SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Dynamic ubiquitin signalling coordinates transcriptional reprogramming in plant immunity

Dynamic regulation of gene expression is vital for all organisms and enables them to respond to the ever-changing environment. Plant cells display dramatic reprogramming of the transcriptome in response to pathogen attack, ensuring prioritisation of immune responses over normal cellular functions. The immunizing hormone salicylic acid (SA) plays indispensable roles in this process, establishing long-lasting disease resistance against future pathogen attack. Chemical and genetic approaches that impinge on SA signalling have been developed to combat economically costly plant diseases that threaten future food security. However, these protection strategies are often environmentally unsustainable or have penalties on plant growth and yield. Understanding how SA reprograms the transcriptome to establish durable immunity will enable the urgent design of improved sustainable technologies for crop protection.    My team recently pioneered discoveries that demonstrate SA employs the small post-translational modifier, ubiquitin, to establish durable immunity. SA induces dynamic modification of regulatory proteins with ubiquitin chains of diverse linkage types, generating the potential to control their functions and activities. Understanding the relevance of distinct ubiquitin chain types and their protein targets is a major challenge and is only in its infancy in plants. The ‘UbRegulate’ project will reveal how SA-induced ubiquitin signalling: (i) engages the transcriptional machinery and reveal its potential for exploitation by agrichemical biology; (ii) avoids transcription-induced genome instability; (iii) orchestrates chromatin permissiveness to allow gene expression; and (iv) utilises diverse chain linkage types to establish durable, broad-spectrum immunity. In addition to advancing fundamental insights into dynamic ubiquitin signalling, this ambitious project will reveal how ubiquitin signalling can be harnessed to revolutionise plant protection strategies.
Piecing the puzzle together : enhancing the quality of road trauma surveillance through linkage of police and health data

This program of research linked police and health data collections to investigate the potential benefits for road safety in terms of enhancing the quality of data. This research has important implications for road safety because, although police collected data has historically underpinned efforts in the area, it is known that many road crashes are not reported to police and that these data lack specific injury severity information. This research shows that data linkage provides a more accurate quantification of the severity and prevalence of road crash injuries which is essential for: prioritising funding; targeting interventions; and estimating the burden and cost of road trauma.
Mechanical and thermal properties of ambient cured cotton fabric-reinforced fly ash-based geopolymer composites

This paper presents the mechanical and thermal properties of cotton fabric (CF)-reinforced fly ash-based geopolymer composites cured under ambient condition. Setting and hardening of above composite at ambient temperature are achieved by partial replacement of small amount of fly ash with Ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The effects of different quantities of OPC on flexural strength, fracture toughness, impact strength and thermal stability of above composite are evaluated, and the microstructural characterisation of each composite and its matrix is also conducted. Results show that the mechanical properties of the composites are improved with the addition of OPC; however, SEM images of fracture surfaces reveal that OPC hinders toughening mechanisms by limiting the prevalence of fibre pull out and fibre debonding. At high temperatures, the thermal stability of the geopolymer composites increases with the presence of either OPC or CF layers.
Assessing the Influence of Indoor Exposure to “Outdoor Ozone” on the Relationship between Ozone and Short-term Mortality in U.S. Communities

City-to-city differences have been reported for the increase in short-term mortality associated with a given increase in ozone concentration (ozone mortality coefficient). Although ozone concentrations are monitored at central outdoor locations, a large fraction of total ozone exposure occurs indoors.To clarify the influence of indoor exposure to ozone of outdoor origin on short-term mortality, we conducted an analysis to determine whether variation in ozone mortality coefficients among U.S. cities might be partly explained by differences in total ozone exposure (from both outdoor and indoor exposures) resulting from the same outdoor ozone concentration.We estimated average annual air change rates (the overall rate at which indoor air is replaced with outdoor air) and used these to estimate the change in total ozone exposure per unit change in outdoor ozone exposure (ozone exposure coefficient) for 18 cities that had been included in the National Morbidity and Mortality Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS). We then examined associations between both parameters and published ozone mortality coefficients.For the 18 targeted NMMAPS cities, the association between ozone mortality coefficients and ozone exposure coefficients was strong (1-hr ozone metric: R2 = 0.58, p < 0.001; 8-hr ozone: R2 = 0.56, p < 0.001; 24-hr ozone: R2 = 0.48, p = 0.001). When extended to another 72 NMMAPS cities, the associations remained strong (R2 = 0.47-0.63; p < 0.001).Differences in ozone mortality coefficients among cities appear to partially reflect differences in total ozone exposure resulting from differences in the amount of outdoor ozone that is transported indoors.
APPLICATION FOR EXTENDING FUNCTIONALITY OF PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE TO A MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE

A mobile communications unit (1) that has an application (5) adapted to directly or indirectly control a non-public branch exchange (3) via a wireless telephone network (2), said wireless telephone network (2) being part of a public telephone network, said application having a client program (6) which, on the one hand, is adapted to present a graphical view on a display screen of the mobile communications unit, in which view users can select one out of a plurality of different predetermined functions or actions which the user desires the branch exchange to perform or take and, on the other hand, to generate the specific instruction which the branch exchange associates with the selected function or action. According to the invention, the application has a server program (7) that is adapted to poll a predetermined TCP socket of the communications unit, wherein the client program, when it has generated the specific instruction which the branch exchange associates with the function or action the user has selected, is adapted to send the instruction to said TCP socket, and wherein the server program is adapted to utilize a suitable API (9) in the operating system of the communications unit to call via an operator-associated SIM-card and the telephone network and forward the instruction to the branch exchange. The invention also relates to a method in such a communications unit.
Space TEchnology with Photonics for market and societal challenges

Space technologies based on photonics are considered as one of Europe’s areas of key industrial competence. They have huge potential to address a number of today’s grand societal challenges, in particular health and wellbeing, climate action and secure societies. However, this potential will be wasted if public polciy fails to address the gap between space research and its application on the ground. A long-term challenge is to ensure that R&I investments exploit the opportunities offered by space (e.g. huge availability of data and signals) by ensuring that applications and services are produced to address societal challenges and that they reach the market. 

Recognising the role played by EU regions in space policy, both in strategic development and territorial impact, STEPHANIE brings together 8 partners from 7 areas to exchange knowledge on how to ensure that policy is designed to guarantee real benefits from space technology based on photonics, particularly in space and earth observation.

Partners have recognised two pilars that their ERDF policy instruments can focus on to support this R&I delivery:
- using quadruple helix cooperation along the technological value chain at regional and interregional level;
- coordinated and simplified funding schemes for the development of marketable and society orientated products and services.

Partners and regional stakeholders cooperate over three years of interregional learning, leading to regional Action Plans that detail concrete measures for policy improvements. They continue to cooperate while implementing these measures, using interregional exchange for further stimulus and monitoring.

Policy changes will deliver long-term impact to regional competitiveness and socio-environmental well-being, thanks to collaborative innovation and innovative products addressing socio-environmental needs. They will open new markets for enterprises and improve capacity of regions to direct European space policies and strategies.
CIRCULAR HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE WITH HIGH STITCH FORMING PRECISION AND HIGH OPERATING VERSATILITY

A circular hosiery knitting machine with high stitch forming precision and high operating versatility. The machine (1, 1a) comprises a supporting structure (2, 2a) and a needle cylinder (4, 4a) which is oriented so that its axis (3, 3a) is substantially vertical and is provided, on its lateral surface, with a plurality of axial slots (5, 5a), each of which accommodates a needle (6, 6a) which can be actuated with a reciprocating motion along the corresponding axial slot (5, 5a). A sinker ring (7, 7a) is arranged around the upper end of the needle cylinder (4, 4a), is coaxial to the needle cylinder (4, 4a) and is provided with a plurality of radial slots (8, 8a), each of which accommodates a sinker (9, 9a), which can move with a reciprocating motion along the corresponding radial slot (8, 8a). Each sinker (9, 9a) is provided with a heel (10, 10a) which protrudes upward from the corresponding radial slot (8, 8a) and can engage at least one path defined in a sinker cover (12, 12a), which faces in an upper region the sinker ring (7, 7a). The needle cylinder (4, 4a) is actuatable with a rotary motion about its own axis (3, 3a) with respect to the supporting structure (2, 2a) and the sinker cover (12, 12a). The machine (1, la) comprises means (13, 13a) for adjusting the position of the sinker cover (12, 12a) on a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the axis (3, 3a) of the needle cylinder (4, 4a) with respect to the supporting structure (2, 2a) and means (14, 14a) for varying the angular position of the sinker cover (12, 12a) around the axis (3, 3a) of the needle cylinder (4, 4a) with respect to the supporting structure (2, 2a).
DETECTION OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM PARVUM

A method and kit for the detection of Cryptosporidium parvumin aquatic and biological samples such as surface water or feces and a vaccine and plasmid for inducing an immunologic response against C. parvum. The method relies on the use of primers to detect all or a portion of at least one DNA sequence characteristic of C. parvum, the sequence being all or part of the genomic regions referred to as 38G and HemA contained within recombinant plasmids pINV38G, and pHem4, respectively.
How do pharmacological chaperones work? molecular basis of the actions of glycomimetics on key glycosidases involved in lysosomal storage disorders

