Desarrollo de una ontología en el contexto de la web semántica a partir de un tesauro documental tradicional

A thesaurus is a documentary tool that is used to catalog and retrieve information in specialized environments. In the search for better alternatives in the representation of information resources, ontologies—in the context of the semantic web—are being seen as a new means of representing the knowledge that currently exists in thesauri, now that it has been demonstrated that ontologies make it possible to improve the precision and the reutilization of all kinds of knowledge. The objective of this work is to present an option for the migration of the traditional documentary thesaurus to ontology in the environment of the semantic web, with the objective of permitting its use in document retrieval

‘You see the empty bed which means it’s either a transplant or a death’ : a qualitative study exploring the impact of death in the haemodialysis community

Objective To explore the impact of the death of a patient in the haemodialysis unit on fellow patients. Methods We interviewed patients on dialysis in a tertiary dialysis centre using semistructured interviews. We purposively sampled patients who had experienced the death of a fellow patient. After interviews were transcribed, they were thematically analysed by independent members of the research team using inductive analysis. Input from the team during analysis ensured the rigour and quality of the findings. Results 10 participants completed the interviews (6 females and 4 males with an age range of 42–88 years). The four core themes that emerged from the interviews included: (1) patients’ relationship to haemodialysis, (2) how patients define the haemodialysis community, (3) patients’ views on death and bereavement and (4) patients’ expectations around death in the dialysis community. Patients noticed avoidance behaviour by staff in relation to discussing death in the unit and would prefer a culture of open acknowledgement. Conclusion Staff acknowledgement of death is of central importance to patients on haemodialysis who feel that the staff are part of their community. This should guide the development of appropriate bereavement support services and a framework that promotes the provision of guidance for staff and patients in this unique clinical setting. However, the authors acknowledge the homogenous sample recruited in a single setting may limit the transferability of the study. Further work is needed to understand diverse patient and nurse experiences and perceptions when sharing the knowledge of a patient’s death and how they react to loss

Medición de parámetros de signos vitales para emisión de alertas móviles

one of the main concerns of people, especially the elderly or minors in this time of pandemic, is how to know their immediate state of health. A key indicator for this is reported by vital signs parameters such as temperature, heart rate and oxygenation; currently, wearable devices such as smart watches or bands, allow such monitoring by connecting to a cell phone; however, many users are unaware or fail to achieve the proper interpretation of such reports. For this reason, in addition to monitoring vital signs, the objective of this proposed system is to issue alerts that are sent automatically, not only to the user of the device, but also to a companion via text message whenever any of these parameters is outside the normal allowed range.  This is achieved with a user categorization model supported by a system of rules that describes the normal allowed ranges, establishing criteria for issuing alerts. The main benefit of the proposed system is to have specific information in real time, of a body parameter that allows warning of an altered state of health, which is useful as information for making medical decisions, but can also be an important input data to identify an individual with possible risk of contagion of a disease, useful information in a pandemicUna preocupación en las personas, consiste en cómo conocer su inmediato estado de salud. Un indicador clave para ello, lo reportan los parámetros de signos vitales: temperatura, frecuencia cardíaca y oxigenación; Los dispositivos wearables, permiten ese monitoreo mediante conexión con un móvil; sin embargo, muchos usuarios desconocen o no logran la interpretación adecuada de tales reportes. Por esta razón, además de monitorear automáticamente los signos vitales (en periodos determinados de tiempo), el objetivo del sistema propuesto, consiste en emitir alertas que se envían automáticamente, no solo al usuario del dispositivo, sino también a un acompañante mediante mensaje de texto, cada vez que alguno de estos parámetros se encuentra fuera del rango normal permitido.  Esto se logra con un modelo de categorización de usuarios soportado por un sistema de reglas que describe los rangos normales, estableciendo criterios para emitir las alertas. El beneficio principal del sistema propuesto, es tener información específica y en tiempo real, de un parámetro corporal permitiendo advertir un estado alterado de salud, insumo importante, para tomar decisiones médicas. Abstract, one of the main concerns of people, is how to know their immediate state of health. A key indicator for this is reported by vital signs parameters such as temperature, heart rate and oxygenation; The wearable devices, allow such monitoring by connecting to a cell phone; however, many users are unaware or fail to achieve the proper interpretation of such reports. For this reason, in addition to monitoring vital signs, the objective of this proposed system is to issue alerts that are sent automatically, not only to the user of the device, but also to a companion via text message whenever any of these parameters is outside the normal allowed range.  This is achieved with a user categorization model supported by a system of rules that describes the normal allowed ranges, establishing criteria for issuing alerts. The main benefit of the proposed system is to have specific information in real time, of a body parameter that allows warning of an altered state of health, which is useful as information for making medical decisions.

An alternative beads‐on‐a‐string chromatin architecture in Thermococcus kodakarensis

We have applied chromatin sequencing technology to the euryarchaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis, which is known to possess histone-like proteins. We detect positioned chromatin particles of variable sizes associated with lengths of DNA differing as multiples of 30 bp (ranging from 30 bp to >450 bp) consistent with formation from dynamic polymers of the archaeal histone dimer. T. kodakarensis chromatin particles have distinctive underlying DNA sequence suggesting a genomic particle-positioning code and are excluded from gene-regulatory DNA suggesting a functional organization. Beads-on-a-string chromatin is therefore conserved between eukaryotes and archaea but can derive from deployment of histone-fold proteins in a variety of multimeric forms

The Two Different Isoforms of the RSC Chromatin Remodeling Complex Play Distinct Roles in DNA Damage Responses

The RSC chromatin remodeling complex has been implicated in contributing to DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair in a number of studies. Both survival and levels of H2A phosphorylation in response to damage are reduced in the absence of RSC. Importantly, there is evidence for two isoforms of this complex, defined by the presence of either Rsc1 or Rsc2. Here, we investigated whether the two isoforms of RSC provide distinct contributions to DNA damage responses. First, we established that the two isoforms of RSC differ in the presence of Rsc1 or Rsc2 but otherwise have the same subunit composition. We found that both rsc1 and rsc2 mutant strains have intact DNA damage-induced checkpoint activity and transcriptional induction. In addition, both strains show reduced non-homologous end joining activity and have a similar spectrum of DSB repair junctions, suggesting perhaps that the two complexes provide the same functions. However, the hypersensitivity of a rsc1 strain cannot be complemented with an extra copy of RSC2, and likewise, the hypersensitivity of the rsc2 strain remains unchanged when an additional copy of RSC1 is present, indicating that the two proteins are unable to functionally compensate for one another in DNA damage responses. Rsc1, but not Rsc2, is required for nucleosome sliding flanking a DNA DSB. Interestingly, while swapping the domains from Rsc1 into the Rsc2 protein does not compromise hypersensitivity to DNA damage suggesting they are functionally interchangeable, the BAH domain from Rsc1 confers upon Rsc2 the ability to remodel chromatin at a DNA break. These data demonstrate that, despite the similarity between Rsc1 and Rsc2, the two different isoforms of RSC provide distinct functions in DNA damage responses, and that at least part of the functional specificity is dictated by the BAH domains

Accommodating a Non-Conservative Internal Mutation by WaterMediated Hydrogen-Bonding Between β-Sheet Strands: A Comparison of Human and Rat Type B (Mitochondrial) Cytochrome b5

Mammalian type B (mitochondrial) cytochromes b5 exhibit greater amino acid sequence diversity than their type A (microsomal) counterparts, as exemplified by the type B proteins from human (hCYB5B) and rat (rCYB5B). The comparison of X-ray crystal structures of hCYB5B and rCYB5B reported herein reveals a striking difference in packing involving the five-stranded β-sheet, attributable to fully buried residue 21 in strand β4. The greater bulk of Leu21 in hCYB5B in comparison to Thr21 in rCYB5B results in a substantial displacement of the first two residues in β5, and consequent loss of two of the three hydrogen bonds between β5 and β4. Hydrogen-bonding between the residues is instead mediated by two well-ordered, fully buried water molecules. In a 10 ns molecular dynamics simulation, one of the buried water molecules in the hCYB5B structure exchanged readily with solvent via intermediates having three water molecules sandwiched between β4 and β5. When the buried water molecules were removed prior to a second 10 ns simulation, β4 and β5 formed persistent hydrogen bonds identical to those in rCYB5B, but the Leu21 side chain was forced to adopt a rarely observed conformation. Despite the apparently greater ease of water access to the interior of hCYB5B than of rCYB5B suggested by these observations, the two proteins exhibit virtually identical stability, dynamic and redox properties. The results provide new insight into the factors stabilizing the cytochrome b5 fold

A 10 year study of the cause of death in children under 15 years in Manhiça, Mozambique

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Approximately 46 million of the estimated 60 million deaths that occur in the world each year take place in developing countries. Further, this mortality is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, although causes of mortality in this region are not well documented. The objective of this study is to describe the most frequent causes of mortality in children under 15 years of age in the demographic surveillance area of the Manhiça Health Research Centre, between 1997 and 2006, using the verbal autopsy tool.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Verbal autopsy interviews for causes of death in children began in 1997. Each questionnaire was reviewed independently by three physicians with experience in tropical paediatrics, who assigned the cause of death according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Each medical doctor attributed a minimum of one and a maximum of 2 causes. A final diagnosis is reached when at least two physicians agreed on the cause of death.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From January 1997 to December 2006, 568499 person-year at risk (pyrs) and 10037 deaths were recorded in the Manhiça DSS. 3730 deaths with 246658 pyrs were recorded for children under 15 years of age. Verbal autopsy interviews were conducted on 3002 (80.4%) of these deaths. 73.6% of deaths were attributed to communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases accounted for 9.5% of the defined causes of death, and injuries for 3.9% of causes of deaths. Malaria was the single largest cause, accounting for 21.8% of cases. Pneumonia with 9.8% was the second leading cause of death, followed by HIV/AIDS (8.3%) and diarrhoeal diseases with 8%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study stand out the big challenges that lie ahead in the fight against infectious diseases in the study area. The pattern of childhood mortality in Manhiça area is typical of developing countries where malaria, pneumonia and HIV/AIDS are important causes of death.</p

Problems and prospects for increasing yield under drought: Criticism and synthesis with sorghum

Although drought causes, more yield losses than the combined effect of all abiotic stress factors, the progress in increasing yield under water limited environment is small..