Active Ontology: An Information Integration Approach for Dynamic Information Sources

In this paper we describe an ontology-based information integration approach that is suitable for highly dynamic distributed information sources, such as those available in Grid systems. The main challenges addressed are: 1) information changes frequently and information requests have to be answered quickly in order to provide up-to-date information; and 2) the most suitable information sources have to be selected from a set of different distributed ones that can provide the information needed. To deal with the first challenge we use an information cache that works with an update-on-demand policy. To deal with the second we add an information source selection step to the usual architecture used for ontology-based information integration. To illustrate our approach, we have developed an information service that aggregates metadata available in hundreds of information services of the EGEE Grid infrastructure

A Community Needs Assessment to Improve Lung Health Within Substandard Housing Units

The Census Bureau states “more than 45 million people, or 14.5 percent of all Americans, lived below the poverty line last year [2013].” Many of these individuals are living in substandard housing conditions, which are causing preventable poor lung health among the population. The CDC reported that asthma was linked to 3,404 deaths in 2010. The link between poor health and living conditions is a hypothesis that has been contemplated for a long time now. Florence Nightingale speculated, “The connection between health and the dwelling of the population is one of the most important that exists...” (Jacobs) Based on this issue of poor substandard living conditions, I would like to design different methods to better understand the quality of living in these areas within the state of California. I will be designing a needs assessment to understand the needs and living conditions of housing tenants within substandard living units. To obtain information of these living conditions I will be designing a survey, which would be sent out to these residents within California, regarding questions of quality on topics such as: possible poor health triggers within the home (i.e. mold, air quality, bug infestations), the prevalence of poor lung health within units, the relationship(s) with their landlords, and any other barriers that prevent the residents from filing complaints. I will also be designing health inspections for the units, and a resident meeting educating them on proper living conditions, and their rights as a resident. I will be analyzing any existing data on the matters within California. Work Cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 61, No. 4, May 8, 2013 Concentrations of Risk: Asthma and Poor Housing Conditions. (2013, February 28). Retrieved October 14, 2014, from http://www.cccnewyork.org/blog/concentrations-of-risk-asthma-and-poor-housing-conditions/ Jacob, B., Ludwig, J., & Miller, D. (2011). THE EFFECTS OF HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS ON CHILD MORTALITY. Retrieved November 2, 2014, from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bajacob/effects of housing on child mortality.pd

Grid Metadata Lifetime Control in ActOn

In the Semantic Grid, metadata, as first class citizens, should be maintained up to-date in a cost-effective manner. This includes maxi missing the automation of different aspects of the metadata lifecycle, managing the evolution and change of metadata in distributed contexts, and synchronizing adequately the evolution of all these related entities. In this paper, we introduce a semantic model and its operations which is designed for supporting dynamic metadata management in Active Ontology (Act On), a semantic information integration approach for highly dynamic information sources. Finally, we illustrate the Act On-based metadata lifetime control by EGEE examples

Development and evaluation of an online surgical elective for medical students

Background Decreased experiential learning opportunities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have increased development of online surgical educational courses. To what extent may such courses provide exposure to broad and accessible surgical education? Methods Surge is a 6-week online surgical elective hosted within a virtual learning environment, covering all surgical specialties. Course content is mapped to the Royal College of Surgeons’ Undergraduate Curriculum in Surgery. Each week consultant surgeons discuss their specialty in short videos on anatomy, pathology and lifestyle of a surgeon. Students also engage with learning activities; further reading lists; formative quizzes and live sessions including suturing practice. Participants were medical students undertaking third-year electives at the University of Sheffield. Pre- and post-course questionnaires investigated student interest in surgery, understanding of steps required to pursue a surgical career and confidence in surgical environments. Qualitative data was collected via free-text responses and analysed with content analysis. Quantitative data was collected using 5-point Likert scales (1 = Strongly Disagree; 5 = Strongly Agree) and analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results Twenty-two students participated in Surge over five 6-week cohorts. Examination of free-text responses revealed students gained increased understanding of available surgical career options. Students felt better informed regarding different surgical specialties (median score 2.5 vs. 4, p = 0.000) and steps required to develop a surgical portfolio (median score 2 vs. 5, p = 0.000). Additionally, confidence in understanding of relevant intraoperative steps improved (median score 3 vs. 4, p = 0.000). Conclusion These data demonstrate Surge increased student confidence and understanding of surgical careers despite reduced in-person opportunities to engage with surgical education. Surge will continue to be developed and evaluated on a larger scale

Evaluating Value-Based Frameworks Used for Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Regimens: ICER Report, ASCO Value Framework, and NCCN Evidence Blocks

BACKGROUND: With the continuous rise in costs for oncology drugs, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) have developed value-based frameworks (VBFs) to assist stakeholders in formulary and treatment decisionmaking. While emerging VBFs have the potential to significantly impact therapeutic options for patients, it is important to understand the differences associated with those VBFs within a therapeutic area. OBJECTIVE: To compare ICER, ASCO, and NCCN VBFs across three therapeutic options for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). METHODS: The values of carfilzomib (CFZ), elotuzumab (ELO), and ixazomib (IX) were generated using ICER, ASCO, and NCCN VBFs. Those regimens, used for second or third line treatment of RRMM, were chosen because they share a common comparator in clinical trials, lenalidomide + dexamethasone (LEN + DEX). The ICER 2016 report of treatment options for RRMM was used to obtain results of the comparative clinical effectiveness and the cost effectiveness analysis for those regimens compared to LEN + DEX. ASCO’s 2016 VBF, which incorporates clinical benefit, toxicity and bonus points was used to generate a net health benefit (NHB) score without a scale along with the drug wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) for each regimen compared to LEN + DEX. The NCCN VBF uses a score ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 as the least favorable and 5 as the most favorable, for each of five evidence blocks: efficacy, safety, quality, consistency, and affordability. The 2016 Multiple Myeloma NCCN evidence blocks was used to obtain the value of CFZ, ELO, and IX. RESULTS: The ICER VBF suggested with moderate certainty that CFZ, ELO, and IX provide a better NHB in patients with RRMM compared to LEN + DEX. Second-line and third-line treatment costs per QALY for CFZ, ELO, and IX were $199,982,$427,607 and $433,794, and$238,560, $481,244, and$484,582, respectively. The ASCO VBF generated a total NHB of 28.8, 23.7 and 23.0 with a monthly WAC of $17,364,$16,032 and $20,607 for CFZ, ELO, and IX, respectively. The monthly cost of LEN + DEX was$11,616. The NCCN VBF had an efficacy score of 5, 3, and 4 for CFZ, ELO, IX, respectively. Safety, quality, consistency, and affordability scores of 3, 4, 4, and 1, respectively, were the same across regimens. CONCLUSIONS: ICER, ASCO and NCCN VBFs suggest CFZ may be the most valued treatment out of the three regimens. However, their applicability in stakeholder’s decision-making remains unclear due to uncertainty and challenges associated with them. SPONSORSHIP: None.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jcphposters/1012/thumbnail.jp

An Authorisation Scenario for S-OGSA

The Semantic Grid initiative aims to exploit knowledge in the Grid to increase the automation, interoperability and flexibility of Grid middleware and applications. To bring a principled approach to developing Semantic Grid Systems, and to outline their core capabilities and behaviors, we have devised a reference Semantic Grid Architecture called S-OGSA. We present the implementation of an S-OGSA observant semantically-enabled Grid authorization scenario, which demonstrates two aspects: 1) the roles of different middleware components, be them semantic or non-semantic, and 2) the utility of explicit semantics for undertaking an essential activity in the Grid: resource access control

A Linear Modulation OSL Study of the Unstable Ultrafast Component in Samples from Glacial Lake Hitchcock, Massachusetts, USA

Optical ages were determined for samples from delta and sand dune deposits associated with Glacial Lake Hitchcock near Amherst, Massachusetts using the single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique. However, a strong unstable ultrafast component caused initial rejection of data from a large proportion of aliquots. A linearly modulated blue OSL (LM-OSL) study was undertaken on the sample with the strongest ultrafast component, with the data modelled using the equation of Bulur et al. (2000) as 5 fast, medium and slow components, and 1 ultrafast component. The ultrafast component dominates the LM–OSL, almost completely obscuring the fast component. As suggested by Jain et al. (2003), the thermal stability of the ultrafast component was examined, using temperatures between 180°C and 300°C (10s preheat) and extended preheats at 300°C (10-60s). Preheats of sufficient stringency to remove the ultrafast component (300ºC for ≥ 20s) also strongly depleted the fast component. The stabilities of the ultrafast and fast components were also examined as a function of low-power, short-duration continuous-wave bluelight stimulations (CW-OSL). A 3.0s, 0.35 mW.cm-2 (1% diode power), 125ºC preshine in combination with a 240ºC/10s preheat removed the ultrafast component, and caused significantly less fast component depletion than more stringent preheats. Data from a modified SAR procedure in which each OSL measurement is preceded by a low-power preshine have improved recycling ratios and reduced equivalent dose (De) errors. De values and resultant ages determined using the preshine-based SAR proposed here are consistent with regional age constraints on the delta and sand dune samples from Glacial Lake Hitchcock

An ActOn-based Semantic Information Service for EGEE

We describe a semantic information service that aggregates metadata from a large number of information sources of a large-scale Grid infrastructure. It uses an ontology-based information integration architecture (ActOn) suitable for the highly dynamic distributed information sources available in Grid systems, where information changes frequently and where the information of distributed sources has to be aggregated in order to solve complex queries. These two challenges are addressed by a Metadata Cache that works with an update-on-demand policy and by an information source selection module that selects the most suitable source at a given point in time. We have evaluated the quality of this information service, and compared it with other similar services from the EGEE production testbed, with promising results

ActOn: A Semantic Information Service for EGEE

We describe an information service that aggregates metadata available in hundreds of information sources of the EGEE Grid infrastructure. It uses an ontology-based information integration architecture (ActOn), which is suitable the highly dynamic distributed information sources available in Grid systems, where information changes frequently and where the information of distributed sources has to be aggregated in order to solve complex queries. These two challenges are addressed by a metadata cache that works with an update-on-demand policy and by an information source selection module that selects the most suitable source at a given point in time, respectively. We have evaluated the quality of this information service, and compared it with other similar services from the EGEE production testbed, with promising result