Discrete Global Grid Systems with quadrangular cells as reference frameworks for the current generation of Earth observation data cubes

Discrete Global Grid Systems are spatial reference frameworks that associate information to multi-resolution grids of uniquely identified cells; they are proposed as mechanisms to facilitate the efficient integration of heterogeneous spatial data. They could provide an excellent reference system for Earth observation data cubes, technological infrastructures that provide analysis-ready access to Earth Observation big data, as long as they can be made compatible with them. In this paper, we demonstrate that this is currently feasible without requiring new technological developments. We show how a Discrete Global Grid System with quadrangular cells, rHEALPix, and an existing data cube platform, Open Data Cube, can be integrated without loosing the advantages of having all the data in a Discrete Global Grid System, while keeping a straightforward access to all of the analysis tools provided by an Earth Observation Data Cube

Geographic Ontologies Production in GREASE-II

Reviewed by Ana Paula AfonsoThis report presents the development of authoritative geographic knowledge and related conceptualization tools in the project GREASE-II. The feature concept, an abstraction for geographical entities, is the centre of the conceptual model, which is oriented towards a representation of geographic data as interlinked web resources. The conceptualization tools are the Geographic Knowledge Base (GKB) system (version 2.1), a system for geographic knowledge management, and the Geo-Net vocabulary for describing geographic knowledge. Both contribute to the production of the new version of the geospatial ontology of Portugal, Geo-Net-PT 02. The innovations introduced since version 1.0 of the GKB system and Geo-Net-PT 01 include a formalization of the model, the support for generic property sets, detailed information provenance, better geographic descriptions and the definition of Geo-Net vocabulary, a domain vocabulary

Improving the geospatial consistency of digital libraries metadata

Consistency is an essential aspect of the quality of metadata. Inconsistent metadata records are harmful: given a themed query, the set of retrieved metadata records would contain descriptions of unrelated or irrelevant resources, and may even not contain some resources considered obvious. This is even worse when the description of the location is inconsistent. Inconsistent spatial descriptions may yield invisible or hidden geographical resources that cannot be retrieved by means of spatially themed queries. Therefore, ensuring spatial consistency should be a primary goal when reusing, sharing and developing georeferenced digital collections. We present a methodology able to detect geospatial inconsistencies in metadata collections based on the combination of spatial ranking, reverse geocoding, geographic knowledge organization systems and information-retrieval techniques. This methodology has been applied to a collection of metadata records describing maps and atlases belonging to the Library of Congress. The proposed approach was able to automatically identify inconsistent metadata records (870 out of 10,575) and propose fixes to most of them (91.5%) These results support the ability of the proposed methodology to assess the impact of spatial inconsistency in the retrievability and visibility of metadata records and improve their spatial consistency

Autenticidad y aprendizaje basado en proyectos en una asignatura sobre diseño de software

Este artículo presenta un estudio sobre los aspectos relacionados con la autenticidad en el aprendizaje basado en proyectos aplicado al diseño de software, especialmente en los aspectos de dominio de problema de este diseño. Para proporcionar un problema relevante para los estudiantes, el dominio del proyecto es sobre sistemas de información geográfica aplicados a un campus universitario. Los estudiantes llevan a cabo sus proyectos siguiendo la metodología ágil Scrum. Los estudiantes aprenden sobre diseño dirigido por el dominio, que es un conjunto de principios y prácticas para diseñar software con modelos de dominio ricos. Para valorar el grado de éxito sobre la autenticidad proporcionada y otros resultados positivos esperados en entornos de aprendizaje basado en proyectos, se analizan encuestas rellenadas por los estudiantes tres años consecutivos. Este análisis ha permitido aprender algunas lecciones que pueden ser útiles para diseñar entornos de aprendizaje similares. Estas lecciones pueden resumirse en la necesidad de equilibrar autenticidad y trabajo de los estudiantes, la importancia de facilitar la competición entre equipos, el difícil equilibrio entre aprender sobre un dominio y aprender sobre ingeniería del software, y en el papel que las prácticas de laboratorio tienen en el aprendizaje basado en proyectos.This paper presents a study on the authenticity-related aspects of project-based learning applied to software design, especially on the problem domain aspects of this design. To provide a relevant problem for the students, the project domain is about geographic information systems applied to a University campus. The student teams carry out their projects following the agile methodology Scrum. The students learn Domain- Driven Design, which is a set of principles and practices to design software with rich domain models. To assess the degree of success in providing authenticity and other positive outcomes that are expected in project-based learning environments, the answers to a questionnaire filled in by the students in three consecutive years are analyzed. This has allowed to extract several lessons that may be helpful to design similar courses. These lessons can be summarized in the necessity to balance the authenticity with the expected student work, the importance of facilitating the competition among the teams, the difficult balance between learning about a domain versus learning new software engineering techniques and the role that laboratory assignments have in project-based learning

Extensión de un proyecto Open Source con un proceso de pruebas bien asentado como modelo de aprendizaje para una asignatura de Verificación y Validación

La asignatura de Verificación y Validación es una asignatura obligatoria dentro de la intensificación de Ingeniería del Software en el Grado en Ingeniería Informática. El principal objetivo de esta asignatura es que el alumno aprenda a diseñar, planificar e integrar las pruebas dentro del ciclo de vida de desarrollo de productos software, prestando especial atención a la automatización de las pruebas. Dado que los conceptos implicados en la puesta en marcha de un proceso de pruebas no se pueden adquirir únicamente desde un punto de vista teórico, se ha planteado la aplicación de una metodología de aprendizaje basada en proyectos tomando como punto de partida una herramienta Open Source que ya cuenta con un proceso de pruebas bien definido. Sobre este proyecto Open Source desarrollado con tecnología Java y con una amplia comunidad de usuarios, los alumnos deben extender la herramienta para incorporar una nueva funcionalidad de complejidad limitada pero que les permita poner en marcha un plan de pruebas adaptando la metodología TMAP y aplicar técnicas para diseñar y ejecutar pruebas en los distintos niveles de pruebas de desarrollo, sistema y aceptación. Este artículo describe la experiencia de la utilización de este tipo de proyectos durante tres cursos académicos.Verification and Validation is a mandatory course of the Software Engineering graduate program in Computer Science Engineering studies. The main objective of this course is to train students for the design, planning and integration of test process within the life cycle of software products development, paying special attention to test automation. Since the concepts implied in the set up of a testing process cannot be learnt solely from a theoretical perspective, this work proposes a project-based learning methodology taking as a starting point the development of an Open Source tool, which already has a well-defined testing process. Upon this Open Source project developed with Java technology, and supported by a wide user community, students must launch a test plan adapting TMAP methodology and apply the necessary techniques to design and execute tests for development, system and acceptance test levels. This paper describes the experience of using this kind of projects during three academic courses.Este trabajo ha sido financiado parcialmente por el Gobierno de España a través del proyecto TIN2017-88002-R

A review of the implementation of OGC Web Services across Europe

This paper presents the results of an investigation conducted in the spring of 2010 to review the availability across Europe of public Web services conforming to the standard specifications issued by the Open Geospatial Consortium. The descriptive and statistical analysis of 6,544 geospatial network services might provide insight into the current level of implementation of these services in Europe. These services were discovered with the help of a focused crawler able to discover access points to public geospatial network services. This crawler relies on general-purpose search engines for finding seed URLs related with geospatial network services from which begin crawling. The work also identifies potential limitations and data biases derived from the methodology. Nevertheless, this kind of strategy might open up new opportunities to complement SDI implementation assessments when exhaustive, periodic and up to date monitoring is required

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Sex- and age-related differences in the management and outcomes of chronic heart failure: an analysis of patients from the ESC HFA EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry

Aims: This study aimed to assess age- and sex-related differences in management and 1-year risk for all-cause mortality and hospitalization in chronic heart failure (HF) patients. Methods and results: Of 16 354 patients included in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Long-Term Registry, 9428 chronic HF patients were analysed [median age: 66 years; 28.5% women; mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 37%]. Rates of use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) were high (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: 85.7%, 88.7% and 58.8%, respectively). Crude GDMT utilization rates were lower in women than in men (all differences: P\ua0 64 0.001), and GDMT use became lower with ageing in both sexes, at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT prescription; however, age >75 years was a significant predictor of GDMT underutilization. Rates of all-cause mortality were lower in women than in men (7.1% vs. 8.7%; P\ua0=\ua00.015), as were rates of all-cause hospitalization (21.9% vs. 27.3%; P\ua075 years. Conclusions: There was a decline in GDMT use with advanced age in both sexes. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT or adverse outcomes. However, age >75 years independently predicted lower GDMT use and higher all-cause mortality in patients with LVEF 6445%

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe