Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks: Resurrecting Multilingual Retrieval Using Zero-shot Learning

While billions of non-English speaking users rely on search engines every day, the problem of ad-hoc information retrieval is rarely studied for non-English languages. This is primarily due to a lack of data set that are suitable to train ranking algorithms. In this paper, we tackle the lack of data by leveraging pre-trained multilingual language models to transfer a retrieval system trained on English collections to non-English queries and documents. Our model is evaluated in a zero-shot setting, meaning that we use them to predict relevance scores for query-document pairs in languages never seen during training. Our results show that the proposed approach can significantly outperform unsupervised retrieval techniques for Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, and Spanish. We also show that augmenting the English training collection with some examples from the target language can sometimes improve performance.Comment: ECIR 2020 (short

Local stellar kinematics from RAVE data - II. Radial metallicity gradient

We investigate radial metallicity gradients for a sample of dwarf stars from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) Data Release 3 (DR3). We select a total of approximately 17 000 F-type and G-type dwarfs, using a selection of colour, log g and uncertainty in the derived space motion, and calculate for each star a probabilistic (kinematic) population assignment to a thick or thin disc using space motion and additionally another (dynamical) assignment using stellar vertical orbital eccentricity. We additionally subsample by colour, to provide samples biased toward young thin-disc and older thin-disc stars. We derive a metallicity gradient as a function of Galactocentric radial distance, i.e. d[M/H]/dRm=−0.051 ± 0.005 dex kpc−1, for the youngest sample, F-type stars with vertical orbital eccentricities ev≤ 0.04. Samples biased toward older thin-disc stars show systematically shallower abundance gradients

Bilateral occipital arteries of internal carotid origin: report of a case and review of the literature

The present report describes a patient with bilateral occipital arteries of internal carotid origin, which is an extremely rare variation, and left vertebral artery ostial stenosis diagnosed by selective catheterization and digital subtraction angiography

The prevalence and consequences of burnout on a group of preclinical dental students

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of burnout among a group of Turkish preclinical dental students, to compare the level of burnout and to determine the consequences in structural equation model. Materials and Methods: Preclinical dental students (n = 329, 50.5% of females and 49.5% of males) aged between 18 and 24 took part in the study. Maslach burnout inventory student version, academic satisfaction scale, and personal information sheet were used to gather data. Pearson correlation analyses, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. The proposed theoretical model was tested via observed variable path analysis using maximum likelihood parameter estimation with AMOS 7.0. Results: About 22.3% of students had high level of emotional exhaustion, 16.7% of students had high level of cynicism, and 17.9% of students suffered from high level of reduced academic efficacy. While the students attending the first grade reported higher level of reduced academic efficacy, the students in the third grade reported higher level of emotional exhaustion. Academic workload played an important role in the development of burnout. As consequences of burnout, students with high levels of burnout intended to change their current major and did not to plan to continue to postgraduate education. Students with high level of burnout reported less level of academic satisfaction and academic achievement. Conclusions: Creating awareness on the burnout of dental students from the preclinical period may be useful for prevention and more compatible dental education environment. © 2015 European Journal of Dentistry

Treatment results and prognostic factors in primary thyroid lymphoma patients: a Rare Cancer Network study

Background: This study analyzed prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of primary thyroid lymphoma. Patients and Methods: Data were retrospectively collected for 87 patients (53 stage I and 34 stage II) with median age 65 years. Fifty-two patients were treated with single modality (31 with chemotherapy alone and 21 with radiotherapy alone) and 35 with combined modality treatment. Median follow-up was 51 months. Results: Sixty patients had aggressive lymphoma and 27 had indolent lymphoma. The 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 74% and 71%, respectively, and the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 68% and 64%. Univariate analysis revealed that age, tumor size, stage, lymph node involvement, B symptoms, and treatment modality were prognostic factors for OS, DFS, and local control (LC). Patients with thyroiditis had significantly better LC rates. In multivariate analysis, OS was influenced by age, B symptoms, lymph node involvement, and tumor size, whereas DFS and LC were influenced by B symptoms and tumor size. Compared with single modality treatment, patients treated with combined modality had better 5-year OS, DFS, and LC. Conclusions: Combined modality leads to an excellent prognosis for patients with aggressive lymphoma but does not improve OS and LC in patients with indolent lymphom

Variant‐specific effects of GBA1 mutations on dopaminergic neuron proteostasis

Glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) mutations are the most important genetic risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD). Clinically, mild (e.g., p.N370S) and severe (e.g., p.L444P and p.D409H) GBA1 mutations have different PD phenotypes, with differences in age at disease onset, progression, and the severity of motor and non‐motor symptoms. We hypothesize that GBA1 mutations cause the accumulation of α‐synuclein by affecting the cross‐talk between cellular protein degradation mechanisms, leading to neurodegeneration. Accordingly, we tested whether mild and severe GBA1 mutations differentially affect the degradation of α‐synuclein via the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS), chaperone‐mediated autophagy (CMA), and macroautophagy and differentially cause accumulation and/or release of α‐synuclein. Our results demonstrate that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and total ubiquitination rates were significantly increased in cells with severe GBA1 mutations. CMA was found to be defective in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)‐derived dopaminergic neurons with mild GBA1 mutations, but not in those with severe GBA1 mutations. When examining macroautophagy, we observed reduced formation of autophagosomes in cells with the N370S and D409H GBA1 mutations and impairments in autophagosome–lysosome fusion in cells with the L444P GBA1 mutation. Accordingly, severe GBA1 mutations were found to trigger the accumulation and release of oligomeric α‐synuclein in iPSC‐derived dopaminergic neurons, primarily as a result of increased ER stress and defective macroautophagy, while mild GBA1 mutations affected CMA, which is mainly responsible for the degradation of the monomeric form of α‐synuclein. Overall, our findings provide new insight into the molecular basis of the clinical variability in PD associated with different GBA1 mutations

A novel method for spectrophotometric determination of pregabalin in pure form and in capsules

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pregabalin, a γ-amino-n-butyric acid derivative, is an antiepileptic drug not yet official in any pharmacopeia and development of analytical procedures for this drug in bulk/formulation forms is a necessity. We herein, report a new, simple, extraction free, cost effective, sensitive and reproducible spectrophotometric method for the determination of the pregabalin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pregabalin, as a primary amine was reacted with ninhydrin in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 to form blue violet colored chromogen which could be measured spectrophotometrically at λ_max402.6 nm. The method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness. The method showed linearity in a wide concentration range of 50-1000 μg mL^-1with good correlation coefficient (0.992). The limits of assays detection was found to be 6.0 μg mL^-1and quantitation limit was 20.0 μg mL^-1. The suggested method was applied to the determination of the drug in capsules. No interference could be observed from the additives in the capsules. The percentage recovery was found to be 100.43 ± 1.24.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The developed method was successfully validated and applied to the determination of pregabalin in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations without any interference from common excipients. Hence, this method can be potentially useful for routine laboratory analysis of pregabalin.</p

Endovascular treatment of iatrogenic axillary artery pseudoaneurysm under echographic control: A case report

Aim: Brief case report of the treatment of a large axillary artery pseudoaneurysm after a pacemaker using a left brachial cutdown and a retrograde delivery of a covered stent using ultrasound and fluoroscopic guidance. The patient's renal function precluded the use of contrast materials.Case Report: A 77 years old man presenting with acute renal failure and haemoglobin decrease arrived with an expanding pseudoaneurysm of the left axillary artery from a pacemaker placement. Considering the site of the lesion and patient's comorbidities, under echographic control, a Hemobahn \uae stent-graft was placed; fluoroscopy assisted manipulation of guidewires and sheaths into the aortic arch. The procedure was successfully ended without any complications. At 8 months the stent graft was still patent.Conclusion: Ultrasound guidance may represent an alternative for pseudo-aneurysm exclusion without any use of contrast medium, especially in those patient where lesions are easily detectable using ultrasonography and when comorbidities contraindicate aggressive surgical or angiographic approach