Neural sentiment analysis for a real-world application

In this paper, we describe our neural network models for a commercial application on sentiment analysis. Different from academic work, which is oriented towards complex networks for achieving a marginal improvement, real scenarios require flexible and efficient neural models. The possibility to use the same models on different domains and languages plays an important role in the selection of the most appropriate architecture. We found that a small modification of the state-of-the-art network according to academic benchmarks led to a flexible neural model that also preserves high accuracy. In questo lavoro, descriviamo i nostri modelli di reti neurali per un'applicazione commerciale basata sul sentiment analysis. A differenza del mondo accademico, dove la ricerca è orientata verso reti anche complesse per il raggiungimento di un miglioramento marginale, gli scenari di utilizzo reali richiedono modelli neurali flessibili, efficienti e semplici. La possibilitá di utilizzare gli stessi modelli per domini e linguaggi variegati svolge un ruolo importante nella scelta dell'architettura. Abbiamo scoperto che una piccola modifica della rete allo stato dell'arte rispetto ai benchmarks accademici produce un modello neurale flessibile che preserva anche un'elevata precisione

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in Fetoplacental Tissues from Preeclamptic Pregnancies with or without Fetal Growth Restriction

The proinflammatory cytokine MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) is involved in physiological and pathological processes in pregnancy. MIF maternal serum levels are increased in preeclampsia (PE). We hypothesize that pregnancy tissues are the source of MIF overexpression in PE. MIF protein was studied in maternal sera, placental tissues, fetal membranes, and umbilical cord of 8 control and 20 PE pregnancies: 10 with normal fetal growth (PE-AGA) and 10 with fetal growth restriction (PE-FGR). MIF levels were significantly higher in PE-AGA membranes than in controls and PE-FGR. In PE-FGR, MIF cord concentrations were higher than in PE-AGA while MIF placental levels were lower than in controls. MIF maternal serum levels were higher in PE, compared to controls, and the difference was mainly due to PE-FGR samples. These data support MIF involvement in PE pathogenesis and suggest that different pregnancy tissues contribute to MIF production in PE with and without fetoplacental compromise

Radiomic Features from Post-Operative 18F-FDG PET/CT and CT Imaging Associated with Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer: Preliminary Findings

Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer (LRRC) remains a major clinical concern, it rapidly invades pelvic organs and nerve roots, causing severe symptoms. Curative-intent salvage therapy offers the only potential for cure but it has a higher chance of success when LRRC is diagnosed at an early stage. Imaging diagnosis of LRRC is very challenging due to fibrosis and inflammatory pelvic tissue which can mislead even the most expert reader. This study exploited a radiomic analysis to enrich, through quantitative features, the characterization of tissue properties, thus favouring an accurate detection of LRRC by Computed Tomography (CT) and 18F-FDG-Positron Emission Tomography/CT (PET/CT). Of 563 eligible patients, undergoing radical resection (R0) of primary RC, 57 patients with suspected LRRC were included, 33 of which histologically confirmed. After manually segmenting suspected LRRC in CT and PET/CT, 144 radiomic features (RFs) were generated, and RFs were investigated for univariate significant discriminations (Wilcoxon rank-sum test, p<0.050) of LRRC from NO LRRC. Five RFs in PET/CT (p<0.017) and 2 in CT (p<0.022) enabled, individually, a clear distinction of the groups, and one RF was shared by PET/CT and CT. Besides confirming the potential role of radiomics to advance LRRC diagnosis, the aforementioned shared RF describes LRRC as tissues having high local inhomogeneity due to evolving tissue’s properties

Resistin modulates glucose uptake and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) expression in trophoblast cells

