Tri-level Joint Natural Language Understanding for Multi-turn Conversational Datasets

Natural language understanding typically maps single utterances to a dual level semantic frame, sentence level intent and slot labels at the word level. The best performing models force explicit interaction between intent detection and slot filling. We present a novel tri-level joint natural language understanding approach, adding domain, and explicitly exchange semantic information between all levels. This approach enables the use of multi-turn datasets which are a more natural conversational environment than single utterance. We evaluate our model on two multi-turn datasets for which we are the first to conduct joint slot-filling and intent detection. Our model outperforms state-of-the-art joint models in slot filling and intent detection on multi-turn data sets. We provide an analysis of explicit interaction locations between the layers. We conclude that including domain information improves model performance.Comment: accepted at INTERSPEECH 202

Preclinical Evaluation of Long-Acting Emtricitabine Semi-Solid Prodrug Nanoparticle Formulations.

Long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations promise to deliver patient benefits by overcoming issues associated with non-adherence. A preclinical assessment of semi-solid prodrug nanoparticle (SSPN) LAI formulations of emtricitabine (FTC) is reported here. Pharmacokinetics over 28 days were assessed in Wistar rats, New Zealand white rabbits, and Balb/C mice following intramuscular injection. Two lead formulations were assessed for the prevention of an HIV infection in NSG-cmah-/- humanised mice to ensure antiviral activities were as anticipated according to the pharmacokinetics. Cmax was reached by 12, 48, and 24 h in rats, rabbits, and mice, respectively. Plasma concentrations were below the limit of detection (2 ng/mL) by 21 days in rats and rabbits, and 28 days in mice. Mice treated with SSPN formulations demonstrated undetectable viral loads (700 copies/mL detection limit), and HIV RNA remained undetectable 28 days post-infection in plasma, spleen, lung, and liver. The in vivo data presented here demonstrate that the combined prodrug/SSPN approach can provide a dramatically extended pharmacokinetic half-life across multiple preclinical species. Species differences in renal clearance of FTC mean that longer exposures are likely to be achievable in humans than in preclinical models

Building a multi-scaled geospatial temporal ecology database from disparate data sources: fostering open science and data reuse

Although there are considerable site-based data for individual or groups of ecosystems, these datasets are widely scattered, have different data formats and conventions, and often have limited accessibility. At the broader scale, national datasets exist for a large number of geospatial features of land, water, and air that are needed to fully understand variation among these ecosystems. However, such datasets originate from different sources and have different spatial and temporal resolutions. By taking an open-science perspective and by combining site-based ecosystem datasets and national geospatial datasets, science gains the ability to ask important research questions related to grand environmental challenges that operate at broad scales. Documentation of such complicated database integration efforts, through peer-reviewed papers, is recommended to foster reproducibility and future use of the integrated database. Here, we describe the major steps, challenges, and considerations in building an integrated database of lake ecosystems, called LAGOS (LAke multi-scaled GeOSpatial and temporal database), that was developed at the sub-continental study extent of 17 US states (1,800,000 km² ). LAGOS includes two modules: LAGOS[subscript]GEO , with geospatial data on every lake with surface area larger than 4 ha in the study extent (~50,000 lakes), including climate, atmospheric deposition, land use/cover, hydrology, geology, and topography measured across a range of spatial and temporal extents; and LAGOS[subscript]LIMNO , with lake water quality data compiled from ~100 individual datasets for a subset of lakes in the study extent (~10,000 lakes). Procedures for the integration of datasets included: creating a flexible database design; authoring and integrating metadata; documenting data provenance; quantifying spatial measures of geographic data; quality-controlling integrated and derived data; and extensively documenting the database. Our procedures make a large, complex, and integrated database reproducible and extensible, allowing users to ask new research questions with the existing database or through the addition of new data. The largest challenge of this task was the heterogeneity of the data, formats, and metadata. Many steps of data integration need manual input from experts in diverse fields, requiring close collaboration.Keywords: LAGOS, Integrated database, Data harmonization, Database Ecoinformatics, Macrosystems ecology, Landscape limnology, Water qualityKeywords: LAGOS, Integrated database, Ecoinformatics, Data harmonization, Water quality, Data sharing, Landscape limnology, Macrosystems ecology, Database documentation, Data reus

Contributions from the DISC to accomplish the Aeolus mission objectives

The Aeolus Data Innovation and Science Cluster (DISC) supports the Aeolus mission with a wide range of activities from instrument and product quality monitoring over retrieval algorithm improvements to numerical weather prediction (NWP) impact assessments for wind and aerosols. The Aeolus DISC provides support to ESA, Cal/Val teams, numerical weather prediction (NWP) centers, and scientific users for instrument special operations and calibration, for the re-processing of Aeolus products from the past and through the provision of bi-annual updates of the L1A, L1B, L2A and L2B operational processors. The Aeolus DISC is coordinated by DLR with partners from ECMWF, KNMI, Météo-France, TROPOS, DoRIT, ABB, s&t, serco, OLA, Physics Solutions, IB Reissig and Les Myriades involving more than 40 scientists and engineers. The presentation will highlight the Aeolus DISC activities with a focus for the year 2021 and early 2022 since the last Aeolus workshop in November 2020. This covers the evolution of the instrument performance including investigations of the cause of the on-going signal loss and the achieved improvement via dedicated laser tests in 2021. In addition, refinements of algorithms and correction of the wind bias will be discussed - including a known remaining seasonal bias in October and March as encountered during the re-processing campaigns. Finally, the strategy for the on-going and future re-processing campaigns will be addressed to inform the scientific community about the availability and quality of the re-processed data products. The Aeolus mission has fully achieved its mission objectives including the unprecedented demonstration of direct-detection Doppler wind lidar technology and high-power laser operation in space in the ultraviolet spectral region over its planned full mission lifetime of 3 years and 3 months. Aeolus wind products have clearly demonstrated positive impact on forecasts using several NWP models. Since early 2020, and thus only 1.5 years after launch, the Aeolus wind products are used in operation at various NWP centers worldwide. This was achieved even despite the larger than expected wind random errors due to lower initial atmospheric signal levels and the observed signal losses during the operation of the first and second laser. In addition to this incredible success, first scientific studies demonstrated the use of Aeolus for atmospheric dynamics research in the stratosphere and for the analysis of aerosol transport. These achievements of the Aeolus mission and its success were only possible with the essential and critical contributions from the Aeolus DISC. This demonstrates the need and potential for setting up such scientific consortia covering a wide range of expertise from instrument, processors, and scientific use of products for Earth Explorer type missions. The invaluable experience gained by the Aeolus DISC during the more then 3 years of Aeolus mission in orbit (preceded by a period of 20 years before launch by a similar study team) is a pre-requisite for a successful preparation of an operational follow-on Aeolus-2 mission

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Precepting: A win-win for students and pharmacists

The education of pharmacy students includes hundreds of hours of experiential education under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist called a preceptor. While this real-world education is instrumental in preparing students for their pharmacy career, many experienced pharmacists are hesitant to commit to becoming a preceptor. By addressing some of their fears about precepting and becoming knowledgeable about the available resources, pharmacists can embrace the opportunity to become preceptors as a mutual learning experience between pharmacist and student. Experienced pharmacists can learn about innovations in practice and new drugs on the market, and, with some training, students can help with basic tasks in everyday practice. © 2012 American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved