1. Functional characterisation of surfactant protein A as a novel prophylactic means against oncogenic HPV infectionsSinead Carse, Tim Reid, Jens Madsen, Howard Clark, Artur Kirjakulov, Martina Bergant Marušič, Georgia Schäfer, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection poses a significant health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where limited healthcare access and awareness hinder vaccine accessibility. To identify alternative HPV targeting interventions, we previously reported on surfactant protein A (SP-A) as a novel molecule capable of recognising HPV16 pseudovirions (HPV16-PsVs) and reducing infection in a murine cervicovaginal HPV challenge model. Building on these findings, our current study aimed to assess SP-A’s suitability as a broad-spectrum HPV-targeting molecule and its impact on innate immune responses. We demonstrate SP-A’s ability to agglutinate and opsonise multiple oncogenic HPV-PsVs types, enhancing their uptake and clearance by RAW264.7 murine macrophages and THP-1 human-derived immune cells. The SP-A opsonisation of HPV not only led to increased lysosomal accumulation in macrophages and HaCaT keratinocytes but also resulted in a decreased infection of HaCaT cells, which was further decreased when co-cultured with innate immune cells. An analysis of human innate immune cell cytokine profiles revealed a significant inflammatory response upon SP-A exposure, potentially contributing to the overall inhibition of HPV infection. These results highlight the multi-layered impact of SP-A on HPV, innate immune cells and keratinocytes and lay the basis for the development of alternative prophylactic interventions against diverse HPV types.
Keywords: surfactant protein A, SP-A, human papillomavirus, HPV, pseudovirus, cervical cancer, HPV prophylactic, low- and middle-income countries, LMIC
Published in RUNG: 22.07.2024; Views: 603; Downloads: 7
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2. Uvular rhotic weakening in Yiddish adjectival suffixesGuy Tabachnick, 2020, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: In traditional Yiddish dialects, the presence vs. absence of word-final rhotics after [ɜ] in adjectival suffixes carries a heavy functional load, making distinctions of gender, number, and case. Belk et al. (2019) note that some Yiddish speakers with uvular rhotics do not fully articulate them word-finally, endangering this crucial distinction and perhaps contributing to the loss of gender and case in the Yiddish of contemporary Hasidic communities. This study analyzes adjectival endings in publicly available recordings of for speakers with uvular rhotics. The majority of speakers generally do not produce an audible [ʀ] or [ʁ] before consonants, but the rhotic leaves its mark: for some, an underlying rhotic conditions higher F1 on the preceding vowel; others have lowered F2. F1 raising of [ɜ] can also occur when followed by the dorsal fricative [x/χ], suggesting that it is the uvularity of the rhotic that causes F1 raising; F2 lowering is limited to following rhotics, suggesting that this is a rhoticity effect. In addition, vowels followed by underlying coda rhotics are longer in duration. Results indicate that the rhotic triggers phonologized changes in the preceding vowel, while its own realization is weakened, perhaps to an approximant, and masked in the acoustic signal.
Keywords: Phonetics, Human voice, Phonology, Consonants, Vowel systems
Published in RUNG: 04.03.2024; Views: 1085; Downloads: 3
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3. Conversing with Ghosts of the Previously TamedMartina Caruso, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: In this article I argue that representing animal-human relationality in contemporary video art shows how certain artists are addressing recent philosophical perspectives such as object-oriented ontology within a posthuman and post-anthropocentric paradigm. While the philosophies that treat the posthuman, from object-oriented ontology to speculative realism and vital materialism, imply a utopian refusal of hierarchy between human and non-human existence, artists may be hard-pressed to represent the described new order, which, at the moment, does not exist socially or politically.
Keywords: post-Anthropocene, animal-human relationality, non-human, posthuman, object-oriented ontology, speculative realism, vital materialism, video art, Basma Alsharif, Christoph Keller, Corinne Silva
Published in RUNG: 13.01.2023; Views: 1399; Downloads: 0
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5. Winning wars with films : (storytelling for artistic activism)Sagar Gahatraj, 2021, master's thesis Abstract: This study mainly examines the prospect of utilizing the power of cinema to resolve
humans’ conflicts. The research begins by analysing the psychology of human brain;
how human brain functions, how belief systems are created, and most importantly, what
is the cause of human disputes. The thesis then investigates the possibilities and pattern of psychological change. After uncovering how psychological change works, the
research paper dives into comparing human psychology with the psychology of storytelling. The findings from this comparison are used to determine if storytelling can induce psychological change. At this point, the study is confronted by historical evidences, where the power of storytelling was exploited to control and manipulate people. However, upon further investigation on this issue, the duel power of storytelling is discovered, which suggest that story can be both propaganda and cure for propaganda.
With these findings in hand, the research continues on its main pursuit; finding out if
films can resolve conflicts. To do so, the thesis presents the history of film-making and
its association with storytelling from its beginning. The research also looks into the
power of film-making, and question if the power of film-making can be combined with
the power of storytelling for artistic activism. The first part of thesis concludes by
summarizing the findings of the study. The second part of the thesis analyses a short
film, In The Nation Of Car Lovers, which was a practical part of the Master’s thesis.
Finally, the thesis concludes by comparing the findings of the theoretical part to its
utilization in the practical part of the thesis.
