Soft Medium Research Articles

Abstract 4303: High-throughput 3D tumoroid models for immunotherapy and drug discovery

Abstract The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex 3D cellular system comprised of a diverse amalgam of cells. To characterize the TME, we developed a 3D cell culture platform which facilitates imaging-based analysis and cell viability for extended durations. We used this platform to collect in-situ spatiotemporal measurements of cytokine concentrations in the tumor vicinity, track cellular activity, and model local tumor invasion of glioblastoma (GBM) using fast-scanning confocal microscopy. The mechanism by which we achieve long-term 3D culture is perfusion, modeled as flow through a porous medium. Perfusion facilitates regulated transport of nutrients and waste within the soft microgel medium: Liquid-Like Solids (LLS). The interstitial space is tuned to mimic a capillary bed, and surface bioconjugation of the microgels promotes cellular adhesion and migration. To measure cytokine concentrations, GBM tumoroids were grown in LLS and printed into a dispersion of ELISA beads in LLS. The mechanical stability of LLS ensures the tumor and ELISA beads remain stationary without impeding cellular activity. Cytokine on and off-rates were referenced alongside measured bead fluorescence intensities and positions to fit spatiotemporal reaction-diffusion models. Fast-scanning confocal microscopy facilitated in-situ observation of the evolutionary dynamics of tumor progression. Co-culture of patient-derived tumor explants and autologous PBMCs printed into type I collagen-bioconjugated LLS enabled studies of cancer-immune interactions. In-situ cytokine measurements revealed local IL-8 concentrations reached a maximum value of 2 ng ml−1 after 10 hours. A cellular production rate was estimated at 2 molecules cell−1 s−1. Invasive behavior into the proximal space was determined to be super-diffusive; off-lattice agent-based simulations indicated this behavior is a result of the confinement of invasive fronts to the microgel interstitium. The invading glioblastoma cells used anchorage-dependent migration and were guided by geometric cues to traverse the porous bioconjugated LLS network. Cancer-immune interaction studies revealed average CD8+ speeds greater than 2.8 µm min−1 and both chemotaxis and chemokinetic behavior. CD8+ T-cell killing rates were estimated at approximately 3 cancer cells hr−1 initially, monotonically falling over 12 hours to roughly 1 cell hr−1. The development of the in-situ 3D ELISA assay and imaging-based analysis techniques have enabled the tracking of tumor-immune cell interactions, observation of dynamic tumor progression, and local cytokine concentration profiling at appreciable spatiotemporal resolutions. The combination of a physiologically relevant 3D culture platform with the capacity for in-situ qualitative and quantitative observation may lead to new, powerful, preclinical models that allow for interrogation of the TME and decrease the rate of false discovery. Citation Format: Duy Nguyen, Alexander McGhee, Diego Pedro, Alfonso Pepe, Matthew Schaller, Ryan Smolchek, Jack Famiglietti, Stephanie Warrington, W. Gregory Sawyer. High-throughput 3D tumoroid models for immunotherapy and drug discovery. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 4303.

The evaluation of tumorigenicity and characterization of colonies in a soft agar colony formation assay using polymerase chain reaction

In regenerative medicine, the tumorigenic potency of cells in cellular therapy products (CTPs) is a major concern for their application to patients. This study presents a method—the soft agar colony formation assay using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)—to evaluate tumorigenicity. MRC-5 cells, contaminated with HeLa cells, were cultured for up to 4 weeks in soft agar medium. Cell-proliferation-related mRNAs, Ki-67 and cyclin B, could be detected in 0.01% of HeLa cells after 5 days of culture, whereas cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) could be detected after 2 weeks. On the other hand, CDK2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and minichromosome maintenance protein 7 (MCM7) were not useful to detect HeLa cells even after 4 weeks of culture. The cancer stem cell (CSC) markers, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) and CD133 in 0.01% of HeLa cells, could be detected 2 and 4 weeks after culture, respectively. However, another CSC marker CD44 was not useful because its expression was also detected in MRC-5 cells alone. This study suggests that the application of the PCR method to the soft agar colony formation assay could evaluate not only the tumorigenic potency in the short-term but also characterize the colonies, eventually improving the safety of CTPs.

Longitudinal motion of focused shear wave beams in soft elastic media.

Shear waves are employed in medical ultrasound imaging because they reveal variations in viscoelastic properties of soft tissue. Frequencies below 1 kHz are required due to the substantially higher attenuation and lower propagation speeds than for compressional waves. Shear waves exhibiting particle motion in the direction of propagation, referred to as longitudinal shear waves, can be generated with longitudinal motion of a circular disk on the surface of a soft elastic medium. This approach permits imaging of the longitudinal shear wave with a conventional ultrasound transducer that is coaxial with the source of the shear wave. Presented here is a mathematical model describing the complete wave field generated by displacement at the surface of an isotropic elastic half-space. Numerical simulations are shown for longitudinal, transverse, torsional, and radial source polarizations, with emphasis on focused longitudinal shear waves. Predictions are consistent with measurements of light beams revealing that the longitudinal electric field component produces a smaller focal spot than the transverse field component [Dorn, Quabis, and Leuchs, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 233901 (2003)]. Simulations are compared with preliminary measurements of a focused longitudinal shear wave beam generated in a soft tissue phantom by longitudinal motion of a spherically concave piston.

The softening of Chinese digital propaganda: Evidence from the People's Daily Weibo account during the pandemic.

Social media infuses modern relationships with vitality and brings a series of information dissemination with subjective consciousness. Studies have indicated that official Chinese media channels are transforming their communication style from didactic hard persuasion to softened emotional management in the digital era. However, previous studies have rarely provided valid empirical evidence for the communicational transformation. The study fills the gap by providing a longitudinal time-series analysis to reveal the pattern of communication of Chinese digital Chinese official media from 2019 to 2022. The study crawler collected 43,259 posts from the People's Daily's Weibo account from 2019 to 2021. The study analyzed the textual data with using trained artificial intelligence models. This study explored the practices of the People's Daily's Weibo account from 2019 to 2021, COVID-19 is hardly normalized as it is still used as the justification for extraordinary measures in China. This study confirmed that People's Daily's Weibo account posts are undergoing softenization transformation, with the use of soft news, positive energy promotion, and the embedding of sentiment. Although the outburst of COVID-19 temporarily increased the media's use of hard news, it only occur at the initial stage of the pandemic. Emotional posts occupy a nonnegligible amount of the People's Daily Weibo content. However, the majority of posts are emotionally neutral and contribute to shaping the authoritative image of the party press. Overall, the People's Daily has softened their communication style on digital platforms and used emotional mobilization, distraction, and timely information provision to balance the political logic of building an authoritative media agency and the media logic of constructing audience relevance.

What Do Newsjunkies Consume and What Do They Know? Two Studies on Intrinsic Need For Orientation, News Diets, and Political Knowledge

AbstractRecent research on the newsjunkie trait—intrinsic need for orientation (INFO)—has not yet examined specific kinds of information newsjunkies consume or whether the newsjunkie characteristic predicts outcomes like political knowledge. Study 1 surveyed U.S. adults’ (N = 2,059) INFO, hard news consumption, soft news consumption, use of partisan outlets FOX News, and MSNBC, and use of less-partisan outlets like BBC and NBC. The newsjunkie trait was one of the strongest predictors of hard news consumption (like news about foreign affairs and the economy), after controlling for numerous factors, and it did not predict soft news consumption (news about entertainment, sports, etc.). The newsjunkie trait was positively associated with the use of both partisan and less-partisan outlets. Study 2 examined U.S. adults’ (N = 1,054) INFO and political knowledge while holding constant most of the variables controlled for in Study 1. Despite some evidence from Study 1 that newsjunkies are sophisticated news consumers, INFO did not positively predict political knowledge; the strongest positive predictor of political knowledge was consuming political news, and the only other significant news use correlate was the use of FOX News, which was negatively associated with political knowledge. Implications for research on the intrinsic need for orientation, news use, and political outcomes are discussed.

Locomotion through soft materials of paired solid spheres as a miniature robot

Locomotion of a small device through soft media such as living tissue remotely actuated by magnetic field is analyzed. The device consists of two differently sized magnetized or magnetizable spheres of millimeter or sub-millimeter diameter interacting with each other magnetically, but otherwise disconnected from each other. The magnetic field transfers energy to the pair by changing direction and magnitude, while the pair executes a reversible motion gait by increasing and decreasing the distance between the sphere centers. The locomotion model is based on previously developed model of solid sphere motion through soft medium.

The Internet Costs’ Role in Indonesia's Creative Industry Competitiveness

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of the Internet as a soft infrastructure medium in the framework of international trade facilitation. as part of international trade facilitation which is expected to be able to reduce barriers in Indonesia's trade with 18 trading partners in the export of creative industry goods by HS codes: 49, 91, 92, 95 and 97. The analysis method used is a quantitative approach with panel data regression using a gravity model based on time series data with cross sections of 18 trading partners from 2008 to 2017. The results of the analysis show that the internet subscription price variable has a significant effect on increasing international trade. Other variables such as GDP, population, and distance have a significant positive or negative effect on international trade, while FTA does not have any effect on exports of creative industry goods.

