Improving search over Electronic Health Records using UMLS-based query expansion through random walks

ObjectiveMost of the information in Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is represented in free textual form. Practitioners searching EHRs need to phrase their queries carefully, as the record might use synonyms or other related words. In this paper we show that an automatic query expansion method based on the Unified Medicine Language System (UMLS) Metathesaurus improves the results of a robust baseline when searching EHRs.Materials and methodsThe method uses a graph representation of the lexical units, concepts and relations in the UMLS Metathesaurus. It is based on random walks over the graph, which start on the query terms. Random walks are a well-studied discipline in both Web and Knowledge Base datasets.ResultsOur experiments over the TREC Medical Record track show improvements in both the 2011 and 2012 datasets over a strong baseline.DiscussionOur analysis shows that the success of our method is due to the automatic expansion of the query with extra terms, even when they are not directly related in the UMLS Metathesaurus. The terms added in the expansion go beyond simple synonyms, and also add other kinds of topically related terms.ConclusionsExpansion of queries using related terms in the UMLS Metathesaurus beyond synonymy is an effective way to overcome the gap between query and document vocabularies when searching for patient cohorts

Ayuda oficial al desarrollo para América Latina y el Caribe en el punto de inflexión del milenio

Los países de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) han sido importantes receptores de AOD desde la creación del Comité de Ayuda al Desarrollo de la OCDE. No obstante, su participación en el sistema de ayuda ha sufrido una alteración formidable a lo largo del tiempo, especialmente en los primeros años del siglo XXI. Esta alteración no se debe tanto al progreso económico logrado por la región como a los cambios introducidos en la agenda internacional de desarrollo. La estrategia de los ODM concede especial atención a los países donde se encuentran las grandes brechas carenciales que desafían la consecución universal de los objetivos, lo que motiva un proceso de reasignación de la ayuda desde los países de desarrollo intermedio hacia los países más pobres. En este contexto, dado el positivo avance de ALC en los ODM, el nuevo trazado del mapamundi de la ayuda aminora la importancia de esta región. El presente artículo ofrece un análisis exhaustivo de los flujos de AOD desembolsados a ALC desde 1990, indaga en las implicaciones de los ODM para la participación de la región, y ofrece propuestas de reforma para construir un sistema de ayuda más eficiente, que compense la pérdida de volumen con incrementos en calidad e impacto de los recursos.América Latina y el Caribe, ayuda oficial al desarrollo (AOD), agenda internacional de desarrollo, Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM), eficacia de la ayuda

Human capital formation in the labour market

Artículo de revistaThe data from the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC) allow comparable measures of several aspects of human capital in 13 developed economies to be obtained. Drawing on these data, this article shows that work experience improves the numeracy and literacy skills of low-educated workers, a result that is observed in economies with different labour market institutions, educational systems and workforce compositions. The analyses performed suggest that on-the-job learning contributes considerably to the human capital of less educated individuals, which may help steer the formulation of active employment policie

Basal mitophagy is widespread in <i>Drosophila</i> but minimally affected by loss of Pink1 or parkin.

The Parkinson's disease factors PINK1 and parkin are strongly implicated in stress-induced mitophagy in vitro, but little is known about their impact on basal mitophagy in vivo. We generated transgenic Drosophila melanogaster expressing fluorescent mitophagy reporters to evaluate the impact of Pink1/parkin mutations on basal mitophagy under physiological conditions. We find that mitophagy is readily detectable and abundant in many tissues, including Parkinson's disease-relevant dopaminergic neurons. However, we did not detect mitolysosomes in flight muscle. Surprisingly, in Pink1 or parkin null flies, we did not observe any substantial impact on basal mitophagy. Because these flies exhibit locomotor defects and dopaminergic neuron loss, our findings raise questions about current assumptions of the pathogenic mechanism associated with the PINK1/parkin pathway. Our findings provide evidence that Pink1 and parkin are not essential for bulk basal mitophagy in Drosophila They also emphasize that mechanisms underpinning basal mitophagy remain largely obscure

Collective and non-collective molecular dynamics in a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

A great deal of effort has been recently devoted to the study of dielectric relaxation processes in ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals, yet their interpretation remains unclear. In this work, we present the results of broadband dielectric spectroscopy experiments of a prototypical ferroelectric nematogen in the frequency range 10 Hz-110 MHz at different electrode separations and under the application of DC bias fields. The results evidence a complex behavior in all phases due to the magnitude of polar correlations in these systems. The observed modes have been assigned to different relaxation mechanisms based on existing theoretical frameworks.Comment: The following article has been submitted to The Journal of Chemical Physics. After it is published, it will be found at https://pubs.aip.org/aip/jc

El papel de la historia de exposición solar y el genotipo del gen MC1R en la acumulación de mutaciones somáticas en piel humana normal

