SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Interdisciplinary training in high-throughput sequencing, bioinformatics and model systems: moving towards clinical applications of genomics

This proposal is designed to expedite capacity building in Malta through training in Bioinformatics for the analysis of High-Throughput Sequencing data (HTS), Epigenomics and Model Systems for the validation of candidates identified by HTS. 
Falling costs and accessibility to HTS technologies has made it easier for researchers to generate the data. The bottleneck is the data processing, analysis and integration of HTS data generated from different applications (genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics) and validation of candidate genes and mutations identified through HTS. To this end, this Twinning action will focus on the transfer and exchange of knowledge between expert groups from two internationally-leading research institutions, the University of Cambridge (UCAM) and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), and scientists, postgraduates and academics from the University of Malta (UoM); through varied forms of training such as  summer schools, online tutoring and mentoring, training workshops, exchanges and expert visits, networking and collaborations. The specific focus of this action will be to provide training on best-practices in bioinformatic analysis, integration of HTS data (including whole genomes and epigenomes), robust quantitative analytical methods as well as training in the use of model systems: the zebrafish model  and induced pluripotent stem cells; iPSCs. 
These activities will significantly strengthen the knowledge base at UoM; and, by increasing the research profile of the University, help promote the participation of Malta in future EU research programmes. Furthermore, there will also be advancements in science and technology which will benefit regional and European socio-economic development.
Connected through robots: physically coupling humans to boost handwriting and music learning

From a parent coordinating movements to help a child learn to walk, to a violinist training a concerto, humans rely on physical interaction to learn from each other and from the environment. Building on a strongly multidisciplinary foundation with an integrated approach, CONBOTS proposes a paradigm shift that aims to augment handwriting and music learning through robotics, by creating a physically interacting robotic platform connecting humans in order to facilitate the learning of complex sensorimotor tasks.
The newly designed platform will combine four enabling technologies: i) compact robotic haptic devices to gently interact with upper limbs; ii) an interactive controller yielding physical communication, integrating differential Game Theory (GT) and an algorithm to identify the partner’s control; iii) a bi-directional user interface encompassing AR-based application-driven serious games, and a set of wearable sensors and instrumented objects; iv) Machine learning algorithms for tailoring learning exercises to the user physical, emotional, and mental state 
CONBOTS is building on recent neuroscientific findings that showed the benefits of physical interaction to performing motor tasks together, where the human central nervous system understands a partner motor control and can use it to improve task performance and motor learning. This will be implemented on innovative robotic technology, wearable sensors and machine learning techniques to give rise to novel human-human and human-robot interaction paradigms applied in two different learning contexts: i) training graphomotor skills in children learning handwriting; ii) augmenting learning performance in beginner musicians.
Using its neuroscience-driven unifying approach to motor learning and physical communication CONBOTS will expand the impact and the application of robotics to the education industry.
MJO Intensification with Warming in the Superparameterized CESM

Abstract The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is the dominant mode of tropical intraseasonal variability, characterized by an eastward-propagating envelope of convective anomalies with a 30–70-day time scale. Here, the authors report changes in MJO activity across coupled simulations with a superparameterized version of the NCAR Community Earth System Model. They find that intraseasonal OLR variance nearly doubles between a preindustrial control run and a run with 4×CO2. Intraseasonal precipitation increases at a rate of roughly 10% per 1 K of warming, and MJO events become 20%–30% more frequent. Moist static energy (MSE) budgets of composite MJO events are calculated for each scenario, and changes in budget terms are used to diagnose the physical processes responsible for changes in the MJO with warming. An increasingly positive contribution from vertical advection is identified as the most likely cause of the enhanced MJO activity. A decomposition links the changes in vertical advection to a steepening of the mean MSE profile, which is a robust thermodynamic consequence of warming. Surface latent heat flux anomalies are a significant sink of MJO MSE at 1×CO2, but this damping effect is reduced in the 4×CO2 case. This work has implications for organized tropical variability in past warm climates as well as future global warming scenarios.
Biomarkers in the primary progressive aphasias

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a progressive disorder of language that is increasingly recognised as an important presentation of a specific spectrum of neurodegenerative conditions.In an era of etiologically specific treatments for neurodegenerative conditions, it is crucial to establish the histopathologic basis for PPA. In this review, I discuss biomarkers for identifying the pathology underlying PPA.Clinical syndromes suggest a probabilistic association between a specific PPA variant and an underlying pathology, but there are also many exceptions. A considerable body of work with biomarkers is now emerging as an important addition to clinical diagnosis. I review genetic, neuroimaging and biofluid studies that can help determine the pathologic basis for PPA.Together with careful clinical examination, there is great promise that supplemental biomarker assessments will lead to accurate diagnosis of the pathology associated with PPA during life and serve as the basis for clinical trials in this spectrum of disease.
A child an hour: burden of injury deaths among children under 5 in Pakistan

