Mediation to deal with information heterogeneity ? application to Earth System Science

International audienceWe address the problem of data and information interoperability in the Earth System Science information domain. We believe that well-established architectures and standard technologies are now available to implement data interoperability. In particular, we elaborate on the mediated approach, and present several technological aspects of our implementation of a Mediator-based Information System for Earth System Science Data. We highlight some limitations of current standard-based solutions and introduce possible future improvements

Federated data bases for the development of an operational monitoring and forecasting system of the ocean: the THREDDS Dataset Merger

During the last decade, operational monitoring and forecasting systems have been developed in all the European seas. The exchange of data and products and the development of services for a wide community of users pose some fundamental issues, whose solution has become a priority in integrated and GMES referring projects, such as the MERSEA European project. These projects aim to develop a European system for operational monitoring and forecasting on global and regional scales of ocean physics, bio-chemistry and ecosystems. GMES system and its operational projects need to federate resources and expertise coming from diverse organizations working on different Earth Sciences fields (e.g. satellite data processing, in situ observing systems, data management, ocean and ecosystem modeling, etc.). Therefore, it is required a Marine Information Management (MIM) system capable of facilitating the regular real-time exchange of high quality information, data and products. Moreover, MIM system must provide appropriate information for a wide range of external users both in real-time and delayed mode. </p><p style=&quot;line-height: 20px;&quot;> In this paper an architecture based on the OPeNDAP/THREDDS technology is proposed as a solution for these operational systems. In this context, a catalog merging solution is introduced for the MIM system, which results in the design and development of the THREDDS Dataset Merger (TDM): a set of services meant to merge THREDDS Dataset Inventory Catalogs, so to achieve a unique catalog service for a whole database federation. TDM service merges distributed and autonomous THREDDS catalogs in order to work out a virtual merged catalog. The TDM service was extended in order to provide automatic catalogs synchronization. This service allows extending the pull-based TDM paradigm to support push-based applications. Some security issues are also considered

Reduction of colonic inflammation in HLA-B27 transgenic rats by feeding Marie Ménard apples, rich in polyphenols

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are immunomediated ailments affecting millions of individuals. Although diet is regarded as an important factor influencing IBD, there are no accepted dietary recommendations presently available. We administered 7.6 % lyophilised apples obtained from two cultivars (Golden Delicious and Marie Ménard, low and high in polyphenols, respectively) to HLA-B27 transgenic rats which develop spontaneous IBD. After 3 months feeding, rats fed Marie Ménard apples had reduced myeloperoxidase activity (3.6 (sem 0.3) v. 2.2 (sem 0.2) U/g tissue; P <0.05) and reduced cyclo-oxygenase-2 (P <0.05) and inducible NO synthase gene expression (P <0.01) in the colon mucosa and significantly less diarrhoea (P <0.05), compared with control rats. Cell proliferation in the colon mucosa was reduced significantly by feeding Golden Delicious apples, with a borderline effect of Marie Ménard apples. Gene expression profiling of the colon mucosa, analysed using the Whole Rat Genome 4 x 44 K Agilent Arrays, revealed a down-regulation of the pathways of PG synthesis, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling and TNFalpha-NF-kappaB in Marie Ménard-fed rats. In the stools of the animals of this group we also measured a significant reduction of bacteria of the Bacteriodes fragilis group. In conclusion, the administration of Marie Ménard apples, rich in polyphenols and used at present only in the manufacturing of cider, ameliorates colon inflammation in transgenic rats developing spontaneous intestinal inflammation, suggesting the possible use of these and other apple varieties to control inflammation in IBD patient

Hydrochlorothiazide Use and Risk of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers: A Biological Plausibility Study

