Sensory quality of fresh lamb meat

This work evaluated the texture, aroma and flavour quality of two Spanish commercial lamb categories: milk-fed lambs slaughtered at 10-12 kg live weight, and "ternasco" lambs slaughtered at 20-24 kg live weight from two Spanish breeds, Lacha and Rasa Aragonesa. Texture was only affected by the breed effect in the mealiness parameter, with lamb from the Rasa Aragonesa breed perceived mealier than lamb from the Lacha breed. Texture quality was very influenced by the increase in live weight from 12 to 24 kg. The "ternasco" lamb meat was found harder, mealier, more cohesive and more difficult to swallow than milkfed lamb meat. Increased live weight developed woolly aroma, woolly flavour and more intense aftertaste in cooked lamb meat. Milk-fed lambs produced meat with a more characteristic aroma and flavour than "ternasco" lambs. The increase of live weight from 12 to 24 kg had more influence on the lamb sensory quality than the breed factor, and consequently each commercial category presented its own characteristic texture, aroma and flavour."Qualité sensorielle de la viande fraîche d'agneau". On a étudié la texture, l'odeur et la flaveur de deux categories commerciales d'agneaux en Espagne : l'agneau laiton abattu à 10-12 kg de poids vif et l'agneau tipe "ternasco" abattu à 20-24 kg de poids vif, de deux races espagnoles, Lacha et Rasa Aragonesa. La texture a été affectée par le facteur race sur le paramètre "farineux" ; la viande de la race Rasa Aragonesa a été plus farineuse que la viande de la race Lacha. La texture de la viande a été très influencée par l'augmentation du poids vif. L'agneau de type "ternasco" a été plus dur, farineux, cohésif et difficile à avaler que l'agneau laiton. L'augmentation du poids vif a développé un odeur et une flaveur laineuse, et un arrière-goût plus intense dans la viande cuisinée. La viande de l'agneau laiton a presenté un odeur et une flaveur plus caracteristique que la viande d'agneau de type "ternasco". L'augmentation du poids vif de 12 jusqu'au 24 kg de poids vif a plus d'importance sur la qualité sensorielle de la viande d'agneau que le facteur race. En conséquence, il apparaît que chaque catégorie commerciale a présenté sa propre texture, odeur et flaveur

Local delivery of optimized nanobodies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis with a self-amplifying RNA viral vector induces potent antitumor responses

Despite the success of immune checkpoint blockade for cancer therapy, many patients do not respond adequately. We aimed to improve this therapy by optimizing both the antibodies and their delivery route, using small monodomain antibodies (nanobodies) delivered locally with a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vector based on Semliki Forest virus (SFV). We generated nanobodies against PD-1 and PD-L1 able to inhibit both human and mouse interactions. Incorporation of a dimerization domain reduced PD-1/PD-L1 IC50 by 8- and 40-fold for antiPD-L1 and anti-PD-1 nanobodies, respectively. SFV viral particles expressing dimeric nanobodies showed a potent antitumor response in the MC38 model, resulting in >50% complete regressions, and showed better therapeutic efficacy compared to vectors expressing conventional antibodies. These effects were also observed in the B16 melanoma model. Although a short-term expression of nanobodies was observed due to the cytopathic nature of the saRNA vector, it was enough to generate a strong proinflammatory response in tumors, increasing infiltration of NK and CD8+ T cells. Delivery of the SFV vector expressing dimeric nanobodies by local plasmid electroporation, which could be more easily translated to the clinic, also showed a potent antitumor effect

Reviewing, indicating, and counting books for modern research evaluation systems

In this chapter, we focus on the specialists who have helped to improve the conditions for book assessments in research evaluation exercises, with empirically based data and insights supporting their greater integration. Our review highlights the research carried out by four types of expert communities, referred to as the monitors, the subject classifiers, the indexers and the indicator constructionists. Many challenges lie ahead for scholars affiliated with these communities, particularly the latter three. By acknowledging their unique, yet interrelated roles, we show where the greatest potential is for both quantitative and qualitative indicator advancements in book-inclusive evaluation systems.Comment: Forthcoming in Glanzel, W., Moed, H.F., Schmoch U., Thelwall, M. (2018). Springer Handbook of Science and Technology Indicators. Springer Some corrections made in subsection 'Publisher prestige or quality

Are Mendeley Reader Counts Useful Impact Indicators in all Fields?

