Shedding light on a living lab: the CLEF NEWSREEL open recommendation platform

In the CLEF NEWSREEL lab, participants are invited to evaluate news recommendation techniques in real-time by providing news recommendations to actual users that visit commercial news portals to satisfy their information needs. A central role within this lab is the communication between participants and the users. This is enabled by The Open Recommendation Platform (ORP), a web-based platform which distributes users' impressions of news articles to the participants and returns their recommendations to the readers. In this demo, we illustrate the platform and show how requests are handled to provide relevant news articles in real-time

Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, MOGUĆI UTJECAJ OKOLIŠNIH ČIMBENIKA I NAVODNJAVANJA KUKURUZA NA VELIČINU LIČINKI U SJEVEROZAPADNOJ ITALIJI

Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, larvae were collected in different irrigated maize fields in Brescia Province in Northwestern Italy in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Head capsule widths, considered a valid indicator of larval instar stage, were measured for 2063 specimens and data for the three years were combined and grouped in increments of 20 µm width sizes. Frequency of larvae within each grouping was graphed as a histogram and three distinct peaks, interpreted to represent the peak frequency of the head capsule widths of the three larval instars, were observed. Assuming a normal distribution of head capsule widths, a multiple nonlinear Gaussian curve regression was applied to the frequency histogram. The peaks of the fitted normal curves were 227 ± 3 µm, 353 ± 6 µm, and 519 ± 3 µm for the first, second and third instars, respectively. These values are higher than those reported by other authors in similar studies. The possible impact of irrigation and other environmental factors is discussed.Ličinke kukuruzne zlatice, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte skupljane su u različito navodnjavanim poljima kukuruza provincije Brescia (SZ Italija) 2006., 2007. i 2008. godine. Širina glave smatra se valjanim pokazateljem razvojnih faza ličinki, stoga su obavljena mjerenja širine glave 2063 jedinki te vrste, a podatci trogodišnjih istraživanja spojeni su i rangirani u veličine od 20 μm širine. Frekvencija ličinki unutar istih rangiranja prikazana je grafički histogramom s tri vrha koji interpretiraju vrhove u frekvenciji širine glava ličinki triju različitih stadija razvoja. Za prikaz histograma frekvencija, uz pretpostavku normalne distribucije širine glave ličinki, korištena je višestruka nelinearna Gausova krivulja. Vrhovi normalnih krivulja bili su 227 ± 3 μm, 353 ± 6 μm i 519 ± 3 μm za prvu, drugu i treću fazu razvoja. Vrijednosti su veće od vrijednosti koje su opazili autori u sličnim studijama. Rad raspravlja o mogućem utjecaju navodnjavanja i ostalih čimbenika okoliša

Antirheumatic drugs and reproduction in women and men with chronic arthritis.

The impact of rheumatic disease on fertility and reproduction can be remarkable. Many disease-related factors can influence patients' sexual functioning, perturb fertility and limit family planning. Antirheumatic pharmacological treatment can also have a crucial role in this field. Proper counselling, preferably provided by a multidisciplinary team of rheumatologists, obstetricians, gynaecologists and neonatologists, is recommended for patients taking antirheumatic drugs, not only at the beginning, but also during the course of treatment. Paternal exposure to antirheumatic drugs was not found to be specifically associated with congenital malformation and adverse pregnancy outcome, therefore discontinuation of these drugs while planning for conception should be weighed against the risk of disease flare. Drugs in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) category 'X' should be withdrawn in a timely manner in women who desire a pregnancy. Meanwhile, disease control can be achieved with anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents, which are not teratogenic drugs. If maternal disease control is permissive, they can be stopped as soon as the pregnancy test turns positive and be resumed during pregnancy in case of a flare

Issues to be Addressed for Transforming a Digital Library Application for Experts into One for Final Users

This paper reports on the effort we made in adapting and opening a specialist tool, focused on illumination and designed purposely for scholars and researchers, in order to be suitable also for the general public. We describe the ongoing process we are conducting: the adaptation and the improvement of the IPSA digital archive using the results we collected after several sessions of user interviews, following suggestions of both scholars and simple users. We discuss user studies dynamics, that we consider as a loop-interaction, and the consequences that they entail upon the system design.Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua, Via Gradenigo 6/a, 35131 Padua, Italy, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padua, Piazza Capitaniato 7, 35139 Padua, Italy

Oral liquid L-thyroxine (L-t4) may be better absorbed compared to L-T4 tablets following bariatric surgery.

