Though many plant defensins exhibit antibacterial activity, little is known about their antibacterial mode of action (MOA). Antimicrobial peptides with a characterized MOA induce the expression of ...multiple bacterial outer membrane modifications, which are required for resistance to these membrane-targeting peptides. Mini-Tn5-lux mutant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Tn insertions disrupting outer membrane protective modifications were assessed for sensitivity against plant defensin peptides. These transcriptional lux reporter strains were also evaluated for lux gene expression in response to sublethal plant defensin exposure. Also, a plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae was modified through transposon mutagenesis to create mutants that are resistant to in vitro MtDef4 treatments. Plant defensins displayed specific and potent antibacterial activity against strains of P. aeruginosa. A defensin from Medicago truncatula, MtDef4, induced dose-dependent gene expression of the aminoarabinose modification of LPS and surface polycation spermidine production operons. The ability for MtDef4 to damage bacterial outer membranes was also verified visually through fluorescent microscopy. Another defensin from M. truncatula, MtDef5, failed to induce lux gene expression and limited outer membrane damage was detected with fluorescent microscopy. The transposon insertion site on MtDef4 resistant P. syringae pv. syringae mutants was sequenced, and modifications of ribosomal genes were identified to contribute to enhanced resistance to plant defensin treatments. MtDef4 damages the outer membrane similar to polymyxin B, which stimulates antimicrobial peptide resistance mechanisms to plant defensins. MtDef5, appears to have a different antibacterial MOA. Additionally, the MtDef4 antibacterial mode of action may also involve inhibition of translation.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The presence and significance of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in society have been steadily increasing since 2000. While its potential benefits are widely acknowledged, concerns about its ...impact on society, the economy, and ethics have also been raised. Consequently, artificial intelligence has garnered widespread attention in news media and popular culture. As mass media plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception, it is crucial to evaluate opinions expressed in these outlets. Understanding the public’s perception of artificial intelligence is essential for effective public policy and decision making. This paper presents the results of a sentiment analysis study conducted on WIRED magazine’s coverage of artificial intelligence between January 2018 and April 2023. The objective of the study is to assess the prevailing opinions towards artificial intelligence in articles from WIRED magazine, which is widely recognized as one of the most reputable and influential publications in the field of technology and innovation. Using two sentiment analysis techniques, AFINN and VADER, a total of 4265 articles were analyzed for positive, negative, and neutral sentiments. Additionally, a term frequency analysis was conducted to categorize articles based on the frequency of mentions of artificial intelligence. Finally, a linear regression analysis of the mean positive and negative sentiments was performed to examine trends for each month over a five-year period. The results revealed a leading pattern: there was a predominant positive sentiment with an upward trend in both positive and negative sentiments. This polarization of sentiment suggests a shift towards more extreme positions, which should influence public policy and decision making in the near future.
Exosomes are important mediators of intercellular communication. Previously, we characterized circulating exosomal miR-425-3p as a non-invasive prognostic marker for predicting clinical response to ...platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Circulating exosomal miR-425-3p was validated by qRT-PCR in paired serum samples from NSCLC patients during the course of platinum-based chemotherapy. Cell coculture was performed to examine the effects of exosomal miR-425-3p on the sensitivity of recipient A549 cells to cisplatin. Using bioinformatics, ChIP and luciferase reporter assays, the transcription factor essential for miR-425-3p expression was identified. Autophagic activity in the recipient cells was determined by Western blot and fluorescence microscopy.
Higher levels of exosomal miR-425-3p were found in serum samples from the patients in tolerance versus those at baseline. An upward trend in the expression of circulating exosomal miR-425-3p was revealed during chemotherapy. Furthermore, the expression of exosomal miR-425-3p could be induced by cisplatin in NSCLC cells. Exosomes isolated from either cisplatin-treated or cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells conferred chemoresistance to sensitive A549 cells in a miR-425-3p-dependent manner. Cisplatin-induced c-Myc was found to directly bind the miR-425-3p promoter and transactivated its expression. Exosomal miR-425-3p facilitated autophagic activation in the recipient cells by targeting AKT1, eventually leading to chemoresistance.
