¿Notas explicativas explican? : Análisis de la comunicación de la gestión de riesgos a partir de técnicas de Text Mining

O estudo objetivou analisar a efetividade da comunicação do gerenciamento de risco nas notas explicativas considerando técnicas de text mining. A partir da análise de 241 trechos de texto de 32 instituições financeiras, utilizou-se a similaridade de cosseno como medida de distância para avaliar a relação da variabilidade dos textos com os índices de risco Basileia e Inad90. Os resultados indicam que as notasanalisadas não estão em conformidade com a OCPC 07, pois seu conteúdo não reflete a flutuação dos índices de risco. A utilidade para o usuário em processos de tomada de decisões pode ser prejudicada, dado o indício de desconexão entre os textos e a política de riscos. Apresentam-se casos de repetição integral dos trechos de texto. Como contribuição, esse artigo avança nos estudos textuais das demonstrações financeiras, indo além de análises léxicas e volumétricas, trazendo o conteúdo semânticoem volume e sua relação com indicadores financeiros.The study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of risk management communication in the explanatory notesconsidering text mining techniques. Based on the analysis of 241 text excerpts from 32 financial institutions, we used the cosine similarity as a distance measurement to assess the relationship between the variability of the texts and the Basel and Inad 90 risk indices. The results indicate that the analyzed notes are not in compliance with OCPC 07, as their content does not reflect the fluctuation of risk indices. The benefit of the notes for the user in decision-making processes may be impaired, given the evidence of disconnection between the texts and the risk policy. Cases of complete repetition of the text excerpts are presented. As a contribution, this article advances in the textual studies of financial statements, going beyond lexical and volumetric analyses, bringing the semantic content in volume and its relationship with finance indicators.El estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la efectividad de la comunicación de la gestión de riesgos en las notas explicativas considerando técnicas de minería de textos. A partir del análisis de 241 extractos de texto de 32 instituciones financieras, se utilizó la similitud del coseno como medida de distancia para evaluar la relación entre la variabilidad de los textos y los índices de riesgo de Basilea e Inad90. Los resultados indican que las notas analizadas no están en conformidad con OCPC 07, ya que su contenido no refleja la fluctuación de los índices de riesgo. La utilidad para el usuario en los procesos de toma de decisiones puede verse afectada, dada la evidencia de desconexión entre los textos y la política de riesgos. Se presentan casos de repetición completa de extractos del texto. Como contribución, este artículo avanza en los estudios textuales de los estados financieros, yendo más allá de los análisis léxicos y volumétricos, trayendo el contenido semántico en volumen y su relación con los indicadores financieros

Implementation of ultrasonic sensing for high resolution measurement of binary gas mixture fractions

We describe an ultrasonic instrument for continuous real-time analysis of the fractional mixture of a binary gas system. The instrument is particularly well suited to measurement of leaks of a high molecular weight gas into a system that is nominally composed of a single gas. Sensitivity < 5 × 10−5 is demonstrated to leaks of octaflouropropane (C3F8) coolant into nitrogen during a long duration (18 month) continuous study. The sensitivity of the described measurement system is shown to depend on the difference in molecular masses of the two gases in the mixture. The impact of temperature and pressure variances on the accuracy of the measurement is analysed. Practical considerations for the implementation and deployment of long term, in situ ultrasonic leak detection systems are also described. Although development of the described systems was motivated by the requirements of an evaporative fluorocarbon cooling system, the instrument is applicable to the detection of leaks of many other gases and to processes requiring continuous knowledge of particular binary gas mixture fractions

Developmental Splicing Deregulation in Leukodystrophies Related to EIF2B Mutations

Leukodystrophies (LD) are rare inherited disorders that primarily affect the white matter (WM) of the central nervous system. The large heterogeneity of LD results from the diversity of the genetically determined defects that interfere with glial cells functions. Astrocytes have been identified as the primary target of LD with cystic myelin breakdown including those related to mutations in the ubiquitous translation initiation factor eIF2B. EIF2B is involved in global protein synthesis and its regulation under normal and stress conditions. Little is known about how eIF2B mutations have a major effect on WM. We performed a transcriptomic analysis using fibroblasts of 10 eIF2B-mutated patients with a severe phenotype and 10 age matched patients with other types of LD in comparison to control fibroblasts. ANOVA was used to identify genes that were statistically significantly differentially expressed at basal state and after ER-stress. The pattern of differentially expressed genes between basal state and ER-stress did not differ significantly among each of the three conditions. However, 70 genes were specifically differentially expressed in eIF2B-mutated fibroblasts whatever the stress conditions tested compared to controls, 96% being under-expressed. Most of these genes were involved in mRNA regulation and mitochondrial metabolism. The 13 most representative genes, including genes belonging to the Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein (HNRNP) family, described as regulators of splicing events and stability of mRNA, were dysregulated during the development of eIF2B-mutated brains. HNRNPH1, F and C mRNA were over-expressed in foetus but under-expressed in children and adult brains. The abnormal regulation of HNRNP expression in the brain of eIF2B-mutated patients was concomitant with splicing dysregulation of the main genes involved in glial maturation such as PLP1 for oligodendrocytes and GFAP in astrocytes. These findings demonstrate a developmental deregulation of splicing events in glial cells that is related to abnormal production of HNRNP, in eIF2B-mutated brains

Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Two-phase Heat Transfer in Minichannel Heat Exchangers: Heat Pump Applications, Design, Modelling

