Quantifying Quality: Research Performance Evaluation in Korean Universities

Research performance evaluation in Korean universities follows strict guidelines that specify scoring systems for publication venue categories and formulas for co-authorship credit allocation. To find out how the standards differ across universities and how they differ from bibliometric research evaluation measures, this study analyzed 25 standards from major Korean universities and rankings produced by applying standards and bibliometric measures such as publication and citation counts, normalized impact score, and h-index to the publication data of 195 tenure-track professors of library and information science departments in 35 Korean universities. The study also introduced a novel impact score normalization method to refine the methodology from prior studies. The results showed the university standards to be mostly similar to one another but quite different from citation-driven measures, which suggests the standards are not quite successful in quantifying the quality of research as originally intended

Reduction in Tcf7l2 Expression Decreases Diabetic Susceptibility in Mice

Objective: The WNT signaling pathway effector gene TCF7L2 has been associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, it remains unclear how this gene affects diabetic pathogenesis. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of Tcf7l2 haploinsufficiency on metabolic phenotypes in mice

Quasiparticle spectrum of the hybrid s+g-wave superconductors YNi_2B_2C and LuNi_2B_2C

Recent experiments on single crystals of YNi$_2$B$_2$C have revealed the presence of point nodes in the superconducting energy gap Delta(k} at k = (1,0,0), (0,1,0), (-1,0,0), and (0,-1,0). In this paper we investigate the effects of impurity scattering on the quasiparticle spectrum in the vortex state of s+g-wave superconductors, which is found to be strongly modified in the presence of disorder. In particular, a gap in the quasiparticle energy spectrum is found to open even for infinitesimal impurity scattering, giving rise to exponentially activated thermodynamic response functions, such as the specific heat, the spin susceptibility, the superfluid density, and the nuclear spin lattice relaxation. Predictions derived from this study can be verified by measurements of the angular dependent magnetospecific heat and the magnetothermal conductivity.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex, 4 figure

Characterization of Vaccinia Virus-Induced Cytotoxic Cells in the Syrian Hamster

115 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1983.The presence of a T-cell marker, Thy 1.2, on noninduced and vaccinia virus-induced hamster cytotoxic cells was studied utilizing a murine monoclonal anti-mouse Thy 1.2 antiserum ((alpha)-Thy 1.2) which detects a Thy 1.2 homologue on hamster T cells. In the hamster, (alpha)-Thy 1.2 plus complement (C') killed 100 percent thymocytes, 60-80 percent spleen lymphocytes, and less than 10 percent bone marrow cells. Noninduced natural cytotoxic cells and in vivo vaccinia-induced cytotoxic cells were compared to in vitro-generated cytotoxic effector cells with regard to the Thy 1.2 marker. While spleen natural cytotoxic cells and cytotoxic spleen cells induced in vivo by vaccinia virus infection were negative for the Thy 1.2 homologue, the cytotoxic cells generated in macrophage-bone marrow cocultures in vitro expressed high levels of the Thy 1.2 homologue as evidenced by their marked sensitivity to a (alpha)-Thy 1.2 + C'. We also demonstrated the presence of non-specific Thy 1.2 homologue-positive cytotoxic lymphocytes (T('+)CL) in peritoneal exudates induced by intraperitoneal inoculation of vaccinia virus or Bacillus Calmett Guerin (BCG). Fractionations of immune PEC by adherence revealed cytotoxicity in both the nonadherent (lymphocyte) and adherent macrophage (MP) cell fractions wth the majority of activity in the nonadherent fraction. The cytotoxic cells in both the adherent and nonadherent fractions of induced PEC were of the Thy 1.2 phenotype. Treatment that enriched for MP decreased cytotoxic activity, whereas procedures that enriched for lymphocytes enhanced cytotoxic activity. Demonstration of a small number (< 1 percent) of Thy 1.2 homologue-positive cells attached to the adherent and nonadherent PEC population is mediated by a nonspecific T('+)CL. Thus, our data support the conclusion that i.p. inoculation of hamsters with vaccinia induced two distinctly compartmentalized phenotypes with similar cytotoxic characteristics--the T('+) CL in the peritoneum and the Thy 1.2 homologue-negative (Thy 1.2('-)) NK or NK-like cell in the spleen. Further, our studies provide no evidence for the existence of a cytotoxic MP following i.p. immunization of hamsters with vaccinia or BCG.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Antiviral effect of lymphokine-activated killer cells: characterization of effector cells mediating prophylaxis

Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells generated by cultivation of C57BL/6 mouse spleen cells in the presence of recombinant interleukin-2 were transferred into natural killer (NK) cell-deficient suckling mouse recipients. These mice were then challenged with either murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) or lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) and sacrificed 3 days later. No interleukin 2 infusions were given. Mice receiving as few as 5 x 10(5) LAK cells had several 100-fold decreases in spleen MCMV titers as compared with untreated mice. This treatment had no effect on spleen LCMV titers. The LAK cell cultures contained 10 to 17% NK 1.1+, 50 to 55% Lyt-2+, and 33 to 50% immunoglobulin D+ cells. Double fluorescence labeling and in vitro cytotoxicity assays with fluorescence-activated cell sorting revealed at least two mutually exclusive killer cell populations. NK 1.1+ LAK cells resembled freshly isolated activated NK cells with regard to target cell range (YAC-1 cell killing greater than L-929, P815, and EL-4 cell killing), large granular lymphocyte (LGL) morphology, and decreased ability to lyse interferon (IFN)-treated target cells. Lyt-2+ LAK cells lysed the targets mentioned above but at lower levels and without the differences in susceptibility mentioned above. These Lyt-2+ LAK cells also had a decreased ability to lyse IFN-treated targets, in contrast to classic cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which lyse IFN-treated targets far more efficiently than untreated targets. Purified populations of LAK cells obtained by fluorescence-activated cell sorting were used in the antiviral protection model. The results showed that protection against MCMV could be mediated by NK 1.1+, NK 1.1-, Lyt-2+, Lyt-2-, and IgD- populations but not by IgD+ cells. The five protective populations all had in common the LGL phenotype and cytotoxic activity in vitro. The IgD+ population did not contain LGLs, lyse target cells in vitro, or mediate an antiviral effect in vivo. These results suggest that LAK cells may be therapeutically useful against certain virus infections (MCMV) but not others (LCMV) and that despite their heterogeneity in antigenic phenotype and cytotoxic activity, their pattern of antiviral activity in vivo resembles that of NK cells, which protect against MCMV but not LCMV

Reduction in Tcf7l2 Expression Decreases Diabetic Susceptibility in Mice

Objective: The WNT signaling pathway effector gene TCF7L2 has been associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, it remains unclear how this gene affects diabetic pathogenesis. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of Tcf7l2 haploinsufficiency on metabolic phenotypes in mice.Experimental Design: Tcf7l2 knockout (Tcf7l-/-) mice were generated. Because of the early mortality of Tcf7l2-/- mice, we characterized the metabolic phenotypes of heterozygous Tcf7l2+/- mice in comparison to the wild-type controls. The mice were fed a normal chow diet or a high fat diet (HFD) for 9 weeks.Results: The Tcf7l2+/- mice showed significant differences from the wild-type mice with regards to body weight, fasting glucose and insulin levels. Tcf7l2+/- mice displayed improved glucose tolerance. In the liver of Tcf7l2+/- mice fed on the HFD, reduced lipogenesis and hepatic triglyceride levels were observed when compared with those of wild-type mice. Furthermore, the Tcf7l2+/- mice fed on the HFD exhibited decreased peripheral fat deposition. Immunohistochemistry in mouse pancreatic islets showed that endogenous expression of Tcf7l2 was upregulated in the wild-type mice, but not in the Tcf7l2+/- mice, after feeding with the HFD. However, the haploinsufficiency of Tcf7l2 in mouse pancreatic islets resulted in little changes in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.Conclusion: These results suggest that decreased expression of Tcf7l2 confers reduction of diabetic susceptibility in mice via regulation on the metabolism of glucose and lipid.</p