Mapping heterogeneous research infrastructure metadata into a unified catalogue for use in a generic virtual research environment

Virtual Research Environments (VREs), also known as science gateways or virtual laboratories, assist researchers in data science by integrating tools for data discovery, data retrieval, workflow management and researcher collaboration, often coupled with a specific computing infrastructure. Recently, the push for better open data science has led to the creation of a variety of dedicated research infrastructures (RIs) that gather data and provide services to different research communities, all of which can be used independently of any specific VRE. There is therefore a need for generic VREs that can be coupled with the resources of many different RIs simultaneously, easily customised to the needs of specific communities. The resource metadata produced by these RIs rarely all adhere to any one standard or vocabulary however, making it difficult to search and discover resources independently of their providers without some translation into a common framework. Cross-RI search can be expedited by using mapping services that harvest RI-published metadata to build unified resource catalogues, but the development and operation of such services pose a number of challenges. In this paper, we discuss some of these challenges and look specifically at the VRE4EIC Metadata Portal, which uses X3ML mappings to build a single catalogue for describing data products and other resources provided by multiple RIs. The Metadata Portal was built in accordance to the e-VRE Reference Architecture, a microservice-based architecture for generic modular VREs, and uses the CERIF standard to structure its catalogued metadata. We consider the extent to which it addresses the challenges of cross-RI search, particularly in the environmental and earth science domain, and how it can be further augmented, for example to take advantage of linked vocabularies to provide more intelligent semantic search across multiple domains of discourse

Antibiotic use for upper respiratory tract infections in children: A cross-sectional survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of parents in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common in children. The cause of URTIs is usually viral, but parents' attitudes often contribute to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics, promoting antibiotic resistance. The objective of this study was to document and analyse parental beliefs on antibiotic use for children with URTIs in Greece, a country with high levels of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A knowledge-attitude-practice questionnaire was developed and distributed to Greek parents caring for children who were 5-6 years old, between January and July of the same school year. The sample of the study contained parents from all geographic areas of Greece.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of Greek parents (80%) believed that UTRIs are mostly self-limited, although 74% of them expected to receive antibiotics when such a diagnosis was given. Earache was the most common reason for which parents expected antibiotics (45%). Greek parents rarely gave antibiotics to their children without medical advice (10%) and most (88%) believed that unnecessary antibiotic use drives antibiotic resistance and they were happy to receive symptomatic therapy if instructed by their physician. Almost 70% of parents confused antibiotics with other medicines used for symptomatic therapy for a child with URTI.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Greek parents have a trusted relationship with their paediatrician and rarely give antibiotics without medical advice, indicating that parents contribute less than expected to antibiotic misuse. Parents also appreciate the benign course of most URTIs and the fact that unnecessary antibiotic use is harmful. More time needs to be invested in educating mostly physicians on the potential benefit from reducing antibiotic prescribing for children with URTI.</p

Building an Integrated Enhanced Virtual Research Environment Metadata Catalogue

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to boost multidisciplinary research by the building of an integrated catalogue or research assets metadata. Such an integrated catalogue should enable researchers to solve problems or analyse phenomena that require a view across several scientific domains. Design/methodology/approach There are two main approaches for integrating metadata catalogues provided by different e-science research infrastructures (e-RIs): centralised and distributed. The authors decided to implement a central metadata catalogue that describes, provides access to and records actions on the assets of a number of e-RIs participating in the system. The authors chose the CERIF data model for description of assets available via the integrated catalogue. Analysis of popular metadata formats used in e-RIs has been conducted, and mappings between popular formats and the CERIF data model have been defined using an XML-based tool for description and automatic execution of mappings. Findings An integrated catalogue of research assets metadata has been created. Metadata from e-RIs supporting Dublin Core, ISO 19139, DCAT-AP, EPOS-DCAT-AP, OIL-E and CKAN formats can be integrated into the catalogue. Metadata are stored in CERIF RDF in the integrated catalogue. A web portal for searching this catalogue has been implemented. Research limitations/implications Only five formats are supported at this moment. However, description of mappings between other source formats and the target CERIF format can be defined in the future using the 3M tool, an XML-based tool for describing X3ML mappings that can then be automatically executed on XML metadata records. The approach and best practices described in this paper can thus be applied in future mappings between other metadata formats. Practical implications The integrated catalogue is a part of the eVRE prototype, which is a result of the VRE4EIC H2020 project. Social implications The integrated catalogue should boost the performance of multi-disciplinary research; thus it has the potential to enhance the practice of data science and so contribute to an increasingly knowledge-based society. Originality/value A novel approach for creation of the integrated catalogue has been defined and implemented. The approach includes definition of mappings between various formats. Defined mappings are effective and shareable.Published929-9514IT. Banche datiJCR Journa

Exploring medical terminology inexpediencies: Tripledemic vs. triple epidemic.

Accurate and consistent medical terminology has a fundamental value in medicine. It enables medical students to understand the meaning of each term, medical physicians to communicate with each other, and it also enables science to adopt a logical language of high-level understanding and scientific regularity. Medical terminology inexpediencies caused by the adoption of etymologically illogical or linguistically false terms lead to misunderstanding and confusion among clinicians. The medical terms epidemic and pandemic are as old as Hippocrates and Sophocles, respectively. The present article evaluates the new medical terms tripledemic and triple epidemic, which were introduced during the recent COVID-19 pandemic

Effect of dietary seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) supplementation on milk mineral concentrations, transfer efficiency, and hematological parameters in lactating Holstein cows

This study investigated the effect of feeding seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) to dairy cows on milk mineral concentrations, feed-to-milk mineral transfer efficiencies and hematological parameters. Lactating Holstein cows (n = 46) were allocated to one of 2 diets (n = 23 each): (i) control (CON; without seaweed), and (ii) seaweed (SWD; replacing 330 g/d of dried corn meal in CON with 330 g/d dried A. nodosum). All cows were fed the CON diet for 4 weeks before the experiment (adaptation period); and animals were then fed the experimental diets for 9 weeks. Samples included sequential 3-week composite feed samples, a composite milk sample on the last day of each week, and a blood sample at the end of the study. Data were statistically analyzed using a linear mixed effects model with diet, week, and their interaction as fixed factors; cow (nested within diet) as a random factor and data collected on the last day of the adaptation period as covariates. Feeding SWD increased milk concentrations of Mg (+6.6 mg/kg), P (+56 mg/kg), and I (+1720 μg/kg). It also reduced transfer efficiency of Ca, Mg, P, K, Mn, and Zn, and increased transfer efficiency of Mo. Feeding SWD marginally reduced milk protein concentrations while there was no effect of SWD feeding on cows' hematological parameters. Feeding A. nodosum increased milk I concentrations, which can be beneficial when feed I concentration is limited or in demographics or populations with increased risk of I deficiency (e.g., female adolescents, pregnant women, nursing mothers). However, care should also be taken when feeding SWD to dairy cows because, in the present study, milk I concentrations were particularly high and could result in I intakes that pose a health risk for children consuming milk.The project leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 730924 (SmartCow). The analysis of macrominerals and trace elements in feed, milk, and blood plasma was funded by the University of Reading (Reading, UK); special thanks go to the laboratory personnel at the University of Reading who supported the analysis of feed, milk, and blood plasma. This output reflects only the authors' views, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The data set supporting the conclusions of this article is available on request from the corresponding authors. Eric E. Newton: conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing–original draft, writing–review and editing, visualization. Katerina Theodoridou: conceptualization, methodology, resources, writing–review and editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. Marta Terré: project administration, investigation, resources, writing–review and editing. Sharon Huws: writing–review and editing. Partha Ray: conceptualization, methodology, software, supervision. Christopher K. Reynolds: writing–review and editing, supervision. N. Prat: investigation, resources. D. Sabrià: investigation, resources. Sokratis Stergiadis: conceptualization, methodology, resources, data curation, writing–original draft, writing–review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript. Animals were managed with common rearing conditions under the supervision of Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA, Monells, Spain) technicians and the approval of the Animal Care Committee of the Government of Catalonia (authorization code 11392). The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio