Effective tool for exploring web: An Evaluation of Search engines

Evaluation of search engines is necessary to check the retrieval performance of search engines and to differentiate search engines from one another. The ability to retrieve and to rank the relevant result lists can be done by the process of evaluation and this process can take place in two ways viz; human based methods where one can evaluate search engines manually to calculate the significance of the returned results but this method is time consuming and expensive, while as the second is automatic method where one can make use of various techniques like retrieval measures can be used to assess the performance of search engines

Retrieval performance of select search engines in the field of physical sciences

The study aims to provide a systematic evaluation of the search engines on the basis of two information retrieval parameters (precision and relative recall) with reference to physical sciences. It employed ‘Web of Science’ to identify data (one to three word queries) of highly ranked authors who have contributed to the discipline of physical sciences. The three English language search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing) were selected on the basis of ranking of ‘Alexa’ (Actionable Analytics for the Web). The study reveals that in all (one, two and three word) queries ‘Google’ obtained highest precision and relative recall followed by ‘Yahoo’ and ‘Bing’. It further shows that ‘Google’ and ‘Yahoo’ achieve the highest ‘precision’ and ‘relative recall’ due to their wide coverage. Bing once prominent one, however lags behind in retrieval effectiveness

Personality and technology: Big five personality traits as descriptors of universal acceptance and usage of technology UTAUT.

Presently, information professionals are progressively dependent on information and communication technologies to complete their everyday tasks. As, result dependence on PC frameworks, programming and data innovation-related technologies are increasing for better working and providing quality services. Therefore, to understand, analyze and evaluate the acceptance and use of this technology several models of technology acceptance and use have been formulated in information science literature. Using eight such models, Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis proposed a unified model called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology or (UTAUT) model. The UTAUT model has been studied and analyzed in various spheres including education, banking, health, tourism, e-government services and its recent application in the personality studies. The application of UTAUT model to the core constructs of big five personality traits have been utilized to predict the adoption and usage of technology according to different personality types such as neurotic, open to experience, extravert, conscientious and agreeabl

Hospital admission trends due to respiratory diseases in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019: an ecologic study

BACKGROUND: Identifying trends of hospital admissions for respiratory diseases is crucial for public health and research to guide future clinical improvements for better outcomes. This study aims to define the trends of respiratory disease-related hospital admissions (RRHA) in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019. METHODS: An ecological study was conducted using hospital admission data taken from the Hospital Episode Statistics database in England and the Patient Episode Database for Wales. Hospital admissions data for respiratory diseases were extracted for the period between April 1999 and March 2019. The trend in hospital admissions was assessed using a Poisson model. RESULTS: Hospital admission rate increased by 104.7% [from 1535.05 (95% CI 1531.71–1538.38) in 1999 to 3142.83 (95% CI 3138.39–3147.26) in 2019 per 100,000 persons, trend test, p < 0.01]. The most common causes were influenza and pneumonia, chronic lower respiratory diseases, other acute lower respiratory infections, which accounted for 26.6%, 26.4%, and 14.9%, respectively. The age group 75 years and above accounted for 34.1% of the total number of hospital admissions. Males contributed to 50.5% of the total number of hospital admissions. Hospital admission rate in females increased by 119.8% [from 1442.18 (95% CI 1437.66–1446.70) in 1999 to 3169.38 (95% CI 3163.11–3175.64) in 2019 per 100,000 persons, trend test, p < 0.001]. Hospital admission rate increased by 92.9% in males [from 1633.25 (95% CI 1628.32–1638.17) in 1999 to 3149.78 (95% CI 3143.46–3156.09) in 2019 per 100,000 persons, trend test, p < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: During the study period, hospital admissions rate due to respiratory diseases increased sharply. The rates of hospital admissions were higher among males for the vast majority of respiratory diseases. Further observational studies are warranted to identify risk factors for these hospital admissions and to offer relevant interventions to mitigate the risk

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Effective tool for exploring web: An Evaluation of Search engines

Evaluation of search engines is necessary to check the retrieval performance of search engines and to differentiate search engines from one another. The ability to retrieve and to rank the relevant result lists can be done by the process of evaluation and this process can take place in two ways viz; human based methods where one can evaluate search engines manually to calculate the significance of the returned results but this method is time consuming and expensive, while as the second is automatic method where one can make use of various techniques like retrieval measures can be used to assess the performance of search engines

Personality and technology: Big five personality traits as descriptors of universal acceptance and usage of technology UTAUT.

Presently, information professionals are progressively dependent on information and communication technologies to complete their everyday tasks. As, result dependence on PC frameworks, programming and data innovation-related technologies are increasing for better working and providing quality services. Therefore, to understand, analyze and evaluate the acceptance and use of this technology several models of technology acceptance and use have been formulated in information science literature. Using eight such models, Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis proposed a unified model called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology or (UTAUT) model. The UTAUT model has been studied and analyzed in various spheres including education, banking, health, tourism, e-government services and its recent application in the personality studies. The application of UTAUT model to the core constructs of big five personality traits have been utilized to predict the adoption and usage of technology according to different personality types such as neurotic, open to experience, extravert, conscientious and agreeabl