Overview of BioASQ 2023: The eleventh BioASQ challenge on Large-Scale Biomedical Semantic Indexing and Question Answering

This is an overview of the eleventh edition of the BioASQ challenge in the context of the Conference and Labs of the Evaluation Forum (CLEF) 2023. BioASQ is a series of international challenges promoting advances in large-scale biomedical semantic indexing and question answering. This year, BioASQ consisted of new editions of the two established tasks b and Synergy, and a new task (MedProcNER) on semantic annotation of clinical content in Spanish with medical procedures, which have a critical role in medical practice. In this edition of BioASQ, 28 competing teams submitted the results of more than 150 distinct systems in total for the three different shared tasks of the challenge. Similarly to previous editions, most of the participating systems achieved competitive performance, suggesting the continuous advancement of the state-of-the-art in the field.Comment: 24 pages, 12 tables, 3 figures. CLEF2023. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2210.0685

Towards a balanced approach in the performance indicators of the Brazilian customs

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOProcurement in international markets is a current practice in today's global supply chains, leading logistics operations to include import and export activities in their procurement process. Such activities are usually of complex nature, since they are subject to diverse customs requirements in different countries. In this context, Brazilian customs is ranked low in terms of competitiveness according to various international organizations. However, published studies on customs administration in Brazil are rare, and there is no research addressing performance measurement in the specialized literature. Thus, this paper aims to present and discuss performance indicators employed by customs administrations around the world, with a special attention to Brazil. Customs is part of a global supply chain management. As an exploratory qualitative research, this manuscript provides a comparison of performance indicators employed in Brazil against those used by countries with high-performance customs. A set of performance indicators was selected according to international standards. Data concerning Brazilian customs was collected from the Ministry of Finance, using the Law on Access to Information, and published Management Reports related to the Brazilian Revenue Authority, in charge of tax and customs administration. This topic is relevant in Brazil because the indicators used so far favour tax collection and controls (related to "enforcement practices") to the detriment of the service level provided to the taxpayer (related to "compliance practices" and the "service charter"), as used in countries with high customs performance. As a result, this paper puts into evidence the need to reform the Brazilian customs system, favouring a balanced approach combining "enforcement" and "compliance" in order to increase the competitiveness of international supply chains crossing this country.A aquisição de insumos produtivos no mercado internacional é prática corrente em cadeias de suprimentos globais, com as operações logísticas incluindo atividades de importação e exportação. Assim, a aduana é um elo que deve ser considerado na gestão globa223508524FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãoProcurement in international markets is a current practice in today's global supply chains, leading logistics operations to include import and export activities in their procurement process. Such activities are usually of complex nature, since they are s

Pratos e mais pratos: louças domésticas, divisões culturais e limites sociais no Rio de Janeiro, século XIX

Reply to ten comments on a paper published in the last issue of this journal. The discussion follows along six main lines: History museums, identity, ideology and the category of nation; the need of material collections and their modalities: patrimonial, operational, virtual; theater versus laboratory; visitors and their ambiguities; Public History: the museum and the academy.Resposta aos comentários de dez especialistas que contribuíram no debate de texto publicado no último número desta revista. A discussão orientou-se segundo seis tópicos principais: museus históricos, identidade, ideologia e a categoria de nação; a necessidade de acervos materiais e suas modalidades: acervo patrimonial, operacional, virtual; teatro versus laboratório; o público e suas ambigüidades; História Pública: o museu e a Academia

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

O Comércio Internacional de Serviços de Construção Civil: Uma Análise Comparativa entre o Brasil e a União Europeia

Este trabalho busca analisar comparativamente o comércio internacional do setor de construção civil europeu com o brasileiro, dando ênfase nos serviços de engenharia civil e arquitetura. São levantadas estratégias utilizadas pela União Europeia que refletem positivamente em sua competitividade internacional. Também é feito um levantamento dos pontos críticos do segmento no Brasil, o qual ainda apresenta certas barreiras internas que afetam o seu desempenho internacional, como a falta de profissionais qualificados e especializados, de uma estrutura ampla de apoio às exportações, dificuldade em financiar seus clientes, financiamentos não competitivos, normas e legislação nacional restritivas e defasagem na normalização técnica do setor

On the Four-Arm Exponent for 2D Percolation at Criticality

For two-dimensional percolation at criticality, we discuss the inequality α4 > 1 for the polychromatic four-arm exponent (and stronger versions, the strongest so far being (formula presented), where α2 denotes the two-arm exponent). We first briefly discuss five proofs (some of them implicit and not self-contained) from the literature. Then we observe that, by combining two of them, one gets a completely self-contained (and yet quite short) proof

Is there a relationship between the detection of human herpesvirus 8 and Epstein-Barr virus in Waldeyer's ring tissues?

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2014-05-28T16:28:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Chagas CA Is tehre a relationship....pdf: 434460 bytes, checksum: 3d20fc70e8b3fd2c9aae2d2ae2a3722f (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-28T16:28:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Chagas CA Is tehre a relationship....pdf: 434460 bytes, checksum: 3d20fc70e8b3fd2c9aae2d2ae2a3722f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Laboratory of Experimental Pathology. Centro de Assistência Integral à Saúde da Mulher. São Paulo, SP, BrasilFaculty of Medical Sciences. Department of Otorhinolaryngology. UNICAMP. São Paulo, SP, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilState University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Laboratory of Experimental Pathology. Centro de Assistência Integral à Saúde da Mulher. São Paulo, SP, BrasilFaculty of Medical Sciences. Department of Otorhinolaryngology. UNICAMP. São Paulo, SP, BrasilUniversity of Toulouse. Laboratory of Pathology. Toulouse, FranceFaculty of Medical Sciences, UNICAMP. Department of Anatomical Pathology. Campinas, SP, BrasilOBJECTIVE: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are human pathogens associated to a number of neoplasms, including tumors of the Waldeyer's ring. Both viruses have been previously detected by in situ methods in tonsils and adenoids from children. HHV-8 was found in 6.8% of the cases and EBV in about one third of the cases. As they belong to the same gamma-herpesvirus subfamily and share some biological characteristics, it is of medical interest to further explore their possible relationship in the Waldeyer's ring, an issue not yet addressed in the specialized literature. The purpose of the present study is to compare the presence of EBV by in situ hybridization (ISH) in tonsils and adenoids from children up to 14 years of age in cases previously shown to be positive and negative for HHV-8. METHODS: Paraffin wax-embedded sections consisting of 38 tonsils and two adenoids from 40 patients were analyzed. HHV-8 was detected by ISH, using the T1-1 probe for the viral mRNA. EBV was also detected by ISH, using the EBER probe. Both probes and the detection systems were provided by Novocastra. RESULTS: HHV-8 was detected in 19 tonsils and one adenoid. The other 19 tonsils and one adenoid taken from the HHV-8-negative group were selected by pairing age and gender of patients with the HHV-8-positive group. In both groups EBV was detected in 13 cases and was negative in other 7. CONCLUSION: Although both viruses are related in many aspects, some biological and epidemiological features differ. This is reflected in the present results, as EBV is similarly detected in the groups negative and positive for HHV-8, favoring different mechanisms of spread

Synthesis and Characterization of Elongated-Shaped Silver Nanoparticles as a Biocompatible Anisotropic SERS Probe for Intracellular Imaging: Theoretical Modeling and Experimental Verification

Progress in the field of biocompatible SERS nanoparticles has promising prospects for biomedical applications. In this work, we have developed a biocompatible Raman probe by combining anisotropic silver nanoparticles with the dye rhodamine 6G followed by subsequent coating with bovine serum albumin. This nanosystem presents strong SERS capabilities in the near infrared (NIR) with a very high (2.7 × 107) analytical enhancement factor. Theoretical calculations reveal the effects of the electromagnetic and chemical mechanisms in the observed SERS effect for this nanosystem. Finite element method (FEM) calculations showed a considerable near field enhancement in NIR. Using density functional quantum chemical calculations, the chemical enhancement mechanism of rhodamine 6G by interaction with the nanoparticles was probed, allowing us to calculate spectra that closely reproduce the experimental results. The nanosystem was tested in cell culture experiments, showing cell internalization and also proving to be completely biocompatible, as no cell death was observed. Using a NIR laser, SERS signals could be detected even from inside cells, proving the applicability of this nanosystem as a biocompatible SERS probe