Classification of cancer pathology reports: a large-scale comparative study

We report about the application of state-of-the-art deep learning techniques to the automatic and interpretable assignment of ICD-O3 topography and morphology codes to free-text cancer reports. We present results on a large dataset (more than 80 000 labeled and 1 500 000 unlabeled anonymized reports written in Italian and collected from hospitals in Tuscany over more than a decade) and with a large number of classes (134 morphological classes and 61 topographical classes). We compare alternative architectures in terms of prediction accuracy and interpretability and show that our best model achieves a multiclass accuracy of 90.3% on topography site assignment and 84.8% on morphology type assignment. We found that in this context hierarchical models are not better than flat models and that an element-wise maximum aggregator is slightly better than attentive models on site classification. Moreover, the maximum aggregator offers a way to interpret the classification process.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (J-BHI

Calculation of the Geometries and Infrared Spectra of the Stacked Cofactor Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (FAD) as the Prerequisite for Studies of Light-Triggered Proton and Electron Transfer

Kieninger M, Ventura ON, Kottke T. Calculation of the Geometries and Infrared Spectra of the Stacked Cofactor Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (FAD) as the Prerequisite for Studies of Light-Triggered Proton and Electron Transfer. Biomolecules. 2020;10(4): 573.Flavin cofactors, like flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), are important electron shuttles in living systems. They catalyze a wide range of one- or two-electron redox reactions. Experimental investigations include UV-vis as well as infrared spectroscopy. FAD in aqueous solution exhibits a significantly shorter excited state lifetime than its analog, the flavin mononucleotide. This finding is explained by the presence of a “stacked” FAD conformation, in which isoalloxazine and adenine moieties form a π-complex. Stacking of the isoalloxazine and adenine rings should have an influence on the frequency of the vibrational modes. Density functional theory (DFT) studies of the closed form of FAD in microsolvation (explicit water) were used to reproduce the experimental infrared spectra, substantiating the prevalence of the stacked geometry of FAD in aqueous surroundings. It could be shown that the existence of the closed structure in FAD can be narrowed down to the presence of only a single water molecule between the third hydroxyl group (of the ribityl chain) and the N7 in the adenine ring of FAD

Urban Development and Airports in Northern and Central Italy: Main Trends and a Focus on Parma Giuseppe Verdi Case Study

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Desenvolvimento de formulação capilar condicionante leave-in contendo óleo de argan, óleo de coco ou óleo de semente de uva

