Valentine: Evaluating Matching Techniques for Dataset Discovery

Data scientists today search large data lakes to discover and integrate datasets. In order to bring together disparate data sources, dataset discovery methods rely on some form of schema matching: the process of establishing correspondences between datasets. Traditionally, schema matching has been used to find matching pairs of columns between a source and a target schema. However, the use of schema matching in dataset discovery methods differs from its original use. Nowadays schema matching serves as a building block for indicating and ranking inter-dataset relationships. Surprisingly, although a discovery method's success relies highly on the quality of the underlying matching algorithms, the latest discovery methods employ existing schema matching algorithms in an ad-hoc fashion due to the lack of openly-available datasets with ground truth, reference method implementations, and evaluation metrics. In this paper, we aim to rectify the problem of evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of schema matching methods for the specific needs of dataset discovery. To this end, we propose Valentine, an extensible open-source experiment suite to execute and organize large-scale automated matching experiments on tabular data. Valentine includes implementations of seminal schema matching methods that we either implemented from scratch (due to absence of open source code) or imported from open repositories. The contributions of Valentine are: i) the definition of four schema matching scenarios as encountered in dataset discovery methods, ii) a principled dataset fabrication process tailored to the scope of dataset discovery methods and iii) the most comprehensive evaluation of schema matching techniques to date, offering insight on the strengths and weaknesses of existing techniques, that can serve as a guide for employing schema matching in future dataset discovery methods

SALIVARY PARAMETERS ALTERED IN SMOKERS AND POSSIBLE CORRELATIONS WITH THE CARIOGENIC ACTIVITY

Objectives. Our research team aimed to evaluate the effects smoking has on several salivary parameters and to assess if there are any correlations between smoking and the cariogenic activity. Material and method. The present research included a total of 35 participants. Saliva was collected from every participant to the study. Salivary chloride, calcium and potassium levels, as well as salivary flux and pH were determined for all subjects. Results. Our results showed significantly lower salivary flux and pH levels in smokers compared to nonsmokers (p < 0.01). Chloride, calcium and potassium we found to have higher concentrations in smokers compared to the control group. However, a statistical significance could be found only for calcium (p = 0.02). Moreover, we were able to find in the smokers group a positive correlation in smokers between salivary chloride levels and cariogenic activity as well as a negative correlation could be found in smokers between salivary calcium levels and the cariogenic activity Conclusions. The results of the present study show that smoking alters salivary parameters and that these modifications can favour the development of dental caries

Candida Infections in Severely Burned Patients: 1 Year Retrospective Study

Infections represent the most common complication occurring during the evolution of the severely burned patient, hence requiring closer study and targeted result analysis. The fungal infections are one of the most aggressive types of existing infections, their opportunistic character enabling them to cause invasive infections, ultimately leading to a higher morbidity and a higher rate of mortality. The present study focuses on the presence of Candida spp. in 19 out of a total of 70 patients admitted to the Critical Care Burn Unit in the Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest, between 01.01.2019-31.12.2019. No other fungal species, besides Candida spp., were identified in this patient lot. The aim of this study was to analyze the risk factors and the dynamics of the biological parameters of the patients presenting Candida spp. infections, in order to determine how these contribute to the prognostic and final outcome of these patients. We can conclude that a precise diagnostic and prompt treatment can make a significant difference in the outcome of severely burnt patients presenting with a fungal infection

Regulation of Repressive Histone Methylation by BDNF and Oxidative Stress

Emerging evidence suggests that histone modifications contribute to age-related cognitive decline. Our lab previously demonstrated that elevated H3K9me3 in aged mice leads to synaptic loss, cognitive impairment and a reduction in brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Treatment with ETP69, a selective inhibitor of H3K9me3’s catalyzing enzyme (SUV39H1), was shown to restore synapses, BDNF and cognitive performance. However, the mechanism underlying H3K9me3 regulation is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of age-associated stressors such as oxidative stress in H3K9me3 elevation. The oxidative stressor hydrogen peroxide elevated the SUV39H1 regulator SIRT1 but did not increase H3K9me3. The aged brain is also marked by reduced BDNF, and we found that inhibiting BDNF signaling by blocking the BDNF receptor TrkB elevates H3K9me3 in an age-dependent fashion. Antioxidant treatment prevented the H3K9me3 elevation by TrkB-Fc, suggesting that inhibiting BDNF signaling regulates H3K9me3 via an oxidative stress-based mechanism. We further investigated if exercise, which stimulates BDNF production, regulates repressive H3K9me3 at the promoters of neuronal plasticity genes. Exercise decreased H3K9me3 at BDNF promoter VI in aged mice and stimulated BDNF production. Similarly, SUV39H1 inhibition decreased H3K9me3 at BDNF promoter VI in aged mice and showed a corresponding increase in BDNF VI expression. Exercise and SUV39H1 inhibition differentially affected BDNF and GABRA2 expression in young and old mice. H3K9me3 promoter binding at all neuronal plasticity genes except for GABBR1 decreased as mice aged. Overall, our data suggests that H3K9me3 and BDNF are engaged in a negative feedback mechanism that is affected by physical activity, oxidative stress and age

Reproducing state-of-the-art schema matching algorithms

Schema matching has been a researched topic for over 20 years. Therefore, many schema matching solutions have been proposed to treat various problems such as: creating unified knowledge bases or mediation schema, data translation, data discovery, data curation. Such a wide variety of schema matching algorithms requires a benchmarking system that can evaluate to what extent one solution is appropriate for a given problem. However, creating the benchmark requires open source algorithms, which are not widely available in the data management community. One solution to this problem is reproducing the algorithms, although there is a reproducibility crisis which proves that the majority of existing research can not be reproduced. These circumstances have determined the goal of this research: conducting a reproducibility study on the state-of-the-art schema matching algorithms. This study supports the schema matching development and emphasizes the issues regarding the ability to reproduce the algorithms or the results. Moreover, we implement the selected algorithms and benchmark them in an industry case study.Computer Science | Software Technolog

Teenagers' Mood improved by Coloured Lights

It is already known that colours have positive or negative effects on peoples’ moods. People have different opinions regarding the same colour in a room [5]. For example, pinkish rooms were described in some studies as being “warm, gentle and stimulating; childish, young, fresh and funny”, while others have described these same colours as “pushy, demanding and glaring; stale, tasteless, vulgar and slovenly.” Contrary to pinkish rooms, greenish rooms were perceived as relaxing, calm, retreat rooms, which evoked connotations of nature. Spath [6] found that colours can influence mental and physical activity. According to Harrington [4] not all reds stimulate the same emotional response. He states there are four negative emotions (aggression, anger, rage, and terror) linked with dark yellow-reds, and five positive emotions (amazement, ecstasy, joy, love, and passion) associated with light blue-reds. According to Je [7] there are differences and similarities regarding colour preferences between Korean and Canadian students: students from both countries like red, blue, neutral colours and dislike yellow but there were different preferences regarding red-blue hues, red hues, grey hues and white hues [7]. There is no research to date with regard to the affect coloured light has on teenagers’ mood. This paper presents the findings of a coloured light study in living environments seeking to understand how different coloured lights might affect teenagers’ moods. Twenty-three British teenagers, aged 13-14 years old, male and female, participated in the ‘Coloured Lights in my Bedroom’ study which was held in a room with no windows so that the artificial lighting would not mix with natural lighting. Only 22 properly completed the questionnaire. One of them did not scale every emotion maybe because he did not know the meaning of the words. In the study, participants were instructed to complete the PANAS Questionnaire (a mood scale which measures both positive and negative affect) under eight different coloured lights:: red, light-green, green, light-blue, blue, pink, yellow, and white. Results show overall positive average results indicating that the participants have only experienced positive moods under each different colour. Light-green had the most positive effects on teenagers’ mood followed by blue, light-blue, red, yellow, green, with pink and white being equal. Our results contradict some studies and agree with others. The dark red light from this study created positive moods compared with the dark red colour from Harrington’s [4] study which was associated with negative emotions. However, the reds from Harrington’s [4] study are not red lights as used in the present study, therefore, the colour perception of reds might be different when comparing the two studies. According to Lee [12], red light is perceived as uncomfortable, but our results indicate otherwise with red light affecting in a positive way teenagers’ mood. Research shows yellow light is the most pleasant and comfortable colour lighting, perceived as elegant [12]. Our study shows light-green light has the most positive effect upon teenagers’ mood, yellow light being one of the last choices regarding the positive scale. The study has thrown up many questions, especially about the possibility to map findings from studies of colour affect onto studies of coloured light affect. It is possible that the addition of lighting in the colour has a significant effect on the way the colour ‘feels’ to the participants. Future work is exploring this by asking teenagers to comment on printed colours in a large questionnaire study which asks about predicted affect of coloured walls and ceilings in teenage bedrooms

Inhibiting BDNF Signaling Upregulates Hippocampal H3K9me3 in a Manner Dependent On In Vitro Aging and Oxidative Stress

Histone modifications are key contributors to the cognitive decline that occurs in aging and Alzheimer's disease. Our lab has previously shown that elevated H3K9me3 in aged mice is correlated with synaptic loss, cognitive impairment and a reduction in brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, the mechanism of H3K9me3 regulation remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of age-associated stressors on H3K9me3 regulation and examined if changes in H3K9me3 were age dependent. We used cultured hippocampal neurons at 6, 12, and 21&nbsp;days in vitro (DIV) to examine the effect of different stressors on H3K9me3 across neuron ages. We found that the oxidative stressor hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) does not induce H3K9me3 in 12 DIV neurons. Inhibiting BDNF signaling via TrkB-Fc elevated H3K9me3 in 12 and 21 DIV neurons compared to 6 DIV neurons. Antioxidant treatment prevented H3K9me3 elevation in 12 DIV neurons treated with TrkB-Fc and H2O2. H2O2 elevated the epigenetic regulator SIRT1 in 6 DIV neurons but did not increase H3K9me3 levels. Our findings demonstrate that inhibiting BDNF signaling elevates hippocampal H3K9me3 in a manner dependent on in vitro age and oxidative stress

Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis a 14 years single center experience

Al XI-lea Congres al Asociației Chirurgilor „Nicolae Anestiadi” din Republica Moldova și cea de-a XXXIII-a Reuniune a Chirurgilor din Moldova „Iacomi-Răzeșu” 27-30 septembrie 2011Tratamentul chirurgical al pancreatitei cronice este indicat la pacienții cu durere persistentă în ciuda tratamentului medicamentos sau endoscopic, sau în cazul prezenței complicațiilor.Obiectiv: Acest studiu evaluează experiența unui singur centru în ceea ce privește managementul chirurgical al pancreatitei cronice pe o perioadă de 14 ani, cu privire la indicație,tehnica chirurgicală, rezultate imediate și tardive.Material și metodă: Au fost studiați 265 de pacienți ce au suferit intervenții chirurgicale pentru pancreatita cronicã între anii 1995 și 2008. Rezultatele tardive postoperatorii au fost evaluate prin sondaj direct, cu o urmãrire medianã de 40 de luni.Rezultate: 265 de pacienți au suferit 275 de intervenții chirugicale pentru pancreatita cronicã având ca indicțtie principalã durerea abdominalã (46,8%), urmatã de suspiciunea de malignizare 24,8 % și episoade de pancreatitã acutã recurentã 18,6%. Rezecții 54,5% (150), proceduri de drenaj1,09% (3), derivatii, proceduri de neurolizã 44,36% (122) silaparotomii exploratorii 3,27% (9) au fost efectuate cu o morbiditate totalã de 22 % și o mortalitate imediatã de 2,64%.Dupã o urmãrire medianã de 40 de luni s-au obținut informații pentru 137 de pacienți (51,69%) cu o supraviețuire actuarialã la 5 ani de 74,7% și îmbunãtãțirea calității vieții la majoritatea pacienților, în special la pacienții rezecati. Concluzie: Rezultatele noastre sugereazã că în cazul pancreatitei cronice tipul interventiei chirurgicale trebuie individualizat (rezectie vs drenaj) și operațiile conservatoare (organ sparing) sunt eficiente și sigure în tratamentul pe termen lung al durerii și al complicatiilor pancreatitei cronice. Background: Operative treatment of chronic pancreatitis isindicated for patients with intractable pain after failed medicaland endoscopic treatment, or in the presence of complicationsof the disease.Aims: This study evaluates a single-center experience withoperative management of chronic pancreatitis over a periodof time of 14 years, regarding indication, surgical technique,early and late results.Patients and Methods: The records of 265 consecutive patientswho underwent surgery for chronic pancreatitis between 1995and 2008 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Longtermoutcomes were assessed by patient survey, with a medianfollow-up of 40 months.Results: 265 patients underwent 275 operations for chronicpancreatitis with the main indication abdominal pain(46,8%), followed by suspected malignancy in 24,8 % andrecurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis in 18,6%. Resectionprocedures 54,5% (150), drainage procedures 1,09% (3), bypassand denervation procedures 44,36% (122) andexploratory laparotomy 3,27% (9) were performed with anoverall morbidity of 22 % and an in-hospital mortality rateof 2,64%. After a median follow-up of 40 months survivalinformation was available for 137 patients (51,69%) with aCorresponding author:225-and actuarial survival rate of 74,7% and quality of lifeimprovement in most patients, especially in the resectedgroup.Conclusion: Our results suggest that in chronic pancreatitisthe type of surgery has to be individualized in each patient(resection VS drainage) and organ preserving operations aresafe and effective in providing long-term pain relief and in treating CP-related complications.Background: Operative treatment of chronic pancreatitis is indicated for patients with intractable pain after failed medical and endoscopic treatment or in the presence of complications of the disease.Aims: This study evaluates a single-center experience with operative management of chronic pancreatitis over a period of time of 14 years, regarding indication, surgical technique, early and late results. Patients and Methods: The records of 265 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for chronic pancreatitis between 1995and 2008 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Long-term outcomes were assessed by the patient survey, with a median follow-up of 40 months. Results: 265 patients underwent 275 operations for chronic pancreatitis with the main indication abdominal pain(46,8%), followed by suspected malignancy in 24,8 % and recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis in 18,6%. Resection procedures 54,5% (150), drainage procedures 1,09% (3), bypass and denervation procedures 44,36% (122) and exploratory laparotomy 3,27% (9) were performed with an overall morbidity of 22 % and an in-hospital mortality rate of 2,64%. After a median follow-up of 40 months, survival information was available for 137 patients (51,69%) with a corresponding author: the 225-and actuarial survival rate of 74,7% and quality of life-improvement in most patients, especially in the resected group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that in chronic pancreatitis the type of surgery has to be individualized in each patient(resection VS drainage) and organ-preserving operations are safe and effective in providing long-term pain relief and in treating CP-related complications