Improving cross language information retrieval using corpus based query suggestion approach

Users seeking information may not find relevant information pertaining to their information need in a specific language. But information may be available in a language different from their own, but users may not know that language. Thus users may experience difficulty in accessing the information present in different languages. Since the retrieval process depends on the translation of the user query, there are many issues in getting the right translation of the user query. For a pair of languages chosen by a user, resources, like incomplete dictionary, inaccurate machine translation system may exist. These resources may be insufficient to map the query terms in one language to its equivalent terms in another language. Also for a given query, there might exist multiple correct translations. The underlying corpus evidence may suggest a clue to select a probable set of translations that could eventually perform a better information retrieval. In this paper, we present a cross language information retrieval approach to effectively retrieve information present in a language other than the language of the user query using the corpus driven query suggestion approach. The idea is to utilize the corpus based evidence of one language to improve the retrieval and re-ranking of news documents in the other language. We use FIRE corpora - Tamil and English news collections in our experiments and illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed cross language information retrieval approach.

The association between parental attitudes and alcohol consumption and adolescent alcohol consumption in Southern Ireland: a cross-sectional study

Background: Alcohol plays a complex role in society. A recent study showed that over half of Irish adults drink hazardously. Adolescents report increased levels of alcohol consumption. Previous research has inferred the influence of the parent on their adolescent. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate the association between adolescent alcohol consumption and their parent’s consumption pattern and attitude toward alcohol use in Southern Ireland. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in November 2014. This involved distributing a survey to adolescents (n = 982) in their final two years of second level education and at least one of their parents from a local electorate area in Southern Ireland. This survey included: alcohol use, self- reported height and weight, smoking status, mental health and well-being along with attitudinal questions. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression were utilised. Results: A 37 % response rate was achieved. Over one-third (34.2 %) of adolescents and 47 % of parents surveyed reported hazardous drinking. Over 90 % of parents disagreed with allowing their adolescent to get drunk and rejected the idea that getting drunk is part of having fun as an adolescent. The majority (79.5 %) of parents surveyed believed that their alcohol consumption pattern set a good example for their adolescent. Multivariate logistic regression highlights the association between adolescent hazardous alcohol consumption and hazardous drinking by the father. Furthermore either parent permitting their adolescent to drink alcohol on special occasions was associated with hazardous alcohol consumption in the adolescent. Conclusion: The findings of this research notes a liberal attitude to alcohol and increased levels of consumption by the parent are linked to hazardous adolescent drinking behaviour. Future action plans aimed at combatting adolescent hazardous alcohol consumption should also be aimed at tackling parents’ attitudes towards and consumption of alcohol.

Postprandial serum endotoxin in healthy humans is modulated by dietary fat in a randomized, controlled, cross-over study

Background: High-fat diets may contribute to metabolic disease via postprandial changes in serum endotoxin and inflammation. It is unclear how dietary fat composition may alter these parameters. We hypothesized that a meal rich in n-3 (ω3) fatty acids would reduce endotoxemia and associated inflammation but a saturated or n-6 (ω6) fatty acid-rich meal would increase postprandial serum endotoxin concentrations and systemic inflammation in healthy adults. Methods: Healthy adults (n = 20; mean age 25 ± 3.2 S.D. years) were enrolled in this single-blind, randomized, cross-over study. Participants were randomized to treatment and reported to the laboratory, after an overnight fast, on four occasions separated by at least one week. Participants were blinded to treatment meal and consumed one of four isoenergetic meals that provided: 1) 20 % fat (control; olive oil) or 35 % fat provided from 2) n-3 (ω3) (DHA = 500 mg; fish oil); 3) n-6 (ω6) (7.4 g; grapeseed oil) or 4) saturated fat (16 g; coconut oil). Baseline and postprandial blood samples were collected. Primary outcome was defined as the effect of treatment meal on postprandial endotoxemia. Serum was analyzed for metabolites, inflammatory markers, and endotoxin. Data from all 20 participants were analyzed using repeated-measures ANCOVA. Results: Participant serum endotoxin concentration was increased during the postprandial period after the consumption of the saturated fat meal but decreased after the n-3 meal (p < 0.05). The n-6 meal did not effect a different outcome in participant postprandial serum endotoxin concentration from that of the control meal (p > 0.05). There was no treatment meal effect on participant postprandial serum biomarkers of inflammation. Postprandial serum triacylglycerols were significantly elevated following the n-6 meal compared to the n-3 meal. Non-esterified fatty acids were significantly increased after consumption of the saturated fat meal compared to other treatment meals. Conclusions: Meal fatty acid composition modulates postprandial serum endotoxin concentration in healthy adults. However, postprandial endotoxin was not associated with systemic inflammation in vivo. Trial registration: This study was retrospectively registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02521779 on July 28, 2015.