Introducción: La predisposición a desarrollar cáncer de piel está influenciada por factores genéticos (variantes genéticas que determinan la sensibilidad solar de la piel) y ambientales (la exposición solar). La radiación ultravioleta causa alteraciones en la secuencia del ADN genómico de las células epidérmicas. La acumulación progresiva de mutaciones somáticas contribuye al envejecimiento celular y puede llevar al cáncer. Entender cómo las mutaciones somáticas se acumulan en células normales es fundamental para conocer las etapas iniciales del desarrollo del cáncer cutáneo. Objetivos: Analizar las mutaciones somáticas acumuladas en piel normal según su patrón de fotoexposición. Analizar si existe un riesgo añadido de acumular mutaciones somáticas en individuos portadores de variantes genéticas del gen MC1R asociadas a una mayor sensibilidad solar. Métodos: Se obtuvo ADN de 25 biopsias de piel normal. Mediante secuenciación dirigida, se detectaron las mutaciones somáticas acumuladas en 47 genes clave en el proceso tumoral. Se secuenció la región codificante de MC1R. Los datos fenotípicos de pigmentación y sensibilidad solar se recogieron mediante un cuestionario estandarizado. La tasa mutacional acumulada entre muestras se comparó utilizando el programa SPSS v25. Resultados: Existe una correlación positiva entre la exposición solar acumulada y la frecuencia de mutaciones somáticas en el tejido epidérmico normal. Los individuos con variantes deletéreas del gen MC1R no parecen acumular más mutaciones en piel normal. Conclusiones: La historia de fotoexposición y el genotipo del gen MC1R podrían incrementar la predisposición a desarrollar cáncer de piel mediante una mayor acumulación de mutaciones somáticas en estados preneoplásicos.Introduction: The predisposition to skin cancer development is influenced by genetic (genetic variants that determine skin sensitivity to sunlight) and environmental factors (sunlight exposure). Ultraviolet radiation causes alterations in the genomic DNA of the epidermal cells. The progressive accumulation of somatic mutations contributes to cellular aging and can lead to cancer. Understanding how somatic mutations accumulate in normal cells is essential to understand the early stages of skin cancer development. Objectives: To analyse the somatic mutations accumulated in normal skin according to the pattern of sun exposure. To analyse if there is an increased risk to accumulate somatic mutations in individuals who carry genetic variants in the MC1R gene associated with greater skin sensitivity to sunlight. Methods: DNA from 25 cancer-free skin biopsies was obtained. By means of targeted sequencing, the somatic mutations accumulated in 47 key genes in tumour initiation and development were detected. The coding region of MC1R was sequenced. Phenotypic data related to pigmentation and sunlight sensitivity was collected by using a standardized questionnaire. The mutational rate accumulated of population subsets were compared using the SPSS v25 program. Results: There is a positive correlation between the level of sun exposure and the frequency of somatic mutations in normal epidermis. Individuals with deleterious variants of MC1R do not seem to accumulate more mutations. Conclusions: The history of sunlight exposure and the MC1R genotype may increase the predisposition to skin cancer development via an increased occurrence of somatic mutations in preneoplastic stages

Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep quality in adults with primary hypertension and obesity before and after an aerobic exercise program: Exerdiet-hta study

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Background: The purposes of the study were to: analyze, by objective (accelerometry) and subjective (International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ) methodologies, the physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in healthy adults (HEALTHY, n = 30) and individuals with primary hypertension (HTN) and overweight/obesity (n = 218); assess the effects of an aerobic exercise intervention on physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep quality in the HTN group; and evaluate the relationship between objectively measured and subjectively reported PA and SB. Methods: The measurements were performed before a 16-week exercise intervention period in both HEALTHY and HTN groups and after the intervention period only in the HTN group, randomized to attention control or exercise training (ExT) subgroups. Results: The HEALTHY group showed more moderate-to-vigorous PA (p \u3c 0.05) and better sleep quality (p \u3c 0.05) than the HTN group, but no difference in SB. After the intervention, HTN participants’ PA and SB, objectively measured by accelerometry, were unchanged, but increased PA and decreased SB (p \u3c 0.05) were observed through IPAQ in ExT. The intervention was effective in improving sleep quality in HTN participants. Conclusions: The differences in moderate-to-vigorous PA and SB may be useful in defining the health profile of a population. The supervised aerobic exercise program was effective in increasing PA, reducing SB, and improving sleep quality in overweight/obese adults with HTN. Accelerometer-measured and self-reported data were not comparable, but complementary

Spectrum-based feature localization: A case study using ArgoUML

Feature localization (FL) is a basic activity in re-engineering legacy systems into software product lines. In this work, we explore the use of the Spectrum-based localization technique for this task. This technique is traditionally used for fault localization but with practical applications in other tasks like the dynamic FL approach that we propose. The ArgoUML SPL benchmark is used as a case study and we compare it with a previous hybrid (static and dynamic) approach from which we reuse the manual and testing execution traces of the features. We conclude that it is feasible and sound to use the Spectrum-based approach providing promising results in the benchmark metrics

Repolarization parameters and ventricular arrhythmias in Takotsubo syndrome: A substudy from the RETAKO national registry

Arrhythmias; Repolarization; TakotsuboArritmias; Repolarización; TakotsuboArítmies; Repolarització; TakotsuboThe registry webpage was funded by an AstraZeneca nonconditioned grant and by FIC (Fundación Interhospitalaria para la Investigación en Cardiología)