Event-Driven Duplicate Detection: A Probability-based Approach

The importance of probability-based approaches for duplicate detection has been recognized in both research and practice. However, existing approaches do not aim to consider the underlying real-world events resulting in duplicates (e.g., that a relocation may lead to the storage of two records for the same customer, once before and after the relocation). Duplicates resulting from real-world events exhibit specific characteristics. For instance, duplicates resulting from relocations tend to have significantly different attribute values for all address-related attributes. Hence, existing approaches focusing on high similarity with respect to attribute values are hardly able to identify possible duplicates resulting from such real-world events. To address this issue, we propose an approach for event-driven duplicate detection based on probability theory. Our approach assigns the probability of being a duplicate resulting from real-world events to each analysed pair of records while avoiding limiting assumptions (of existing approaches). We demonstrate the practical applicability and effectiveness of our approach in a real-world setting by analysing customer master data of a German insurer. The evaluation shows that the results provided by the approach are reliable and useful for decision support and can outperform well-known state-of-the-art approaches for duplicate detection

Isomerization of Glucose to Fructose in Hydrolysates from Lignocellulosic Biomass Using Hydrotalcite

The isomerization of glucose-containing hydrolysates to fructose is a key step in the process from lignocellulosic biomass to the platform chemical hydroxymethylfurfural. We investigated the isomerization reaction of glucose to fructose in water catalyzed by hydrotalcite. Catalyst characterization wasperformedvia IR, XRD, and SEM. Firstly, glucose solutions at pH-neutral conditions were converted under variation of the temperature, residence time, and catalyst loading, whereby a maximum of 25 wt.% fructose yield was obtained at a 38 wt.% glucose conversion. Secondly, isomerization was performed at pH = 2 using glucose solutions as well as glucose-containing hydrolysates from lignocellulosic biomass. Under acidic conditions, the hydrotalcite loses its activity for isomerization. Consequently, it is unavoidable to neutralize the acidic hydrolysate before the isomerization step with an inexpensive base. As a neutralizing agent NaOH is preferred over Ba(OH)2, since higher fructose yields are achieved with NaOH. Lastly, a pH-neutral hydrolysate from lignocellulose was subjected to isomerization, yielding 16 wt.% fructose at a 32 wt.% glucose conversion. This work targets the application of catalytic systems on real biomass-derived samples

Acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass: Sugars and furfurals formation

Hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is a crucial step for the production of sugars and biobased platform chemicals. Pretreatment experiments in a semi-continuous plant with diluted sulphuric acid as catalyst were carried out to measure the time-dependent formation of sugars (glucose, xylose, mannose), furfurals, and organic acids (acetic, formic, and levulinic acid) at different hydrolysis temperatures (180, 200, 220° C) of one representative of each basic type of lignocellulose: hardwood, softwood, and grass. The addition of the acid catalyst is followed by a sharp increase in the sugar concentration. Xylose and mannose were mainly formed in the initial stages of the process, while glucose was released slowly. Increasing the reaction temperature had a positive effect on the formation of furfurals and organic acids, especially on hydroxymehtylfurfural (HMF) and levulinic acid, regardless of biomass type. In addition, large amounts of formic acid were released during the hydrolysis of miscanthus grass. Structural changes in the solid residue show a complete hydrolysis of hemicellulose at 180° C and of cellulose at 200° C after around 120 min reaction time. The results obtained in this study can be used for the optimisation of the hydrolysis conditions and reactor design to maximise the yields of desired products, which might be sugars or furfurals

