A visual representation of part-whole relationships in BFO-conformant ontologies

In the visual representation of ontologies, in particular of part-whole relationships, it is customary to use graph theory as the representational background. We claim here that the standard graph-based approach has a number of limitations, and we propose instead a new representation of part-whole structures for ontologies, and describe the results of experiments designed to show the effectiveness of this new proposal especially as concerns reduction of visual complexity. The proposal is developed to serve visualization of ontologies conformant to the Basic Formal Ontology. But it can be used also for more general applications, particularly in the biomedical domain

Análise de sustentabilidade dos beneficiados do Programa Cédula da Terra no município de Sobral, estado do Ceará

The objective of this study is examining the sustainability of settlements of the Cedula da Terra Program, in the municipality of Sobral. For this, was prepared an index of Sustainability (IS) whereas different variables representing economic and social development, social capital and environmental settlements. It is based on studies undertaken by Barreto, Khan and Lima (2005). The results showed an high level of Sustainability for Macapa and average level of Sustainability for the São João and PicadaSustainable Development, Cédula da Terra Program, Sobral, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Risco para violência autoprovocada: prenuncio de tragédia, oportunidade de prevenção

In Brazil, more than 30 self-inflicted deaths per day were registered in 2012, with an estimated number of suicide attempts being 10 to 20 times higher, requiring intersectoral strategies to prevent new cases and follow at-risk groups. The objective of this study was to analyze the association of factors considered of risk for suicide attempt in people attending at a referral hospital in the northern region of Ceará, using the population-based case-control method. We included 153 cases and 153 controls admitted between August 2013 and August 2015, matched by gender, age and origin. Data collection was carried out by means of an appropriate form and information was processed using SPSS. Young adults prevailed, without significant difference by gender, in the sample of cases. Exogenous intoxication emerged as the leading method, and love and family conflict were the main reasons. Leisure proved to be a protective factor. The risk factors were ‘previous suicide attempt’, ‘having some kind of a mental disorder’, ‘family history of self-injurious behavior’ and ‘drug abuse’. Many of the controls reported suicidal ideation at some point in their lives. Screening is recommended from the most striking predictors and awareness-raising for notification.En Brasil, se registraron más de 30 óbitos auto-provocados por día en 2012 siendo la estimativa para los Intentos de Suicidio entre 10 y 20 veces mayor, lo que exige estrategias intersectoriales para prevenir nuevos casos y hacer un seguimiento de los grupos de riesgo. El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar la asociación de factores considerados de riesgo con el intento de suicidio en personas atendidas en un hospital de referencia de la región norte de Ceará a partir del método caso-control de base poblacional. Fueron incluidos 153 casos y 153 controles admitidos entre agosto de 2013 y agosto de 2015 emparejados por sexo, edad y procedencia. La recolección de los datos fue realizada mediante un formulario propio y las informaciones procesadas por el SPSS. En la muestra de casos prevalecieron los adultos jóvenes sin diferencia significativa por sexo. Se destacó como método la Intoxicación Exógena y las motivaciones por conflictos amorosos y familiares. El ocio demostró ser protector. Los factores de riesgo fueron ‘intento de suicidio anterior’, ‘ser portador de algún trastorno mental’, ‘histórico familiar de comportamiento auto-lesivo’ y ‘abuso de drogas’. Muchos de los controles refirieron ideas suicidas en algún momento de su vida. Se recomienda el seguimiento a partir de los predictores más impactantes y la sensibilización para la notificación.No Brasil, foram registrados mais de 30 óbitos autoprovocados por dia em 2012 sendo a estimativa para as Tentativas de Suicídio cerca de 10 a 20 vezes maior o que exige estratégias intersetoriais para prevenir novos casos e acompanhar os grupos de risco. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a associação de fatores considerados de risco com a tentativa de suicídio em pessoas atendidas em um hospital de referência da região norte do Ceará a partir do método caso-controle de base populacional. Foram incluídos 153 casos e 153 controles admitidos entre agosto de 2013 e agosto de 2015 pareados por sexo, idade e procedência. A coleta de dados foi realizada por um formulário próprio e as informações processadas pelo SPSS. Na amostra de casos prevaleceram os adultos jovens sem diferença significativa por sexo. Destacou-se como método a Intoxicação Exógena e as motivações por conflitos amorosos e familiares. O lazer demonstrou-se protetor. Os fatores de risco foram ‘Tentativa de suicídio anterior’, ‘ser portador de algum transtorno mental’, ‘histórico familiar de comportamento autolesivo’ e ‘uso abusivo de drogas’. Muitos dos controles referiram ideação suicida em algum momento da vida. Recomenda-se o rastreamento a partir dos preditores mais impactantes e a sensibilização para notificação

Improving the Quality and Utility of Electronic Health Record Data through Ontologies

The translational research community, in general, and the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) community, in particular, share the vision of repurposing EHRs for research that will improve the quality of clinical practice. Many members of these communities are also aware that electronic health records (EHRs) suffer limitations of data becoming poorly structured, biased, and unusable out of original context. This creates obstacles to the continuity of care, utility, quality improvement, and translational research. Analogous limitations to sharing objective data in other areas of the natural sciences have been successfully overcome by developing and using common ontologies. This White Paper presents the authors’ rationale for the use of ontologies with computable semantics for the improvement of clinical data quality and EHR usability formulated for researchers with a stake in clinical and translational science and who are advocates for the use of information technology in medicine but at the same time are concerned by current major shortfalls. This White Paper outlines pitfalls, opportunities, and solutions and recommends increased investment in research and development of ontologies with computable semantics for a new generation of EHRs

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Tannins, Peptic Ulcers and Related Mechanisms

This review of the current literature aims to study correlations between the chemical structure and gastric anti-ulcer activity of tannins. Tannins are used in medicine primarily because of their astringent properties. These properties are due to the fact that tannins react with the tissue proteins with which they come into contact. In gastric ulcers, this tannin-protein complex layer protects the stomach by promoting greater resistance to chemical and mechanical injury or irritation. Moreover, in several experimental models of gastric ulcer, tannins have been shown to present antioxidant activity, promote tissue repair, exhibit anti Helicobacter pylori effects, and they are involved in gastrointestinal tract anti-inflammatory processes. The presence of tannins explains the anti-ulcer effects of many natural products