Relevance feedback strategies for recall-oriented neural information retrieval

In a number of information retrieval applications (e.g., patent search, literature review, due diligence, etc.), preventing false negatives is more important than preventing false positives. However, approaches designed to reduce review effort (like "technology assisted review") can create false negatives, since they are often based on active learning systems that exclude documents automatically based on user feedback. Therefore, this research proposes a more recall-oriented approach to reducing review effort. More specifically, through iteratively re-ranking the relevance rankings based on user feedback, which is also referred to as relevance feedback. In our proposed method, the relevance rankings are produced by a BERT-based dense-vector search and the relevance feedback is based on cumulatively summing the queried and selected embeddings. Our results show that this method can reduce review effort between 17.85% and 59.04%, compared to a baseline approach (of no feedback), given a fixed recall targe

Diagnoses on Cairo city reflective analysis of Rameses Square

Cairo, a 20 million megapolis, is characterized by the absence of a logical urban design. For most people, chaos is the most characterizing element of the traffic situation in Cairo like Ramses Square, the busiest intersection of Cairo. We focus on the pedestrian. How can an increasing number of pedestrians and an increasing number of motorized vehicles use the city simultaneously in a comfortable way? How to improve the comfort of all people who use the square? Not only pedestrians and motorized traffic are everyday users of the square, but also small vendors. Diversity of users characterizes public space. To fulfil the conflicting needs of different groups, it is essential to hear what the users need and want of the spaces they interact with. In our research we started by accepting the physical environment and the social stratification of the area. Our open interpretation of the Ramses Square includes a literal intention for more sustainability: an improvement of users comfort, the local environment and an impulse to reach a change of outlook with the people and government. In our opinion sustainability is a state of mind to increase the comfort of life, urban and green space. This will be achieved through an anthropological approach of architecture and town planning. With this study and its focus on Ramses Square, one of the most polluted and traffic wise overcrowded intersections of Africa, we believe that the vital points mentioned have to be considered when working on African cities.Department of Culture, Delegation of the Flemish Government in South Africa, Embassy of Belgiumhttps://africanperspectivesconference.wordpress.com

Ecologische randvoorwaarden voor weidevogelsoorten in het broedseizoen : resultaten van een pilotstudie in het Wormer- en Jisperveld

Veel onderzoek aan weidevogels in het afgelopen decennium is uitgevoerd in agrarisch gebied. Dit onderzoek is grotendeels uitgevoerd in een natuurreservaat onder extensieve landbouwkundige omstandigheden. Het terrein is aangewezen als Natura2000 gebied voor moerasvogels zoals de Roerdomp. Actueel discussiepunt is of het beheer ten behoeve van weidevogels in Natura2000-gebieden niet op gespannen voet staat met andere instandhoudingsdoelen zoals moerasvogels. Dit rapport laat zien dat dit soms het geval kan zijn, maar opgelost kan worden met het uitgekiend ruimtelijk scheiden van moeras en weilandgebieden. Het rapport draagt een aantal relevante verbeteringen aan voor het beheer van de 18.000 ha weidevogelreservaten in Nederland

Concentrating or scattering management in agricultural landscapes:Examining the effectiveness and efficiency of conservation measures

A key issue in conservation is where and how much management should be implemented to obtain optimal biodiversity benefits. Cost-effective conservation requires knowledge on whether biodiversity benefits are higher when management is concentrated in a few core areas or scattered across the landscape, and how these effects vary between species. To address these questions, we examined species-specific behavioural responses of over-wintering farmland birds to enhanced seed availability. In a two-year experiment we first examined the relationship between landscape-scale seed availability and farmland bird density. Then we investigated the relative resource delivery (difference in bird densities between landscapes with and without additional management) and the efficiency (number of individuals supported per unit management) of conservation actions, both at the landscape-scale (ca 100 ha) and at the scale of the conservation measures (3.6 ha). The conservation actions were targeted towards ten seed-eating farmland bird species, but we also considered the responses of seven non-targeted and more generalist seed-eating species, seven species that are less dependent on seeds and three species of birds of prey. We found a positive relationship between bird density and landscape-scale seed availability for eleven species and, for four of these species, the slope of this relationship changed before and after a threshold seed density. For two seed-eating specialists, the number of individuals using conservation patches declined with landscape-scale seed availability. In addition, we found that the relative resource delivery declined with landscape scale seed availability for three seed-eating specialists and was independent of landscape-scale seed availability in four other species. Our results suggest that farmland specialists may benefit most from winter food additions if conservation actions result in high landscape-scale seed availability. This may be achieved by concentrating conservation measures or by establishing measures in areas with high baseline seed availability. By contrast, species that can utilize a wider range of habitats and resources may benefit more from scattering measures across larger areas. Therefore, optimal management for the full range of farmland birds in wintertime may require a combination of core areas with concentrated management and more widely distributed smaller patches of conservation measures.</p

Exploring the associations of culture with careers and the mediating role of HR practices:A conceptual model

Purpose: The conceptual framework developed in the present study aims to highlight the importance of human resource (HR) practices as a mediator between national culture and employees' careers. Design/methodology/approach: The approach taken is a literature review and the development of a conceptual model. Findings: The paper contributes to the literature by focusing on how culture via HR practices might influence career success. Drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, five propositions are developed regarding the impact of culture on career‐relevant HR practices, and how these practices are likely to influence employee career success. Research limitations/implications: Culture's effect should not be overstated. Looking at the propositions, it is possible that the influence of HR practices on career success is more pronounced than the direct effects of culture on career success. Future work is needed to measure and compare the relative strength of different associations as well as the possibility that other HR dimensions relevant to the study of career success may exist. Originality/value: At a general level, there is ample evidence of the impact of culture on the effectiveness of a variety of individual outcomes. The paper focused on the mediating role of HR practices as opposed to advancing hypotheses about direct relationships between culture and career success

Radiotelemetrie om de mobiliteit van insecten te volgen

Radiotelemetrie is een methode om de mobiliteit van organismen in kaart te brengen. De methode wordt al veel toegepast bij vogels en zoogdieren. De ontwikkeling van de techniek maakt het thans mogelijk om ook individuele insecten met zeer kleine zenders uit te rusten. In een oriënterend onderzoek werden mestkevers en een loopkever voorzien van radiozendertjes van 0,2 gram en gedurende enige tijd gevolgd in het veld

Angiotensin production by the heart: a quantitative study in pigs with the use of radiolabeled angiotensin infusions

BACKGROUND: Beneficial effects of ACE inhibitors on the heart may be mediated by decreased cardiac angiotensin II (Ang II) production. METHODS AND RESULTS: To determine whether cardiac Ang I and Ang II are produced in situ or derived from the circulation, we infused 125I-labeled Ang I or II into pigs (25 to 30 kg) and measured 125I-Ang I and II as well

Higher Derivative Corrections to Locally Black Brane Metrics

In this paper we generalize the construction of locally boosted black brane space time to higher derivative gravities. We consider the Gauss-Bonnet term (with coefficient $\alpha'$) as a toy example. We find the solution to the $\alpha'$ corrected Einstein equations to first order in the boundary derivative expansion. This allows us to find the $\alpha'$ corrections to the boundary stress tensor in the presence of the Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk action. We therefore obtain the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy which agrees with other methods of computation in the literature.Comment: 0+17 page