Globally, more than 875 000 children under the age of 18 die due to injury every year. The rate of child injury death is 3.4 times higher in low-income and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.To study injury mortality burden among children under the age of 5 in Pakistan.Demographic and Health Survey in Pakistan was conducted from September 2006 until February 2007. It included 95 000 households, out of which 3232 households had death of a child under the age of 5 from January 2005 onwards. The Child Verbal Autopsy Questionnaire (CVAQ) was administered to these households with a response rate of 96%.For age group 0-5 years, injury was the sixth leading cause of death and was responsible for 2.5% of all deaths (n=73). For age group 1-5 years, injury was found to be the third leading cause of death (11%) after diarrhoea (18%) and pneumonia (17%). The overall under fives mortality rate due to injury was estimated at 39.5 per 100 000 per year in Pakistan. Drowning (22%), road traffic injuries (12%), burns (11%) and falls (10%) were the most common types of injury. The mortality rate was twice as high in rural areas (32 per 100 000; 95% CI 18 to 45), compared to the urban areas (15 per 100 000; 95% CI 0.3 to 29).Injury is the third leading cause of deaths among children 1-5 in Pakistan. The burden is twice as high in rural areas.
A truly-rapid, one-minute test system for the dairy industry to assess raw milk quality, detect sub-clinical mastitis and monitor udder health, reducing antibiotic usage and environmental impact

Mastitis is an infection of the udder in dairy cattle. It is a major problem in the dairy industry, costing European farmers tens of millions of Euros annually. Milk somatic cell count (SCC) is used as a main indicator of mastitis, as the number of somatic cells in milk increases in response to infection in the udder. Krysium Technologies has developed and patented LacDetect® – an innovative, portable, economic test system allowing reliable and truly rapid detection of sub-clinical mastitis on-farm based on enumeration of SCCs via ATP-luminescence technology. This allows farm workers and veterinarians to make quick decisions on herd management and avoid significant costs associated with clinical mastitis. Furthermore, as SCC is also used as a measurement of milk quality, dairy producers base their milk pricing policy significantly on SCC values in raw milk. LacDetect® will enable recording of SCCs on-site for payment purposes. LacDetect® is at Technology Readiness Level 6. Initial testing has repeatedly shown results from our prototype test system compare very favourably with those from a major milk laboratory. In this Phase I project we intend to review the specification of LacDetect®, to ensure that production costs are reduced and that the end-product specification meets user requirements. We will re-contact and add commercial partners for field testing and commercializing plus explore other routes to market. On completion of Phase I we intend to progress to a Phase II project during which we will carry out final product development, scale-up manufacture, validation and final customer trials prior to commercial launch of LacDetect® initially in key EU markets. Completion of the overall project will deliver a one-minute, on-farm raw milk test system enabling EU farmers to detect problems in dairy cows early, enabling better antibiotic treatment decisions, improved production, reduction in costs, higher margins, better animal welfare and less environmental impact.
KARAKTER MORFOLOGIS KULTIVAR SALAK (Salacca edulis Reinw.) JANTAN DAN BETINA DI KABUPATEN SLEMAN, DAERAH ISTIMEWA YOGYAKARTA

Research about characters variation, morphological character, and phenetic relationship of snakes fruit cultivar (Salacca edulis Reinw.) at Sleman was focused on female plant relationship. The objective of the research was to study the morphological character comparation and phenetic relationship of male and female snakes fruits cultivar, and to know the principal characters that play an important role in the grouping. Samples of 23 individu from pondoh hitam, pondoh super, manggala, madu soka, jawa, gading dan male plant was conducted at four subdistricts at Sleman, there were Purwobinangun, Candibinangun, Donokerto, and Girikerto. Observations of morphological character was done in the qualitative and quantitative characters at leaves and flower organs. Selected characters were scored and coded according to the â��multi-state charactersâ�� rules. Similarity index value was calculated by assosiation correlation with Gower General Similarity Coefficient. Standarization, dendogram construction and principal component were analyzed with MVSP (Multi-Variate Statistical Package) 3.13n software. Results showed that the main morphological character comparation of male and female plant were pistil and fertile stamen present. Based on the dendogram construction, there were two-main groups, male plant and female plant with 54,2% index similarity value. The highest index similarity value was owned by female gading Purwobinangun and female gading Candibinangun with 85,5%. The principal characters that played an important role in the grouping were pistil protective fiber color (axis 1= -0.225
Settlement delays in the money market

Abstract We track 38,000 money market trades from execution to delivery and return, and provide a first empirical analysis of settlement delays in financial markets. In accord with the predictions of recent models of strategic settlement of financial claims, we document a tendency by lenders to delay delivery of loaned funds until the afternoon hours. We find banks to follow a simple strategy to manage the risk of account overdrafts, by delaying settlement of large payments relative to that of small payments. More sophisticated strategies such as increasing delays when own liquid balances are low and when dealing with small trading partners play a marginal role. We find evidence of strategic delay also when returning borrowed funds, although we can explain a smaller fraction of the dispersion in delays in the return than in delivery leg of money market lending.
The European MAPPYACTS Trial: Precision Medicine Program in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients with Recurrent Malignancies

MAPPYACTS (NCT02613962) is an international prospective precision medicine trial aiming to define tumor molecular profiles in pediatric patients with recurrent/refractory malignancies in order to suggest the most adapted salvage treatment. From February 2016 to July 2020, 787 patients were included in France, Italy, Ireland, and Spain. At least one genetic alteration leading to a targeted treatment suggestion was identified in 436 patients (69%) with successful sequencing; 10% of these alterations were considered "ready for routine use." Of 356 patients with follow-up beyond 12 months, 107 (30%) received one or more matched targeted therapies-56% of them within early clinical trials-mainly in the AcSé-ESMART platform trial (NCT02813135). Overall, matched treatment resulted in a 17% objective response rate, and of those patients with ready for routine use alterations, it was 38%. In patients with extracerebral tumors, 76% of actionable alterations detected in tumor tissue were also identified in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA).MAPPYACTS underlines the feasibility of molecular profiling at cancer recurrence in children on a multicenter, international level and demonstrates benefit for patients with selected key drivers. The use of cfDNA deserves validation in prospective studies. Our study highlights the need for innovative therapeutic proof-of-concept trials that address the underlying cancer complexity. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1171.
Rna regulation during viral infection

Viral infections are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality and frequency and impact of epidemics are expected to increase. Thorough understanding of basic virology is critical for informed development of prevention and control. Most systematic studies of virus-host interactions have focused on proteins, however, with recent methodological advances the intersecting fields of viral infection and RNA biology hold great promise for basic and therapeutic exploration. The goal of this application therefore is to discover and dissect RNA-based virus-host interactions and related regulatory mechanisms of gene expression.
Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) fine-tune gene expression by repressing mRNA targets. However, cellular miRNAs increase translation and replication of certain viruses. Thus, hepatitis C virus (HCV) critically depends on the liver specific miR-122, which emerged as a therapeutic target. Further, HCV sequesters enough miR-122 to indirectly regulate cellular gene expression. I hypothesize that this RNA-based mechanism contributes to virus induced liver cancer, and aim to address this using our recently developed rodent model for HCV infection (Aim 1). Better understanding of viral RNA (vRNA) interactions could significantly contribute to basic infection biology and novel therapeutics. I therefore aim to systematically identify vRNA interactions with other cellular RNAs and proteins (Aim 2). I expect to identify interactions of value for functional regulation and therapeutic targeting. I finally hypothesize that translation of certain cellular mRNAs – similarly to viruses – increase upon miRNA binding, and aim to systematically screen for such virus-like alternative regulation, with potential to change understanding of post-transcriptional regulation (Aim 3).
In conclusion, this high-risk high-gain project has potential to shape novel dogmas for virus and RNA biology and to identify novel RNA-based therapeutic targets; a promising upcoming field of discovery.
“Can It Be that a Sole Authority Remains?” Epistemological Conundrums in Post-Reformation Polemic

AbstractThe texts of the ancient skeptics resurfaced in the sixteenth century. How the Reformation and the subsequent confessionalization process interacted with the revival of skepticism remains disputed. Some historians contend that skeptical methods, especially those of Sextus Empiricus, were co-opted by French Catholic polemicists in the service of “counter-reformation”; others suggest that they were suppressed on both sides of the confessional divide by the new church-state establishments that were anxious to protect certainty and impose unity. Where these scholars agree, however, is on the historical trajectory of skeptical techniques: the loss of certainty in theology and the emergence of tolerance. The disputations on sacred scripture of Roberto Bellarmino and William Whitaker, the pre-eminent controversialists of late-sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism and English Calvinism, respectively, reveal the perdurance of skeptical techniques through the Reformation. They also reveal their unstable funct...
Chemical suppressors of neurotoxicity in synucleinopathic diseases

This invention relates to methods treating neurodegenerative alpha-synuclein aggregation diseases and disorders such as Parkinson's disease using compounds including glycyrrhetinic acid analogs, camptothecin and camptothecin analogs.
Artificial intelligence beyond quality

In the automotive industry, quality is the key differentiating factor. Scraps and defects represent a major risk to performance
and competitiveness, leading to very high costs. Besides, there is no specific solution in the market for the automatic quality
control of defects in plastic injection and painting defects, forcing manufacturers to maintain primitive techniques based on
human vision, that can be time-consuming and costly.
By applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to visual inspections, organisations can identify defects by matching patterns to images
that were previously analysed and classified. They could be detected up to 90% more accurately than humans. In addition,
reduction of personnel costs, rework, and scrap yields a total cost reduction of approximately 9% (~ €26 billion). A new
market report from Market&Market claims that automotive AI will reach €9.37 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 38.46%.
TECHEYE® is an innovative solution offering a fully automated directional vision system coupled with a self-calibration
lighting unit, based on Neural Networks. It comprises suitable hardware for images acquisition, a communications system
and software for image processing and analysis.
Our algorithms can automate visual inspection activities, even under complex conditions like variable position, orientation of
units or tough lighting conditions. TECHEYE® is able to classify injection faults: gusts, ampoules, pores and scratches.
We offer an affordable web service, user-friendly as plug and play, enabling defect classification. TECHEYE® can be really
suitable for automotive OEMs and plastic injection companies to enhance their production lines, the quality assurance and
cost reduction.
INOVALABS is a technical consulting company founded in 2004 in Vigo (Spain), providing services related to the definition
of innovation and competitiveness strategies, and design of R&D projects. TECHEYE® will boost the company revenues
streams over a new market niche
Leveraging predictive technologies to increase operational & cost efficiencies in the european cargo claims value chain.

OPTIMIZ is a claims management service SME which is finding new paths for swift and effective claims resolution in the logistics industry. Through its secure digital platform, it intelligently connects cargo claimants to cargo carriers with the aim of fostering AI assisted claims negotiations.

Cargo claims in the shipping industry are complex, expensive and longwinded. In fact, a marine cargo claim against a shipping line could take anywhere between two months to six months. In some cases, it could take up to a year. The reasons for such extended claims lifecycle have been attributed to the many touch points in the claims process but also the lack of trust between both sides.
Through its digital platform called CroP, OPTIMIZ is providing the tools necessary for reducing the claims lifecycle from many months to a few clicks and facilitating almost instant verification of claims supporting documents.

The innovative insights from OPTIMIZ founders ensure that users of CroP will be able to see immediate benefits from its use both in terms of operational efficiencies and claims administration costs. 

With an initial focus on cargo insurers, the annual cargo premium in 2016 was about USD55B with over 60% of that going toward claims payment and associated costs. OPTIMIZ is targeting what is considered to be low value claims which generate the most work for experienced claims handlers on both sides.

Working sessions with leading shipping lines have confirmed a clear market need for CroP. OPTIMIZ now seeks for funding for a feasibility study.
Spatially resolved acoustic, mechanical and ultrasonic sensing for smart batteries

The global objective of the Spartacus project is to develop an affordable sensor solution to detect degradation and failure mechanisms, intentionally before a loss of performance. The project will focus on mechanical and acoustic sensors completed by electrochemical impedance measurement and temperature sensors. The sensoric data will be correlated to battery performance and to corresponding models. The state of different parameters (SoX) will be monitored continuously which enables the management system to cycle the battery on an age-dependent optimum level. An advanced Battery Management System (BMS) will be developed. BMS will work in proximity to the cells terminals (i.e. a cell management system, CMS) to efficiently exploit all the sensoric data without extra-wiring harness. At the end of the project, an 24V smart battery module will be assembled and the CMS enhanced by the senoric data will be validated in different ageing conditions or for misused or abused batteries at lab-scale (TRL4).
Quantitatively, a reduction of 20% charging time without any negative effect on life time by exploitation of sensoric data is targeted. By usage of sensoric data, cell monitoring will be also improved and will increase the safety of batteries and avoid overheating (thermal runaway), fire or explosion.
Spartacus project is based on 6 specific objectives:
-	OBJ1: Development of new sensors design for smart batteries
-	OBJ2: Integration of the sensors according to industrial constraints incl. Packaging / Assembly technology
-	OBJ3: Data acquisition and data pre-processing for BMS integration
-	OBJ4: Modelling of failure mechanisms and correlation with SoX
-	OBJ5: Development of an advanced BMS and standardization procedures
-	OBJ6: Economic and environmental assessment
Spartacus consortium is a strong partnership of 5 European research centres and 1 leading industrial having extensive track-records in materials, battery, sensors, modelling, BMS and associated domains.