30 research outputs found
The AI author – an Artificial Construct?
No full textThis presentation tackles the question whether output produced through or by an AI-powered agent is or should be susceptible to copyright protection. First, it analyses whether certain AI-generated output available today would enjoy copyright protection if it had been created by a human – in other words, whether creative machines already exist. Second, it explains why, as the law currently stands, output solely produced by an AI powered agent is not susceptible to copyright protection. Third, it examines whether or not this traditional view needs adjusting. In this regard, not only the desirability of protection is questioned, but also the requisite modalities thereof, including issues regarding scope of protection and ownership. This presentation analyses and evaluates the available options for legislative (in)action in this regard. It cautions against unreservedly tearing down the foundations of copyright protection for the mere sake of additional incentive creation.status: Publishe
Chitinases and chitinase-like proteins in asthma
No full textDespite the lack of endogenous chitin synthesis, mammalian genomes encode two enzymatically active true chitinases (chitotriosidase and acidic mammalian chitinase) and a variable number of chitinase-like proteins (CLPs) that have no enzyme activity but bind chitin. Chitinases and CLPs are prominent components of type-2 immune response-mediated respiratory diseases. However, despite extensive research into their role in allergic airway disease, there is still no agreement on whether they are mere biomarkers of disease or actual disease drivers. Functions ascribed to chitinases and CLPs include, but are not limited to host defense against chitin-containing pathogens, directly promoting inflammation, and modulating tissue remodeling and fibrosis. Here, we discuss in detail the chitin-dependent and -independent roles of chitinases and CLPs in the context of allergic airway disease, and recent advances and emerging concepts in the field that might identify opportunities for new therapies
Inflammasomes and IL-1 family cytokines in SARS-CoV-2 infection: from prognostic marker to therapeutic agent
No full textDespite global vaccination programs, infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue to cause severe disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by an exuberant inflammatory response in the lung leading to acute lung injury and consequent gas exchange problems. Complete insights in this hyperinflammatory response are still lacking. However, a thorough understanding of immunopathogenesis of severe COVID-19 is needed to not only develop personalized targeted therapies, but also to identify biomarkers that predict disease outcome and therapeutic responses. Here we review the current evidence that SARS-CoV-2 activates the inflammasome, which is an intracellular multiprotein complex that leads to the activation and secretion of the interleukin (IL)-1 family cytokines, IL-1β and IL-18, and to a lytic form of cell death, called pyroptosis. Further we discuss the contribution of inflammasomes and IL-1 family cytokines to the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 and its clinical implications
Two-component injection moulding of thermoplastics with thermoset rubbers: Process development
No full text© 2017 Author(s). Two-component injection moulding is a manufacturing process for combining polymers with different properties in a single injection moulding process. The process is typically used to combine thermoplastics with another thermoplastic or with a thermoplastic elastomer to create colour differences or hard and soft areas respectively. The present study aims at the development of a two-component injection moulding process for the combination of a thermoset rubber and a thermoplastic. Currently products that consist of those two materials (e.g. wheels, syringes and other products with gaskets) are made by assembling separate components. Implementing the two-component injection moulding technique for these products will result in better interphase properties, savings on rubber and avoiding costs related to the assembly process. A technological challenge is posed by the fact that injection moulding of rubbers and thermoplastics is fundamentally different. The injection moulding of a rubber requires a heated mould (140°C-180°C) whereas thermoplastics need a relatively cold mould (20°C-100°C) for the polymer to solidify. In this study a versatile two-component mould is proposed in which the mould cavities for the rubber and the thermoplastic are thermally separated and equipped with facilities to control the temperature of both cavities individually. The design of the mould also makes it possible to vary the sequence of injection. In this way it is possible to test several processes variations. Preliminary test results will be presented for specific rubber-thermoplastic combinations.sponsorship: G. Bex acknowledges Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) for funding his PhD grant Strategic Basic Research. The authors also acknowledge the company Hercorub NV for providing the rubber material. (Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO))status: Publishe
Blocking sets, minimal codes and trifferent codes
No full textWe prove new upper bounds on the smallest size of affine blocking sets, that is, sets of points in a finite affine space that intersect every affine subspace of a fixed codimension. We show an equivalence between affine blocking sets with respect to codimension-2 subspaces that are generated by taking a union of lines through the origin, and strong blocking sets in the corresponding projective space, which in turn are equivalent to minimal codes. Using this equivalence, we improve the current best upper bounds on the smallest size of a strong blocking set in finite projective spaces over fields of size at least 3. Furthermore, using coding theoretic techniques, we improve the current best lower bounds on a strong blocking set. Our main motivation for these new bounds is their application to trifferent codes, which are sets of ternary codes of length (Formula presented.) with the property that for any three distinct codewords there is a coordinate where they all have distinct values. Over the finite field (Formula presented.), we prove that minimal codes are equivalent to linear trifferent codes. Using this equivalence, we show that any linear trifferent code of length (Formula presented.) has size at most (Formula presented.), improving the recent upper bound of Pohoata and Zakharov. Moreover, we show the existence of linear trifferent codes of length (Formula presented.) and size at least (Formula presented.), thus (asymptotically) matching the best lower bound on trifferent codes. We also give explicit constructions of affine blocking sets with respect to codimension-2 subspaces that are a constant factor bigger than the best known lower bound. By restricting to (Formula presented.), we obtain linear trifferent codes of size at least (Formula presented.), improving the current best explicit construction that has size (Formula presented.).Discrete Mathematics and Optimizatio
COVID‐19 vaccination with BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 vaccines has the potential to induce nasal neutralizing antibodies
No full textGranulocyte colony-stimulating factor : missing link for stratification of type 2-high and type 2-low chronic rhinosinusitis patients
No full textBackground: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a heterogeneous disease, with patients having either a high or low type 2 inflammatory endotype. Whereas the type 2-high group is well characterized by IL-5 expression, the type 2-low group, consisting of approximately 20% of CRS with and 50% of CRS without nasal polyp patients, lacks a clear biomarker profile and thus specific therapeutic targets.