The Revealed Demand for Hard vs. Soft News: Evidence from Italian TV Viewership

We analyze minute-by-minute, individual level data on viewership for Italian TV news broadcasts (from AUDITELTM), matched with detailed data on content (from Osservatorio di Pavia). We are interested in the behavior of viewers, and in particular in their decision to switch away from a news program as a function of the type of story they are currently watching. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that “soft” news systematically induces viewers to switch away, even more than “hard” news. On the other hand, sensational stories about crime, accidents and disasters are associated with less switching. We also find significant differences in this switching behavior according to gender, age, and the specific TV channel being watched. For example, young people are relatively more likely to switch away from hard news than soft news, compared to older people. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Improving the strength and ductility of medium Mn steel by depleting the stress-assisted martensite

The present work investigates the role of martensite induced by either stress or strain on the tensile properties of medium Mn steel treated by quenching and partitioning/tempering. Different from the strain-induced martensite with isolated fine martensite blocks, the stress-assisted martensite is featured with large and continuous martensite blocks, which facilitates the propagation of cracks and results in the premature fracture and thus limited tensile ductility (12.8%). A pre-deformation and tempering strategy is employed to deplete the stress-assisted martensite while promote the strain-induced martensite, turning an original soft and brittle medium Mn steel into a strong and ductile one, leading to an increment of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation of 533 MPa and 28.4%, respectively.

How Propaganda Works in the Digital Era: Soft News as a Gateway

Digital technology can empower citizen journalism as well as state media in authoritarian regimes. China’s propaganda apparatus has undertaken a series of transformations to adapt itself to the changing media environment. This study investigates this adaptive process by drawing on over five million Weibo posts created by 103 newspapers between 2012 and 2019. Results show that through the digital transformation, newspapers are deliberately distancing themselves from their Orwellian past of abstract dogmatism to openly embrace infotainment. A soft-news-centered production model has emerged as the new journalistic paradigm on social media. Not only commercialized outlets but also mouthpiece newspapers produce more soft news than hard news. Regression results further substantiate that soft news is a gateway to propaganda, whose popularity can spill over into propaganda news. For every 100% increase in soft news popularity, propaganda popularity will rise by 38.5% in the following month. News outlets that have garnered attention to soft news can transfer that attention to their subsequent propaganda. These results illuminate how propaganda works in the digital realm, how authoritarian propaganda could be enhanced by infotainment, and why a less political platform could be more susceptible to political intervention.

Implementation of Journalistic Training at Extracurricular Broadcasting “Lensa Manduta” MAN 2 Tangerang

Writing is one of the journalistic skills that have a great influence on students so they are expected to disseminate information and even express feelings to the public through written language. Journalistic media for schools is a means of information about schools, education, entertainment, and persuasion. So, with journalism training, someone will be helped in honing creativity and talent. This study aims to observe the development of journalistic insights of students through journalistic training and provide solutions to the problem of lack of journalistic insights by motivating MAN 2 Tangerang students, especially members of the Broadcasting Extracurricular Lensa Manduta to be skilled in the field of writing. The method used in this research is the descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques and observations that researchers use include observation by observing and recording activities carried out by the journalistic division of Lensa Manduta and interviews with the head of the journalistic division and the general chairman of Lensa Manduta. The results of this study are that the journalistic training was opened interactively, the members listened to the material presented, and were quite responsive in practice to the field. In addition, they are quite familiar with the terms in journalism, such as journals, and codes of ethics, as well as a very good understanding of news, it's just that they don't know the whole, such as the types of news consisting of hard news, soft news, and straight news.
 Keywords: Journalistic training, extracurricular, writing, Lensa Manduta MAN 2 Tangerang

Implementation of Journalistic Training at Extracurricular Broadcasting “Lensa Manduta” MAN 2 Tangerang

