SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Integrated and standardized ngs workflows for personalised therapy

Instand-NGS4P is a 60-month PCP project federating 7 leading medical centers (two are coordinating ERNs) as buyers’ group with major experience in using different NGS platforms in research and routine diagnostics. The consortium is further strengthened by European patient advocacy groups, a standardization organization and partners participating in the European infrastructures BBMRI-ERIC, ELIXIR as well as several NGS-related EU programs to cover all technical aspects and transversal needs & requirements. Driven by patient and clinical needs, innovative NGS workflows from sample-pre-analytics to medical decision making will be developed. The modular design of the workflow will particularly enable SEMs to contribute, and provides flexibility to adopt emerging user needs and technologies. Specifications will address regulatory requirements for IVDs and refer to international standards and requests development of reference materials and implementation of EQA schemes covering the whole workflow. R&D suppliers will be selected based on a public tender all along this PCP process in 3 phases according to the best-value for money solution. The 3 phases foresee the leverage of 4 technical modules (pre-analytics, sequencing, bioinformatics, e-reporting/e-medication) and their standardized interfaces – from design (Phase 1) to prototypes (Phase 2), and full integration in Phase 3. At the end, this PCP will provide 2 fully integrated, standardized NGS workflows for routine diagnostics of common and rare cancers from adults to children. In order to enable broad implementation in healthcare systems throughout Europe and beyond and to increase benefit to patients a series of support activities are planned including communication and dissemination activities targeting a broad stakeholder community, development of training and education material for healthcare professionals and patients, health economic assessment and engagement with healthcare payers and policy makers.
From creation of the alliance to the Nixon Doctrine (1960–9)

Between 1960 and 1969, Japan’s security policy was based on a delicate balance between different and contrasting aims, such as avoiding the risk of entrapment in Cold War politics, securing domestic consensus in front of strongly pacifist public opinion, acting as a faithful ally of the United States and promoting economic and technological development. The Japanese leadership managed to fulfil these aims by reinforcing and institutionalizing the Yoshida Doctrine, which was the basic security strategy proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida in the 1940s. Japan strengthened its self-binding prescriptions, avoided any active military role and promoted an ambitious program of internalization of military technology. This strategy was made possible by America’s flexible response strategy, which entailed military intervention to contain communism and a permanent effort to demonstrate the credibility of the US commitment to the security of Asia.
Scaling up of trachoma mapping in Salima District, Central Malawi

Background: A number of suspected endemic districts with Trachoma have not been mapped
in Malawi, and this contributes to delays for scaling up trachoma control activities.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of trachoma and associated risk factors
in one of the suspected endemic districts (Salima
District) in central Malawi and to generate information to guide policy decisions. Methods: A population-based
survey conducted in randomly selected clusters in Salima District (population 418,672),
centralMalawi. Children aged 1-9 years
and adults aged 15 and above were assessed for clinical signs of trachoma. Results: In total, 884 households were enumerated
within 36 clusters. A total of 2765 persons were examined for ocular signs of trachoma.
The prevalence of trachomatous inflammation,
follicular (TF) among children aged 1-9 years was 17.1% (95% CI 14.9-19.4).
The prevalence of trachoma trichiasis (TT) in women aged 15 years and above was
1.3% (CI 0.7-2.3), while the prevalence
in men was zero. The presence of a dirty face and lack of sanitation were
significantly associated with trachoma follicular (P 10%), and warrants the trachoma SAFE
(Surgery, Antibiotics, Face washing and Environmental hygiene) control strategy
to be undertaken in Salima District.
On the taxonomy and osteology of the Early Eocene North American Geranoididae (Aves, Gruoidea)

Whereas our knowledge of small arboreal Paleogene birds has greatly increased in the past years, that of the larger birds coexisting with them is far less detailed. Particularly poorly known and, hence, widely ignored are the North American Geranoididae, of which six species were described from the Early Eocene Willwood Formation. The published material of all of these consists only of incomplete leg elements, and previous descriptions and comparisons mainly focused on selected bones. Here, a revision of some geranoidids from the Willwood Formation is undertaken, and it is concluded that the taxon Geranoides Wetmore, 1933, the type genus of the Geranoididae, is a junior synonym of Palaeophasianus Shufeldt, 1913. Eogeranoides campivagus Cracraft, 1969 is poorly differentiated from Paragrus prentici (Loomis, 1906), and a synonymy of both species also seems likely. Complete leg bones of a large Eogeranoides/Paragrus-like species are reported, which constitute the most substantial record of a geranoidid from the Willwood Formation. It is detailed that geranoidids are likely to be stem group representatives of the Gruoidea, the clade including trumpeters, cranes, and allies, and the potential occurrence of geranoidids in the Eocene of Europe is discussed.
Perceptual based SAO rate-distortion optimization method with a simplified JND model for H.265/HEVC

In the latest H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard, the sample adaptive offset (SAO) filter technique is adopted to improve the quality of the reconstructed video. But so far, the research efforts related to the SAO optimization to date have mainly centered on objective rate-distortion (R-D) performance without considering its visual quality. In this paper, the human visual characteristics (represented by a JND model) are introduced into the SAO optimization process for the first time, and a new human visual perceptual-based SAO R-D optimization method, referred to as P-SAO, for H.265/HEVC is proposed. Simultaneously, considering the SAO R-D optimization in H.265/HEVC is complex and in order to use the JND model more effectively and to minimize the calculation time of the introduced JND in SAO, a simplified JND model is proposed based on a modified Sobel operator. Experimental results show that compared with the latest JND model in pixel domain, the proposed JND model can achieve similar subjective quality with significantly reduced computational complexity (i.e., an average processing time reduction of 89.35%). Compared with the original SAO R-D method in the reference software model of the H.265/HEVC, the P-SAO method can achieve better image subjective quality with performance gain of up to 0.2505dB in terms of Δ P S P N R without comprising the R-D performance in Δ P S N R . The human visual characteristic is first introduced into SAO optimization process.A new simplified just noticeable distortion (JND) model is proposed.A modified Sobel operator is proposed.The proposed method can achieve better image subjective quality.
Stimulating eco-sustainable home renovation to maximize social, environmental and economic impact on the balearic islands

REGENERATE galvanizes clean energy transition on the three Balearic Islands: Palma, Ibiza and Menorca by triggering an investment of €44M in eco-sustainable renovation of 3,000+ homes in 4 years. The Islands have an urgent need to transform their tourism-dependent economy into a resilient and green one, as they are especially vulnerable to climate change and are highly dependent on fossil fuels. The REGENERATE’s renovation formula combines a market-driven, people-centric support with affordable financing, via in local One-Stop-Shop renovation offices on each island. REGENERATE’s pipeline approach is grounded in the realities of the islands building stock, defined energy efficiency & renewable energy upgrades, residents’ ability and willingness to pay. Thus, a realistic assessment of the pipeline supports the design of a self-sustainable business model for the OSS offices and enables the financing instrument to raise private capital to invest in individual home renovation projects. Stimulating bottom-up demand is at the core of this approach; REGENERATE will build upon the existing citizen engagement strategies on the islands and enhance their reach and scope. The impact goes well beyond energy savings, by boosting health, wellbeing and comfort of families, resulting in the reduction of more than 25,727 tCO2-eq/year and creating more than 4,000 jobs, 5 years after the project is completed.
Improvements in internal combustion engines having rotating cylinders acting as valves

146,275. Ide, R. W. July 21, 1916, [Convention date]. Electric governors.-The invention relates to internal-combustion engines, and the Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) describes a throttle controlled by a solenoid 22 energized by a dynamo 25 driven by the engine. At starting, and while running up to normal speed, the solenoid lifts its core and a lever arm 24 on the throttle spindle to open the throttle. On further increase of speed, a hook 28 on the core of the solenoid picks up an additional load consisting of a weighted lever 26, and the governing is less sensitive. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.
Social Capital Associated with Quality of Life Mediated by Employment Experiences: Evidence from a Random Sample of Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China

Working-age migrants need to possess adequate social capital in order to secure a stable and satisfactory job so that they can pursue a better quality of life (QOL). The positive relationship between social capital and vocational experiences, including successful employment, has been well established. In this study we focused on testing a multi-step mediation model linking social capital with employment experiences, and further to QOL. Survey data from rural-to-urban migrants randomly selected from Wuhan, China were analyzed. Social capital, including bonding and bridging capital, was measured using the Personal Social Capital Scale; employment experiences were measured using five job-related items; and QOL was measured using the Brief Symptoms Inventory. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that job security and job satisfaction were positively and significantly associated with QOL, and social capital measures were significantly associated with higher QOL (primarily for males). Furthermore, job security and job satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between social capital and QOL after controlling for covariates. Findings of this study suggest the significance of social capital, job security and satisfaction in improving migrants' QOL, implying the importance of vocational experiences in mediating the effect from social capital to QOL. If the findings can be confirmed with longitudinal data, these factors should be considered in decision making to improve rural-to-urban migrants' QOL in China.
Estimating the modulatory effects of nanoparticles on neuronal circuits using computational upscaling

Beside the promising application potential of nanotechnologies in engineering, the use of nanomaterials in medicine is growing. New therapies employing innovative nanocarrier systems to increase specificity and efficacy of drug delivery schemes are already in clinical trials. However the influence of the nanoparticles themselves is still unknown in medical applications, especially for complex interactions in neural systems. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro effects of coated silver nanoparticles (cAgNP) on the excitability of single neuronal cells and to integrate those findings into an in silico model to predict possible effects on neuronal circuits.We first performed patch clamp measurements to investigate the effects of nanosized silver particles, surrounded by an organic coating, on excitability of single cells. We then determined which parameters were altered by exposure to those nanoparticles using the Hodgkin-Huxley model of the sodium current. As a third step, we integrated those findings into a well-defined neuronal circuit of thalamocortical interactions to predict possible changes in network signaling due to the applied cAgNP, in silico.We observed rapid suppression of sodium currents after exposure to cAgNP in our in vitro recordings. In numerical simulations of sodium currents we identified the parameters likely affected by cAgNP. We then examined the effects of such changes on the activity of networks. In silico network modeling indicated effects of local cAgNP application on firing patterns in all neurons in the circuit.Our sodium current simulation shows that suppression of sodium currents by cAgNP results primarily by a reduction in the amplitude of the current. The network simulation shows that locally cAgNP-induced changes result in changes in network activity in the entire network, indicating that local application of cAgNP may influence the activity throughout the network.
Prevalence and associations of diabetic retinopathy in indigenous Australians within central Australia: the Central Australian Ocular Health Study

To determine the prevalence and associations of diabetic retinopathy (DR) within the indigenous Australian population living in central Australia.1884 individuals aged 20 years or older, living in one of 30 remote communities within the statistical local area of 'central Australia' were recruited for this study. This equated to 36% of those aged 20 years or older and 67% of those aged 40 years or older within this district. Participants were recruited as they presented to the eye clinic at each remote community. Following dilated slit-lamp fundoscopy, the amount of DR in participants with diabetes mellitus (DM) was quantified using the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study criteria. The presence of any DR and vision-threatening DR (clinically significant macular oedema and/or proliferative DR) in one or both eyes was presented.Of those with diabetes, 22.2% (25.4% of those aged 40 years or older) had any DR and 7.0% (8.4% of those aged 40 years or older) had vision-threatening DR. Both the presence of any DR and vision-threatening DR were associated with advancing age and HbA1c level, but neither subcategory was associated with sex or self-reported hypertension.Our study has shown similar prevalence rates for DR in indigenous Australians compared with non-indigenous Australians. However, as DM is far more prevalent among indigenous Australians, the proportion of those affected by DR across the population should be considerably higher when compared with non-indigenous Australians.
Role of Human Resources, Production Process, and Flexibility on Commercial Benefits From AMT Investments

Advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) acquisition by maquiladoras (foreign-owned manufacturing companies) is a tendency that allows these companies to maximize their commercial benefits. However, it remains unclear how the AMT implementation impacts on their performance. In addition, this research studies 383 responses to a questionnaire about the AMT implementation in the Mexican maquiladora industry and reports an analysis with four latent variables associating obtained benefits after the AMT implementation—human resources, flexibility, production process, and commercial benefits—where their relationships are evaluated through six hypotheses using a structural equation model (SEM). Finally, the outcomes demonstrated that AMT benefits for human resources have a direct effect on flexibility, production process, and commercial benefits. However, the direct effect from human resources benefits, knowledge, and experience on commercial benefits are acquired through indirect effects, using flexibility and production process as mediator variables.
Techniques Employed by Forensic Interviewers Conducting Extended Assessments: Results from a Multi-Site Study

This study employs multi-site data from extended assessments of 137 children suspected of sexual abuse to examine what interview techniques evaluators use and what techniques yield information related to sexual abuse. Frequently used techniques were general assessment activities; touching education; nonleading, abuse-focused questions; and prevention education. Infrequently used techniques were anatomical dolls, standard anatomical drawings, and narrative elaboration. Techniques with higher yields of confirmatory details about sexual abuse were anatomical dolls, cognitive interviews, and narrative elaboration. Lower yield techniques were general assessment activities, touch education, hand-drawn anatomical drawings, and prevention education. Techniques associated with a rating of sexual abuse likely were the use of anatomcal dolls and anatomical drawings.
The accretion of aeolian dust in soils of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA

[1] Recent observations suggest a contemporary aeolian dust flux of at least 5–10 g m−2 yr−1 to high-elevation ecosystems of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. To better quantify the influence of dust on San Juan soil geochemistry, we used Sr and Nd isotopic mixing models to estimate the total mass of accreted dust in soils of two alpine basins underlain by bedrocks of different geochemical composition. In order to minimize the potentially confounding effects caused by transient soil pools of Sr and Nd, we implemented a sequential leaching procedure that isolates the residual mineral fraction of soils and their putative parent materials, including local saprolite and exogenous dust inputs. Using this approach, we calculated masses of accreted dust in soils, which were similar across the two isotopic tracers and differing local geologies. Long-term rates of dust accretion were estimated to be slightly higher than contemporary rates of dust deposition. We conclude that dust inputs comprise from 10% to 40% of the total soil mass in these ecosystems. Our observations suggest that dust inputs have exerted a primary control on soil development in the San Juan Mountains and have likely influenced the physical and chemical characteristics of soils in this region.
SU-E-J-188: Theoretical Estimation of Margin Necessary for Markerless Motion Tracking

Purpose: To estimate the margin necessary to adequately cover the target using markerless motion tracking (MMT) of lung lesions given the uncertainty in tracking and the size of the target. Methods: Simulations were developed in Matlab to determine the effect of tumor size and tracking uncertainty on the margin necessary to achieve adequate coverage of the target. For simplicity, the lung tumor was approximated by a circle on a 2D radiograph. The tumor was varied in size from a diameter of 0.1 − 30 mm in increments of 0.1 mm. From our previous studies using dual energy markerless motion tracking, we estimated tracking uncertainties in x and y to have a standard deviation of 2 mm. A Gaussian was used to simulate the deviation between the tracked location and true target location. For each size tumor, 100,000 deviations were randomly generated, the margin necessary to achieve at least 95% coverage 95% of the time was recorded. Additional simulations were run for varying uncertainties to demonstrate the effect of the tracking accuracy on the margin size. Results: The simulations showed an inverse relationship between tumor size and margin necessary to achieve 95% coverage 95% of the time using the MMT technique.more » The margin decreased exponentially with target size. An increase in tracking accuracy expectedly showed a decrease in margin size as well. Conclusion: In our clinic a 5 mm expansion of the internal target volume (ITV) is used to define the planning target volume (PTV). These simulations show that for tracking accuracies in x and y better than 2 mm, the margin required is less than 5 mm. This simple simulation can provide physicians with a guideline estimation for the margin necessary for use of MMT clinically based on the accuracy of their tracking and the size of the tumor.« less
Role of the sorting receptor sorcs1 in controlling excitation/inhibition balance in neural circuits.

Controlling the precise balance between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance) is critical for information processing in the brain. A perturbed E/I balance has been implicated in the etiology of a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders. The factors that dictate the balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission are still poorly defined, but trans-synaptic interactions between adhesion molecules such as neurexins and neuroligins are thought to be important. The host laboratory recently identified the sorting receptor SorCS1 as a key regulator of the synaptic abundance of glutamate receptors and adhesion molecules, including neurexins and neuroligins. SorCS1 has been associated with a variety of neural disorders, including autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease. I hypothesize that SorCS1 controls E/I balance in the brain by regulating the synaptic abundance of cell surface receptors. I shall test this hypothesis via the following specific aims:

Aim 1: To analyse whether SorCS1 regulates synaptic trafficking of adhesion molecules and neurotransmitter receptors under basal conditions and during synaptic activity.

Aim 2: To define how SorCS1 affects excitatory and inhibitory synapse function in vitro and in vivo.

Aim 3: To determine whether perturbed SorCS1 levels and disease-associated SorCS1 mutations affect E/I balance in neural circuits.
Promoting and implementing joint programming at the international level to reinforce research on the development of scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services

Current knowledge and conventional awareness-raising have largely proven insufficient to tackle the issue of biodiversity and ecosystems degradation. In this context, scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ESS) can play a key role both in informing policy makers and practitioners and raising awareness on biodiversity issues for the general public, as it has been the case for climate change.
By networking 27 funding agencies from 24 countries from Europe and other continents, BiodivScen aims to promote and support coordinated international research on scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It will strengthen research and research programmes coordination with the ultimate aim to provide policy makers and other stakeholders with adequate knowledge, tools and practical solutions to improve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems.
The BiodivScen objectives are to:
- coordinate the research agendas of major European and interantional research funders to agree on shared research priorities related to scenarios of biodiversity & ESS
- design and implement an ambitious joint call for research proposals focussed on the development of scenarios of biodiversity & ESS
- promote and support research collaboration across national borders and across disciplinary boundaries, in order to build capacity, overcome fragmentation and have a lasting effect on the international research community and landscape
- encourage and support dialogue and collaboration between academia and research stakeholders, and more particularly stakeholder engagement in the funded research projects, in order to increase the impact of research on policy and practice
- ease rapid and efficient uptake of funded research results by the IPBES for its future assessments, and by other relevant initiatives
- reinforce open access to data and data sharing
- prepare a longer term collaboration between all BiodivScen partners in close relation to BiodivERsA and the Belmo