Predicting Tweet Engagement with Graph Neural Networks

Social Networks represent one of the most important online sources to share content across a world-scale audience. In this context, predicting whether a post will have any impact in terms of engagement is of crucial importance to drive the profitable exploitation of these media. In the literature, several studies address this issue by leveraging direct features of the posts, typically related to the textual content and the user publishing it. In this paper, we argue that the rise of engagement is also related to another key component, which is the semantic connection among posts published by users in social media. Hence, we propose TweetGage, a Graph Neural Network solution to predict the user engagement based on a novel graph-based model that represents the relationships among posts. To validate our proposal, we focus on the Twitter platform and perform a thorough experimental campaign providing evidence of its quality.Comment: Accepted in ACM ICMR202

Implantation of a Small Aperture Intraocular Lens in Eyes with Irregular Corneas and Higher Order Aberrations

Purpose: Corneal irregularities can lead to high order aberrations (HOAs) and may influence the outcomes in terms of intraocular lens (IOL) selection and visual acuity assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the visual acuity and satisfaction after IC-8 implants in patients characterized by corneal irregularities and HOAs who could not undergo refractive surgery due to the poor residual thickness of the cornea or other conditions such as astigmatism secondary to previous radial keratotomy. Methods: This descriptive, retrospective cohort study was conducted on nine eyes in six patients affected by corneal irregularities and HOAs who had undergone IC-8 IOL implantation. The primary endpoint was the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the subjective visual function, and the visual field. Results: Nine eyes of six patients (three bilateral implantation) were enrolled. For each patient, BCVA, vision, and lifestyle quality were evaluated. In all patients, we noticed an improvement in all parameters without visual field defects. Conclusion: Our work encourages the use of the IC8 lens to improve visual acuity in patients with irregular corneas and HOAs who cannot be treated with customized refractive surgery. Patients experience a subjective improvement of their quality of vision and also more self-confidence in their daily life. IC-8 lenses do not interfere with the visualization of retinal fundus and there is no impairment of the visual field detected by patients

Every animal matters! Evaluating the selectivity of a Mediterranean bottom trawl fishery from a species community perspective

Bottom trawl fisheries often catch several species simultaneously. However, most studies addressing the catch performance and selectivity of a specific trawl focus on a few commercially important or most vulnerable species requiring management measures. By contrast, the present study considers the multispecies nature of Mediterranean bottom trawl fisheries through a holistic approach that accounts for the full species community in the catches. Specifically, we evaluated and compared the catch performance of the two codends allowed for this fishery, made of 40 mm square (SM40) and 50 mm diamond (DM50) meshes. Results showed that 50 and 80% of the catch in weight and count numbers, respectively, consisted of species without commercial value, demonstrating that large proportions of the catch are not considered when using the existing approach to evaluate the ecological impact of the fishing activity. Significant differences in catch profiles between the two codends were observed, especially for two commercial flatfish species, Arnoglossus laterna and Citharus linguatula, with larger contributions in the SM40. Further, the SM40 codend had a significantly higher retention, compared to DM50 codend, for specific sizes of Merluccius merluccius and Mullus barbatus. The outcomes of the study can be useful for the Mediterranean bottom trawl fisheries management

KATP Channel Opener Diazoxide Prevents Neurodegeneration: A New Mechanism of Action via Antioxidative Pathway Activation

Pharmacological modulation of ATP-sensitive potassium channels has become a promising new therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases due to their role in mitochondrial and cellular protection. For instance, diazoxide, a well-known ATP-sensitive potassium channel activator with high affinity for mitochondrial component of the channel has been proved to be effective in animal models for different diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke or multiple sclerosis. Here, we analyzed the ability of diazoxide for protecting neurons front different neurotoxic insults in vitro and ex vivo. Results showed that diazoxide effectively protects NSC-34 motoneurons from glutamatergic, oxidative and inflammatory damage. Moreover, diazoxide decreased neuronal death in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures after exicitotoxicity and preserved myelin sheath in organotypic cerebellar cultures exposed to pro-inflammatory demyelinating damage. In addition, we demonstrated that one of the mechanisms of actions implied in the neuroprotective role of diazoxide is mediated by the activation of Nrf2 expression and nuclear translocation. Nrf2 expression was increased in NSC-34 neurons in vitro as well as in the spinal cord of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis animals orally administered with diazoxide. Thus, diazoxide is a neuroprotective agent against oxidative stress-induced damage and cellular dysfunction that can be beneficial for diseases such as multiple sclerosis

primary cervicofacial nocardiosis due to nocardia asteroides in an adult immunocompetent patient

