Query exhaustivity, relevance feedback and search success in automatic and interactive query expansion

This study explored how the expression of search facets and relevance feedback by users was related to search success in interactive and automatic query expansion in the course of the search process. Search success was measured both in the number of relevant documents retrieved and relevance scores of these items based on a four point scaling. Research design consisted of 26 users searching for four TREC topics in Okapi IR system, half using interactive and half automatic query expansion based on RF. The search logs were recorded, and the users filled in a questionnaire for each topic concerning various features of searching. The results showed that the exhaustivity of the query was the most significant predictor of search success, and that interactive expansion led to better search success than automatic one

Creative professional users musical relevance criteria

Although known item searching for music can be dealt with by searching metadata using existing text search techniques, human subjectivity and variability within the music itself make it very difficult to search for unknown items. This paper examines these problems within the context of text retrieval and music information retrieval. The focus is on ascertaining a relationship between music relevance criteria and those relating to relevance judgements in text retrieval. A data-rich collection of relevance judgements by creative professionals searching for unknown musical items to accompany moving images using real world queries is analysed. The participants in our observations are found to take a socio-cognitive approach and use a range of content and context based criteria. These criteria correlate strongly with those arising from previous text retrieval studies despite the many differences between music and text in their actual content

Does document relevance affect the searcher's perception 0f time?

Time plays an essential role in multiple areas of Information Retrieval (IR) studies such as search evaluation, user behavior analysis, temporal search result ranking and query understanding. Especially, in search evaluation studies, time is usually adopted as a measure to quantify users' efforts in search processes. Psychological studies have reported that the time perception of human beings can be affected by many stimuli, such as attention and motivation, which are closely related to many cognitive factors in search. Considering the fact that users' search experiences are affected by their subjective feelings of time, rather than the objective time measured by timing devices, it is necessary to look into the different factors that have impacts on search users' perception of time. In this work, we make a first step towards revealing the time perception mechanism of search users with the following contributions: (1) We establish an experimental research framework to measure the subjective perception of time while reading documents in search scenario, which originates from but is also different from traditional time perception measurements in psychological studies. (2) With the framework, we show that while users are reading result documents, document relevance has small yet visible effect on search users' perception of time. By further examining the impact of other factors, we demonstrate that the effect on relevant documents can also be influenced by individuals and tasks. (3) We conduct a preliminary experiment in which the difference between perceived time and dwell time is taken into consideration in a search evaluation task. We found that the revised framework achieved a better correlation with users' satisfaction feedbacks. This work may help us better understand the time perception mechanism of search users and provide insights in how to better incorporate time factor in search evaluation studies

Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution

BackgroundBecause ixodid ticks are vectors of zoonotic pathogens, including Borrelia, information of their abundance, seasonal variation in questing behaviour and pathogen prevalence is important for human health. As ticks are invading new areas northwards, information from these new areas are needed. Taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus) populations have been recently found at Bothnian Bay, Finland. We assessed seasonal variation in questing abundance of ticks and their pathogen prevalence in coastal deciduous forests near the city of Oulu (latitudes 64-65 degrees) in 2019.MethodsWe sampled ticks from May until September by cloth dragging 100 meters once a month at eight study sites. We calculated a density index (individuals/100 m(2)) to assess seasonal variation. Samples were screened for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) (including B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) and B. valaisana), Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis and Bartonella spp., Babesia spp. and for the tick-borne encephalitis virus.ResultsAll except one nymph were identified as I. persulcatus. The number of questing adults showed a strong peak in May (median: 6.5 adults/100 m(2)), which is among the highest values reported in northern Europe, and potentially indicates a large population size. After May, the number of questing adults declined steadily with few adults still sampled in August. Nymphs were present from May until September. We found a striking prevalence of Borrelia spp. in adults (62%) and nymphs (40%), with B. garinii (51%) and B. afzelii (63%) being the most common species. In addition, we found that 26% of infected adults were coinfected with at least two Borrelia genospecies, mainly B. garinii and B. afzelii, which are associated with different host species.ConclusionsThe coastal forest environments at Bothnian Bay seem to provide favourable environments for I. persulcatus and the spread of Borrelia. High tick abundance, a low diversity of the host community and similar host use among larvae and nymphs likely explain the high Borrelia prevalence and coinfection rate. Research on the infestation of the hosts that quantifies the temporal dynamics of immature life stages would reveal important aspects of pathogen circulation in these tick populations

