12,881 research outputs found
NCBO Ontology Recommender 2.0: An Enhanced Approach for Biomedical Ontology Recommendation
Biomedical researchers use ontologies to annotate their data with ontology
terms, enabling better data integration and interoperability. However, the
number, variety and complexity of current biomedical ontologies make it
cumbersome for researchers to determine which ones to reuse for their specific
needs. To overcome this problem, in 2010 the National Center for Biomedical
Ontology (NCBO) released the Ontology Recommender, which is a service that
receives a biomedical text corpus or a list of keywords and suggests ontologies
appropriate for referencing the indicated terms. We developed a new version of
the NCBO Ontology Recommender. Called Ontology Recommender 2.0, it uses a new
recommendation approach that evaluates the relevance of an ontology to
biomedical text data according to four criteria: (1) the extent to which the
ontology covers the input data; (2) the acceptance of the ontology in the
biomedical community; (3) the level of detail of the ontology classes that
cover the input data; and (4) the specialization of the ontology to the domain
of the input data. Our evaluation shows that the enhanced recommender provides
higher quality suggestions than the original approach, providing better
coverage of the input data, more detailed information about their concepts,
increased specialization for the domain of the input data, and greater
acceptance and use in the community. In addition, it provides users with more
explanatory information, along with suggestions of not only individual
ontologies but also groups of ontologies. It also can be customized to fit the
needs of different scenarios. Ontology Recommender 2.0 combines the strengths
of its predecessor with a range of adjustments and new features that improve
its reliability and usefulness. Ontology Recommender 2.0 recommends over 500
biomedical ontologies from the NCBO BioPortal platform, where it is openly
available.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 11 table
Determination of the light exposure on the photodiodes of a new instrumented baffle for the Virgo input mode cleaner end-mirror
As part of the upgrade program of the Advanced Virgo interferometer, the
installation of new instrumented baffles surrounding the main test masses is
foreseen. As a demonstrator, and to validate the technology, the existing
baffle in the area of the input mode cleaner end-mirror will be first replaced
by a baffle equipped with photodiodes. This paper presents detailed simulations
of the light distribution on the input mode cleaner baffle, with the aim to
determine the light exposure of the photodiodes under different scenarios of
the interferometer operation.Comment: 9 pages and 8 figure
Didactical Framework for the Simulation of Computer Performance Analysis
In this paper, we discussed the main aspects of the various development carried out on the subject of "Operating systems" and "Evaluation systems of data processing" for the degree course in information systems of the FaCENA from the UNNE. Here, emphasis was placed on various algorithms for the analysis of performance in calculation systems. The motivation for the realization of this work is based on the fact that students often encounter difficulties in identifying the formula that should be used in each of the statements of the practical exercises during performance analysis. The proposal aims to provide students with a tool to complement the developed in class. It was a web application designed to encourage the process of teaching - learning, based on an applet that acts as a container in using different interfaces. Each one of them represents the execution of a method of evaluation of performance, including the law of Amdhal, performance, improvement, comparative analysis, operational analysis, workload characterization, and capacity planning. In addition, a web application that allows the self-assessment of student in achieving learning outcomes was developed. The implementation of web application, however, makes use of the b-learning, model of teaching and learning combined, that collects the advantages of the model to distance. It also takes advantage of the importance of the group, the rhythm of learning, and the direct contact with the Professor
Genome Sequence of a Novel Archaeal Fusellovirus Assembled from the Metagenome of a Mexican Hot Spring
The consensus genome sequence of a new member of the family Fuselloviridae designated as SMF1 (Sulfolobales Mexican fusellovirus 1) is presented. The complete circular genome was recovered from a metagenomic study of a Mexican hot spring. SMF1 exhibits an exceptional coding strand bias and a reduced set of fuselloviral core genes
Relativistic quantum mechanics of a Dirac oscillator
The Dirac oscillator is an exactly soluble model recently introduced in the
context of many particle models in relativistic quantum mechanics. The model
has been also considered as an interaction term for modelling quark confinement
in quantum chromodynamics. These considerations should be enough for
demonstrating that the Dirac oscillator can be an excellent example in
relativistic quantum mechanics. In this paper we offer a solution to the
problem and discuss some of its properties. We also discuss a physical picture
for the Dirac oscillator's non-standard interaction, showing how it arises on
describing the behaviour of a neutral particle carrying an anomalous magnetic
moment and moving inside an uniformly charged sphere.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur
Immune-system-dependent anti-tumor activity of a plant-derived polyphenol rich fraction in a melanoma mouse model.
