BLAST: a Loosely Schema-aware Meta-blocking Approach for Entity Resolution

Identifying records that refer to the same entity is a fundamental step for data integration. Since it is prohibitively expensive to compare every pair of records, blocking techniques are typically employed to reduce the complexity of this task. These techniques partition records into blocks and limit the comparison to records co-occurring in a block. Generally, to deal with highly heterogeneous and noisy data (e.g. semi-structured data of the Web), these techniques rely on redundancy to reduce the chance of missing matches. Meta-blocking is the task of restructuring blocks generated by redundancy-based blocking techniques, removing superfluous comparisons. Existing meta-blocking approaches rely exclusively on schema-agnostic features. In this paper, we demonstrate how “loose” schema information (i.e., statistics collected directly from the data) can be exploited to enhance the quality of the blocks in a holistic loosely schema-aware (meta-)blocking approach that can be used to speed up your favorite Entity Resolution algorithm. We call it Blast (Blocking with Loosely-Aware Schema Techniques). We show how Blast can automatically extract this loose information by adopting a LSH-based step for e ciently scaling to large datasets. We experimentally demonstrate, on real-world datasets, how Blast outperforms the state-of-the-art unsupervised meta-blocking approaches, and, in many cases, also the supervised one

PERCEPTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL DETERMINANTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES CONSUMPTION IN CHILDHOOD: STRATEGIES TO PREVENT OBESITY