Spontaneous focusing on numerosity in preschool as a predictor of mathematical skills and knowledge in the fifth grade

Previous studies in a variety of countries have shown that there are substantial individual differences in children’s spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON), and these differences are positively related to the development of early numerical skills in preschool and primary school. A total of 74 5-year-olds participated in a 7-year follow-up study, in which we explored whether SFON measured with very small numerosities at 5 years of age predicts mathematical skills and knowledge, math motivation, and reading in fifth grade at 11 years of age. Results show that preschool SFON is a unique predictor of arithmetic fluency and number line estimation but not of rational number knowledge, mathematical achievement, math motivation, or reading. These results hold even after taking into account age, IQ, working memory, digit naming, and cardinality skills. The results of the current study further the understanding of how preschool SFON tendency plays a role in the development of different formal mathematical skills over an extended period of time.</p

Enhanced threat of tick-borne infections within cities? Assessing public health risks due to ticks in urban green spaces in Helsinki, Finland

Most tick-related studies in Europe have been conducted in nonurban areas, but ticks and tick-borne pathogens also occur in urban green spaces. From a public health perspective, risks regarding tick-borne infections should be studied in these urban areas, where contacts between infected ticks and humans may be more frequent than elsewhere, due to high human activity. We examined the risk of encountering an infected tick in urban green spaces in Helsinki, Finland. We collected ticks at nine sites throughout Helsinki, recorded the prevalence of several pathogens and identified areas with a high potential for contacts between infected ticks and humans. Moreover, we explored the relationship between the density ofBorrelia burgdorferisensu lato-infected ticks and locally diagnosed cases of borreliosis and compared the potential for human-tick encounters in Helsinki to those in nonurban areas in south-western Finland. During 34.8 km of cloth dragging, 2,417Ixodes ricinuswere caught (402 adults, 1,399 nymphs and 616 larvae). From analysed nymphs, we found 11 distinct tick-borne pathogens, with 31.5% of nymphs carrying at least one pathogen. Tick activity was highest in August and September, leading to the density of nymphs infected withB. burgdorferis.l., and concurrently infection risk, to also be highest during this time. Nymph densities varied between the sampling sites, with obvious implications to spatial variation in infection risk. While ticks and tick-borne pathogens were found in both Helsinki and nonurban areas in south-western Finland, the estimates of human activity were generally higher in urban green spaces, leading to a higher potential for human-tick contacts therein. The presence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens and high local human activity in urban green spaces suggest that they form potential foci regarding the acquisition of tick-borne infections. Risk areas within cities should be identified and knowledge regarding urban ticks increased

Mathematical skills of 11-year-old children born very preterm and full-term

Preterm birth affects the academic development of children, especially in mathematics. Remarkably, only a few studies have measured specific effects of preterm birth on mathematical skills in primary school. The aim of this study was to compare 11-year-old children, with an IQ above 70, born very preterm (N = 64) and full-term (N = 72) on a variety of 5th grade mathematical skills and cognitive abilities important for mathematical learning. The measures were spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON), spontaneous focusing on quantitative relations (SFOR), arithmetic fluency, mathematics achievement, number line estimation, rational number magnitude knowledge, mathematics motivation, reading skills, visuospatial processing, executive functions, and naming speed. The children born very preterm and full-term differed in arithmetic fluency, SFON and SFOR. Domain general cognitive abilities did not fully explain the group differences in SFON and SFOR. Retrospective comparisons of the samples at the age of five years showed large group differences in early mathematical skills and cognitive abilities. Despite lower early mathematical skills, the children born very preterm reached peer equivalent performance in many mathematical skills by the age of 11 years. Nevertheless, they appear less likely to focus on implicit mathematical features in their everyday life.</p

