Towards Query Logs for Privacy Studies: On Deriving Search Queries from Questions

Translating verbose information needs into crisp search queries is a phenomenon that is ubiquitous but hardly understood. Insights into this process could be valuable in several applications, including synthesizing large privacy-friendly query logs from public Web sources which are readily available to the academic research community. In this work, we take a step towards understanding query formulation by tapping into the rich potential of community question answering (CQA) forums. Specifically, we sample natural language (NL) questions spanning diverse themes from the Stack Exchange platform, and conduct a large-scale conversion experiment where crowdworkers submit search queries they would use when looking for equivalent information. We provide a careful analysis of this data, accounting for possible sources of bias during conversion, along with insights into user-specific linguistic patterns and search behaviors. We release a dataset of 7,000 question-query pairs from this study to facilitate further research on query understanding.Comment: ECIR 2020 Short Pape

Synchrotron spectral index and interstellar medium densities of star-forming galaxies

The spectral index of synchrotron emission is an important parameter in understanding the properties of cosmic ray electrons (CREs) and the interstellar medium (ISM). We determine the synchrotron spectral index ($\alpha_{\rm nt}$) of four nearby star-forming galaxies, namely NGC 4736, NGC 5055, NGC 5236 and NGC 6946 at sub-kpc linear scales. The $\alpha_{\rm nt}$ was determined between 0.33 and 1.4 GHz for all the galaxies. We find the spectral index to be flatter ($\gtrsim -0.7$) in regions with total neutral (atomic + molecular) gas surface density, $\Sigma_{\rm gas} \gtrsim \rm 50~M_\odot pc^{-2}$, typically in the arms and inner parts of the galaxies. In regions with $\Sigma_{\rm gas} \lesssim \rm 50~M_\odot pc^{-2}$, especially in the interarm and outer regions of the galaxies, the spectral index steepens sharply to $<-1.0$. The flattening of $\alpha_{\rm nt}$ is unlikely to be caused due to thermal free--free absorption at 0.33 GHz. Our result is consistent with the scenario where the CREs emitting at frequencies below $\sim0.3$ GHz are dominated by bremsstrahlung and/or ionization losses. For denser medium ($\Sigma_{\rm gas} \gtrsim \rm 200~M_\odot pc^{-2}$), having strong magnetic fields ($\sim 30~\mu$G), $\alpha_{\rm nt}$ is seen to be flatter than $-0.5$, perhaps caused due to ionization losses. We find that, due to the clumpy nature of the ISM, such dense regions cover only a small fraction of the galaxy ($\lesssim5$ percent). Thus, the galaxy-integrated spectrum may not show indication of such loss mechanisms and remain a power-law over a wide range of radio frequencies (between $\sim 0.1$ to 10 GHz).Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Accepted to be published in MNRA

Nucleon spin structure at very high-x

Dyson-Schwinger equation treatments of the strong interaction show that the presence and importance of nonpointlike diquark correlations within the nucleon are a natural consequence of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. Using this foundation, we deduce a collection of simple formulae, expressed in terms of diquark appearance and mixing probabilities, from which one may compute ratios of longitudinal-spin-dependent u- and d-quark parton distribution functions on the domain x =1. A comparison with predictions from other approaches plus a consideration of extant and planned experiments shows that the measurement of nucleon longitudinal spin asymmetries on x =1 can add considerably to our capacity for discriminating between contemporary pictures of nucleon structure.Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, 3 figures. To appear in Phys. Lett.

Age-Group Doctrinal Training and the Assemblies of God

For years Protestantism has had many denominations, mainly because of variant doctrinal beliefs. Denominations who feel their existence is justified and who feel the truths for which they stand are worth perpetuating, have the solemn responsibility of indoctrinating their followers in the basic doctrines of the Bible as well as the distinctives for which they stand. When properly done, doctrinal trainings should assure a denomination of its continued existence, and the perpetuation of the truths for which it stands. Accepted evangelical leaders indicated that doctrinal training was closely related to the destiny of a denomination, and most evangelical Protestant churches provided programs for age-group doctrinal training. Leaders, college professors, pastors, and members of Assemblies of God churches gave evidence that there was a definite need for better doctrinal training in the Assemblies of God. The problem of this study was to determine the extent of need for a more adequate doctrinal training program in the Assemblies of God, and upon the basis of these findings to propose a program for age-group doctrinal training in the Assemblies of God

