Albendazole versus Praziquantel in the Treatment of Neurocysticercosis: A Meta-analysis of Comparative Trials

Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic disease caused by the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, when the larval form of the parasite lodges in the central nervous system. This disease is most commonly found among members of agricultural societies with poor sanitary conditions and economies based on breeding livestock (especially pigs) with low hygiene standards. It is a disease with long history in humans, and the usual therapeutic intervention was surgery until the development of antiparasitic cysticidal agents, the most common being praziquantel and albendazole. T. solium infection can take many different forms in humans, but we concentrated on parenchymal neurocysticercosis with viable cysts. A consensus statement by a panel of experts on the subject supports the use of antiparasitic treatment, but does not indicate either albendazole or praziquantel as the drug of choice for this type of neurocysticercosis, because data from single relevant clinical trials are not conclusive. We conducted a meta-analysis to further evaluate the comparative effectiveness and safety of albendazole and praziquantel for this particular type of neurocysticercosis. The outcomes of our meta-analysis suggest that albendazole is more effective than praziquantel in controlling seizures in affected patients and in leading to the total disappearance of cysts and subsequently cure of patients with neurocysticercosis

Σύστημα ελέγχου και συλλογής δεδομένων για την απομακρυσμένη παρακολούθηση του προσωπικού στο πειραματικό περιβάλλον του ATLAS στο CERN

Personnel safety, supervision and real-time monitoring are important key parameters while performing activities in risky environments and extreme environmental conditions such as the ATLAS cavern at CERN. The hazardous environments are not user friendly in terms of frequent access, performing regular or sudden interventions, monitoring, and supervision activities. The engineers and the personnel need to perform complex activities like installation and maintenance work in the heavy machinery. In most of the cases, it is not possible to memorize the maintenance procedures of a complex machinery. If the machines contain radioactive elements, then the situation is even more crucial for the health and safety of the personnel. The objective of this research is to develop and optimize the Control System (CS) and Data Acquisition (DAQ) System for the Personnel Safety System used in the ATLAS cavern. We propose a monitoring system to supervise the health status of the personnel and provide guidance during the performance of complex activities inside the ATLAS cavern. Radiation background monitoring can also be achieved through the communication of the system with a gamma camera placed in the cavern. This system is developed to supervise multiple interventions in real-time. An adaptability and scalability research, from a Service Based Application (SBA) perspective, has also been conducted to examine the use of this system in other extreme environmental conditions.Η ασφάλεια του προσωπικού, η επίβλεψη και η παρακολούθηση των εργασιών σε πραγματικό χρόνο, αποτελούν σημαντικές βασικές παραμέτρους κατά την εκτέλεση δραστηριοτήτων σε επικίνδυνα περιβάλλοντα και ακραίες περιβαλλοντικές συνθήκες, όπως το περιβάλλον του πειράματος ATLAS στο CERN. Τα επικίνδυνα περιβάλλοντα δεν είναι φιλικά προς το χρήστη όσον αφορά τη συχνή πρόσβαση, την εκτέλεση τακτικών ή μη προγραμματισμένων παρεμβάσεων, την παρακολούθηση και την εποπτεία. Οι μηχανικοί και το προσωπικό πρέπει να εκτελούν πολύπλοκες δραστηριότητες όπως εργασίες εγκατάστασης και συντήρησης σε βαριά μηχανήματα. Στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις, δεν είναι δυνατή η απομνημόνευση των διαδικασιών συντήρησης ενός σύνθετου μηχανήματος. Εάν τα μηχανήματα περιέχουν ραδιενεργά στοιχεία, τότε η κατάσταση είναι ακόμα πιο κρίσιμη για την υγεία και την ασφάλεια του προσωπικού. Στόχος της παρούσας έρευνας είναι η ανάπτυξη και βελτιστοποίηση του Συστήματος Ελέγχου (CS) και του Συστήματος Εξαγωγής Δεδομένων (DAQ) για το Σύστημα Ασφαλείας Προσωπικού που χρησιμοποιείται στο σπήλαιο της ATLAS. Προτείνουμε ένα σύστημα παρακολούθησης για την επίβλεψη της κατάστασης υγείας του προσωπικού και την παροχή καθοδήγησης κατά την εκτέλεση σύνθετων δραστηριοτήτων στο εσωτερικό του περιβάλλοντος του πειράματος ATLAS. Παρακολούθηση της ακτινοβολίας υποβάθρου μπορεί επίσης να επιτευχθεί μέσω της επικοινωνίας του συστήματος με μια γάμμα κάμερα τοποθετημένη στο σπήλαιο. Το σύστημα αυτό αναπτύσσεται για να εποπτεύει πολλαπλές παρεμβάσεις σε πραγματικό χρόνο. Έχει επίσης διεξαχθεί μια έρευνα προσαρμοστικότητας, από την οπτική εφαρμογών υπηρεσιών (SBA), προκειμένου να εξεταστεί η χρήση αυτού του συστήματος σε άλλες ακραίες περιβαλλοντικές συνθήκες