Reader counts from the social reference sharing site Mendeley are known to be valuable for early research evaluation. They have strong correlations with citation counts for journal articles but appear about a year before them. There are disciplinary differences in the value of Mendeley reader counts but systematic evidence is needed at the level of narrow fields to reveal its extent. In response, this article compares Mendeley reader counts with Scopus citation counts for journal articles from 2012 in 325 narrow Scopus fields. Despite strong positive correlations in most fields, averaging 0.671, the correlations in some fields are as weak as 0.255. Technical reasons explain most weaker correlations, suggesting that the underlying relationship is almost always strong. The exceptions are caused by unusually high educational or professional use or topics of interest within countries that avoid Mendeley. The findings suggest that if care is taken then Mendeley reader counts can be used for early citation impact evidence in almost all fields and for related impact in some of the remainder. As an additional application of the results, cross-checking with Mendeley data can be used to identify indexing anomalies in citation databases

Short-term local expression of a PD-L1 blocking antibody from a self-replicating RNA vector induces potent antitumor responses

Immune checkpoint blockade has shown anti-cancer efficacy, but requires systemic administration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), often leading to adverse effects. To avoid toxicity, mAbs could be expressed locally in tumors. We developed adeno-associated virus (AAV) and Semliki Forest virus (SFV) vectors expressing anti-programmed death ligand 1 (aPDL1) mAb. When injected intratumorally in MC38 tumors, both viral vectors led to similar local mAb expression at 24 h, diminishing quickly in SFV-aPDL1-treated tumors. However, SFV-aPDL1 induced >40% complete regressions and was superior to AAV-aPDL1, as well as to aPDL1 mAb given systemically or locally. SFV-aPDL1 induced abscopal effects and was also efficacious against B16-ovalbumin (OVA). The higher SFV-aPDL1 antitumor activity could be related to local upregulation of interferon-stimulated genes because of SFV RNA replication. This was confirmed by combining local SFV-LacZ administration and systemic aPDL1 mAb, which provided higher antitumor effects than each separated agent. SFVaPDL1 promoted tumor-specific CD8 T cells infiltration in both tumor models. In MC38, SFV-aPDL1 upregulated co-stimulatory markers (CD137/OX40) in tumor CD8 T cells, and its combination with anti-CD137 mAb showed more pronounced antitumor effects than each single agent. These results indicate that local transient expression of immunomodulatory mAbs using non-propagative RNA vectors inducing type I interferon (IFN-I) responses represents a potent and

Scholarly Metrics Recommendations for Research Libraries: Deciphering the trees in the forest

The digital era has brought new and exciting changes to scholarly communication. Modern scientific libraries and information infrastructures are obliged to face these new challenges in a professional way sooner rather than later.The monitoring and execution of policies, the facilitation of Open Access publishing, and support for research data management are but a few examples of adaptation to the digital era. The use of scholarly metrics is also an emerging field for academic libraries, brought on by digital change. To foster this vision, LIBER's Innovative Metrics Working Group has set out recommendations on how academic libraries and information infrastructures can deal with scholarly metrics, and how to get started with the development of services to support this.The recommendations are grouped into four sections:- Discovery and Discoverability- Showcasing Achievements- Service Development- Research AssessmentEach section covers a set of activities, and makes suggestions for libraries which want to promote the transparent, standardized and responsible use of scholarly metrics. As part of LIBER’s focus on Open Science, the Working Group has placed a special emphasis on recommendations addressing open scholarly metrics. Throughout this report, we have organised our recommendations into three levels. Which recommendations a library adopts will depend on their current level of engagement with scholarly metrics. The levels are as follows:- Initial Steps (circular bullet)- Intermediate Steps (square bullet)- Advanced Steps (triangular bullet)The order in which the recommendations appear are in correlation with the potential importance they can have for an institution. These two indications of use were developed during the Working Group’s workshop during LIBER’s 2017 Annual Conference. They are there to assist in prioritizing, but are not mandatory to follow and are not dependent on each other