Large ABox Store (LAS) : database support for TBox queries

Large ABox Store (LAS) extends the DL reasoner Racer with a database. LAS stores the given information about a TBox, a taxonomy, and ABox in a database, and answers most TBox and ABox queries by combining SQL queries with DL reasoning. The main feature of our system is that it can deal with ABox role assertions. Acting as a filter for Racer, LAS speeds up the TBox and ABox queries. The main techniques exploited in LAS are the pseudo model merging test technique, and the transitive closure algorithm implemented by Oracle 9i. This thesis presents the design, theories and implementation of the LAS system, and it mainly addresses the database support for TBox queries in LAS. A user-friendly interface is designed to facilitate users to implement many kinds of queries. More complex querying functions can be integrated into this system in the futur

The spatiotemporal features of Greenhouse Gases Emissions from Biomass Burning in China from 2000-2012

Greenhouse gases emissions from biomass burning have been given a little attention, especially the spatiotemporal features of biomass burning sources and greenhouse gases emissions have not been comprehensively uncovered. This research undertook IPCC bottom-up inventory guideline to estimate Chinese greenhouse gases emissions from biomass burning and applied geographical information system to reveal biomass burning emissions spatiotemporal features. The purposes were to quantify greenhouse gases emissions from various biomass burning sources and to uncover the spatial and temporal emissions features so to deliver future policy implications in China. The results showed that the average annual biomass burning emissions in China from 2000-2012 were 880.66 Mt for CO2, 96.59 Mt CO2-eq for CH4, and 16.81 Mt CO2-eq for N2O. The spatial pattern of biomass greenhouse gases emissions showed about 50 % of national emission were in the east and south-central regions. The majority of biomass burning emissions were from firewood and crop residues, which accounted for more than 90 % of national biomass burning emissions. All types of biomass burning emissions exhibited similar temporal trends from 2000-2012, with strong inter-annual variability and fluctuant increase. The large grassland and forest fires induced the significant greenhouse gases emissions peaks in the years of 2001, 2003 and 2006. We found that biofuel burning, with low combustion efficiency, is the major emission source. Open burning of biomass was widespread in China, and east and south-central regions were the major distribution of biomass burning greenhouse gases emission. Optimized design for improving the efficiency of biomass utilization and making emission control policy combination with its spatiotemporal features will be the effective way to reduce the biomass burning emissions

Generalisability of and lessons learned from a mixed-methods study conducted in three low- and middle-income countries to identify care pathways for atrial fibrillation

BackgroundIdentifying existing care pathways is the first step for understanding how services can be improved to enable early diagnosis and effective follow-up care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs); however, evidence on how care pathways can and should be identified in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is lacking.ObjectiveTo describe generalisability and lessons learned from recruitment and data collection for the quantitative component of a mixed methods study designed to determine the care pathway for atrial fibrillation (AF) in Brazil, China and Sri Lanka.MethodsAdults (≥18 years) that spoke the local language and with an AF diagnosis were eligible. We excluded anyone with a hearing or cognitive impairment or ineligible address. Eligible participants were identified using electronic records in Brazil and China; in Sri Lanka, researchers attended the outpatient clinics to identify eligible participants. Data were collected using two quantitative questionnaires administered at least 2-months apart. A minimum sample size of 238 was required for each country.ResultsThe required sample size was met in Brazil (n = 267) and China (n = 298), but a large proportion of AF patients could not be contacted (47% and 27%, respectively) or refused to participate (36% and 38%, respectively). In Sri Lanka, recruitment was challenging, resulting in a reduced sample (n = 151). Mean age of participants from Brazil, China and Sri Lanka was 69 (SD = 11.3), 65 (SD = 12.8) and 58 (SD = 11.7), respectively. Females accounted for 49% of the Brazil sample, 62% in China and 70% in Sri Lanka.ConclusionsGeneralisability was an issue in Brazil and China, as was selection bias. Recruitment bias was highlighted in Sri Lanka. Additional or alternative recruitment methods may be required to ensure generalisability and reduce bias in future studies aimed at identifying NCD care pathways in LMICs

Obstructive sleep apnea affects lacrimal gland function

Purpose: To determine the effect of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) on lacrimal gland function and its mechanism. Methods: Male mice aged seven to eight weeks were housed in cages with cyclic intermittent hypoxia to mimic OSA, and the control group was kept in a normal environment. Slit-lamp observation, fluorescein staining, and corneal sensitivity detection are used to assess cornea changes. Tear secretion was detected by phenol red cotton thread, and the pathological changes of lacrimal gland were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, oil red O staining, cholesterol and triglyceride kits, immunofluorescence staining, immunohistochemical staining, real-time polymerase chain reaction, transmission electron microscopy, and Western blot. Results: Studies revealed a decreased tear secretion, corneal epithelial defects and corneal hypersensitivity. Myoepithelial cell damage, abnormal lipid accumulation, reduced cell proliferation, increased apoptosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in the lacrimal gland were also seen. Hifα and NF-κB signaling pathways, moreover, were activated, while Pparα was downregulated, in the lacrimal glands of OSA mice. Fenofibrate treatment significantly alleviated pathological changes of the lacrimal gland induced by OSA. Conclusion: OSA disturbs the Hifα/Pparα/NF-κB signaling axis, which affects lacrimal gland structure and function and induces dry eye

Development and validation of machine learning-augmented algorithm for insulin sensitivity assessment in the community and primary care settings: a population-based study in China

ObjectiveInsulin plays a central role in the regulation of energy and glucose homeostasis, and insulin resistance (IR) is widely considered as the “common soil” of a cluster of cardiometabolic disorders. Assessment of insulin sensitivity is very important in preventing and treating IR-related disease. This study aims to develop and validate machine learning (ML)-augmented algorithms for insulin sensitivity assessment in the community and primary care settings.MethodsWe analyzed the data of 9358 participants over 40 years old who participated in the population-based cohort of the Hubei center of the REACTION study (Risk Evaluation of Cancers in Chinese Diabetic Individuals). Three non-ensemble algorithms and four ensemble algorithms were used to develop the models with 70 non-laboratory variables for the community and 87 (70 non-laboratory and 17 laboratory) variables for the primary care settings to screen the classifier of the state-of-the-art. The models with the best performance were further streamlined using top-ranked 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, and 20 features. Performances of these ML models were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), the area under the precision-recall curve (AUPR), and the Brier score. The Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) analysis was employed to evaluate the importance of features and interpret the models.ResultsThe LightGBM models developed for the community (AUROC 0.794, AUPR 0.575, Brier score 0.145) and primary care settings (AUROC 0.867, AUPR 0.705, Brier score 0.119) achieved higher performance than the models constructed by the other six algorithms. The streamlined LightGBM models for the community (AUROC 0.791, AUPR 0.563, Brier score 0.146) and primary care settings (AUROC 0.863, AUPR 0.692, Brier score 0.124) using the 20 top-ranked variables also showed excellent performance. SHAP analysis indicated that the top-ranked features included fasting plasma glucose (FPG), waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), triglycerides (TG), gender, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), the number of daughters born, resting pulse rate (RPR), etc.ConclusionThe ML models using the LightGBM algorithm are efficient to predict insulin sensitivity in the community and primary care settings accurately and might potentially become an efficient and practical tool for insulin sensitivity assessment in these settings

The impact of rate and rhythm control strategies on quality of life for patients with atrial fibrillation: a protocol for a systematic review

