An Efficient Clustering System for the Measure of Page (Document) Authoritativeness

A collection of documents D1 of a search result R1 is a cluster if all the documents in D1 are similar in a way and dissimilar to another collection say D2 for a given query Q1. Implying that, given a new query Q2, the search result R2 may pose an intersection or a union of documents from D1 and D2 or more to form D3. However within these collections say D1, D2, D3 etc, one or two pages certainly would be better in relevance to the query that invokes them. Such a page is regarded being ‘authoritative’ than others. Therefore in a query context, a given search result has pages of authority. The most important measure of a search engine’s efficiency is the quality of its search results. This work seeks to cluster search results to ease the matching of searched documents with user’s need by attaching a page authority value (pav). We developed a classifier that falls in the margin of supervised and unsupervised learning which would be computationally feasible and producing most authoritative pages. A novel searching and clustering engine was developed using several measure-factors such as anchor text, proximity, page rank, and features of neighbors to rate the pages so searched. Documents or corpora of known measures from the Text Retrieval Conference (TREC), the Initiative for the Evaluation of XML Retrieval (INEX) and Reuter’s Collection, were fed into our work and evaluated comparatively with existing search engines (Google, VIVISIMO and Wikipedia). We got very impressive results based on our evaluation. Additionally, our system could add a value – pav to every searched and classified page to indicate a page’s relevance over the other. A document is a good match to a query if the document model is likely to generate the query, which will in turn happen if the document contains the query words often. This approach thus provides a different realization of some of the basic ideas for document ranking which could be applied through some acceptable rules: number of occurrence, document zone and relevance measures. The biggest problem facing users of web search engines today is the quality of the results they get back. While the results are often amusing and expand users' horizons, they are often frustrating and consume precious time. We have made available a better page ranker that do not depend heavily on the page developer’s inflicted weights but considers the actual factors within and without the target page. Though very experimental on research collections, the user can within the collection of the first ten search results listing, extract his or her relevant pages with ease. Keywords: page Authoritativeness, page Rank, search results, clustering algorithm, web crawling

Camouflages and Token Manipulations-The Changing Faces of the Nigerian Fraudulent 419 Spammers

The inefficiencies of current spam filters against fraudulent (419) mails is not unrelated to the use by spammers of good-word attacks, topic drifts, parasitic spamming, wrong categorization and recategorization of electronic mails by e-mail clients and of course the fuzzy factors of greed and gullibility on the part of the recipients who responds to fraudulent spam mail offers. In this paper, we establish that mail token manipulations remain, above any other tactics, the most potent tool used by Nigerian scammers to fool statistical spam filters. While hoping that the uncovering of these manipulative evidences will prove useful in future antispam research, our findings also sensitize spam filter developers on the need to inculcate within their antispam architecture robust modules that can deal with the identified camouflages

Visualizing Mechanics: Improving Student Learning through Video Demonstrations

The Purdue Mechanics Freeform Classroom (PMFC) is a project that seeks to reform engineering mechanics education by integrating content and technology; enhancing communication between students, their peers, and instructors; accommodating a broader range of learning styles; and facilitating greater depths of understanding. In an attempt to increase the PMFC’s efficacy, a series of demonstration videos has been produced. As demonstrated by the popularity and pervasiveness of websites such as YouTube, short videos have the potential to captivate audiences. As such, these videos have incredible promise in educational contexts. In the PMFC series of videos, entitled Visualizing Mechanics, each imitates the length and format of a generic YouTube video, but is specifically designed to highlight and elucidate interesting phenomena in engineering mechanics. Various techniques are used in the course of video production, including student voiceovers, equation overlays, and advanced video enhancement techniques designed to improve student visualization. The result is videos capable of conveying key mechanics concepts that could not easily be recreated in a classroom setting. To date, the videos have been produced for only one class, ME 274: Basic Mechanics II at Purdue University, which provides an overview of particle and rigid body kinematics and kinetics, as well as an introduction to mechanical vibrations. Once this initial batch of videos is finalized, student surveys and YouTube Analytics tools will be used to assess their effectiveness. If the results of this assessment prove positive, the approach will be expanded to incorporate additional course content and allow for distribution to other colleges and universities outside the Purdue University College of Engineering

Police violence targeting LGBTIQ+ people in Nigeria: Advancing solutions for a 21st century challenge

The Government of Nigeria passed the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) in 2014, emboldening the human rights violations of LGBT Nigerians by state and nonstate actors. Nigerian police enforce morality laws that criminalize same-sex relations, but their role as perpetrators of violence has not been well studied. Using six-year (2014 to 2019) administrative data, this article investigates the severity, prevalence, and typology of police violence and abuse of LGBT Nigerians. Since SSMPA, violence against LGBT Nigerians has risen by 214 percent. Survivors frequently report arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention, invasion of privacy, physical assault and battery, and blackmail/extortion. This study is the first to present serial, cross-sectional findings of LGBT Nigerians’ experience with the police. Available administrative reports and data were synthesized to produce a general picture of the situation on the ground. Findings point to actionable social and policy recommendations that can be taken to promote police accountability and improve police-LGBT community relations

Bayesian Models for Zero Truncated Count Data. Asian Journal of Probability and Statistics.

