A unified ontology-based data integration approach for the internet of things

Data integration enables combining data from various data sources in a standard format. Internet of things (IoT) applications use ontology approaches to provide a machine-understandable conceptualization of a domain. We propose a unified ontology schema approach to solve all IoT integration problems at once. The data unification layer maps data from different formats to data patterns based on the unified ontology model. This paper proposes a middleware consisting of an ontology-based approach that collects data from different devices. IoT middleware requires an additional semantic layer for cloud-based IoT platforms to build a schema for data generated from diverse sources. We tested the proposed model on real data consisting of approximately 160,000 readings from various sources in different formats like CSV, JSON, raw data, and XML. The data were collected through the file transfer protocol (FTP) and generated 960,000 resource description framework (RDF) triples. We evaluated the proposed approach by running different queries on different machines on SPARQL protocol and RDF query language (SPARQL) endpoints to check query processing time, validation of integration, and performance of the unified ontology model. The average response time for query execution on generated RDF triples on the three servers were approximately 0.144 seconds, 0.070 seconds, 0.062 seconds, respectively

Local Dependence for Bivariate Weibull Distributions Created by Archimedean Copula

في تحليل البقاء على قيد الحياة متعدد المتغيرات ، يعد تقدير دالة التوزيع متعدد المتغيرات و من ثم قياس علاقة و ارتباط بين أوقات البقاء ذات أهمية كبيرة. تُستخدم دالات الكوبيلا ، مثل ارخميديان كوبيلا، بشكل شائع لتقدير توزيعات المتغيرات غير المعروفة بناءً على الدوال الهامشية المعروفة. في هذا البحث تم استكشاف جدوى استخدام فكرة ارتباط الموضعي لتحديد افضل نموذج الكوبيلا و الأكثر كفاءة ، والذي يستخدم لبناء دالة ويبل ثنائي المتغير كدالة وقت البقاء ثنائي المتغير، من بين بعض انواع الآرخميديان كوبيلا. لتقييم كفاءة طريقة المقترحة ، تم تنفيذ دراسة محاكاة، وقد ثبت أن هذا طريقة مفيد للحالات العملية وقابل للتطبيق على مجموعات البيانات الحقيقية. و عند تنفيذ الإجراء المقترحة، على بيانات فعلية، على بيانات دراسة اعتلال الشبكية السكري وجد أن العيون المعالجة لديها فرصة أكبر لعدم فقدان البصر مقارنة بالعين غير المعالجة.In multivariate survival analysis, estimating the multivariate distribution functions and then measuring the association between survival times are of great interest. Copula functions, such as Archimedean Copulas, are commonly used to estimate the unknown bivariate distributions based on known marginal functions. In this paper the feasibility of using the idea of local dependence to identify the most efficient copula model, which is used to construct a bivariate Weibull distribution for bivariate Survival times, among some Archimedean copulas is explored. Furthermore, to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed procedure, a simulation study is implemented. It is shown that this approach is useful for practical situations and applicable for real datasets. Moreover, when the proposed procedure implemented on Diabetic Retinopathy Study (DRS) data, it is found that treated eyes have greater chance for non-blindness compared to untreated eyes

In transition: current health challenges and priorities in Sudan

A recent symposium and workshop in Khartoum, the capital of the Republic of Sudan, brought together broad expertise from three universities to address the current burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases facing the Sudanese healthcare system. These meetings identified common challenges that impact the burden of diseases in the country, most notably gaps in data and infrastructure which are essential to inform and deliver effective interventions. Non-communicable diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, renal disease and cancer are increasing dramatically, contributing to multimorbidity. At the same time, progress against communicable diseases has been slow, and the burden of chronic and endemic infections remains considerable, with parasitic diseases (such as malaria, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis) causing substantial morbidity and mortality. Antimicrobial resistance has become a major threat throughout the healthcare system, with an emerging impact on maternal, neonatal, and paediatric populations. Meanwhile, malnutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and poor perinatal outcomes remain common and contribute to a lifelong burden of disease. These challenges echo the UN sustainable development goals and concentrating on them in a unified strategy will be necessary to address the national burden of disease. At a time when the country is going through societal and political transition, we draw focus on the country and the need for resolution of its healthcare needs

Diversity of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronaviruses in 109 dromedary camels based on full-genome sequencing, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified on the Arabian Peninsula in 2012 and is still causing cases and outbreaks in the Middle East. When MERS-CoV was first identified, the closest related virus was in bats; however, it has since been recognized that dromedary camels serve as a virus reservoir and potential source for human infections. A total of 376 camels were screened for MERS-Cov at a live animal market in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE. In all, 109 MERS-CoV-positive camels were detected in week 1, and a subset of positive camels were sampled again weeks 3 through 6. A total of 126 full and 3 nearly full genomes were obtained from 139 samples. Spike gene sequences were obtained from 5 of the 10 remaining samples. The camel MERS-CoV genomes from this study represent 3 known and 2 potentially new lineages within clade B. Within lineages, diversity of camel and human MERS-CoV sequences are intermixed. We identified sequences from market camels nearly identical to the previously reported 2015 German case who visited the market during his incubation period. We described 10 recombination events in the camel samples. The most frequent recombination breakpoint was the junctions between ORF1b and S. Evidence suggests MERS-CoV infection in humans results from continued introductions of distinct MERS-CoV lineages from camels. This hypothesis is supported by the camel MERS-CoV genomes sequenced in this study. Our study expands the known repertoire of camel MERS-CoVs circulating on the Arabian Peninsula.Emerging Microbes & Infections (2017) 6, e101; doi:10.1038/emi.2017.89; published online 8 November 201