Semantic modelling of user interests based on cross-folksonomy analysis

The continued increase in Web usage, in particular participation in folksonomies, reveals a trend towards a more dynamic and interactive Web where individuals can organise and share resources. Tagging has emerged as the de-facto standard for the organisation of such resources, providing a versatile and reactive knowledge management mechanism that users find easy to use and understand. It is common nowadays for users to have multiple profiles in various folksonomies, thus distributing their tagging activities. In this paper, we present a method for the automatic consolidation of user profiles across two popular social networking sites, and subsequent semantic modelling of their interests utilising Wikipedia as a multi-domain model. We evaluate how much can be learned from such sites, and in which domains the knowledge acquired is focussed. Results show that far richer interest profiles can be generated for users when multiple tag-clouds are combine

Temporal Analysis of Activity Patterns of Editors in Collaborative Mapping Project of OpenStreetMap

In the recent years Wikis have become an attractive platform for social studies of the human behaviour. Containing millions records of edits across the globe, collaborative systems such as Wikipedia have allowed researchers to gain a better understanding of editors participation and their activity patterns. However, contributions made to Geo-wikis_wiki-based collaborative mapping projects_ differ from systems such as Wikipedia in a fundamental way due to spatial dimension of the content that limits the contributors to a set of those who posses local knowledge about a specific area and therefore cross-platform studies and comparisons are required to build a comprehensive image of online open collaboration phenomena. In this work, we study the temporal behavioural pattern of OpenStreetMap editors, a successful example of geo-wiki, for two European capital cities. We categorise different type of temporal patterns and report on the historical trend within a period of 7 years of the project age. We also draw a comparison with the previously observed editing activity patterns of Wikipedia.Comment: Submitte

The Performance Behaviour of a Grain Silo Foundation in Jeddah Supported on Stone Columns

This paper describes the ground treatment carried out and the subsequent load settlement behaviour of a grain silo in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Predicted performance based on the results of both SPT and cone penetration tests are compared with actual behaviour. The prediction based on the SPT results is poor, with the cone penetration analyses giving a significant improvement. A knowledge of cone resistance and hence modulus values for the full depth of influence of the silo would have further refined the prediction

Hyperglycaemia and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To assess the association between maternal glucose concentrations and adverse perinatal outcomes in women without gestational or existing diabetes and to determine whether clear thresholds for identifying women at risk of perinatal outcomes can be identified. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and control arms of randomised trials. Data sources: Databases including Medline and Embase were searched up to October 2014 and combined with individual participant data from two additional birth cohorts. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Studies including pregnant women with oral glucose tolerance (OGTT) or challenge (OGCT) test results, with data on at least one adverse perinatal outcome. Appraisal and data extraction: Glucose test results were extracted for OGCT (50 g) and OGTT (75 g and 100 g) at fasting and one and two hour post-load timings. Data were extracted on induction of labour; caesarean and instrumental delivery; pregnancy induced hypertension; pre-eclampsia; macrosomia; large for gestational age; preterm birth; birth injury; and neonatal hypoglycaemia. Risk of bias was assessed with a modified version of the critical appraisal skills programme and quality in prognostic studies tools. Results: 25 reports from 23 published studies and two individual participant data cohorts were included, with up to 207 172 women (numbers varied by the test and outcome analysed in the meta-analyses). Overall most studies were judged as having a low risk of bias. There were positive linear associations with caesarean section, induction of labour, large for gestational age, macrosomia, and shoulder dystocia for all glucose exposures across the distribution of glucose concentrations. There was no clear evidence of a threshold effect. In general, associations were stronger for fasting concentration than for post-load concentration. For example, the odds ratios for large for gestational age per 1 mmol/L increase of fasting and two hour post-load glucose concentrations (after a 75 g OGTT) were 2.15 (95% confidence interval 1.60 to 2.91) and 1.20 (1.13 to 1.28), respectively. Heterogeneity was low between studies in all analyses. Conclusions: This review and meta-analysis identified a large number of studies in various countries. There was a graded linear association between fasting and post-load glucose concentration across the whole glucose distribution and most adverse perinatal outcomes in women without pre-existing or gestational diabetes. The lack of a clear threshold at which risk increases means that decisions regarding thresholds for diagnosing gestational diabetes are somewhat arbitrary. Research should now investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of applying different glucose thresholds for diagnosis of gestational diabetes on perinatal and longer term outcomes

