PoS tagging and Named Entitiy Recognition in a Big Data environment

Este artículo describe una suite de módulos lingüísticos para el castellano, basado en una arquitectura en tuberías, que incluye tareas de análisis morfosintáctico así como de reconocimiento y clasificación de entidades nombradas. Se han aplicado técnicas de paralelización en un entorno Big Data para conseguir que la suite de módulos sea más eficiente y escalable y, de este modo, reducir de forma significativa los tiempos de cómputo con los que poder abordar problemas a la escala de la Web. Los módulos han sido desarrollados con técnicas básicas para facilitar su integración en entornos distribuidos, con un rendimiento próximo al estado del arte.This article describes a suite of linguistic modules for the Spanish language based on a pipeline architecture, which contains tasks for PoS tagging and Named Entity Recognition and Classification (NERC). We have applied run-time parallelization techniques in a Big Data environment in order to make the suite of modules more efficient and scalable, and thereby to reduce computation time in a significant way. Therefore, we can address problems at Web scale. The linguistic modules have been developed using basic NLP techniques in order to easily integrate them in distributed computing environments. The qualitative performance of the modules is close the state of the art.Este trabajo ha sido subvencionado con cargo a los proyectos HPCPLN - Ref:EM13/041 (Programa Emergentes, Xunta de Galicia), Celtic - Ref:2012-CE138 y Plastic - Ref:2013-CE298 (Programa Feder-Innterconecta)

PoS tagging and Named Entitiy Recognition in a Big Data environment

Este artículo describe una suite de módulos lingüísticos para el castellano, basado en una arquitectura en tuberías, que incluye tareas de análisis morfosintáctico así como de reconocimiento y clasificación de entidades nombradas. Se han aplicado técnicas de paralelización en un entorno Big Data para conseguir que la suite de módulos sea más eficiente y escalable y, de este modo, reducir de forma significativa los tiempos de cómputo con los que poder abordar problemas a la escala de la Web. Los módulos han sido desarrollados con técnicas básicas para facilitar su integración en entornos distribuidos, con un rendimiento próximo al estado del arteThis article describes a suite of linguistic modules for the Spanish language based on a pipeline architecture, which contains tasks for PoS tagging and Named Entity Recognition and Classification (NERC). We have applied run-time parallelization techniques in a Big Data environment in order to make the suite of modules more efficient and scalable, and thereby to reduce computation time in a significant way. Therefore, we can address problems at Web scale. The linguistic modules have been developed using basic NLP techniques in order to easily integrate them in distributed computing environments. The qualitative performance of the modules is close the the state of the artEste trabajo ha sido subvencionado con cargo a los proyectos HPCPLN - Ref:EM13/041 (Programa Emergentes, Xunta de Galicia), Celtic - Ref:2012- CE138 y Plastic - Ref:2013-CE298 (Programa Feder-Innterconecta)S

Premios Isabel Zendal de Promoción do Pensamento Crítico en Educación Secundaria e Bacharelato. I Edición

A I Edición dos Premios Isabel Zendal de Promoción do Pensamento Crítico en Educación Secundaria e Bacharelato foi convocada o 13 de marzo de 2019 pola Vicerreitoría de Estudantes, Participación e Extensión Universitaria da Universidade da Coruña.Corrección de erros: Tras a publicación destes premios, detectouse un erro material: na Categoría B, para o alumnado desde 4º curso de educación secundaria obrigatoria ata 2º de Bacharelato e ciclos formativos de grao medio, onde di “Claudia Hernández Suárez”, debería dicir “Claudia Hernández Suáñez

Premios Isabel Zendal de Promoción do Pensamento Crítico en Educación Secundaria e Bacharelato. II Edición

A segunda edición dos Premios Isabel Zendal preséntase como unha actividade de extensión universitaria da Universidade da Coruña, por medio da Unidade de Divulgación Científica e Cultural e en colaboración co Círculo Escéptico. A súa finalidade é promover o pensamento crítico e a cultura científica entre a xuventude, vítima en moitas ocasións da difusión e divulgación de informacións e crenzas falsas. O premio está dirixido ao alumnado escolarizado en centros educativos españois, desde o primeiro curso da educación secundaria obrigatoria (ESO) ata o segundo curso de bacharelato, de modo que consta de dúas categorías de participación: unha para o alumnado de 1.º a 3.º curso da ESO e FP básica; e outra para o alumnado de 4.º da ESO a 2.º de bacharelato, máis os ciclos formativos de grao medio. A participación no concurso realízase a través dun xénero literario —que pode ser un artigo xornalístico— a exposición divulgativa dun experimento desenvolvido polo alumnado, o conto ou o relato curto. Valórase que os traballos integren os valores do pensamento escéptico e científico, a difusión do coñecemento, a ciencia e os seus métodos e a refutación das pseudociencias, así como a loita contra a difusión de enganos e as novas falsas. Neste documento recóllense os traballos premiados nesta segunda edición dos Premios Isabel Zendal, convocada en marzo de 2020 e cuxa resolución tivo lugar en xullo do mesmo ano. Xurado: Francisco Armesto Ramón, Marisa Castiñeira García, Manuel Francisco Herrador Barrios, Susana Ladra González, Xoán Luís López Viñas e M.ª Cristina Naya Riveiro

