The smarty4covid dataset and knowledge base: a framework enabling interpretable analysis of audio signals

Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and m-health towards detecting new bio-markers indicative of the onset and progress of respiratory abnormalities/conditions has greatly attracted the scientific and research interest especially during COVID-19 pandemic. The smarty4covid dataset contains audio signals of cough (4,676), regular breathing (4,665), deep breathing (4,695) and voice (4,291) as recorded by means of mobile devices following a crowd-sourcing approach. Other self reported information is also included (e.g. COVID-19 virus tests), thus providing a comprehensive dataset for the development of COVID-19 risk detection models. The smarty4covid dataset is released in the form of a web-ontology language (OWL) knowledge base enabling data consolidation from other relevant datasets, complex queries and reasoning. It has been utilized towards the development of models able to: (i) extract clinically informative respiratory indicators from regular breathing records, and (ii) identify cough, breath and voice segments in crowd-sourced audio recordings. A new framework utilizing the smarty4covid OWL knowledge base towards generating counterfactual explanations in opaque AI-based COVID-19 risk detection models is proposed and validated.Comment: Submitted for publication in Nature Scientific Dat

Patterns in the Timing of Corporate Event Waves

Corporate events happen in waves. In this paper, we examine the relationship between five different types of corporate event waves (mergers, IPOs, SEOs, stock repurchases, and debt issues) using a comprehensive dataset of more than 264,000 corporate transactions over the 25-year period 1980-2004. Our results show considerable overlap between all types of waves, especially during the 1990s. The general pattern seems to start with new issue waves (SEO and IPO), followed by cash- and stock-financed M&A waves, followed in turn by repurchase and debt issue waves. Merger waves continue well after SEO and IPO waves have ended. There is also considerable overlap between stockfinanced M&A and stock repurchase waves, suggesting that most stock repurchases in waves occur when the market is overvalued. Overall, our results are most consistent wit

ANTIFUNGAL EFFICIENCY OF COPPER OXYCHLORIDE-CONJUGATED SILVER NANOPARTICLES AGAINST COLLETOTRICHUM GLOEOSPORIOIDES WHICH CAUSES ANTHRACNOSE DISEASE

Objectives: Anthracnose disease is caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, affecting most of the fruit and vegetable plants. The present study is aimed to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using neem extract and conjugate then with fungicide to check the antifungal activity against anthracnose disease. Methods: In the current study, we have synthesized copper oxychloride-conjugated AgNPs (COC-AgNPs) by a biological method using neem extract and have tested their effectiveness against C. gloeosporioides. The COC-AgNPs were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, fourier-transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis, and in vitro antifungal activity was investigated. Results: The shape of COC-AgNPs was found to be spherical with an average particle size of 21–25 nm. The fungicide-conjugated AgNPs exhibited highest growth inhibition of C. gloeosporioides (~187%) as compared to fungicide copper oxychloride. Conclusion: These results indicate that the COC-AgNPs could be effectively used to control anthracnose disease in mango and in other crops. These COC-AgNPs can drastically reduce the amount of fungicide currently used which will reduce the environmental pollution caused by the fungicide

Flow immunophenotyping features of crisis phase of chronic myeloid leukemia in childhood: do we really care?

Objective: Chronic leukemias are rare in childhood & CML is extremely rare in children. Imunophenotypic studies have a limited role in the diagnosis of CML but are increasingly being used in CML blast transformation. Purpose of the study was determine the clinical and laboratory and Flow immunophenotyping (FIC) features with Mutational analysis of blast transformation of CML in children. Methods: 11 years analysis was done 187 cases of suspected CML were studied in children and adolescents. Patients were evaluated at KMIO between 2004 to 2015. 97 cases had Bone marrow diagnosis of CML. 22 cases peripheral smear was suggestive of blastic phase CML (20 %) were chosen for the study. Bone marrow confirmation was available in all the cases. Cytogenetics and Molecular confirmation was also available in all cases. FIC was done in 8/22(36%) cases. Mutations were studied in 7 cases. Results: The disease predominantly affected older children more than 10 years 16/22(72 %). Male sex predilection was seen. Gender ratio was 1.4: 1. Most predominant clinical sign was splenomegaly. Leucocyte count>100X109/L was seen in all cases. Peripherals smear suggested CML in all 22cases and bone marrow aspiration confirmed the diagnosis.17 Cases were at diagnosis. 5 Cases progressed to blastic phase from chronic phase. Median year of transformation was 4 years. In 22 cases Phildelphia chromosome was noted and 5 cases revealed additional markers PCR revealed p210 transcript in all cases. In 8 cases in the blastic phase Flow cytometry immunophenotype was done. 5 cases were myeloid blastic phase, single case was mixed phenotype, 2 cases were lymphoid blastic phase. Conclusion: Imatinib highly effective in children with advanced phase of CML. This is the largest, exclusive first reported series of blastic phase of CML in children from a single center. Only 5 cases received Imatinib, All 5cases attained remission; Cases are on follow up and continue to be in remission after a mean of 6 months

Rare Entities of Mixed Phenotypic Acute Leukemia: Are They Really So Rare? Largest Series of B+T MPAL

Background: MPAL are rare, accounts 4% of acute leukemias. B+T MPAL are extremely rare. There is no robust information on the clinical and biologic features of these leukemias. Present study from kidwai memorial institute of oncology focused on MPAL rare types, especially B+T MPAL. Design and Methods: We attempted to classify MPAL, based on WHO 2008 classification and attempted to summarise diagnostic criteria, cytochemistry, immunophenotyping, cytogenetics & clinical features of B+T MPAL. Results: Most MPAL cases reported were B/Myeloid, followed by B+T MPAL, T+Myeloid , undifferentiated and unclassifiable leukemias respectively. Conclusion: Among MPAL unusual high incidence of B+T MPAL (38.4%) was noted. Overall median survival was 5 years

Microbial biotechnology alchemy: Transforming bacterial cellulose into sensing disease- A review

Biosensors have the potential to revolutionize healthcare by providing rapid and accurate diagnosis of diseases. Biosensors are analytical devices that convert molecular recognition of a target analyte into a measurable signal. Older diagnostic techniques, such as immunoaffinity column assays, fluorometric, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, are laborious, require qualified personnel, and can be time consuming. In contrast, biosensors offer improved accuracy, sustainability, and rapidness due to their ability to detect specific biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity. The review covers various bacterial cellulose (BC)-based biosensors, from SARS-CoV-2 detection to wearable health monitoring and interaction with human-computer interfaces. BC's integration into ionic thermoelectric hydrogels for wearable health monitoring shows its potential for real-time health tracking. Incorporating BC in biosensors for low-noise electrodes, and wearable sensors has been elaborated. The invention of a phage-immobilized BC biosensor for S. aureus detection is a significant contribution to the field, highlighting the biosafety and efficiency of BC in pathogen identification and demonstrating BC's versatility across multiple sensing platforms. Palladium nanoparticle-bacterial cellulose hybrid nanofibers show excellent electrocatalytic activity for dopamine detection, whereas Au-BC nanocomposite biosensors show efficacy in glucose detection, with potential therapeutic applications. The “lab-on-nanopaper” device, utilizing BC nanopaper, not only visually detects human serum albumin but also establishes itself as a new-generation optical biosensing platform with superiority over conventional substrates. This review contributes to the ongoing advancements in biosensor technology, highlighting the potential of BC as a versatile material for developing innovative biosensors. This is crucial for improving the accuracy, sensitivity, and efficiency of diagnostic tools in healthcare