Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Metadata and the Requirements of an Academic SDI for Interdisciplinary Research

Metadata has long been understood as a fundamental component of any Spatial Data Infrastructure, providing information relating to discovery, evaluation and use of datasets and describing their quality. Having good metadata about a dataset is fundamental to using it correctly and to understanding the implications of issues such as missing data or incorrect attribution on the results obtained for any analysis carried out. Traditionally, spatial data was created by expert users (e.g. national mapping agencies), who created metadata for the data. Increasingly, however, data used in spatial analysis comes from multiple sources and could be captured or used by nonexpert users – for example academic researchers ‐ many of whom are from non‐GIS disciplinary backgrounds, not familiar with metadata and perhaps working in geographically dispersed teams. This paper examines the applicability of metadata in this academic context, using a multi‐national coastal/environmental project as a case study. The work to date highlights a number of suggestions for good practice, issues and research questions relevant to Academic SDI, particularly given the increased levels of research data sharing and reuse required by UK and EU funders

Younger customers' outlooks when selecting and changing a financial services provider : the case of Maltese students

In order for banks to supplement their market share, it is crucial for them to entice new customers such as students who are expected to join the workforce at a subsequent stage. The main aim of this paper is to survey the banks' tactics in this regard, the response of students to such schemes, and the aspects which such customers consider when selecting a particular service provider or when switching to another one. We conduct interviews with bank representatives and distribute questionnaires to first year university students in order to gauge whether particular factors are more important than others in the selection of a financial services provider. We find that there are various aspects which banks may leverage upon to entice potential customers to switch away from competing service providers, especially due to the fact that switchers tend to respond differently to given characteristics in their decision making process.peer-reviewe

Small bowel radiation enteritis diagnosed by capsule endoscopy

Our patient is a middle-aged woman who had been diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma for which she underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. She received adjuvant radiotherapy which was delivered over a period of 4 weeks and which involved 20 fractions of 225cGy each for a total of 4500cGy, followed by a further two courses of pelvic radiotherapy in view of local recurrence. She presented to us with severe transfusion-dependent anaemia associated with loose stools and abdominal pain 1 year after initial surgery. Abdominal CT and oesophagogastroduodenoscopy were normal and a colonoscopy revealed large stains with fresh blood and small clots on normal mucosa in the caecum and ascending colon. Since the impression was that the source of bleeding was from the small intestine the patient was thus scheduled to have video capsule endoscopy (VCE) after ensuring that there was no retention of the patency capsule.peer-reviewe

Using Free and Open Source GIS to Automatically Create Standards-Based Spatial Metadata in Academia - First Investigations

The importance of understanding the quality of data used in any GIS operation has increased significantly as a result of the advent of Free and Open Source (FOSS) tools and Open Data, which in turn have encouraged non-specialists to make use of GIS. Metadata (data about data) traditionally provides a description of this quality information and permits data curation, but it is frequently deemed as complex to create and maintain. Additionally, it is generally stored separately from the data, leading to issues where updates to the data are not reflected in the metadata and to users not being aware that metadata exists. This paper describes an approach to address these issues in an academic context - tightly coupling data and metadata and automating elements of standards-based metadata creation and automating keyword generation and language detection. We describe research into the potential of the FOSS packages Quantum GIS and PostGIS to support this form of metadata generation and maintenance

Genetic and Serological Markers in Identifying Unclassified Colitis

In 5–15% of the patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) limited to the colon, it is difficult to distinguish histologically between ulcerative and Crohn’s colitis. This is described as unclassified colitis. Distinguishing between the two is important in terms of prognosis, since patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) have a higher risk of strictures and fistulae, which may predict a more severe disease course, as well as an increased risk for surgery. In addition, colectomy may be curative in ulcerative colitis patients not responding to medical therapy, while Crohn’s patients undergoing colectomy can have relapses in other areas of the bowel and, therefore, need to be followed-up. In inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal inflammation is believed to occur secondary to an altered immune response in a genetically susceptible host. Genetic and serological markers (antibodies) may have a role in identifying unclassified colitis. Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA) have the highest sensitivity in distinguishing ulcerative from Crohn’s colitis. Nucleotide oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) and autophagy-related 16-like 1 (ATG16L1) polymorphisms are strongly associated with Crohn’s disease, while epithelial barrier genes are significantly associated with ulcerative colitis. This chapter describes which gene polymorphisms and serological markers may be used to distinguish between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in patients with histologically unclassified colitis

Functional Inflammatory Genotypes in Ischemic Stroke: Could We Use Them to Predict Age of Onset and Long-Term Outcome?

Functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of inflammatory cytokines have been previously related to the occurrence of an ischemic stroke (IS). We investigated whether five functional SNPs (i.e., TNF-α-308G>A, IL6-174G>C, IL12B 1188A>C, IL4-589C>T, and IL10-1082G>A) might be associated with the age of onset and 6-month outcome of an acute IS. A probe-free real-time PCR methodology was used to genotype 145 consecutively admitted cases with a first-ever IS. Simple Kaplan-Mayer and adjusted Cox regression analyses showed no association between inflammatory genotypes and the age of IS onset. IL6-174G>C, IL12B 1188A>C, IL4-589C>T, and IL10-1082G>A were not found to significantly contribute to the long-term outcome of the disease. However, carriage of the TNF-α-308 GG genotype was significantly associated with reduced odds for an adverse outcome. Larger studies are needed to confirm our results

Family screening and the psychosocial implications of Coeliac disease

BACKGROUND: Screening of first-degree relatives of patients with coeliac disease is recommended, though evidence on the frequency of repeat screening is lacking. Diagnosis of a chronic condition can have psychosocial implications. The aims of this study were to determine the proportion of first-degree relatives of patients who were screened and diagnosed with coeliac disease, as well as to determine the impact of the condition on their quality of life.METHODS: Patients diagnosed histologically at Mater Dei Hospital in Malta, between May 2009 and December 2018, were asked regarding family screening and a questionnaire was used to assess the effects of coeliac disease on their quality of life (n=96, 79% female, mean age: 46, 29.2% asymptomatic).RESULTS: 11.4% of tested first-degree relatives were diagnosed with coeliac disease, despite only 31.7% (165/520) of first-degree relatives having undergone routine screening at least once and only 3.1% (16/520) having undergone multiple screening tests. 77% of index cases felt that other people do not understand their dietary needs. 38.5% avoid social activities because of their dietary requirements. 76% experience difficulty in finding something suitable to eat when not at home. Importantly, 83.3% claimed significantly increased costs.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of CD in first-degree relatives of index CD patients is higher than that of the general population. However, a greater emphasis needs to be employed in ensuring serological screening of the at-risk groups.peer-reviewe

Case report : rectal diverticuli

A 56 year old gentleman presented with a long-standing history of constipation and new onset rectal bleeding. The patient underwent a Computed Tomogrophy (CT) Colonography (Figure A) which showed multiple rectal diverticuli and mildly enlarged mesorectal lymph nodes. A flexible sigmoidoscopy was performed and demonstrated the presence of four rectal diverticuli (Figure B).peer-reviewe