SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Problematic donation procedures vs. futuristic research and treatment applications: A dichotomous social representation of stem cells in Italy

Currently, stem cells (SC) are one of the most studied issues of medical research as well as a widespread, complex, socially and ethically relevant issue. The general aim of the present study is to explore how social representations (SR) of SC is different for people more or less willing to donate SC, also comparing bone marrow SC (BMSC) donation and umbilical cord blood SC (UCBSC) donation. A paper-and-pencil survey was administrated to 78 Italian respondents. A structural analysis of SC-SRs (prototypical and co-occurrence analysis) was conducted comparing people with a high/low intention to donate UCBSC/BMSC. Similarly to other bioethically relevant issues, SR of SC seems to be ambivalent and dichotomously organized, with the donation procedure been a barrier. These results are in line with studies finding two sets of dichotomies: on the one hand, a gift-of-life/replacement-of-body-parts dichotomy coexisting within people's SR of organ donation; on the other hand, a help/pain and needle dichotomy within blood donation's SR. Directions for future research are suggested. Les cellules souches (CS) sont actuellement parmi les objets les plus étudiés par la recherche en médecine, en étant aussi un objet de recherche répandu, complexe et d’actualité au niveau social et éthique. L’objectif général de cette étude est l’exploration de la représentation sociale (RS) des CS parmi les personnes qui ont plus ou moins envie de donner des CS, en comparant aussi le don des CS de la moelle osseuse (CSMO) et le don des CS du sang du cordon ombilical (CSCO). Un questionnaire en format papier a été distribué à 78 participants italiens. Une analyse structurale de la RS des CS (analyse prototypique et des co-occurrences) a été réalisée, en comparant les participants avec haute/basse intention de donner CSMO/CSCO. De même que pour d’autres objets d’actualité au niveau bioéthique, la RS des SC semble être ambivalente et est organisée de façon dichotomique, avec la procédure de donation ayant un rôle de barrière. Ces résultats sont cohérents avec d’autres études retrouvant deux types de dichotomie : d’une part, une dichotomie don-de-vie/remplacement-de-parties-du-corps qui coexistent dans la RS du don d’organes, et d’autre part, une dichotomie aide/douleur-et-aiguilles existant dans la RS du don de sang. Des suggestions pour la recherche future sont indiquées.
Brenner Lower Emissions Corridor

BrennerLEC is the contraction of Brenner Lower Emissions Corridor. BrennerLEC aims at making traffic along the Brenner axis more respectful of the local population's health and more compatible with the geographical features of the land, in order to protect the particular Alpine environment crossed.

It is a demonstrative and innovative project aiming at defining how, where and when speed limits and other traffic management measures can be applied to achieve the maximum environmental and transport benefit with the minimum inconvenience for road users.

The three pillars of the projects are:



1. dynamic speed limits management;



2. dynamic lane usage;



3. "intelligent" on-road information.

The efficiency of these measures will be evaluated in terms of environmental impact reduction as well as their socio-economic impact and in traffic fluency terms.



The BrennerLEC project is carried out in the context of a sensible area like the Alps with the objective of creating a holistic concept of "Lower Emission Corridor" (LEC) for the A22 highway. The project aims to implement and validate a set of different dynamic policies that have the goal to provide a clear environmental benefit in terms of air quality, climate protection and noise abatement.

The reduction of polluting emissions is pursued by means of the following strategies:



1. Traffic flows management during heavy traffic situations by combining dynamic speed limit reduction and dynamic lane activation strategies.



2. Dynamic management of the maximum speed limits allowed according to air quality.



3. Traffic flows management near the biggest urban areas by means of "intelligent" on-road information.

BrennerLEC aims at being a "win-win" project as it follows environmental objectives (better air quality and reduction of greenhouse gases and noise) by trying at the same time to achieve a more efficient transport system (more transport capacity and safety).
Influence of hormone supplementation therapy on the incidence of denture stomatitis and on chemiluminescent activity of polymorphonuclear granulocytes in blood of menopausal-aged women

