SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Enhancing SIcily-Malta BIOgeographical Transboundary Insular Connectivity

Sicily and the Maltese Islands form a critical link for the ecological connectivity of the central Mediterranean migratory route between Europe and Africa. However, human pressure through intensive agriculture, urbanization and the development of residential tourist complexes has resulted in the degradation of the cross-border corridor area and fragmentation and decline in its ecological value, with negative consequences on the region’s rich biodiversity. This project proposes to strengthen the planning and management and restore a system of southeastern Sicilian Natura 2000 protected coastal wetlands of primary national and European community importance, and rehabilitate stepping stones of natural Mediterranean maquis habitat in Gozo’s agricultural landscape to enhance the ecological connectivity of the transboundary area. Participatory planning and implementation of landscape restoration actions will be conducted with the local administrations of the Comune di Pachino in the Provincia di Siracusa, the Ministry and local councils in Gozo, as well as local land owners/users. Constraints and opportunities for improved connectivity management and landscape-level biodiversity conservation in planning and policy-making will be uncovered through dialogue with key decision-makers and practitioners, leading to guidelines for cross-sectoral integration as well as stronger consultation and joint planning practices on both sides of the Sicily channel.
Systemic Chemotherapy Using Carboplatin and 5-Fluorouracil for Extrahepatic Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

We have evaluated the effectiveness of systemic chemotherapy for patients with extrahepatic metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma.We examined the background, survival rates, median survival time and side effects of 15 cases in which systemic chemotherapy using carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil was done (chemotherapy group) and 59 cases in which chemotherapy was not done (non-chemotherapy group) out of a total of 74 cases of patients with extrahepatic metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma.The prognoses of the 15 chemotherapy cases and the 59 non-chemotherapy cases were as follows: 66.0%, 33.3%, 20.0% at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months respectively for the chemotherapy cases and 44.0%, 18.2%, 7.1% respectively for the non-chemotherapy cases. Median survival periods were 10.7 months for the chemotherapy group and 5.1 months for the non-chemotherapy group. A significantly better prognosis of survival (p=0.037) was identified in the chemotherapy group and no serious side effects were observed.The present research preceded the approval of sorafenib. This systemic combination chemotherapy will provide an extended survival prognosis and is thus considered to be comparatively safe and effective in those patients.
Mechanistic integration of vascular and endocrine pathways for subtyping hypertension: an innovative network approach for future generation research training

Hypertension is the key determinant of cardiovascular disease and the No.1 ‘silent killer’ of humans worldwide. Despite progress in understanding the causes of hypertension and improvements in clinical management, >85 million people in Europe suffer from cardiovascular disease, costing the EU €210 billion/year. Currently, there is a crucial gap in understanding the dynamic interactions between vascular and endocrine pathways in hypertension. Such knowledge would facilitate redefinition of hypertension subtypes to improve current prevention and treatment. MINDSHIFT will offer a top-level interdisciplinary research programme to bridge this gap, using an integrative framework approach fed by new data and insights from cutting-edge experimental and clinical studies. To enable this advance, MINDSHIFT will implement and run an innovative EJD-programme, combining first-class scientific research with in-depth professional and transferable competence-skills trainings. ESRs will develop the integrative and entrepreneurial capacities that hypertension research demands by nature. Above and beyond, the programme will challenge the ESRs to build their capacity for self-directed learning, career development and personal-professional leadership. The highly capable academic and non-academic partners in MINDSHIFT have co-designed an extraordinary high-quality programme of research projects and network-wide training elements, to achieve the required and sustainable impacts on the ESR careers, scientific results and ITN-wide learning and innovation. Based on the excellent synergies and shared commitments, the MINDSHIFT consortium seeks to establish a European School for Hypertension Research, to propel future health science and industry towards more effective prevention of and cure for this silent killer.
Association between maternal tumor necrosis factor-α G308A polymorphism and interferon-γ A874T polymorphism and risk of preterm birth: a meta-analysis

This article was undertaken to investigate the association between tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) G308A polymorphism and interferon-γ (INF-γ) A874T polymorphism and risk of preterm birth (PTB) by performing a meta-analysis of available studies.Articles were chosen based on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science, and China Biology Medicine (CBM) databases with no language restriction from their inceptions to 1 March, 2014. Specific inclusion criteria were used to evaluate articles. Meta-analysis was performed by using a random or fixed effect model with STATA 11.0 software. We estimated the summary odds ratios (ORs) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) to assess the association.21 eligible case-control studies with a total of 2103 cases and 5070 controls were finally included into this meta-analysis. Pooled analysis showed that A allele of TNF-α G308A was not associated with increased PTB risk (OR=0.84, 95%CI: 0.65-1.07, p=0.167 for G vs. A). Stratifying analysis for ethnicity and different definition of PTB also indicated that A allele was not associated with increased PTB risk. However, the meta-analysis showed that INF-γ A874T polymorphism was associated with the increased risk of PTB (OR=1.14, 95%CI: 1.11-1.73, p=0.004 for A vs. T). Stratifying analysis was not performed due to the small sample size.TNF-α G308A polymorphism was not associated with an increased risk of PTB, but INF-γ A874T polymorphism may contribute to increasing susceptibility to PTB. Detection of polymorphism of INF-γ A874T might be a promising biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of preterm delivery.
BecaNEXT-GEN

