Large-Scale Goodness Polarity Lexicons for Community Question Answering

We transfer a key idea from the field of sentiment analysis to a new domain: community question answering (cQA). The cQA task we are interested in is the following: given a question and a thread of comments, we want to re-rank the comments so that the ones that are good answers to the question would be ranked higher than the bad ones. We notice that good vs. bad comments use specific vocabulary and that one can often predict the goodness/badness of a comment even ignoring the question, based on the comment contents only. This leads us to the idea to build a good/bad polarity lexicon as an analogy to the positive/negative sentiment polarity lexicons, commonly used in sentiment analysis. In particular, we use pointwise mutual information in order to build large-scale goodness polarity lexicons in a semi-supervised manner starting with a small number of initial seeds. The evaluation results show an improvement of 0.7 MAP points absolute over a very strong baseline and state-of-the art performance on SemEval-2016 Task 3.Comment: SIGIR '17, August 07-11, 2017, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan; Community Question Answering; Goodness polarity lexicons; Sentiment Analysi

ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN DAIRY COWS DURING TRANSITION PERIOD

During the transition period important metabolic changes occur in dairy cows, which can also experience oxidative stress. The two years prospective study was carried out to assess the changes occurring in the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxid dismutase (SOD) and glutathion peroxidase (GPX) in three physiological periods: dry period 21 days before calving, period from beginning of lactation until 21st day in lactation, and period from 22nd to 42nd day in lactation. Determination of the enzyme activity was assayed on blood serum by using spectrofotometric methods. The average activity of SOD in period before calving was 24.20±2.319 mU/mg proteins, reaching the value of 43.94±3.864 mU/mg proteins in the second period and in the third period from 22nd to 42nd day in lactation, the activity was 26.77±2.201 mU/mg proteins. The average activity of GPx in period before calving was 251.79±9.363 mU/mg proteins, than increasing in period from beginning of lactation until 21st day in lactation (372.45±17.533 mU/mg proteins) and in the third period from 22nd to 42nd day in lactation, the activity was 319.40±14.307 mU/mg proteins. Physiological stages in transition period when blood samples was taken, showed statistical significant influence (p<0.001) on SOD and GPx activity in blood serum. Significant difference in the activity of SOD in blood serum was found in period before calving as compared to period from calving to 21st day in lactation, and also in period from calving to 21st day in lactation as compared to period from 22nd to 42nd day in lactation. Significant differences in the activity of GPx in blood serum was found between all three physiological periods, but biggest significant difference in activity was found in period before calving as compared to periods in lactation. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the activity of GPx and SOD in blood serum. Dairy cows experience oxidative stress in transition period from gestation to lactation

THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE BODY AND UDDER HYGIENE INFLUENCE ON THE MILK SAFETY AND COMPOSITION ON SMALL DAIRY FARMS IN SERBIA

The hygienic condition of dairy cows and their udders in 128 small household farms in different regions of Serbia, producing mostly milk, having 5–15 cows, a milk cooler and at least one milking machine, was evaluated by the following indicators: 1. general assessment of body cleanliness, 2. visual inspection of teats and udder base, and 3. maintenance of udder cleanliness, rated on a scale of 0 and 1 or 1 to 5. The samples were taken at each visit to the farm after cooling and tested for milk protein and fat content, somatic cell count (SCC) and the total number of microorganisms (TNM). The milk fat content was determined by the Gerber method, the protein content by the Kjeldahl method, the TNM according to the ISO 4833-1:2013 method and the SCC using Fossomatic TM. The IBM SPSS program was used for statistical data processing. Capacity, housing system, breed, milking system, number of cows, and capacity occupancy mostly had a very significant or significant impact on hygiene parameters, protein and fat content, SCC and TNM in milk. The hygiene parameters showed a continuous trend of improvement in relation to the visits. TNM mean scores increased after each visit, with significant differences between visits (F=9.63, P<0.0001). SCC scores varied very significantly between visits (F=5.17, P<0.0001). The number of visits tended to show a significant influence on the milk fat rate (F=2.221; P<0.1), but no influence on the milk protein rate (P=0.480; F=0.901). Copyright©2023 by authors, all rights reserved

SentiBench - a benchmark comparison of state-of-the-practice sentiment analysis methods

In the last few years thousands of scientific papers have investigated sentiment analysis, several startups that measure opinions on real data have emerged and a number of innovative products related to this theme have been developed. There are multiple methods for measuring sentiments, including lexical-based and supervised machine learning methods. Despite the vast interest on the theme and wide popularity of some methods, it is unclear which one is better for identifying the polarity (i.e., positive or negative) of a message. Accordingly, there is a strong need to conduct a thorough apple-to-apple comparison of sentiment analysis methods, \textit{as they are used in practice}, across multiple datasets originated from different data sources. Such a comparison is key for understanding the potential limitations, advantages, and disadvantages of popular methods. This article aims at filling this gap by presenting a benchmark comparison of twenty-four popular sentiment analysis methods (which we call the state-of-the-practice methods). Our evaluation is based on a benchmark of eighteen labeled datasets, covering messages posted on social networks, movie and product reviews, as well as opinions and comments in news articles. Our results highlight the extent to which the prediction performance of these methods varies considerably across datasets. Aiming at boosting the development of this research area, we open the methods' codes and datasets used in this article, deploying them in a benchmark system, which provides an open API for accessing and comparing sentence-level sentiment analysis methods

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from the CHARGE consortium identifies common variants associated with carotid intima media thickness and plaque

Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and plaque determined by ultrasonography are established measures of subclinical atherosclerosis that each predicts future cardiovascular disease events. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 31,211 participants of European ancestry from nine large studies in the setting of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. We then sought additional evidence to support our findings among 11,273 individuals using data from seven additional studies. In the combined meta-analysis, we identified three genomic regions associated with common carotid intima media thickness and two different regions associated with the presence of carotid plaque (P < 5 × 10 -8). The associated SNPs mapped in or near genes related to cellular signaling, lipid metabolism and blood pressure homeostasis, and two of the regions were associated with coronary artery disease (P < 0.006) in the Coronary Artery Disease Genome-Wide Replication and Meta-Analysis (CARDIoGRAM) consortium. Our findings may provide new insight into pathways leading to subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events

The structural and content aspects of abstracts versus bodies of full text journal articles are different

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An increase in work on the full text of journal articles and the growth of PubMedCentral have the opportunity to create a major paradigm shift in how biomedical text mining is done. However, until now there has been no comprehensive characterization of how the bodies of full text journal articles differ from the abstracts that until now have been the subject of most biomedical text mining research.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We examined the structural and linguistic aspects of abstracts and bodies of full text articles, the performance of text mining tools on both, and the distribution of a variety of semantic classes of named entities between them. We found marked structural differences, with longer sentences in the article bodies and much heavier use of parenthesized material in the bodies than in the abstracts. We found content differences with respect to linguistic features. Three out of four of the linguistic features that we examined were statistically significantly differently distributed between the two genres. We also found content differences with respect to the distribution of semantic features. There were significantly different densities per thousand words for three out of four semantic classes, and clear differences in the extent to which they appeared in the two genres. With respect to the performance of text mining tools, we found that a mutation finder performed equally well in both genres, but that a wide variety of gene mention systems performed much worse on article bodies than they did on abstracts. POS tagging was also more accurate in abstracts than in article bodies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Aspects of structure and content differ markedly between article abstracts and article bodies. A number of these differences may pose problems as the text mining field moves more into the area of processing full-text articles. However, these differences also present a number of opportunities for the extraction of data types, particularly that found in parenthesized text, that is present in article bodies but not in article abstracts.</p

Creep and residual properties of cracked macro-synthetic fibre reinforced concretes

[EN] This study analysed the creep behaviour of five concretes incorporating 0.5% by volume of four macro-synthetic fibres (MSFs) and one steel fibre. After 28 d moist curing, prisms were pre-loaded up to a crack opening of 0.5 mm and held for 90 d in three different environments - ambient laboratory air, seawater at 45 degrees C and air flow at 45 degrees C. Sustained loads were then applied on three specimens from each group while the other prisms remained unloaded. The remaining residual capacity was evaluated by bending tests. It was concluded that the residual capacity of cracked MSF concretes is not affected by long-term loading.The authors wish to thank the technicians of ICITECH, where the experimental work was developed. The financial support of the project FISNE with reference BIA2012-35776, supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness and the FEDER fund, is also gratefully acknowledged. The doctoral scholarship of M. E. Bossio was supported by the project EuroTANGO (European Commission - EACEA).Serna Ros, P.; Martí Vargas, JR.; Bossio, ME.; Zerbino, R. (2016). Creep and residual properties of cracked macro-synthetic fibre reinforced concretes. Magazine of Concrete Research. 68(4):197-207. https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.15.00111S19720768

Functional bowel disorders with diarrhoea: Clinical guidelines of the United European Gastroenterology and European Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility

Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D) and functional diarrhoea (FDr) are the two major functional bowel disorders characterized by diarrhoea. In spite of their high prevalence, IBS-D and FDr are associated with major uncertainties, especially regarding their optimal diagnostic work-up and management. A Delphi consensus was performed with experts from 10 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 31 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation criteria. Consensus (defined as >80% agreement) was reached for all the statements. The panel agreed with the potential overlapping of IBS-D and FDr. In terms of diagnosis, the consensus supports a symptom-based approach also with the exclusion of alarm symptoms, recommending the evaluation of full blood count, C-reactive protein, serology for coeliac disease, and faecal calprotectin, and consideration of diagnosing bile acid diarrhoea. Colonoscopy with random biopsies in both the right and left colon is recommended in patients older than 50 years and in presence of alarm features. Regarding treatment, a strong consensus was achieved for the use of a diet low fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols, gut-directed psychological therapies, rifaximin, loperamide, and eluxadoline. A weak or conditional recommendation was achieved for antispasmodics, probiotics, tryciclic antidepressants, bile acid sequestrants, 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 antagonists (i.e. alosetron, ondansetron, or ramosetron). A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on the definition, diagnosis, and management of IBS-D and FDr

A standardised model for stool banking for faecal microbiota transplantation : a consensus report from a multidisciplinary UEG working group

Background Faecal microbiota transplantation is an emerging therapeutic option, particularly for the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection. Stool banks that organise recruitment and screening of faeces donors are being embedded within the regulatory frameworks described in the European Union Tissue and Cells Directive and the technical guide to the quality and safety of tissue and cells for human application, published by the European Council. Objective Several European and international consensus statements concerning faecal microbiota transplantation have been issued. While these documents provide overall guidance, we aim to provide a detailed description of all processes that relate to the collection, handling and clinical application of human donor stool in this document. Methods Collaborative subgroups of experts on stool banking drafted concepts for all domains pertaining to stool banking. During a working group meeting in the United European Gastroenterology Week 2019 in Barcelona, these concepts were discussed and finalised to be included in our overall guidance document about faecal microbiota transplantation. Results A guidance document for all domains pertaining to stool banking was created. This document includes standard operating manuals for several processes involved with stool banking, such as handling of donor material, storage and donor screening. Conclusion The implementation of faecal microbiota transplantation by stool banks in concordance with our guidance document will enable quality assurance and guarantee the availability of donor faeces preparations for patients.Peer reviewe