Information extraction from template-generated hidden web documents

The larger amount of information on the Web is stored in document databases and is not indexed by general-purpose search engines (such as Google and Yahoo). Databases dynamically generate a list of documents in response to a user query – which are referred to as Hidden Web databases. Such documents are typically presented to users as templategenerated Web pages. This paper presents a new approach that identifies Web page templates in order to extract queryrelated information from documents. We propose two forms of representation to analyse the content of a document – Text with Immediate Adjacent Tag Segments (TIATS) and Text with Neighbouring Adjacent Tag Segments (TNATS). Our techniques exploit tag structures that surround the textual contents of documents in order to detect Web page templates thereby extracting query-related information. Experimental results demonstrate that TNATS detects Web page templates most effectively and extracts information with high recall and precision

Query-related data extraction of hidden web documents

The larger amount of information on the Web is stored in document databases and is not indexed by general-purpose search engines (i.e., Google and Yahoo). Such information is dynamically generated through querying databases — which are referred to as Hidden Web databases. Documents returned in response to a user query are typically presented using templategenerated Web pages. This paper proposes a novel approach that identifies Web page templates by analysing the textual contents and the adjacent tag structures of a document in order to extract query-related data. Preliminary results demonstrate that our approach effectively detects templates and retrieves data with high recall and precision

Short-term effects of deep ploughing on soil C stocks following renewal of a dairy pasture in New Zealand

In New Zealand’s high producing permanent pastures the topsoil constitutes a large reservoir of soil organic carbon (SOC), which shows a marked stratification with depth. As consequence, sub-surface layers can contain 10 times less carbon than the surface soil. In permanent pastures with high carbon inputs, the formation and decomposition of these surface SOC stocks are often at equilibrium and C storage shows little change over time. Pastoral based dairy systems utilising ryegrass plus clover cultivars require renewal every 7-10 years to avoid reversion to less productive grasses. This may involve spring cultivation (either no-till, shallow till or full cultivation), summer forage cropping and autumn re-grassing. It has been hypothesised that SOC stocks can be increased by inverting the soil profile at pasture renewal through infrequent (once in 25-30 years) deep mouldboard ploughing (up to 30 cm depth). Increased C sequestration occurs when the new grass quickly rebuilds SOC stocks in the new topsoil (exposed low C sub-soil) at a rate faster than the decomposition of SOC in the rich former topsoil transferred to depth (now below 15 cm). However, benefits form accelerated C storage may be offset if crop and pasture production is adversely affected by the ploughing event (e.g., as result of compaction or excessive drainage). Hence, the aim of this work was to assess the short-term effects of infrequent inversion tillage of long-term New Zealand pastoral-based dairy soils under summer crop management and autumn re-grassing. An imperfectly drained Typic Fragiaqualf under dairy grazing was deep ploughed (approx. 25 cm) and re-sown with turnip in October 2016; other treatments included were shallow (< 10 cm) cultivation and no-till. The site was core sampled (0-40 cm) before cultivation and after 5 months of turnip growth to assess changes in SOC. Plant growth, herbage quality, and nutrient leaching were monitored during the 5-month period; root growth was assessed at the end of the crop rotation. Full cultivation transferred SOC below 10 cm depth, as expected. Soil bulk density decreased whereas root mass increased (10-20 cm depth; P < 0.05) under deep cultivation only. Besides, losses of mineral N were attenuated under deep tillage, resulting in a relative increase in crop yield. The potential for infrequent inversion tillage increasing soil C sequestration as a greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation tool is currently being tested at other sites in New Zealand

Surgical treatment of a paraspinal abscess with osteomyelitis and spinal cord compression in a rabbit

Abstract CASE DESCRIPTION A 16-month-old neutered male Continental Giant rabbit (Lepus curpaeums) was referred for evaluation of a 7-day history of acute-onset, progressive, symmetric paraparesis. CLINICAL FINDINGS On initial examination, the rabbit was nonambulatory, and results of neurologic examination were consistent with a lesion affecting the T3-L3 spinal cord segments. Thoracic radiography showed irregular widening of the left T11–12 articular process joint. Marked dorsolateral and lateral extradural spinal cord compression with contrast enhancement of the adjacent epaxial muscles was evident on MRI images of the spine. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME A left-sided T11–T12 hemilaminectomy was performed, which revealed an abnormal and hypertrophic T11–12 articular process joint and an osteolytic lesion communicating with the vertebral canal. Copious purulent material causing marked spinal cord compression was evident, and the surgical site was lavaged extensively with sterile (0.9% NaCl) saline solution. Results of aerobic, anaerobic, and enriched bacteriologic cultures of swab specimens obtained from the surgical site were negative. Histologic analysis of biopsy samples revealed chronic purulent osteomyelitis, myositis, and fasciitis with necrosis, fibrosis, and dystrophic mineralization. The rabbit was discharged 48 hours after surgery. Ten weeks after surgery, the rabbit was ambulatory with mild paraparesis. On telephone follow-up 21 months after surgery, the owners indicated that the rabbit was healthy and expressed satisfaction with the treatment and outcome. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Paraspinal abscess with vertebral canal involvement should be considered as a differential diagnosis for rabbits with clinical signs of progressive T3-L3 myelopathy. Outcome for the patient of the present report suggested that surgical treatment including decompression and debridement can result in a favorable long-term outcome.</jats:p

On the suitability of baked clay for archaeomagnetic studies as deduced from detailed rock-magnetic studies

Extensive rock-magnetic investigations have been carried out on baked clays from four kilns (two from Bulgaria and two from Switzerland) found in archaeological sites of different age. Knowledge of the magnetic characteristics of the grains responsible for the archaeomagnetic signal enables us to determine which baked clays have the stablest magnetization and why this is so. This is important in directional studies, but even more so in painstaking palaeointensity studies that require a very careful evaluation of the suitability of the burnt clay material. The proposed rock-magnetic experiments enable the identification of the carriers responsible for the remanence and an adequate interpretation of the experimental results connected with the palaeointensity evaluation. The experimental methods employed are illustrated with the particular results obtained from each of the four kilns studied. The preliminary elucidation of the magnetic mineralogy of the archaeological samples helps first by obtaining a more reliable palaeointensity result, and secondly by explaining some of the discrepancies in the palaeodirectional results. Examples of successful and failed palaeointensity experiments are given in relation to the magnetic properties previously established for each oven. The burnt-clay materials in this present study satisfy the essential condition of carrying a thermoremanence. In spite of that, it is shown that there are many factors that can produce undesirable magnetic properties and thus restrict the suitability of these materials for archaeomagnetic analysis. The most important factors influencing the magnetic behaviour during magneto-diagnostic experiments are: the degree of heating in antiquity, the initial composition of the unbaked material and the burial conditions. The large difference in heating temperatures within a particular archaeological feature is a major cause of variation in magnetic behaviour amongst individual specimens, and so preventing a successful pre-selection of specimens for palaeointensity experiments. Nevertheless, the study has shown a very good coincidence between the determined rock-magnetic characteristics and the success rate in palaeointensity evaluatio

Passive smoking: secondhand smoke does cause respiratory disease.

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Assessing the genetic diversity of rice originating from Bangladesh, Assam and West Bengal

Acknowledgements This work was funded by BBSRC research project BB/J00336/1. FS and a part of the proportion of the cost of the Illumina genotyping was funded by a Beachell-Borlag International Fellowship. The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Dr MK Sarmah in collecting seed samples of the landraces and improved cultivars from Assam used in this study and Dr. Ma. Elizabeth B. Naredo and Ms. Sheila Mae Q. Mercado for handling of IRGC accessions and preparation of DNAs for genotyping. All rice seeds used here were obtained with MTA agreements and seed and dry leaves imported into the UK under import licence IMP⁄SOIL⁄18⁄2009 issued by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Epidemiological determinants of spread of causal agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND: Health authorities worldwide, especially in the Asia Pacific region, are seeking effective public-health interventions in the continuing epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We assessed the epidemiology of SARS in Hong Kong. METHODS: We included 1425 cases reported up to April 28, 2003. An integrated database was constructed from several sources containing information on epidemiological, demographic, and clinical variables. We estimated the key epidemiological distributions: infection to onset, onset to admission, admission to death, and admission to discharge. We measured associations between the estimated case fatality rate and patients' age and the time from onset to admission. FINDINGS: After the initial phase of exponential growth, the rate of confirmed cases fell to less than 20 per day by April 28. Public-health interventions included encouragement to report to hospital rapidly after the onset of clinical symptoms, contact tracing for confirmed and suspected cases, and quarantining, monitoring, and restricting the travel of contacts. The mean incubation period of the disease is estimated to be 6.4 days (95% CI 5.2-7.7). The mean time from onset of clinical symptoms to admission to hospital varied between 3 and 5 days, with longer times earlier in the epidemic. The estimated case fatality rate was 13.2% (9.8-16.8) for patients younger than 60 years and 43.3% (35.2-52.4) for patients aged 60 years or older assuming a parametric gamma distribution. A non-parametric method yielded estimates of 6.8% (4.0-9.6) and 55.0% (45.3-64.7), respectively. Case clusters have played an important part in the course of the epidemic. INTERPRETATION: Patients' age was strongly associated with outcome. The time between onset of symptoms and admission to hospital did not alter outcome, but shorter intervals will be important to the wider population by restricting the infectious period before patients are placed in quarantine

Transmission dynamics of the etiological agent of SARS in Hong Kong: impact of public health interventions.

We present an analysis of the first 10 weeks of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Hong Kong. The epidemic to date has been characterized by two large clusters-initiated by two separate "super-spread" events (SSEs)-and by ongoing community transmission. By fitting a stochastic model to data on 1512 cases, including these clusters, we show that the etiological agent of SARS is moderately transmissible. Excluding SSEs, we estimate that 2.7 secondary infections were generated per case on average at the start of the epidemic, with a substantial contribution from hospital transmission. Transmission rates fell during the epidemic, primarily as a result of reductions in population contact rates and improved hospital infection control, but also because of more rapid hospital attendance by symptomatic individuals. As a result, the epidemic is now in decline, although continued vigilance is necessary for this to be maintained. Restrictions on longer range population movement are shown to be a potentially useful additional control measure in some contexts. We estimate that most currently infected persons are now hospitalized, which highlights the importance of control of nosocomial transmission