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Unexpected relevant role of gene mosaicism in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases

BACKGROUND: Postzygotic de novo mutations lead to the phenomenon of gene mosaicism. The 3 main types are called somatic, gonadal, and gonosomal mosaicism, which differ in terms of the body distribution of postzygotic mutations. Mosaicism has been reported occasionally in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) since the early 1990s, but its real involvement has not been systematically addressed. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the incidence of gene mosaicism in patients with PIDs. METHODS: The amplicon-based deep sequencing method was used in the 3 parts of the study that establish (1) the allele frequency of germline variants (n = 100), (2) the incidence of parental gonosomal mosaicism in families with PIDs with de novo mutations (n = 92), and (3) the incidence of mosaicism in families with PIDs with moderate-to-high suspicion of gene mosaicism (n = 36). Additional investigations evaluated body distribution of postzygotic mutations, their stability over time, and their characteristics. RESULTS: The range of allele frequency (44.1% to 55.6%) was established for germline variants. Those with minor allele frequencies of less than 44.1% were assumed to be postzygotic. Mosaicism was detected in 30 (23.4%) of 128 families with PIDs, with a variable minor allele frequency (0.8% to 40.5%). Parental gonosomal mosaicism was detected in 6 (6.5%) of 92 families with de novo mutations, and a high incidence of mosaicism (63.9%) was detected among families with moderate-to-high suspicion of gene mosaicism. In most analyzed cases mosaicism was found to be both uniformly distributed and stable over time. CONCLUSION: This study represents the largest performed to date to investigate mosaicism in patients with PIDs, revealing that it affects approximately 25% of enrolled families. Our results might have serious consequences regarding treatment and genetic counseling and reinforce the use of next-generation sequencing-based methods in the routine analyses of PIDs.status: publishe

Unexpected relevant role of gene mosaicism in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases.

Postzygotic de novo mutations lead to the phenomenon of gene mosaicism. The 3 main types are called somatic, gonadal, and gonosomal mosaicism, which differ in terms of the body distribution of postzygotic mutations. Mosaicism has been reported occasionally in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) since the early 1990s, but its real involvement has not been systematically addressed. We sought to investigate the incidence of gene mosaicism in patients with PIDs. The amplicon-based deep sequencing method was used in the 3 parts of the study that establish (1) the allele frequency of germline variants (n = 100), (2) the incidence of parental gonosomal mosaicism in families with PIDs with de novo mutations (n = 92), and (3) the incidence of mosaicism in families with PIDs with moderate-to-high suspicion of gene mosaicism (n = 36). Additional investigations evaluated body distribution of postzygotic mutations, their stability over time, and their characteristics. The range of allele frequency (44.1% to 55.6%) was established for germline variants. Those with minor allele frequencies of less than 44.1% were assumed to be postzygotic. Mosaicism was detected in 30 (23.4%) of 128 families with PIDs, with a variable minor allele frequency (0.8% to 40.5%). Parental gonosomal mosaicism was detected in 6 (6.5%) of 92 families with de novo mutations, and a high incidence of mosaicism (63.9%) was detected among families with moderate-to-high suspicion of gene mosaicism. In most analyzed cases mosaicism was found to be both uniformly distributed and stable over time. This study represents the largest performed to date to investigate mosaicism in patients with PIDs, revealing that it affects approximately 25% of enrolled families. Our results might have serious consequences regarding treatment and genetic counseling and reinforce the use of next-generation sequencing-based methods in the routine analyses of PIDs

Evolution over Time of Ventilatory Management and Outcome of Patients with Neurologic Disease∗

OBJECTIVES: To describe the changes in ventilator management over time in patients with neurologic disease at ICU admission and to estimate factors associated with 28-day hospital mortality. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of three prospective, observational, multicenter studies. SETTING: Cohort studies conducted in 2004, 2010, and 2016. PATIENTS: Adult patients who received mechanical ventilation for more than 12 hours. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among the 20,929 patients enrolled, we included 4,152 (20%) mechanically ventilated patients due to different neurologic diseases. Hemorrhagic stroke and brain trauma were the most common pathologies associated with the need for mechanical ventilation. Although volume-cycled ventilation remained the preferred ventilation mode, there was a significant (p < 0.001) increment in the use of pressure support ventilation. The proportion of patients receiving a protective lung ventilation strategy was increased over time: 47% in 2004, 63% in 2010, and 65% in 2016 (p < 0.001), as well as the duration of protective ventilation strategies: 406 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2004, 523 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2010, and 585 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2016 (p < 0.001). There were no differences in the length of stay in the ICU, mortality in the ICU, and mortality in hospital from 2004 to 2016. Independent risk factors for 28-day mortality were age greater than 75 years, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II greater than 50, the occurrence of organ dysfunction within first 48 hours after brain injury, and specific neurologic diseases such as hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, and brain trauma. CONCLUSIONS: More lung-protective ventilatory strategies have been implemented over years in neurologic patients with no effect on pulmonary complications or on survival. We found several prognostic factors on mortality such as advanced age, the severity of the disease, organ dysfunctions, and the etiology of neurologic disease