Source authenticity in the UMLS – A case study of the Minimal Standard Terminology

AbstractAs the UMLS integrates multiple source vocabularies, the integration process requires that certain adaptation be applied to the source. Our interest is in examining the relationship between the UMLS representation of a source vocabulary and the source vocabulary itself. We investigated the integration of the Minimal Standard Terminology (MST) into the UMLS in order to examine how close its UMLS representation is to the source MST. The MST was conceived as a “minimal” list of terms and structure intended for use within computer systems to facilitate standardized reporting of gastrointestinal endoscopic examinations. Although the MST has an overall schema and implied relationship structure, many of the UMLS integrated MST terms were found to be hierarchically orphaned, and with lateral relationships that do not closely adhere to the source MST. Thus, the MST representation within the UMLS significantly differs from that of the source MST. These representation discrepancies may affect the usability of the MST representation in the UMLS for knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, they pose a problem from the perspective of application developers. While these findings may not necessarily apply to other source terminologies, they highlight the conflict between preservation of authentic concept orientation and the UMLS overall desire to provide fully specified names for all source terms

Naturalness of Ontology Concepts for Rating Aspects of the Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is expected to be the next generation of the WWW. Ontologies and agents are major ingredients of the Semantic Web. In (Lee and Geller 2005), we have argued that some existing ontologies make use of unnatural concepts. We stated that unnatural concepts make it difficult to use an ontology and they contradict the purpose of an ontology, which includes explanatory power for the purpose of sharing information. In this paper we elaborate what makes a concept unnatural. We also analyze existing ontologies to get numeric measures of how natural their concepts are

KINETIC AND KINEMATIC DIFFERENCES OF TWO VOLLEYBALL-SPIKING JUMPS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the net muscle moments and work on the lower limbs in two different volleyball-spiking jumps by inverse dynamics. A Kistler force platform (600 Hz) was synchronized with a Peak high speed camera (120Hz) to collect the volleyball jumping action. Sixteen volleyball players (8 males and 8 females) were the subjects of the study. The results revealed that the work done in knee joints during eccentric contraction were greater than ankle and hip joints in both two volleyball jumps. In addition, the hip has a greater work contribution on both hop and step-close jump

Common Observations for Near-Source Ground Motions and Seismo-Traveling Ionosphere Disturbances Following the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake, Japan

The time history and spatial dependence of seismic-wave propagation on the ground surface and through the ionosphere following the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake were reconstructed from dense seismic networks and from Global Positioning System (GPS) array observations, respectively. Using total electron content (TEC) data recorded by a dense GPS receiver network, the near-source ionosphere perturbations induced by this giant earthquake were analyzed and high-resolution images of seismic-wave propagation in the ionosphere are presented. Similar spatial images of ground motions were reconstructed from observations by a dense seismic array. Observations of this event provide, for the first time, the opportunity to compare near-source ground motions with the near-field seismo-traveling ionosphere disturbance (STID) excited by the ground motions. Based on the results, the nature of the source rupture and seismic-wave propagation are discussed. Both seismic and ionosphere observations indicate that seismic energy propagated radially outward initially from the hypocenter, but that the circular shape of the propagation front became gradually distorted as the source rupture became extended. Coherent wavefronts from the two analyses show contrasting patterns during the later stage of propagation, possibly due to different patterns of spatial variations in the physical properties of the solid earth and of the ionosphere

Nonhomogeneous seawater Sr isotopic composition in the coastal oceans : a novel tool for tracing water masses and submarine groundwater discharge

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 12 (2011): Q05002, doi:10.1029/2010GC003372.Here we present high-precision (2σ = ±3 ppm) 87Sr/86Sr measurements in coastal waters, together with salinity, to evaluate water mass mixing and the influence of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in coastal waters and marginal seas. Nonhomogeneous Sr isotopic variations in water columns were documented in the Southern Okinawa Trough (SOT), South China Sea, and Kao-ping Canyon (KPC), where seawater 87Sr/86Sr varied up to 70 ppm. Seawater Sr isotopic composition changes only slightly in the upper 200 m of the SOT but was detectable and highly correlated with salinity, indicating a mixing between radiogenic North Pacific Tropical Water (high 87Sr/86Sr and high salinity) at 100–150 m and a less radiogenic component with low 87Sr/86Sr and low salinity at ∼200 m. Vertical profiles of seawater 87Sr/86Sr along the KPC show significant variations, suggesting dynamic mixing affected by continental inputs (i.e., river runoff and SGD) in this region. These results highlight the potential use of seawater Sr isotopes as a powerful tracer for determining mixing ratios and the dynamic mixing of oceanic water masses, especially in coastal and marginal seas.This research was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from Top University (NCKU), Taiwan, to K.‐F. Huang and funds from NSC and MOE, Taiwan, to C.‐F. You

Transcriptome Analysis of Systems Biology for Schizophrenia

Transcriptome analysis of postmortem brain samples provides more insights to evaluate biological dysfunctions by analysis of differential expression and genetic interactions in schizophrenia. The growing development of new technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) helps to explore detailed and underlying molecular changes from global perspective of view, not only focus in single SNP variants. It is implicated that schizophrenia genetic and protein interactions may give rise to biological dysfunction not only in dopamine dysfunction but also in immune, energy metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction and hemostasis. Epigenetic investigation of schizophrenia provides important information on how the environmental factors affect the genetic architecture of the disease. DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in etiology for schizophrenia. The schizophrenia differential methylation genes and differential expression genes were analyzed to find the potential protein complexes related to the etiology of schizophrenia from alteration of DNA methylation. The protein complexes and pathways involved in schizophrenia differential methylation network may be responsible for the etiology and potential treatment targets. It is implicated that the interaction between differential expression candidate genes and differential methylation genes may describe the global view of disease mechanisms and it has important roles in the pathogenesis for schizophrenia

Conservation genetics and phylogeography of endangered and endemic shrub Tetraena mongolica (Zygophyllaceae) in Inner Mongolia, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Tetraena mongolica </it>(Zygophyllaceae), an endangered endemic species in western Inner Mongolia, China. For endemic species with a limited geographical range and declining populations, historical patterns of demography and hierarchical genetic structure are important for determining population structure, and also provide information for developing effective and sustainable management plans. In this study, we assess genetic variation, population structure, and phylogeography of <it>T. mongolica </it>from eight populations. Furthermore, we evaluate the conservation and management units to provide the information for conservation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sequence variation and spatial apportionment of the <it>atp</it>B-<it>rbc</it>L noncoding spacer region of the chloroplast DNA were used to reconstruct the phylogeography of <it>T. mongolica</it>. A total of 880 bp was sequenced from eight extant populations throughout the whole range of its distribution. At the cpDNA locus, high levels of genetic differentiation among populations and low levels of genetic variation within populations were detected, indicating that most seed dispersal was restricted within populations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Demographic fluctuations, which led to random losses of genetic polymorphisms from populations, due to frequent flooding of the Yellow River and human disturbance were indicated by the analysis of BEAST skyline plot. Nested clade analysis revealed that restricted gene flow with isolation by distance plus occasional long distance dispersal is the main evolutionary factor affecting the phylogeography and population structure of <it>T</it>. <it>mongolica</it>. For setting a conservation management plan, each population of <it>T</it>. <it>mongolica </it>should be recognized as a conservation unit.</p