Decision support system for cardiovascular problems

The DISHEART project aims at developing a new computer based decision support system (DSS) integrating medical image data, modelling, simulation, computational Grid technologies and artificial intelligence methods for assisting clinical diagnosis and intervention in cardiovascular problems. The RTD goal is to improve and link existing state of the art technologies in order to build a computerised cardiovascular model for the analysis of the heart and blood vessels. The resulting DISHEART DSS interfaces computational biomechanical analysis tools with the information coming from multimodal medical images. The computational model is coupled to an artificial neural network (ANN) based decision model that can be educated for each particular patient with data coming from his/her images and/or analyses. The DISHEART DSS system is validated in trials of clinical diagnosis, surgical intervention and subject-specific design of medical devices in the cardiovascular domain. The DISHEART DSS also contributes to a better understanding of cardiovascular morphology and function as inferred from routine imaging examinations. Four reputable medical centers in Europe took an active role in the validation and dissemination of the DISHEART DSS as well as the elaboration of computational material and medical images. The integrated DISHEART DSS supports health professionals in taking promptly the best possible decision for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Emphasis was put in the development of userfriendly, fast and reliable tools and interfaces providing access to heterogeneous health information sources, as well as on new methods for decision support and risk analysis. The use of Grid computing technology is essential in order to optimise and distribute the heavy computational work required for physical modelling and numerical simulations and especially for the parametric analysis required for educating the DSS for every particular application. The four end user SMEs participating in the project benefits from the new DISHEART DSS. The companies COMPASS, QUANTECH and Heartcore will market the DSS among public and private organizations related to the cardiovascular field. EndoArt will exploit the DISHEART DSS as a support for enhanced design and production of clinical devices. The partnership was sought in order to gather the maximum complementary of skills for the successful development of the project Disheart DSS, requiring experts in Mechanical sciences, Medical sciences, Informatic, and FEM technique to grow up the testes.Postprint (published version

FUNDAMENTOS EMPÍRICOS Y METODOLÓGICOS DE UNA BASE DE DATOS LÉXICA DE LA MORFOLOGÍA DERIVATIVA DEL INGLÉS ANTIGUO

[EN] This article lays the empirical and methodological basis for the development of a lexical database that analyses the dervative morphology of Old English. After revising the state of the art, the working hypotheses are established and the descriptive principles for the analysis of trnasparent as well as opaque derivation are established. Finally, a step is taken in the explanatory direction by defining the paramenters of the analysis of the bases and adjunts of derivation that are relevant for explanation.[ES] Este trabajo sienta las bases empíricas y metodológicas para la creación de una base de datos léxica que analice la morfología derivativa del inglés antiguo. Se revisa el estado de la cuestión, se formulan las hipótesis de partida, se proponen los principios descriptivos para el análisis de la derivación transparente y opaca y se avanza en la dirección explicativa al establecer los parámetros de análisis de las bases y de los adjuntos de las derivaciones que son relevantes para las explicaciones.La investigación de la que se da cuenta en este trabajo se ha financiado con cargo al proyecto HUM2005-07651-C02-02/FILOTorre Alonso, R.; Martín Arista, J.; Ibáñez Moreno, A.; González Torres, E.; Caballero González, L. (2008). FUNDAMENTOS EMPÍRICOS Y METODOLÓGICOS DE UNA BASE DE DATOS LÉXICA DE LA MORFOLOGÍA DERIVATIVA DEL INGLÉS ANTIGUO. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas. 3:129-144. doi:10.4995/rlyla.2008.696SWORD129144

Evaluación de parámetros productivos y reproductivos en un hato de doble propósito en Tabasco, México

El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el comportamiento productivo y reproductivo de bovinos Bos taurus (BT) x Bos indicus (BI) en un sistema de doble propósito, bajo las condiciones tropicales del estado de Tabasco. Los registros se obtuvieron de la unidad de producción, UACH-URUSSE, ubicada en Teapa, Tabasco. Los años evaluados fueron 1994 a 2011, presentando información de 492 partos, y 240 lactancias completas de 130 vacas Cebú o sus cruzas (BT x BI). Los genotipos presentes en este estudio fueron las cruzas de Cebú (C) x Holstein (H): 7/8C1/8H, 3/4C1/4H, 5/8C3/8H, 1/2C1/2H, 5/8h3/8C, 11/16H5/16C y 3/4H1/4C; estos se agruparon en tres categorías 0-25%, 37.5-50% y 62.5-75% de acuerdo a la proporción de genes BT. Las variables incluyeron peso al nacimiento (PN), intervalo entre partos (IEP), producción de leche por lactancia (PLL) y duración de lactancia (DL). Los resultados indicaron que los genotipos con mayor proporción de genes BT influyó favorablemente sobre PLL (P0.05). El genotipo 62.5-75% presentó la mejor PLL (1,262.80 ± 34.80 kg) y la DL más prolongada (260.34 ± 11.20 días); comparada con los genotipos 0-25% y 37.5-50%, PLL fue 8.09 y 6.56 % mayor y con DL fue 41.72 y 33.68 días mayor, respectivamente. En conclusión, el genotipo con 62.5-75% de genes BT presentó el mejor comportamiento productivo; sin embargo, el comportamiento reproductivo fue similar en los genotipos estudiados

