A Knowledge Graph for Industry 4.0

One of the most crucial tasks for today’s knowledge workers is to get and retain a thorough overview on the latest state of the art. Especially in dynamic and evolving domains, the amount of relevant sources is constantly increasing, updating and overruling previous methods and approaches. For instance, the digital transformation of manufacturing systems, called Industry 4.0, currently faces an overwhelming amount of standardization efforts and reference initiatives, resulting in a sophisticated information environment. We propose a structured dataset in the form of a semantically annotated knowledge graph for Industry 4.0 related standards, norms and reference frameworks. The graph provides a Linked Data-conform collection of annotated, classified reference guidelines supporting newcomers and experts alike in understanding how to implement Industry 4.0 systems. We illustrate the suitability of the graph for various use cases, its already existing applications, present the maintenance process and evaluate its quality

Improving shared decision making for lung cancer treatment by developing and validating an open-source web based patient decision aid for stage I–II non-small cell lung cancer

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a proof-of-concept open-source individualized Patient Decision Aid (iPDA) with a group of patients, physicians, and computer scientists. The iPDA was developed based on the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS). A previously published questionnaire was adapted and used to test the user-friendliness and content of the iPDA. The questionnaire contained 40 multiple-choice questions, and answers were given on a 5-point Likert Scale (1–5) ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” In addition to the questionnaire, semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients. We performed a descriptive analysis of the responses. The iPDA was evaluated by 28 computer scientists, 21 physicians, and 13 patients. The results demonstrate that the iPDA was found valuable by 92% (patients), 96% (computer scientists), and 86% (physicians), while the treatment information was judged useful by 92%, 96%, and 95%, respectively. Additionally, the tool was thought to be motivating for patients to actively engage in their treatment by 92%, 93%, and 91% of the above respondents groups. More multimedia components and less text were suggested by the respondents as ways to improve the tool and user interface. In conclusion, we successfully developed and tested an iPDA for patients with stage I–II Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Automated detection and segmentation of non-small cell lung cancer computed tomography images.

peer reviewedDetection and segmentation of abnormalities on medical images is highly important for patient management including diagnosis, radiotherapy, response evaluation, as well as for quantitative image research. We present a fully automated pipeline for the detection and volumetric segmentation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) developed and validated on 1328 thoracic CT scans from 8 institutions. Along with quantitative performance detailed by image slice thickness, tumor size, image interpretation difficulty, and tumor location, we report an in-silico prospective clinical trial, where we show that the proposed method is faster and more reproducible compared to the experts. Moreover, we demonstrate that on average, radiologists & radiation oncologists preferred automatic segmentations in 56% of the cases. Additionally, we evaluate the prognostic power of the automatic contours by applying RECIST criteria and measuring the tumor volumes. Segmentations by our method stratified patients into low and high survival groups with higher significance compared to those methods based on manual contours

Hand osteoarthritis: clinical phenotypes, molecular mechanisms and disease management

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent condition and the hand is the most commonly affected site. Patients with hand OA frequently report symptoms of pain, functional limitations, and frustration in undertaking everyday activities. The condition presents clinically with changes to the bone, ligaments, cartilage and synovial tissue, which can be observed using radiography, ultrasonography or MRI. Hand OA is a heterogeneous disorder and is considered to be multifactorial in aetiology. This review provides an overview of the epidemiology, presentation and burden of hand OA, including an update on hand OA imaging (including the development of novel techniques), disease mechanisms and management. In particular, areas for which new evidence has substantially changed the way we understand, consider and treat hand OA are highlighted. For example, genetic studies, clinical trials and careful prospective imaging studies from the past 5 years are beginning to provide insights into the pathogenesis of hand OA that might uncover new therapeutic targets in disease

Kërkime arkeologjike në zonën e Vlorës - 2012

Xhyheri Suela, Muçaj Skënder, Halilaj E., Sheremetaj L. Kërkime arkeologjike në zonën e Vlorës - 2012. In: Iliria, vol. 37, 2013. pp. 437-458

Towards Vocabulary Development by Convention

A major bottleneck for a wider deployment and use of ontologies and knowledge engineering techniques is the lack of established conventions along with cumbersome and inefficient support for vocabulary and ontology authoring. We argue, that the pragmatic development by convention paradigm well-accepted within software engineering, can be successfully applied for ontology engineering, too. However, the definition of a valid set of conventions requires broadly-accepted best-practices. In this regard, we empirically analyzed a number of popular vocabularies and ontology development efforts with respect to their use of guidelines and common practices. Based on this analysis, we identified the following main aspects of common practices: documentation, internationalization, naming, structure, reuse, validation and authoring. In this paper, these aspects are presented and discussed in detail. We propose a set of practices for each aspect and evaluate their relevance in a study with vocabulary developers. The overall goal is to pave the way for a new paradigm of vocabulary development similar to Software Development by Convention, which we name Vocabulary Development by Convention

Gender and Age Distribution of Thyroid Nodules using Imaging Diagnostic and Management Modalities in Albania; Our data

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate gender and age distribution and the importance of imaging modalities in the evaluation and management of thyroid nodular disease in Albania nowadays. Material and method: The study analyzed the results of 310 patients (N=257 women; N=53 men), assessed at U. O. Clinic, American Hospital and Hygiea Hospital, Tirana, Albania during one year period; May 2015 – May 2016. The average age in the sample was 45.6 years. Thyroid nodules were found in 221 cases (185 females and 36 males). The patients had a standard ultrasound (US) of the thyroid; scintigraphy (SC) and ultrasound-guide fine needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) when indicated. Results: The study shows that nodular disease of the thyroid was found in 84 % of women patients, and in 16 % of men patients. The largest presence of nodules was at the age group of 41-49 years. Moreover, this survey showed that ultrasound can help to distinguish nodules that are definitely benign and those with suspicious features that may require further investigation under FNAB. Some statistically significant connections were found between ultrasound characteristics and FNAB. Conclusion: Females were vast majority of patients as in regards of gender with 84 % of total sample population in the study of 310 subjects. And group age of 41-49 years old were more affected. Ultrasound and other imaging modalities are reliable methods for diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules, including patients' selection to undergo through FNAB. SC was indicated to evaluate the functional features of a nodule, especially in the presence of a low TSH value. In Albania these modalities are now used by many trained medical staff thus offering quality medical service to our patients over all. Keywords: Thyroid nodule, malignant, ultrasound, FNAB DOI: 10.7176/ALST/92-04 Publication date: February 28th 202

OpenBudgets.eu: A distributed open-platform for managing heterogeneous budget data

OpenBudgets.eu (OBEU) provides an open-source software framework and accompanying Software-As-A-Service (SAAS) platform for supporting financial transparency, thus enhancing accountability within public sectors as well as influencing corruption prevention. To this end, a scalable framework for multi-stakeholders is developed, with the aim of maximizing flexibility and ease of use. The core features of the OBEU platform are: (1) A semantic data model used to integrate heterogenous budget data, giving a pre-defined structure to the input data; (2) a library of visualisation tools with a user-friendly interface, which enables stakeholders to visualise available data in different granularity and modality; (3) a library of data mining and comparative analysis tools, which enables the aggregation of existing data in order to obtain new outcomes and discover recent trends and patterns, and potentially forecasting budget measures; and (4) an interface for feedback and citizen e ngagement which enables users to evaluate, discuss and give feedback on the provided data. A demonstration of the OBEU platform and portal is available at http://apps.openbudgets.eu/ and can be easily embedded into municipalities' websites