Fuzzy-Citation-KNN: a fuzzy nearest neighbor approach for multi-instance classification

This contribution deals with multi-instance classification, where the labeled data samples are bags composed on instances instead of labeled instances as in standard classification. Every bag contains a number of traditional instances (described by a number of attributes) and the number of instances is not usually the same in all the bags. So, the whole bag is labeled but the instances that compose the bag are not individually labeled. We propose a fuzzy sets based extension of the well known algorithm called Citation-KNN, a reference method in multi-instance classification. Citation-KNN uses two types of examples in the classification rule: neighbors and citers of the bag to be classified. We analyze two versions of our proposal, one of them using both neighbors and citers, and the other one using only neighbors. Our approach uses the Hausdorff distance and it is based on the FuzzyKNN algorithm. Several data-sets from KEEL data-set repository are used in the experimental study and we compare our proposals with the original Citation-KNN algorithm

Teranga Go!: Carpooling Collaborative Consumption Community with multi-criteria hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set opinions to build confidence and trust

La Comisión Europea da prioridad al fomento del consumo colaborativo en consonancia con la visión de la Estrategia Europa 2020 para un crecimiento inteligente, sostenible e integrador. En respuesta, se ha desarrollado una comunidad en línea dedicada al consumo colaborativo llamada Teranga Go!, centrada en la comunidad senegalesa que viaja en coche de Europa a África. Las relaciones de viaje compartido dentro de Teranga Go! hacen hincapié en un auténtico sentido de comunidad, interacciones sociales entre los usuarios y conexiones tecnológicas, con la confianza como elemento crucial. Para aumentar la confianza y la seguridad entre los miembros de Teranga Go! se ha implantado un sistema inteligente de apoyo a la toma de decisiones basado en la computación con palabras. En este sistema, los participantes actúan como expertos, evaluando las aptitudes del conductor y asignando colectivamente un valor lingüístico, denominado "karma", que representa la opinión colectiva de las personas que han viajado con el conductor. Este karma se muestra públicamente en los perfiles de los usuarios, y para representar las opiniones de los expertos en el proceso de evaluación se utiliza un modelo de toma de decisiones multicriterio multiexperto que emplea términos lingüísticos difusos vacilantes.The European Commission prioritizes promoting collaborative consumption in alignment with the Europe 2020 Strategy's vision for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. In response, a dedicated online community called Teranga Go! has been developed for collaborative consumption, focusing on the Senegalese community traveling by car from Europe to Africa. Carpooling relationships within Teranga Go! emphasize a genuine sense of community, social interactions among users, and technological connections, with trust as a crucial element. To enhance confidence, trust, and safety among Teranga Go! members, an intelligent decision support system based on computing with words has been implemented. In this system, participants act as experts, assessing driver aptitudes and collectively assigning a linguistic value, referred to as "karma," which represents the collective opinion of individuals who have traveled with the driver. This karma is publicly displayed on user profiles, and a Multi-Expert Multi-Criteria Decision Making model, employing Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Terms, is utilized to represent expert opinions in the evaluation process.Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación en Data Science and Computational Intelligence (DaSCI

Alternative Ranking-Based Clustering and Reliability Index-Based Consensus Reaching Process for Hesitant Fuzzy Large Scale Group Decision Making

The paper addresses the growing importance of Large Scale Group Decision Making (LSGDM) problems, focusing on hesitant fuzzy LSGDM. It introduces a Reliability Index-based Consensus Reaching Process (RI-CRP) to enhance efficiency. The proposed method assesses the ordinal consistency of decision makers' (DMs) information, measures deviation, and assigns a reliability index to DMs' opinions. An unreliable DMs management method is presented to filter out unreliable information. Additionally, an Alternative Ranking-based Clustering (ARC) method with hesitant fuzzy reciprocal preference relations is proposed to improve the efficiency of RI-CRP. The numerical example demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the ARC method and RI-CRP for hesitant fuzzy LSGDM problems.Este artículo aborda la creciente importancia de los problemas de Toma de Decisiones en Grupo a Gran Escala (LSGDM), centrándose en el LSGDM difuso vacilante. Introduce un Proceso de Consenso Basado en Índices de Fiabilidad (RI-CRP) para mejorar la eficiencia. El método propuesto evalúa la consistencia ordinal de la información de los decisores, mide la desviación y asigna un índice de fiabilidad a las opiniones de los decisores. Se presenta un método de gestión de los decisores poco fiables para filtrar la información poco fiable. Además, se propone un método de agrupamiento alternativo basado en la clasificación (ARC) con relaciones de preferencia recíproca difusas vacilantes para mejorar la eficacia de RI-CRP. El ejemplo numérico demuestra la viabilidad y eficacia del método ARC y del RI-CRP para problemas LSGDM difusos vacilantes.Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación en Data Science and Computational Intelligence (DaSCI

