SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Cost‑effectiveness analysis of apixaban versus other NOACs for the prevention of stroke in Italian atrial fibrillation patients

OBJECTIVES: The study evaluated the cost‑effectiveness of apixaban in preventing thromboembolic events in non‑valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients, as compared to other three available novel oral anticoagulant agents (NOACs), from the Italian Health System (SSN) perspective.METHODS: A previously published lifetime Markov model was adapted for the Italian context. Baseline clinical risks were assigned based on the demographic and clinical features of the patients; effectiveness and safety parameters derived from adjusted indirect comparison using warfarin as link. The main clinical events considered in the model are ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, systemic thromboembolism, bleeds (both major and clinically relevant minor) and cardiovascular hospitalizations, besides treatment discontinuations. Expected survival was projected beyond trial duration using national mortality data adjusted for clinical risks and weighted by published utilities. Unit costs were collected from published Italian sources and actualized to 2013. Costs and health gains occurring after the first year were discounted at an annual 3.5% rate. The primary outcome measure of the economic evaluation was the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER), where effectiveness is measured in terms of life‑years and quality adjusted life‑years gained. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (DSA&amp;PSA) were carried out.RESULTS: In the short to medium term, apixaban was associated with marginal LYs and QALYs gains and slight savings, as compared to other NOACs. However, as apixaban extended expected survival versus dabigatran (110mg), dabigatran (150mg) and rivaroxaban (0.13, 0.08, and 0.06 LYs or 0.11, 0.07, and 0.05 QALYs), expected total lifetime costs exceeded those of these comparators (€ 319, € 282, and € 16). Corresponding ICERs were estimated in € 2,911, € 3,882 and € 327 per QALY gained. The most influential parameter according to DSA was daily costs of NOACs, but the corresponding ICERs remained well below commonly accepted WTP values. In PSA, the probabilities of apixaban being cost effective with a WTP threshold of 20,000 €/QALY gained were 99%, 92% and 93% for the same comparisons.CONCLUSIONS: Apixaban is expected to be more effective than dabigatran and rivaroxaban in Italian NVAF population, and marginally more costly due to consume healthcare resources for a longer period of time. The ICERs have a high likelihood of being below conventional thresholds of WTP for health benefits of the SSN and suggest that apixaban is cost‑effective compared with other three available NOACs.
Bowenoid transformation in seborrheic keratosis: A retrospective analysis of 429 patients.

Seborrheic keratosis is a common, benign skin tumor. Numerous reports have shown its possibility of malignant transformation. This study was designed to demonstrate the occurrence of concomitant seborrheic keratosis and skin cancers.Data was retrospectively reviewed from all patients with a diagnosis of seborrheic keratosis in pathology department of Alzahra Hospital and a private pathology laboratory in Isfahan, Iran over a 4-year period. We classified all demographic data and associated dysplasia or Bowen's disease and analyzed them by student-t or chi-square tests.From all 429 specimens, 5 (1.2%) were found to be associated with Bowen's disease and one (0.2%) with mild dysplasia in squamous epithelium. All cases arose within the clinically, atypical seborrheic keratosis. More men were affected with lesions alone and with malignancy (230/423 (54.4%) and 5/6 (83.3%), respectively) compared to women. The average age of patients suffering from lesions with and without associated malignancy was 57 and 54 years, respectively. The common site of lesion alone was head and neck but lesions with malignancy involved lower extremities. The two lesions were significantly different in site of occurrence (p < 0.001).Generally, although the association between seborrheic keratosis and skin malignancy appears to be accidental, it must always be in mind. Therefore, histopathologic examination of all seborrheic keratosis should be considered, especially when seborrheic keratosis has atypical clinical manifestations.
Controlling the susceptibility of biological cells to pulsed electric field treatment by using ion channel modulators

The integrity of the cell membrane, while essential for life of any biological cell, presents a barrier that sometimes needs to be transiently disrupted in order to deliver therapeutic molecules inside the cell. High-intensity pulsed electric fields (PEFs) are used increasingly in medicine to achieve such increase in cell membrane permeability via a phenomenon called cell membrane electroporation. PEF-based clinical applications include gene therapy techniques, DNA vaccination, electrochemotherapy, non-thermal tumor ablation, and cardiac ablation. Depending on the desired outcome of the PEF treatment, the targeted cells must either survive or die. However, different cell types exhibit different susceptibility to PEF treatment, with some cells being killed at lower pulse amplitude than others, which often presents a disadvantage that limits the safety and efficiency of PEF treatment. In this action I aim to design an approach that will allow us to increase or decrease cell’s susceptibility to PEF treatment in a controlled, clinically applicable way. The approach is based on using modulators of membrane ion channels, that can influence the extent and longevity of post-pulse membrane depolarization – a hallmark of membrane electroporation. My idea is on the one hand inspired by increasing amount of evidence showing the involvement of ion channels in PEF-induced cell response, and on the other hand by the fact that ion channel modulators are already successfully used in treatment of various diseases and we can expect exciting development of new modulators in the near future. The design will be guided by state-of-the-art microscopic techniques and computational models, including molecular dynamics simulations, particle-based simulations, and finite element modeling, that will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms of membrane depolarization and choose the appropriate modulators and pulse parameters for fine-tuning the treatment outcome.
Is urbanization improving real estate investment? A cross-regional study of China

This paper applies bootstrap panel Granger causality to test the relationship between urbanization and real estate investment from 1990 to 2014 for 29 provinces in China. We argue that the patterns of interaction between urbanization and investment in real estate vary across regions. The results show that urbanization does Grangerâ€ cause investment in real estate, primarily in the central and northeastern regions of China, while urbanization does not Grangerâ€ cause investment in real estate in the eastern and western regions, except for four provinces. Most regions do not have a Grangerâ€ causality relationship from real estate investment to urbanization; the exceptions are Henan and Hei Longjiang provinces. Our results only support one theory on the relationship between urbanization and the real estate market for oneâ€ third of the provinces. Thus, urbanization can improve real estate investment by increasing the demand for housing as a result of population agglomeration, but urbanization does not depend on real estate investment in China.
Beyond static molecules: modeling quantum fluctuations in complex molecular environments

We propose focused theory developments and applications, which aim to substantially advance our ability to model and understand the behavior of molecules in complex environments. From a large repertoire of possible environments, we have chosen to concentrate on experimentally-relevant situations, including molecular fluctuations in electric and optical fields, disordered molecular crystals, solvated (bio)molecules, and molecular interactions at/through low-dimensional nanostructures. A challenging aspect of modeling such realistic environments is that both molecular electronic and nuclear fluctuations have to be treated efficiently at a robust quantum-mechanical level of theory for systems with 1000s of atoms. In contrast, the current state of the art in the modeling of complex molecular systems typically consists of Newtonian molecular dynamics employing classical force fields. We will develop radically new approaches for electronic and nuclear fluctuations that unify concepts and merge techniques from quantum-mechanical many-body Hamiltonians, statistical mechanics, density-functional theory, and machine learning. Our developments will be benchmarked using experimental measurements with terahertz (THz)  spectroscopy, atomic-force and scanning tunneling microscopy (AFM/STM), time-of-flight (TOF) measurements, and molecular interferometry.

Our final goal is to bridge the accuracy of quantum mechanics with the efficiency of force fields, enabling large-scale predictive quantum molecular dynamics simulations for complex systems containing 1000s of atoms, and leading to novel conceptual insights into quantum-mechanical fluctuations in large molecular systems. The project goes well beyond the presently possible applications and once successful will pave the road towards having a suite of first-principles-based modeling tools for a wide range of realistic materials, such as biomolecules, nanostructures, disordered solids, and organic/inorganic interfaces.
Medición funcional en el dominio de la ética empírica