Event-Driven Duplicate Detection: A probability based Approach

The importance of probability-based approaches for duplicate detection has been recognized in both research and practice. However, existing approaches do not aim to consider the underlying real-world events resulting in duplicates (e.g., that a relocation may lead to the storage of two records for the same customer, once before and after the relocation). Duplicates resulting from real-world events exhibit specific characteristics. For instance, duplicates resulting from relocations tend to have significantly different attribute values for all address-related attributes. Hence, existing approaches focusing on high similarity with respect to attribute values are hardly able to identify possible duplicates resulting from such real-world events. To address this issue, we propose an approach for event-driven duplicate de-tection based on probability theory. Our approach assigns the probability of being a duplicate resulting from real-world events to each analysed pair of records while avoiding limiting assumptions (of existing approaches). We demonstrate the practical applicability and effectiveness of our approach in a real-world setting by analysing customer master data of a German insurer. The evaluation shows that the results provided by the approach are reliable and useful for decision support and can outperform well-known state-of-the-art approaches for duplicate detection

Cooling System for a Superconducting DC-Rail

DC-rails are used in a wide field of industrial applications, for example in aluminum smelters and chlorine electrolysis plants. Up to now usually large sized DC-rails made out of copper or aluminum transport currents up to a few hundred kA. The development of compact, efficient and innovative superconductor components is forced mainly due to the high density of energy flux and requires a suitable cooling system. Replacing conventional high power rails to superconducting DC-rails allows a reduction in size, installation area and prize. Last but not least it will increase the electrical efficiency of the whole process. Within the framework of the government founded research project “3S-SupraStromSchiene”, project no. 03ET129C, a superconducting DC-rail was designed and is currently under construction. The ILK Dresden is responsible for the cooling system of this superconducting DC-rail. This novel cooling system that consists amongst others of a high power cryocooler and a special “cold” cryogenic pump will be presented for the use of a superconducting DC-rail system for a chloralkali process. The presentation describes the concept, design and experimental results of these key components. The high power cryocooler is based on the principle of a pulse tube cooler and provides a cooling power of 400 W at a temperature of 65 K. In ordinary pulse tube coolers the acoustic power at the warm end of the pulse tube is transformed to useless heat. Using two commercial reciprocating compressors, where one is acting as a compressor and the other one as expander, it is possible to recover a certain part of these acoustic power. In this way the theoretical efficiency exceeds 11% at 65 K. The cold cryogenic pump works fully submerged inside the subcooled liquid nitrogen reservoir and consists of a double acting piston pump which is powered by a linear drive. It provides a mass flow up to 0.5 kg/s at a pressure difference of up to 2 bar. Other parameters are possible depending on the design requirements

Functional Characterization of Rare Variants in the SHOX2 Gene Identified in Sinus Node Dysfunction and Atrial Fibrillation

Sinus node dysfunction (SND) and atrial fibrillation (AF) often coexist; however, the molecular mechanisms linking both conditions remain elusive. Mutations in the homeobox-containing SHOX2 gene have been recently associated with early-onset and familial AF. Shox2 is a key regulator of sinus node development, and its deficiency leads to bradycardia, as demonstrated in animal models. To provide an extended SHOX2 gene analysis in patients with distinct arrhythmias, we investigated SHOX2 as a susceptibility gene for SND and AF by screening 98 SND patients and 450 individuals with AF. The functional relevance of the novel mutations was investigated in vivo and in vitro, together with the previously reported p.H283Q variant. A heterozygous missense mutation (p.P33R) was identified in the SND cohort and four heterozygous variants (p.G77D, p.L129=, p.L130F, p.A293=) in the AF cohort. Overexpression of the pathogenic predicted mutations in zebrafish revealed pericardial edema for p.G77D and the positive control p.H283Q, whereas the p.P33R and p.A293= variants showed no effect. In addition, a dominant-negative effect with reduced heart rates was detected for p.G77D and p.H283Q. In vitro reporter assays demonstrated for both missense variants p.P33R and p.G77D significantly impaired transactivation activity, similar to the described p.H283Q variant. Also, a reduced Bmp4 target gene expression was revealed in zebrafish hearts upon overexpression of the p.P33R mutant. This study associates additional rare variants in the SHOX2 gene implicated in the susceptibility to distinct arrhythmias and allows frequency estimations in the AF cohort (3/990). We also demonstrate for the first time a genetic link between SND and AF involving SHOX2. Moreover, our data highlight the importance of functional investigations of rare variants

