An Improved Algorithm for Fast K-Word Proximity Search Based on Multi-Component Key Indexes

A search query consists of several words. In a proximity full-text search, we want to find documents that contain these words near each other. This task requires much time when the query consists of high-frequently occurring words. If we cannot avoid this task by excluding high-frequently occurring words from consideration by declaring them as stop words, then we can optimize our solution by introducing additional indexes for faster execution. In a previous work, we discussed how to decrease the search time with multi-component key indexes. We had shown that additional indexes can be used to improve the average query execution time up to 130 times if queries consisted of high-frequently occurring words. In this paper, we present another search algorithm that overcomes some limitations of our previous algorithm and provides even more performance gain. This is a pre-print of a contribution published in Arai K., Kapoor S., Bhatia R. (eds) Intelligent Systems and Applications. IntelliSys 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1251, published by Springer, Cham. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55187-2_3

Lie Detection using functional MRI

published_or_final_versio

Estimating the sea ice floe size distribution using satellite altimetry: Theory, climatology, and model comparison

In sea-ice-covered areas, the sea ice floe size distribution (FSD) plays an important role in many processes affecting the coupled sea-ice-ocean-atmosphere system. Observations of the FSD are sparse - traditionally taken via a painstaking analysis of ice surface photography - and the seasonal and inter-annual evolution of floe size regionally and globally is largely unknown. Frequently, measured FSDs are assessed using a single number, the scaling exponent of the closest power-law fit to the observed floe size data, although in the absence of adequate datasets there have been limited tests of this "power-law hypothesis". Here we derive and explain a mathematical technique for deriving statistics of the sea ice FSD from polar-orbiting altimeters, satellites with sub-daily return times to polar regions with high along-track resolutions. Applied to the CryoSat-2 radar altimetric record, covering the period from 2010 to 2018, and incorporating 11 million individual floe samples, we produce the first pan-Arctic climatology and seasonal cycle of sea ice floe size statistics. We then perform the first pan-Arctic test of the power-law hypothesis, finding limited support in the range of floe sizes typically analyzed in photographic observational studies. We compare the seasonal variability in observed floe size to fully coupled climate model simulations including a prognostic floe size and thickness distribution and coupled wave model, finding good agreement in regions where modeled ocean surface waves cause sea ice fracture

The impact of gastrointestinal parasitism on the behaviour and welfare of weaned housed lambs

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitism is a health and production concern in sheep, yet its impact on animal welfare remains unclear. The impact of subclinical infections is especially ambiguous as GI parasitism often remains undiagnosed until clinical signs such as diarrhoea are evident. This study applied quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the effects of subclinical Teladorsagia circumcincta infection on the behaviour and welfare of 96 Suffolk-cross lambs (24 pens of 4 lambs) weaned at 10 weeks old. The hypothesis that parasitism causes negative affective states was tested. Lambs were divided into three groups at the pen level: ad-lib fed control (AC), restricted-fed control (RC), and ad-lib fed parasitised (AP). Parasitised lambs (AP) were dosed three times weekly with 7000 third stage T. circumcincta larvae (L 3) from 16 weeks of age. Lambs in the RC group were pair fed to match AP feed intake to separate the effects of infection-induced anorexia from the potential direct impacts of infection. From 7 days pre-infection to 23 days post-infection, scan and behaviour samples were taken from video recordings to quantitatively monitor behaviour, and animal-based measures such as faecal soiling score (FSS) were recorded as welfare indicators. Lying, standing, eating, play and social behaviour were monitored. Qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) was conducted weekly using the AWIN (2015) protocol to gain insight into the lambs’ affective states over the onset of infection. Parasitised lambs were more likely to stand inactive than AC lambs as the infection progressed (P=0.006). They were also less likely to display eating behaviour in the third daily scan sample than RC lambs (P&lt;0.001). Principal Component Analysis of the QBA data revealed that the first dimension (PC1) described arousal levels, the second (PC2) described the valence of the animals’ affective states, and the third (PC3) described fearfulness and aggression levels. Parasitised lambs (est=10.64,SE=0.33) scored higher than RC lambs (est=9.42, SE=0.33) on PC3, the fearfulness dimension (P=0.030). There were no differences between fearfulness scores of AC and AP lambs or RC lambs and treatment group had no significant impact on the distribution of scores on PC1 or PC2. These findings demonstrate that subclinical GI parasitism negatively impacts lamb welfare not only in the health domain but in the behaviour and mental domains as well. This has implications for welfare assessments and early disease detection in lambs. Future research could explore remote monitoring of the indicators of parasitism identified in this study.</p

The impact of gastrointestinal parasitism on the behaviour and welfare of weaned housed lambs

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitism is a health and production concern in sheep, yet its impact on animal welfare remains unclear. The impact of subclinical infections is especially ambiguous as GI parasitism often remains undiagnosed until clinical signs such as diarrhoea are evident. This study applied quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the effects of subclinical Teladorsagia circumcincta infection on the behaviour and welfare of 96 Suffolk-cross lambs (24 pens of 4 lambs) weaned at 10 weeks old. The hypothesis that parasitism causes negative affective states was tested. Lambs were divided into three groups at the pen level: ad-lib fed control (AC), restricted-fed control (RC), and ad-lib fed parasitised (AP). Parasitised lambs (AP) were dosed three times weekly with 7000 third stage T. circumcincta larvae (L 3) from 16 weeks of age. Lambs in the RC group were pair fed to match AP feed intake to separate the effects of infection-induced anorexia from the potential direct impacts of infection. From 7 days pre-infection to 23 days post-infection, scan and behaviour samples were taken from video recordings to quantitatively monitor behaviour, and animal-based measures such as faecal soiling score (FSS) were recorded as welfare indicators. Lying, standing, eating, play and social behaviour were monitored. Qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) was conducted weekly using the AWIN (2015) protocol to gain insight into the lambs’ affective states over the onset of infection. Parasitised lambs were more likely to stand inactive than AC lambs as the infection progressed (P=0.006). They were also less likely to display eating behaviour in the third daily scan sample than RC lambs (P&lt;0.001). Principal Component Analysis of the QBA data revealed that the first dimension (PC1) described arousal levels, the second (PC2) described the valence of the animals’ affective states, and the third (PC3) described fearfulness and aggression levels. Parasitised lambs (est=10.64,SE=0.33) scored higher than RC lambs (est=9.42, SE=0.33) on PC3, the fearfulness dimension (P=0.030). There were no differences between fearfulness scores of AC and AP lambs or RC lambs and treatment group had no significant impact on the distribution of scores on PC1 or PC2. These findings demonstrate that subclinical GI parasitism negatively impacts lamb welfare not only in the health domain but in the behaviour and mental domains as well. This has implications for welfare assessments and early disease detection in lambs. Future research could explore remote monitoring of the indicators of parasitism identified in this study.</p

Implementation and Outcomes of Commercial Disease Management Programs in the United States: The Disease Management Outcomes Consolidation Survey

Despite widespread adoption of disease management (DM) programs by US health plans, gaps remain in the evidence for their benefit. The Disease Management Outcomes Consolidation Survey was designed to gather data on DM programs for commercial health plans, to assess program success and DM effectiveness. The questionnaire was mailed to 292 appropriate health plan contacts; 26 plans covering more than 14 million commercial members completed and returned the survey. Respondents reported that DM plays a significant and increasing role in their organizations. Key reasons for adopting DM were improving clinical outcomes, reducing medical costs and utilization, and improving member satisfaction. More respondents were highly satisfied with clinical results than with utilization or cost outcomes of their programs (46%, 17%, and 13%, respectively). Detailed results were analyzed for 57 DM programs with over 230,000 enrollees. Most responding plans offered DM programs for diabetes and asthma, with return on investment (ROI) ranging from 0.16:1 to 4:1. Weighted by number of enrollees per DM program, average ROI was 2.56:1 for asthma (n = 1,136 enrollees) and 1.98:1 for diabetes (n = 25,364). Most (but not all) respondents reported reduced hospital admissions, increasing rates of preventive care, and improved clinical measures. Few respondents provided detailed information about DM programs for other medical conditions, but most that did reported positive outcomes. Lack of standardized methodology was identified as a major barrier to in-house program evaluation. Although low response rate precluded drawing many general conclusions, a clear need emerged for more rigorous evaluation methods and greater standardization of outcomes measurement. (Disease Management 2005;8:253–264)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63399/1/dis.2005.8.253.pd

Physical activity attitudes, intentions and behaviour among 18-25 year olds: a mixed method study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Multiple-length-scale elastic instability mimics parametric resonance of nonlinear oscillators

Spatially confined rigid membranes reorganize their morphology in response to the imposed constraints. A crumpled elastic sheet presents a complex pattern of random folds focusing the deformation energy while compressing a membrane resting on a soft foundation creates a regular pattern of sinusoidal wrinkles with a broad distribution of energy. Here, we study the energy distribution for highly confined membranes and show the emergence of a new morphological instability triggered by a period-doubling bifurcation. A periodic self-organized focalization of the deformation energy is observed provided an up-down symmetry breaking, induced by the intrinsic nonlinearity of the elasticity equations, occurs. The physical model, exhibiting an analogy with parametric resonance in nonlinear oscillator, is a new theoretical toolkit to understand the morphology of various confined systems, such as coated materials or living tissues, e.g., wrinkled skin, internal structure of lungs, internal elastica of an artery, brain convolutions or formation of fingerprints. Moreover, it opens the way to new kind of microfabrication design of multiperiodic or chaotic (aperiodic) surface topography via self-organization.Comment: Submitted for publicatio