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart arrhythmia globally and it adversely affects the quality of life (QoL). Available rate and rhythm control strategies equally reduce mortality but may impact QoL differently. A number of systematic reviews have focused on the impact of specific strategies on QoL, though a 2006 review synthesized the evidence on the effect of all strategies on QoL, allowing for a clinically important comparison between the types of strategies. Many trials have been published since the review undertook the search in 2005; therefore, an update is needed. This systematic review aims to provide an update to the 2006 review on the impact of all rate and rhythm control strategies on QoL in people with AF. Methods The following four databases and three clinical trial registries will be searched for primary studies: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ClinicalTrialsRegister.eu. No language restriction will be applied. The search will be limited to 2004 or later publication year to allow overlap with the search conducted by the 2006 review authors. Any randomized control trial that reports the QoL of adult (≥ 18 years) AF patients following an eligible rate or rhythm control intervention will be eligible for inclusion. Eligible interventions (and comparators) include pacing, atrioventricular node junction and bundle of HIS ablation, pharmacological therapy, radio frequency catheter ablation, cryoablation, pulmonary vein isolation, maze operation, pace maker implantation, and defibrillator implantation. Two reviewers will independently screen for eligible studies, extract the data using a piloted tool, and assess bias by QoL outcome using the RoB 2 tool. The suitability of conducting a meta-analysis will be assessed by the clinical and methodology similarities of included studies. If it is feasible, standardized mean differences will be pooled using a random-effects model and assessed appropriately. Discussion The findings from this review will allow for meaningful comparisons between various rate and rhythm control strategies regarding their impact on QoL. This review will be useful for a wide range of stakeholders and will be crucial for optimizing the overall wellbeing of AF patients. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42021290542 </jats:sec

Cardiovascular Health and Atrial Fibrillation or Flutter: A Cross-Sectional Study from ELSA-Brasil.

BackgroundThe association between ideal cardiovascular health (ICVH) status and atrial fibrillation or flutter (AFF) diagnosis has been less studied compared to other cardiovascular diseases.ObjectiveTo analyze the association between AFF diagnosis and ICVH metrics and scores in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).MethodsThis study analyzed data from 13,141 participants with complete data. Electrocardiographic tracings were coded according to the Minnesota Coding System, in a centralized reading center. ICVH metrics (diet, physical activity, body mass index, smoking, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and total cholesterol) and scores were calculated as proposed by the American Heart Association. Crude and adjusted binary logistic regression models were built to analyze the association of ICVH metrics and scores with AFF diagnosis. Significance level was set at 0.05.ResultsThe sample had a median age of 55 years and 54.4% were women. In adjusted models, ICVH scores were not significantly associated with prevalent AFF diagnosis (odds ratio [OR]:0.96; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]:0.80-1.16; p=0.70). Ideal blood pressure (OR:0.33; 95% CI:0.15-0.74; p=0.007) and total cholesterol (OR:1.88; 95% CI:1.19-2.98; p=0.007) profiles were significantly associated with AFF diagnosis.ConclusionsNo significant associations were identified between global ICVH scores and AFF diagnosis after multivariable adjustment in our analyses, at least partially due to the antagonistic associations of AFF with blood pressure and total cholesterol ICVH metrics. Our results suggest that estimating the prevention of AFF burden using global ICVH scores may not be adequate, and ICVH metrics should be considered in separate

Large Abox Store (LAS): Database Support for Tbox Queries

Large ABox Store (LAS) extends the DL reasoner Racer with a database. LAS stores the given information about a TBox, a taxonomy, and ABox in a database, and answers most TBox and ABox queries by combining SQL queries with DL reasoning. The main feature of our system is that it can deal with ABox role assertions. Acting as a filter for Racer, LAS speeds up the TBox and ABox queries. The main techniques exploited in LAS are the pseudo model merging test technique, and the transitive closure algorithm implemented by Oracle 9i. This thesis presents the design, theories and implementation of the LAS system, and it mainly addresses the database support for TBox queries in LAS. A user-friendly interface is designed to facilitate users to implement many kinds of queries. More complex querying functions can be integrated into this system in the future. i Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest sense of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Volker Haarslev. Throughout my study period, he provided me with good teaching, sound advice

LAS: Extending Racer by a Large ABox Store

Recently, several approaches have been proposed on combining description logic (DL) reasoning with database techniques. In this paper we report on the LAS (Large Abox Store) system extending the DL reasoner Racer with a database used to store and query Tbox and Abox information. LAS stores for given knowledge bases their taxonomy and their complete Abox in its database. The Aboxes may contain role assertions. LAS can answer Tbox and Abox queries by combining SQL queries with DL reasoning. The architecture of LAS is based on merging techniques for so-called individual pseudo models.