Generic dialogue modeling for multi-application dialogue systems

We present a novel approach to developing interfaces for multi-application dialogue systems. The targeted interfaces allow transparent switching between a large number of applications within one system. The approach, based on the Rapid Dialogue Prototyping Methodology (RDPM) and the Vector Space model techniques from Information Retrieval, is composed of three main steps: (1) producing finalized dia logue models for applications using the RDPM, (2) designing an application interaction hierarchy, and (3) navigating between the applications based on the user's application of interest

Surface area or diameter – which factor really determines the antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles grown on TiO₂ coatings?

Titanium dioxide coatings were prepared on Si wafers using the sol–gel method. Four different types of coatings with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized. The diameter and surface density of AgNPs were conditioned by the concentration of Ag+ ions in the initial solution, time and UV illumination source. The bactericidal activity of AgNPs on the titanium dioxide coatings against the S. aureus strain were calculated as the percentage of the inhibition of bacterial growth after 24 hour incubation of microorganisms at 37°C on TiO₂ coatings with AgNPs. Control samples were coated with titanium dioxide without AgNPs. We concluded that the titanium dioxide coatings modified with silver nanoparticles had a high antibacterial activity. Moreover, we demonstrated strong dependence between surface areas of AgNPs and inhibition of bacterial growth. The obtained results evidence that the surface area of AgNPs grown on titanium dioxide coatings is a major factor determining their antimicrobial potential

Bacteriological analysis of isolated chronic sinusitis without polyps

Introduction: Chronic sinusitis (CRS) is phenotypically divided into inflammation with polyps (CRSwNP) or without polyps (CRSsNP). Aim: To try to explain the reasons for isolated sinusitis by analysing medical history as well as anatomical and bacteriological data. Material and methods: In 2016, endoscopic surgery was performed in 103 patients with CRSsNP within 6 months. The authors evaluated 28 patients with lesions in one sinus. Results: The patients did not report any previous facial trauma, dental procedures, there were no odontogenic causes of the disease. They had not been treated with antibiotics within 30 days prior to admission to hospital. Ninety-seven bacterial strains were grown, of which 32 in patients with isolated nasal sinusitis. Statistical analysis has shown that there is a trend toward a statistically significant (p = 0.0868) relationship between the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and the type of inflammation. Conclusions: There is an indication that the presence of Staphylococcus aureus is associated with isolated sinusitis, especially in women

Teacher-Student chain for efficient semi-supervised histology image classification

Deep learning shows great potential for the domain of digital pathology. An automated digital pathology system could serve as a second reader, perform initial triage in large screening studies, or assist in reporting. However, it is expensive to exhaustively annotate large histology image databases, since medical specialists are a scarce resource. In this paper, we apply the semi-supervised teacher-student knowledge distillation technique proposed by Yalniz et al. (2019) to the task of quantifying prognostic features in colorectal cancer. We obtain accuracy improvements through extending this approach to a chain of students, where each student's predictions are used to train the next student i.e. the student becomes the teacher. Using the chain approach, and only 0.5% labelled data (the remaining 99.5% in the unlabelled pool), we match the accuracy of training on 100% labelled data. At lower percentages of labelled data, similar gains in accuracy are seen, allowing some recovery of accuracy even from a poor initial choice of labelled training set. In conclusion, this approach shows promise for reducing the annotation burden, thus increasing the affordability of automated digital pathology systems.Comment: AI for Affordable Healthcare (AI4AH) workshop at ICLR 202

Allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs - are they an equally important risk factor for the development of a specific CRS phenotype?

Introduction: CRS is a complex systemic disease affecting more than 10% of the population. There are two main types of CRS phenotypes: CRSwNP and CRSsNP. In the Caucasian population, the prevalence of inflammation markers typical of the Th1 profile is observed in CRSsNP, whereas Th2 and Th17 in CRSwNP. Th2 inflammation is observed in the CRSwNP phenotype with concomitant allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs. Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate, based on the authors’ own material, whether allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs were a risk factor for the development of a specific CRS phenotype. An attempt was also made to investigate the influence of comorbidities on the extent of sinus endoscopic procedures, which depended on the severity of inflammation. Methods: In the years 2006–2015, ESS was performed on 2217 patients with different CRS phenotypes. Patients with an allergy, bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity to NSAIDs were subjected to analysis. Results: Based on logistic regression, it was found that among the mentioned comorbidities, only asthma (P < 0.0001) and hypersensitivity to NSAIDs (P = 0.0007) significantly affect the occurrence of the phenotype with polyps, whereas the impact of allergies is statistically insignificant (P = 0.1909). The relationship between the type of ESS and CRS phenotypes is statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity to NSAIDs have a statistically significant effect on the occurrence of the CRSwNP phenotype. This effect was not observed in allergies. The impact of allergies, asthma and hypersensitivity on the phenotype was observed in the group of patients subjected to the most extensive surgery (ESS 4)

Head and neck lymphomas - a retrospective ten-year observation

Aim of the study: Lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of tumours of lymphoid tissue in which there is an abnormal proliferation of cells of the lymphatic system. The literature notes a gradual increase in the incidence of this type of cancer in the whole population. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the above tendency occurs in the head and neck area. Material and methods: In the years 2005-2014, at the Otolaryngology and Laryngological Oncology Department of the Upper Silesian Medical Centre in Katowice, 77 cases of lymphoma were recorded, 58 of which were analysed in terms of location, histological type, age and sex of the patient, and the presence of risk factors. Results: The vast majority of them were non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) - 67.53%. Hodgkin's lymphomas (HL) accounted for only a small fraction of diagnoses (7.79%). In terms of histopathological types, in most cases of NHL, there occurred diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) - 51.92%. The most common location was the lymph nodes, representing the location of the primary lesion in more than half of the cases. As regards the extranodal location, the Waldeyer ring dominated (54.54%) along with the palatal tonsil (40.90%). There has been a significant upward trend, especially in the incidence of NHL

Wpływ rekombinowanej ludzkiej erytropoetyny na układ odpornościowy

Erytropoetyna (EPO) jest hormonem produkowanym przez komórki śródmiąższowe nerki, który działa na komórki macierzyste erytrocytów, regulując ich proliferację i chroniąc przed apoptozą. Ze względu na budowę upodobniającą ją do czynników tkankowych o charakterze cytokin uważa się, że EPO poza wpływem na układ czerwonokrwinkowy może też regulować pracę układu odpornościowego. Przemawiają za tym wyniki licznych badań przeprowadzonych wśród chorych na przewlekłą chorobę nerek (PChN), którym podaje się rekombinowaną ludzką erytropoetynę (rhEPO) w celu wyrównania niedokrwistości, która jest nieodłącznym elementem tej choroby. W publikacji omówiono zaburzenia funkcjonowania układu odpornościowego z uwzględnieniem różnych rodzajów odpowiedzi immunologicznej. Przedstawiono też wyniki badań dotyczących pozytywnego wpływu leczenia za pomocą rhEPO u chorych hemodializowanych, które wskazują na istnienie wielu mechanizmów poprawy odpowiedzi immunologicznej u tych pacjentów. Artykuł ma na celu zwrócić uwagę na fakt, że poprawa funkcjonowania układu odpornościowego u pacjentów z PChN nie wydaje się być jedynie efektem korekcji niedokrwistości. Przemawia za tym zmiana ekspresji antygenów na limfocytach, dzięki którym możliwe są ich wzajemne relacje, poprawa proliferacji limfocytów T oraz zmiany w profilu cytokin u tych chorych. Owe zmiany mogą wynikać z naśladowania przez EPO działania innych cytokin bądź bezpośredniego wpływu na limfocyty i monocyty poprzez receptor dla EPO lub inne receptory z rodziny receptorów hematopoetyn, które charakteryzują się podobną budową i przekazują sygnał przez podobny system sygnalizacyjny w komórce

Amphoteric dissolution of two-dimensional polytriazine imide carbon nitrides in water

Crystalline two-dimensional carbon nitrides with polytriazine imide (PTI) structure are shown to act amphoterically, buffering both HCl and NaOH aqueous solutions, resulting in charged PTI layers that dissolve spontaneously in their aqueous media, particularly for the alkaline solutions. This provides a low energy, green route to their scalable solution processing. Protonation in acid is shown to occur at pyridinic nitrogens, stabilized by adjacent triazines, whereas deprotonation in base occurs primarily at basal plane NH bridges, although NH 2 edge deprotonation is competitive. We conclude that mildly acidic or basic pHs are necessary to provide sufficient net charge on the nanosheets to promote dissolution, while avoiding high ion concentrations which screen the repulsion of like-charged PTI sheets in solution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Exploring the length scales, timescales and chemistry of challenging materials (Part 2)'