22 research outputs found
Pinofuranoxins A and B, Bioactive Trisubstituted Furanones Produced by the Invasive Pathogen Diplodia sapinea
Two new bioactive trisubstituted furanones, named pinofuranoxins A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from Diplodia sapinea, a worldwide conifer pathogen causing severe disease. Pinofuranoxins A and B were characterized essentially by NMR and HRESIMS spectra, and their relative and absolute configurations were assigned by NOESY experiments and computational analyses of electronic circular dichroism spectra. They induced necrotic lesions on Hedera helix L., Phaseolus vulgaris L., and Quercus ilex L. Compound 1 completely inhibited the growth of Athelia rolfsii and Phytophthora cambivora, while 2 showed antioomycetes activity against P. cambivora. In the Artemia salina assay both toxins showed activity inducing larval mortality
Cohort Profile: A European Multidisciplinary Network for the Fight against HIV Drug Resistance (EuResist Network)
: The EuResist cohort was established in 2006 with the purpose of developing a clinical decision-support tool predicting the most effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) for persons living with HIV (PLWH), based on their clinical and virological data. Further to continuous extensive data collection from several European countries, the EuResist cohort later widened its activity to the more general area of antiretroviral treatment resistance with a focus on virus evolution. The EuResist cohort has retrospectively enrolled PLWH, both treatment-naĂŻve and treatment-experienced, under clinical follow-up from 1998, in nine national cohorts across Europe and beyond, and this article is an overview of its achievement. A clinically oriented treatment-response prediction system was released and made available online in 2008. Clinical and virological data have been collected from more than one hundred thousand PLWH, allowing for a number of studies on the response to treatment, selection and spread of resistance-associated mutations and the circulation of viral subtypes. Drawing from its interdisciplinary vocation, EuResist will continue to investigate clinical response to antiretroviral treatment against HIV and monitor the development and circulation of HIV drug resistance in clinical settings, along with the development of novel drugs and the introduction of new treatment strategies. The support of artificial intelligence in these activities is essential
Da Baco a Farfalla: storia di una metamorfosi
Nel corso degli anni, di necessitĂ in necessitĂ , nella biblioteca dellâIstituto Zooprofilattico
Sperimentale dellâAbruzzo e del Molise âG.Caporaleâ(IZSAM) sono
state create e gestite attivitĂ per soddisfare bisogni conoscitivi e formativi impellenti
legati allâevoluzione del contesto (societĂ digitale e della conoscenza) e dei
compiti istituzionali.
Dalla conservazione fisica di libri e riviste a quella virtuale, dalla catalogazione
home made allâesperienza SBN e ACNP, dallâindicizzazione e spoglio dei periodici
allâindicizzazione delle risorse; dalle cartoline postali per le richieste di articoli
scientifici allâuniverso NILDE: una manciata di anni per copernicane rivoluzioni
della galassia Biblioteca.
Allo stesso tempo lâaumento e la differenziazione degli utenti, conseguenza
della pervasivitĂ e diffusione della rete hanno determinato la comparsa di nuovi
scenari e candidato la Biblioteca a protagonista di molteplici variegati fronti:
formazione,
produzione di ricerca scientifica,
valutazione della ricerca scientifica,
creazione di repository istituzionale,
informazione normativa e giornalistica. La Biblioteca dellâIZSAM ha fatto scelte coraggiose, come lâaccesso aperto:la rivista
open access Veterinaria Italiana, corredata di impact factor; il repository istituzionale
- vetrina e archivio (a breve auto implementato); la fornitura degli articoli
direttamente ai ricercatori.
I risultati conseguiti riguardano due aspetti essenziali:
ââ il rafforzamento del valore sociale in termini di diffusione della conoscenza,
di formazione e informazione degli utenti, di raccolta e conservazione
della documentazione scientifica, di interlocutore privilegiato aperto al
territorio locale soprattutto per le tematiche sanitarie;
ââ lâincremento del valore economico, vale a dire lâutile realizzato sugli investimenti
di funzionamento (abbonamenti alle banche dati, gold road, personale),
in termini di produzione e pubblicazione di risultati della ricerca scientifica,
valutazione della produzione scientifica, realizzazione di risparmi
attraverso la partecipazione a consorzi, contributo dato alla presentazione o
rendicontazione di progetti di ricerca, twinning, opportunitĂ di incontro tra
ricercatori, ritorno dâimmagine e âfiduciaâ per lâintera organizzazione.During the past years, so to address the different needs of our users, the library
of the dellâIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dellâAbruzzo e del Molise
âG.Caporaleâ(IZSAM) has fostered several activities to support the pressing
scientific and educational necessities arising from both the emergence of the socalled
information society â data-driven societies, which are dependant of the
use of information and communication technologies, and the evolution of the
institutional role of the library itself.
The past decade has been characterised by radical changes in the library science
and management. We went from the physical to the digital archiving of books
and journals, from an artisanal archiving procedure to the with SBN and ACNP,
from the use of indexing paper-based publications to online indexing and search
engines, from postcards sent to request scientific articles to the NILDE universe
At the same time, our users grew in number and became a heterogeneous
group, assigning to the library a leading role in a all new set of scenarios prompted
by the information-revolution:
education;
scientific research production;
scientific research evaluation;
creation of an institutional repository;
circulation of news, both media-oriented and governance-related.
The IZASAM library made brave decisions, like fostering an open access policy
with respect to the scientific, peer-reviewed journal Veterinaria Italiana, which is
indexed in some of the major scientific repositories and has an impact factor; as
well as with the creation of an institutional repository â an (auto-implemented)
archive, and the supporting of the IZASAM research staff by providing them
directly with the research articles and books that they may need.The obtained results concerns two pivotal aspects:
the strengthening of the social value of the library; re: the sharing of
information and knowledge, the fostering usersâ education, the collection
and archiving of scientific publications, and the crucial role that the
library acquired in its territory for the sharing of scientific information
concerning health-related topics;
the growing of the economic value; i.e. the profit made on the investments
made to improve the libraryâs activities (subscription to repositories, gold
road, and staff), along with the production and publication of scientific
research, evaluation of the scientific output, the participation in consortia,
the collaboration in research projects, i.e. focusing on the budgeting and
circulation of news relevant to the considered research projects, twinning,
as well as organisation of networking opportunities for the IZASAM
researchers; and eventually the support to the reputation of the whole
IZASAM and of the public trust in it
AI-based Data Preparation and Data Analytics in Healthcare: The Case of Diabetes
The Associazione Medici Diabetologi (AMD) collects and manages one of the
largest worldwide-available collections of diabetic patient records, also known
as the AMD database. This paper presents the initial results of an ongoing
project whose focus is the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Learning techniques for conceptualizing, cleaning, and analyzing such an
important and valuable dataset, with the goal of providing predictive insights
to better support diabetologists in their diagnostic and therapeutic choices.Comment: The work has been presented at the conference Ital-IA 2022
(https://www.ital-ia2022.it/
Su alcuni punti nodali della questione ucraina (XIX-XXI secolo)
The chapter analyses the \u201cUkrainian Question\u201d, through examples of old and new analyses on Ukrainian identity, starting from an essay written by the British historian A.J. Toynbee in 1916, when the result of the WW1 and the future of Ukraine was still uncertain. Toynbee\u2019s assumptions are compared with interpretations given by various authors from 19th up to 21st centuries, showing that the crux of the matter is still debated by conteporary analysts. In conclusion, it is expressed the hope that the new presidency could take significant steps in order to consolidate the Ukrainian sovereignity in a peaceful perspective of democratic development
Management of Germ Cell Tumors During the Outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic:A Survey of International Expertise Centers
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a public health emergency affecting frail populations, including patients with cancer. This poses the question of whether cancer treatments can be postponed or modified without compromising their efficacy, especially for highly curable cancers such as germ cell tumors (GCTs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: To depict the state-of-the-art management of GCTs during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey including 26 questions was circulated by e-mail among the physicians belonging to three cooperative groups: (a) Italian Germ Cell Cancer Group; (b) European Reference Network-Rare Adult Solid Cancers, Domain G3 (rare male genitourinary cancers); and (c) Genitourinary Medical Oncologists of Canada. Percentages of agreement between Italian respondents (I) versus Canadian respondents (C), I versus European respondents (E), and E versus C were compared by using Fisher's exact tests for dichotomous answers and chi square test for trends for the questions with three or more options. RESULTS: Fifty-three GCT experts responded to the survey: 20 Italian, 6 in other European countries, and 27 from Canada. Telemedicine was broadly used; there was high consensus to interrupt chemotherapy in COVID-19-positive patients (I = 75%, C = 55%, and E = 83.3%) and for use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor primary prophylaxis for neutropenia (I = 65%, C = 62.9%, and E = 50%). The main differences emerged regarding the management of stage I and stage IIA disease, likely because of cultural and geographical differences. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the common efforts of GCT experts in Europe and Canada to maintain high standards of treatment for patients with GCT with few changes in their management during the COVID-19 pandemic. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Despite the chaos, disruptions, and fears fomented by the COVID-19 illness, oncology care teams in Italy, other European countries, and Canada are delivering the enormous promise of curative management strategies for patients with testicular cancer and other germ cell tumors. At the same time, these teams are applying safe and innovative solutions and sharing best practices to minimize frequency and intensity of patient contacts with thinly stretched health care capacity
Ecosistemi per la ricerca Atti Convegno ACNP/NILDE Trieste, 22-23 maggio 2014
Il secondo convegno congiunto ACNP / NILDE: ecosistemi per la ricerca Ăš stato
ospitato dal 22 al 23 maggio 2014 dallâUniversitĂ di Trieste.
Sotto gli auspici della stessa UniversitĂ di Trieste e degli altri enti di ricerca
del Friuli Venezia Giulia1 sono stati affrontati in unâottica internazionale i temi
del rapporto tra cataloghi collettivi e servizi interbibliotecari, e il piĂč generale
ambito dei servizi bibliografici per la ricerca scientifica.
ACNP e NILDE possono essere considerati un vero e proprio ecosistema. Le
biblioteche e i bibliotecari collaborano tra di loro in maniera reciproca e secondo
modalitĂ interconnesse, offrendo agli utenti servizi sempre piĂč evoluti e dinamici.
Questo ecosistema, essendo aperto, mette i propri servizi a disposizione della
ricerca scientifica in senso generale. Il convegno di Trieste ha offerto lâoccasione
di investigare e proporre soluzioni innovative, interconnessioni e relazioni nuove
e piĂč proficue.
Il convegno ha presentato alcune rilevanti esperienze internazionali in tema
di servizi interbibliotecari e cataloghi collettivi e la prosecuzione di attivitĂ che erano state proposte come spunti di ispirazione nel convegno precedente2 inoltre
si sono condotte delle riflessioni sulle nuove esigenze dellâutenza.
Una ultima parte Ăš dedicata alla illustrazione degli sviluppi tecnici e le prospettive
future di ACNP e di NILDE.
Hanno partecipato allâevento oltre 200 colleghi italiani e stranieri ed i relatori
dei 18 contributi provenivano da Italia, Germania, Austria, Grecia, Slovenia e
Stati Uniti. Il carattere di confronto e di condivisione delle esperienze tipico della
realtĂ partecipativa di ACNP e NILDE, Ăš emerso anche in questa occasione nella
tavola rotonda - di cui viene riportato un resoconto dettagliato - che ha affrontato
il tema della valutazione della ricerca dal punto di vista delle biblioteche. Inoltre,
la molto partecipata sessione poster ha ospitato 13 lavori- anchâessi riportati nel
volume - incentrati oltre che su ACNP e NILDE anche sul tema ricerca e sistema
biblioteca, dando ottimi spunti di partecipazione, dialogo e confronto sulle diverse
realtĂ in cui operiamo
A machine-learning based bio-psycho-social model for the prediction of non-obstructive and obstructive coronary artery disease
Background: Mechanisms of myocardial ischemia in obstructive and non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), and the interplay between clinical, functional, biological and psycho-social features, are still far to be fully elucidated. Objectives: To develop a machine-learning (ML) model for the supervised prediction of obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD. Methods: From the EVA study, we analysed adults hospitalized for IHD undergoing conventional coronary angiography (CCA). Non-obstructive CAD was defined by a stenosisâ<â50% in one or more vessels. Baseline clinical and psycho-socio-cultural characteristics were used for computing a Rockwood and Mitnitski frailty index, and a gender score according to GENESIS-PRAXY methodology. Serum concentration of inflammatory cytokines was measured with a multiplex flow cytometry assay. Through an XGBoost classifier combined with an explainable artificial intelligence tool (SHAP), we identified the most influential features in discriminating obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD. Results: Among the overall EVA cohort (nâ=â509), 311 individuals (mean age 67â±â11 years, 38% females; 67% obstructive CAD) with complete data were analysed. The ML-based model (83% accuracy and 87% precision) showed that while obstructive CAD was associated with higher frailty index, older age and a cytokine signature characterized by IL-1ÎČ, IL-12p70 and IL-33, non-obstructive CAD was associated with a higher gender score (i.e., social characteristics traditionally ascribed to women) and with a cytokine signature characterized by IL-18, IL-8, IL-23. Conclusions: Integrating clinical, biological, and psycho-social features, we have optimized a sex- and gender-unbiased model that discriminates obstructive and non-obstructive CAD. Further mechanistic studies will shed light on the biological plausibility of these associations. Clinical trial registration: NCT02737982
Proceedings of LOAIT '07 : II Workshop on Legal Ontologies and Artificial Intelligence Techniques
Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Legal Ontologies and Artificial Intelligence Techniques June 4th, 2007, Stanford Universit
Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19
IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.
Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 nonâcritically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022).
INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (nâ=â257), ARB (nâ=â248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; nâ=â10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; nâ=â264) for up to 10 days.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ supportâfree days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes.
RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ supportâfree days among critically ill patients was 10 (â1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (nâ=â231), 8 (â1 to 17) in the ARB group (nâ=â217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (nâ=â231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ supportâfree days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes.
TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570