area allowed us to detect 23 transplanted patches of both regular and irregular shape, ranging from 0.1 to 2.7 m2 and an overall surface close to 19 m2. Meadow d…
A Bayesian analysis of boar spermatozoa kinematics and head morphometrics and their relationship with litter size fertility variables
2021
The semen movement and sperm head size patterns of boar ejaculates were analyzed using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA)-Mot and -Morph systems. The aim of the present study was to compare morphometric and kinematics variables from boars and to determine the relationship with sow fertility variables related to litter size. The females were from maternal crossing schemes such as the continuous 3-generation cross between York (Y), Landrace (L), and Pietrain (P) hybrid sows and Pietrain boars. Semen samples were collected from 11 sexually mature boars from two sire lines. Samples were analyzed using the ISAS® v1 system to evaluate eight kinematic variables of sperm velocity, progressiven…
Analysis and simulations of the primary frequency control during a system split in continental europe power system
2021
The occurrence of system separations in the power system of Continental Europe has been observed in recent decades as a critical event which might cause power imbalances higher than the reference incident specified per system design, representing an actual challenge for the stability and safe operation of the system. This work presents an analysis and simulations of the primary frequency control in the Continental Europe synchronous area in conditions of system separation. The adopted approach is based on fundamental aspects of the frequency-containment reserve process. The analysis takes an actual event into consideration, which determined the separation of the system in January 2021. The …
Pressure-flow dynamics with semi-stable limit cycles in hydraulic cylinder circuits
2021
In hydraulic circuits of the standard fluid-power actuators and mechanisms, like the linear-stroke cylinders, some hydrodynamic effects are often neglected. It happens mainly due to their complexity and secondariness in comparison with the principal transient and steady-state behavior of the hydromechanical process variables, such as the differential pressure and relative displacement and its rate, in other words the piston stroke and velocity. However, a constrained motion of the cylinder piston can give rise to the back coupled excitation of the pressure-flow dynamics, especially upon mechanical impact at the cylinder limits. Following to that, semi-stable limit cycles can arise while the…
Diagnosis of Sensor Faults in PMSM and Drive System Based on Structural Analysis
2021
This paper presents a model-based fault diagnosis method to detect sensor faults in permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives based on structural analysis technique. The structural model is built based on the dynamic model of the PMSM in matrix form, including unknown variables, known variables, and faults. The Dulmage-Mendelsohn (DM) decomposition is applied to evaluate the redundancy of the model and obtain redundant testable sub-models. These testable redundant sub-models are used to form residuals to observe the system state, and distinguish between healthy and faulty conditions. This work investigates faults in eleven sensors in a PMSM drive, thus nine structured residuals are d…
Seeking understanding of the textbook-based character of Finnish education
2021
This article provides a critical exploration of the textbook-based character of Finnish educational culture. The opening section points to the need to recognize and better understand the role of textbooks in Finnish education. The next section outlines how and why textbooks have become a characterizing feature of Finnish educational culture before addressing different ways in which pupils and student-teachers are socialized into textbook-based practices of schooling. The later sections critically consider the importance of textbooks as part of Finnish education, as well as the implications for educational research, the ongoing development of Finnish education and in particular teacher educa…
Electronic transport in molecular junctions : The generalized Kadanoff–Baym ansatz with initial contact and correlations
2021
The generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz (GKBA) offers a computationally inexpensive approach to simulate out-of-equilibrium quantum systems within the framework of nonequilibrium Green's functions. For finite systems the limitation of neglecting initial correlations in the conventional GKBA approach has recently been overcome [Phys. Rev. B 98, 115148 (2018)]. However, in the context of quantum transport the contacted nature of the initial state, i.e., a junction connected to bulk leads, requires a further extension of the GKBA approach. In this work, we lay down a GKBA scheme which includes initial correlations in a partition-free setting. In practice, this means that the equilibration of the …
Frequency-domain experimental setup for mechatronic and suspension system components
2021
This paper presents a frequency-domain experimental setup for modal analysis of mechatronic and suspension system components. Design, instrumentation and dynamic behavior of the one degree-of-freedom (DOF) system, capable of providing both, periodic and application-specific, excitation forces is described. The excitation is realized by an electromagnetic modal shaker with additional assembly and interface components designed and instrumented for frequency -domain analysis of vertical dynamics. Frequency response functions (FRFs) of the implemented system are experimentally measured and the associated basic model parameters are calculated, correspondingly identified. Accurate fit between the…
Targeted rescue of synaptic plasticity improves cognitive decline after severe systemic inflammation
2021
AbstractSepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a frequent complication in patients with severe systemic infection resulting in acute brain dysfunction and incapacitating long-term sequelae. SAE includes delirium, premature death, post-traumatic stress disorder, and major long-term cognitive impairment. The underlying pathophysiology of SAE is largely unresolved and specific treatment options are missing. We induced the peritoneal contamination and infection (PCI) sepsis model in 769 mice and compared these with 259 control mice. We found that experimental sepsis causes synaptic pathology in the brain characterized by severely disordered synaptic plasticity with reduced long-term potentia…