Refrigerant charge minimization is one of the most important targets for heating and air conditioning applications when using natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons or ammonia to cope with the new environmental challenges. Some applications of minichannels for charge minimization in heat pumps are presented and discussed in this thesis. The design of an innovative condenser, an evaporator and an internal heat exchanger is presented. These devices are shell-and-tube heat exchangers using 2 mm i.d. minichannels and realized for the use with propane. Computational procedures based on empirical correlations available in the literature and a simplified model of the heat transfer and pressure drop processes have been developed and used for the design. Experimental performance data of the heat exchangers when using R22 and propane is reported and compared against the predictions given by the computational procedures. The shell-and-tube minichannel heat exchangers have been installed in a 100 kW heat pump using propane as the refrigerant. The unit has been designed for laboratory tests and the minichannel shell-and-tube heat exchangers have been installed in the facility together with a conventional plate condenser and an evaporator. Different configurations have been tested in order to quantify the advantages of operating the heat pump using the low charge heat exchangers, with regard to both energy performance and propane charge. In particular, the experimental performance when using the minichannel condenser is compared to the one obtained when using the plate condenser, and the influence of the internal heat exchanger on the performance of the equipment is measured and discussed. Experimental data about the efficiency with propane of the semihermetic compressor installed in the heat pump is also reported. Besides empirical correlations to predict the global thermal performance, a more complete understanding of the two-phase flow and heat transfer in minichannels is needed for the design and optimization of heat exchangers. Some CFD simulations are presented in this thesis using the innovative Volume Of Fluid (VOF) method, which is able to directly compute multiphase flows without using any empirical closure law to model the interaction between the phases. In order to assess the capability of the method to compute the motion of the gas-liquid interface, which is crucial for two-phase flow and heat transfer, simulations of the adiabatic churn flow regime of air-water mixture at different pipe diameters and liquid and gas superficial velocities have been initially performed. A comparison of the numerical results with experimental visualizations is reported and a simplified theoretical model of the wave levitation process has been developed and used to explain the numerical results. The VOF simulations were then extended to the study of condensation of R134a inside a minichannel with 1 mm internal diameter. Computational results about the evolution of the vapour-liquid interface and the heat transfer coefficient along the channel are reported.La riduzione della carica di refrigerante nelle applicazioni di condizionamento e riscaldamento è uno dei vincoli di progetto principali quando vengono utilizzati, per motivi di carattere ambientale, refrigeranti naturali come idrocarburi ed ammoniaca. Alcune applicazioni dei minicanali per la minimizzazione della carica nelle pompe di calore vengono presentate e discusse nella presente tesi. Viene presentato il progetto di un condensatore, un evaporatore ed uno scambiatore di calore rigenerativo innovativi. Questi componenti sono degli scambiatori di calore a fascio tubiero utilizzanti minicali del diametro di 2 mm e progettati per l’uso con propano. Delle procedure di calcolo basate su di correlazioni disponibili in letteratura ed un modello semplificato del processo di scambio termico sono state utilizzate per il progetto. Le prestazioni sperimentali degli scambiatori con R22 e propano vengono riportate e confrontate con le stime fornite dalle procedure di calcolo. Gli scambiatori di calore sono stati installati in una pompa di calore della capacità termica di 100 kW utilizzante propano come fluido frigorigeno. Nell’impianto della pompa di calore, destinata a test di laboratorio, sono stati installati anche un condensatore ed un evaporatore a piastre convenzionali. In questo modo è stato possibile confrontare diverse configurazioni al fine di quantificare in via sperimentale i vantaggi apportati dall’utilizzo degli scambiatori a minicanali, in termini sia di prestazioni energetiche, sia di carica di propano richiesta. In particolare, le prestazioni delle configurazioni utilizzanti il condensatore a minicanali vengono confrontate con quelle delle configurazioni utilizzanti lo scambiatore a piastre, e l’influenza sulle prestazioni energetiche dello scambiatore rigenerativo viene misurata e discussa. Vengono inoltre riportati dati sperimentali relativi all’efficienza con propano del compressore semiermetico installato nella pompa di calore. Oltre a correlazioni empiriche in grado di stimare le prestazioni termiche globali, il progetto e l’ottimizzazione di scambiatori di calore richiede una più approfondita conoscenza del deflusso e dello scambio termico all’interno di minicanali. Vengono presentate in questa tesi delle simulazioni di termofluidodinamica computazionale tramite l’innovativo metodo VOF (Volume Of Fluid) in grado di simulare direttamente deflussi multifase senza la necessità di utilizzare correlazioni empiriche per la modellazione dell’interazione tra le fasi. Al fine di validare l’efficacia di questo metodo nel calcolare il moto dell’interfaccia gas-liquido, il quale è un aspetto cruciale nello scambio termico bifase, sono state in un primo momento eseguite delle simulazioni del regime di deflusso ”churn flow” per una miscela aria-acqua nel caso di un tubo liscio verticale adiabatico, a differenti valori di diametro del tubo e di velocità superficiale delle due fasi. I risultati sono stati confrontati con visualizzazioni sperimentali ed un modello teorico semplificato del processo di levitazione delle onde è stato sviluppato ed utilizzato per commentare i risultati numerici. Le simulazioni con il metodo VOF sono state in un secondo momento estese allo studio della condensazione di R134a all’interno di un minicanale del diametro di 1 mm. Vengono riportati risultati computazionali relativi all’evoluzione dell’interfaccia vapore-liquido e dei coefficienti di scambio termico lungo il minicanale

Numerical simulation of churn flow in a vertical pipe

A numerical simulation of the churn flow regime of air\u2013water and R134a vapour\u2013liquid mixtures by means of the volume of fluid (VOF) method is presented. The focus of the paper is on the inlet region of a vertical pipe. An axisymmetrical domain is used, reproducing the region next to the porous wall liquid injector of a typical test section for the investigation of vertical gas\u2013liquid flows. A simplified model of the levitation process of the ring-type waves typical in churn flow is proposed. The influence of the gas Froude number on the waves amplitude is shown by means of the simplified model and used to explain the numerical results. A comparison of the numerical results with experimental wave frequency data and visualizations available in the literature is performed. The velocity field in the forming wave region and the pressure and shear stress variations along the interface are shown. Simulations have been performed at different liquid and gas superficial velocities and pipe diameters and the influence of these parameters on the gas\u2013liquid interface is discussed