Personalization in tag ontology learning for recommendation making

Due to the explosive growth of the Web, the domain of Web personalization has gained great momentum both in the research and commercial areas. One of the most popular web personalization systems is recommender systems. In recommender systems choosing user information that can be used to profile users is very crucial for user profiling. In Web 2.0, one facility that can help users organize Web resources of their interest is user tagging systems. Exploring user tagging behavior provides a promising way for understanding users’ information needs since tags are given directly by users. However, free and relatively uncontrolled vocabulary makes the user self-defined tags lack of standardization and semantic ambiguity. Also, the relationships among tags need to be explored since there are rich relationships among tags which could provide valuable information for us to better understand users. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for learning tag ontology based on the widely used lexical database WordNet for capturing the semantics and the structural relationships of tags. We present personalization strategies to disambiguate the semantics of tags by combining the opinion of WordNet lexicographers and users’ tagging behavior together. To personalize further, clustering of users is performed to generate a more accurate ontology for a particular group of users. In order to evaluate the usefulness of the tag ontology, we use the tag ontology in a pilot tag recommendation experiment for improving the recommendation performance by exploiting the semantic information in the tag ontology. The initial result shows that the personalized information has improved the accuracy of the tag recommendation.

A comment on "Inherited Trust and Growth"

Algan and Cahuc (2010) argue that “inherited trust” is a key factor in explaining growth rates across countries. They derive a measure of inherited trust by linking respondents’ “home countries: in the United States General Social Survey (1972-2004) and the 2000 wave of the World Values Survey. Algan and Cahuc then estimate trust levels for people born before 1910 (inherited trust in 1935) and afterwards (inherited trust in 2000). They show a strong link between economic growth rates and inherited trust. We do not challenge this result, but we do argue that: (1) The 2000 World Values Survey has many anomalous results; (2) the estimates for inherited trust in 1935 are mostly based upon tiny samples for most ethnic heritage groups in the General Social Survey; and (3) Algan and Cahuc’s findings are based upon two-tailed rather than one-tailed tests. We reestimate their model using the more reliable waves of the World Values Survey and find much weaker relationships between inherited trust in 1935 and trust in the home country. We also suggest caution in the overall measure of inherited trust in 1935.

Non-aqueous synthesis of hexagonal ZnO nanopyramids : gas sensing properties

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanopyramids were synthesized by a one-pot route in a non-aqueous and surfactantfree environment. The synthesized metal oxide was characterized using SEM, XRD, and TEM to investigate the surface morphology and crystallographic phase of the nanostructures. It was observed that the ZnO nanopyramids were of uniform size and symmetrical, with a hexagonal base and height of ∼100 nm. Gas sensing characterization of the ZnO nanopyramids when deposited as thin-film onto conductometric transducers were performed towards NOx and C2H5OH vapor of different concentrations over a temperature range of 22–350 ◦C. It was observed that the sensors responded towards NO2 (10 ppm) and C2H5OH(250 ppm) analytes best at temperatures of 200 and 260 ◦C with a sensor response of 14.5 and 5.72, respectively. The sensors showed satisfactory sensitivity, repeatability as well as fast response and recovery towards both the oxidizing and the reducing analyte. The good performance was attributed to the low amount of organic impurities, large surface-to-volume ratio and high crystallinity of the solvothermally synthesized ZnO nanopyramids.

Machine prognostics based on health state estimation using SVM

The ability to accurately predict the remaining useful life of machine components is critical for machine continuous operation, and can also improve productivity and enhance system safety. In condition-based maintenance (CBM), maintenance is performed based on information collected through condition monitoring and an assessment of the machine health. Effective diagnostics and prognostics are important aspects of CBM for maintenance engineers to schedule a repair and to acquire replacement components before the components actually fail. All machine components are subjected to degradation processes in real environments and they have certain failure characteristics which can be related to the operating conditions. This paper describes a technique for accurate assessment of the remnant life of machines based on health state probability estimation and involving historical knowledge embedded in the closed loop diagnostics and prognostics systems. The technique uses a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier as a tool for estimating health state probability of machine degradation, which can affect the accuracy of prediction. To validate the feasibility of the proposed model, real life historical data from bearings of High Pressure Liquefied Natural Gas (HP-LNG) pumps were analysed and used to obtain the optimal prediction of remaining useful life. The results obtained were very encouraging and showed that the proposed prognostic system based on health state probability estimation has the potential to be used as an estimation tool for remnant life prediction in industrial machinery.

Identifying competencies for Australian health professionals working in international health

A profile of the roles performed by Australian health professionals working in international health was constructed to identify the core competencies they require, and the implications for education and training of international health practitioners. The methods used included: literature review and document analysis of available training and education; an analysis of competencies required in job descriptions for international health positions; and consultations with key informants. The international health roles identified were classified in four main groups: Program Directors, Program Managers, Team Leaders and Health Specialists. Thirteen 'core' competencies were identified from the job analysis and key informant/group interviews. Contributing to international health development in resource poor countries requires high level cultural, interpersonal and team-work competencies. Technical expertise in health disciplines is required, with flexibility to adapt to new situations. International health professionals need to combine public health competencies with high level personal maturity to respond to emerging challenges.

Mentoring

Research relating to mentoring has burgeoned in the last two decades and as might be expected there is immense variation in the nature and rigour of this research. For some, mentoring seems to be a panacea for many societal problems as the studies have focussed on juvenile crime, teenage pregnancy, academic performance, drug usage, school dropout rates, teacher attributes, parental relationship, heightened self-confidence, general “at risk” children and issues of gender, ethnicity, socio economic status and equity. Rather than a panacea, it would be more accurate to suggest that in specific circumstances mentoring has the potential to be associated with beneficial outcomes.

Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990–2010 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Background Non-fatal health outcomes from diseases and injuries are a crucial consideration in the promotion and monitoring of individual and population health. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies done in 1990 and 2000 have been the only studies to quantify non-fatal health outcomes across an exhaustive set of disorders at the global and regional level. Neither effort quantified uncertainty in prevalence or years lived with disability (YLDs). Methods Of the 291 diseases and injuries in the GBD cause list, 289 cause disability. For 1160 sequelae of the 289 diseases and injuries, we undertook a systematic analysis of prevalence, incidence, remission, duration, and excess mortality. Sources included published studies, case notification, population-based cancer registries, other disease registries, antenatal clinic serosurveillance, hospital discharge data, ambulatory care data, household surveys, other surveys, and cohort studies. For most sequelae, we used a Bayesian meta-regression method, DisMod-MR, designed to address key limitations in descriptive epidemiological data, including missing data, inconsistency, and large methodological variation between data sources. For some disorders, we used natural history models, geospatial models, back-calculation models (models calculating incidence from population mortality rates and case fatality), or registration completeness models (models adjusting for incomplete registration with health-system access and other covariates). Disability weights for 220 unique health states were used to capture the severity of health loss. YLDs by cause at age, sex, country, and year levels were adjusted for comorbidity with simulation methods. We included uncertainty estimates at all stages of the analysis. Findings Global prevalence for all ages combined in 2010 across the 1160 sequelae ranged from fewer than one case per 1 million people to 350 000 cases per 1 million people. Prevalence and severity of health loss were weakly correlated (correlation coefficient −0·37). In 2010, there were 777 million YLDs from all causes, up from 583 million in 1990. The main contributors to global YLDs were mental and behavioural disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes or endocrine diseases. The leading specific causes of YLDs were much the same in 2010 as they were in 1990: low back pain, major depressive disorder, iron-deficiency anaemia, neck pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anxiety disorders, migraine, diabetes, and falls. Age-specific prevalence of YLDs increased with age in all regions and has decreased slightly from 1990 to 2010. Regional patterns of the leading causes of YLDs were more similar compared with years of life lost due to premature mortality. Neglected tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and anaemia were important causes of YLDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Rates of YLDs per 100 000 people have remained largely constant over time but rise steadily with age. Population growth and ageing have increased YLD numbers and crude rates over the past two decades. Prevalences of the most common causes of YLDs, such as mental and behavioural disorders and musculoskeletal disorders, have not decreased. Health systems will need to address the needs of the rising numbers of individuals with a range of disorders that largely cause disability but not mortality. Quantification of the burden of non-fatal health outcomes will be crucial to understand how well health systems are responding to these challenges. Effective and affordable strategies to deal with this rising burden are an urgent priority for health systems in most parts of the world. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Characterizing multi-agent team behavior from partial team tracings : evidence from the English Premier League