El presente artículo propone un enfoque empírico de la ética derivado de la teoría psicológica del juicio humano propuesta por Norman Anderson. Muestra cómo la metodología de esta teoría —denominada medición funcional— puede utilizarse para caracterizar las diversas posiciones personales que existen en todas las sociedades respecto a los problemas de salud pública. Los principales resultados de tres estudios realizados en tres países diferentes (Guinea, Francia y Colombia) se presentan como ilustración de lo que puede aportar este enfoque. Dichos análisis se centraron en tres problemas deliberadamente muy diferentes: (a) el deber de atender a los pacientes infectados, en caso de una epidemia que ponga en peligro la vida de los cuidadores; (b) la aceptabilidad de la reproducción postmortem, en el caso de los soldados que mueren en combate, y (c) la aceptabilidad del suicidio asistido por un médico.
Improved Apparatus for Measuring and Recording the Speed of Power-driven Vehicles.

12,624. Kalb, G. F. W., and Olsson, S. May 25. Feeding and driving means.-In speed indicators wherein a record of the speed is made on a vehicle-actuated strip, the strip is drawn from a spool 16 by feed rolls 28, 29 on to a roll 17, which is connected by a spring 30 and a notched disk 31 to a ratchet-wheel 19. The feed-rolls and the wheel 19 are rotated by pawls 18, 27 carried by an arm 25 mounted on a shaft 26 which is rocked by a cam 14<a> on the driving- shaft 1<a> engaging a spring-pressed plunger connected to a crank 24 carried by the shaft 26.
Interleukin-6 Deficiency Corrects Nephritis, Lymphocyte Abnormalities, and Secondary Sjögren's Syndrome Features in Lupus-ProneSle1.YaaMice

To assess disease features in Sle1.Yaa mice with genetic interleukin-6 (IL-6) deficiency.Sera and tissues were collected from C57BL/6 (B6), Sle1.Yaa, and Sle1.Yaa.IL-6(-/-) mice and analyzed for various features of disease. Using serum samples, autoantibody specificities were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence, cytokine production was analyzed by Luminex and ELISA, and levels of blood urea nitrogen were determined by ELISA. Renal, lung, and salivary gland tissue sections were evaluated for pathologic changes. Lymphocyte phenotypes, including CD4+ T cell cytokine production, and those of follicular and extrafollicular T helper subsets, germinal center B cells, and plasma cells, were determined using flow cytometry.IL-6 deficiency not only ameliorated autoantibody production and renal disease in this model, but also effectively reduced inflammation of lungs and salivary glands. Furthermore, IL-6 deficiency abrogated differentiation of Th1 and extrafollicular T helper cells, germinal center B cells, and plasma cells in the spleen and eliminated renal T cells with IL-17, interferon-γ, and IL-21 production potential.Our findings highlight IL-6-mediated T cell aberrations in Yaa-driven autoimmunity and support the concept of therapeutic IL-6/IL-6 receptor blockade in systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome by impairing the production of autoantibodies and lymphocytic infiltration of the kidneys, lungs, and salivary glands.
Satisfaction of the producers and orange production trends in the main Brazilian citrus belt

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a satisfação dos produtores quanto ao cultivo da laranja-doce (Citrus sinensis) e as tendências da produção, no principal cinturão citrícola brasileiro – nos estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais (Triângulo Mineiro / sudoeste de Minas Gerais). Foram entrevistados 260 produtores de 922 propriedades estratificadas [até 20.000 árvores (pequenas), de 20.001 a 100.000 (médias), e mais de 100.000 árvores (grandes)]. A análise com 93% de nível de confiança e 5% de erro amostral mostrou que 92% das propriedades são próprias, 28% são irrigadas, 61% têm menos de 20 mil árvores, e 81% são cultivadas há mais de 20 anos; além disso, 45% dos produtores desejam plantar a cultivar ‘Pera Rio’, e 53% dos produtores desejam utilizar o portaenxerto citrumelo ‘Swingle’. As regiões preferidas para plantio são Avaré, Triângulo Mineiro e São José do Rio Preto. Os maiores receios quanto à produção de laranja no cinturão citrícola são os fatores climáticos adversos, em seus setores norte e noroeste, e os problemas fitossanitários em seus setores sudoeste, sul e centro. Apesar da redução do número de propriedades com laranja nas últimas décadas, essa tendência pode ser atenuada pela satisfação com a cultura principalmente da parte dos maiores produtores. Isso pode ser confirmado pela decisão de estabelecer novos plantios em 69% (grandes), 48% (médias) e 36% (pequenas) das propriedades.
Evidencia de Circovirus tipo 3 (PCV3) en una granja suina de Costa Rica