Tracking marine alien macroalgae in the mediterranean sea: The contribution of citizen science and remote sensing
2021
The accelerating rate of the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) and the magnitude of shipping traffic make the Mediterranean Sea a hotspot of biological invasions. For the effective management of NIS, early detection and intensive monitoring over time and space are essential. Here, we present an overview of possible applications of citizen science and remote sensing in monitoring alien seaweeds in the Mediterranean Sea. Citizen science activities, involving the public (e.g., tourists, fishermen, divers) in the collection of data, have great potential for monitoring NIS. The innovative methodologies, based on remote sensing techniques coupled with in situ/laboratory advanced sampli…
A Comparative Analysis of Aquatic and Polyethylene-Associated Antibiotic-Resistant Microbiota in the Mediterranean Sea
2021
Simple Summary In recent years, a growing interest has been devoted to the bacterial characterization of marine plastic debris. So far, a few publications have explored the composition of microbial communities on polyethylene (PE) waste items and the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). The occurrence of ARB in natural matrices can contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among environmental bacteria. In this study, we compared the microbial composition and the presence of ARGs in water and PE fragments collected from a stream and the seawater in a coastal area of Northwestern Sicily. Our findings showed more ARGs on PE fragments than the corresponding wa…
International Student Migration in Finland
2021
There is increasing attention on the retention of international students with many stakeholders desiring to keep international students for long-term economic growth. This study examines the factors affecting international students to stay in Finland five years after initial enrolment with particular focus on the role graduation plays in students staying or leaving. Tracking 11 (years) entering cohorts for five years across national (Finland) data registries, we found evidence of an inverse relationship between graduation, degree type, and the probability of staying; higher the degree level of graduation, the decrease in probability an international student stays. We conclude that while gra…
Bioactive triterpenes of protium heptaphyllum gum resin extract display cholesterol-lowering potential
2021
Hypercholesterolemia is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease, the risk of which is further increased if other forms of dyslipidemia occur. Current therapeutic strategies include changes in lifestyle coupled with drug administration. Statins represent the most common therapeutic approach, but they may be insufficient due to the onset of resistance mechanisms and side effects. Consequently, patients with mild hypercholesterolemia prefer the use of food supplements since these are perceived to be safer. Here, we investigate the phytochemical profile and cholesterol-lowering potential of Protium heptaphyllum gum resin extract (PHE). Chemical characterization via HPLC-APCI-HRMS2 and…
À propos d'un lot d'épées du Bronze final de provenance inconnue au musée Bargoin de Clermont-Ferrand : sur les traces du dépôt d'Aliès (Canta…
2021
International audience; Le musée Bargoin de Clermont-Ferrand conserve un lot de cinq épées à poignée métallique datées de la fin de l'âge du Bronze et issues d'une collection particulière. Parmi ces objets inédits pourraient figurer deux des trois épées du dépôt d'Aliès (Cantal). Ce dépôt, associant trois épées à poignée métallique datées du Bronze final IIIb (IXe siècle av. J.-C.), constitue une découverte majeure pour la région mais demeure malheureusement très mal connue. Publiées de manière très succinctes en 1872, ces trois armes ont ensuite été dispersées au sein de diverses collections particulières. Si une est aujourd'hui conservée au British Museum, la trace des deux autres était j…
The Secreted Protein C10orf118 Is a New Regulator of Hyaluronan Synthesis Involved in Tumour-Stroma Cross-Talk.
2021
Simple Summary Hyaluronan is a main glycosaminoglycan in extracellular matrix with an important role in breast cancer progression. Alterations in its synthesis and size may affect tu-mour growth and metastasis. Communication between stromal and breast cancer cells consists of the secretion of factors that provoke a series of cell signalling that influence cell fate and tis-sue microenvironment, by favouring tumour cell survival and motility. Here, we present the c10orf118 protein expressed in high amounts by breast tumour cells as a new regulator in hya-luronan synthesis. This protein is found both in Golgi and secreted in the extracellular matrix, whereas its role is still unknown. The sec…
Primary vitrectomy for degenerative and tractional lamellar macular holes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2021
Purpose To assess the efficacy of vitrectomy in degenerative and tractional lamellar macular holes (LMHs) by meta-analysis of published studies. Methods PubMed, Medline and Embase databases were searched up to May 2020. Included cohorts were divided into three groups: degenerative LMH group, lamellar hole associated epiretinal proliferation (LHEP) group and tractional LMH group. LHEP is likely to be associated with degenerative LMHs, but less commonly could be associated with mixed LMHs. To reduce risk of possible misclassification bias, eyes with LHEP which could not have been precisely classified by the authors, were included into the LHEP group. The primary outcome was to investigate th…
Micro/nanostructured thin films : synthesis by ALD of composites associating TiO2 inverse opals and gold nanoparticles for photocatalysis applications
2021