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a group of 50 rare inherited metabolic disorders that in many cases originate from mutations that destabilise glycosidase 3D folding precluding its transportation to the lysosomes, which leads to substrate accumulation at the lysosomes and cellular dysfunction, with severe symptoms. An emerging therapeutic approach employs small molecules, called pharmacological chaperones (PCs). PCs bind and stabilize the folding of mutant lysosomal enzymes, allowing proper cellular translocation to the lysosome, reducing substrate accumulation. However, there is still no drug already on the market based on this concept and the PCs discovered until now lack the necessary effectiveness to replace other therapies. One important reason is that the complex mechanisms underpinning the enzyme stabilization operated by chaperones are poorly understood in structural terms and currently under debate. Understanding the mechanism will provide more rational criteria and guiding principles for the design of improved PC drugs. In this proposal we are interested in providing novel structural approaches to understand the mechanism of action of new PCs for efficient treatment in Gaucher and Fabry diseases, as two of the more prevalent LSDs. We will develop a powerful high-resolution combined protocol including mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to: (i) provide a novel methodological approach for the discovery of PCs, (ii) apply the novel protocol to a small library of promising new ligands, and (iii) deepen our understanding of the mechanism of action of PCs in structural terms by combining the novel MS/NMR protocol with very long molecular dynamics simulations of wild-type and mutant glycosidases. Besides the potential for high-impact of the project, it will also allow the experienced researcher, Dr E.Casal, to be trained in a wide range of new skills, adding to her strong previous experience in MS.
COST OF INTENSIVE CARE IN INDIA

Objectives: The majority of patients in India access private sector providers for curative medical services. However, there is scanty information on the cost of treatment of critically ill patients in this setting. The study evaluates the cost and extent of financial subsidy required for patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in India. Methods: Data on direct medical, direct nonmedical, and indirect cost were prospectively collected from critically ill patients admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital in India. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) amount was obtained from the next-of-kin following admission and the actual cost paid by the family at discharge was recorded. Results: The main diagnoses ( n = 499) were infection (26 percent) and poisoning (21 percent). The mean APACHE-II score was 13.9 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 13.3–14.5); 86 percent were ventilated. ICU stay was 7.8 days (95 percent CI, 7.3–8.3). Hospital mortality was 27.9 percent. Direct medical cost accounted for 77 percent (US$ 2164) of the total treatment cost (US$ 2818). Indirect cost and direct nonmedical cost contributed to 19 percent (US$ 547.5) and 4 percent (US$ 106.5), respectively. Average total and daily ICU cost were US$ 1,897 and US$ 255, respectively. Although the family's WTP was 53 percent (US$ 1146; 95 percent CI, 1090–1204) of direct medical cost, their final contribution was 67.7 percent (US$ 1465; 95 percent CI, 1327–1604). Conclusions: The cost of an ICU admission in our setting is US$ 2818. Although the family's contribution to expenses exceeded their initial WTP, a substantial subsidy (33 percent) is still required. Alternate financing strategies for the poor and optimization of ICU resources are urgently required.
Individualized treatment planning in chronic back pain patients by advanced imaging and multi-parametric biomechanical models

Chronic back pain is a major burden and source of disability worldwide. It is primarily attributed to biomechanical factors. In elderly patients, osteoporosis complicates the biomechanical scenario. Surgery is often required to treat instability-related pain and to restore the balance of the spine. However, when and how to perform surgery remains a highly subjective decision based on the surgeon’s experience, with 2/3 of patients experiencing prolonged pain.
We recently established objective, image-based criteria for surgery outcome prediction. As an example, we were able to develop tools for routine density and fracture assessment and demonstrate that screw loosening occurs in >85% of patients with bone mineral density <92 mg/ccm. This directly influences the surgical approach in all spine surgery patients at our institution. Additionally, we improved the prediction of bone strength by advanced image post processing such as scaling indices, finite element and finite cell models.
The high-level objective of iBack is to individualize therapy planning in back pain patients. We will improve in-vivo imaging and image analysis to compute individualized biomechanical models that reveal the underlying pathophysiologic process and allow personalized treatment planning and outcome prediction after spine surgery or conservative treatment.
The main objectives of iBack are: (1) improving computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine; (2) combining sagittal balance radiographs, CT and MRI of the spine in one biomechanical multi-body simulation (MBS); (3) creating a statistical model that includes both clinical and biomechanical information to reveal interactions between the two and to predict individual treatment success probability.
The results of iBack will help to better understand instability-related pain and develop personalized surgical strategies which will have major impacts on patients.
Electron transfer across solid/liquid interfaces: elucidating elementary processes from femtoseconds to seconds

Building fuel cells, electrolyzers or photoelectrochemical cells based on water (photo)electrolysis is extremely challenging. One origin of this challenge is the complexity of the underlying physical chemistry. Most such devices require transfer of electrons between solid(s) and water and thus building the best possible devices requires understanding the link between transient changes in bulk solid electronic structure, interfacial electronic structure and interfacial chemistry. Essentially all existing approaches address only part of this picture: e.g. they only probe electronic structure (optical absorption), or extracted current or provide elemental insight but are insensitive to the presence of hydrogen (x-ray absorption). 

In SOLWET, I will address this gap using interface-specific optical spectroscopies, in the visible and infrared, to probe interfacial electronic and vibrational transitions and their coupling. By combining these probes with an additional intense laser pulse I will watch (photo)electrolysis of water in real time as it happens. In particular, I will directly probe the coupling of transiently perturbed solid electronic structure to interfacial electronic structure and watch how this perturbation drives water’s oxidation, for a hematite photoanode, or reduction, for a Pt cathode, through the interfacial vibrational response. By describing how these couplings change with solid modification (e.g. an alumina overlayer on hematite) or changes in aqueous solution composition (e.g. changing the pH in contact with Pt) the results of SOLWET will offer the physical insights necessary to build the best possible hematite and Pt containing photoelectrochemical devices. Moreover, because the novel all-optical tools developed in SOLWET are not system-specific, the approach demonstrated in this work will be widely applicable.
Care and the luxury of trauma: A South African story

My mother died of lung cancer on 15 January 2011. For almost a year she had been living with my wife and me. She came to us after a series of falls (associated, we later discovered, not with the illness itself but with medication she was taking). She had been living for many years quite independently in a facility for old people and after falling in her apartment a few times she went into the frail care section where she could be monitored more closely. She spent two nights in frail care, and on both of these nights she fell so badly that she later required surgery, once to stitch up a deep wound on her forehead and once to repair an injury to her spine. After these two falls on consecutive nights, my wife and I decided that we could not leave my mother in the frail care unit any longer. Subsequently, after a period in hospital for the first of her surgeries, she came to live with us. We were very worried she might fall again, and so was she, and from then on we employed care workers from a local service to be with her 24 hours a day. Our lives became very different from what we had been used to. Not only was there the adjustment to living with my mother again after living apart for almost forty years, but we were living with a person who was dying. We also had an ever-changing group of care workers, 24 hours a day, whose job it was to “care” for my mother, over and above making sure that she did not fall and hurt herself seriously.
Restoration of Human Lacrimal Function Following Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection

The aim was to evaluate the effect of autologous platelet-rich plasma on lacrimal function in patients with severe dry eye.A prospective interventional case series design was adopted. Four patients with severe lacrimal dysfunction and severe dry eye were treated. Platelet rich-activated plasma (1 mL) was injected adjacent to the lacrimal gland on day 0 and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The objective parameters included a Schirmer test, ocular surface staining, and tear break-up time (TBUT). The patients were followed up for 12 weeks after the first injection.All cases showed a significant improvement in lacrimal volume (from 3.3 ± 0.8 mm to 11.1 ± 2.3 mm). In all the patients, an increase in tear break-up time values and a decrease in ocular staining (basal 8.0 ± 0.61-2.8 ± 0.5) with subjective improvement occurred. None of the patients presented any adverse effect, and none reported pain or discomfort. Additionally, no complications were observed.Injected platelet-enriched plasma was found to be safe and effective in increasing lacrimal production and in improving ocular staining secondary to severe dry eye. This approach could be an alternative for the management of these patients, although additional studies are required to perfect the technique.
A study of mini-channel thermal module design for achieving high stability and high capability in electronic cooling

Abstract In this study, pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of multiple-mini-channel thermal modules were investigated quantitatively. The flow channels, which were mounted on one side of a copper test section, were designed in three types: (1) the first module consists of fourteen straight and parallel channels with a rectangular cross section of 1 mm × 3 mm, (2) the second module consists of fourteen gradually widening channels with a U-shaped cross section starting from an inlet section of 0.5 mm × 3 mm and increasing to an outlet section of 1 mm × 3 mm, and (3) the third module is similar to the second module except for the rectangular cross section. Visual observations and the measured boiling curves show that, in the straight channels, some bubbles cannot be flushed out of the channels fast enough, so they tend to flow back and accumulate at the entrance. This results in a rather dry channel condition for CHF (critical heat flux) to occur for the cases with low flow rates. For the widening channel modules, no occurrence of CHF was observed under an even lower operating pressure in an attempt to induce the incipient of CHF. Under a similar temperature rise at the channel exit, the maximum heat removal rate of the widening channels reaches 27 W/cm 2 which is at least twice as high as that of the straight channels.