Ontology-based standards development: Application of OntoStanD to ebXML business process specification schema

Business-to-Business (B2B) interoperations are an important part of today's global economy. Business process standards are developed to provide a common understanding of the information shared between trading partners. These standards, however, mainly capture the syntax of the transactions and not their semantics. This paper proposes the use of ontologies as the basis for standards development and presents an ontology for the ebXML Business Process Specification Schema (ebBP) with the aim of empowering the capture and sharing of semantics embedded within B2B processes as well as enabling knowledge deduction and reasoning over the shared knowledge. The paper utilises the Ontology-based Standards Development methodology (OntoStanD) as a methodological approach for designing ontological models of standards. This research demonstrates how Semantic Web technologies can be utilised as a basis for standards development and representation in order to improve standards-based interoperability between trading partners

Factors affecting the outcome of community-acquired pneumonia among the patients hospitalized in Beheshti hospital (Kashan-Iran)

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality. The goal of this study was to evaluate the factors affecting the outcome of pneumonia among the Beheshti hospital patients. Materials and Methods: This cohort study was done on pneumonia patients (n=140) in Kashan Beheshti hospital during 2014-2015. A questionnaire consisting the demographic, clinical and paraclinical findings and outcomes was filled-out. Results: Eighty three (59.3) out of 140 patients were male and 57(40.7) women. The majority of cases were ≥50 years old (mean age 60.02±1.70) .There was a history of diabetes in 54(38.6) .The most common signs and symptoms were coughing and the lung rales. The ninty-one and 9 of the cases were improved and complicated condition, respectively. The complication were: pleural effusion (77), empiyema (15) and abscess (8).There was positive CRP (100); increased ESR (82) and leukocytosis (80). While, there was no statistical association between the sex, age and clinical symptoms with the disease complication and outcome, there was a significant correlation between the first BS, HbA1C, CRP, duration of hospitalization, radiographic pattern and diabetes with disease outcome. Conclusion: Considering the association between the diabetes in one side and some factors (outcome of pneumonia, duration of hospitalization, history of pneumonia, times of admission, BS at admission, HbA1c, bilateral involvement, leukocytosis, increased ESR, CRP and CURB 65, the diabetes should be considered as an important factor affecting the pneumonia outcome. The managed control of diabetes can improve the pneumonia outcome

Brillouin light scattering studies of aqueous E. coli cell lysate: Viscoelastic properties of a multimacromolecular solution

Brillouin spectroscopy was used to probe the viscoelastic properties of E. coli bacterial cell lysate in aqueous solution at GHz-frequencies over the range -5.0 $^\circ$C $\leq T \leq$ 50.0 $^\circ$C. This work offers a first temperature dependent study on cell lysate by Brillouin light scattering. A single peak was observed in the spectra and attributed to a longitudinal acoustic mode of the solution. The speed of sound, bulk modulus, apparent viscosity and hypersound attenuation were extracted from the frequency shift and FWHM of the spectral peak. This study demonstrate that the behavior of complex multimacromolecular solutions, as shown by \textit{E. coli} lysate, can exhibit viscoelastic properties closely akin to those observed in simple binary aqueous protein solutions. Furthermore, our findings show that by analyzing the raw spectral signature of the Brillouin spectra, it may be possible to identify protein denaturation

Preparation of palladated porous nitrogen-doped carbon using halloysite as porogen: disclosing its utility as a hydrogenation catalyst

In this article, halloysite nanoclay (Hal) was used as porogen for the synthesis of nitrogen doped porous carbon material with high specific surface area and pore volume. To this purpose, polymerization of melamine and terephthalaldehyde (MT) was performed in the presence of amine-functionalized carbon coated Hal (Hal@Glu-2N) that was prepared from hydrothermal treatment of Hal and glucose. Then, the prepared nanocomposite was palladated and carbonized to afford Pd@Hal@C. To further improve the textural properties of the nanocomposite, and introduce more pores in its structure, Hal nanotubes were etched. The characterization of the resulting compound, Pd@C, and comparing it with Pd@Hal@C, showed that etching of Hal significantly increased the specific surface area and pore volume in Pd@C. Pd@C was successfully used as a heterogeneous catalyst for promoting hydrogenation of nitroarens in aqueous media using hydrogen with atmospheric pressure as a reducing agent. The comparison of the structural features and catalytic activity of the catalyst with some control catalysts, including, Pd@Hal, Pd@Hal@Glu, Pd@Hal@Glu-MT and Pd@Hal@C confirmed that nitrogen groups in C could improve the Pd anchoring and suppress its leaching, while etching of Hal and introduction of more pores could enhance the catalytic activity through facilitating the mass transfer

Metatranscriptomic analysis reveals active bacterial communities in diabetic foot infections

Despite the extended view of the composition of diabetic foot infections (DFIs), little is known about which transcriptionally active bacterial communities are pertinent to infection, and if any differences are associated with increased infection severity. We applied a RNA sequencing approach to analyze the composition, function, and pathogenicity of the active bacterial communities in DFIs. Taxonomic profiling of bacterial transcripts revealed the presence of 14 bacterial phyla in DFIs. The abundance of the Spiroplasma, Vibrio, and Mycoplasma were significantly different in different infection severities (P < 0.05). Mild and severe stages of infections were dominated by Staphylococcus aureus and Porphyromonas asaccharolytica, respectively. A total of 132 metabolic pathways were identified of which ribosome and thiamin being among the most highly transcribed pathways. Moreover, a total of 131 antibiotic resistance genes, primarily involved in the multidrug efflux pumps/exporters, were identified. Furthermore, iron acquisition systems (synthesize and regulation of siderophores) and pathways involved in the synthesis and regulation of cell-surface components associated with adhesion, colonization, and movement of bacterial cells were the most common virulence factors. These virulence factors may help bacteria compete for scares resources and survive the host wound proteases. Characterization of transcriptionally active bacterial communities can help to provide an understanding of the role of key pathogens in the development of DFIs. Such information can be clinically useful allowing replacement of DFIs empirical therapy with targeted treatment

Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in immunodeficiency patients in Kashan and Qom during 2014-2015

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic parasitic protozoon, which is a causative agent of serious complications such as encephalitis in immunodeficiency patients. Considering insufficient data on toxoplasmosis in these patients, the present study was conducted to determine the seroepidemiology of T. gondii among immunodeficiency patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on cancer, ADIS, hemodialysis and renal transplant patients (case group) and healthy persons (control group) in Kashan and Qom cities. Totally, 317 serum samples were collected from the case group and 120 samples from the control group. The ELISA method was used to determine the anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies. Results: Totally, 60.3 of the samples from the case and 33.3 from the control groups were positive for anti-T. gondii IgG (P&lt;0.001). In the case group, only 2 persons (0.6) were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM. The anti-T. gondii IgG detected in immunodeficiency patients was 55.2 in Kashan and 68 in Qom, which were higher than in the control group (P&lt;0.001, P&lt;0.006, respectively). The highest prevalence of T. gondii were seen in 40-59 years old (49.8) and illiterate (60) patients. There was a meaningful correlation between toxoplasmosis and blurry vision and dermal rash (P=0.001 and P=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: The prevalence of T. gondii was higher in different immunodeficiency patients compared to healthy persons. Screening examinations were recommended for the diagnosis and treatment of patients to prevent serious side-effects and health education

Comprehensive thermodynamic and operational optimization of a solar-assisted LiBr/water absorption refrigeration system

Absorption cooling systems have been investigated for many years due to their ability to use low-grade heat instead of electricity as the energy source. The aim of this work is to advance the performance of a single-effect Lithium bromide/water absorption cooling system. Taking the generator and evaporator temperatures as variables, the system is optimized to maximize exergetic and energetic efficiencies at different operational conditions using a multi-objective–multi-variable Genetic Algorithm. The Group Method of Data Handling neural network approach is adopted to derive correlations between the design variables and operational parameters. Finally, the system is coupled to evacuated tube solar collectors and compared to a similar system. The results reflect a maximum improvement in energetic and exergetic efficiencies of about 9.1% and 3.0%, respectively. This translates into savings of 187 dollars for every square meter of solar collector at present time. This improvement is achieved by decreasing the mean temperature of the generator by 6.2 °C and increasing the mean temperature of the evaporator by 1.6 °C. In the case of applying low-grade heat such as solar energy, it brings about both an improvement in the thermodynamic performances and a reduction in the generator temperature

Social media, surveillance and news work: On the apps promising journalists a “crystal ball”

Social media platforms are becoming an indispensable resource for journalists. Their use involves both direct interaction with the platforms themselves and, increasingly, the use of specialist third-party apps to find, filter, and follow content and contributors. This article explores some of the ways social media platforms, and their technological ecosystems, are infusing news work. A range of platforms and apps—including Geofeedia, Spike, and Twitter—were critically examined, and their use by trainee journalists (N=81) analysed. The results reveal how journalists can—and do—surveil social network users and their content via sophisticated, professional apps that are also utilised by the police and security forces. While journalists recognise the value of such apps in news work, they also have concerns, including about privacy and popularism. And although the participants in this study thought the apps they used could help with verification, there were warning signs that an over-reliance on the technology could develop, dulling journalists’ critical faculties

Improving Productive and Reproductive Performance of Holstein Dairy Cows through Dry Period Management

To determine the effects of dry period (DP) length on milk yield, milk composition, some blood metabolites, complete blood count (CBC), body weight and score and follicular status, twenty five primiparous and multiparous Holstein cows were assigned to a completely randomized design with DP-60 (n = 13) and DP-20 (n = 12) dry period lengths. Cows in the DP-60 produced more milk, protein, SNF, serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and beta hydroxyl butyrate acid (BHBA) compared with cows in DP-20 (p≤0.05). Serum glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urea, and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) were all similar among the treatments. Body Condition Score (BCS), body weight (BW), complete blood count (CBC) and health problems were similar between the treatments. Diameter of the first dominant follicle and diameter of the dominant follicle on d 14 were different among the treatments. Thus, results of this study showed that reducing the dry period length to DP-20 had a negative effect on milk production, milk composition and reproductive performance in Holstein dairy cows

Protection and disinfection policies against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

In late December 2019, reports from China of the incidence of pneumonia with unknown etiology were sent to the World Health Organization (WHO). Shortly afterwards, the cause of this disease was identified as the novel beta-coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its genetic sequence was published on January 12, 2020. Human-to-human transmission via respiratory droplets and contact with aerosol infected surfaces are the major ways of transmitting this virus. Here we attempted to collect information on virus stability in the air and on surfaces and ways of preventing of SARS-CoV-2 spreading