Negli ultimi anni la prevenzione e il trattamento dell\u2019obesit\ue0 hanno rivestito un ruolo di primaria importanza per salute pubblica in tutto il mondo. Anche se \ue8 ormai noto che un regolare consumo di frutta e verdure \ue8 associato a una riduzione di peso e a benefici per la salute, il consumo di tali prodotti \ue8 ben lontano dalle cinque porzioni al giorno raccomandate, specialmente nei bambini (WHO, 2012). Tra i differenti fattori che influenzano il consumo di frutta e verdura, la dimensione edonistica gioca un ruolo fondamentale. Essa \ue8 il risultato di complesse interazioni tra determinanti percettive e comportamentali ed \ue8 strettamente associata al concetto di familiarit\ue0 e neofobia (Nicklaus et al., 2005). Falciglia et al, (2000) hanno riportato evidenze di una correlazione negativa tra neofobia alimentare e consumo di frutta e vedura, nonostante ci\uf2 il ruolo della neofobia, della familiarit\ue0 e delle preferenze sullo stato nutrizionale non \ue8 chiaro. Negli ultimi 30 anni, ricerche sulle abitudini alimentari dei bambini hanno identificato diverse variabili che possono aumentare il consumo di alcuni alimenti. In accordo con la teoria sociale dell\u2019apprendimento (Bandura 1977), l\u2019imitazione di comportamenti pu\uf2 avere una forte influenza nel cambiare le scelte alimentari. In aggiunta, i bambini hanno molte pi\uf9 probabilit\ue0 di imitare un modello, quando il loro comportamento \ue8 premiato, sia tale modello coetaneo o poco pi\uf9 grande, e in particolare se esso viene da loro ammirato. Un\u2019altra strategia influente nella modificazione delle abitudini alimentari sono le esposizioni ripetute a uno specifico alimento. Assaggi ripetuti, infatti aumentano la familiarit\ue0, con la possibilit\ue0 di estendere la preferenza anche per alimenti che inizialmente erano sgraditi (Cooke et al., 2011). Un approccio differente per implementare il consumo di prodotti specifici \ue8 quello di aumentare la variet\ue0 degli alimenti offerti. E\u2019 noto che la variet\ue0 in un pasto aumenta il consumo. Quindi, questo fattore potrebbe essere usato per promuovere il consumo di frutta e verdura nei bambini (Forestell et al., 2007). La presente tesi di dottorato affronta questo tema in tre capitoli. Lo scopo del Capitolo 1 \ue8 stato quello di esplorare, sviluppare e validare un questionario per valutare la neofobia alimentare in bambini italiani della scuola elementare. Nel Capitolo 2 sono presentati due studi che riguardano lo stato nutrizionale in relazione alla dimensione sensoriale. Nel primo studio \ue8 stata indagata la relazione tra soglie gustative e composizione corporea negli adulti. Tale studio \ue8 stato condotto in via priminare sugli adulti per approfondire le conoscenze in questo campo d\u2019indagine in vista di mettere a punto nuove ricerche sui bambini. Il secondo studio di questo capitolo si \ue8 occupato di indagare la relazione tra preferenze alimentari, tratti neofobici e composizione corporea nei bambini. Lo scopo del Capitolo 3 \ue8 stato di esaminare l\u2019effetto di diverse strategie nell\u2019aumentare il consumo di frutta e verdura da parte dei bambini. In particolare, il primo esperimento presentato, \ue8 stato condotto in Italia, coivolgendo bambini della scuole elementari del comune di Milano; mentre il secondo ha visto la partecipazione di bambini danesi della citt\ue0 di Copenhagen. Cooke, L., J., Chambers, L., C., A\uf1es, E., V., & Wardle, J. (2011). Facilitating or undermining? The effect of reward on food acceptance. A narrative review. Appetite, 57, 493-497. Falciglia, G.A., Couch, S.C., Gribble, L.S., Pabst, S.M., & Frank, R. (2000). Food neophobia in childhood affects dietary variety. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 100, 1474-1478. Forestell, C.A., &, J.A. (2007). Early Determinants of Fruits and Vegetables Acceptance. Pediatrics, 120 (6), 1257-1254. Nicklaus, S., Boggio, V., Chabanet, C., & Issanchou, S. (2005). A prospective study of food variety seeking in childhood, adolescence and early adult life. Appetite, 44, 289-297.\u2028 Olsen, A., Ritz, C., Kraaij, L.W., & M\uf8ller, P. (2012a). Children\u2019s liking and intake and vegetables: A school-based intervention study. Food Quality and Preference, 23, 90-98. WHO, World Health Organization (2012). Population-based approaches to childhood obesity prevention. WHO Document Production Services, Geneva, Switzerland.In the recent years, prevention and treatment of child obesity have been of primary importance in public health all over the world. Although it\u2019s well known that regular consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduction of weight and health benefits, the intake of these products is far below the recommended 5 serving per day, especially among children (WHO, 2012). Among the many factors influencing the prediction of fruits and vegetables consumption, the hedonic dimension plays a major role. It is result of complex interactions between perceptive and behavioural determinants, and it is streactly related to familiarity and neophobia (Nicklaus et al., 2005). Evidence for a negative relationship between neophobia traits and fruits and vegetables consumption in children has been reported (Falciglia et al., 2000), despite that the role of food neophobia, familiarity and preferences on nutritional status are unclear. Over the past 30 years, research on children\u2019s food habits has identified several variables that can increase the consumption of different foods. According to the social learning theory, modeling by significant others can be highly influential in establishing food behaviour changes. Children are also more likely to imitate a model whose behaviour they see being rewarded, who is of the same age or slightly older than themselves or who they like or admire. Another influential strategy to modifying food habits is to induce prolonged exposure to a stimulus (Olsen et al., 2012). Repeated exposures to a specific food increase familiarity of foods and extend preferences for those initially rejected (Cooke et al., 2011). A different approach to extend specific products consumption is to increase variety of food offered. Variety within a meal is known to increase intake. Thus, it may be used to increase fruits and vegetables liking and to promote their intake in children (Forestell et al., 2007). The present PhD thesis addresses this theme in three chapters. The aim of the chapter 1 was to explore, develop and validate a questionnaire to assess food neophobia in primary school Italian children. In the chapter 2 two studies regarding nutritional status related to sensory dimension are presented. The first study explored the relationship between taste thresholds and body composition in adults. This is a preliminary survey carried out to deepen the knowledge on this field with a view to develop new researches in children. The second study of this chapter investigated the relationship between food preferences, neophobic traits and body composition in children. The aim of chapter 3 was to investigate the effect of different strategies in increasing children\u2019s fruits and vegetables consumption. In partucular, the first experiment was carried out in Italy, involving Italian children of the Municipality of Milan; the second experiment was conducted on a group of Danish elementary school children of Copenhagen area. Cooke, L., J., Chambers, L., C., A\uf1es, E., V., & Wardle, J. (2011). Facilitating or undermining? The effect of reward on food acceptance. A narrative review. Appetite, 57, 493-497. Falciglia, G.A., Couch, S.C., Gribble, L.S., Pabst, S.M., & Frank, R. (2000). Food neophobia in childhood affects dietary variety. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 100, 1474-1478. Forestell, C.A., &, J.A. (2007). Early Determinants of Fruits and Vegetables Acceptance. Pediatrics, 120 (6), 1257-1254. Nicklaus, S., Boggio, V., Chabanet, C., & Issanchou, S. (2005). A prospective study of food variety seeking in childhood, adolescence and early adult life. Appetite, 44, 289-297.\u2028 Olsen, A., Ritz, C., Kraaij, L.W., & M\uf8ller, P. (2012a). Children\u2019s liking and intake and vegetables: A school-based intervention study. Food Quality and Preference, 23, 90-98. WHO, World Health Organization (2012). Population-based approaches to childhood obesity prevention. WHO Document Production Services, Geneva, Switzerland