Writing is one of the journalistic skills that have a great influence on students so they are expected to disseminate information and even express feelings to the public through written language. Journalistic media for schools is a means of information about schools, education, entertainment, and persuasion. So, with journalism training, someone will be helped in honing creativity and talent. This study aims to observe the development of journalistic insights of students through journalistic training and provide solutions to the problem of lack of journalistic insights by motivating MAN 2 Tangerang students, especially members of the Broadcasting Extracurricular Lensa Manduta to be skilled in the field of writing. The method used in this research is the descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques and observations that researchers use include observation by observing and recording activities carried out by the journalistic division of Lensa Manduta and interviews with the head of the journalistic division and the general chairman of Lensa Manduta. The results of this study are that the journalistic training was opened interactively, the members listened to the material presented, and were quite responsive in practice to the field. In addition, they are quite familiar with the terms in journalism, such as journals, and codes of ethics, as well as a very good understanding of news, it's just that they don't know the whole, such as the types of news consisting of hard news, soft news, and straight news.
 Keywords: Journalistic training, extracurricular, writing, Lensa Manduta MAN 2 Tangerang

Chinese Digital Platform: “We Write What the Algorithm Wants”

This study examines Nigerian journalists’ perception of the affordances of recommendation algorithms in news production and distribution on Opera News Hub. The study uses a triangulation of methods involving content analysis, a semi-structured interview, and a focus group discussion (FGD) with content creators, who have been trained in traditional media practices in Lagos, Nigeria. The findings indicate news stories published on the Hub contravene the platform’s publishing guidelines. The Hub’s recommender system is underpinned by “metricisation” of gatekeeping, which affords soft news over hard news. Hence, content creators of hard news compromise their journalistic autonomy and take on a new professional identity in which they engage in a constant struggle to produce sensational content that will attract audience engagement on Opera News Hub. However, there are indications that Opera News Hub may enhance media sustainability and the welfare of journalists in Nigeria.

Ordinary People and Social Media as Sources in Norwegian Newspapers

Ordinary people have always been of interest to journalists, and social media has become a common place to find material for new stories. This paper presents a quantitative content analysis of Norwegian news articles that are based on social media posts published by ordinary people. The analysis focuses on the topics of the news stories, sources, headlines, lead paragraphs, use of amateur photos, and what news criteria they fulfill. The news articles generated covered a wide variety of topics but were mostly soft news. Social issues, culture, and politics were the largest categories. They were episodic in form and replicated much of the content from the original social media post together with an interview with the person who posted it. There was little use of other sources or follow-up stories. Most of the photos used were amateur photos. The journalistic processing of the material is at a minimum. Compared with Norwegian news in general, the sources in the material were slightly more female and of a wider age range, and they were picked up by journalists because of popularity cues on social media. For journalists, this poses an opportunity and a challenge to develop the stories into something more than mere snapshots of society. For the individuals involved it poses an opportunity to reach a larger audience, but also the challenge of context collapse when the audience shifts from their contacts on social media to the general news audience.

Fibroblasts and mouse breast cancer cells can form cellular aggregates in improved soft agar culture medium.

We aimed to build cellular aggregates of TS/A and normal fibroblasts (LX-2) or CAFs (ME-iLX-2), verifying the value of this model in the screening of anticancer drugs and demonstrating the effect of CD44 on aggregate formation. We improved soft agar culture medium to coculture CAFs (NFs) and TS/A and compared the amount and area of cellular aggregates. Eugenol was added to this model to test its value. The transcription of human CD44 was analyzed through RT-qPCR. Cellular aggregates were formed, and both the amount and area of aggregates in the TS/A-ME-iLX-2 coculture group were higher than those in other groups. The eugenol inhibited the formation of TS/A-fibroblasts aggregates. Human CD44 was highly transcripted in TS/A-ME-iLX-2 aggregates. Cocultured cellular aggregates of fibroblasts and TS/A were successfully formed in the improved soft agar culture medium, and the promotion effect of CAFs on cancer cells was further confirmed. The eugenol test showed its value in the screening of anticancer drugs. The RT-qPCR results demonstrated the important effect of CD44 on aggregate formation.

Tourism work, media & COVID-19: A changed narrative?

Major crises, such as COVID-19, have had a dramatic impact on tourism work. This paper investigates changes in news media reporting of tourism work from pre-pandemic norms, employing McQuail's classification for media and mass communications. We interrogate 664 news articles across two comparative periods. Findings indicate that news media themes in 2019 were often found in the ‘soft news’ sections, whereas the 2020 news elevated into ‘hard news’ sections, highlighting job losses, precarious work and community spirit. The analysis points to a more sympathetic narrative in the media about tourism employment. Theoretically, the paper is original in applying McQuail's media classification to tourism employment in a crisis context, contributing to our understanding of potential impacts of news media reporting.