Real-world AI systems have been recently deployed which can automatically analyze the plan and tactics of tennis players. As the game-state is updated regularly at short intervals (i.e. point-level), a library of successful and unsuccessful plans of a player can be learnt over time. Given the relative strengths and weaknesses of a player’s plans, a set of proven plans or tactics from the library that characterize a player can be identified. For low-scoring, continuous team sports like soccer, such analysis for multi-agent teams does not exist as the game is not segmented into “discretized” plays (i.e. plans), making it difficult to obtain a library that characterizes a team’s behavior. Additionally, as player tracking data is costly and difficult to obtain, we only have partial team tracings in the form of ball actions which makes this problem even more difficult. In this paper, we propose a method to overcome these issues by representing team behavior via play-segments, which are spatio-temporal descriptions of ball movement over fixed windows of time. Using these representations we can characterize team behavior from entropy maps, which give a measure of predictability of team behaviors across the field. We show the efficacy and applicability of our method on the 2010-2011 English Premier League soccer data.

Recent advances in fabrication and characterization of graphene-polymer nanocomposites

Graphene has attracted considerable interest over recent years due to its intrinsic mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. Incorporation of small quantity of graphene fillers into polymer can create novel nanocomposites with improved structural and functional properties. This review introduced the recent progress in fabrication, properties and potential applications of graphene-polymer composites. Recent research clearly confirmed that graphene-polymer nanocomposites are promising materials with applications ranging from transportation, biomedical systems, sensors, electrodes for solar cells and electromagnetic interference. In addition to graphene-polymer nanocomposites, this article also introduced the synergistic effects of hybrid graphene-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the properties of composites. Finally, some technical problems associated with the development of these nanocomposites are discussed.

Video-based training combined with flotation tank recovery does not improve three-point shooting in basketball

Video-based training combined with flotation tank recovery may provide an additional stimulus for improving shooting in basketball. A pre-post controlled trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a 3 wk intervention combining video-based training and flotation tank recovery on three-point shooting performance in elite female basketball players. Players were assigned to an experimental (n=10) and control group (n=9). A 3 wk intervention consisted of 2 x 30 min float sessions a week which included 10 min of video-based training footage, followed by a 3 wk retention phase. A total of 100 three-point shots were taken from 5 designated positions on the court at each week to assess three-point shooting performance. There was no clear difference in the mean change in the number of successful three-point shots between the groups (-3%; ±18%, mean; ±90% confidence limits). Video-based training combined with flotation recovery had little effect on three-point shooting performance.

Integrating crowd-behavior modeling into military simulation using game technology

Crowds of noncombatants play a large and increasingly recognized role in modern military operations and often create substantial difficulties for the combatant forces involved. However, realistic models of crowds are essentially absent from current military simulations. To address this problem, the authors are developing a crowd simulation capable of generating crowds of noncombatant civilians that exhibit a variety of realistic individual and group behaviors at differing levels of fidelity. The crowd simulation is interoperable with existing military simulations using a standard, distributed simulation architecture. Commercial game technology is used in the crowd simulation to model both urban terrain and the physical behaviors of the human characters that make up the crowd. The objective of this article is to present the design and development process of a simulation that integrates commercially available game technology with current military simulations to generate realistic and believable crowd behavior.

Crowd modelling for military simulations using game technology

Crowds of non-combatants play a large and increasingly recognized role in modern military operations, and often create substantial difficulties for the combatant forces involved. However, realistic models of crowds are essentially absent from current military simulations. To address this problem we are developing a crowd simulation capable of generating crowds of non-combatant civilians that exhibit a variety of realistic individual and group behaviours at differing levels of fidelity. The crowd simulation is interoperable with existing military simulations using a standard distributed simulation architecture. Commercial game technology is utilized in the crowd simulation to model both urban terrain and the physical behaviours of the human characters that make up the crowd. The objective of this paper is to present the process involved with the design and development of a simulation that integrates commercially available game technology with current military simulations in order to generate realistic and believable crowd behaviour.

Integrated genomic characterization of endometrial carcinoma

We performed an integrated genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic characterization of 373 endometrial carcinomas using array- and sequencing-based technologies. Uterine serous tumours and ∼25% of high-grade endometrioid tumours had extensive copy number alterations, few DNA methylation changes, low oestrogen receptor/progesterone receptor levels, and frequent TP53 mutations. Most endometrioid tumours had few copy number alterations or TP53 mutations, but frequent mutations in PTEN, CTNNB1, PIK3CA, ARID1A and KRAS and novel mutations in the SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complex gene ARID5B. A subset of endometrioid tumours that we identified had a markedly increased transversion mutation frequency and newly identified hotspot mutations in POLE. Our results classified endometrial cancers into four categories: POLE ultramutated, microsatellite instability hypermutated, copy-number low, and copy-number high. Uterine serous carcinomas share genomic features with ovarian serous and basal-like breast carcinomas. We demonstrated that the genomic features of endometrial carcinomas permit a reclassification that may affect post-surgical adjuvant treatment for women with aggressive tumours.

Inter-vertebral rotational deformity after endoscopic anterior scoliosis correction may contribute to rib hump recurrence after two years

Introduction. Endoscopic anterior scoliosis correction has been employed recently as a less invasive and level-sparing approach compared with open surgical techniques. We have previously demonstrated that during the two-year post-operative period, there was a mean loss of rib hump correction by 1.4 degrees. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intra- or inter-vertebral rotational deformity during the post-operative period could account for the loss of rib hump correction. Materials and Methods. Ten consecutive patients diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were treated with an endoscopic anterior scoliosis correction. Low-dose computed tomography scans of the instrumented segment were obtained post-operatively at 6 and 24 months following institutional ethical approval and patient consent. Three-dimensional multi-planar reconstruction software (Osirix Imaging Software, Pixmeo, Switzerland) was used to create axial slices of each vertebral level, corrected in both coronal and sagittal planes. Vertebral rotation was measured using Ho’s method for every available superior and inferior endplate at 6 and 24 months. Positive changes in rotation indicate a reduction and improvement in vertebral rotation. Intra-observer variability analysis was performed on a subgroup of images. Results. Mean change in rotation for vertebral endplates between 6 and 24 months post-operatively was -0.26˚ (range -3.5 to 4.9˚) within the fused segment and +1.26˚ (range -7.2 to 15.1˚) for the un-instrumented vertebrae above and below the fusion. Mean change in clinically measured rib hump for the 10 patients was -1.6˚ (range -3 to 0˚). The small change in rotation within the fused segment accounts for only 16.5% of the change in rib hump measured clinically whereas the change in rotation between the un-instrumented vertebrae above and below the construct accounts for 78.8%. There was no clear association between rib hump recurrence and intra- or inter-vertebral rotation in individual patients. Intra-rater variability was ± 3˚. Conclusions. Intra- and inter-vertebral rotation continues post-operatively both within the instrumented and un-instrumented segments of the immature spine. Rotation between the un-instrumented vertebrae above and below the fusion was +1.26˚, suggesting that the un-instrumented vertebrae improved and de-rotated slightly after surgery. This may play a role in rib hump recurrence, however this remains clinically insignificant.