Investigating the Influence that Service in a Pro Bono Clinic has on a First Full-Time Clinical Education Experience from the Perspective of Students and their Clinical Instructors

Purpose: Academic physical therapy programs strive to foster student readiness for full-time clinical education experiences in a variety of ways. This research looks at one program who has students participate in a student-run pro bono clinic for at least 60 hours prior to the first full-time clinic experience. The purpose of the study is to explore the influence that participation in this pro bono clinic has on a first full-time clinical education experience from the perspective of both the student and the clinical instructor (CI). Methods: Qualitative methodology was employed to gain the perspectives of 29 students and their respective CIs. Data collection included student journals and focus groups, and CI Likert-scale rankings and open-ended questions upon midterm calls. Data points were triangulated through iterative data analysis. Results: CIs rated students high in the eight categories that were triangulated to student data. The themes that were strongest among both students and Cis included comfort with client interaction, interaction with CIs, and cultural competency. Additional themes included documentation, interprofessional interaction, examination, clinical reasoning and intervention. An overarching theme was that students were well-prepared and functioning at high levels of competency for a first full-time clinical experience. Conclusions: Participation in a student-run pro bono clinic helps to facilitate student readiness for a first full-time clinical education experience according to both student perceptions and CI ratings

Posture and mechanics of the forelimbs of <i>Brachiosaurus brancai</i> (Dinosauria: Sauropoda)

The posture and mechanics of the forelimbs of Brachiosaurus brancai were analysed with the help of biomechanical models. Peak forces in the joints due to acceleration of the fraction of body weight carried on the shoulder joints are critical in models with completely straight, column-like limbs and a rigid shoulder girdle. During fast walking, either the forelimbs were flexed at the elbows during the middle of the support phase or the apparently rigid shoulder girdle allowed movements of the shoulder joints relative to the trunk. The overall construction of Brachiosaurus was related to an extreme task, browsing high above the ground. Consequently, versatility was very restricted. Die Stellung und die Mechanik der Vorderbeine von Brachiosaurus brancai wurden mit Hilfe von biomechanischen Modellen untersucht. Kraftspitzen aufgrund von Beschleunigungen des von den Schultern getragenen Anteils der Körpermasse erscheinen in Modellen mit völlig geraden, säulenförmigen Vorderbeinen und einem unbeweglichen Schultergürtel problematisch. Während des schnellen Gehens waren entweder die Vorderbeine in der Mitte der Stützphase in den Ellenbogengelenken gebeugt oder der scheinbar rigide Schultergürtel erlaubte Bewegungen der Schultergelenke relativ zum Brustkorb. Die Gesamtkonstruktion von Brachiosaurus war auf die Ausübung einer extremen Tätigkeit, die Nahrungsaufnahme in großer Höhe, ausgerichtet. Die Konsequenz war eine geringe Vielseitigkeit. doi:10.1002/mmng.1999.4860020103</a

Effect of preoperative oral antibiotics in combination with mechanical bowel preparation on inflammatory response and short‐term outcomes following left‐sided colonic and rectal resections