Factors Affecting Application Development Productivity:An Empirical Investigation

A recent survey [4] shows that 35% to 50% of software projects had an overrun in terms of the development effort and schedule. Such late deliveries of software tend to cause project backlogs on the order of 374% ofcurrent capacity [2]. Many factors have been suggested as root causes for going over the budget, such as inaccurate estimates, inept scheduling, and failure to recognize risks and plan accordingly. Considerable effort has been devoted to the study of software project management techniques to cure these problems [1]. On the other hand, some suggest that we should seek ways to make programmers more productive, just as Henry Ford made auto assembly workers more productive. For instance, Boehm [3] believes that there are opportunities to increase software productivity, and predicts that by 1995 a 20% improvement in software productivity will be worth US$45 billion in the US and US$90 billion world-wide. As a result, new methodologies and tools for software development have been suggested and developed in order to increase productivity and subsequently alleviate project backlogs. Representative examples include structured analysis and design, computer-aided software engineering (CASE), and fourth generation languages (4GLs). However, the impacts of these new methodologies and tools on productivity have not been clearly realized, and their use is often controversial [8]. Previous research [6,7] suggests that improving programming productivity requires much more than the isolated implementation of new technologies and policies. Unfortunately, the integration of the new technologies with strategies for managing the software development process, such as project and configuration management, characterization of project teams, and process control, has been largely overlooked [5] as a critical contributor to software productivity improvement. Thus, an integrated analysis, which covers both technological and managerial aspects of software development, is needed. Since there has been almost no research of this problem, we began with an exploratory study [9] that examined current practices in application systems development, focusing on utilization of productivity tools in information systems (I/S) organizations. The aim ofthe study was to develop an appreciation of the factors that might affect application development productivity. We found that an integration of technical and managerial interventions accounted for increased productivity. In the present study, we follow up on the exploratory study. Using hypotheses developed in [9], we are collecting data from a large sample of companies through a mail survey. Before proceeding to a detailed description of the research in progress, we present some concepts basic to understanding our research approach

Thermoballistic spin-polarized electron transport in paramagnetic semiconductors

Spin-polarized electron transport in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) in the paramagnetic phase is described within the thermoballistic transport model. In this (semiclassical) model, the ballistic and diffusive transport mechanisms are unified in terms of a thermoballistic current in which electrons move ballistically across intervals enclosed between arbitrarily distributed points of local thermal equilibrium. The contribution of each interval to the current is governed by the momentum relaxation length. Spin relaxation is assumed to take place during the ballistic electron motion. In paramagnetic DMS exposed to an external magnetic field, the conduction band is spin-split due to the giant Zeeman effect. In order to deal with this situation, we extend our previous formulation of thermoballistic spin-polarized transport so as to take into account an arbitrary (position-dependent) spin splitting of the conduction band. The current and density spin polarizations as well as the magnetoresistance are each obtained as the sum of an equilibrium term determined by the spin-relaxed chemical potential, and an off-equilibrium contribution expressed in terms of a spin transport function that is related to the splitting of the spin-resolved chemical potentials. The procedures for the calculation of the spin-relaxed chemical potential and of the spin transport function are outlined. As an illustrative example, we apply the thermoballistic description to spin-polarized transport in DMS/NMS/DMS heterostructures formed of a nonmagnetic semiconducting sample (NMS) sandwiched between two DMS layers. We evaluate the current spin polarization and the magnetoresistance for this case and, in the limit of small momentum relaxation length, find our results to agree with those of the standard drift-diffusion approch to electron transport.Comment: Minor corrections; 3 references added; changed to single-column forma

Stromal control of oncogenic traits expressed in response to the overexpression of GLI2, a pleiotropic oncogene.

Hedgehog signaling is often activated in tumors, yet it remains unclear how GLI2, a transcription factor activated by this pathway, acts as an oncogene. We show that GLI2 is a pleiotropic oncogene. The overexpression induces genomic instability and blocks differentiation, likely mediated in part by enhanced expression of the stem cell gene SOX2. GLI2 also induces transforming growth factor (TGF)B1-dependent transdifferentiation of foreskin and tongue, but not gingival fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, creating an environment permissive for invasion by keratinocytes, which are in various stages of differentiation having downregulated GLI2. Thus, upregulated GLI2 expression is sufficient to induce a number of the acquired characteristics of tumor cells; however, the stroma, in a tissue-specific manner, determines whether certain GLI2 oncogenic traits are expressed