Recent studies reported the association between increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) and the use of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), one of the most commonly prescribed diuretic, antihypertensive drug, over the world. Although HCTZ is known to be photosensitizing, the mechanisms involved in its potential prophotocarcinogenic effects remain unclear. Under acute exposure, therapeutically relevant concentrations of HCTZ (70, 140, and 370 ng/mL) amplified UVA-induced double-strand breaks, oxidative DNA, and protein damage in HaCaT human keratinocytes, and this effect was associated to a defective activity of the DNA repair enzyme, OGG1. Oxidative damage to DNA, but not that to proteins, was reversible within few hours. After chronic, combined exposure to HCTZ (70 ng/mL) and UVA (10 J/cm(2)), for 9 weeks, keratinocytes acquired a dysplastic-like phenotype characterized by a multilayered morphology and alterations in cell size, shape, and contacts. At the ultrastructural level, several atypical and enlarged nuclei and evident nucleoli were also observed. These transformed keratinocytes were apoptosis resistant, exhibited enhanced clonogenicity capacity, increased DNA damage and inflammation, defective DNA repair ability, and increased expression of the oncogene ΔNp63α and intranuclear β-catenin accumulation (a hallmark of Wnt pathway activation), compared to those treated with UVA alone. None of these molecular, morphological, or functional effects were observed in cells treated with HCTZ alone. All these features resemble in part those of preneoplastic lesions and NMSCs and provide evidence of a biological plausibility for the association among exposure to UVA, use of HCTZ, and increased risk of NMSCs. These results are of translational relevance since we used environmentally relevant UVA doses and tested HCTZ at concentrations that reflect the plasma levels of doses used in clinical practice. This study also highlights that drug safety data should be followed by experimental evaluations to clarify the mechanistic aspects of adverse events

Tisochrysis lutea F&M-M36 Mitigates Risk Factors of Metabolic Syndrome and Promotes Visceral Fat Browning through β3-Adrenergic Receptor/UCP1 Signaling

Pre-metabolic syndrome (pre-MetS) may represent the best transition phase to start treatments aimed at reducing cardiometabolic risk factors of MetS. In this study, we investigated the effects of the marine microalga Tisochrysis lutea F&amp;M-M36 (T. lutea) on cardiometabolic components of pre-MetS and its underlying mechanisms. Rats were fed a standard (5% fat) or a high-fat diet (20% fat) supplemented or not with 5% of T. lutea or fenofibrate (100 mg/Kg) for 3 months. Like fenofibrate, T. lutea decreased blood triglycerides (p &lt; 0.01) and glucose levels (p &lt; 0.01), increased fecal lipid excretion (p &lt; 0.05) and adiponectin (p &lt; 0.001) without affecting weight gain. Unlike fenofibrate, T. lutea did not increase liver weight and steatosis, reduced renal fat (p &lt; 0.05), diastolic (p &lt; 0.05) and mean arterial pressure (p &lt; 0.05). In visceral adipose tissue (VAT), T. lutea, but not fenofibrate, increased the β3-adrenergic receptor (β3ADR) (p &lt; 0.05) and Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) (p &lt; 0.001) while both induced glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) protein expression (p &lt; 0.001) and decreased interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β gene expression (p &lt; 0.05). Pathway analysis on VAT whole-gene expression profiles showed that T. lutea up-regulated energy-metabolism-related genes and down-regulated inflammatory and autophagy pathways. The multitarget activity of T. lutea suggests that this microalga could be useful in mitigating risk factors of MetS

Open Ocean: Status and Trends, Summary for Policy Makers

The Open Ocean Assessment provides a baseline review of issues linking human well-being with the status of the open ocean through the themes of governance, climate change, ocean ecosystems, fisheries, pollution, and integrated assessment of the human-ocean nexus. It uses indices and indicators where data exist, in many cases with future projections due to global climate change, complemented by expert scientific assessment of numerous low certainty but potentially high impact issues where global ocean monitoring is inadequate

Big Data Analytics for Earth Sciences: the EarthServer approach

Big Data Analytics is an emerging field since massive storage and computing capabilities have been made available by advanced e-infrastructures. Earth and Environmental sciences are likely to benefit from Big Data Analytics techniques supporting the processing of the large number of Earth Observation datasets currently acquired and generated through observations and simulations. However, Earth Science data and applications present specificities in terms of relevance of the geospatial information, wide heterogeneity of data models and formats, and complexity of processing. Therefore, Big Earth Data Analytics requires specifically tailored techniques and tools. The EarthServer Big Earth Data Analytics engine offers a solution for coverage-type datasets, built around a high performance array database technology, and the adoption and enhancement of standards for service interaction (OGC WCS and WCPS). The EarthServer solution, led by the collection of requirements from scientific communities and international initiatives, provides a holistic approach that ranges from query languages and scalability up to mobile access and visualization. The result is demonstrated and validated through the development of lighthouse applications in the Marine, Geology, Atmospheric, Planetary and Cryospheric science domains