Background: Preoperative oral antibiotics in addition to intravenous antibiotics and mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) may influence the gut microbiome and reduce both the postoperative systemic inflammatory response to surgery and postoperative infective complications following colorectal resection. This propensity score‐matched study compared outcomes of patients undergoing left‐sided colonic or rectal resection with or without a combination of oral antibiotics and MBP. Methods: The addition of oral antibiotics and MBP to prophylactic intravenous antibiotics in left‐sided colonic and rectal resections was introduced in 2015–2016 at a single institution. Propensity score matching was undertaken to compare the effects of oral antibiotics plus MBP versus neither oral antibiotics nor MBP on the postoperative systemic inflammatory response and short‐term outcomes in patients undergoing left‐sided colonic or rectal resection between 2013 and 2018. Results: Of 396 patients who had propensity score matching for host, anaesthetic and operative factors, 204 matched patients were identified. The addition of oral antibiotics and MBP was associated with a significantly reduced postoperative inflammatory response (reduced postoperative Glasgow Prognostic Score) on day 3 (odds ratio (OR) 0·66, 95 per cent c.i. 0·44 to 0·99; P  = 0·013) and day 4 (OR 0·46, 0·30 to 0·71; P  = 0·001). Significantly reduced overall complications (OR 0·31, 0·17 to 0·56; P  &lt; 0·001), infective complications (OR 0·41, 0·22 to 0·77; P  = 0·011), surgical‐site infection (OR 0·37, 0·17 to 0·83; P  = 0·024) and postoperative length of hospital stay (median 7 days versus 8 days in patients who had intravenous antibiotics alone; P  = 0·050) were also observed. Conclusion: Preoperative oral antibiotics and MBP in addition to prophylactic intravenous antibiotics were associated with a reduction in the postoperative systemic inflammatory response and postoperative complications in patients undergoing resectional left‐sided colonic or rectal surgery

Authors' reply: Effect of preoperative oral antibiotics in combination with mechanical bowel preparation on inflammatory response and short-term outcomes following left-sided colonic and rectal resections

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A complementary view on the growth of directory trees

Trees are a special sub-class of networks with unique properties, such as the level distribution which has often been overlooked. We analyse a general tree growth model proposed by Klemm {\em et. al.} (2005) to explain the growth of user-generated directory structures in computers. The model has a single parameter $q$ which interpolates between preferential attachment and random growth. Our analysis results in three contributions: First, we propose a more efficient estimation method for $q$ based on the degree distribution, which is one specific representation of the model. Next, we introduce the concept of a level distribution and analytically solve the model for this representation. This allows for an alternative and independent measure of $q$. We argue that, to capture real growth processes, the $q$ estimations from the degree and the level distributions should coincide. Thus, we finally apply both representations to validate the model with synthetically generated tree structures, as well as with collected data of user directories. In the case of real directory structures, we show that $q$ measured from the level distribution are incompatible with $q$ measured from the degree distribution. In contrast to this, we find perfect agreement in the case of simulated data. Thus, we conclude that the model is an incomplete description of the growth of real directory structures as it fails to reproduce the level distribution. This insight can be generalised to point out the importance of the level distribution for modeling tree growth.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Seasonal variation in collective mood via Twitter content and medical purchases

The analysis of sentiment contained in vast amounts of Twitter messages has reliably shown seasonal patterns of variation in multiple studies, a finding that can have great importance in the understanding of seasonal affective disorders, particularly if related with known seasonal variations in certain hormones. An important question, however, is that of directly linking the signals coming from Twitter with other sources of evidence about average mood changes. Specifically we compare Twitter signals relative to anxiety, sadness, anger, and fatigue with purchase of items related to anxiety, stress and fatigue at a major UK Health and Beauty retailer. Results show that all of these signals are highly correlated and strongly seasonal, being under-expressed in the summer and over-expressed in the other seasons, with interesting differences and similarities across them. Anxiety signals, extracted from both Twitter and from Health product purchases, peak in spring and autumn, and correlate also with the purchase of stress remedies, while Twitter sadness has a peak in the Winter, along with Twitter anger and remedies for fatigue. Surprisingly, purchase of remedies for fatigue do not match the Twitter fatigue, suggesting that perhaps the names we give to these indicators are only approximate indications of what they actually measure. This study contributes both to the clarification of the mood signals contained in social media, and more generally to our understanding of seasonal cycles in collective mood