It is important to fit count data with suitable model(s), models such as Poisson Regression, Quassi Poisson, Negative Binomial, to mention but a few have been adopted by researchers to fit zero truncated count data in the past. In recent times, dedicated models for fitting zero truncated count data have been developed, and they are considered sufficient. This study proposed Bayesian multi-level Poisson and Bayesian multi-level Geometric model, Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov Chain Generalized linear Mixed Models (MCMCglmms) of zero truncated Poisson and MCMCglmms Poisson regression model to fit health count data that is truncated at zero. Suitable model selection criteria were used to determine preferred models for fitting zero truncated data. Results obtained showed that Bayesian multi-level Poisson outperformed Bayesian multi-level Poisson Geometric model; also MCMCglmms of zero truncated Poisson outperformed MCMCglmms Poisson

A Lotka-Volterra Non-linear Differential Equation Model for Evaluating Tick Parasitism in Canine Population

This research employs a modified version of the Lotka-Volterra non-linear first-order ordinary differential equations to model and analyze the parasitic impact of ticks on dogs. The analysis reveals that fluctuations in pesticide effects significantly influence tick populations and the size of the canine host. The study also uncovers that alterations in the size of the interacting species can lead to both stable and unstable states. Interestingly, in a pesticide-free environment, a decline in the inter-competition coefficient catalyzes an increase in the sizes of both interacting species. This increase, although marginal for the tick population, contributes to overall system stability. The findings underscore the utility of the Lotka-Volterra non-linear first-order ordinary differential equations in modeling the parasitic effect of ticks on dogs. To protect pets, particularly dogs, from the harmful effects of tick infestation, this study recommends the appropriate and regular application of disinfectants

A Phase II Study of Pemetrexed in Patients with Recurrent Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma

Introduction Thymoma and thymic carcinoma (TC) are neoplastic diseases with reported chemosensitivity to a broad range of agents. However, because of the rarity of these diseases, few prospective trials have been conducted in patients with advanced thymic malignancies. We conducted a prospective phase II trial to evaluate the clinical activity of pemetrexed, a multitargeted antifolate agent, in previously treated patients with thymoma and TC. Methods A total of 27 previously treated patients (16 with thymoma and 11 with TC) with advanced, unresectable disease were treated with pemetrexed, 500 mg/m2, intravenously every 3 weeks for a maximum of six cycles or until undue toxicity or progressive disease. All patients received folic acid, vitamin B12, and steroid prophylaxis. Results The median number of cycles administered was 6 (range 1–6). Nine patients with a total of 14 events had grade 3 toxicities; no grade 4 toxicities were noted. In 26 fully evaluable patients, two complete and three partial responses (according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) were documented (all in patients with stage IVA thymoma, except for one partial response with stage IVA TC). A total of 14 patients completed the full six cycles of treatment, 7 patients progressed while undergoing therapy, 5 patients discontinued therapy because of intolerance, and 1 patient discontinued therapy because of progressive Morvan syndrome. The median progression-free survival time for all patients was 10.6 months (12.1 months for those with thymoma versus 2.9 months for those with TC). With 23 deaths at data cutoff, the median overall survival time was 28.7 months (46.4 months for those with thymoma versus 9.8 months for those with TC). Conclusions Pemetrexed is an active agent in this heavily pretreated population of patients with recurrent thymic malignancies, especially thymoma

Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception of Health and Non-Healthcare Workers Towards COVID-19 Vaccination: Machine Learning Approach

There have been concerns globally as to whether taking COVID-19 vaccination is harmful or not. In this study, we conducted an online survey to measure the knowledge and attitude of people, first about COVID-19, and second about COVID-19 vaccination—various analyses such as descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and support vector regression with k-fold cross-validation. The support vector machine and tuned support vector machine suggest a better fit based on cross-validation error. The results show that immigration requirements significantly explain why an individual would accept the COVID-19 vaccine. This study suggests that people in authority should look into people's concerns regarding taking the COVID-19 vaccine and address them accordingly. The study aims to draw the attention of the people to the concern that surrounds taking COVID-19 vaccination and explored various statistical techniques to draw inference

On COVID-19 Vaccination in Nigeria: An Empirical Study

This study assessed the knowledge and perception of Nigerians about COVID-19 vaccination. A cross-sectional survey was conducted comprising Health and Non-health workers in Nigeria. The knowledge, attitude, and perception of respondents on COVID- 19 vaccination in Nigeria was obtained through an online. Logistic regression was employed to determine which factor imparted on COVID-19 vaccination decision. The study showed a significant relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and immigration requirements. The survey showed that 74.07%of the health workers had been vaccinated, while 47.06% of non-Health Workers had been vaccinated. This study recommends that Governments at all levels should create more awareness of the importance of COVID-19 vaccination to increase the number of vaccinated individuals

The Impact of Trade Openness and Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Welfare in sub-Saharan Africa

The sub-Saharan African region is characterized by a high relative degree of openness to trade. The region is also identified with increased inflows of foreign investments with no significant welfare improvement. Economic development emphasizes that the lack of domestic investment in the developing economies could be boosted by trade openness and inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for impactful enhancement of capital formation. In this article, the impact of trade openness and foreign capital inflow on economic welfare was examined on a sub-regional analysis for sub-Saharan Africa. The study also appraised the effect of openness to trade and FDI inflow on the region's economic welfare. The data for 30 countries from 2000 to 2018 were collected and analyzed, with the Generalized Least Square (GLS) technique to fit the model developed. The study showed that openness to trade has a significant impact on economic welfare for all sub-Saharan Africa regions, while FDI is only significant for the Western sub-region. Hence, the study recommends that the government of the countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region should boost trade openness to enhance efficiency in productivity, and improve industrial development