Context-aware Data Quality Assessment for Big Data

Big data changed the way in which we collect and analyze data. In particular, the amount of available information is constantly growing and organizations rely more and more on data analysis in order to achieve their competitive ad- vantage. However, such amount of data can create a real value only if combined with quality: good decisions and actions are the results of correct, reliable and complete data. In such a scenario, methods and techniques for the data quality assessment can support the identification of suitable data to process. If in tra- ditional database numerous assessment methods are proposed, in the big data scenario new algorithms have to be designed in order to deal with novel require- ments related to variety, volume and velocity issues. In particular, in this paper we highlight that dealing with heterogeneous sources requires an adaptive ap- proach able to trigger the suitable quality assessment methods on the basis of the data type and context in which data have to be used. Furthermore, we show that in some situations it is not possible to evaluate the quality of the entire dataset due to performance and time constraints. For this reason, we suggest to focus the data quality assessment only on a portion of the dataset and to take into account the consequent loss of accuracy by introducing a confidence factor as a measure of the reliability of the quality assessment procedure. We propose a methodology to build a data quality adapter module which selects the best configuration for the data quality assessment based on the user main require- ments: time minimization, confidence maximization, and budget minimization. Experiments are performed by considering real data gathered from a smart city case study

Novel functional microRNAs from virus-free and infected Vitis vinifera plants under water stress

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the post-transcriptional control of several pathway intermediates, thus playing pivotal roles in plant growth, development and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In recent years, the grapevine genome release, small(s)-RNAseq and degradome-RNAseq together has allowed the discovery and characterisation of many miRNA species, thus rendering the discovery of additional miRNAs difficult and uncertain. Taking advantage of the miRNA responsiveness to stresses and the availability of virus-free Vitis vinifera plants and those infected only by a latent virus, we have analysed grapevines subjected to drought in greenhouse conditions. The sRNA-seq and other sequence-specific molecular analyses have allowed us to characterise conserved miRNA expression profiles in association with specific eco-physiological parameters. In addition, we here report 12 novel grapevine-specific miRNA candidates and describe their expression profile. We show that latent viral infection can influence the miRNA profiles of V. vinifera in response to drought. Moreover, study of eco-physiological parameters showed that photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and hydraulic resistance to water transport were significantly influenced by drought and viral infection. Although no unequivocal cause–effect explanation could be attributed to each miRNA target, their contribution to the drought response is discussed

CD4 T lymphocyte autophagy is upregulated in the salivary glands of primary Sjögren’s syndrome patients and correlates with focus score and disease activity

Background: Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a common chronic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands and peripheral lymphocyte perturbation. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the possible pathogenic implication of autophagy in T lymphocytes in patients with pSS. Methods: Thirty consecutive pSS patients were recruited together with 20 patients affected by sicca syndrome a nd/or chronic sialoadenitis and 30 healthy controls. Disease activity and damage were evaluated according to SS disease activity index, EULAR SS disease activity index, and SS disease damage index. T lymphocytes were analyzed for the expression of autophagy-specific markers by biochemical, molecular, and histological assays in peripheral blood and labial gland biopsies. Serum interleukin (IL)-23 and IL-21 levels were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Our study provides evidence for the first time that autophagy is upregulated in CD4+ T lymphocyte salivary glands from pSS patients. Furthermore, a statistically significant correlation was detected between lymphocyte autophagy levels, disease activity, and damage indexes. We also found a positive correlation between autophagy enhancement and the increased salivary gland expression of IL-21 and IL-23, providing a further link between innate and adaptive immune responses in pSS. Conclusions: These findings suggest that CD4+ T lymphocyte autophagy could play a key role in pSS pathogenesis. Additionally, our data highlight the potential exploitation of T cell autophagy as a biomarker of disease activity and provide new ground to verify the therapeutic implications of autophagy as an innovative drug target in pSS

A Study on Estimating Method of Market Structure and Consumers Behavior

The ever-increasing growth in the 20th century which continued for a long time in the second half failed, and the industrial society of Japan has entered the time when tomorrow is obtuse. In order that variances among companies have spread, the meaning in which even the same industry gets to know the tendency of the whole industry has faded. It was over at the time that consists as a corporation if you enforce a similar thing to peer companies. This means the necessity that each company has original tactics and strategics has increased. Therefore, companies have to do development of new products by knowing both consumer needs and choice behavior. For this reason, companies need to collect data widely from consumers and to analyze them scientifically and statistically. Moreover, it is also important to study the theoretical methodology of marketing. In this paper, five models are utilized to understand the market structure and consumer behavior. 1 . Conjoint Analysis 2. Entropy Model and Herniter Model 3 . Conjoint Analysis and Herniter Model 4. Huff Model 5 . Huff Model and Herniter Model The above five models would contribute to new product development, estimate of future market structures and consumers behavior. By such kinds of knowledge, manufactures or companies could have good opportunities to market new products. Finally, the results derived from this thesis are summarized and future studies are described

Global DNA Methylation levels analysis in a serie of Hematological, Breast and Colorectal cancer samples from Argentina

Unlike their normal counterparts, tumor cells exhibited highly variable CpG methylation levels in a large proportion of the genome, which can lead to malignant cell transformation through multiple pathways. This prompted us to assess the extent of LINE1 methylation, a surrogate marker of global DNA methylation, of samples derived from controls and cancer patients from Argentina. Preliminary DNA methylation results from selected samples were replicated in a large serie of 146 controls (blood) and various cancer types: 112 oncohematological cancer (HemCa), 70 colorectal cancer (CRC) and 68 breast cancer (BrCa) samples. Further, we evaluated correlation with biological, clinical and demographic features. Blood samples were available in all cases, and for solid tumors paired tumoral/non-tumoral adjacent tissues (T/N) were available too. LINE1 methylation level was analyzed by MS-MLPA method. HemCa cases showed statistically significant higher LINE1 methylation level (p>0.001) compared to controls (mean 0.93 and 0.84, respectively). This variation could be a consequence of chemotherapy. Methylation status in blood (0.86) and N tissue (0.87) from BrCa cases did not differ from controls, while levels in T tissue (0.88) were significantly higher than controls (p<0.05). No differences between N and T tissues were found. CRC cases showed hypomethylation for LINE1 when comparing T (0.81) to blood (0.87) or N tissues (0.88), reaching statistical significance of p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively. This is in line with reported results. We found a negative correlation between individual age and methylation level in controls (-0.17, p=0.04), and BrCa T tissue (-0.33, p=0.03). Finally, no relevant associations between global methylation and mitochondrial genome variation (copy number and ancestry) were found for controls and HemCa sample sets. LINE1 methylation analysis in samples from lung, ovarian, pancreatic and skin cancers are ongoing.Fil: Cerliani, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Mayordomo, Andrea Constanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Dova, Anaclara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Piñero, Tamara Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Instituto Universitario Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica.; ArgentinaFil: Cajal, Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Instituto Universitario Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica.; ArgentinaFil: Jauk Vitali, Federico. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Rivello, Hernan Jorge. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Vaccaro, Carlos Alberto. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Richard, Silvina Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Bravi, Claudio Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Pavicic, Walter Hernan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Instituto Universitario Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica.; ArgentinaReunión Anual de Sociedades de BiocienciaArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Investigación ClínicaSociedad Argentina de Farmacología ExperimentalSociedad Argentina de BiologíaSociedad Argentina de BiologíaAsociación Argentina de NanomedicinasAsociación Argentina de Ciencia y Tecnología de Animales de Laboratori