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On April 6, 2009, a strong earthquake (6.1 Mw) struck the city of L'Aquila, which was severely damaged as well as many neighboring towns. After this event, a digital model of the region affected by the earthquake was built and a large amount of data was collected and made available. This allowed us to obtain a very detailed dataset that accurately describes a typical historic city in central Italy. Building on this work, we propose a study that employs machine learning (ML) tools to predict damage to buildings after the 2009 earthquake. The used dataset, in its original form, contains 21 features, in addition to the target variable which is the level of damage. We are able to differentiate between light, moderate and heavy damage with an accuracy of 59%, by using the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. The level of accuracy remains almost stable using only the 12 features selected by the Boruta algorithm. In both cases, the RF tool showed an excellent ability to distinguish between moderate-heavy and light damage: around the 3% of the buildings classified as seriously damaged were labeled by the algorithm as minor damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An increasing number of patients receive dual antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary interventions. The management of these patients is controversial when urgent noncardiac surgery is required, considering the serious cardiological consequences if such drugs are withdrawn and a high risk of bleeding if they are continued. 'Bridging' antiplatelet therapy with tirofiban, a short-acting glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor blocker, was used to manage a patient recently implanted with a drug-eluting stent and still on dual antiplatelet therapy, who underwent laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. Methods: Therapy with prasugrel was discontinued 5 days before the surgery and intravenous infusion of tirofiban was started at a dose of 0.4 mg Kg min over 30 min, followed by 0.1 mg Kg min . The infusion was stopped 6 h before the surgery. Two hours after the surgical procedure, the same treatment schedule with tirofiban already given preoperatively, including the 30 min bolus, was applied. Prasugrel therapy was resumed 180 h after the surgery. Results: The postoperative course was uneventful. No bleeding or thrombotic events occurred, and the patient was safely discharged home 2 weeks after the surgical procedure. Conclusions: There is a lack of precise guidelines for patients recently implanted with drug-eluting stents. A multidisciplinary approach and close collaboration among surgeons, anesthesiologists and cardiologists is required, especially when the surgical procedure cannot be postponed. The 'bridging' pharmacological protocol was safe and effective after laparoscopic gastrectomy for carcinoma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]