Acoustic performance of a lattice of closely spaced hard inclusions in a soft medium

Marine vessels are covered with an acoustic coating for underwater noise control. Acoustic coatings comprise a soft rubber-like medium embedded with periodic inclusions. Common inclusion types include cavities or hard metallic scatterers. A coating design comprising hard inclusions can exhibit consistent performance under hydrostatic pressure. In this work, analytical and numerical models are developed to predict the acoustic performance of a lattice of closely spaced hard inclusions in a soft medium. The analytical model is based on homogenization which allows the modelling of a complex medium as a homogenous medium with effective material and geometric properties. The effective properties account for the resonance of the inclusions and multiple scattering of waves between them. The numerical model is based on the finite element method and is developed using COMSOL Multiphysics. Results show that the dipole resonance of hard inclusions in a soft medium leads to high sound absorption. Reducing the spacing between the inclusions enhances multiple scattering of waves, resulting in higher sound absorption.

Surface excitation of focused shear wave beams in soft elastic media: Theory

Shear wave propagation is employed in medical ultrasound imaging, because it reveals variation in the viscoelastic properties of tissue. Frequencies below 1 kHz are required for imaging with shear waves in soft tissue due to their high attenuation and low propagation speeds, compared to compressional waves with frequencies above 1 MHz used for ultrasound imaging. Shear waves exhibiting particle motion in the direction of propagation, referred to as longitudinally polarized shear waves, can be generated by applying longitudinal motion of a circular disk to the surface of a soft elastic medium. This approach is used in practice because it permits imaging of the longitudinal shear wave with a conventional ultrasound transducer that is coaxial with the source of the shear wave. Presented here are the theoretical framework and numerical simulations that illustrate effects of focusing on longitudinally polarized shear waves. Longitudinal, transverse, radial, and torsional source polarizations are considered. The present investigation was motivated initially by an experimental study in optics due to Dorn et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 233901 (2003)]. Our predictions for shear wave beams support their measurements of light beams revealing that the longitudinal electric field component produces a smaller focal spot than the transverse field component.

The ‘Kim Jong-un Effect’ and the mainstreaming of North Korea coverage in UK Media

This article uses qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the entire corpus of news articles published about North Korea by six major UK national newspapers from 2000 to 2020. It offers insights on how North Korea evolved from a relatively obscure subject to a mainstay in the world news section, particularly for the tabloids. Coverage grew exponentially, led by not only stories about nuclear development and missile programmes, but also by soft news items like football, and tourism. Notably, the tone of coverage shifted after Kim Jong-un came to power in 2011, leading to an explosion of stories focussed on the young leader and his family. Structural topic modelling reveals 12 key topic areas among elite and tabloid media. While elite media coverage spanned a wider range of subjects, tabloid media largely focussed on three topics: missiles, the Kim family, and football. Each theme was highly compatible with the traditions of tabloid coverage, supplying eye-catching images (missiles and Kim’s eccentric appearance), a ‘royal family’ of sorts, and sports (North Koreans’ feats during World Cup). Furthermore, qualitative analysis demonstrates that while tabloidization and sensationalistic reporting on the Kim family largely drove the increase in coverage, such stories also added colour and depth previously lacking in reportage on the enemy regime, thereby making the portrayal of North Korea more multidimensional.

Thermal Pressure in the Thermal Equation of State for Solid and a Proposed Substitute

The thermal equation of state (TEOS) for solids is a mathematic model among pressure, temperature and density, and is essential for geophysical, geochemical, and other high pressure–temperature (high P–T) researches. However, in the last few decades, there has been a growing concern about the accuracy of the pressure scales of the calibrants, and efforts have been made to improve it by either introducing a reference standard or building new thermal pressure models. The existing thermal equation of state, P(V, T) = P(V, T0) + Pth(V, T), consists of an isothermal compression and an isochoric heating, while the thermal pressure is the pressure change in the isochoric heating. In this paper, we demonstrate that, for solids in a soft pressure medium in a diamond anvil cell, the thermal pressure can neither be determined from a single heating process, nor from the thermal pressure of its calibrant. To avoid the thermal pressure, we propose to replace the thermal pressure with a well-known thermal expansion model, and integrate it with the isothermal compression model to yields a Birch–Murnaghan-expansion TEOS model, called VPT TEOS. The predicted pressure of MgO and Au at ambient pressure from Birch–Murnaghan-expansion VPT TEOS model matches the experimental pressure of zero (0) GPa very well, while the pressure prediction from the approximated Anderson PVT TEOS exhibit a big deviation and a wrong trend.