Kako od posameznih delov do celovitejše slike znanja

In this paper we deal with the problem of information that is dispersed and growing so fast that it is difficult to connect it together into a coherent picture as needed for complex problem solving.We present two examples and some methods that have potential to contribute towards putting pieces of knowledge together. The first consists of finding complementary pieces of knowledge in literature that supports hypothesis generation by a well-defined and computer supported method. The second one is sharing and upgrading knowledge in collaborative settings, which still has many non-technical issues to be solved, although well developed in its technical aspectsV članku je obravnavan problem hitrega naraščanja in raztresenosti informacij, kar otežkoča njihovo povezovanje v smiselno celoto, potrebno za reševanje zahtevnih problemov. Predstavljamo dva primera, ki prinašata obete v tej smeri. Prvi je iskanje komplementarnih kosov znanja iz literature, kar podpira generiranje novih hipotez z dobro definirano računalniško metodo. Drugi je izmenjava in nadgrajevanje znanja v sodelovalnih okoljih, kar je tehnično sicer že zelo dobro podprto, vendar pa prinaša s sabo še veliko nerešenih, predvsem netehničnih vprašanj

Dopolnilno izobraževanje strokovnjakov kot dejavnik tehnološkega razvoja

The paper emphasizes the importance of con­tinuing engineering education for technological development. According to the authors, the potential of continuing education in Slovenia is stili underexploited. At the Jozef Stefan Institute, a project Establishing a model of continuing educa­tion in the field of information technologies led to the decision that this kind of activities should con­tinue in a newly formed center for knowledge transfer.Prispevek opozarja na pomen, ki ga ima do­ polnilno izobraževanje inženirjev in drugih te­ hniških strokovnjakov pri tehnološkem razvoju. V Sloveniji so po mnenju avtorjev možnosti za to­ vrstno izobraževanje še premalo izrabljene. Na kratko je predstavljen projekt Izdelava in zagon modela permanentnega izobraževanja na podro­čju informacijskih tehnologij, ki je v letu 1995 po­ tekal na Inštitutu Jožefa Stefana. Rezultati projek­ ta so privedli do odločitve, da na inštitutu v sode­ lovanju s predavatelji domačih in tujih univerz in­ tenzivneje nadaljujemo z omenjeno dejavnostjo in ustanovimo središče za prenos znanja na področju informacijskih tehnologij

Strukturiranje domenskega znanja s pomočjo polavtomatske gradnje ontologij

In this paper, we present a case in semi-automatic ontology construction from literature. For this, we concentrate on the articles about autism obtained from the PubMed Central database. Our motivation was to investigate how separate parts of articles, such as titles, abstracts and full texts, influence the constructed ontology. Our results confirm the intuitive expectation that constructing ontologies from abstracts is a rational choice when uncovering the structure of a given scientific field. In addition, when compared to general knowledge of autism, ontology concepts from abstracts show the highest similarityV članku opisujemo primer polavtomatske gradnje ontologij iz literature. Članke, ki smo jih uporabili v opisanem primeru, smo pridobili iz baze Pubmed Central. Cilj naše raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kako uporaba posameznih delov člankov – naslovi, povzetki, cela besedila – vplivajo na zgrajeno ontologijo. Dobljeni rezultati potrjujejo intuitivno domnevo, da gradnja ontologije iz povzetkov daje najboljše rezultate pri odkrivanju zakonitosti na izbranem problemskem področju. Koncepti, ki smo jih evidentirali pri gradnji ontologij iz povzetkov člankov s področja avtizma, se najbolj ujemajo s splošnim znanjem o avtizmu

Efficacy of Anti - IL-5 (mepolizumab) Treatment of Nasal Symptoms in Patients with Severe Eosinophilic Asthma - Study design

Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition that affects the nose and paranasal sinuses, characterised by nasal purulent discharge, nasal blockage and hyposmia, in combination with facial pain/pressure for at least 12 weeks. CRS can be classified as chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). Asthma is a complex chronic inflammatory disorder that presents a lot of different phenotypes and endotypes. Eosinophilic asthma is a specific phenotype characterised by thickening of the basement membrane and good response to corticosteroid. IL-5 is the most important interleukin responsible for eosinophilic airway inflammation. Material and methods: Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma were enrolled into a study group for the administration of anti-IL-5 (Mepolizumab) for severe eosinophilic asthma in a single specialised pulmonary tertiary institution. All patients were evaluated of their nasal status by a rhinologist for nasal symptoms regarding EPOS criteria, comorbidities (smoking, family history of CRS, allergies, VAS scale of asthma state, gastroesophageal reflux disease) and completed the validated SNOT-22 questionnaire on the same day before the administration of the anti-IL-5. Two separate biopsies were taken from the uncinate process or middle concha or nasal polyps, one for histopathology, the other for immunology. All patients had computer tomography scan of the paranasal sinuses and blood specimens taken for eosinophilia in the peripheral blood. The histopathological disease was characterised by counting of the eosinophils in high power field (HPF). Positive results were regarded when the count was higher than 10 per HFP. The immunologic study was performed by the RNA-sequencing. Hypereosinophilia was defined by a percentage count higher than 4% with a corresponding count higher than 500 per cubic mm. Results: The study is still in progress, currently including 9 patients, 6 with CRS and 3 without. Preliminary results show no statistically significant differences between the groups. Unfortunately, the data about the postinterventional results of our patients is not available yet. Conclusion: Literature shows improvement in radiologic findings and quality of life markers with Mepolizumab use

