Geração semi-automática de mapeamentos de vocabulários entre datasets da web de dados usando SPARQL

Atualmente, a web tem evoluído de um espaço global de documentos interligados ( Web de Documentos) para um espaço global de dados vinculados ( Web de Dados), de modo a que tanto os humanos como os agentes computacionais consigam compreender e extrair informações úteis desses dados. No entanto, para que seja possível possuir um dia uma Web de Dados, é necessário, em primeiro lugar, dar semântica aos dados. Neste sentido, emergiu uma nova abordagem, designada por Web Semântica, cujo principal objetivo é facilitar a interpretação e integração de dados na web. Na Web Semântica, utilizamos habitualmente as ontologias para descrever formalmente a semântica dos dados. No entanto, à medida que o número de ontologias vai aumentado, é bastante comum existir heterogeneidade entre elas, já que cada ontologia pode usar vocabulários diferentes para representar dados acerca de uma mesma área de conhecimento. Esta heterogeneidade impossibilita a recuperação de informações por parte dos agentes computacionais sem que haja intervenção humana. Para fazer face aos problemas relacionados com a heterogeneidade, é muito comum efetuar-se mapeamentos entre as ontologias. Existem diversas linguagens no mercado que permitem traduzir e mapear ontologias, dentro as quais destacamos a linguagem SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL 1.1) 1 e R2R 2 . Neste trabalho decidimos usar o SPARQL 1.1 como linguagem de mapeamento entre ontologias, pois é um padrão recomendado pelo World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) e amplamente utilizado pela comunidade. Como esta linguagem é complexa e necessita que o utilizador tenha experiência na definição e criação de mapeamentos, propomos uma ferramenta, chamada SPARQL Mapping with Assertions (SMA), que visa auxiliar os utilizadores no processo de geração de mapeamentos SPARQL 1.1 entre ontologias. A ferramenta SMA é constituída por quatro partes: (1) configuração inicial das ontologias: o utilizador indica quais as ontologias que deseja mapear, assim como a linguagem em que os ficheiros das mesmas estão escritos; (2) criação das Assertivas de Mapeamento (AMs): através da interface gráfica, o utilizador especifica quais os mapeamentos que deseja definir, incluindo possíveis transformações ou filtros que sejam necessários aplicar aos dados;(3) configuração para a geração de mapeamentos: o utilizador introduz o ficheiro com o Dataset da ontologia fonte e identifica a linguagem de serialização em que o mesmo está escrito. Além disso, também escolhe qual a linguagem de serialização que deseja aquando da geração de triplos; (4) geração de triplos através dos mapeamentos SPARQL 1.1: a partir dos pontos anteriores, a nossa ferramenta irá retornar um ficheiro com todos os resultados na linguagem de serialização escolhida. A nossa ferramenta permite ainda exportar todos os mapeamentos criados, quer seja através das linguagens formais (assertivas ou regras de mapeamentos) ou dos mapeamentos SPARQL 1.1

Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe

BACKGROUND: Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. METHODS: We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. RESULTS: The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl(-1) and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl(-1) after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). CONCLUSION: Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl(-1)), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT 01604083

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe

© 2016 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia.Background: Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. Methods: We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. Results: The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl-1 and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl-1 after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). Conclusions: Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl-1), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold

Intraoperative transfusion practices and perioperative outcome in the European elderly: A secondary analysis of the observational ETPOS study

The demographic development suggests a dramatic growth in the number of elderly patients undergoing surgery in Europe. Most red blood cell transfusions (RBCT) are administered to older people, but little is known about perioperative transfusion practices in this population. In this secondary analysis of the prospective observational multicentre European Transfusion Practice and Outcome Study (ETPOS), we specifically evaluated intraoperative transfusion practices and the related outcomes of 3149 patients aged 65 years and older. Enrolled patients underwent elective surgery in 123 European hospitals, received at least one RBCT intraoperatively and were followed up for 30 days maximum. The mean haemoglobin value at the beginning of surgery was 108 (21) g/l, 84 (15) g/l before transfusion and 101 (16) g/l at the end of surgery. A median of 2 [1–2] units of RBCT were administered. Mostly, more than one transfusion trigger was present, with physiological triggers being preeminent. We revealed a descriptive association between each intraoperatively administered RBCT and mortality and discharge respectively, within the first 10 postoperative days but not thereafter. In our unadjusted model the hazard ratio (HR) for mortality was 1.11 (95% CI: 1.08–1.15) and the HR for discharge was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.74–0.83). After adjustment for several variables, such as age, preoperative haemoglobin and blood loss, the HR for mortality was 1.10 (95% CI: 1.05–1.15) and HR for discharge was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78–0.87). Preoperative anaemia in European elderly surgical patients is undertreated. Various triggers seem to support the decision for RBCT. A closer monitoring of elderly patients receiving intraoperative RBCT for the first 10 postoperative days might be justifiable. Further research on the causal relationship between RBCT and outcomes and on optimal transfusion strategies in the elderly population is warranted. A thorough analysis of different time periods within the first 30 postoperative days is recommended

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field