Becanex GmbH develops and integrates the preparation process decarboxylation into its innovative O ne-Step extraction. As a result, we then have a revolutionary production process for the extraction of natural aromas.
Molecular basis of intelligence

Ionotropic Glutamate receptors (iGluRs) influence the timescales at which neurons communicate with each other. The dynamics and flexibility of the response of iGluRs to neurotransmitter binding give rise to the synaptic plasticity responsible for normal human intelligence. Dysfunction of the iGluRs is causally responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  It is therefore medically important to understand how the structure-function relationship in the iGluRs operates at the molecular level. Many drugs attempt to target iGluRs to treat neuropathologies. However, due to the inherent complexity of the dynamics of iGluRs it is difficult to accurately target the causative function of the iGluRs thus making it difficult to form a viable pharmaceutical strategy, without insight into the dynamics of iGluRs at the atomic level.  Additionally, although the individual members of the iGluR family are structurally very similar, they display very different kinetic and allosteric behaviour. The proposed project aims to focus on the comprehensive picture of the comparative dynamics of the members of the iGluRs. In close collaborations with experimental and computational methods development groups, I plan to investigate how the relatively small differences in the structures of the iGluRs give rise to the complex behaviours of the iGluRs. This will be accomplished via state of the art Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and a large library of computational thermodynamics techniques.  From this dataset, using Machine Learning (ML) techniques in combination with Markov State Models (MSMs) I will create robust and testable models that can determine the commonalities and variances between the dynamics of the members of the iGluRs while throwing light on their mechanisms of action.
REAGENT FOR DETECTING AXILLARY LYMPH NODE METASTASIS OF BREAST CANCERS AND APPLICATION THEREOF

The present invention discloses a reagent for detecting axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancers and application thereof. Application of 18F-Alfatide II, or a combination of 18F-Alfatide II and 18F-FDG in PET/CT detection of axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancers. A PET/CT tracer 18F-Alfatide II or 18F-FDG is intravenously injected into patients, followed by a PET/CT examination, 18F-Alfatide II T/NT has the highest Youden index (76.5%), specificity (100%), accuracy (89.2%), and positive predictive value (100%). These data indicates that 18F-Alfatide II T/NT may be the most valuable semi-quantitative parameter for evaluating axillary lymph nodes.
Analysis of three Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri effector proteins in pathogenicity and their interactions with host plant proteins

Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, the bacterium responsible for citrus canker, uses effector proteins secreted by a type III protein secretion system to colonize its hosts. Among the putative effector proteins identified for this bacterium, we focused on the analysis of the roles of AvrXacE1, AvrXacE2 and Xac3090 in pathogenicity and their interactions with host plant proteins. Bacterial deletion mutants in avrXacE1, avrXacE2 and xac3090 were constructed and evaluated in pathogenicity assays. The avrXacE1 and avrXacE2 mutants presented lesions with larger necrotic areas relative to the wild-type strain when infiltrated in citrus leaves. Yeast two-hybrid studies were used to identify several plant proteins likely to interact with AvrXacE1, AvrXacE2 and Xac3090. We also assessed the localization of these effector proteins fused to green fluorescent protein in the plant cell, and observed that they co-localized to the subcellular spaces in which the plant proteins with which they interacted were predicted to be confined. Our results suggest that, although AvrXacE1 localizes to the plant cell nucleus, where it interacts with transcription factors and DNA-binding proteins, AvrXacE2 appears to be involved in lesion-stimulating disease 1-mediated cell death, and Xac3090 is directed to the chloroplast where its function remains to be clarified.
Influence of etching with erbium, chromium:yttrium–scandium–gallium–garnet laser on microleakage of class V restoration

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate some parameters of dental etching when irradiated with an erbium, chromium:yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser. One-hundred sound human third molars were selected and randomly distributed into ten groups (n = 10). The class V cavities of group 1 (control) were prepared with a bur and etched with 37% phosphoric acid, while groups G2 to G10, were prepared with laser (5 W, 88.46 J/cm(2), 90/70% air/water) and etched with the following powers: G3 and G4, 0.25 W; G5 and G6, 0.5 W; G7 and G8, 0.75 W; G9 and G10, 1 W. Group G2 received no laser etching. Prior to restoration, G2, G4, G6, G8 and G10 received acid etching. After restoration, all samples were submitted to a microleakage test. According to statistical analysis (Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's tests), G10 presented the lowest microleakage values (P<0.05). The other groups showed no differences between them. Etching with Er,Cr:YSGG laser (1 W) followed by phosphoric acid was effective in reducing the microleakage of class V restorations.
Next generation digital inspections for remote and real-time supply chain monitoring

The global Testing, Inspection and Certification market is expected to reach €240 billion by 2024, driven by international trade, tightening regulations and outsourcing. This market is also changing radically, as it experiences a complete technological revolution, with traditional TIC services now in decline in favor of digital alternatives (which are expected to account for 80% of the market in less than a decade). This is particularly relevant for the manufacturing and retail verticals, where importers still heavily rely on third party quality inspectors to monitor the supply chain. This process is expensive, complex and unreliable, as real-time inspections are not feasible on remote locations. 

Importers struggle to overcome diverging quality standards in sourcing countries. Current digital alternatives are not fully automated and lack the tools to guarantee a full inspection. The current market offering does not answer this pressing demand, as the existing solutions only provide highly specific tools and do not offer completely remote, on-demand, factory inspections.

Our team of experienced experts in the remote inspection field is developing the CYRACO platform, a unique and patent-pending tool that provides a reliable, efficient and real-time remote factory inspections. It combines Augmented Reality, Cloud technology, 5G connectivity, AI and smart sensors to offer completely automated and fail-safe factory inspections. As a result of the improved efficiency and automation, it also reduces traditional inspection costs by 80%. 

Our platform will democratize supply chain monitoring, promote supplier accountability and pave the way towards real ethical sourcing. Its unique features will allow us to grow exponentially and disrupt the inspection market, with a highly scalable and flexible subscription-based business model. By 2027, we expect to perform over 700,000 inspections per year, generating over €55 million in revenues and resulting in a ROI of 14.3.
Piattaforme logistiche integrate per lo sviluppo delle relazioni commerciali import - export nello spazio transfrontaliero

The design theme is to optimize the system performance of the multimodal transport of goods through the creation of a new space for cross-border development to reduce barriers to trade and increase the accessibility of areas for the benefit of the generality of citizens which are reduced cost of goods. The overall objective is to develop relations and trade, promote development, enhance the resources of the areas of cooperation through the rebalancing of trade flows Italy / Corsica. They identified two sectors of activity which are included in the design of logistics platforms: one concerns the conduct of activities aimed at knowledge of the network of services currently offered and simulation of environmental impacts and economic transformations in the logistics system designed lead, and the second involves the conducting entertainment activities and promotion of economic relations between enterprises, to develop the transport demand resulting in increased volumes of trade. The continuity of activities after the end of the project is ensured by the development of trade relations and guaranteed by talks between Government, business and logistics for the definition of Service Level Agreements Volunteers (SLA), the implementation of tools information and procedures continuously fed through the acquisition of data in standardized formats to ensure interoperability (open source) and based on listening systematic and permanent needs of logistics operators and small businesses.
Global dynamics of hydro-sociality in river heritage landscapes of the qinghai tibetan plateau.

Global water challenges call urgently today for additional and deeper research by social scientists in order to achieve sustainability. 
By combining methods of geo-morphology and anthropology, HYSOTIB will provide an in-depth ethnographic study of one of the globe’s key river heritage landscapes – the China’s Qinghai Headwaters including the sources of the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers. The on-going transformation of the the Qinghai headwaters into a national park hinges on a profound socio-ecological paradox, where the locals (97% ethnic Tibetan) are  considered by Chinese authorities as both drivers of environmental impact as well as central to local natural and cultural heritage preservation practices. HYSOTIB will disentagle the underlying dynamics of this phenomenon by investigating socio-cultural and environmental issues, thus bridging the still huge scientific gap between heritage- and water/river studies. The primary fieldwork will take place at the upper reaches of the Yangtze river in the Yushu Tibetan Prefecture (Qinghai Province). Selected case-study areas from the Three-River Source National Nature Reserve will be examined as hydro-social contexts of global encounters arising within defined ecological, ethnic and territorial boundaries. 
Thanks to the researcher’s knowledge in Tibetan and Chinese language, and her previous fieldwork experience in Tibetan areas of China, HYSOTIB will provide a timely and improved understanding of  the global context. Urgent environmental and anthropic risks, currently at the core of the EU-China 2020 Strategic Cooperation Agenda, will be addressed. The training in river science and heritage studies at the universities of Auckland (NZ) and Ca’ Foscari in Venice (IT) will significantly cement the candidate’s status as a leading geo-social scientist.
Affinities in C3Cyperus lineages (Cyperaceae) revealed using molecular phylogenetic data and carbon isotope analysis

Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of nrDNA (ETS1f) and plastid DNA (rpl32-trnL, trnH-psbA) sequence data are presented for ‘C3Cyperus’ (Cyperaceae). The term ‘C3Cyperus’ indicates all species of Cyperus s.l. that use C3 photosynthesis linked with eucyperoid vegetative anatomy. Sampling comprises 77 specimens of 61 different taxa, representing nearly all previously recognized subdivisions of C3Cyperus and the segregate genera Courtoisina, Kyllingiella and Oxycaryum. According to our results, the Cyperus clade is divided in six well-supported clades. The first of these clades (clade 1) forms three subclades largely corresponding to Cyperus sections Haspani, Incurvi and Diffusi. Clade 2 comprises the entirely New World C. section Luzuloidei sensu Denton (1978). Clade 3 is a highly diverse clade including two subclades: clade 3a, C. sections Pseudanosporum and Anosporum plus the segregate genera Courtoisina and Oxycaryum; and clade 3b, C. section Fusci. Clade 4 corresponds to C. section Alternifolii and clade 5 to C. section Leucocephali plus the segregate genus Kyllingiella. The sixth clade is a well-supported monophyletic clade encompassing all C4Cyperus s.l. species (‘C4Cyperus’). This study establishes a phylogenetic framework for future studies. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 167, 19–46.
Unravelling the secretion machinery for virulence factors in apicomplexan parasites

Apicomplexan are obligatory intracellular parasites. The ability of these parasites (Plasmodium, Toxoplasma) to cause disease depends on the coordinated secretion of specialized secretory organelles. The rhoptries are particularly important, because they act as the apicomplexan equivalent of bacterial secretion systems. They inject parasite proteins directly in the cytoplasm of host cells not only for invasion but also to hijack host functions crucial to establish and maintain infection. However, in contrast to bacteria where the secretion machinery has been resolved to atomic detail, how eukaryotic parasites secrete and inject rhoptry effectors into cells is an enigma. This proposal aims to dissect the mechanistic steps and the molecular components that assemble the rhoptry secretion machine. 
Our aims are:
1- To explore the mechanisms that trigger rhoptry exocytosis upon binding of the parasite to the host cell. 
2- To provide insights into fusion machinery of rhoptry with the parasite plasma membrane. Our model is based on the discovery that free-living Ciliates and intracellular Apicomplexa share an evolutionarily conserved blueprint for their fusion mechanism.
3- To test and expand our hypothesis that rhoptries deliver their content through a transient pore formed into the host cell membrane. 
We will employ powerful experimental systems in Toxoplasma, Plasmodium and the Ciliate Tetrahymena, taking full advantage of the relative strength of each model. This comprehensive project will bring together comparative genomics, targeted and global genetics, biochemistry, high resolution imaging and electrophysiology.
This project answers a question of fundamental biological importance. How can a parasite sense the host cell and inject virulence factors to attain control? Understanding this mechanism will guide future efforts to disrupt parasite infection and will contribute to broader understanding of fascinating questions of membrane fusion and export processes.
A tale of two GRB-SNe at a common redshift of z=0.54

We present ground-based and HST optical observations of the optical transients (OTs) of long-duration Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) 060729 and 090618, both at a redshift of z = 0.54. For GRB 060729, bumps are seen in the optical light curves (LCs), and the late-time broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the OT resemble those of local type Ic supernovae (SNe). For GRB 090618, the dense sampling of our optical observations has allowed us to detect well-defined bumps in the optical LCs, as well as a change in colour, that are indicative of light coming from a core-collapse SN. The accompanying SNe for both events are individually compared with SN1998bw, a known GRB-supernova, and SN1994I, a typical type Ic supernova without a known GRB counterpart, and in both cases the brightness and temporal evolution more closely resemble SN1998bw. We also exploit our extensive optical and radio data for GRB 090618, as well as the publicly-available SWIFT -XRT data, and discuss the properties of the afterglow at early times. In the context of a simple jet-like model, the afterglow of GRB 090618 is best explained by the presence of a jet-break at t-to > 0.5 days. We then compare the rest-frame, peak V -band absolute magnitudes of all of the GRB and X-Ray Flash (XRF)-associated SNe with a large sample of local type Ibc SNe, concluding that, when host extinction is considered, the peak magnitudes of the GRB/XRF-SNe cannot be distinguished from the peak magnitudes of non-GRB/XRF SNe.