Objective: The aim was to identify underlying molecular pathways of type 2-low CRS, as stratification of patients may allow improvement of personalized treatments.
Methods: Luminex assays were performed to analyze proteins in nasal secretions and tissues of CRS patients. Immunostainings were analyzed for differences in neutrophils, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), and its receptor in nasal tissue. Neutrophils were isolated from blood of healthy volunteers and stimulated with G-CSF. Effects on apoptosis and neutrophil activity were analyzed with flow cytometry.
Results: G-CSF was significantly upregulated in nasal tissue and secretion fluid of type 2-low CRS patients compared to type 2-high patients. In nasal polyp tissue of type 2-low patients, a large infiltration of neutrophils expressing both G-CSF and its receptor was detected, suggesting the presence of a neutrophil-intrinsic autocrine survival mechanism. In response to G-CSF, neutrophils were in an activated state and were resistant to apoptosis, possibly contributing to a chronic inflammation. Of interest, type 2-high nasal polyp patients treated with IgE-blocking omalizumab had increased G-CSF concentrations compared to before treatment.
Conclusion: G-CSF is an important cytokine regulating neutrophils in type 2-low CRS and has potential in the diagnosis and therapy of the disease
Mapping acute HIV-1-infection : designing a webtool to capture multicentric & multidiscipinary data
No full textLoss of GM-CSF-dependent instruction of alveolar macrophages in COVID-19 provides a rationale for inhaled GM-CSF treatment
No full textGM-CSF promotes myelopoiesis and inflammation, and GM-CSF blockade is being evaluated as a treatment for COVID-19-associated hyperinflammation. Alveolar GM-CSF is, however, required for monocytes to differentiate into alveolar macrophages (AMs) that control alveolar homeostasis. By mapping cross-species AM development to clinical lung samples, we discovered that COVID-19 is marked by defective GM-CSF-dependent AM instruction and accumulation of pro-inflammatory macrophages. In a multi-center, open-label RCT in 81 non-ventilated COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure, we found that inhalation of rhu-GM-CSF did not improve mean oxygenation parameters compared with standard treatment. However, more patients on GM-CSF had a clinical response, and GM-CSF inhalation induced higher numbers of virus-specific CD8 effector lymphocytes and class-switched B cells, without exacerbating systemic hyperinflammation. This translational proof-of-concept study provides a rationale for further testing of inhaled GM-CSF as a non-invasive treatment to improve alveolar gas exchange and simultaneously boost antiviral immunity in COVID-19. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04326920) and EudraCT (2020-001254-22)
Distinguishing between level and impact of rumination as predictors of depressive symptoms: An experience sampling study
No full textRumination—repetitively thinking about one’s emotional state, its causes and consequences-exacerbates negative mood and plays an important role in the aetiology and maintenance of depression. Yet, it is unclear whether increased vulnerability to depression is associated with simply how much a person ruminates, or the short-term impact rumination has on a person’s negative mood. In the current study, we distinguish between the level versus the impact of rumination, and we examine how each uniquely predicts changes in depressive symptoms over time in an undergraduate sample. Using experience sampling, we assessed students’ (N = 101) subjective experiences of positive and negative affect and their use of rumination and distraction in daily life for seven days. Participants also reported their depressive symptoms before and after the experience sampling. Increases in depressive symptoms over the week were predicted by how much people ruminated, but not by its impact on negative mood.sponsorship: We are grateful to Jasmien Stevens for her help with the data collection. This research was supported by KU Leuven Research Council [grant numbers OT/11/031 and GOA/10/02], and by a grant from the FWO to the final author. (KU Leuven Research Council|OT/11/031, KU Leuven Research Council|GOA/10/02, FWO)status: Publishe