Receiver operating characteristic curves and statistic analysis of medical data

98 σ.Ο στόχος της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη των ROC καμπυλών καθώς και η εφαρμογή αυτών σε πραγματικά ιατρικά δεδομένα. Οι καμπύλες λειτουργικού χαρακτηριστικού δέκτη, ή αλλιώς, ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic curves), αποτελούν ένα αρκετά δημοφιλές στατιστικό εργαλείο που περιγράφει την διαγνωστική ακρίβεια διαφόρων δοκιμασιών σε πολλούς επιστημονικούς κλάδους όπως για παράδειγμα στην Ιατρική. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο, αναλύονται κάποιες βασικές έννοιες και ορισμοί από την ROC Ανάλυση όπως ειδικότητα και ευαισθησία, λόγοι πιθανοφάνειας και εμβαδόν κάτω από την καμπύλη χαρακτηριστικού δέκτη. Επίσης, παρουσιάζονται οι λόγοι χρήσης μιας ROC καμπύλης όπως η εκτίμηση της διακριτικής ικανότητας μια δοκιμασίας, η σύγκριση της διακριτικής ικανότητας δύο ή περισσοτέρων δοκιμασιών για τη διάγνωση του ίδιου νοσήματος, καθώς και η επιλογή του βέλτιστου διαχωριστικού ορίου μιας δοκιμασίας. Στη συνέχεια, διεξήχθη μία στατιστική ανάλυση των ιατρικών δεδομένων με σκοπό να αποκτήσει ο αναγνώστης μια ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα για το διαθέσιμο δείγμα. Στο τρίτο και τελευταίο κεφάλαιο, παρουσιάζεται η ROC ανάλυση που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο διαθέσιμο δείγμα, με στόχο την εύρεση παραγόντων που επηρεάζουν την έκβαση νοσηλείας ατόμων που εισήχθησαν στο νοσοκομείο ή την αναγκαιότητα διενέργειας επέμβασης κατά τη διάρκεια παραμονής τους σε αυτό.The purpose of this thesis, is to study the ROC curves, as well as to present its applications in medical data. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves, represent a rather popular statistical tool used in order to describe the diagnostic accuracy of different tests in many scientific areas such as medicine. Firstly, basic terminals and definitions are presented such as specificity and sensitivity, likelihood ratios and the area under the curve (AUC). Next, a statistical analysis of the medical data was performed in order to study the available sample. Furthermore, the use of ROC Analysis is presented such as the estimation of a resolution test, the comparison between two or more assays for the diagnosis of the same disease, and the optimal cut-off point of an assay. In the third and last chapter, ROC analysis of the available sample is presented. The aim of this analysis, is to determine significant factors, such as the outcome of the hospitalization of patients, or the necessity of intervention.Ελένη Σ. Αδαμίδ