microRNA-based signatures obtained from endometrial fluid identify implantative endometrium

STUDY QUESTION Is it possible to use free and extracellular vesicle-associated microRNAs (miRNAs) from human endometrial fluid (EF) samples as non-invasive biomarkers for implantative endometrium? SUMMARY ANSWER The free and extracellular vesicle-associated miRNAs can be used to detect implantative endometrium in a non-invasive manner. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY miRNAs and extracellular vesicles (EVs) from EF have been described as mediators of the embryo-endometrium crosstalk. Therefore, the analysis of miRNA from this fluid could become a non-invasive technique for recognizing implantative endometrium. This analysis could potentially help improve the implantation rates in ART. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION In this prospective study, we first optimized different protocols for EVs and miRNA analyses using the EF of a setup cohort (n = 72). Then, we examined differentially expressed miRNAs in the EF of women with successful embryo implantation (discovery cohort n = 15/validation cohort n = 30) in comparison with those for whom the implantation had failed (discovery cohort n = 15/validation cohort n = 30). Successful embryo implantation was considered when pregnancy was confirmed by vaginal ultrasound showing a gestational sac 4 weeks after embryo transfer (ET). PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS The EF of the setup cohort was obtained before starting fertility treatment during the natural cycle, 16-21 days after the beginning of menstruation. For the discovery and validation cohorts, the EF was collected from women undergoing frozen ET on Day 5, and the samples were collected immediately before ET. In this study, we compared five different methods; two of them based on direct extraction of RNA and the other three with an EV enrichment step before the RNA extraction. Small RNA sequencing was performed to determine the most efficient method and find a predictive model differentiating between implantative and non-implantative endometrium. The models were confirmed using quantitative PCR in two sets of samples (discovery and validation cohorts) with different implantation outcomes. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The protocols using EV enrichment detected more miRNAs than the methods based on direct RNA extraction. The two most efficient protocols (using polymer-based precipitation (PBP): PBP-M and PBP-N) were used to obtain two predictive models (based on three miRNAs) allowing us to distinguish between an implantative and non-implantative endometrium. The first Model 1 (PBP-M) (discovery: AUC = 0.93; P-value = 0.003; validation: AUC = 0.69; P-value = 0.019) used hsa-miR-200b-3p, hsa-miR-24-3p and hsa-miR-148b-3p. Model 2 (PBP-N) (discovery: AUC = 0.92; P-value = 0.0002; validation: AUC = 0.78; P-value = 0.0002) used hsa-miR-200b-3p, hsa-miR-24-3p and hsa-miR-99b-5p. Functional analysis of these miRNAs showed strong association with key implantation processes such as in utero embryonic development or transforming growth factor-beta signaling. LARGE SCALE DATA The FASTQ data are available in the GEO database (access number GSE178917). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION One important factor to consider is the inherent variability among the women involved in the trial and among the transferred embryos. The embryos were pre-selected based on morphology, but neither genetic nor molecular studies were conducted, which would have improved the accuracy of our tests. In addition, a limitation in miRNA library construction is the low amount of input RNA. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS We describe new non-invasive protocols to analyze miRNAs from small volumes of EF. These protocols could be implemented in clinical practice to assess the status of the endometrium before attempting ET. Such evaluation could help to avoid the loss of embryos transferred to a non-implantative endometrium. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) J.I.-P. was supported by a predoctoral grant from the Basque Government (PRE_2017_0204). This study was partially funded by the Grant for Fertility Innovation (GFI, 2011) from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). It was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO within the National Plan RTI2018-094969-B-I00, the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (860303), the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence Innovative Research Grant (SEV-2016-0644) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI20/01131). The funding entities did not play any role in the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the report or the decision to submit the article for publication. The authors declare no competing interests.J.I.-P. was supported by a predoctoral grant from the Basque Government (PRE_2017_0204). This study was partially funded by the Grant for Fertility Innovation (GFI, 2011) from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). The project was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO within the national plan RTI2018-094969-B-I00, the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (860303), the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence Innovative Research Grant (SEV-2016-0644) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI20/01131). The funding entities did not have any role in study design, sample collection, analysis and interpretation of data, report writing or decision to submit the article for publication