Sir, The Nocardia species are aerobic, lamentous grampositive bacteria, irregularly acid-fast staining that belong to the order Actinomycetales. Normally, Nocardia spp. are soil saprophytes, but N. asteroides may be found in the normal ora of the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract. Four species of Nocardia are pathogenic in man: N. asteroides, N. brasiliensis, N. caviae and N. madurae (1). N. asteroides is usually the agent of systemic pulmonary infections in immunocompromised hosts, while N. brasiliensis is the responsible agent in 74% of all cutaneous manifestations (1, 2). The skin is generally secondarily involved in disseminated systemic pulmonary diseases, due to haematogenous spread of N. asteroides, but it can also be primarily aVected. Primary cutaneous nocardiosis (PCN) accounts for only 5% of all nocardial infections and is caused mainly by N. brasiliensis (3, 4). PCN is characterized by numerFig. 1. In ammatory and ulcerative lesion of the nose. ous clinical manifestations: chronic mycetoma, super cial abscesses and cellulitis and lymphocutaneous increased ESR (93mm/h). Paraneoplastic serological variants. The last of these manifestations includes the markers, immunological investigations and HIV-1/2 more common sporotrichoid form (nodules along the serology were negative. Hemocultures were also lymphatic drainage) and the rarer cervicofacial variant. negative. We report an unusual case of primary cervicofacial Skull and chest X-rays were negative while ultrasononocardiosis caused by N. asteroides in an adult graphy revealed gross hypoecogenic non-homogeneous immunocompetent man. areas (colliquated lymph nodes) extending to the subfascial area. Sonography also showed numerous colliquated CASE REPORT lymph nodes in the right laterocervical region as well as a colliquative involvement of both the parotides and A 79-year-old man was admitted to our department because of fever and a necrotic ulcerative lesion of the submandibular lymph nodes. Computerized axial tomography of the head con rmed all the data and again dorsum of his nose. The borders were vegetant, in ltrated on palpation and a purulent exudate was easily showed abscesses of the left masseter muscle and the left submandibular salivary gland. obtained through compression. Numerous sparse tiny pustules and little pus-draining sinuses were peripherHistology of a skin biopsy taken from the borders of the ulcer only revealed a dense diVuse in ammatory ically sparse around the ulcerative lesion (Fig. 1). The in ammatory oedema involved the left cheek and the in ltrate of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the deep dermis, with abscess formation. No fungic elements were lower eyelid. A hardened swelling of the left mandibular angle and some hard, enlarged, latero-cervical lymph observed with PAS staining. Endovenous therapy with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid nodes were present. History revealed that the patient had had a bicycle 6.6 g/day, amikacin 1 g/day and teicoplanin 800mg/day was immediately started. A week later a slight improveaccident 15 days earlier, causing wounds on his forehead, nose and left cheek. The wounds had healed rapidly ment of the purulent and in ammatory aspects of the facial lesions was observed but the laterocervical tumewith common antiseptic medications. Blood sample examination revealed white blood factions had worsened and required surgical drainage. Cultures of purulent exudate from the nose ulcer, cells 13 109/l (60% neutrophils, 25% monocytes) an

Sustainable Wireless Services with UAV Swarms Tailored to Renewable Energy Sources

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarms are often required in off-grid scenarios, such as disaster-struck, war-torn or rural areas, where the UAVs have no access to the power grid and instead rely on renewable energy. Considering a main battery fed from two renewable sources, wind and solar, we scale such a system based on the financial budget, environmental characteristics, and seasonal variations. Interestingly, the source of energy is correlated with the energy expenditure of the UAVs, since strong winds cause UAV hovering to become increasingly energy-hungry. The aim is to maximize the cost efficiency of coverage at a particular location, which is a combinatorial optimization problem for dimensioning of the multivariate energy generation system under non-convex criteria. We have devised a customized algorithm by lowering the processing complexity and reducing the solution space through sampling. Evaluation is done with condensed real-world data on wind, solar energy, and traffic load per unit area, driven by vendor-provided prices. The implementation was tested in four locations, with varying wind or solar intensity. The best results were achieved in locations with mild wind presence and strong solar irradiation, while locations with strong winds and low solar intensity require higher Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) allocation.Comment: To be published in Transactions on Smart Gri

Transcriptome analysis of human primary endothelial cells (HUVEC) from umbilical cords of gestational diabetic mothers reveals candidate sites for an epigenetic modulation of specific gene expression.

Within the complex pathological picture associated to diabetes, high glucose (HG) has ". per se" effects on cells and tissues that involve epigenetic reprogramming of gene expression. In fetal tissues, epigenetic changes occur genome-wide and are believed to induce specific long term effects. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) obtained at delivery from gestational diabetic women were used to study the transcriptomic effects of chronic hyperglycemia in fetal vascular cells using Affymetrix microarrays. In spite of the small number of samples analyzed (n=6), genes related to insulin sensing and extracellular matrix reorganization were found significantly affected by HG. Quantitative PCR analysis of gene promoters identified a significant differential DNA methylation in TGFB2. Use of Ea.hy926 endothelial cells confirms data on HUVEC. Our study corroborates recent evidences suggesting that epigenetic reprogramming of gene expression occurs with persistent HG and provides a background for future investigations addressing genomic consequences of chronic HG. © 2014 Elsevier Inc

Experimental Analysis of the Reaction Rate of Hydrated Class G Cement Powder at 11 bar PCO2 and Ambient Temperature

The aim of this work is to study the alteration of class G Cement at ambient temperature under a relatively high CO2 partial pressure through suitably designed laboratory experiments, in which cement hydration and carbonation are taken into account separately. First, the hydration process was carried out for 28 days to identify and quantify the hydrated solid phases formed. After the completion of hydration, accompanied by partial carbonation under atmospheric conditions, the carbonation process was investigated using a stirred micro-reactor by reacting cement powder with pure CO2(g) (PCO2 = 11 bar) and MilliQ water for different reaction times. The reaction time was varied to constrain the reaction kinetics of the carbonation process and to investigate the evolution of primary and secondary solid phases. Mineralogical analyses (X-ray Powder Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope) were carried out to this purpose. Water analyses were also performed by ion chromatography at the end of each experimental run to investigate the chemical effects of cement carbonation on the aqueous solution. The carbonation degree was calculated from the results of Thermo-Gravimetric analysis (TGA). The main results of these experiments is the quick conversion of portlandite and Ca1.60SiO3.6·2.58H2O (C-S-H) to calcite. In fact, the carbonation degree attains 80% after 6 hours of reaction time. Experimental outcomes will be simulated by means of the PHREEQC software package to obtain further indications on cement carbonatio