Containerization solutions for biomedical informatics

In the rapidly evolving field of biomedical informatics the demand for robust containerization technologies has become increasingly evident, representing a crucial tool to address the challenges faced by life scientists and make tangible strides in the biomedical industry. SCHEMA [1], [2], an open-source platform developed by members of the ELIXIR-GR community [3], addresses these needs by harnessing the power of containerization technologies to provide a comprehensive solution that advances scientific endeavors in precision medicine, medical imaging, bioinformatics, and more. It empowers life scientists with containerization tools, offering them the means to create, execute, and manage computational data-analysis workflows efficiently using the Common Workflow Language (CWL) [4]. These workflows can be later easily executed on diverse platforms, promoting accessibility and reproducibility of computational experiments. Presently, SCHEMA has been included as one of the services within the European Digital Innovation Hub for smartHEALTH [5], aiming to support digital transformation in biomedical research, enabling SMEs, startups, mid-caps, and the public sector to leverage digital technology effectively. In this context, SCHEMA's team if offering containerization solutions and consulting to members of the biomedical industry paving the way for cutting-edge biomedical informatics. As the biomedical landscape continues to evolve, SCHEMA envisions a more impactful role. Plans are underway to extend the platform with machine learning technologies, to enhance how life scientists approach complex problems. This expansion will open new opportunities for innovation within the biomedical industry, allowing for more sophisticated data analysis, predictive modeling, and insights that can advance research and applications in practical and meaningful ways. During the Bio3 poster session, we look forward to providing a comprehensive overview of SCHEMA's existing functionalities, showcasing how it presently aids life scientists in their computational endeavors within biomedical informatics. Additionally, we will discuss future goals, offering valuable insights into how this platform can further assist life scientists and contribute to the biomedical industry. References [1] "SCHEMA," [Online]. Available: https://schema.athenarc.gr/about/ . [Accessed 2023]. [2] Thanasis Vergoulis, Konstantinos Zagganas, Loukas Kavouras, Martin Reczko, Stelios Sartzetakis, and Theodore Dalamagas, "SCHeMa: Scheduling Scientific Containers on a Cluster of Heterogeneous Machines," arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.13138, 2021. [3] "ELIXIR Greece," [Online]. Available: https://www.elixir-greece.org/. [Accessed 2023]. [4] "CWL," [Online]. Available: https://www.commonwl.org/. [Accessed 2023]. [5] "smartHEALTH," [Online]. Available: https://smarthealth-edih.eu/en/. [Accessed 2023]

A Safety System for Human Radiation Protection and Guidance in Extreme Environmental Conditions

We present a safety system designed to ensure human radiation protection and provide real-time guidance in extreme environmental conditions. This system was developed and tested in the complex experimental infrastructure of the ATLAS underground cavern at CERN, where personnel safety is crucial, especially during maintenance periods. Safety in such environments is challenging and extremely important due to the high complexity of the working space, the radioactivity, and the stress that people experience. The safety system we propose consists of three sub-systems: a data acquisition (DAQ) system, a control system (CS), and a remote monitoring system (MS). The DAQ system acquires data wirelessly from various environmental and biological sensors installed in the outfit of the user. The CS controls and creates alerts to warn the user in case of emergency. The MS is developed to remotely supervise the health status of the personnel and provide real-time guidance during the performance of complex activities inside the ATLAS cavern. Radiation background monitoring is also achieved through the MS via the communication of the DAQ system with a gamma camera placed in the cavern. This system is developed to supervise multiple interventions and communicate with numerous users in real time, and it is adaptable to various extreme environmental conditions

TIER2 - Enhancing Trust, Integrity and Efficiency in Research through next-level Reproducibility

Lack of reproducibility of research results has become a major theme in recent years. TIER2 is an international project funded by the European Commission under their Horizon Europe programme. Covering three broad research areas (social, life and computer sciences) and two cross-disciplinary stakeholder groups (research publishers and funders) to systematically investigate reproducibility across contexts, TIER2 will significantly boost knowledge on reproducibility, create tools, engage communities, implement interventions and policy across different contexts to increase re-use and overall quality of research results in the European Research Area and global R&I, and consequently increase trust, integrity and efficiency in research