Menopause is a health and social problem that affects a large number of women. Inadequate quantity of steroid hormones also impacts quality of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. During menopausal age, many women wear removable prosthetic restorations in order to replace missing teeth. Such restorations may facilitate the development of inflammations in the surface of the oral cavity, referred to as denture stomatitis.The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of hormone supplementation therapy on the incidence of Candida-associated denture stomatitis and on the metabolic activity of polymorphonuclear granulocytes in peripheral blood of female patients.The study was conducted on a group of women in menopausal age, users of hormone replacement therapy and of removable prosthetic restorations. Female patients were subjected to a clinical study that included interviews and physical examinations. Laboratory microbiological examinations were completed on the basis of direct swabs collected from the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and from the surface of dentures. Metabolic activity of polymorphonuclear granulocytes in peripheral blood of female patients was evaluated by means of a chemiluminescence test.Candida-associated denture stomatitis observed was characterized by a strong growth of fungi and a lower chemiluminescent activity of neutrophils in blood of female patients undergoing hormone supplementation therapy.Patients using hormone supplementation therapy and removable prosthetic restorations constitute a high-risk group for Candida infections and inflammations of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity; thus they should remain under constant dental control.
Biochemical and cryoem studies of spliceosome activation.

Pre-mRNA splicing is a fundamental maturation step of eukaryotic mRNAs that consists of the removal of introns and the concomitant ligation of exons by two successive transesterification reactions. This complex biological process is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a gigantic ribonucleoprotein particle that assembles de novo on each intron and uses a single RNA-based active site to perform both reactions. 
The spliceosome is composed of five snRNPs (U1, U2, U4, U5, U6) that are recruited to pre-mRNAs in a stepwise manner. When a pre-catalytic spliceosome, consisting of all five snRNPs, is formed on a pre-mRNA it has no pre-existing active site and undergoes extensive compositional and conformational changes to become “catalytically competent”. During this transition, two snRNPs (U1 and U4) are lost and several new factors are recruited, ensuring the formation and stabilization of the active site as well as the correct positioning of the pre-mRNA’s reactive groups in the catalytic centre. 
Thanks to recent technological advances in Electron Microscopy (EM), a series of cryoEM structures of fully assembled “active” spliceosomes at atomic resolution have been solved in the host group and elsewhere, in the past two years. These structures, which have created much excitement in the RNA community, visualize the spliceosome during each step of the catalytic cycle and allow a mechanistic understanding of catalysis. However, due to the scarcity of high-resolution information on earlier complexes, many questions remain regarding spliceosome activation.
My project aims at filling a gap in our understanding of pre-mRNA splicing by unraveling the molecular details of spliceosome activation. To that end, I will use a combination of biochemical characterization and cryoEM to study yeast spliceosome captured at discrete early stages of activation.
Diagnosing SAPHO Syndrome in Suspected Metastatic Bone Tumors

Abstract: A previously healthy 44-year-old woman who had been followed at different health care facilities for symptoms which had begun 3 years earlier was referred to our service for clinical evaluation. Her problems during the initial examination were pain in the sternoclavicular and sacroiliac joints as well as plantar pustulitis. Based on previous x-ray hyperostosis findings, metastatic bone tumors to the spine and first costocondral junctions bilaterally were suspected. A biopsy of the sternoclavicular lesion showed a nonspecific inflammation pattern. On the first physical examination we found a nontender swelling of the sternoclavicular junctions, necrosis of the plantar epidermis and pain at the sacroiliac joints. The patient was referred for bone scintigraphy and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan. The whole body bone scintigraphy using Tc-99m MDP showed increased accumulation of the radiotracer in the anterior chest wall and in the right sacroiliac joint. Metastatic bone tumor was not suggested, although exclusion of bone metastases was difficult. The PET-CT with F-18 FDG showed areas with low metabolic activity in the anterior chest wall (SUV Max: 1.96) and in the right sacroiliac joint (SUV Max: 2.18) making the diagnosis of malignancy and acute infection unlikely. The clinical symptoms, the typical skin lesions involving the soles of the feet and low hypermetabolic lesions on PET-CT made the final diagnosis of SAPHO syndrome.
GAMING SYSTEM WITH WAGER LOCATION

A gaming system comprises a gaming server, one or more player stations and a communication network capable of providing communication between the gaming server and each player station. Each player station is located remotely from the gaming server and is capable of rendering to a player a simulation of one or more games of chance and of enabling the player to place a wager on a turn of any one of the games of chance. The gaming server records transaction data relating to each wager placed by a player on each turn of any of the games chance, the transaction data including the size of the wager, the time and date of the wager, an outcome of the turn of the game of chance, a geographic location of the player station on which the wager was placed by the player, and a status of the wager. The status of the wager is either successful if the outcome of the turn of the game is a favourable outcome, and unsuccessful if the outcome of the turn of the game is not a favourable outcome. Each player station has a unique identification code, and the system includes a player station database in which the geographic location of any player station is stored, indexed by unique identification code.
Evaluation of Presignals at Oversaturated Signalized Intersections

One of the major causes of bus delays in urban environments is signalized intersections. A commonly used solution to give priority to buses at signalized intersections is to dedicate a lane for bus use only. This strategy allows the bus to skip the car queues and minimizes the bus delay experienced at the signal. However, especially for low bus flows, the strategy can waste valuable green time at signals and impose additional car delays. Overall, even when bus passengers enjoy reduced travel times, the total person hours of delay in the system can increase. To avoid this problem and utilize the full capacity of the main signal while still providing bus priority, the use of a presignal has been proposed. The goal of this research was to quantify the benefits of the use of presignals in system wide total person hours of delay, specifically for oversaturated intersections. Theoretical formulas were developed to quantify the effects of a presignal on traffic flow, and the formulas were empirically verified. The theoretical model was used to compare the total delay with a presignal strategy with the total delay with a dedicated bus lane or fully mixed lanes. Bounds on bus-to-car occupancy ratios were quantified for which presignals provided the lowest delay compared with a dedicated lane or mixed lane strategy. The results showed that for oversaturated intersections, presignals were better for the system than dedicated bus lanes. Moreover, presignals could decrease the total person hours of delay compared with mixed lanes for large car demands.
QUADRAPHASE DEMODULATION

A received, suppressed carrier, quadraphase shift key modulated (QPSK) signal is demodulated with a phase locked loop including a variable frequency, coherent reference that drives first and second channels also responsive to the QPSK signal. The channels respectively derive first and second replicas of binary signals that modulated the suppressed carrier. The replicas are combined to derive a variable amplitude error signal for controlling the coherent reference frequency. The frequency of the coherent reference is dithered at a low rate so that there is derived a relatively low level tracking error phase from the locked loop. The frequency of the coherent reference is swept when the phase of the error signal differs from the dithering phase by a predetermined value that is appreciably less than 90.degree..
Volunteerism networking towards civil protection and prevention of natural disasters with the use of ICT

The general objective of the project is to recognize and examine alternatives for fire risks prevention and mitigation in order to better control them and reduce the material losses and casualties associated with fire risks. It will enhance and promote cross-border co-operation with the exchange of information and practices on fire prevention and mitigation policies and measures. The main output is the creation of a joint volunteerism network, working supportively to “civil protection” services. The project consists of the following: • Training seminars given by civil protection experts • Study tours and training courses of volunteers • Study regarding the current state analysis, good practices in both areas and a manual – guide regarding the volunteers’ role and tasks in emergency situations • Development of “fire prevention and mitigation” management plans • Supply “on the spot” equipment for the volunteers (palm top pc, GPS, relevant software) • supply and plantation of 10.000 plants in burned areas of both countries
SOLAR COLLECTOR SYSTEM

A line-focus type solar collector unit (10, 110) comprising one or more trough-like concentrator or reflector (12, 112, 142, 144) and a longitudinal radiation receiver (14, 114, 146, 148) fixed at the focus of each of the one or more concentrator or reflector. The solar collector unit is received within a casing (16, 116, 140) having a transparent sealing panel (18, 118, 150) provided over the aperture of the concentrator or reflector.
Targeting root hydraulic architecture to improve crops under drought

Water is the most limiting environmental factor for agricultural production worldwide and climate change exacerbates this threat. The HyArchi project will address this issue from a plant biology perspective and proposes new strategies to improve crop tolerance to drought. 
The main objective is to optimize water uptake and transport in cereals affected by drought. HyArchi will target maize, a major crop and a foundational model in plant genetics and water relations that is grown in irrigation or rain-fed conditions. 
HyArchi will consider three root traits: root system architecture, generated through continuous growth and branching; water transport; and environmental signalling. The first two traits yield the root hydraulic architecture. HyArchi will investigate how this architecture evolves in time and space by integrating local and systemic signals that communicate water availability. 
HyArchi proposes two innovative molecular discovery approaches recently validated by my group in model plants. Genome-wide association studies will be used to uncover novel genes, with signalling functions acting on root hydraulics. Transcriptomic analyses of an experimental split-root system will be used to identify molecules (e.g. hormones, miRNAs) involved in systemic signalling and governing root growth and hydraulics. 
These studies will be supported by key methodological developments. A semi-automated set of pressure chambers will be constructed to measure root hydraulics in multiple genotypes under highly controlled local root environments. Improved root image analyses will be coupled to mathematical modelling to represent local and systemic effects of water on root hydraulic architecture. 
Ultimately, HyArchi will deliver enhanced knowledge on root water transport and its control by a set of new genes, with a description of their natural variation and impact on whole-plant drought responses. Importantly, this will  allow introducing beneficial alleles into elite cultivars.
Determinants and Outcomes of Acute Transcatheter Valve-in-Valve Therapy or Embolization

This study investigated the determinants and outcomes of acute insertion of a second transcatheter prosthetic valve (TV) within the first (TV-in-TV) or transcatheter valve embolization (TVE) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). TAVR failure can occur with both TV-in-TV and TVE as a consequence of TAVR malpositioning. Only case reports and limited series pertaining to these complications have been reported to date. Patients undergoing TAVR in the PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve Trial Edwards SAPIEN Transcatheter Heart Valve) randomized trial (cohorts A and B) and accompanying registries were studied. Data were dichotomized for those with and without TV-in-TV or TVE, respectively. From a total of 2,554 consecutive patients, 63 (2.47%) underwent TV-in-TV and 26 (1.01%) TVE. The indication for TV-in-TV was significant aortic regurgitation in most patients, often due not only to malpositioning but also to leaflet dysfunction. Despite similar aortic valve function on follow-up echoes, TV-in-TV was an independent predictor of 1-year cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03 to 3.38, p = 0.041), with a nonsignificant trend toward greater all-cause mortality (HR: 1.43, 95% CI: 0.88 to 2.33, p = 0.15). Technical and anatomical reasons accounted for most cases of TVE. A multivariable analysis found TVE to be an independent predictor of 1-year mortality (HR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.34 to 5.36, p = 0.0055) but not cardiovascular mortality (HR: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.48 to 3.52, p = 0.60). Acute TV-in-TV and TVE are serious sequelae of TAVR, often resulting in multiple valve implants. They carry an excess of mortality and are caused by anatomic and technical factors, which may be avoidable with judicious procedural planning. (THE PARTNER TRIAL: Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve Trial; NCT00530894 )
A gentle way of introducing multi-core programming into the curriculum: tutorial presentation

Moore's Law is an observation predicting that the number of transistors placed on an integrated circuit would double every 18 to 24 months. Until recently, this has roughly translated to increases in clock speed and processing power in the same time period. Recently, however, improvements in hardware processing power are proceeding on a new model. Instead of deriving processing power from scaling clock speed, which eventually increases power usage and heat emission to unmanageable levels, chip manufacturers have begun to increase overall processing power by adding additional processing cores to the microprocessor package, while clock speeds have remained virtually unchanged. New processors will eventually come in heterogeneous configurations such as combinations of high- and low-power cores, graphical processors, etc. These future configurations are being termed many-core architectures.
Generating Relevant and Diverse Query Suggestions Using Sparse Manifold Ranking with Sink Regions

AbstractIn order to improve the usability of a search engines, Query Suggestion, a technique for generating alternative queries to Web users, has become an indispensable feature for such systems. By measuring the similarity between queries in the Euclidean space, however, most existing works mainly focus on suggesting relevant queries to the original query while ignoring diversity in the suggestions, which will potentially dissatisfy Web users’ information needs. In fact, it is more natural and reasonable to assume that the query space is a sparse manifold. In this paper, we present a novel query suggestion method based on sparse query manifold learning and sparse manifold ranking with sink regions. By turning selected queries and their sparse neighbors into sink regions on the sparse query manifold, our approach can extract query suggestions by simultaneously considering both diversity and relevance in a unified way. Empirical experimental results on a large scale query log show that our approach is able to effectively generate highly diverse as well as semantically related suggestions.KeywordsSparse RepresentationQuery PointRanking ScoreInput QueryRanking ProcessThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Disentangling anthropogenic and natural causes for global coastal hypoxia

Dissolved oxygen is an essential substance for a large portion of marine biota. Hypoxia, the reduction of dissolved oxygen concentrations to levels which are detrimental to the health of aerobic organisms, is currently expanding throughout the world's coastal areas, creating a negative impact from both the environmental (e.g. reduced biodiversity, reduced population growth, formation of 'dead zones') and economical (loss of fisheries) perspectives. Through the development and usage of local to global scale biogeochemical models, this research addresses past, present, and future formation of hypoxic 'dead zones' as a result of human-induced nutrient loadings and climate change. These topics are relevant for both industry and society, as they include the effects of changing river nutrient export to coastal marine ecosystems on the increasing frequency, extent, and duration of hypoxia. These studies will serve to further constrain nutrient reduction strategies and their effect on the amelioration of hypoxia in various coastal environments.