Se reporta, por primera vez en Costa Rica, en una granja porcina ubicada en la provincia de Cartago, la presencia del patógeno Circovirus Porcino3 (PCV3). Se utilizó la técnica de PCR en Tiempo Real. De un total de 56 pooles de muestras de sangre, provenientes de animales con sintomatología respiratoria y desmedro, 32 resultaron positivos (57,14%) y 24 negativas (42.86%) para PCV3. Solo hubo un caso positivo para PCV2 y negativo para PCV3. Es importante dar seguimiento a la presencia de esta enfermedad en el país, con el fin de conocer su epidemiología e impacto en el hato porcino nacional.
Emulsar: give the world appetite for health.

Emulsar is an innovative SME founded in 2004. Emulsar invented a breakthrough emulsion technology that allows the designing and manufacturing of disruptive innovations to revolutionize health and nutrition. Since 2012 Emulsar has produced hundreds of tons of Light oil® used to bring a whole new generation of ultra low-fat and healthier dressings with enhanced taste on the market.

The combination of aging populations, more sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition habits has created a huge raise in public health issues such as diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer, denutrition and cancer.  

Health goes through nutrition.
Today, poor taste is one of the main criticisms heard about healthy functional food, and undoubtedly the major reason for poor consumption. 

Nutrition demands taste.

Our objective and main motivation for this project proposal are to accelerate the deployment of our innovative manufacturing technology on a European & world scale by investigating functional food market opportunities. 

Emulsar’s mission is to improve the health impact of functional food through enhanced taste.

The deployment of such a technology will lead to these outcomes: 

• identify the most valuables functional food products in terms of nutrition impact and business opportunity for Europe & the world
• produce lab prototypes
• generate market data to forecast turnover and ROI
• build a strong business plan

These outcomes will also lead to the following impacts:
• positively modify patient and consumer perception of functional food
• dramatically increase consumption of functional food in Europe and around the world
• help solving chronic diseases and face the aging of population

The objectives of phase 1 are to conduct a global market study and realize prototypes to be used as proof of concept. The success of phase 1 will lead to industrialize and commercialize our application in phase 2 and start developing new promising applications.

Emulsar: give the world appetite for health.
Molecular design of polymers for biomedical applications

MEDIPOL (“Molecular Design of Polymers for Biomedical Applications”) is an interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral collaborative effort that utilises the mechanism of personnel exchange between partners located in the EU and Asia to address key aspects of problems of huge international socioeconomic importance. Through carefully planned and integrated secondments MEDIPOL will use knowledge transfer to train 29 ESRs and 20 ERs to be future leaders in both academia and industry. The specific major problems that we shall tackle affect vision and mobility, which are becoming increasingly critical issues in healthcare systems across the world, where the growing socio-economic difficulties of ageing populations are evident at both individual and governmental levels. MEDIPOL is designed to identify, design, develop and disseminate understanding of materials and technologies for systems that will aid and augment the healthy ageing of ocular and dermal tissue. Key to achieving this lies in harnessing the understanding of the moist ocular surface and its relevance to compromised dermal tissue. There are clear links between ocular and dermal sites. Importantly, understanding these analogies facilitates the design of contact lenses especially for use as corneal bandages, of ophthalmic dry eye therapies and of successful burn and wound dressings. These issues are international, they affect quality of life and they are of very significant social and economic importance in both developing and developed economies.

MEDIPOL is an integrated 4-year program of knowledge transfer and networking between Aston University, UK (Aston), i+Med S. Coop, Spain (i+Med), Technical University of Liberec, Czech republic (TUL), Chiang Mai University, Thailand (CMU), Naresuan University, Thailand (NU) and Mae Fah Luang, Thailand (MFU). The overarching objective of the proposed joint exchange programme is to establish long-term stable research cooperation between all partners.
Abstract 3100: Replacing fetal calf serum by human platelet lysate in cancer research and toxicology

Experiments with cultured mammalian cells represent a common in vitro alternative to animal experiments. Fetal calf serum (FCS) is the most commonly used medium supplement. FCS contains a mixture of largely undefined growth factors and cytokines. Since FCS is received from unborn calves older than three months, it represents a massive burden for the pregnant cows and their fetuses. A needle is inserted into the heart of the fetus to collect blood. Since the animal is not under anesthesia, it may suffer pain and discomfort. Furthermore, the undefined nature of FCS is a source of experimental variation, undesired immune responses, and possible contaminations. Thus, alternative, defined, valid, and reliable medium supplements should be identified. We follow the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement). We established a method to receive human platelet lysate (hPL) from human blood platelets. We investigated if hPL represents potential true alternative for FCS in cell culture experiments and thereby the cruel slaughtering of unborn fetuses. hPL is received by freeze and thawing cycles and centrifugation steps. We successfully adapted three human leukemia cell lines (K562, NB4 and MV4-11) and HCT116 colon cancer cells to culture medium containing 1-5% hPL. We analyzed cell morphology by microscopy. Cell growth kinetics were examined by counting and cell cycle distributions were investigated by flow cytometry. Protein expression patterns were determined globally by global scale proteomics. We additionally determined possible FCS- or hPL-dependent reactions of cells to the well-established anti-cancer drugs Irinotecan, Hydroxyurea and Imatinib, and to epigenetic modulators of the HDAC inhibitor family (FK228 and the new, highly selective HDAC6 inhibitor Marbostat-100) by flow cytometry and Western blot. In these tests, we particularly focused on the expression of the pan-leukemic marker and transcription factor Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) and on the tumor suppressor p53. All tested cell lines grow with 5% FCS and 5% hPL. Cell morphology, cell cycle distribution, and protein expression patterns were not affected by such different culture conditions in resting and treated cells. We further show that the class I HDACs HDAC1-3, but not HDAC6, regulate WT1 and p53. Our findings demonstrate that hPL is a promising replacement for animal serum. Citation Format: Oliver H. Kramer. Replacing fetal calf serum by human platelet lysate in cancer research and toxicology [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3100.
European Cultural Route of Reformation

The ECRR project is the first regional development initiative in Central Europe that aims to capitalize upon the rich Reformation heritage. Making use of the increasing worldwide demand for touristic offers relating to the Reformation, ECRR will create the first transnational cultural route network, applying for recognition by the Council of Europe, which focuses on the Reformation heritage of Central Europe. It will create a critical mass of Reformation-themed offers to put Central Europe on the map for spiritually focused visitors from all over the world, and thus unlock investments and attract more visitors to Central Europe.
 
The legacy of the Reformation, albeit still widely neglected as a regional resource, is an essential part of the shared history and culture of Central Europe. The managing bodies of existing paths in Germany and Austria will now join forces with regions in Hungary, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic to set up the transnational European Cultural Route of Reformation. Within the project, the partners will work together to set up the route network, reflecting the wide array of Reformation heritage in Central Europe – from the legacy of reformators such as Martin Luther, Jan Hus, and Primoz Trubar, to the traces of bible smugglers during the counter-reformation. A common management structure and a joint umbrella label will be developed as tools to promote the route and its regional and transnational chapters to a worldwide audience.

The partners will closely collaborate to support each other in the set-up of routes, and in fostering innovative cooperation structures. A mentoring and review scheme will be introduced to allow for a targeted transfer of knowledge and good practices from experienced to less experienced regions. Furthermore, the project will build stakeholder capacities by means of trainings in order to support the valorisation of the route for regional development and tourism.