Fuzzy data definitions distort fair comparability of universities in university rankings: results from Italy and Belgium on the Times Higher Education Ranking

World university rankings have had an impact on academic competition worldwide. The comparability of ranking results depends on how data is collected within each university. When data concepts are interpreted differently, data variety is introduced and ranking results cannot be used in a meaningful manner. In this case study, the effect of semantic harmonisation of the data concepts of the Times Higher Education World University Ranking is evaluated. Based on two independent initiatives, in Italy and in Belgium, the data and results of this ranking before and after interuniversity harmonisation of data collection are compared. This study demonstrates that, despite the data definitions provided by the ranking organisation, the data concepts ‘academic staff’ and ‘students’ are interpreted differently within each university. These differences can affect how universities are positioned relative to each other in ranking tables. A profound level of semantic harmonisation is then required to ensure semantically comparable data

Grand challenges in data integration—state of the art and future perspectives: an introduction

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Par-delà les images : quand la matérialité photographique éclipse la représentation

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of protein kinase D (PKD) in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Here, we report that in vitro cleavage of recombinant PKD1 by caspase-3 generates two alternative active PKD fragments. N-terminal sequencing of these fragments revealed two distinct caspase-3 cleavage sites located between the acidic and pleckstrin homology (PH) domains of PKD1. Moreover, we present experimental evidence that PKD1 is an in vitro substrate for both initiator and effector caspases. During doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, a zVAD-sensitive caspase induces cleavage of PKD1 at two sites, generating fragments with the same molecular masses as those determined in vitro. The in vivo caspase-dependent generation of the PKD1 fragments correlates with PKD1 kinase activation. Our results indicate that doxorubicin-mediated apoptosis induces activation of PKD1 through a novel mechanism involving the caspase-mediated proteolysi