A text mining framework for Big Data

Text Mining is the ability to generate knowledge (insight) from text. This is a challenging task, especially when the target text databases are very large. Big Data has attracted much attention lately, both from academia and industry. A number of distributed databases, search engines and frameworks have been developed to handle the memory and time constraints, which are required to process a large amount of data. However, there is no open-source end-to-end framework that can combinenearreal-timeandbatchprocessingofingestedbigtextualdataalongwith user-defined options and provision of specific, reliable insight from the data. This is important as this way new unstructured information is made accessible in near real-time, more personalised customer products can be created and novel unusual patterns can be found and actioned on quickly. This work focuses on a proprietary complete near real-time automated classification framework for unstructured data with the use of Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning algorithms on Apache Spark. The evaluation of our framework shows that it achieves a comparable accuracy with respect to some of the best approaches presented in the literature

Novel Use of a Social-Media-Based Survey to Detect Regional Differences in Management of Monochorionic-Diamniotic Twins.

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the utility of social media to distribute a patient survey on differences in management and outcomes of monochorionic-diamniotic (MCDA) pregnancies.Study designA cross-sectional survey was posted to an English-language MCDA twins patient-centered support group within the social media site, Facebook from April 2, 2018 to June 26, 2018. Subjects were recruited through a technique called "snowballing," whereby individuals shared the survey to assist with recruiting. Patient reported data were analyzed using Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis's tests to explore characteristics associated with surveillance and outcomes as related to region and provider type.ResultsOver 3 months, the post "reached" 14,288 Facebook users, among which 5,653 (40%) clicked on the post. A total of 2,357 respondents with MCDA pregnancies completed the survey. Total 1,928 (82%) were from the United States (US) and 419 (18%) from other countries. Total 85% of patients had co-management with maternal-fetal medicine (MFM), more in the US compared with the rest of the world (87 vs. 74%, p < 0.01). MFM involvement led to increased adherence to biweekly ultrasounds (91 vs. 65%, p < 0.01), diagnosis of monochorionicity by 12 weeks (74 vs. 69%, p < 0.01) and better education about twin-twin transfusion syndrome (90 vs. 66%, p < 0.01). Pregnancies with MFM involvement had a higher take-home baby rate for both babies (92 vs. 89%, p < 0.01) or for at least one baby (98 vs. 93%, p < 0.01) compared with those without MFM involvement.ConclusionA survey distributed via social media can be effective in evaluating real-life management and outcomes of an uncommon obstetrical diagnosis. This survey elucidates wide international variation in adherence to guidelines, management, and outcomes

Chapter Chinese migration(s) to Italy beyond stereotypes and simplistic views: the case of the graphic novels Primavere e Autunni and Chinamen

The current contribution aims at describing some key-aspects of Rocchi and Demonte’s graphic novels “Primavere e Autunni” (2015) and “Chinamen” (2017), especially in relation to: 1) the historical reconstruction of Chinese migration to Italy; 2) the challenge of widespreading negative stereotypes against Chinese migrants, which still characterize dominant public discourse in Italian society. The first paragraph will highlight theoretical aspects of both works, in particular relation to the literature on migration and of migration, with Sinoitalian literature, as well as with macro- and micro-aspects of Chinese migration to Italy. After that, some common points of both works will be underlined, including structure and style, semiotic aspects, communicative functions and multimodality. The third paragraph will specifically focus on a series of key-figures described in the graphic novels, which contribute to draw the attention to specific aspects regarding Chinese historical presence in Milan and in Italy

Novel Interactive Systems Promoting More Intentional Technology Use

Digital technology permeates modern life, offering numerous benefits while simultaneously creating potential risks of dependency and overuse. Digital Self-Control Tools (DSCTs) represent the predominant attempted solution for digital wellbeing problems; however, they frequently prove ineffective for sustainable behavior change. My research investigates novel interactive systems that promote more intentional technology use, overcoming existing limitations. One of the approaches I pursued, grounded in psychological theories of behavior change, focused on improving current DSCTs through artificial intelligence integration to provide personalized guidance tailored to individual needs and help users improve their digital habits. Future validation may prove that an AI-based tailored approach to digital self-control can lead to actual change of habits and improvement in the long run. A second approach consisted of educational interventions through an educational system promoting digital wellbeing among youth to encourage young people to develop independently healthier technology usage patterns. Future approaches may emphasize more gamified or game-like systems to widen the target of digital educational means

Labor Law—NLRB\u27s Lack of Remedial Power in a Runaway Plant Situation

Local 57, Garment Workers v. NLRB (Garwin Corp.), 374 F.2d 295 (D.C. Cir. 1967)

A new approach in the monitoring of the phytosanitary conditions of forests: the case of oak and beech stands in the Sicilian Regional Parks

L'obiettivo del presente studio è stato quello di esaminare lo stato fitosanitario delle quercete e faggete dei tre Parchi Regionali Siciliani (Parco dell'Etna, Parco delle Madonie, Parco dei Nebrodi). Lo studio è stato condotto individuando delle aree di saggio, popolamenti forestali omogenei sotto l'aspetto floristico, ecologico e fitosanitario. Complessivamente sono state delimitate 81 aree di saggio, di cui 54 quercete e 27 faggete. La condizione fitosanitaria di ogni essenza arborea all'interno della rispettiva area di saggio è stata espressa con un indice numerico denominato “classe fitosanitaria” (PC). I popolamenti di quercia hanno mostrato un elevato grado di sofferenza, con alberi sintomatici nell’85% delle aree di saggio. I popolamenti di faggio hanno mostrato una situazione di maggiore stabilità, ad eccezione delle faggete del parco dei Nebrodi che apparivano molto degradate. Sul genere Quercus, sono stati osservati sintomi di infezioni di patogeni fungini comuni nelle foreste delle aree temperate e Mediterranee, quali Biscogniauxia mediterranea, Polyporus sp., Fistulina hepatica, Mycrosphaera alphitoides ed Armillaria sp., mentre su faggio sono state osservate infezioni di Biscogniauxia nummularia, Fomes fomentarius e Neonectria radicicola. Sono state altresì individuate 22 aree che vengono proposte come aree di saggio permanenti dello stato fitosanitario delle foreste nei tre parchi.The objective of this study was to investigate the health conditions of oak and beech stands in the three Regional Parks of Sicily (Etna, Madonie and Nebrodi). A total of 81 sampling areas were investigated, 54 in oak stands and 27 in beech stands. The phytosanitary conditions of each tree within the respective sampling area was expressed with a synthetic index namely phytosanitary class (PC). Oak stands showed severe symptoms of decline, with 85% of the sampling areas including symptomatic trees. In general, beech stands were in better condition, with the exception of Nebrodi Park, where trees showed severe symptoms of decline. On oak trees, infections of fungal pathogens were also observed, including Biscogniauxia mediterranea, Polyporus sp., Fistulina hepatica, Mycrosphaera alphitoides and Armillaria sp. By contrast, on beech trees Biscogniauxia nummularia, Fomes fomentarius and Neonectria radicicola were recognized. Furthermore, twenty-two permanent sampling areas were delimited with the aim of monitoring regularly the health conditions of forests in these three parks

Chromatin and oxygen sensing in the context of JmjC histone demethylases

Responding appropriately to changes in oxygen availability is essential for multicellular organism survival. Molecularly, cells have evolved intricate gene expression programmes to handle this stressful condition. Although it is appreciated that gene expression is co-ordinated by changes in transcription and translation in hypoxia, much less is known about how chromatin changes allow for transcription to take place. The missing link between co-ordinating chromatin structure and the hypoxia-induced transcriptional programme could be in the form of a class of dioxygenases called JmjC (Jumonji C) enzymes, the majority of which are histone demethylases. In the present review, we will focus on the function of JmjC histone demethylases, and how these could act as oxygen sensors for chromatin in hypoxia. The current knowledge concerning the role of JmjC histone demethylases in the process of organism development and human disease will also be reviewed

Dialogues with digital wisdom: can LLMs help us put down the phone?

The use of Large Language Models (LLMs) to counter problematic smartphone use and support users’ digital wellbeing has recently gained research interest. Yet, such an approach is still in its infancy, particularly when compared to traditional digital self-control interventions. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using LLMs as “digital wellbeing assistants.” Specifically, we first reviewed the HCI literature and developed four user personas that exemplify widely recognized issues associated with smartphone (over)use. Then, we assessed the capabilities of four popular LLMs-powered chatbots, i.e., Bing, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.AI, in understanding problematic smartphone uses and suggesting practical strategies to address them, using the developed personas as a testing ground. Despite some variations, results show that all three LLMs can offer tailored suggestions based on user characteristics, opening doors for smarter digital self-control interventions that leverage AI to support users’ self-monitoring and regulation capabilities

Chinese Students’ Development of Textual Competence in L2 Italian: A Corpus-Based Study

The majority of studies conducted about Chinese students’ acquisition of L2 Italian since the 1990s have mainly focused on the analysis of learners’ phonological and morphosyntactic competences, usually adopting contrastive methods (Valentini 1992 and Banfi 2003, inter alia). More recent studies have been carried out from the point of view of applied linguistics (Rastelli 2010) and input processing (Rastelli 2013). However, textual and meta-textual competences of this category of learners have not yet been deeply investigated, even though the importance of such competences has already been acknowledged within important documents of language policy, e.g. the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR 2001). This article is divided into two main sections. After preliminary theoretical considerations about some key-concepts, I will first emphasize, according to a theoretical background (Scalise and Ceccagno 2005; Diadori and Di Toro 2009 inter alia), the role played by some factors in slowing down, as well as in causing difficulties to Chinese students’ development of textual competence in L2 Italian. Secondly, I will analyze the results of a corpus-based cross-sectional study, the purpose of which was to investigate some aspects involved in the development of Chinese University students’ textual skills in Italian as a Second Languag