Normalized medical information visualization

A new mark-up programming language is introduced in order to facilitate and improve the visualization of ISO/EN 13606 dual model-based normalized medical information. This is the first time that visualization of normalized medical information is addressed and the programming language is intended to be used by medical non-IT professionals.S

Service for the pseudonymization of electronic healthcare records based on ISO/EN 13606 for the secondary use of information

The availability of electronic health data favors scientific advance through the creation of repositories for secondary use. Data anonymization is a mandatory step to comply with current legislation. A service for the pseudonymization of electronic healthcare record (EHR) extracts aimed at facilitating the exchange of clinical information for secondary use in compliance with legislation on data protection is presented. According to ISO/TS 25237, pseudonymization is a particular type of anonymization. This tool performs the anonymizations by maintaining three quasi-identifiers (gender, date of birth and place of residence) with a degree of specification selected by the user. The developed system is based on the ISO/EN 13606 norm using its characteristics specifically favorable for anonymization. The service is made up of two independent modules: the demographic server and the pseudonymizing module. The demographic server supports the permanent storage of the demographic entities and the management of the identifiers. The pseudonymizing module anonymizes the ISO/EN 13606 extracts. The pseudonymizing process consists of four phases: the storage of the demographic information included in the extract, the substitution of the identifiers, the elimination of the demographic information of the extract and the elimination of key data in free-text fields. The described pseudonymizing system was used in three Telemedicine research projects with satisfactory results. A problem was detected with the type of data in a demographic data field and a proposal for modification was prepared for the group in charge of the drawing up and revision of the ISO/EN 13606 norm

Uso de técnicas de regresión GLM con datos fitosociológicos

Se ha analizado el concepto de fidelidad de las especies a los sintáxones por medio de métodos numéricos como son los Modelos Lineales Generales (GLM). Se ha tomado como ejemplo el estudio de la vegetación gipsófila en la cuenca del río Tajo. Mediante un análisis de componentes principales (PCA) previo se establecieron las relaciones florísticas globales. Los resultados muestran la alta coincidencia del número de gipsófitos en comunidades gipsofíticas más estrictas, mientras que en las halófilas, la coincidencia es de un 50%. El comportamiento de los gipsófitos fue muy diferente, Lepidium subulatum y Centairea hyssopifolia es muestran como características a un nivel más elevado que el de asociación, mientras que Herniatia fruticosa, Helianthemum squamatum y Thymus loscosii quedan confinados al Herniario-Teucrietum y Gyosiohila struthium queda restringida al Gypsophilo-Centaurectum hyssopifoliae. Los halófitos se comportan de forma parecida. Limonium dichotomum se muestra como una especie de amplia fidelidad. Senecio auricula y Lygeum spartum se comportan como plantas típicas de albardinares (s.l.) mientras que Atriplex halimus y Artemisia herba-alba quedan restringidas a las comunidades a las que dan nombr

Factors affecting establishment of a gypsophyte: the case of Lepidium subulatum (Brassicaceae)

The restriction of vascular plants to gypsum-rich soils under arid or semiarid climates has been reported by many authors in different parts of the world. However, factors controlling the presence of gypsophytes on these soils are far from understood. We investigated the establishment of Lepidium subulatum, a gypsophyte, in a nondisturbed semiarid gypsum-soil landscape in central Spain, both from spatial and temporal perspectives. Over 1400 seedlings were tagged, and their growth and survival were monitored for a 2-yr period. Several biotic and abiotic variables were measured to determine the factors controlling the emergence and early survival. These variables included the cover of annual plants, bryophytes, lichens, litter, gypsum crystals, bare fraction and cover of each perennial plant, and several soil properties (gravel, fine gravel, and fineearth fraction, conductivity, pH, gypsum content, organic matter and penetrometer soil resistance). Our results support the linkage of gypsophily with some physical properties of the surface crust. Seedlings tended to establish on the gypsum surface crust, and their survival was size dependent, probably as a consequence of the necessity of rooting below the surface crust before summer drought arrives. However, once seedlings emerged, a higher survival rate occurred on the alluvial soils of the piedmont-slope boundary where soil crusts are absent or thinner. We conclude that Lepidium subulatum may be considered a refuge model endemic with a distribution range that occupies a reduced fraction of a wider habitat from which it is probably excluded by competition

Service for the Pseudonymization of Electronic Healthcare Records Based on ISO/EN 13606 for the Secondary Use of Information.

The availability of electronic health data favors scientific advance through the creation of repositories for secondary use. Data anonymization is a mandatory step to comply with current legislation. A service for the pseudonymization of electronic healthcare record (EHR) extracts aimed at facilitating the exchange of clinical information for secondary use in compliance with legislation on data protection is presented. According to ISO/TS 25237, pseudonymization is a particular type of anonymization. This tool performs the anonymizations by maintaining three quasi-identifiers (gender, date of birth, and place of residence) with a degree of specification selected by the user. The developed system is based on the ISO/EN 13606 norm using its characteristics specifically favorable for anonymization. The service is made up of two independent modules: the demographic server and the pseudonymizing module. The demographic server supports the permanent storage of the demographic entities and the management of the identifiers. The pseudonymizing module anonymizes the ISO/EN 13606 extracts. The pseudonymizing process consists of four phases: the storage of the demographic information included in the extract, the substitution of the identifiers, the elimination of the demographic information of the extract, and the elimination of key data in free-text fields. The described pseudonymizing system was used in three telemedicine research projects with satisfactory results. A problem was detected with the type of data in a demographic data field and a proposal for modification was prepared for the group in charge of the drawing up and revision of the ISO/EN 13606 norm.This work was supported inpart by Project PI08/1148, Project PI08/90330, Project PI12/01476, and ProjectPI12/01305 (coord. PI12/00508) from Fondo de Investigaci ́on Sanitaria (FIS)Plan Nacional de I+D+i and by Project CEN-20091043S

ccML, a new mark-up language to improve ISO/EN 13606-based electronic health record extracts practical edition

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to introduce a new language called ccML, designed to provide convenient pragmatic information to applications using the ISO/EN13606 reference model (RM), such as electronic health record (EHR) extracts editors. EHR extracts are presently built using the syntactic and semantic information provided in the RM and constrained by archetypes. The ccML extra information enables the automation of the medico-legal context information edition, which is over 70% of the total in an extract, without modifying the RM information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ccML is defined using a W3C XML schema file. Valid ccML files complement the RM with additional pragmatics information. The ccML language grammar is defined using formal language theory as a single-type tree grammar. The new language is tested using an EHR extracts editor application as proof-of-concept system. RESULTS: Seven ccML PVCodes (predefined value codes) are introduced in this grammar to cope with different realistic EHR edition situations. These seven PVCodes have different interpretation strategies, from direct look up in the ccML file itself, to more complex searches in archetypes or system precomputation. DISCUSSION: The possibility to declare generic types in ccML gives rise to ambiguity during interpretation. The criterion used to overcome ambiguity is that specificity should prevail over generality. The opposite would make the individual specific element declarations useless. CONCLUSION: A new mark-up language ccML is introduced that opens up the possibility of providing applications using the ISO/EN13606 RM with the necessary pragmatics information to be practical and realistic.This research has been partially supported by projects PI09/90110 ‘Plataforma de innovación en nuevos servicios de telemedicina y eSalud para pacientes crónicos y dependientes (Innovation platform for new telemedicine and e-health services for chronic and dependent patients)—PITES’ and PI08/1148 ‘Representación de información clínica en cáncer de mama mediante arquetipos (Modeling clinical information in breast cancer through archetypes)—CAMAMA’ from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) Plan Nacional de I+D+i, and by project CEN-20091043 ‘Tecnologías disruptivas para la rehabilitación del futuro (Disruptive technologies for Rehabilitation in the Future)—REHABILITA’ from Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica—CENIT-E.S