Com o surgimento das técnicas de alisamento do cabelo, sejam definitivas ou não, o padrão de beleza passou a ser principalmente os cabelos lisos e bem alinhados, fazendo com que a maioria dos produtos capilares encontrados nas prateleiras de estabelecimentos comerciais fossem voltados para esse tipo de cabelo. Entretanto, há uma tendência cada vez maior de as pessoas deixarem de fazer alisamentos e utilizarem seus cabelos com a curvatura natural. Em razão disso, a pesquisa e desenvolvimento de produtos voltados para cabelos com diferentes curvaturas tem aumentado nos últimos anos. Um dos produtos capilares condicionantes muito utilizados por pessoas com cabelos com curvatura de ondulado ao crespo é o leave-in (também chamado de creme para pentear), pois como é aplicado nos cabelos e não é enxaguado, ele tem uma maior capacidade de deposição no cabelo, fazendo com que haja a diminuição do frizz e a curvatura do cabelo se mantenha por mais tempo. Um dos componentes frequentemente encontrado nesse tipo de produto capilar são os óleos vegetais, os quais são capazes de formar um filme lipofílico na fibra capilar, resultando em um cabelo mais sedoso, menos ressecado e com menos frizz. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma formulação de condicionante leave-in voltada para cabelos ondulados e analisar a influência de três diferentes óleos vegetais quando incorporados em uma formulação base de proporcionar o efeito anti-frizz nos cabelos. Os óleos testados no estudo foram o óleo de argan, óleo de coco e óleo de semente de uva, os quais podem ser frequentemente encontrados em produtos condicionantes capilares. Os resultados mostraram que todas as formulações contendo óleo vegetal foram capazes de reduzir significativamente o frizz do cabelo quando comparadas com a formulação sem a incorporação de óleo vegetal, mostrando a eficácia dos óleos vegetais quando usados como agentes anti-frizz em uma formulação capilar. Também foi possível verificar a superioridade da formulação contendo óleo o de argan na redução do frizz capilar em comparação com as formulações contendo os outros óleos testados.After the introduction of hair straightening techniques, whether permanent or not, the standard of beauty became mainly straight and well-aligned hair. As a result, most hair products found on the shelves of commercial establishments were targeted at this type of hair. However, there is an increasing tendency for people to stop straightening their hair and to use hair with its natural curvature. Because of this, research and development of products for hair with different curvatures is increasing steadily. One of the hair conditioning products often used by people with wavy to curly hair is the leave-in (also called combing cream), because, as it is applied to the hair and is not rinsed, it has a greater capacity of deposition in the hair, causing a decrease in frizz and the curvature of the hair is maintained for a longer time. One of the components that are often found in this type of hair product are vegetable oils, which are able to form a lipophilic film on the hair fiber, resulting in softer hair, less dryness, and less frizz. The aim of this study was to develop a leave-in conditioning formulation for wavy hair and to analyze the influence of three different vegetable oils when incorporated into a base formulation to provide the anti-frizz effect on hair. The oils tested in the study were argan oil, coconut oil and grape seed oil, which can often be found in hair conditioning products. The results showed that all formulations containing vegetable oil were able to significantly reduce hair frizz when compared to the formulation without the incorporation of vegetable oil, showing the effectiveness of vegetable oils when used as anti-frizz agents in a hair formulation. It was also observed the superiority of the formulation containing argan oil in reducing hair frizz compared to the formulations containing the other oils tested

The neural correlates of developmental prosopagnosia : twenty-five years on

Faces play a crucial role in social interactions. Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) refers to the lifelong difficulty in recognizing faces despite the absence of obvious signs of brain lesions. In recent decades, the neural substrate of this condition has been extensively investigated. While early neuroimaging studies did not reveal significant functional and structural abnormalities in the brains of individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DPs), recent evidence identifies abnormalities at multiple levels within DPs’ face-processing networks. The current work aims to provide an overview of the convergent and contrasting findings by examining twenty-five years of neuroimaging literature on the anatomo-functional correlates of DP. We included 55 original papers, including 63 studies that compared the brain structure (MRI) and activity (fMRI, EEG, MEG) of healthy control participants and DPs. Despite variations in methods, procedures, outcomes, sample selection, and study design, this scoping review suggests that morphological, functional, and electrophysiological features characterize DPs’ brains, primarily within the ventral visual stream. Particularly, the functional and anatomical connectivity between the Fusiform Face Area and the other face-sensitive regions seems strongly impaired. The cognitive and clinical implications as well as the limitations of these findings are discussed in light of the available knowledge and challenges in the context of DP

Epididymal adrenal rest in an orchiectomy specimen with seminoma

Ectopic adrenal tissue is rare but is reported in various locations within the urogenital tract and abdominal structures. The vast majority of adrenal rests represent incidental findings in surgical specimens; thus, their incidence is unknown.1 Notwithstanding, the results of reports on their higher frequency in infants than adults and sex distribution are conflicting.1,2 In male subjects, the paratesticular and inguinal regions represent common sites of ectopic adrenal tissue, given the intimate embryologic relationship between the gonad and the adrenal cortex.3 In testis and paratestis, they are also known as Marchand rest and are most commonly found in the spermatic cord,3 followed by testis4 and epididymis.5,6 In these anatomic locations, ectopic adrenals may be associated with undescended testis, inguinal hernia, epididymal abnormality, and spermatic cord torsion, but none represent a predisposing factor. Also, the association with malignant testicular neoplasms merely represents a matter of chance. As a rule, adrenal rests do not show significant clinical implications. However, they may undergo hyperplasia when the function of the main adrenals is deficient or in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), an autosomal recessive disease with increased ACTH levels.5,6 Also, adrenal rests may be accidentally removed during surgery, leading to adrenal insufficiency. Finally, ectopic adrenal may harbor benign or malignant tumors resulting in clinically evident dysfunctions.3 The adrenal rests comprise nodules ranging between 1 mm and 1 cm, appearing as encapsulated or well-circumscribed round yellowish masses that may be multiple or bilateral. Microscopic appearance reminds normal adrenal cortex, often arranged in different zones, without medullary tissue.Figure 1 refers to a case of a tiny adrenal rest nodule incidentally observed in an orchiectomy specimen obtained from a 40-year-old man affected by a suspect germ cell tumor of the right testis. The surgical specimen´s gross examination depicted a yellowish-brown nodule measuring 2 mm in its longest axis, located under the visceral mesothelium of the tunica vaginalis near the head of the epididymis (Figure 1A).Figure 1A - Gross orchiectomy specimen displaying a tiny nodule yellowish-brown in color (arrowhead) below the visceral layer of the tunica vaginalis and close to the head of the epididymis (scale bar= 3 cm); B - Encapsulated adrenal rest located between epididymis and rete testis; C - Encapsulated adrenal cortical tissue; D - Immunohistochemical positivity for Melan-A.: Microscopical examination diagnosed a pure testicular seminoma infiltrating the albuginea and the visceral part of the tunica vaginalis (pT2). Histology showed a well-encapsulated nodule between the epididymis head and the rete testis (Figure 1B). The nodule was composed of epithelial cells arranged into an organoid pattern consistent with the adrenal cortex (Figure 1C). No adrenal medullary tissue was present. The cells were immunohistochemically positive for Melan-A monoclonal antibody (clone A103) (Figure 1D). No immunostaining was observed for inhibin α (clone R1), calretinin (clone DAK-Calret 1), and BCL2 oncoprotein (clone 124)

A reinvestigation of the deceptively simple reaction of toluene with OH, and the fate of the benzyl radical : a combined thermodynamic and kinetic study on the competition between OH-addition and H-abstraction reactions

This work reports density functional and composite model chemistry calculations performed on the reactions of toluene with the hydroxyl radical. Both the experimentally observed H-abstraction from the methyl group and possible OH additions to the phenyl ring were investigated. Reaction enthalpies and barrier heights suggest that H-abstraction is more favorable than OH-addition to the ring. The calculated reaction rates at room temperature and the radical intermediate product fractions support this view. At first sight, this might seem to disagree with the fact that, under most experimental conditions, cresols are observed in a larger concentration than benzaldehyde. Since the accepted mechanism for benzaldehyde formation involves H-abstraction, a contradiction arises that calls for a more elaborate explanation. In this first exploratory study, we provide evidence that support the preference of H-abstraction over OH addition and present an alternative mechanism which shows that cresols can be actually produced also through H-abstraction and not only from OH-addition, thus justifying the larger proportion of cresols than benzaldehyde among the products

Construcción y caracterización de una cocina solar tipo horno

RESUMEN: Esta investigación tiene por objetivo mostrar la construcción y caracterización de una cocina solar tipo horno, la cual se elaboró de materiales de alta calidad para evaluar su comportamiento térmico, realizando medidas de temperaturas interna con y sin muestra, temperatura de la muestra y la temperatura de la placa absorbente; así también de variables climáticas e irradiación. La cocina solar alcanzó una temperatura interna máxima de 63 °C sin muestra (agua), y 74 °C con muestra, para la placa absorbente se logró una temperatura máxima de 98 °C. Finalmente se calculó la eficiencia para las pruebas realizadas los días 3,4, y 5 de julio, obteniéndose valores de 2.10%, 2.60% y 1.70% respectivamente. ABSTRACT: This research aims to show the construction and characterization of an oven-type solar cooker, which was made of high quality materials to evaluate its thermal behavior, measuring internal temperatures with and without sample, sample temperature and the temperature of the absorbent plate; as well as climatic variables and irradiation. The solar cooker reached a maximum internal temperature of 63 °C without sample (water), and 74 °C with sample, for the absorbent plate a maximum temperature of 98 °C was achieved. Finally, the efficiency was calculated for the tests carried out on July 3, 4, and 5, obtaining values of 2.10%, 2.60% and 1.70% respectively

Dealing with Chronic Non-Bacterial Osteomyelitis: A practical approach

BACKGROUND: Chronic Non-Bacterial Osteomyelitis (CNO) is an inflammatory disorder that primarily affects children. Although underestimated, its incidence is rare. For these reasons, no diagnostic and no therapeutic guidelines exist. The manuscript wants to give some suggestions on how to deal with these patients in the every-day clinical practice. MAIN BODY: CNO is characterized by insidious onset of bone pain with local swelling. Systemic symptoms such as fever, skin involvement and arthritis may be sometimes present. Radiological findings are suggestive for osteomyelitis, in particular if multiple sites are involved. CNO predominantly affects metaphyses of long bones, but clavicle and mandible, even if rare localizations of the disease, are very consistent with CNO diagnosis. CNO pathogenesis is still unknown, but recent findings highlighted the crucial role of cytokines such as IL-1\u3b2 and IL-10 in disease pathogenesis. Moreover, the presence of non-bacterial osteomyelitis among autoinflammatory syndromes suggests that CNO could be considered an autoinflammatory disease itself. Differential diagnosis includes infections, malignancies, benign bone tumors, metabolic disorders and other autoinflammatory disorders. Radiologic findings, either with Magnetic Resonance or with Computer Scan, may be very suggestive. For this reason in patients in good clinical conditions, with multifocal localization and very consistent radiological findings bone biopsy could be avoided. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs are the first-choice treatment. Corticosteroids, methotrexate, bisphosphonates, TNF\u3b1-inhibitors and IL-1 blockers have also been used with some benefit; but the choice of the second line treatment depends on bone lesions localizations, presence of systemic features and patients' clinical conditions. CONCLUSION: CNO may be difficult to identify and no consensus exist on diagnosis and treatment. Multifocal bone lesions with characteristic radiological findings are very suggestive of CNO. No data exist on best treatment option after Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs failure

Drivers of the Ectoparasite Community and Co-Infection Patterns in Rural and Urban Burrowing Owls

We analyzed the ectoparasite community of a monomorphic and non-social bird, the burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia, breeding in rural and urban habitats. Such community was composed by two lice, one mite and one flea species. Rural individuals had more fleas and less mites than urban ones. Adult birds harbored less ectoparasites than young ones and females harbored more lice than males. The presence of lice was positively related to the presence of fleas. On the contrary, the presence of mites was negatively related to the presence of fleas and lice. The study of parasite communities in urban and rural populations of the same species can shed light on how urban stressor factors impact the physiology of wildlife inhabiting cities and, therefore, the host-parasite relationships. Urbanization creates new ecological conditions that can affect biodiversity at all levels, including the diversity and prevalence of parasites of species that may occupy these environments. However, few studies have compared bird-ectoparasite interactions between urban and rural individuals. Here, we analyze the ectoparasite community and co-infection patterns of urban and rural burrowing owls, Athene cunicularia, to assess the influence of host traits (i.e., sex, age, and weight), and environmental factors (i.e., number of conspecifics per nest, habitat type and aridity) on its composition. Ectoparasites of burrowing owls included two lice, one flea, and one mite. The overall prevalence for mites, lice and fleas was 1.75%, 8.76% and 3.50%, respectively. A clear pattern of co-infection was detected between mites and fleas and, to less extent, between mites and lice. Adult owls harbored fewer ectoparasites than nestlings, and adult females harbored more lice than males. Our results also show that mite and flea numbers were higher when more conspecifics cohabited the same burrow, while lice showed the opposite pattern. Rural individuals showed higher flea parasitism and lower mite parasitism than urban birds. Moreover, mite numbers were negatively correlated with aridity and host weight. Although the ectoparasitic load of burrowing owls appears to be influenced by individual age, sex, number of conspecifics per nest, and habitat characteristics, the pattern of co-infection found among ectoparasites could also be mediated by unexplored factors such as host immune response, which deserves further research