5,917 research outputs found
Intra-assessor consistency in question answering
In this paper we investigate the consistency of answer assessment in a complex question answering task examining features of assessor consistency, types of answers and question type
University of Strathclyde at TREC HARD
The motivation behind the University of Strathclyde's approach to this years HARD track was inspired from previous experiences by other participants, in particular research by [1], [3] and [4]. A running theme throughout these papers was the underlying hypothesis that a user's familiarity in a topic (i.e. their previous experience searching a subject), will form the basis for what type or style of document they will perceive as relevant. In other words, the user's context with regards to their previous search experience will determine what type of document(s) they wish to retrieve
Contextual information and assessor characteristics in complex question answering
The ciqa track investigates the role of interaction in answering complex questions: questions that relate two or more entities by some specified relationship. In our submission to the first ciqa track we were interested in the interplay between groups of variables: variables describing the question creators, the questions asked and the presentation of answers to the questions. We used two interaction forms - html questionnaires completed before answer assessment - to gain contextual information from the answer assessors to better understand what factors influence assessors when judging retrieved answers to complex questions. Our results indicate the importance of understanding the assessor's personal relationship to the question - their existing topical knowledge for example - and also the presentation of the answers - contextual information about the answer to aid in the assessment of the answer
Supply chain management diffusion among firms in the Republic of Ireland
The changing business environment has sharpened the focus on the need for robust approaches to supply chain management (SCM) and the improvement of supply chain capability and performance. This is particularly the case in Ireland, which has the natural disadvantage of a location peripheral to significant markets and sources of raw materials which results in relatively high transport and distribution costs. Therefore, in order to gain insights into current levels of diffusion of SCM, a survey was conducted among 776 firms in the Republic of Ireland. The empirical results suggest that there is a need for more widespread adoption of SCM among Irish firms. This is particularly the case in relation to the four main elements of SCM excellence reported in this paper. The design of supply chain solutions is a highly skilled, knowledge-intensive and complex activity, reflected in a shift from 'box moving' to the design and implementation of customised supply chain solutions. Education and training needs to be addressed by stimulating the development of industry-relevant logistics and SCM resources and skills
Relating multi-sequence longitudinal intensity profiles and clinical covariates in new multiple sclerosis lesions
Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to detect lesions in
the brains of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The formation of these lesions
is a complex process involving inflammation, tissue damage, and tissue repair,
all of which are visible on MRI. Here we characterize the lesion formation
process on longitudinal, multi-sequence structural MRI from 34 MS patients and
relate the longitudinal changes we observe within lesions to therapeutic
interventions. In this article, we first outline a pipeline to extract voxel
level, multi-sequence longitudinal profiles from four MRI sequences within
lesion tissue. We then propose two models to relate clinical covariates to the
longitudinal profiles. The first model is a principal component analysis (PCA)
regression model, which collapses the information from all four profiles into a
scalar value. We find that the score on the first PC identifies areas of slow,
long-term intensity changes within the lesion at a voxel level, as validated by
two experienced clinicians, a neuroradiologist and a neurologist. On a quality
scale of 1 to 4 (4 being the highest) the neuroradiologist gave the score on
the first PC a median rating of 4 (95% CI: [4,4]), and the neurologist gave it
a median rating of 3 (95% CI: [3,3]). In the PCA regression model, we find that
treatment with disease modifying therapies (p-value < 0.01), steroids (p-value
< 0.01), and being closer to the boundary of abnormal signal intensity (p-value
< 0.01) are associated with a return of a voxel to intensity values closer to
that of normal-appearing tissue. The second model is a function-on-scalar
regression, which allows for assessment of the individual time points at which
the covariates are associated with the profiles. In the function-on-scalar
regression both age and distance to the boundary were found to have a
statistically significant association with the profiles
Environmental monitoring of Mycobacterium bovis in badger feces and badger sett soil by real-time PCR, as confirmed by immunofluorescence, immunocapture, and cultivation
Real-time PCR was used to detect and quantify Mycobacterium bovis cells in
naturally infected soil and badger faeces. Immunomagnetic capture,
immunofluorescence and selective culture confirmed species identification and cell
viability. These techniques will prove useful for monitoring M. bovis in the
environment and for elucidating transmission routes between wildlife and cattle
Simple Vortex States in Films of Type-I Ginzburg-Landau Superconductor
Sufficiently thin films of type-I superconductor in a perpendicular magnetic
field exhibit a triangular vortex lattice, while thick films develop an
intermediate state. To elucidate what happens between these two regimes,
precise numerical calculations have been made within Ginzburg-Landau theory at
and 0.25 for a variety of vortex lattice structures with one flux
quantum per unit cell. The phase diagram in the space of mean induction and
film thickness includes a narrow wedge in which a square lattice is stable,
surrounded by the domain of stability of the triangular lattice at thinner
films/lower fields and, on the other side, rectangular lattices with
continuously varying aspect ratio. The vortex lattice has an anomalously small
shear modulus within and close to the square lattice phase.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure
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