Dissociation Between Users’ Explicit and Implicit Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence: An Experimental Study

The latest developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have given rise to many ethical and socio-economic concerns. Nonetheless, the impact of AI technologies is evident and tangible in our everyday life. This dichotomy leads to mixed feelings toward AI: people recognize the positive impact of AI, but they also show concerns, especially about their privacy and security. In this article, we try to understand whether the implicit and explicit attitudes toward AI are coherent. We investigated explicit and implicit attitudes toward AI by combining a self-report measure and an implicit measure, i.e., the implicit association test. We analyzed the explicit and implicit responses of 829 participants. Results revealed that while most of the participants explicitly express a positive attitude toward AI, their implicit responses seem to point in the opposite direction. Results also show that, in both the explicit and implicit measures, females show a more negative attitude than males, and people who work in the field of AI are inclined to be positive toward AI

Evolution of the mass-loss rate during atmospheric and pressurized slow pyrolysis of wheat straw in a bench-scale reactor

In the present study, the effects of the absolute pressure (0.1 or 0.5 MPa) and the reactor atmosphere (pure N2 or a mixture of CO2/N2) on the pyrolysis behavior of wheat straw pellets (at 500 °C) were investigated. The most interesting aspect of this work was the use of a weighing platform (with a maximum capacity of 100 kg and a resolution of 0.5 g) to monitor the real-time mass-loss data for the biomass sample (with an initial mass of 400 g). It was observed that an increased pressure considerably affects the mass-loss profiles during the pyrolysis process, leading to higher devolatilization rates in a shorter period of time. Regardless of the pyrolysis atmosphere, an increase in the absolute pressure led to higher yields of gas at the expense of produced water and condensable organic compounds. This finding could be due to the fact that an increased pressure favors the exothermic secondary reactions of the intermediate volatile organic compounds in both liquid and vapor phases. The switch from pure N2 to a mixture of CO2 and N2 at 0.1 MPa also led to a remarkable increase in the yield of produced gas at the expense of the total liquid. This could be mainly due to the promotion of the thermal cracking of the volatile organic compounds at a high partial pressure of CO2, which is also consistent with the measured higher yields of CH4 and CO. The increased yield of CO can also be seen as a direct result of the enhanced reverse Boudouard reaction, which can also explain the much higher specific surface area (and ultra-micropore volume) measured for the biochar produced under the same operating conditions (0.1 MPa and a mixture CO2/N2 as pyrolysis medium)

Evolution of the Mass Loss Rate During Atmospheric and Pressurized Slow Pyrolysis of Wheat Straw in a Bench-Scale Reactor

A deep study focused on the significant effect of the absolute pressure on the yield of produced gas during the slow pyrolysis of biomass was carried out. In addition, the evolution of the mass loss rate linked to the pyrolysis process was also analyzed

Proline-Rich Peptides with Improved Antimicrobial Activity against E. coli, K. Pneumoniae, and A. Baumannii.

Proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs) are promising agents to combat multi-drug resistant pathogens due to a high antimicrobial activity, yet low cytotoxicity. A library of derivatives of the PrAMP Bac5(1-17) was synthesized and screened to identify which residues are relevant for its activity. In this way, we discovered that two central motifs -PIRXP- cannot be modified, while residues at N- and C- termini tolerated some variations. We found five Bac5(1-17) derivatives bearing 1-5 substitutions, with an increased number of arginine and/or tryptophan residues, exhibiting improved antimicrobial activity and broader spectrum of activity while retaining low cytotoxicity toward eukaryotic cells. Transcription/translation and bacterial membrane permeabilization assays showed that these new derivatives still retained the ability to strongly inhibit bacterial protein synthesis, but also acquired permeabilizing activity to different degrees. These new Bac5(1-17) derivatives therefore show a dual mode of action which could hinder the selection of bacterial resistance against these molecules

Accelerated partial breast irradiation using 3D conformal radiotherapy: Toxicity and cosmetic outcome

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyze the incidence of acute and late toxicity and cosmetic outcome in breast cancer patients submitted to breast conserving surgery and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) to deliver accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). Methods and materials: 84 patients were treated with 3D-CRT for APBI. This technique was assessed in patients with low risk stage I breast cancer enrolled from September 2005 to July 2011. The prescribed dose was 34/38.5 Gy delivered in 10 fractions twice daily over 5 consecutive days. Four to five nocoplanar 6 MV beams were used. In all CT scans Gross Tumor Volume (GTV) was defined around the surgical clips. A 1.5 cm margin was added by defining a Clinical Target Volume (CTV). A margin of 1 cm was added to CTV to define the planning target volume (PTV). The doseevolume constraints were followed in accordance with the NSABP/RTOG protocol. Late toxicity was evaluated according to the RTOG grading schema. The cosmetic assessment was performed using the Harvard scale. Results: Median patient age was 66 years (range 51e87). Median follow-up was 36.5 months (range 13 e83). The overall incidence of acute skin toxicities was 46.4% for grade 1 and 1% for grade 2. The incidence of late toxicity was 16.7% for grade 1, 2.4% for grade 2 and 3.6% for grade 3. No grade 4 toxicity was observed. The most pronounced grade 2 late toxicity was telangiectasia, developed in three patients. Cosmetics results were excellent for 52%, good for 42%, fair for 5% and poor for 1% of the patients. There was no statistical correlation between toxicity rates and prescribed doses (p ¼ 0.33) or irradiated volume (p ¼ 0.45). Conclusions: APBI using 3D-CRT is technically feasible with very low acute and late toxicity. Long-term results are needed to assess its efficacy in reducing the incidence of breast relapse

Determinants of Deep Gray Matter Atrophy in Multiple Sclerosis: A Multimodal MRI Study

Deep gray matter involvement is a consistent feature in multiple sclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between different deep gray matter alterations and the development of subcortical atrophy, as well as to investigate the possible different substrates of volume loss between phenotypes. Seventy-seven patients with MS (52 with relapsing-remitting and 25 with progressive MS) and 41 healthy controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. MR imaging investigation included volumetric, DTI, PWI and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping analyses. Deep gray matter structures were automatically segmented to obtain volumes and mean values for each MR imaging metric in the thalamus, caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus. Between-group differences were probed by ANCOVA analyses, while the contribution of different MR imaging metrics to deep gray matter atrophy was investigated via hierarchic multiple linear regression models. Patients with MS showed a multifaceted involvement of the thalamus and basal ganglia, with significant atrophy of all deep gray matter structures (P.001). In the relapsing-remitting MS group,WMlesion burden proved to be the main contributor to volume loss for all deep gray matter structures (P .006), with a minor role of local microstructural damage, which, in turn, was the main determinant of deep gray matter atrophy in patients with progressive MS (P .01), coupled with thalamic susceptibility changes (P .05). Our study confirms the diffuse involvement of deep gray matter in MS, demonstrating a different behavior between MS phenotypes, with subcortical GM atrophy mainly determined by global WM lesion burden in patients with relapsing-remitting MS, while local microstructural damage and susceptibility changes mainly accounted for the development of deep gray matter volume loss in patients with progressive MS

Benchmark RGB-D Gait Datasets: A Systematic Review

Human motion analysis has proven to be a great source of information for a wide range of applications. Several approaches for a detailed and accurate motion analysis have been proposed in the literature, as well as an almost proportional number of dedicated datasets. The relatively recent arrival of depth sensors contributed to an increasing interest in this research area and also to the emergence of a new type of motion datasets. This work focuses on a systematic review of publicly available depth-based datasets, encompassing human gait data which is used for person recognition and/or classification purposes. We have conducted this systematic review using the Scopus database. The herein presented survey, which to the best of our knowledge is the first one dedicated to this type of datasets, is intended to inform and aid researchers on the selection of the most suitable datasets to develop, test and compare their algorithms. (c) Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Safety, tumor trafficking and immunogenicity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells specific for TAG-72 in colorectal cancer.

BackgroundT cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have established efficacy in the treatment of B-cell malignancies, but their relevance in solid tumors remains undefined. Here we report results of the first human trials of CAR-T cells in the treatment of solid tumors performed in the 1990s.MethodsPatients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) were treated in two phase 1 trials with first-generation retroviral transduced CAR-T cells targeting tumor-associated glycoprotein (TAG)-72 and including a CD3-zeta intracellular signaling domain (CART72 cells). In trial C-9701 and C-9702, CART72 cells were administered in escalating doses up to 1010 total cells; in trial C-9701 CART72 cells were administered by intravenous infusion. In trial C-9702, CART72 cells were administered via direct hepatic artery infusion in patients with colorectal liver metastases. In both trials, a brief course of interferon-alpha (IFN-α) was given with each CART72 infusion to upregulate expression of TAG-72.ResultsFourteen patients were enrolled in C-9701 and nine in C-9702. CART72 manufacturing success rate was 100% with an average transduction efficiency of 38%. Ten patients were treated in CC-9701 and 6 in CC-9702. Symptoms consistent with low-grade, cytokine release syndrome were observed in both trials without clear evidence of on target/off tumor toxicity. Detectable, but mostly short-term (≤14 weeks), persistence of CART72 cells was observed in blood; one patient had CART72 cells detectable at 48 weeks. Trafficking to tumor tissues was confirmed in a tumor biopsy from one of three patients. A subset of patients had 111Indium-labeled CART72 cells injected, and trafficking could be detected to liver, but T cells appeared largely excluded from large metastatic deposits. Tumor biomarkers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and TAG-72 were measured in serum; there was a precipitous decline of TAG-72, but not CEA, in some patients due to induction of an interfering antibody to the TAG-72 binding domain of humanized CC49, reflecting an anti-CAR immune response. No radiologic tumor responses were observed.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate the relative safety of CART72 cells. The limited persistence supports the incorporation of co-stimulatory domains in the CAR design and the use of fully human CAR constructs to mitigate immunogenicity

High concordance of KRAS status between primary colorectal tumors and related metastatic sites: implications for clinical practice.

Purpose. Several studies have suggested that KRAS somatic mutations may predict resistance to cetuximab- and panitumumab-based treatments in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Nevertheless, most experiences were conducted on samples from primaries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the grade of concordance in terms of KRAS status between primaries and related metastases. Patients and Methods. We analyzed KRAS codon 12 and 13 mutations from formalin-fixed sections of 107 CRC primaries and related metastases. Eight pairs were excluded from the analysis because of the low amount of tumor tissue in the available samples. The main characteristics were: 50 men, 49 women; median age at diagnosis, 71 years (range, 41-84). The metastatic sites analyzed were the liver in 80 patients (80.8%), lung in seven patients (7.1%), and other sites in 12 patients (12.1%). Results. A KRAS mutation was found in 38 (38.4%) primary tumors and in 36 (36.4%) related metastases. The rate of concordance was 96.0% (95% confidence interval, 90.0%-98.9%). Discordance was observed in only four (4%) patients. Conclusions. Our results indicate that the detection of KRAS mutations in either primary or metastatic tumors from patients with CRC is concordant and this assessment could be used to predict response to targeted therapies such as cetuximab and panitumumab