Proceedings of the CIKM 2020 Workshops

The study of online inquiry competences (OIC) is an important topic on the information literacy (IL) field. Most of the work has been focused on higher education and high-school students, while less has been done regarding primary education. In this work we investigate the effects of an OIC teaching intervention on search performance of a large group of sixth graders from Finland. Our preliminary results show significant improvements in search performance on the intervened group of students compared to a control group when working on a science research task. This work shed light about the potential benefits of a particular approach to develop OIC on elementary school students.</p

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: Comparing Intentions and Perceptions in Online Discussions

Discourse involves two perspectives: a person's intention in making an utterance and others' perception of that utterance. The misalignment between these perspectives can lead to undesirable outcomes, such as misunderstandings, low productivity and even overt strife. In this work, we present a computational framework for exploring and comparing both perspectives in online public discussions. We combine logged data about public comments on Facebook with a survey of over 16,000 people about their intentions in writing these comments or about their perceptions of comments that others had written. Unlike previous studies of online discussions that have largely relied on third-party labels to quantify properties such as sentiment and subjectivity, our approach also directly captures what the speakers actually intended when writing their comments. In particular, our analysis focuses on judgments of whether a comment is stating a fact or an opinion, since these concepts were shown to be often confused. We show that intentions and perceptions diverge in consequential ways. People are more likely to perceive opinions than to intend them, and linguistic cues that signal how an utterance is intended can differ from those that signal how it will be perceived. Further, this misalignment between intentions and perceptions can be linked to the future health of a conversation: when a comment whose author intended to share a fact is misperceived as sharing an opinion, the subsequent conversation is more likely to derail into uncivil behavior than when the comment is perceived as intended. Altogether, these findings may inform the design of discussion platforms that better promote positive interactions.Comment: Proceedings of The Web Conference (WWW) 202

Generation of NKX2.5(GFP) Reporter Human iPSCs and Differentiation Into Functional Cardiac Fibroblasts

Direct cardiac reprogramming has emerged as an interesting approach for the treatment and regeneration of damaged hearts through the direct conversion of fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes or cardiovascular progenitors. However, in studies with human cells, the lack of reporter fibroblasts has hindered the screening of factors and consequently, the development of robust direct cardiac reprogramming protocols.In this study, we have generated functional human NKX2.5(GFP) reporter cardiac fibroblasts. We first established a new NKX2.5(GFP) reporter human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line using a CRISPR-Cas9-based knock-in approach in order to preserve function which could alter the biology of the cells. The reporter was found to faithfully track NKX2.5 expressing cells in differentiated NKX2.5(GFP) hiPSC and the potential of NKX2.5-GFP + cells to give rise to the expected cardiac lineages, including functional ventricular- and atrial-like cardiomyocytes, was demonstrated. Then NKX2.5(GFP) cardiac fibroblasts were obtained through directed differentiation, and these showed typical fibroblast-like morphology, a specific marker expression profile and, more importantly, functionality similar to patient-derived cardiac fibroblasts. The advantage of using this approach is that it offers an unlimited supply of cellular models for research in cardiac reprogramming, and since NKX2.5 is expressed not only in cardiomyocytes but also in cardiovascular precursors, the detection of both induced cell types would be possible. These reporter lines will be useful tools for human direct cardiac reprogramming research and progress in this field.This work was supported by PID 2019-107150RB-I00/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 to XC-V; by the “Ramón y Cajal” State Program, Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes

How do gender, Internet activity and learning beliefs predict sixth-grade students' self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry?

Today's students search, evaluate and actively use Web information in their school assignments, that is, they conduct an online inquiry. This current survey study addresses sixth-grade students' self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry, and to what extent free-time and school-related Internet activity, gender and learning beliefs explain these. The questionnaire was administered in 10 schools to 340 sixth-graders in Finland. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed three elements of self-efficacy beliefs: self-efficacy in Web searching, the evaluation of sources and synthesising information. Furthermore, attitudes towards online inquiry loaded into two factors: a positive and a negative attitude towards online inquiry. A structural equation model was used to analyse the effects of the explanatory variables on the factors. The results of this work suggest that gender and free-time Internet use predict most sixth-graders' self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry