Multimedia retrieval in MultiMatch: The impact of speech transcript errors on search behaviour

This study discusses the findings of an evaluation study on the performance of a multimedia multimodal information access sub-system (MIAS), incorporating automatic speech recognition technology (ASR) to automatically transcribe the speech content of video soundtracks. The study’s results indicate that an information-rich but minimalist graphical interface is preferred. It was also discovered that users tend to have a misplaced confidence in the accuracy of ASR-generated speech transcripts, thus they are not inclined to conduct a systematic auditory inspection (their usual search behaviour) of a video’s soundtrack if the query term does not appear in the transcript. In order to alert the user to the possibility that a search term may be incorrectly recognised as some other word, a matching algorithm is proposed that searches for word sequences of similar phonemic structure to the query term

Changing patterns in long-acting bronchodilator trials in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Developments in the understanding of COPD have led to standard guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and spirometry assessments, which have in turn influenced trial designs and inclusion criteria. Substantial clinical evidence has been gained from clinical trials and supports a positive approach to COPD management. However, there appear to be changing trends in recent trials. Large bronchodilator studies have reported lower improvements in trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) values versus placebo than were observed in earlier studies, while the rate of FEV1 decline seems to be lower in more recent trials. In addition, recent evidence has called into question the usefulness of bronchodilator reversibility testing as a trial inclusion criterion. Baseline patient populations and use of concomitant medications have also changed over recent years due to increased treatment options. The impact of these many variables on clinical trial results is explored, with a particular focus on changes in inclusion criteria and patient baseline demographics

Social-Cultural Environment and Performance of Donor Funded Health Projects in Kenya

This study provides an empirical investigation on the effect of the social-cultural environment; local community literacy levels, support from local communities, language, and corruption levels on the performance of donor-funded health projects in Kenya. Empirical evidence indicatesthat most donor-funded health projects in Kenya experience time and cost overruns as well as quality issues. This study investigated a population of 69 donor-funded health projects that were initiated between 2008 and 2018 and were ongoing during the study period. A census study was conducted to ensure efficiency, representativeness, reliability, and flexibility since the population was small. The study adopted explanatory and descriptive research designs. Regression results indicated that language, support from the local communities, and the level of literacy in the local communities had positive relationships with the performance of donor-funded health projects in Kenya with coefficients of 0.021, 0.045, and 0.042 respectively. These factors were significant at a 5 percent significance level with p-values of 0.018, 0.019, and 0.047 respectively. Corruption levels had a negative relationship with the performance of donor-funded health projects in Kenya with a coefficient of - 0.031 that was significant at a 5 percent significance level with a p-value of 0.013. The study recommends that the government develops policies and frameworks that will help projects to minimize the negative effects of the social-cultural environment and enhance the positive effects, and that all decision-makers and other donor-funded health project stakeholders devise policies and strategies for controlling the effect of the social-cultural environment on the donor-funded health projects

Squeezed out: the consequences of riparian zone modification for specialist invertebrates

While anthropogenic biodiversity loss in fresh waters is among the most rapid of all ecosystems, impacts on the conservation of associated riparian zones are less well documented. Riverine ecotones are particularly vulnerable to the combined ‘squeeze’ between land-use encroachment, discharge regulation and climate change. Over a 3-year period of persistent low discharge in a regulated, temperate river system (River Usk, Wales, UK; 2009–2011), specialist carabid beetles on exposed riverine sediments (ERS) were used as model organisms to test the hypotheses that catchment-scale flow modification affects riparian zone invertebrates more than local habitat character, and that this modification is accompanied by associated succession among the Carabidae. Annual summer discharge during the study period was among the lowest of the preceding 12 years, affecting carabid assemblages. The richness of specialist ERS carabids declined, while generalist carabid species’ populations either increased in abundance or remained stable. Community composition also changed, as three (Bembidion prasinum, B. decorum and B. punctulatum) of the four dominant carabids typical of ERS increased in abundance while B. atrocaeruleum decreased. Despite significant inter-annual variation in habitat quality and the encroachment of ground vegetation, beetle assemblages more closely tracked reach-scale variations between sites or catchment-scale variations through time. These data from multiple sites and years illustrate how ERS Carabidae respond to broad-scale discharge variations more than local habitat character. This implies that the maintenance of naturally variable flow regimes is at least as important to the conservation of ERS and their dependent assemblages as are site-scale measures

Bumblebees of the Azores (Apidae: Bombus)

Bombus terrestris and Bombus pratorum were found for the first time in the Azores in 2005. Until then Bombus ruderatus was the only bumblebee species known from this group of nine midAtlantic islands. The identity of B. terrestris was confirmed by DNA barcoding

Evaluation of the personal health budget pilot programme

1. The personal health budget initiative is a key aspect of personalisation across health care services in England. Its aim is to improve patient outcomes, by placing patients at the centre of decisions about their care. Giving people greater choice and control, with patients working alongside health service professionals to develop and execute a care plan, given a known budget, is intended to encourage more responsiveness of the health and care system. 2. The personal health budget programme was launched by the Department of Health in 2009 after the publication of the 2008 Next Stage Review. An independent evaluation was commissioned alongside the pilot programme with the aim of identifying whether personal health budgets ensured better health and care outcomes when compared to conventional service delivery and, if so, the best way for personal health budgets to be implemented

A randomised controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of ice-packs and Epifoam with cooling maternity gel pads at alleviating postnatal perineal trauma

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in Midwifery© 2000. The definitive version is available at http://www.elsevier.comOBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of standard regimes (ice packs and Epifoam) at relieving perineal trauma and compare these with a new cooling device (maternity gel pad). DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial involving three treatment groups. The women were free to choose the time of initial application (within four hours after delivery) in all treatment groups and the number of subsequent treatments up to 48 hours after suturing. SETTING: A midwifery unit in the north of England and then continued in the women's own homes. PARTICIPANTS: 120 women who had undergone an instrumental delivery and had a 48 hours post-delivery stay in a postnatal ward. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: The ordinal scale of none, mild, moderate and severe was used to determine the levels of perineal oedema and bruising at initial assessment (less than 4 hours), 24 hours and at 48 hours, by use of a newly developed visual evaluating tool. Self-assessed pain was recorded using a 10-point visual analogue scale within four hours, at 24 hours, 48 hours, and finally at five days after suturing. Women's opinions as to the effectiveness of their treatment was rated by use of a 5-point scale describing the categories; poor, fair, good, very good and excellent. A high proportion of women had some perineal oedema at initial assessment. A statistically significant difference in the proportion of women with oedema was found between treatment groups at 48 hours (p = 0.01), which was in favour of the maternity gel pad group. This was particularly noticeable for women with initial levels of mild oedema (p = 0.017). Localised treatment with the gel pad caused a significant decrease in reported pain at 48 hours in women who initially demonstrated moderate or severe pain (p = 0.048). A significant increase in the proportion of women with some bruising was seen across all treatment groups from initial assessment, through 24 hours to 48 hours (p < 0.0005). The bruising was significantly less in the gel-pad group in women who initially had no bruising (p = 0.021). There was no statistically significant effect of treatment at other initial levels of severity for oedema, bruising or pain at 24 hours, 48 hours and five days (for pain). Women in the gel-pad group rated the effectiveness of their localised treatment to be significantly higher than women in the other two treatment groups (p < 0.0005). KEY CONCLUSIONS: This trial demonstrated that a high proportion of women experience perineal oedema, bruising and pain following an instrumental delivery, which continues for at least five days for perineal pain, despite oral analgesia. Maternity gel pads, which were specially designed to cool the perineal region, were more effective in alleviating perineal trauma when compared with hospital standard regimens and were more highly rated by women.Elizabeth Clark Charitable Trus

Quaking Aspen in the Residential-Wildland Interface: Elk Herbivory Hinders Forest Conservation

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests are experiencing numerous impediments across North America. In the West, recent drought, fire suppression, insects, diseases, climate trends, inappropriate management, and ungulate herbivory are impacting these high biodiversity forests. Additionally, ecological tension zones are sometimes created where the above factors intermingle with jurisdictional boundaries. The public-private land interface may result in stress to natural areas where game species find refuge and plentiful forage at the expense of ecosystem function. We examined putative herbivore impacts to aspen forests at Wolf Creek Ranch (WCR), a large residential landscape in northern Utah. Forty-three ha-1 monitoring plots were established to measure a range of attributes summarizing location description, tree and vegetation condition, and herbivore presence. Additionally, we tested the ability of a stand-level visual rating system to represent more detailed field measures. Elk (Cervus elaphus L.) herbivory is currently having a strong effect on aspen in the study area, reducing many locations to single-layer aspen forests dominated by aging canopy trees. Regeneration (\u3c 2 m stems) is experiencing moderate-to-high browse and recruitment (2 - 6 m stems) are below replacement levels on approximately half of WCR\u27s aspen forests. The condition rating system represented significant trends in forest cover, canopy height, stand aspect, regeneration, recruitment, and tree mortality. Ordination of all plot and forest data found a strong negative relationship between elk presence and recruitment success. We make recommendations for addressing difficult herbivore-aspen interactions where publicly managed wildlife a present barriers to conservation of privately owned forest reserves