14 research outputs found
Embodiment of Wearable Augmented Reality Technology in Tourism Experiences
The increasing use of wearable devices for tourism purposes sets the stage for a critical discussion on technological mediation in tourism experience. This paper provides a theoretical reflection on the phenomenon of embodiment relation in technological mediation and then assesses the embodiment of wearable augmented reality technology in a tourism attraction. The findings suggest that technology embodiment is a multidimensional construct consisting of ownership, location, and agency. These support the concept of technology withdrawal, where technology disappears as it becomes part of human actions, and contest the interplay of subjectivity and intentionality between humans and technology in situated experiences such as tourism. It was also found that technology embodiment affects enjoyment and enhances experience with tourism attractions
Thrombospondin-1 expression in urothelial carcinoma: prognostic significance and association with p53 alterations, tumour angiogenesis and extracellular matrix components
Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (gelatinase B) in benign, premalignant and malignant laryngeal lesions
The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a
family of proteolytic zinc-containing enzymes, which
are responsible for the breakdown of the extracellular
matrix components in pathological and physiological
conditions. They are involved in basement membrane
disruption, stroma and blood vessel penetration,
metastasis and more recently there is evidence that they
participate in tumor growth and angiogenic events.
Matrix metalloproteinase 2 and 9 (MMP 2 and 9) belong
to the gelatinases, a subgroup of MMPs, and have the
capacity to degrade the triple helix type IV collagen of
basal lamina of the basement membrane. With the
present study, we tried to demonstrate the expression of
MMP-9 immunohistochemically, comparatively in
benign, premalignant and malignant lesions of the
larynx. We studied 154 laryngeal lesions including 55
squamous cell carcinomas, 8 in situ carcinomas, 54 cases
of dysplasia (of low and intermediate grade), 13
papillomas and 24 cases of keratosis. Overexpression of
MMP 9 was observed in 74.4% and 50% in invasive and
in situ squamous cell carcinomas respectively. In
dysplastic cases, in papillomas and in keratoses the
percentage of overexpression was 62.9%, 61.53% and
54.16% respectively and the expression of MMP-9 was significantly higher in invasive squamous cell
carcinomas compared to dysplasias (p=0.000004). Also
significantly higher was the expression of MMP-9 in
dysplastic cases compared to papillomas (p=0.023). The
MMP-9 expression was related neither to survival nor to
the other available clinicopathological parameters
(tumor size, grade, clinical stage, lymph node status and
patient age). In conclusion, our study indicates that the
expression of MMP-9 is up-regulated in a stepwise
fashion, with two main steps, the first one, when a
dysplastic lesion evolves and the next one, when the
dysplasia progresses to invasive carcinoma
Immunohistochemical expression of superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) anti-oxidant enzyme in invasive breast carcinoma
The most important cellular protective
mechanisms against oxidative stress are antioxidant
enzymes. Their action is based on decomposal of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their transformation
to H2O2. Within the mitochondria manganese superoxide
dismutase (MnSOD) affords the major defense against
ROS.
In this study we investigated tissue sections from
101 breast carcinomas for the immunohistochemical
expression of MnSOD protein and these results were
assessed in relation to various clinicopathological
parameters, in order to clarify the prognostic value of
this enzyme. The possible relationship to hormone
receptor content, anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2, p53 and
cell proliferation was also estimated.
High expression levels were observed, as 79/101
(78,2%) cases expressed strong immunoreactivity. In this
study MnSOD increased in a direct relationship with
tumor grade and is therefore inversely correlated with
differentiation (p=0.0004). Furthermore, there was a
strong positive correlation between MnSOD expression
and p53 protein immunoreactivity (p=0.0029). The
prognostic impact of MnSOD expression in determining
the risk of recurrence and overall survival with both
univariate (long-rang test) and multivariate (Cox
regression) methods of analysis was statistically not
significant.
