A comparative corpus-assisted discourse study of the representations of hosts in promotional tourism discourse

Most studies concerned with the representations of local people in tourism discourse point to the prevalence of stereotypic images asserting that contemporary tourism perpetuates colonial legacy and gendered discursive practices. This claim has been, to some extent, contested in research that explores representations of hosts in local tourism materials claiming that tourism can also discursively resist the dominant Western imagery. While the evidence for the existence of hegemonic and diverging discourses about the local ‘Other’ seems compelling, the empirical basis of this research is rather small and often limited to one geographic context. The present study addresses these shortcomings by examining representations of hosts in a larger corpus of promotional tourism materials including texts produced by Western and local tourism industries. The data is investigated using the methodology of Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS). By comparing external with internal (self) representations, this study verifies and refines some of the claims on the subject and offers a much more nuanced picture of representations that defies the black and white scenarios proposed in previous researc

Simultaneous intracellular redox potential and pH measurements in live cells using SERS nanosensors

The authors gratefully acknowledge the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, a Neil Campbell Travel Award, the Faculty of Chemistry at Jagiellonian University and Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET). A. J.’s work was supported by National Center of Science (grant PRELUDIUM DEC-2012/05/N/ST4/00218) and by the European Union from the resources of the European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Programme (grant coordinated by JCET-UJ, No POIG.01.01.02-00-069/09).Intracellular redox potential is a highly regulated cellular characteristic and is critically involved in maintaining cellular health and function. The dysregulation of redox potential can result in the initiation and progression of numerous diseases. Redox potential is determined by the balance of oxidants and reductants in the cell and also by pH. For this reason a technique for quantitative measurement of intracellular redox potential and pH is highly desirable. In this paper we demonstrate how surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanosensors can be used for multiplexed measurement of both pH and redox potential in live single cells.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Differences in proteolytic activity and gene profiles of fungal strains isolated from the total parenteral nutrition patients

Fungal infections constitute a serious clinical problem in the group of patients receiving total parenteral nutrition. The majority of species isolated from infections of the total parenteral nutrition patients belong to Candida genus. The most important factors of Candida spp. virulence are the phenomenon of “phenotypic switching,” adhesins, dimorphism of fungal cells and the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes such as proteinases and lipases, including aspartyl proteinases. We determined the proteolytic activity of yeast-like fungal strains cultured from the clinical materials of patients receiving total parenteral nutrition and detected genes encoding aspartyl proteinases in predominant species Candida glabrata—YPS2, YPS4, and YPS6, and Candida albicans—SAP1–3, SAP4, SAP5, and SAP6. C. albicans released proteinases on the various activity levels. All C. glabrata strains obtained from the clinical materials of examined and control groups exhibited secretion of the proteinases. All 13 isolates of C. albicans possessed genes SAP1–3. Gene SAP4 was detected in genome of 11 C. albicans strains, SAP5 in 6, and SAP6 in 11. Twenty-six among 31 of C. glabrata isolates contained YPS2 gene, 21 the YPS4 gene, and 28 the YPS6 gene. We observed that clinical isolates of C. albicans and C. glabrata differed in SAPs and YPSs gene profiles, respectively, and displayed differentiated proteolytic activity. We suppose that different sets of aspartyl proteinases genes as well as various proteinase-activity levels would have the influence on strains virulence

Serum and Tissue Biomarkers Associated With Composite of Relevant Endpoints for Sj\uf6gren Syndrome (CRESS) and Sj\uf6gren Tool for Assessing Response (STAR) to B Cell–Targeted Therapy in the Trial of Anti–B Cell Therapy in Patients With Primary Sj\uf6gren Syndrome (TRACTISS)

\ua9 2023 The Authors. Arthritis & Rheumatology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Rheumatology.Objective: This study aimed to identify peripheral and salivary gland (SG) biomarkers of response/resistance to B cell depletion based on the novel concise Composite of Relevant Endpoints for Sj\uf6gren Syndrome (cCRESS) and candidate Sj\uf6gren Tool for Assessing Response (STAR) composite endpoints. Methods: Longitudinal analysis of peripheral blood and SG biopsies was performed pre- and post-treatment from the Trial of Anti–B Cell Therapy in Patients With Primary Sj\uf6gren Syndrome (TRACTISS) combining flow cytometry immunophenotyping, serum cytokines, and SG bulk RNA sequencing. Results: Rituximab treatment prevented the worsening of SG inflammation observed in the placebo arm, by inhibiting the accumulation of class-switched memory B cells within the SG. Furthermore, rituximab significantly down-regulated genes involved in immune-cell recruitment, lymphoid organization alongside antigen presentation, and T cell co-stimulatory pathways. In the peripheral compartment, rituximab down-regulated immunoglobulins and auto-antibodies together with pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Interestingly, patients classified as responders according to STAR displayed significantly higher baseline levels of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand-13 (CXCL13), interleukin (IL)-22, IL-17A, IL-17F, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), whereas a longitudinal analysis of serum T cell–related cytokines showed a selective reduction in both STAR and cCRESS responder patients. Conversely, cCRESS response was better associated with biomarkers of SG immunopathology, with cCRESS-responders showing a significant decrease in SG B cell infiltration and reduced expression of transcriptional gene modules related to T cell costimulation, complement activation, and Fcγ-receptor engagement. Finally, cCRESS and STAR response were associated with a significant improvement in SG exocrine function linked to transcriptional evidence of SG epithelial and metabolic restoration. Conclusion: Rituximab modulates both peripheral and SG inflammation, preventing the deterioration of exocrine function with functional and metabolic restoration of the glandular epithelium. Response assessed by newly developed cCRESS and STAR criteria was associated with differential modulation of peripheral and SG biomarkers, emerging as novel tools for patient stratification. (Figure presented.)

SERS-based monitoring of the intracellular pH in endothelial cells:the influence of the extracellular environment and tumour necrosis factor-alpha

The intracellular pH plays an important role in various cellular processes. In this work, we describe a method for monitoring of the intracellular pH in endothelial cells by using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) anchored to gold nanoparticles as pH-sensitive probes. Using the Raman microimaging technique, we analysed changes in intracellular pH induced by buffers with acid or alkaline pH, as well as in endothelial inflammation induced by tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha). The targeted nanosensor enabled spatial pH measurements revealing distinct changes of the intracellular pH in endosomal compartments of the endothelium. Altogether, SERS-based analysis of intracellular pH proves to be a promising technique for a better understanding of intracellular pH regulation in various subcellular compartments.This work was supported by the National Center of Science (grant PRELUDIUM DEC-2012/05/N/ST4/00218) and by the European Union from the resources of the European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Programme (grant coordinated by JCET-UJ, no. POIG.01.01.02-00-069/09). We also thank the University of Edinburgh School of Chemistry for the Neil Campbell Travel Award for supporting LJ. We also thank Joanna Jalmuzna from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Jagiellonian University in Krakow for fitting the calibration curve using Gnuplot software

FGF receptor genes and breast cancer susceptibility: results from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium

Background:Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. Genome-wide association studies have identified FGFR2 as a breast cancer susceptibility gene. Common variation in other fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors might also modify risk. We tested this hypothesis by studying genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imputed SNPs in FGFR1, FGFR3, FGFR4 and FGFRL1 in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Methods:Data were combined from 49 studies, including 53 835 cases and 50 156 controls, of which 89 050 (46 450 cases and 42 600 controls) were of European ancestry, 12 893 (6269 cases and 6624 controls) of Asian and 2048 (1116 cases and 932 controls) of African ancestry. Associations with risk of breast cancer, overall and by disease sub-type, were assessed using unconditional logistic regression. Results:Little evidence of association with breast cancer risk was observed for SNPs in the FGF receptor genes. The strongest evidence in European women was for rs743682 in FGFR3; the estimated per-allele odds ratio was 1.05 (95 confidence interval=1.02-1.09, P=0.0020), which is substantially lower than that observed for SNPs in FGFR2. Conclusion:Our results suggest that common variants in the other FGF receptors are not associated with risk of breast cancer to the degree observed for FGFR2. © 2014 Cancer Research UK