1,044 research outputs found
Training on Citizen Engagement in Policy-relevant Science,Technology and Innovation
Creating the conditions for genuine engagement of citizens and other societal actors in matters of their concern where science and technology are relevant is an issue of increasing political attention; not least because the diffusion of “low cost” and “low tech” media through which citizens can, like never before, express opinions and concerns calls for institutional reflexivity. Public engagement is one of the pillars of the RRI lemma, together with Ethics. This training course responds to a concrete lack of genuine and legitimate places whereby institutions can explore insights, expectations and imaginaries of citizens in matters of concern to all. This training is concerned with the science for policy realm where engagement of citizens is needed and relevant to ensure quality of policy formulation processes in situations described in the framework of “post-normal science” where “facts uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent". This training will look into participatory approaches to discuss science and technology developments as well as discuss what makes trustful relationships between the scientific community and the public trustworthy.JRC.I.2-Foresight, Behavioural Insights and Design for Polic
Machine health diagnostics using acoustic imaging and algorithms for machine learning
Nowadays monitoring health conditions of machines is necessary to reduce costs and repairing time and to secure the quality of the products. Therefore, the potential of acoustic measurements in combination with machine learning techniques for non-invasive diagnostics of machine performance has been investigated. The idea is to establish relations between the acoustic images produced by a sound camera and the machine conditions and then create a strategy for processing the images using Convolutional Neural Networks. Several working conditions of the machine have been considered and experiments have been performed both under nominal and abnormal conditions of the machine, obtained by mimicking the presence of a disturbance. The use of the algorithms for image classification allows isolation of the faults in the machine behaviour by the definition of the primary sound sources. The procedure shows promising results with a short computational time, easy application and high accuracy
Superdense galaxies and the mass-size relation at low redshift
We search for massive and compact galaxies (superdense galaxies, hereafter
SDGs) at z=0.03-0.11 in the Padova-Millennium Galaxy and Group Catalogue, a
spectroscopically complete sample representative of the local Universe general
field population. We find that compact galaxies with radii and mass densities
comparable to high-z massive and passive galaxies represent 4.4% of all
galaxies with stellar masses above 3 X 10^10 M_sun, yielding a number density
of 4.3 X 10^-4 h^3 Mpc^-3. Most of them are S0s (70%) or ellipticals (23%), are
red and have intermediate-to-old stellar populations, with a median
luminosity-weighted age of 5.4 Gyr and a median mass-weighted age of 9.2 Gyr.
Their velocity dispersions and dynamical masses are consistent with the small
radii and high stellar mass estimates. Comparing with the WINGS sample of
cluster galaxies at similar redshifts, the fraction of superdense galaxies is
three times smaller in the field than in clusters, and cluster SDGs are on
average 4 Gyr older than field SDGs. We confirm the existence of a universal
trend of smaller radii for older luminosity-weighted ages at fixed galaxy mass.
On top of the well known dependence of stellar age on galaxy mass, the
luminosity-weighted age of galaxies depends on galaxy compactness at fixed
mass, and, for a fixed mass and radius, on environment. This effect needs to be
taken into account in order not to overestimate the evolution of galaxy sizes
from high- to low-z. Our results and hierarchical simulations suggest that a
significant fraction of the massive compact galaxies at high-z have evolved
into compact galaxies in galaxy clusters today. When stellar age and
environmental effects are taken into account, the average amount of size
evolution of individual galaxies between high- and low-z is mild, a factor
~1.6. (abridged)Comment: ApJ, in pres
The evolution of galaxy sizes
We present a study of galaxy sizes in the local Universe as a function of
galaxy environment, comparing clusters and the general field. Galaxies with
radii and masses comparable to high-z massive and compact galaxies represent
4.4% of all galaxies more massive than 3 X 10^{10} M_sun in the field. Such
galaxies are 3 times more frequent in clusters than in the field. Most of them
are early-type galaxies with intermediate to old stellar populations. There is
a trend of smaller radii for older luminosity-weighted ages at fixed galaxy
mass. We show the relation between size and luminosity-weighted age for
galaxies of different stellar masses and in different environments. We compare
with high-z data to quantify the evolution of galaxy sizes. We find that, once
the progenitor bias due to the relation between galaxy size and stellar age is
removed, the average amount of size evolution of individual galaxies between
high- and low-z is mild, of the order of a factor 1.6.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of the IAU S295: The intriguing life of
massive galaxies, editors D. Thomas, A. Pasquali & I. Ferrera
Can Computed Tomography Colonography Replace Optical Colonoscopy in Detecting Colorectal Lesions?: State of the Art
: Colorectal cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Optical colonoscopy (OC) is widely accepted as the reference standard for the screening of colorectal polyps and cancers, and computed tomography colonography (CTC) is a valid alternative to OC. The purpose of this review was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of OC and CTC for colorectal lesions. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, and 18 articles were included. CTC has emerged in recent years as a potential screening examination with high accuracy for the detection of colorectal lesions. However, the clinical application of CTC as a screening technique is limited because it is highly dependent on the size of the lesions and has poor performance in detecting individual lesions <5 mm or flat lesions, which, although rarely, can have a malignant potential
Differentiating Multiple Sclerosis From AQP4-Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder and MOG-Antibody Disease With Imaging
Multiple sclerosis; Neuromyelitis optica; ImagingEsclerosis múltiple; Neuromielitis óptica; ImágenesEsclerosi múltiple; Neuromielitis òptica; ImatgesBackground and Objectives Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), aquaporin-4 antibody–positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4-NMOSD), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody–associated disease (MOGAD) may have overlapping clinical features. There is an unmet need for imaging markers that differentiate between them when serologic testing is unavailable or ambiguous. We assessed whether imaging characteristics typical of MS discriminate RRMS from AQP4-NMOSD and MOGAD, alone and in combination.
Methods Adult, nonacute patients with RRMS, APQ4-NMOSD, and MOGAD and healthy controls were prospectively recruited at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (London, United Kingdom) and the Walton Centre (Liverpool, United Kingdom) between 2014 and 2019. They underwent conventional and advanced brain, cord, and optic nerve MRI and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Results A total of 91 consecutive patients (31 RRMS, 30 APQ4-NMOSD, and 30 MOGAD) and 34 healthy controls were recruited. The most accurate measures differentiating RRMS from AQP4-NMOSD were the proportion of lesions with the central vein sign (CVS) (84% vs 33%, accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 91/88/93%, p < 0.001), followed by cortical lesions (median: 2 [range: 1–14] vs 1 [0–1], accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 84/90/77%, p = 0.002) and white matter lesions (mean: 39.07 [±25.8] vs 9.5 [±14], accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 78/84/73%, p = 0.001). The combination of higher proportion of CVS, cortical lesions, and optic nerve magnetization transfer ratio reached the highest accuracy in distinguishing RRMS from AQP4-NMOSD (accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 95/92/97%, p < 0.001). The most accurate measures favoring RRMS over MOGAD were white matter lesions (39.07 [±25.8] vs 1 [±2.3], accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 94/94/93%, p = 0.006), followed by cortical lesions (2 [1–14] vs 1 [0–1], accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 84/97/71%, p = 0.004), and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL) (mean: 87.54 [±13.83] vs 75.54 [±20.33], accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 80/79/81%, p = 0.009). Higher cortical lesion number combined with higher RNFL thickness best differentiated RRMS from MOGAD (accuracy/specificity/sensitivity: 84/92/77%, p < 0.001).
Discussion Cortical lesions, CVS, and optic nerve markers achieve a high accuracy in distinguishing RRMS from APQ4-NMOSD and MOGAD. This information may be useful in clinical practice, especially outside the acute phase and when serologic testing is ambiguous or not promptly available.
Classification of Evidence This study provides Class II evidence that selected conventional and advanced brain, cord, and optic nerve MRI and OCT markers distinguish adult patients with RRMS from AQP4-NMOSD and MOGAD.The study was funded by the UK MS Society (Grant No.: 917-09) and the National Institute for Health and Care Re- search (RP-2017-08-ST2-004)
Combination of antibodies directed against different ErbB3 surface epitopes prevents the establishment of resistance to BRAF/MEK inhibitors in melanoma
Patients with metastatic melanoma bearing V600 mutations in BRAF oncogene clinically benefit from the treatment with BRAF inhibitors alone or in combination with MEK inhibitors. However, a limitation to such treatment is the occurrence of resistance. Tackling the adaptive changes helping cells survive from drug treatment may offer new therapeutic opportunities. Very recently the ErbB3 receptor has been shown to act as a central node promoting survival of BRAF mutated melanoma. In this paper we first demonstrate that ErbB3/AKT hyperphosphorylation occurs in BRAF mutated melanoma cell lines following exposure to BRAF and/or MEK inhibitors. This strongly correlates with increased transcriptional activation of its ligand neuregulin. Anti-ErbB3 antibodies impair the establishment of de novo cell resistance to BRAF inhibition in vitro. In order to more potently ablate ErbB3 activity we used a combination of two anti-ErbB3 antibodies directed against distinct epitopes of its extracellular domain. These two antibodies in combo with BRAF/MEK inhibitors potently inhibit in vitro cell growth and tumor regrowth after drug withdrawal in an in vivo xenograft model. Importantly, residual tumor masses from mice treated by the antibodies and BRAF/ERK inhibitors combo are characterized almost exclusively by large necrotic areas with limited residual areas of tumor growth. Taken together, our findings support the concept that triple therapy directed against BRAF/MEK/ErbB3 may be able to provide durable control of BRAF mutated metastatic melanoma
- …