These results indicate that neoplastic cells in breast carcinomas retain their capability to produce MnSOD
and thus protected from the possible cellular damage
provoked by reactive oxygen species. In addition,
MnSOD content varies according to the degree of
differentiation of breast carcinoma
Transcriptomic Profiling of Human Limbus-Derived Stromal/Mesenchymal Stem Cells—Novel Mechanistic Insights into the Pathways Involved in Corneal Wound Healing
Limbus-derived stromal/mesenchymal stem cells (LMSCs) are vital for corneal homeostasis and wound healing. However, despite multiple pre-clinical and clinical studies reporting the potency of LMSCs in avoiding inflammation and scarring during corneal wound healing, the molecular basis for the ability of LMSCs remains unknown. This study aimed to uncover the factors and pathways involved in LMSC-mediated corneal wound healing by employing RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) in human LMSCs for the first time. We characterized the cultured LMSCs at the stages of initiation (LMSC−P0) and pure population (LMSC−P3) and subjected them to RNA-Seq to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in comparison to native limbus and cornea, and scleral tissues. Of the 28,000 genes detected, 7800 DEGs were subjected to pathway-specific enrichment Gene Ontology (GO) analysis. These DEGs were involved in Wnt, TGF-β signaling pathways, and 16 other biological processes, including apoptosis, cell motility, tissue remodeling, and stem cell maintenance, etc. Two hundred fifty-four genes were related to wound healing pathways. COL5A1 (11.81 ± 0.48) and TIMP1 (20.44 ± 0.94) genes were exclusively up-regulated in LMSC−P3. Our findings provide new insights involved in LMSC-mediated corneal wound healing
Thrombospondin-1 expression in breast cancer: prognostic significance and association with p53 alterations, tumour angiogenesis and extracellular matrix components
Thrombospondin (TSP-1) is a 450-kd adhesive glycoprotein that was initially discovered in platelets and subsequently in a variety of cell types. Several reports suggest that TSP-1 possesses tumour suppressor function, through its ability to inhibit tumour neovascularization. In this study we investigated tissue sections from 124 breast carcinomas for the immuno-histochemical expression of TSP-1 protein and its relationship to several clinicopathological parameters. The possible relationship to hormone receptors content, p53 protein, proliferation associated indices, angiogenesis, VEGF expression and extracellular matrix components (tenascin, fibronectin, laminin, collagen type IV and syndecan-1) was also estimated. TSP-1 was detected in the perivascular tissue, at the epithelial-stromal junction, in the stroma and in the tumour cells. High tumour cell TSP-1 expression was observed in 9.7%, moderate in 17.7%, mild in 10.5%, while 62.1% of the cases were negative for TSP-1 expression. The survival analysis showed an increased risk of recurrence associated with low TSP-1 tumour cell expression. High stromal TSP-1 expression was observed in 3.2% of the cases, moderate in 3.3%, mild in 27.4%, while 63.6% of the cases showed absence of TSP-1 expression. This expression was higher in invasive lobular type of breast cancer and inversely correlated with the lymph node involvement and the estrogen receptor content. Stromal TSP-1 expression was also positively correlated with extracellular matrix components expression, tenascin, fibronectin, collagen type IV, laminin, and syndecan-1. The relationship of TSP-1 expression with tumor angiogenesis, growth fraction and p53 protein expression was not significant. Our data suggest that TSP-1 expression seems to be associated with favorable biological behavior and may have clinical value in terms of predicting the risk of recurrence. In addition, TSP-1 might not be a direct anti-angiogenic factor, although it seems to be implicated in the remodeling of breast cancer tissue through interaction with other extracellular matrix component
An improved flow cytometric assay for detection and discrimination between malignant cells and atypical mesothelial cells, in serous cavity effusions
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate a flow cytometric assay for the detection of malignant effusions. Methods: During the last 4-year period, 125 effusions suspicious for malignancy were prospectively analyzed by flow cytometry and conventional cytology. A three-step flow cytometric assay was performed, beginning with an initial informative panel of two protocols, containing SYTO-16, 7-AAD, CD71-PE, CD45-ECD, and CD66abce-FITC, CD64-PE, CD45-ECD, CD16-PECy5, CD14-PECy7, respectively. This was followed by a basic immunophenotypic panel of seven three-color combinations, containing in the first position, EMA, Ber-EP4, CD66abce, CD56, and intracellular desmin-33, combined with CD71-PE and CD45-PeCy5 in each tube. Finally, a cytokeratin-FITC/propidium iodide DNA panel was conducted, for the detection of aneuploidy in cytokeratin positive cells. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of flow cytometry were 85.1 and 97.8%, and of cytology 93.2 and 95.6%, respectively. A significant association was observed between the results of the two techniques (P < 0.001). Among eight atypical cases detected by cytology, five had been precisely characterized as malignant by flow cytometry. EMA and Ber-EP4 proved the most sensitive markers for malignancy diagnosis, while the detection of desmin-33 negative/cytokeratin positive cells had the simultaneous highest positive and negative predictive values. CD66abce was very specific, although nonsensitive, while DNA ploidy analysis was nonspecific, as hyperploidy was observed in reactive mesothelial cells. Conclusions: A flow cytometric assay of high sensitivity and specificity is proposed for the routine identification of carcinoma cells in effusions and their distinction from atypical mesothelial cells, as an ancillary to conventional cytology. © 2011 International Clinical Cytometry Society
Dissemination of International Clone II Acinetobacter baumannii Strains Coproducing OXA-23 Carbapenemase and 16S rRNA Methylase ArmA in Athens, Greece
The aim of this study was to study the molecular epidemiology of 16S rRNA-methylase (RMT)-producing clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from hospitals in Athens, Greece. Single-patient A. baumannii clinical isolates, coresistant to amikacin and gentamicin (n = 347), from five tertiary care hospitals, were submitted to minimum inhibitory concentration determination and molecular testing for carbapenemase and RMT genes. A. baumannii, resistant to amikacin and gentamicin, was isolated at participating institutions at a mean rate of 67.8%. Among them 93.7% harbored the armA. The vast majority (98.5%) of armA positive isolates were OXA-23 producers, assigned mainly (99.4%) to sequence group G1, corresponding to international clone (IC) II. Four isolates (all from the same hospital) were OXA-24 producers (1.2%), assigned to G6 corresponding to CC78 and only one isolate was OXA-58-producer, assigned to G2 (IC I). Apramycin was the most active agent inhibiting 99.7% of the isolates at ≤64 mg/L, whereas colistin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, minocycline, and tigecycline exhibited only sparse activity (S, <18%). RMT production is an emerging mechanism of resistance, capable of compromising the clinical efficacy of aminoglycosides. High prevalence of armA was observed among A. baumannii strains isolated in participating hospitals in Athens, which were mainly OXA-23 producers and belonged to IC II. Apramycin is a structurally unique aminoglycoside, currently used as a veterinary agent. Although it has not been evaluated for clinical use, apramycin appears worthy of further investigation for repurposing as a human therapeutic against difficult-to-treat pathogens. © Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020