Data Harmonisation Put into Practice by the HUMBOLDT Project

Data harmonisation is a key prerequisite for an efficient and meaningful combination of heterogeneous information in cross-border applications and spatial data infrastructures. This is also the main objective of the INSPIRE Directive which has entered its implementation phase. Data Specifications for INSPIRE Annex I data themes have been published containing harmonised, pan-European data models and a number of other requirements. Data providers across Europe face the challenge of transforming their legacy data to comply with these Data Specifications. This paper presents results of the European project HUMBOLDT. Data harmonisation requirements identified in nine scenarios covering a wide range of application domains and using heterogeneous data from a number of European countries are illustrated. Processes required to achieve data harmonisation are described from an application point of view. The open-source software framework for data harmonisation and services integration developed in the project is introduced and its use in two application scenarios is demonstrated

Building Virtual Earth Observatories using Ontologies and Linked Geospatial Data

TELEIOS is a European project that addresses the need for scalable access to petabytes of Earth Observation data and the discovery of knowledge that can be used in applications. To achieve this, TELEIOS builds on scientific database technologies (array databases, SciQL, data vaults), Semantic Web technologies (stRDF and stSPARQL) and linked geospatial data. In this technical communication we outline the TELEIOS advancements to the state of the art and give an overview of its technical contributions up to today

A web 3D service for navigation applications

The paper focuses on the actual and upcoming developments of web services that provide 3D spatial data for several client devices. The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics is actively involved into the development of a Web3D Service and has implemented extensions to this service proposal. Having a look at these extensions we will describe the motivation, the implementation, and the application in different areas, especially navigation systems. By using mobile devices in navigation applications the performance problems of low bandwidths have to be solved. To transfer 3D data, different extending approaches like compression to reduce idle time are presented. Applications for cyclists, hikers and tourists building up on these approaches are described. Here, we concentrate on visualization aspects like height profiles or the 3D visualisation on cell phones

Symbology encoding for 3D GIS - an approach to extend 3D city model visualization to GIS visualization

In this paper we present an approach for the visualization definition and control of 3D city models enabling a more flexible and map-orientated presentation of city scenes. Following actual standardization developments, we applied and extended the Symbology Encoding OGC-standard. The approach compromises processing, visualization with its symbolizers. The concept as well as some implementation-specific aspects are shown. Within a discussion some open topics and modelling issues regarding the geometry handling in 3D GIS are raised

Limited role of mast cells during infection with the parasitic nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis.

Mast cells are innate effector cells that due to their localization in the tissue form the first line of defense against parasites. We have previously shown that specifically mucosal mast cells were essential for the termination of the intestinal Strongyloides ratti infection. Here, we analyze the impact of mast cells on the immune response and defense against the tissue-dwelling filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis using mast cell-deficient Cpa3cre mice. Despite an increase and an activation of mast cells at the site of infection in wildtype BALB/c mice the outcome of L. sigmodontis infection was not changed in mast cell-deficient BALB/c Cpa3cre mice. In Cpa3cre mice neither vascular permeability induced by blood-sucking mites nor the migration of L3 was altered compared to Cpa3 wildtype littermates. Worm burden in the thoracic cavity was alike in the presence and absence of mast cells during the entire course of infection. Although microfilaremiae in the peripheral blood increased in mast cell-deficient mice at some time points, the infection was cleared with comparable kinetics in the presence and absence of mast cells. Moreover, mast cell deficiency had no impact on the cytokine and antibody response to L. sigmodontis. In summary, our findings suggest that mast cells are not mandatory for the initiation of an appropriate immune response and host defense during L. sigmodontis infection in mice

Data harmonisation put into practice by the HUMBOLDT project

Data harmonisation is a key prerequisite for an efficient and meaningful combination of heterogeneous information in cross-border applications and spatial data infrastructures. This is also the main objective of the INSPIRE Directive which has entered its implementation phase. Data Specifications for INSPIRE Annex I data themes have been published containing harmonised, pan- European data models and a number of other requirements. Data providers across Europe face the challenge of transforming their legacy data to comply with these Data Specifications. This paper presents results of the European project HUMBOLDT. Data harmonisation requirements identified in nine scenarios covering a wide range of application domains and using heterogeneous data from a number of European countries are illustrated. Processes required to achieve data harmonisation are described from an application point of view. The open-source software framework for data harmonisation and services integration developed in the project is introduced and its use in two application scenarios is demonstrated

Sarcopenia as a prognostic factor for survival in patients with locally advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Patients with gastric cancer often show signs of malnutrition. We sought to evaluate the influence of sarcopenia in patients with locally advanced, not metastasized, gastric or gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) cancer undergoing curative treatment (perioperative chemotherapy and surgery) on morbidity and mortality in order to identify patients in need for nutritional intervention. PATIENTS AND METHODS:Two-centre study, conducted in the Frankfurt University Clinic and Krankenhaus Nordwest (Frankfurt) as part of the University Cancer Center Frankfurt (UCT). 47/83 patients were treated in the FLOT trial (NCT01216644). Patients´ charts were reviewed for clinical data. Two consecutive CT scans were retrospectively analyzed to determine the degree of sarcopenia. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox regression. RESULTS:60 patients (72.3%) were male and 23 (27.7%) female. 45 patients (54.2%) had GEJ type 1-3 and 38 (45.8%) gastric tumors, respectively. Sarcopenic patients were significantly older than non-sarcopenic patients (mean age 65.1 years vs. 59.5 years, p = 0.042), terminated the chemotherapy significantly earlier (50% vs. 22.6%, p = 0.037) and showed higher Clavien-Dindo scores, indicating more severe perioperative complications (score ≥3 43.3 vs. 17.0%, p = 0.019). Sarcopenic patients had a significantly shorter survival than non-sarcopenic patients (139.6 ± 19.5 [95% CI, 101.3-177.9] vs. 206.7 ± 13.8 [95% CI, 179.5-233.8] weeks, p = 0.004). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that, besides UICC stage, sarcopenia significantly influenced survival. CONCLUSION:Sarcopenia is present in a large proportion of patients with locally advanced gastric or GEJ cancer and significantly influences tolerability of chemotherapy, surgical complications and survival