546 research outputs found
Can We Build Artificial Stem Cell Compartments?
Animals carry stem cells throughout their entire life, from embryogenesis to senescence. Their function during development and adulthood consists basically of forming and sustaining functional tissues while maintaining a small self-renewing population. They reside in a complex three-dimensional environment consisting of other nearby cells extracellular matrix components, endogenous or exogenous soluble factors, and physical, structural, or mechanical properties of the tissues they inhabit. Can we artificially recreate tissue development such that stem cells can both self-renew and be instructed to mature properly? The main factors required to regulate the maintenance and differentiation of some types of stem cells are known. In addition, new bioengineered synthetic materials that mimic extracellular matrix components can be used as initial scaffolding for building stem cell microenvironments
The Cancer Card: metaphor and humour in online interactions about the experience of cancer
Employing a dynamic system approach, this chapter investigates the use of one particular
metaphorāthe ācancer cardāāon an online forum dedicated to cancer. Far from being a
common Card Game metaphor with a stable source-target mapping, the metaphor is
collaboratively developed (i.e. used, re-used, adapted) to express the idea that patients can
use their illness to their advantage in a variety of situations, while also reflecting a broader
tendency to employ humor as a strategy for coping with adversity. An analysis of all 106
instances of ā(cancer) card(s)ā on one of the threads of the forum shows that, though related
to English expressions like āplay the [ā¦] cardā and to conventional conceptual metaphors like
LIFE IS A GAME, its use is specific to the interactions among the members of this online
community. Our analysis of the ācancer cardā as a group-specific metaphoreme (Cameron &
Deignan 2006) emphasizes that multiple interacting factors must be considered to account for
such rich and complex phenomena as the use of metaphors in online interactions
Cartilage Tissue Engineering Using Self-Assembling Peptides Composite Scaffolds
Adult articular cartilage presents poor intrinsic capacity for regeneration, and after injury, cellular or biomaterial-based therapeutic platforms are required to assist repair promotion. Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) aims to produce cartilage-like tissues that recreate the complex mechanical, biophysical and biological properties found in vivo. In terms of biomaterials used for CTE, three-dimensional (3D) self-assembling peptide scaffolds (SAPS) are very attractive for their unique properties, such as biocompatibility, optional possibility of rationally design cell-signaling capacity, biodegradability and modulation of its biomechanical properties. The most attractive cell types currently used for CTE are autologous chondrocytes and adult stem cells. The use of chondrocytes in cell-based therapies for cartilage lesions is limited by quantity and requires an in vitro 2D expansion, which leads to cell dedifferentiation. In the present chapter, we report the development of heparin-, chondroitin sulfate-, decorin-, and poly(Īµ-caprolactone)-based self-assembling peptide composite scaffolds to promote re-differentiation of expanded human articular chondrocytes and induction of adipose-derived stem cells to chondrogenic commitment
An Integrated Approach to Metaphor and Framing in Cognition, Discourse, and Practice, with an Application to Metaphors for Cancer
In this article, we examine the notion of āframingā as a function of metaphor from three interrelated perspectivesācognitive, discourse-based, and practice-basedāwith the aim of providing an adaptable blueprint of good practice in framing analysis. We bring together cognitive and discourse-based approaches in an integrated multi-level framework, and demonstrate its value to both theory and practice by applying it to a corpus-based study of violence-related metaphors for cancer. Through the application of this framework, we show that there are merits in applying the notion of framing at different levels of generality in metaphor analysis (conceptual metaphors, metaphor scenarios, and linguistic metaphors), depending on oneās research aims. We warn that researchers and practitioners need to remain aware of what conclusions can and cannot be drawn at each level, and we show the theoretical and practical advantages of taking all three levels into account when considering the use of metaphor for communicating about sensitive topics such as cancer. We emphasize the need for a ārichā definition of framing, including aspects such as agency, evaluation, and emotion
Metaphors of climate science in three genres: research articles, educational texts, and secondary school student talk
Experts are generally in agreement that anthropogenic climate change is happening and will increase in severity, but this view is not clearly reflected in more non-specialist texts. Research has shown that school students have a limited and sometimes faulty understanding of climate change. Metaphors are used by scientists in developing thought and communicating with non-scientists; they are also used by educators. This research investigates studentsā understandings of climate change by comparing metaphor use in three corpora, of research articles, student educational materials, and of transcribed interviews with school students aged 11ā16 from the north of England. We find that some metaphors are shared by the three corpora; where this happens, the researchersā use tends to be highly conventionalized and technical, while educational materials extend and explore metaphors, and the studentsā use is still more creative, sometimes resulting in inaccurate descriptions of the science. Students also develop some of their own distinctive metaphors based on their immediate concrete experience, and possibly on visual educational materials; these metaphors convey highly simplified and often inaccurate understandings of climate science
Uncorking the potential of wine language for young wine tourists
Effective communication with consumers underpins growth in wine knowledge that, in turn, contributes to growth in wine consumption. Indeed, tasting notes may enhance consumersā experiences of wine. Yet wine language is full of fuzzy concepts. In this chapter, we consider the language used to talk about wine, specifically the humanlike features of wine (e.g., wine is described as honest, sexy, shy, or brooding). We demonstrate that metaphoric language is integral to the experience of wine and influences consumer behaviour. We discuss practical implications for the cellar door experience, and for effective and ethical wine communication. We conclude that metaphoric language is a pedagogical and cultural platform for engaging younger wine tourists in the cellar door experience, which is a significant revenue source for micro, small, and medium wineries
Images as catalysts for meaning-making in medical pain encounters: a multidisciplinary analysis
The challenge for those treating or witnessing pain is to find a way of crossing the chasm of meaning between them and the person living with pain. This paper proposes that images can strengthen agency in the person with pain, particularly but not only in the clinical setting, and can create a shared space within which to negotiate meaning. It draws on multidisciplinary analyses of unique material resulting from two fine art/medical collaborations in London, UK, in which the invisible experience of pain was made visible in the form of co-created photographic images, which were then made available to other patients as a resource to use in specialist consultations. In parallel with the pain encounters it describes, the paper weaves together the insights of specialists from a range of disciplines whose methodologies and priorities sometimes conflict and sometimes intersect to make sense of each otherās findings. A short section of video footage where images were used in a pain consultation is examined in fine detail from the perspective of each discipline. The analysis shows how the images function as ātransactional objectsā and how their use coincides with an increase in the amount of talk and emotional disclosure on the part of the patient and greater non-verbal affiliative behaviour on the part of the doctor. These findings are interpreted from the different disciplinary perspectives, to build a complex picture of the multifaceted, contradictory and paradoxical nature of pain experience, the drive to communicate it and the potential role of visual images in clinical settings
A linguistic approach to the psychosis continuum: (dis)similarities and (dis)continuities in how clinical and non-clinical voice-hearers talk about their voices
Introduction: āContinuumā approaches to psychosis have generated reports of similarities and differences in voice-hearing in clinical and non-clinical populations at the cohort level, but not typically examined overlap or degrees of difference between groups. /
Methods: We used a computer-aided linguistic approach to explore reports of voice-hearing by a clinical group (Early Intervention in Psychosis service-users; Nā=ā40) and a non-clinical group (spiritualists; Nā=ā27). We identify semantic categories of terms statistically overused by one group compared with the other, and by each group compared to a control sample of non-voice-hearing interview data (log likelihood (LL) value 6.63+=pā<ā.01; effect size measure: log ratio 1.0+). We consider whether individual values support a continuum model. /
Results: Notwithstanding significant cohort-level differences, there was considerable continuity in language use. Reports of negative affect were prominent in both groups (pā<ā.01, log ratio: 1.12+). Challenges of cognitive control were also evident in both cohorts, with references to ādisengagementā accentuated in service-users (pā<ā.01, log ratio: 1.14+). /
Conclusion: A corpus linguistic approach to voice-hearing provides new evidence of differences between clinical and non-clinical groups. Variability at the individual level provides substantial evidence of continuity with implications for cognitive mechanisms underlying voice-hearing
Genome-wide analysis of Corsican population reveals a close affinity with Northern and Central Italy
Despite being the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean basin, the genetic variation of Corsica has not been explored as exhaustively as Sardinia, which is situated only 11 km South. However, it is likely that the populations of the two islands shared, at least in part, similar demographic histories. Moreover, the relative small size of the Corsica may have caused genetic isolation, which, in turn, might be relevant under medical and translational perspectives. Here we analysed genome wide data of 16 Corsicans, and integrated with newly (33 individuals) and previously generated samples from West Eurasia and North Africa. Allele frequency, haplotype-based, and ancient genome analyses suggest that although Sardinia and Corsica may have witnessed similar isolation and migration events, the latter is genetically closer to populations from continental Europe, such as Northern and Central Italians
Activating metaphors:exploring the embodied nature of metaphorical mapping in political discourse
In this unit activity, I explore how students can make use of the principles of embodied cognition and meaning, and specifically the embodied nature of metaphor to explore political discourse and communication. Work in cognitive linguistics has highlighted the fact that humans construct a view of reality that is informed by our species-specific capacities and limitations, and our interaction with the social and physical world (Tyler, 2012). In these terms, language itself can be viewed as derived from conceptualizations that are based on physical and sensory images (Holme, 2012). Together these comprise a theory of embodied cognition that can be utilised in an educational context (Giovanelli 2014)
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