Our results suggest that apart from a prognostic marker of treatment response, exosomal miR-425-3p might be a potential dynamic biomarker to tailor cisplatin resistance in NSCLC patients during the treatment and represent a promising therapeutic target for therapy-resistant NSCLC.
Several laboratories have created rat basophil leukemia (RBL) cell lines stably transfected with the human high affinity IgE receptor (FcepsilonRI.sub.H). More recently, humanized RBL cell lines saw ...the introduction of reporter genes such as luciferase (RS-ATL8) and DsRed (RBL NFAT-DsRed). These reporters are more sensitive than their parental non-reporter humanized RBL cell lines. However, no studies so far have addressed the levels of FcepsilonRI.sub.H surface expression on humanized RBL cell lines. This is a critical parameter, as it determines the ability of these cells to be efficiently sensitized with human IgE, hence it should affect the sensitivity of the cell assay-a critical parameter for any diagnostic application. Our purpose was to assess and compare the levels of expression of the transfected FcepsilonRI.sub.H chain in humanized RBL cell lines. We compared surface levels of FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H by flow cytometry, using a fluorescently labelled monoclonal antibody (CRA-1/AER-37) and determined receptor numbers using calibration microspheres. FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H copy numbers were assessed by qPCR, and the sequence verified. Transfection with FcepsilonRIgamma.sub.H cDNA was assessed for its ability to increase FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H expression in the NFAT-DsRed reporter. While both SX-38 and RS-ATL8 expressed about 500.000 receptors/cell, RBL 703-21 and NFAT-DsRed had approximately 10- to 30-fold lower FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H expression, respectively. This was neither related to FcepsilonRI.sub.H gene copy numbers, nor to differences in steady state mRNA levels, as determined by qPCR and RT-qPCR, respectively. Instead, FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H surface expression appeared to correlate with the co-expression of FcepsilonRIgamma.sub.H . Stable transfection of NFAT-DsRed cells with pBJ1 neo-huFcepsilonRI gamma, which constitutively expresses FcepsilonRIgamma.sub.H, increased FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H chain expression levels. Levels of FcepsilonRIalpha.sub.H surface expression vary greatly between humanized RBL reporter cell lines. This difference will affect the sensitivity of the reporter system when used for diagnostic purposes.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study aims to assess the persistence of traditional journalistic quality features within the contemporary digital ecosystem. Digital advancements have fundamentally altered media creation, ...notably with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in newsrooms. AI holds potential for substantial shifts in journalism, impacting business models, dissemination methods, and professional practices. Present in 75% of newsrooms, AI streamlines tasks, allowing more creative time for journalists. Ethical and quality concerns persist, particularly regarding AI's ability to meet journalism's established quality standards. This article aims to investigate the incorporation of these quality criteria in news articles generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Focus group and in-depth interviews were used as methodological techniques, involving ten experts. It is concluded that journalistic ethics have remained intact despite the disruptive technological advances in recent decades. However, there is a need to integrate these ethics with new criteria associated with the tools being used. Therefore, it is necessary to consider criteria from a dual perspective: both social and technological.
Bu çalışma, Avrupa Birliği (AB) ülkelerinde bir hak olarak tanınan ‘unutulma hakkı’nın, 2020 yazında Türkiye’de de yasal düzenlemelerle birlikte kabul görmesinden hareketle, çocuk haberlerinde etik ...gazeteciliğe ulaşmada bir fırsat olup olmayacağını tartışmaya açmaktadır. Unutulma hakkı ile kişiler dijital hafızada kendilerine ilişkin veriler üzerinde tasarruf sahibi olabilmektedir. Dünyada yakın tarihli, Türkiye’de ise çok yeni bir konu olan unutulma hakkı, doğrudan haberler üzerinde bir etkiye sahip olması bakımından gazetecilikle yakından ilgilidir. Literatürdeki mevcut çalışmalardan farklı olarak bu çalışma, gazetecilerin çocuk haberlerinin unutulma hakkı kapsamında silinmesine ilişkin bakış açılarını ortaya koyan bir saha araştırmasına dayanmaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında 40 gazeteciyle derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiş ve elde edilen veriler NVIVO Pro 12 aracılığıyla içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Görüşülen gazetecilerin çocuklar söz konusu olduğunda haberden kısmi olarak bilgi çıkarmak ve gerekli durumlarda ise haberi silmek konusunda istekli oldukları belirlenmiştir. Ancak gazeteciler, haberde silme ya da revizyon kabulünün, sadece çocuklar özelinde ve istisnai bir durum olduğuna dikkat çekmiştir. Bu doğrultuda, gazetecilerin çocuklar özelindeki tutumunun, tüm haber kategorilerine genellenemeyeceği belirtilmelidir. İfade özgürlüğü ile arasında bir dengenin kurulması durumunda, unutulma hakkı -tek başına yeterli olmasa da- iyi bir gazetecilik pratiğine erişmek ve çocuğun yüksek çıkarlarının korunması için bir fırsat olarak görülebilir.
Purpose
The creation and dissemination of fake news can have severe consequences for a company’s brand. Researchers, policymakers and practitioners are eagerly searching for solutions to get us out ...of the “fake news crisis”. Here, one approach is to use automated tools, such as artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, to support managers in identifying fake news. The study in this paper demonstrates how AI with its ability to analyze vast amounts of unstructured data, can help us tell apart fake and real news content. Using an AI application, this study examines if and how the emotional appeal, i.e., sentiment valence and strength of specific emotions, in fake news content differs from that in real news content. This is important to understand, as messages with a strong emotional appeal can influence how content is consumed, processed and shared by consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzes a data set of 150 real and fake news articles using an AI application, to test for differences in the emotional appeal in the titles and the text body between fake news and real news content.
Findings
The results suggest that titles are a strong differentiator on emotions between fake and real news and that fake news titles are substantially more negative than real news titles. In addition, the results reveal that the text body of fake news is substantially higher in displaying specific negative emotions, such as disgust and anger, and lower in displaying positive emotions, such as joy.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study that examines the emotional appeal of fake and real news content with respect to the prevalence and strength of specific emotion dimensions, thus adding to the literature on fake news identification and marketing communications. In addition, this paper provides marketing communications professionals with a practical approach to identify fake news using AI.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a driving force in promoting malignant cancer, including initiation, growth, and metastasis. EMT is a dynamic process that can undergo a ...mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) and partial transitions between both phenotypes, termed epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP). In cancer, the acquisition of EMP results in a spectrum of phenotypes, promoting tumor cell heterogeneity and resistance to standard of care therapy. Here we describe a real-time fluorescent dual-reporter for vimentin and E-cadherin, biomarkers of the mesenchymal and epithelial cell phenotypes, respectively. Stable dual-reporter cell lines generated from colorectal (SW620), lung (A549), and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer demonstrate a spectrum of EMT cell phenotypes. We used the dual-reporter to isolate the quasi epithelial, epithelial/mesenchymal, and mesenchymal phenotypes. Although EMT is a dynamic process, these isolated quasi-EMT-phenotypes remain stable to spontaneous EMP in the absence of stimuli and during prolonged cell culture. However, the quasi-EMT phenotypes can readily be induced to undergo EMT or MET with growth factors or small molecules. Moreover, isolated EMT phenotypes display different tumorigenic properties and are morphologically and metabolically distinct. 3D high-content screening of ~23,000 compounds using dual-reporter mesenchymal SW620 tumor organoids identified small molecule probes that modulate EMT, and a subset of probes that effectively induced MET. The tools, probes, and models described herein provide a coherent mechanistic understanding of mesenchymal cell plasticity. Future applications utilizing this technology and probes are expected to advance our understanding of EMT and studies aimed at therapeutic strategies targeting EMT.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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