LHRH sparing therapy in patients with chemotherapy-naïve, mCRPC treated with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone: results of the randomized phase II SPARE trial

Background Although the benefit of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) continuation in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains controversial, clinical evidence is lacking. Recent results indicated that treatment with abiraterone acetate (AA) plus prednisone (P) further suppresses serum testosterone levels over ADT alone, suggesting that continuation of ADT in the treatment of mCRPC may not be necessary. Methods In this exploratory phase 2 study, mCRPC patients were randomized with a 1:1 ratio to receive either continued ADT plus AA + P (Arm A) or AA + P alone (Arm B). The primary endpoint was the rate of radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) at month 12. Secondary endpoints included PSA-response rate, objective response, time to PSA progression and safety. Results A total of 68 patients were equally randomized between the two study arms. Median testosterone-levels remained below castrate-levels throughout treatment in all patients. According to the intention-to-treat analysis the rPFS rate was 0.84 in Arm A and 0.89 in Arm B. Moderate and severe treatment-emergent adverse events were reported for 72% of the patients in Arm A and for 85% of the patients in Arm B. Conclusions AA + P treatment without ADT may be effective in mCRPC patients and ADT may not be necessary in patients receiving AA + P

Identification of candidate metabolite biomarkers for metabolic syndrome and its five components in population-based human cohorts

Background Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is characterized by risk factors such as abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), hypertension, and hyperglycemia, which contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Here, we aim to identify candidate metabolite biomarkers of MetS and its associated risk factors to better understand the complex interplay of underlying signaling pathways. Methods We quantified serum samples of the KORA F4 study participants (N = 2815) and analyzed 121 metabolites. Multiple regression models adjusted for clinical and lifestyle covariates were used to identify metabolites that were Bonferroni significantly associated with MetS. These findings were replicated in the SHIP-TREND-0 study (N = 988) and further analyzed for the association of replicated metabolites with the five components of MetS. Database-driven networks of the identified metabolites and their interacting enzymes were also constructed. Results We identified and replicated 56 MetS-specific metabolites: 13 were positively associated (e.g., Val, Leu/Ile, Phe, and Tyr), and 43 were negatively associated (e.g., Gly, Ser, and 40 lipids). Moreover, the majority (89%) and minority (23%) of MetS-specific metabolites were associated with low HDL-C and hypertension, respectively. One lipid, lysoPC a C18:2, was negatively associated with MetS and all of its five components, indicating that individuals with MetS and each of the risk factors had lower concentrations of lysoPC a C18:2 compared to corresponding controls. Our metabolic networks elucidated these observations by revealing impaired catabolism of branched-chain and aromatic amino acids, as well as accelerated Gly catabolism. Conclusion Our identified candidate metabolite biomarkers are associated with the pathophysiology of MetS and its risk factors. They could facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies to prevent type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For instance, elevated levels of lysoPC a C18:2 may protect MetS and its five risk components. More in-depth studies are necessary to determine the mechanism of key metabolites in the MetS pathophysiology

Bose-Einstein Correlations of Three Charged Pions in Hadronic Z^0 Decays

Bose-Einstein Correlations (BEC) of three identical charged pions were studied in 4 x 10^6 hadronic Z^0 decays recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP. The genuine three-pion correlations, corrected for the Coulomb effect, were separated from the known two-pion correlations by a new subtraction procedure. A significant genuine three-pion BEC enhancement near threshold was observed having an emitter source radius of r_3 = 0.580 +/- 0.004 (stat.) +/- 0.029 (syst.) fm and a strength of \lambda_3 = 0.504 +/- 0.010 (stat.) +/- 0.041 (syst.). The Coulomb correction was found to increase the \lambda_3 value by \~9% and to reduce r_3 by ~6%. The measured \lambda_3 corresponds to a value of 0.707 +/- 0.014 (stat.) +/- 0.078 (syst.) when one takes into account the three-pion sample purity. A relation between the two-pion and the three-pion source parameters is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures included, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.