Recent findings suggest that part of the anti-tumor effects of several chemotherapeutic agents require an intact immune system. This is in part due to the induction of immunogenic cell death. We have identified a gallotannin-rich fraction, obtained from Caesalpinia spinosa (P2Et) as an anti-tumor agent in both breast carcinoma and melanoma. Here, we report that P2Et treatment results in activation of caspase 3 and 9, mobilization of cytochrome c and externalization of annexin V in tumor cells, thus suggesting the induction of apoptosis. This was preceded by the onset of autophagy and the expression of immunogenic cell death markers. We further demonstrate that P2Et-treated tumor cells are highly immunogenic in vaccinated mice and induce immune system activation, clearly shown by the generation of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) producing tyrosine-related protein 2 antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Moreover, the tumor protective effects of P2Et treatment were abolished in immunodeficient mice, and partially lost after CD4 and CD8 depletion, indicating that P2Et's anti-tumor activity is highly dependent on immune system and at least in part of T cells. Altogether, these results support the hypothesis that the gallotannin-rich fraction P2Et's anti-tumor effects are mediated to a great extent by the endogenous immune response following to the exposure to immunogenic dying tumor cells
An Immunomodulatory Gallotanin-Rich Fraction From Caesalpinia spinosa Enhances the Therapeutic Effect of Anti-PD-L1 in Melanoma.
PD-1/PD-L1 pathway plays a role in inhibiting immune response. Therapeutic antibodies aimed at blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction have entered clinical development and have been approved for a variety of cancers. However, the clinical benefits are reduced to a group of patients. The research in combined therapies, which allow for a greater response, is strongly encouraging. We previously characterized a polyphenol-rich extract from Caesalpinia spinosa (P2Et) with antitumor activity in both melanoma and breast carcinoma, as well as immunomodulatory activity. We hypothesize that the combined treatment with P2Et and anti-PD-L1 can improve the antitumor response through an additive antitumor effect. We investigated the antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of P2Et and anti-PD-L1 combined therapy in B16-F10 melanoma and 4T1 breast carcinoma. We analyzed tumor growth, hematologic parameters, T cell counts, cytokine expression, and T cell cytotoxicity. In the melanoma model, combined P2Et and anti-PD-L1 therapy has the following effects: decrease in tumor size; increase in the number of activated CD4 <sup>+</sup> and CD8 <sup>+</sup> T cells; decrease in the number of suppressor myeloid cells; increase in PD-L1 expression; decrease in the frequency of CD8 <sup>+</sup> T cell expressing PD-1; improvement in the cytotoxic activity of T cells; and increase in the IFN γ secretion. In the breast cancer model, P2Et and PD-L1 alone or in combination show antitumor effect with no clear additive effect. This study shows that combined therapy of P2Et and anti-PD-L1 can improve antitumor response in a melanoma model by activating the immune response and neutralizing immunosuppressive mechanisms
Enhanced Phenotype Definition for Precision Isolation of Precursor Exhausted Tumor-Infiltrating CD8 T Cells.
In the context of adoptive T cell transfer (ACT) for cancer treatment, it is crucial to generate in vitro large amounts of tumor-specific CD8 T cells with high potential to persist in vivo. PD-1, Tim3, and CD39 have been proposed as markers of tumor-specific tumor-infiltrating CD8 T lymphocytes (CD8 TILs). However, these molecules are highly expressed by terminally differentiated exhausted CD8 T cells (Tex) that lack proliferation potential. Therefore, optimized strategies to isolate tumor-specific TILs with high proliferative potential, such as Tcf1+ precursor exhausted T cells (Tpe) are needed to improve in vivo persistence of ACT. Here we aimed at defining cell surface markers that would unequivocally identify Types for precision cell sorting increasing the purity of tumor-specific PD-1+ Tcf1+ Tpe from total TILs. Transcriptomic analysis of Tpe vs. Tex CD8 TIL subsets from B16 tumors and primary human melanoma tumors revealed that Tpes are enriched in Slamf6 and lack Entpd1 and Havcr2 expression, which encode Slamf6, CD39, and Tim3 cell surface proteins, respectively. Indeed, we observed by flow cytometry that CD39- Tim3- Slamf6+ PD-1+ cells yielded maximum enrichment for tumor specific PD-1+ Tcf1+ OT1 TILs in B16.OVA tumors. Moreover, this population showed higher re-expansion capacity upon an acute infection recall response compared to the CD39+ counterparts or bulk PD-1+ TILs. Hence, we report an enhanced sorting strategy (CD39- Tim3- Slamf6+ PD-1+) of Tpes. In conclusion, we show that optimization of CD8 TIL cell sorting strategy is a viable approach to improve recall capacity and in vivo persistence of transferred cells in the context of ACT
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