The adipocytokine resistin impairs glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Here, we examine the effect of resistin on glucose uptake in human trophoblast cells and we demonstrate that transplacental glucose transport is mediated by glucose transporter (GLUT)-1. Furthermore, we evaluate the type of signal transduction induced by resistin in GLUT-1 regulation. BeWo choriocarcinoma cells and primary cytotrophoblast cells were cultured with increasing resistin concentrations for 24 hrs. The main outcome measures include glucose transport assay using [3H]-2-deoxy glucose, GLUT-1 protein expression by Western blot analysis and GLUT-1 mRNA detection by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Quantitative determination of phospho(p)-ERK1/2 in cell lysates was performed by an Enzyme Immunometric Assay and Western blot analysis. Our data demonstrate a direct effect of resistin on normal cytotrophoblastic and on BeWo cells: resistin modulates glucose uptake, GLUT-1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression in placental cells. We suggest that ERK1/2 phosphorylation is involved in the GLUT-1 regulation induced by resistin. In conclusion, resistin causes activation of both the ERK1 and 2 pathway in trophoblast cells. ERK1 and 2 activation stimulated GLUT-1 synthesis and resulted in increase of placental glucose uptake. High resistin levels (50–100 ng/ml) seem able to affect glucose-uptake, presumably by decreasing the cell surface glucose transporter

First records of Anagraphis ochracea (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) for continental Italy and Sicily with new observations on its myrmecophilous lifestyle

In the present study we describe and discuss for the first time the peculiar myrmecophilous habits of Anagraphis ochracea (L. Koch, 1867) and its strong association with the ant species Messor ibericus Santschi, 1931. The study is based on behavioural observations carried out both in the field and in captivity, and sheds light on the lifestyle of this poorly studied and rarely observed species. We also recorded the presence of A. ochracea on continental Italy and Sicily for the first time; provide a brief overview of its taxonomical history and present photographs of adult and juvenile specimens, the egg sac and the copulatory organs of both sexes. Finally, we provide a DNA-barcode (COI) for A. ochracea, which is the first for the genus Anagraphis as well

High-status affiliations and the success of entrants: new bands and the market for live music performances, 2000-2012

Network affiliations have been extensively investigated as a way for new entrants to establish a foothold in markets. A commonly invoked mechanism is that of signaling, whereby affiliations provide exposure and improve a newcomer’s odds of success. Our paper highlights a second mechanism that we argue is especially relevant in cultural markets: how a new entrant’s perceived distinctiveness varies based on its affiliations. Leveraging data on music concerts, interviews of musicians, and biographical and genre information from archival sources, we investigate the effects of early affiliations for 1,385 bands formed between 2000 and 2005. In particular, we consider whether a new band benefits from appearing with a high-status act. If the main value is signaling, then a newcomer would be better off opening for high status bands, because doing so maximizes both legitimacy and exposure. However, in such conditions entrants run the risk of not being allocated enough attention, and thus not being seen as sufficiently distinctive. While the literature typically emphasizes the positive role of signaling, we find that our results more strongly support the notion of distinctiveness: new bands that frequently appeared with high-status artists made less money and were more likely to subsequently dissolve. This suggests that social network approaches to cultural markets need to better incorporate how network position affects a newcomer’s opportunity to be recognized as distinctive

When Is the Performance-Pay Relationship Stronger? Evidence from the Big-5 Football Leagues

Across organizational and managerial settings, a commonly held belief is that the pay of resource providers and their performance are closely linked. Yet, the boundary conditions of this claim have not been thoroughly explored; that is, scholars do not know much about those factors that might contribute to the decoupling between performance and pay. We explore the above topic by leveraging a dataset of 686 professional soccer players in the major European leagues. Our results show a positive association between players' performance and their salary, but they also show that this relationship is negatively moderated by: 1) players' popularity 2) players' status 3) players' visible performance. Therefore, better performing players tend to be better paid, but for players that are popular, have high status, or whose visible indicators of performance are above average, performance does not predict pay as closely. We conclude by discussing implications of our findings

The Role of Celebrity and Status in the Performance–Pay Relationship: Evidence from the ‘Big Five’ European Football Leagues

International audienceThis study explores the reasons behind the existence of frequent mismatches between performance of individuals in organisations and their salary, with a specific focus on contexts where actors or employees are highly visible and representative of organisations. We argue that two intangible assets – celebrity and status – might affect the intensity of the link between individual performance and pay levels. Using a panel data set of professional footballers from the top five European leagues, we find that there is a positive association between players’ performance in one period (season) and their salary in the subsequent season, and that this relationship is negatively moderated by both the players’ celebrity and status. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed, along with the generalisability of the results to other settings