The Italian National Registry for FSHD: an enhanced data integration and an analytics framework towards Smart Health Care and Precision Medicine for a rare disease

Background: The Italian Clinical network for FSHD (ICNF) has established the Italian National Registry for FSHD (INRF), collecting data from patients affected by Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) and their relatives. The INRF has gathered data from molecular analysis, clinical evaluation, anamnestic information, and family history from more than 3500 participants. Methods: A data management framework, called Mediator Environment for Multiple Information Sources (MOMIS) FSHD Web Platform, has been developed to provide charts, maps and search tools customized for specific needs. Patients’ samples and their clinical information derives from the Italian Clinical network for FSHD (ICNF), a consortium consisting of fourteen neuromuscular clinics distributed across Italy. The tools used to collect, integrate, and visualize clinical, molecular and natural history information about patients affected by FSHD and their relatives are described. Results: The INRF collected the molecular data regarding FSHD diagnosis conducted on 7197 subjects and identified 3362 individuals carrying a D4Z4 Reduced Allele (DRA): 1634 were unrelated index cases. In 1032 cases the molecular testing has been extended to 3747 relatives, 1728 carrying a DRA. Since 2009 molecular analysis has been accompanied by clinical evaluation based standardized evaluation protocols. In the period 2009–2020, 3577 clinical forms have been collected, 2059 follow the Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation form (CCEF). The integration of standardized clinical information and molecular data has made possible to demonstrate the wide phenotypic variability of FSHD. The MOMIS (Mediator Environment for Multiple Information Sources) data integration framework allowed performing genotype–phenotype correlation studies, and generated information of medical importance either for clinical practice or genetic counseling. Conclusion: The platform implemented for the FSHD Registry data collection based on OpenClinica meets the requirement to integrate patient/disease information, as well as the need to adapt dynamically to security and privacy concerns. Our results indicate that the quality of data collection in a multi-integrated approach is fundamental for clinical and epidemiological research in a rare disease and may have great value in allowing us to redefine diagnostic criteria and disease markers for FSHD. By extending the use of the MOMIS data integration framework to other countries and the longitudinal systematic collection of standardized clinical data will facilitate the understanding of disease natural history and offer valuable inputs towards trial readiness. This approach is of high significance to FSHD medical community and also to rare disease research in general

TA treatment of depression : a hermeneutic single-case efficacy design study - ‘Deborah’

This study is the third of a series of seven, and belongs to the second Italian systematic replication of findings from two previous series (Widdowson 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013; Benelli, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c) that investigated the effectiveness of a manualised transactional analysis treatment for depression through Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design (HSCED). Major Depression and Subthreshold Depression are often in comorbidity with Anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence and represent a risk factor for ongoing mental health problems in adulthood. The therapist was a white Italian woman with 15 years of clinical experience and the client, Deborah, was a 15-year old white Italian female adoloscent who attended sixteen sessions of transactional analysis psychotherapy. The conclusion of the judges was that this was a good-outcome case: the depressive and anxious symptomatology clinically and reliably improved over the course of the therapy and these improvements were maintained throughout the duration of the follow-up intervals. Furthermore, the client reported significant change in her post-treatment interview and these changes were directly attributed to the therapy. In this case study, the transactional analysis manualised treatment for depression in adulthood has demonstrated its effectiveness also in treating depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescence

Apple production and quality when cultivated under anti-hail cover in Southern Brazil.

Anti-hail nets may change the microclimate of orchards and hence modify the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of fruits. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of anti-hail nets on the physical, chemical, and sensory attributes of apples grown in southern Brazil. The study was conducted in commercial orchards, with apples grown under a black anti-hail net under an open sky during the 2008/2009, 2009/2010, and 2010/2011 cycles. Measurements of photosynthetically active radiation were collected at both sites. Physical, chemical, and sensory analyses of fruits were performed in the laboratory. The anti-hail net reduced incident photosynthetically active radiation by 32 %. The light spectrum in the canopy changed the corresponding R/FR (red/far-red) ratio in the lower and upper canopy layers from 0.27 to 1.55, respectively. In contrast to the majority of microclimate studies carried out in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, this study in the southern hemisphere showed that although it reduced the incident solar radiation, the cover did not change the color or organoleptic characteristics of ?Royal Gala? and ?Fuji Suprema? apples. The net cover prolonged the subperiod between fruit setting and harvesting, thus slowing fruit ripening. Therefore, the use of anti-hail nets on apple orchards is a suitable alternative for the protection of apple trees against hail because it causes only small changes in the microclimate and in the maturation period, ensuring fruit production without affecting its quality

Atmospheric greenhouse gases retrieved from SCIAMACHY: comparison to ground-based FTS measurements and model results

SCIAMACHY onboard ENVISAT (launched in 2002) enables the retrieval of global long-term column-averaged dry air mole fractions of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane (denoted XCO_2 and XCH_4). In order to assess the quality of the greenhouse gas data obtained with the recently introduced v2 of the scientific retrieval algorithm WFM-DOAS, we present validations with ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) measurements and comparisons with model results at eight Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) sites providing realistic error estimates of the satellite data. Such validation is a prerequisite to assess the suitability of data sets for their use in inverse modelling. It is shown that there are generally no significant differences between the carbon dioxide annual increases of SCIAMACHY and the assimilation system CarbonTracker (2.00 ± 0.16 ppm yr^(−1) compared to 1.94 ± 0.03 ppm yr−1 on global average). The XCO_2 seasonal cycle amplitudes derived from SCIAMACHY are typically larger than those from TCCON which are in turn larger than those from CarbonTracker. The absolute values of the northern hemispheric TCCON seasonal cycle amplitudes are closer to SCIAMACHY than to CarbonTracker and the corresponding differences are not significant when compared with SCIAMACHY, whereas they can be significant for a subset of the analysed TCCON sites when compared with CarbonTracker. At Darwin we find discrepancies of the seasonal cycle derived from SCIAMACHY compared to the other data sets which can probably be ascribed to occurrences of undetected thin clouds. Based on the comparison with the reference data, we conclude that the carbon dioxide data set can be characterised by a regional relative precision (mean standard deviation of the differences) of about 2.2 ppm and a relative accuracy (standard deviation of the mean differences) of 1.1–1.2 ppm for monthly average composites within a radius of 500 km. For methane, prior to November 2005, the regional relative precision amounts to 12 ppb and the relative accuracy is about 3 ppb for monthly composite averages within the same radius. The loss of some spectral detector pixels results in a degradation of performance thereafter in the spectral range currently used for the methane column retrieval. This leads to larger scatter and lower XCH_4 values are retrieved in the tropics for the subsequent time period degrading the relative accuracy. As a result, the overall relative precision is estimated to be 17 ppb and the relative accuracy is in the range of about 10–20 ppb for monthly averages within a radius of 500 km. The derived estimates show that the SCIAMACHY XCH_4 data set before November 2005 is suitable for regional source/sink determination and regional-scale flux uncertainty reduction via inverse modelling worldwide. In addition, the XCO2 monthly data potentially provide valuable information in continental regions, where there is sparse sampling by surface flask measurements

TA treatment of depression : a hermeneutic single-case efficacy design study - ‘Deborah’

This study is the third of a series of seven, and belongs to the second Italian systematic replication of findings from two previous series (Widdowson 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013; Benelli, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c) that investigated the effectiveness of a manualised transactional analysis treatment for depression through Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design (HSCED). Major Depression and Subthreshold Depression are often in comorbidity with Anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence and represent a risk factor for ongoing mental health problems in adulthood. The therapist was a white Italian woman with 15 years of clinical experience and the client, Deborah, was a 15-year old white Italian female adoloscent who attended sixteen sessions of transactional analysis psychotherapy. The conclusion of the judges was that this was a good-outcome case: the depressive and anxious symptomatology clinically and reliably improved over the course of the therapy and these improvements were maintained throughout the duration of the follow-up intervals. Furthermore, the client reported significant change in her post-treatment interview and these changes were directly attributed to the therapy. In this case study, the transactional analysis manualised treatment for depression in adulthood has demonstrated its effectiveness also in treating depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescence

Assessing the inhaled dose of nanomaterials by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and its relationship with lung inflammatory biomarkers.

The widespread and increasing use of nanomaterials has resulted in a higher likelihood of exposure by inhalation for nanotechnology workers. However, tracking the internal dose of nanoparticles deposited at the airways level, is still challenging. To assess the suitability of particle number concentration determination as biomarker of internal dose, we carried out a cross sectional investigation involving 80 workers handling nanomaterials. External exposure was characterized by portable counters of particles DISCminiTM (Testo, DE), allowing to categorize 51 workers as exposed and 29 as non-exposed (NE) to nanoparticles. Each subject filled in a questionnaire reporting working practices and health status. Exhaled breath condensate was collected and analysed for the number of particles/ml as well as for inflammatory biomarkers. A clear-cut relationship between the number of airborne particles in the nano-size range determined by the particle counters and the particle concentration in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) was apparent. Moreover, inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-10, and TNF-α) measured in EBC, were significantly higher in the exposed subjects as compared to not exposed. Finally, significant correlations were found between external exposure, the number concentration of particles measured by the nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and inflammatory cytokines. As a whole, the present study, suggests that NTA can be regarded as a reliable tool to assess the inhaled dose of particles and that this dose can effectively elicit inflammatory effects

Experimental Observation of “Shadowing” in Optical Transition Radiation

We report the observation of shadowing between two optical transition radiation (OTR) sources from a 205 MeV electron beam. The total optical intensity is measured as a function of the distance $d$ between the sources, covering the range $0 \lt d \lt 4L_{\nu}$, where $L_{\nu}$ is the formation length of the particles. Data show that the total optical intensity starts decreasing due to shadowing when $d$ approaches $L_{\nu}$ until it becomes undetectable for very short distances $d/L_{\nu} \rightarrow 0$. A model based solely on interference between the two OTR sources is in good agreement with experimental data. To the knowledge of the authors this is the first systematic experimental observation of shadowing in OTR