Panati and Webpanati - information systems for SNPS.

This paper describes two softwares: Panati and webPanati

Positron emission tomography PET/CT harmonisation study of different clinical PET/CT scanners using commercially available software

Objectives: Harmonisation is the process whereby standardised uptake values from different scanners can be made comparable. This PET/CT pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of harmonisation of a modern scanner with image reconstruction incorporating resolution recovery (RR) with another vendor older scanner operated in two-dimensional (2D) mode, and for both against a European standard (EARL). The vendor-proprietary software EQ•PET was used, which achieves harmonisation with a Gaussian smoothing. A substudy investigated effect of RR on harmonisation. Methods: Phantom studies on each scanner were performed to optimise the smoothing parameters required to achieve successful harmonisation. 80 patients were retrospectively selected; half were imaged on each scanner. As proof of principle, a cohort of 10 patients was selected from the modern scanner subjects to study the effects of RR on harmonisation. Results: Before harmonisation, the modern scanner without RR adhered to EARL specification. Using the phantom data, filters were derived for optimal harmonisation between scanners and with and without RR as applicable, to the EARL standard. The 80-patient cohort did not reveal any statistically significant differences. In the 10-patient cohort SUVmax for RR > no RR irrespective of harmonisation but differences lacked statistical significance (one-way ANOVA F(3.36) = 0.37, p = 0.78). Bland-Altman analysis showed that harmonisation reduced the SUVmax ratio between RR and no RR to 1.07 (95% CI 0.96–1.18) with no outliers. Conclusions: EQ•PET successfully enabled harmonisation between modern and older scanners and against the EARL standard. Harmonisation reduces SUVmax and dependence on the use of RR in the modern scanner. Advances in knowledge: EQ•PET is feasible to harmonise different PET/CT scanners and reduces the effect of RR on SUVmax

Interchanging lexical resources on the Semantic Web

Lexica and terminology databases play a vital role in many NLP applications, but currently most such resources are published in application-specific formats, or with custom access interfaces, leading to the problem that much of this data is in ‘‘data silos’’ and hence difficult to access. The Semantic Web and in particular the Linked Data initiative provide effective solutions to this problem, as well as possibilities for data reuse by inter-lexicon linking, and incorporation of data categories by dereferencable URIs. The Semantic Web focuses on the use of ontologies to describe semantics on the Web, but currently there is no standard for providing complex lexical information for such ontologies and for describing the relationship between the lexicon and the ontology. We present our model, lemon, which aims to address these gap

Determinants of grassland primary production in seasonally-dry silvopastoral systems in Central America

Grassland primary productivity is the function that underpins the majority of the fodder production in cattle-rearing silvopastoral farms. Hence, understanding the factors that determine grassland productivity is critical for the design and management of silvpastoral systems. We studied the effect of two factors with documented impact on grassland productivity in seasonally dry silvopastures of Nicaragua, rainfall and trees. We assessed the effects of three species that differed in crown size and phenology, one evergreen, Cassia grandis, and two deciduous species, Guazuma ulmifolia and Tabebuia rosea. Overall, grassland ANPP had a quadratic response to rainfall, with a decline at high rainfall that coincided with peak standing biomass and grassland cover. Trees had a predominately negative effect on grassland productivity, and the effect was concentrated in the rainy season at peak productivity. The effect of the trees corresponded with the tree crown area, but not with crown density. Trees reduced the standing biomass of graminoids and increased forb biomass; thus, the effect of trees on grassland ANPP appears in part to respond to changes in grassland composition. We also found higher levels of soil moisture content below the tree canopy, particularly at the peak of the rainy season when soils tend to become waterlogged. The evergreen species, C. grandis, affected grassland ANPP more strongly than the deciduous species.This research has been co-funded by the Research Council of Norway, Environment 2015 Program and FRIMUF (Grants 204413 – SILPAS and 190134 – Multi-functional Landscapes) and by the European Commission, Directorate General for Research, within the 7th Framework Programme of RTD, Theme 2 – Biotechnology, Agriculture & Food (Grant Agreement No. 227265 - FUNCiTREE). P. Casals is supported by a Ramón y Cajal Contract (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain)

Reverse taxonomy applied to the Brachionus calyciflorus cryptic species complex: Morphometric analysis confirms species delimitations revealed by molecular phylogenetic analysis and allows the (re) description of four species

The discovery and exploration of cryptic species have been profoundly expedited thanks to developments in molecular biology and phylogenetics. In this study, we apply a reverse taxonomy approach to the Brachionus calyciflorus species complex, a commonly studied freshwater monogonont rotifer. By combining phylogenetic, morphometric and morphological analyses, we confirm the existence of four cryptic species that have been recently suggested by a molecular study. Based on these results and according to an exhaustive review of the taxonomic literature, we name each of these four species and provide their taxonomic description alongside a diagnostic key

Lemon: An Ontology-Lexicon model for the Multilingual Semantic Web.

The Monnet project offers a solution to this cross-language information access problem by using a novel combination of Machine Translation and Semantic Web Technology. Monnet business users will be able to have transparent access to company information across national and linguistic boundaries. Monnet public services users will find answers to their questions independent of the country's official languages. A key solution to this problem is to deal with the information at a semantic level. Monnet achieves this through semantically aware term translation based on a novel approach that integrates ontology-based domain semantics with linguistic information from the domain lexicon. The Monnet solution will change the way business and government provide, exchange and integrate information, driving global standardization efforts

Application of the Nutrition Functional Diversity indicator to assess food system contributions to dietary diversity and sustainable diets of Malawian households

Objective: Dietary diversity is associated with nutrient adequacy and positive health outcomes but indicators to measure diversity have focused primarily on consumption, rather than sustainable provisioning of food. The Nutritional Functional Diversity score was developed by ecologists to describe the contribution of biodiversity to sustainable diets. We have employed this tool to estimate the relative contribution of home production and market purchases in providing nutritional diversity to agricultural households in Malawi and examine how food system provisioning varies by time, space and socio-economic conditions. Design: A secondary analysis of nationally representative household consumption data to test the applicability of the Nutritional Functional Diversity score. Setting: The data were collected between 2010 and 2011 across the country of Malawi. Subjects: Households (n 11 814) from predominantly rural areas of Malawi. Results: Nutritional Functional Diversity varied demographically, geographically and temporally. Nationally, purchased foods contributed more to household nutritional diversity than home produced foods (mean score = 17·5 and 7·8, respectively). Households further from roads and population centres had lower overall diversity (P < 0·01) and accessed relatively more of their diversity from home production than households closer to market centres (P < 0·01). Nutritional diversity was lowest during the growing season when farmers plant and tend crops (P < 0·01). Conclusions: The present analysis demonstrates that the Nutritional Functional Diversity score is an effective indicator for identifying populations with low nutritional diversity and the relative roles that markets, agricultural extension and home production play in achieving nutritional diversity. This information may be used by policy makers to plan agricultural and market-based interventions that support sustainable diets and local food systems