Keywords: Human Brain, Psychological change, Storytelling, Propaganda, Film-making, Activism
Published in RUNG: 13.10.2021; Views: 3213; Downloads: 129
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6. The epistemological investigation about the meaning of life in The bus : diploma thesisParisa Zaeri, 2021, undergraduate thesis Abstract: The history of human life since the creation of human beings shows the extension of concerns about man`s physical existence and natural survival to his social, mental, psychological and spiritual life. While existence was the main and only challenge of primitive beings, it does not meet the challenges of the present-time of human life. Existence needs an essence to satisfy the present, intellectual man; otherwise, it will leave human beings lost in the world. Therefore, the current study is a dramatic presentation and epistemological discussion of some problems of the existential crisis in animation art and letter and how they can come to resolution through meaning-making in one`s life. The framework of the current study is the existential psychotherapy as a dynamic approach to therapy which focuses on concerns that are rooted in the individual's existence.
Keywords: Animation Art, Epistemology, Human Existence, Existential Psychotherapy, Logotherapy
Published in RUNG: 22.07.2021; Views: 3071; Downloads: 144
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8. No autonomous cars without autonomous humans2020, radio or television broadcast, podcast, interview, press conference Keywords: autonomy, autonomous cars, mobility, being human, legal frameworks, ethical frameworks, cinematic
Published in RUNG: 21.01.2021; Views: 2817; Downloads: 24
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9. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of airborne bacteria and fungi at Owena Market, Osun State, NigeriaGbenga Folorunsho Oginni, Sandra Oloketuyi, Olufunke Chukwu, Janet Odunayo, 2017, original scientific article Abstract: Environmental conditions and human activities influence the ubiquity and diversity of microorganisms in the atmosphere thereby acquiring the ability to resist antibiotics which poses serious public threat. Airborne bacteria and fungi isolated using settling plate method from three different points (where kolanuts, meat and onions are sold) at Owena Market, Osun state, Nigeria were assayed for antimicrobial susceptibility using disc diffusion. The microorganisms were identified as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Proteus vulgaris, Bacillus megaterium, Alcaligenes spp., Aeromonas spp., Escherichia coli, Micrococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Mortierella polycephala, Epicoccum nigrum, Alternaria spp., Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus flavus, Acremonium spp., Penicillium oxalicum, Cladosporium cladosporiodes, Rhizopus stolonifer, Stemphylium spp., and Trichoderma spp. About 30% of the bacterial isolates were resistant to the antibacterial agents (antibiotics) and all the bacterial isolates were resistant to at least four or more antibiotics while 18% and 64% of the fungi isolated were susceptible to griseofulvin and ketoconazole, respectively. This study shows that the market environment serves as reservoirs for multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi capable of causing infectious diseases.
Keywords: Airborne microbes, air monitoring, diversity, human activities, multidrug resistance
Published in RUNG: 14.01.2021; Views: 2837; Downloads: 0
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10. DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL PCR-BASED ASSAY FOR HIGH-RISK HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS DETECTION AND GENOTYPING IN SELF COLLECTED CERVICOVAGINAL SAMPLES: A NEW POSSIBILITY FOR THE CERVICAL CANCER SCREENINGAlice Avian, 2020, doctoral dissertation Abstract: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the causative agent for the invasive cervical cancer and its precancerous lesions, furthermore, there are growing evidences of HPV being a relevant factor in other anogenital cancers as well as head and neck cancers. Most sexually active women become infected with HPV at least once in their lifetime, but less than 10% of women becomes persistently infected, and it is precisely the persistent infection that contributes to the development of cervical cancer.
The preventive effect of cervical cancer screening largely depends in the high women participation and coverage; indeed, a large number of cervical cancers diagnoses normally arise among under-screened and unscreened women. Increase in the screening coverage is essential to improve the effectiveness of cervical screening programmes.
The main purpose of this PhD project was to solve some of the most relevant problems in the cervical cancer screening programmes, as the increase of cost-effectiveness and the amelioration of the screening coverage.
My work was focused on the development and validation of the first Ulisse BioMed S.p.A. product, the HPV Selfy™ test, an innovative PCR-based kit for the direct detection and genotyping of 12 high-risk HPV types (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58 and 59) and 2 possible/probable high-risk (66 and 68), specifically optimized for the analysis of self-collected vaginal specimens.
The core of this innovative test is based on high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis, a recently developed technique for fast, high-throughput post-PCR analysis of variance in nucleic acid sequences, that characterizes the amplicons by studying thermal denaturation of double-stranded DNA. Based on this approach and through the design of different HPV type-specific primer pairs and the development of a specific master mix, unique melting peaks in a single fluorescence channel were obtained, allowing the multiple detection and genotyping of 14 HPV types in a single PCR well.
Three different clinical studies have been carried out to validate the assay on the vaginal self-collected samples with truly amazing results regarding the assay’s performance, but also for self-sampling acceptability by women. Moreover, data collected in these studies suggest a future possible use of this test for the hard-to-reach women, as an alternative of the conventional clinician-collected sample, in order to increase the cervical cancer screening coverage.
Keywords: Human Papillomavirus, HPV test, cervical cancer screening, prevention, diagnostic test, High resolution melting, HRM, genotyping, PCR, Self-sampling, clinical validation.
Published in RUNG: 17.06.2020; Views: 4307; Downloads: 110
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