Efficacy of Anti - IL-5 (mepolizumab) Treatment of Nasal Symptoms in Patients with Severe Eosinophilic Asthma - Study design

Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition that affects the nose and paranasal sinuses, characterised by nasal purulent discharge, nasal blockage and hyposmia, in combination with facial pain/pressure for at least 12 weeks. CRS can be classified as chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). Asthma is a complex chronic inflammatory disorder that presents a lot of different phenotypes and endotypes. Eosinophilic asthma is a specific phenotype characterised by thickening of the basement membrane and good response to corticosteroid. IL-5 is the most important interleukin responsible for eosinophilic airway inflammation. Material and methods: Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma were enrolled into a study group for the administration of anti-IL-5 (Mepolizumab) for severe eosinophilic asthma in a single specialised pulmonary tertiary institution. All patients were evaluated of their nasal status by a rhinologist for nasal symptoms regarding EPOS criteria, comorbidities (smoking, family history of CRS, allergies, VAS scale of asthma state, gastroesophageal reflux disease) and completed the validated SNOT-22 questionnaire on the same day before the administration of the anti-IL-5. Two separate biopsies were taken from the uncinate process or middle concha or nasal polyps, one for histopathology, the other for immunology. All patients had computer tomography scan of the paranasal sinuses and blood specimens taken for eosinophilia in the peripheral blood. The histopathological disease was characterised by counting of the eosinophils in high power field (HPF). Positive results were regarded when the count was higher than 10 per HFP. The immunologic study was performed by the RNA-sequencing. Hypereosinophilia was defined by a percentage count higher than 4% with a corresponding count higher than 500 per cubic mm. Results: The study is still in progress, currently including 9 patients, 6 with CRS and 3 without. Preliminary results show no statistically significant differences between the groups. Unfortunately, the data about the postinterventional results of our patients is not available yet. Conclusion: Literature shows improvement in radiologic findings and quality of life markers with Mepolizumab use

Biološka zdravila v sodobnem zdravljenju hudih oblik astme in kroničnega rinosinuzitisa

Med pogoste kronične vnetne bolezni zgornjih in spodnjih dihalnih poti sodijo alergijski rinitis, kronični rinosinuzitis in astma. Bolezni so znotraj enotne dihalne pot med seboj epidemiološko in patofiziološko povezane. Pri večini bolnikov z astmo lahko preodzivnost in obstrukcijo dihalnih poti nadzorujemo z zdravili. Bolnike s kroničnim rinosinuzitisom z nosnimi polipi zdravimo z lokalnimi glukokortikoidi, sistemskimi antibiotiki v podaljšanem odmerjanju, pulzno s sistemskimi glukokortikoidi in kirurško. Slab nadzor bolezni zgornjih dihal lahko povzroči poslabšanje bolezni spodnjih dihal, saj jih v okviru enotne dihalne poti razumemo kot eno funkcionalno enoto. S pomočjo bioloških označevalcev je treba bolnike z astmo in/ali kroničnim rinosinuzitisom z nosnimi polipi razdeliti v endotipe. Z endotipizacijo bi utegnili v prihodnosti razkriti tudi patofiziološko ozadje bolezni in napovedati odziv na zdravljenje. Huda astma in hud kronični rinosinuzitis sta stanji, ko bolnikovih težav, kljub skrajnim oblikam zdravljenja, ne uspe več nadzorovati, sistemsko zdravljenje z glukokortikoidi pa povzroča obolevnost zaradi njihovih neugodnih učinkov. Biološka zdravila so protitelesa, ki predstavljajo bolj usmerjen način zdravljenja težkega rinosinusitisa z nosnimi polipi in težke astme. Vsako biološko zdravilo je tarčno zdravilo, ki zavira samo določene dele vnetne poti, zato gre za personalizirano zdravljenje bolezni dihalnih poti. Na aktivnost posameznih poti sklepamo iz klinične slike in nekaterih bioloških označevalcev. Dragoceno bi bilo zgodnje prepoznavanje dejavnikov in bioloških označevalcev ugodnega odziva, kar bi omogočilo hitrejšo in lažjo odločitev o načinih zdravljenja