Drug malabsorption is a potential concern after bariatric surgery. We present four case reports of hypothyroid patients who were well replaced with thyroxine tablets to euthyroid thyrotropin (TSH) levels prior to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. These patients developed elevated TSH levels after the surgery, the TSH responded reversibly to switching from treatment with oral tablets to a liquid formulation

L’inibizione tireotropinica da metformina non si associa a segni cardiologici di ipertiroidismo subclinico

Recenti dati di letteratura hanno evidenziato come metformina determini una riduzione/soppressione dei livelli sierici di tireotro- pina (TSH), simulando un ipertiroidismo subclinico il cui signifi- cato clinico rimane a oggi ancora assai controverso. Sebbene l’ipertiroidismo subclinico sia nella maggioranza dei casi una condizione clinica asintomatica, è altrettanto noto come esso si associ a un aumentato rischio di aritmie (più frequentemente la fibrillazione atriale) e ad alterazioni morfo-funzionali cardiache determinando un aumento di morbilità e mortalità cardiovasco- lare. Scopo del presente studio è stato quello di valutare retrospetti- vamente le alterazioni di differenti indici elettrocardiografici in pazienti diabetici eutiroidei che, dopo aver intrapreso terapia con metformina, hanno sviluppato riduzione/soppressione dei valori di TSH comparando i dati con quelli ottenuti in pazienti con iper- tiroidismo subclinico secondario a patologie tiroidee o a terapia soppressiva con L-tiroxina. I parametri elettrocardiografici (frequenza cardiaca, durata del- l’onda P, indice di dispersione dell’onda P, QT max, QT min, indice di dispersione dell’intervallo QT) sono stati valutati in 23 pazienti diabetici in terapia con metformina prima e dopo 6 mesi dall’instaurarsi della soppressione del TSH e in 31 con- trolli con ipertiroidismo subclinico. Nessuna modifica significa- tiva è stata osservata tra i parametri elettrocardiografici rilevati prima e dopo la riduzione del TSH. Al contrario, significative dif- ferenze nella durata dell’onda P (102,9 ± 7,4 vs 92,1 ± 5,8 ms, p < 0,001), dell’indice di dispersione dell’onda P (13,1 ± 3,4 vs 7,1 ± 3,5 ms, p < 0,001), del QT max (399 ± 18 vs 388 ± 16 ms, p = 0,024), del QT min (341 ± 14 vs 350 ± 17 ms, p = 0,038) e di quello dell’intervallo QT (49,9 ± 9,6 vs 30,9 ± 9,2 ms, p < 0,001) sono state rilevate tra i controlli con iperti- roidismo subclinico e il gruppo di pazienti diabetici con valori ridotti/soppressi di TSH. I risultati del nostro studio evidenzierebbero come l’effetto di riduzione/soppressione del TSH osservato in alcuni pazienti dia- betici in terapia con metformina non si associ a marker periferi- ci cardiaci da eccesso di ormoni tiroidei. L’alterazione del profilo tiroideo metformina-indotto sembrerebbe non indicativo di iper- tiroidismo subclinico, suggerendo quindi che non sussiste la necessità di sottoporre a stretti controlli della funzione tiroidea i pazienti diabetici in terapia con metformin

The precuneal interhemispheric, trans-tentorial corridor to the pineal region and brainstem, surgical anatomy, and case illustration

Background The pineal region and dorsal midbrain are among the most challenging surgical targets. To approach lesions in this region that harbor a superior to inferior long axis, we describe the basic steps of the precuneal, interhemispheric, trans-tentorial approach and illustrate anatomical landmarks of this established, but not so popular, surgical trajectory.Method To study the anatomical landmarks and safety of this approach, the neurovascular anatomy was studied on 22 sides of 11 formalin-fixed latex-injected anatomical specimens. A step-by-step dissection of the precuneal interhemispheric trans-tentorial approach and study of the key anatomical landmarks was performed. An illustrative clinical case of a pontomesencephalic cavernous malformation (CM) resected through this approach is also detailed.Results The mean distance from the transverse sinus to the most posterior cortical vein draining into the superior sagittal sinus was 6.4 cm. The mean distance from the calcarine sulcus to the most posterior cortical vein was 5.3 cm. Key steps of the dissection are as follows: craniotomy exposing the posterior aspect of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), durotomy and gentle retraction of the SSS edge, dissection of the interhemispheric fissure, linear incision of the tentorium that extends anteriorly to the incisura and lateral reflection of the tentorium, and arachnoidal dissection and exposure of the cerebellomesencephalic fissure.Conclusion The precuneal, interhemispheric, trans-tentorial approach affords excellent access to the falcotentorial junction, splenium, pineal region, quadrigeminal cistern, and dorsal pons once the cerebellomesencephalic fissure has been dissected