Características Sociodemográficas, Problemas Comportamentais, Preocupações e Qualidades das Crianças relatadas por Pais

Parental report is essential to understand adaptive difficulties in childhood. The aim of the study was to identify concerns of parents and qualities of children reported by parents, as well as the association of these variables with sociodemographic factors and child behavior problems. Parents of 353 schoolchildren from three public schools and one private school took part in the study. Assessment of behavior problems and parental reports about concerns and children’s strengths were obtained from the Child Behavior Checklist - CBCL. We submitted parents’ answers to the open-ended questions in the CBCL to a lexical analysis with the IRAMUTEQ software. Results concerning ‘strengths’ were related to affective and social interaction, while ‘concerns’ were related to academic performance and prevention of behavior problems. We concluded that parent concerns are targets of preventive interventions in childhood, while child strengths reported by parents are skills that need to be developed, as they help in adaptive functioning.El relato de padres es esencial para la comprensión de dificultades adaptativas de niños. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron identificar preocupaciones y cualidades relatadas por padres y verificar sus asociaciones con fatores sociodemográficos y problemas de conducta. Fueron participantes 353 padres de alumnos de cuatro escuelas públicas y una privada. La evaluación de problemas de comportamiento de los hijos y el relato de los padres sobre preocupaciones y cualidades fueron obtenidos con la Lista de Comportamientos para Niños y Adolescentes (CBCL). Conducimos un análisis lexical de las respuestas a las preguntas abiertas de la CBCL mediante el software IRAMUTEQ. Los resultados sobre las cualidades del niño fueron relacionados con la interacción afectiva y social. Las preocupaciones estuvieron relacionadas al desempeño académico y la prevención de problemas de comportamiento. Concluimos que las preocupaciones de los padres indican metas para intervenciones preventivas en la infancia, mientras que las cualidades, si desarrolladas, podrán auxiliar el funcionamento adaptativo.O relato de pais é essencial na compreensão de dificuldades adaptativas na infância. O objetivo do estudo foi identificar preocupações dos pais e qualidades dos filhos, relatadas pelos pais, bem como a associação dessas variáveis com fatores sociodemográficos e problemas de comportamento das crianças. Participaram 353 pais de alunos de três escolas públicas e uma escola privada. A avaliação de problemas de comportamento dos filhos e o relato dos pais sobre preocupações e qualidades foram obtidos com o Inventário de Comportamentos para Crianças e Adolescentes - CBCL. As respostas às questões abertas do CBCL foram submetidas à análise lexical no software IRAMUTEQ. Resultados sobre qualidades da criança foram relacionados à interação afetiva e social. As preocupações foram relacionadas a desempenho acadêmico e prevenção de problemas de comportamento. Concluímos que as preocupações relatadas são indicativas de alvos para intervenções preventivas e as qualidades, se desenvolvidas, poderão auxiliar no funcionamento adaptativo

Low-risk polycythemia vera treated with phlebotomies: clinical characteristics, hematologic control and complications in 453 patients from the Spanish Registry of Polycythemia Vera

Myelofibrosis; Phlebotomies; ThrombosisMielofibrosi; Flebotomies; TrombosiMielofibrosis; Flebotomías; TrombosisHematological control, incidence of complications, and need for cytoreduction were studied in 453 patients with low-risk polycythemia vera (PV) treated with phlebotomies alone. Median hematocrit value decreased from 54% at diagnosis to 45% at 12 months, and adequate hematocrit control over time ( 60 years, and microvascular symptoms constituted the main indications for starting cytoreduction. Median duration without initiating cytoreduction was significantly longer in patients younger than 50 years (< 0.0001). The incidence rate of thrombosis under phlebotomies alone was 0.8% per year and the estimated probability of thrombosis at 10 years was 8.5%. The probability of arterial thrombosis was significantly higher in patients with arterial hypertension whereas there was a trend to higher risk of venous thrombosis in cases with high JAK2V617F allele burden. Rates of major bleeding and second primary neoplasm were low. With a median follow-up of 9 years, survival probability at 10 years was 97%, whereas the probability of myelofibrosis at 10 and 20 years was 7% and 20%, respectively. Progression to acute myeloid leukemia was documented in 3 cases (1%). Current management of low-risk PV patients is associated with low rate of thrombosis and long survival. New treatment strategies are needed for improving hematological control and, in the long term, reducing progression to myelofibrosis.This work was supported by PI18/01472, PI18/00205, and PI21/00231 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación. GEMFIN received a grant from Novartis for the development of the Spanish Registry of Polycythemia Vera and for conducting the present project

Improved classification of rheumatoid arthritis with a score including anti‑acetylated ornithine antibodies

The presence of rheumatoid factor (RF) or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) autoantibodies contributes to the current rheumatoid arthritis (RA) classification criteria. These criteria involve stratification on antibody levels, which limits reproducibility, and underperform in the RA patients without RF and anti-CCP. Here, we have explored if two anti-acetylated peptide antibodies (AAPA), anti-acetylated lysine (AcLys) and anti-acetylated ornithine (AcOrn), could improve the performance of the current criteria. The analysis was done in 1062 prospectively-followed early arthritis (EA) patients. The anti-AcOrn were more informative than the anti-AcLys, the conventional RA antibodies and the anti-carbamylated protein antibodies. The anti-AcOrn produced a classification that did not require antibody levels and showed improved specificity (77.6% vs. 72.6%, p = 0.003) and accuracy (79.0% vs. 75.8%, p = 0.002) over the current criteria. These improvements were obtained with a scoring system that values concordance between anti-AcOrn, RF and anti-CCP. No significant gain was obtained in sensitivity (80.2% vs. 78.8%, p = 0.25) or in improving the classification of the RA patients lacking RF and anti-CCP, although the anti-AcOrn ranked first among the analysed new antibodies. Therefore, the anti-AcOrn antibodies could contribute to the improvement of RA classification criteria by exploiting antibody concordance.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain) through grants [RD16/0012/0014 and PI17/01606 to AG; RD16/0012/0012 to AB; PI14/00442 and RD16/0012/0011 to IG-A]. These grants are partially financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the EU (FEDER). LRM was supported by Xunta de Galicia (Spain) through a Gain pre-doctoral fellowship. CR was supported by Ministerio de Educacion Cultura y Deporte (Spain) through a FPU pre-doctoral fellowship [FPU15/03434]

Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Badger (Meles meles) Spatial Ecology in a Hot-Spot Area in Atlantic Spain

: We provide a temporal overview (from 2012 to 2018) of the outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) in the cattle and badger populations in a hot-spot in Asturias (Atlantic Spain). We also study the badger's spatial ecology from an epidemiological perspective in order to describe hazardous behavior in relation to TB transmission between cattle and badgers. Culture and single intradermal tuberculin test (SITT) were available for cattle as part of the National Program for the Eradication of TB. A field survey was also carried out in order to determine the paddocks and buildings used by each farm, and the information obtained was stored by using geographic information systems. Moreover, eighty-three badgers were submitted for necropsy and subsequent bacteriological studies. Ten badgers were also tracked, using global positioning system (GPS) collars. The prevalence of TB in cattle herds in the hot-spot increased from 2.2% in 2012 to 20% in 2016; it then declined to 0.0% in 2018. In contrast, the TB prevalence in badgers increased notably (from 5.55% in 2012-2015 to 10.64% in 2016-2018). Both cattle and badgers shared the same strain of Mycobacterium bovis. The collared badgers preferred paddocks used by TB-positive herds in spring and summer (when they were more active). The males occupied larger home ranges than the females (Khr95: males 149.78 ± 25.84 ha and females 73.37 ± 22.91 ha; Kcr50: males 29.83 ± 5.69 ha and females 13.59 ± 5.00 ha), and the home ranges were smaller in autumn and winter than in summer. The averages of the index of daily and maximum distances traveled by badgers were 1.88 ± (SD) 1.20 km and 1.99 ± 0.71 km, respectively. One of them presented a dispersive behavior with a maximum range of 18.3 km. The most preferred habitat was apple orchards in all seasons, with the exception of winter, in which they preferred pastures. Land uses and landscape structure, which have been linked with certain livestock-management practices, provide a scenario of great potential for badger-cattle interactions, thus enhancing the importance of the badgers' ecology, which could potentially transmit TB back to cattle in the future.This work was funded by the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) projects (FEDER co-funded): RTA2011-00010-00-00, RTA2014-00002-C02-01; by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) reference project RTI2018-096010-B-C21 (FEDER co-funded); and by PCTI 2018–2020 (GRUPIN: IDI2018-000237) and FEDER. We received funds from RTI2018-096010-B-C21 (FEDER co-funded) to cover publication costs.S

Advances in Preclinical/Clinical Glioblastoma Treatment: Can Nanoparticles Be of Help?

Simple Summary As one of the most lethal human cancers, glioblastoma treatment is a real challenge because of several resistance mechanisms, including limited drug entry into the central nervous system through the blood-brain barrier and the vast heterogeneity of this family of tumors. In the development of precision medicine, various nanoconstructs are being proposed to cross the BBB, specifically target GB tumors, release the therapeutic cargo in a controlled manner, and reduce therapeutic resistance. This review summarizes the different families of nanoparticles and approaches followed so far pursuing these aims. Glioblastoma multiforme (GB) is the most aggressive and frequent primary malignant tumor in the central nervous system (CNS), with unsatisfactory and challenging treatment nowadays. Current standard of care includes surgical resection followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, these treatments do not much improve the overall survival of GB patients, which is still below two years (the 5-year survival rate is below 7%). Despite various approaches having been followed to increase the release of anticancer drugs into the brain, few of them demonstrated a significant success, as the blood brain barrier (BBB) still restricts its uptake, thus limiting the therapeutic options. Therefore, enormous efforts are being devoted to the development of novel nanomedicines with the ability to cross the BBB and specifically target the cancer cells. In this context, the use of nanoparticles represents a promising non-invasive route, allowing to evade BBB and reducing systemic concentration of drugs and, hence, side effects. In this review, we revise with a critical view the different families of nanoparticles and approaches followed so far with this aim

Platinum-Based Nanoformulations for Glioblastoma Treatment : The Resurgence of Platinum Drugs?

Current therapies for treating Glioblastoma (GB), and brain tumours in general, are inefficient and represent numerous challenges. In addition to surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are presently used as standards of care. However, treated patients still face a dismal prognosis with a median survival below 15-18 months. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the main chemotherapeutic agent administered; however, intrinsic or acquired resistance to TMZ contributes to the limited efficacy of this drug. To circumvent the current drawbacks in GB treatment, a large number of classical and non-classical platinum complexes have been prepared and tested for anticancer activity, especially platinum (IV)-based prodrugs. Platinum complexes, used as alkylating agents in the anticancer chemotherapy of some malignancies, are though often associated with severe systemic toxicity (i.e., neurotoxicity), especially after long-term treatments. The objective of the current developments is to produce novel nanoformulations with improved lipophilicity and passive diffusion, promoting intracellular accumulation, while reducing toxicity and optimizing the concomitant treatment of chemo-/radiotherapy. Moreover, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents the access of the drugs to the brain and accumulation in tumour cells, so it represents a key challenge for GB management. The development of novel nanomedicines with the ability to (i) encapsulate Pt-based drugs and pro-drugs, (ii) cross the BBB, and (iii) specifically target cancer cells represents a promising approach to increase the therapeutic effect of the anticancer drugs and reduce undesired side effects. In this review, a critical discussion is presented concerning different families of nanoparticles able to encapsulate platinum anticancer drugs and their application for GB treatment, emphasizing their potential for increasing the effectiveness of platinum-based drugs