Early mathematical skill profiles of prematurely and full-term born children

Preterm birth is associated with low mathematical skills in children. This study on five-year-old Finnish children investigated whether mathematical skill profiles would differ between prematurely and full-term born children and how such profiles and other cognitive skills would be related. Mathematical skills included digit knowledge, spontaneous focusing on numerosity, arithmetic, counting and geometric skills. The investigated cognitive skills were phonological processing, working memory, instruction comprehension, speeded naming, inhibition and visuomotor skills. The participants were 119 preterm children with birth weight <1501 g and 100 full-term born children with normal birth weight. The results of latent profile analyses showed that preterm and full term born children differed in both number and shape of latent mathematical skill profiles,indicating quantitative and qualitative disparities. After controlling for birth weight or gestational age, maternal education, and other cognitive skills phonological processing, visuospatial working memory and speeded naming were uniquely associated with prematurely born children's five mathematical profiles. In full-term born children, only verbal working memory was related to their four mathematical profiles. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

The development of situational interest during a digital mathematics game

The present study focused on 212 fifth graders' situational interest trajectories during an intervention with a digital mathematics game called Number Navigation. Our aims were to explore the development of situational interest whilst playing the game and to investigate the relationship between situational interest and individual math interest. Growth mixture model analyses showed that in the whole sample situational interest was stable within sessions but decreased across sessions. Three different situational interest trajectories were found. Situational interest trajectories were predicted by pre‐test individual interest. In turn, situational interest had an effect on post‐test individual interest. Students whose situational interest trajectories were stable (either high or low) presented no changes in individual interest, yet the individual interest of students whose situational interest was triggered but not maintained markedly decreased from pre‐test to post‐test. Results suggest that it is important to use game‐based learning not because games are believed to be “motivating”; rather, games with proven learning outcomes should be carefully selected. </p

Tick-borne pathogens in Finland : comparison of Ixodes ricinus and I-persulcatus in sympatric and parapatric areas

BackgroundAlmost 3500 tick samples, originally collected via a nationwide citizen science campaign in 2015, were screened to reveal the prevalence and distribution of a wide spectrum of established and putative tick-borne pathogens vectored by Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus in Finland. The unique geographical distribution of these two tick species in Finland allowed us to compare pathogen occurrence between an I. ricinus-dominated area (southern Finland), an I. persulcatus-dominated area (northern Finland), and a sympatric area (central Finland).ResultsOf the analysed ticks, almost 30% carried at least one pathogen and 2% carried more than one pathogen. A higher overall prevalence of tick-borne pathogens was observed in I. ricinus than in I. persulcatus: 30.0% (604/2014) versus 24.0% (348/1451), respectively. In addition, I. ricinus were more frequently co-infected than I. persulcatus: 2.4% (49/2014) versus 0.8% (12/1451), respectively. Causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, i.e. bacterial genospecies in Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) group, were the most prevalent pathogens (overall 17%). Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae was found for the first time in I. ricinus ticks and in Finnish ticks in general. Moreover, Babesia divergens, B. venatorum and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis were reported for the first time from the Finnish mainland.ConclusionsThe present study provides valuable information on the prevalence and geographical distribution of various tick-borne pathogens in I. ricinus and I. persulcatus ticks in Finland. Moreover, this comprehensive subset of ticks revealed the presence of rare and potentially dangerous pathogens. The highest prevalence of infected ticks was in the I. ricinus-dominated area in southern Finland, while the prevalence was essentially equal in sympatric and I. persulcatus-dominated areas. However, the highest infection rates for both species were in areas of their dominance, either in south or north Finland.Peer reviewe