The aim of this work was to improve the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films, a semiconductor that is widely used for photocatalysis applications, particularly for the treatment of polluted water. For this purpose, two complementary approaches were studied: increasing the surface area available for photocalatytic reactions and coupling between TiO2 and gold nanoparticles.. For the first approach, TiO2 thin films with different morphological structures were fabricated by Atomic Layer Deposition: dense and porous flat films, and inverse opals films.In order to evaluate photocatalytic activity of the different films, the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solut…
A Natural Xenogeneic Endometrial Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel Toward Improving Current Human in vitro Models and Future in vivo Applications
2021
Decellularization techniques support the creation of biocompatible extracellular matrix hydrogels, providing tissue-specific environments for both in vitro cell culture and in vivo tissue regeneration. We obtained endometrium derived from porcine decellularized uteri to create endometrial extracellular matrix (EndoECM) hydrogels. After decellularization and detergent removal, we investigated the physicochemical features of the EndoECM, including gelation kinetics, ultrastructure, and proteomic profile. The matrisome showed conservation of structural and tissue-specific components with low amounts of immunoreactive molecules. EndoECM supported in vitro culture of human endometrial cells in t…
Provoke or encourage improvements? On semantic prosody in English-to-Polish translation
2021
Originally defined as an aura of meaning associated with words used together in a particular context, semantic prosody is a complex linguistic concept, and there is no agreement among researchers as to its precise definition and level of operationalization (word, phrase, text or discourse). Although there have been some studies on semantic prosody in translation, their findings are rather inconclusive and limited to individual words and phrases. Also, there has been no research on semantic prosody conducted so far in Polish-English translation. Intending to fill in this gap, this paper, grounded in corpus linguistics, showcases the role of semantic prosody in a selected English-to-Polish tr…
The potential of serum neurofilament as biomarker for multiple sclerosis
2021
Abstract Multiple sclerosis is a highly heterogeneous disease, and the detection of neuroaxonal damage as well as its quantification is a critical step for patients. Blood-based serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) is currently under close investigation as an easily accessible biomarker of prognosis and treatment response in patients with multiple sclerosis. There is abundant evidence that sNfL levels reflect ongoing inflammatory-driven neuroaxonal damage (e.g. relapses or MRI disease activity) and that sNfL levels predict disease activity over the next few years. In contrast, the association of sNfL with long-term clinical outcomes or its ability to reflect slow, diffuse neurodegenerativ…
Effect of NaCl road salt on the ionic composition of soils and Aesculus hippocastanum L. foliage and leaf damage intensity.
2021
AbstractWe investigated the accumulation of sodium chloride in roadside soils and common horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum L. under urban conditions to evaluate changes in soil and leaf ionic content and their relationship with foliar damage, considering the visual assessment of trees of the same health status. A total of 15 field sites were assessed in late June 2016. The analysis included soil granulometric composition, pH, electrical conductivity, and the content of Cl−, Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ ions in soil and foliage samples. The results showed increased salinity and alkalization of roadside soils together with the decreased magnesium content. Foliage samples manifested significant…
‘Being’, ‘Becoming’ and ‘Challenging’ European: Subject Positions in the European Heritage Label
2021
This article scrutinises the subject positions of ‘being’, ‘becoming’ and ‘challenging’ European in the context of the European Heritage Label (EHL), a flagship cultural heritage action of the Euro...
Method for estimating charge breeder ECR ion source plasma parameters with short pulse 1+ injection
2021
A new method for determining plasma parameters from beam current transients resulting from short pulse 1+ injection into a Charge Breeder Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (CB-ECRIS) has been developed. The proposed method relies on few assumptions, and yields the ionisation times $1/n_e\left\langle\sigma v\right\rangle^{\text{inz}}_{q\to q+1}$, charge exchange times $1/n_0\left\langle\sigma v\right\rangle^{\text{cx}}_{q\to q-1}$, the ion confinement times $\tau^q$, as well as the plasma energy contents $n_e\left\langle E_e\right\rangle$ and the plasma triple products $n_e \left\langle E_e\right\rangle \tau^q$. The method is based on fitting the current balance equation on the extract…
Influence of Teacher and Family Support on University Student Motivation and Engagement
2021
Although many studies endorse the notion that the way students perceive support influences their engagement, very few have explored the possible mediator role of intention to learn between these variables. The present work provides new evidence to the existing literature because it analyses the work of intention to learn (measured with expectancy–value beliefs and achievement goals) as a mediating motivational variable in the relation between university students’ external support (teacher and family) and their engagement. The Educational Situation Quality Model (MOCSE, its acronym in Spanish) has employed as a theoretical framework to perform this analysis. A sample of 267 Spanish universit…
Mode family analysis for PMMA WGM micro resonators using spot intensity changes
2021
The whispering gallery modes (WGM) micro resonators are based on elliptical objects, which can be made from optically transparent materials, The geometry of the object enables optical wave circulating inside the ellipse using total internal reflection. If there is a monochromatic light source with constant intensity to the ellipse, constructive interference may be observed. Poly methyl methacrylate acrylic (PMMA) WGM micro resonators are commercially available with typical optical quality factor of 103-104. These could limit problems with WGM micro resonator expensive manufacturing. Thanks to advances in high resolution image processing, read-outs using spectroscopy (single photo detector) …