Harvesting Entities from the Web Using Unique Identifiers -- IBEX

In this paper we study the prevalence of unique entity identifiers on the Web. These are, e.g., ISBNs (for books), GTINs (for commercial products), DOIs (for documents), email addresses, and others. We show how these identifiers can be harvested systematically from Web pages, and how they can be associated with human-readable names for the entities at large scale. Starting with a simple extraction of identifiers and names from Web pages, we show how we can use the properties of unique identifiers to filter out noise and clean up the extraction result on the entire corpus. The end result is a database of millions of uniquely identified entities of different types, with an accuracy of 73--96% and a very high coverage compared to existing knowledge bases. We use this database to compute novel statistics on the presence of products, people, and other entities on the Web.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures, 9 tables. Complete technical report for A. Talaika, J. A. Biega, A. Amarilli, and F. M. Suchanek. IBEX: Harvesting Entities from the Web Using Unique Identifiers. WebDB workshop, 201

Nuclear bars and blue nuclei within barred spiral galaxies

Multicolour near IR photometry for a sample of 32 large barred spiral galaxies is presented. By applying ellipse fitting techniques, we identify significant isophote twists with respect to the primary bar axis in the nuclear regions of $\sim$70 \%\ of the sample. These twists are identified in galaxies as late as SBbc and are clearly distinguishable from spiral arm morphology. At most seven of the galaxies with isophote twists are inferred to possess secondary (nuclear) bars, the axis ratios of which appear to correlate with morphological type. The remainder may result from triaxial bulges, or from oblate bulges misaligned with the primary bar. The near IR colour distributions in these data show evidence for (red) circumnuclear star forming rings in 4 galaxies. The majority of the sample (19) also possess striking blue nuclear regions, bluer than typical old stellar populations by $\sim$0.3 mag. in (J--H) and $\sim$0.23 mag. in (H--K). Such blue colours do not appear to correlate with the presence of nuclear rings or pseudo--rings, nor with the activity of the host galaxy (as determined from emission--line spectroscopic characteristics). Several mechanisms to explain this blue colour are considered.Comment: 24 pages plain LaTex( including table captions), 5 tables and 18 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Paper and tables available via anonymous ftp://143.167.4.101/pub/papers as sqiid-paper.tex and table1,2,3.tex, table4.ps, table5.ps. Figures available as postcript upon request to first Autho

Integrating e-learning into postgraduate radiotherapy and oncology education: a case study

Training health professionals within University environments has traditionally focused on face-to-face methods. Practitioners working within the UK National Health Service (NHS) have found it difficult to gain leave from work to attend for study due to the demands of the NHS and staff shortages. In response, we developed a distance e learning course to match our current traditional taught programme.The first e learning module (a research methods module) was comparable in content to the traditional taught module, and developed to incorporate a formative assessment design throughout; embodying the Constructivist approach and the principle of assessment for learning. We evaluated student experiences with the e learning module using a pre and post module questionnaire, with the taught cohort used as a comparison. We tested the importance of support, levels of information technology (IT) skills, preferences for e learning and intrinsic motivation. The results identified that highly satisfied e learning students were more likely to report a preference for e learning initially, show higher levels of intrinsic motivation and report good support from tutors and fellow students. This article discusses the development and evaluation of the pilot module and some of the lessons learned from providing e learning to health workers

Beidseitige Ertaubung durch Labyrinthitis bei M.Crohn

Zusammenfassung: Vestibulocochleäre Störungen bei chronischen Darmentzündungen sind seltene, aber immer wieder beschriebene Komplikationen oder Manifestationen der Grunderkrankung. Ein 26-jähriger Mann erlitt unter immunsuppressiver Therapie aufgrund eines 6Monate zuvor diagnostizierten M.Crohn einen bilateralen Ausfall der Gleichgewichtsorgane sowie eine bilaterale sensorineurale Hörminderung. Es wurde eine ausführliche Diagnostik (Audiogramm, Sprachaudiogramm, kalorische Vestibularisprüfung, Messung vestibulär evozierter myogener Potenziale, Magnetresonanztomographie) durchgeführt. Therapiert wurde mit Azathioprim, Glukokortikoiden systemisch und intratympanal sowie mit monoklonalen Antikörpern. Darunter zeigte sich ein stark fluktuierender, aber progredienter Verlauf der Beschwerden und Befunde bei nur geringfügiger bis keiner Besserung. Erst die beidseitige Versorgung mit einem Cochleaimplantaten (CI) stellte eine befriedigende Lösung dar. Das Fallbeispiel zeigt diagnostische und therapeutische Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer immunbedingten Erkrankung. Sie verlangt eine enge interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit. Bei beidseitiger Ertaubung ist die frühzeitige CI-Versorgung eine geeignete Form der Rehabilitatio

Quasi-chemical study of Be2+^{2+}(aq) speciation

Be$^{2+}$(aq) hydrolysis can to lead to the formation of multi-beryllium clusters, but the thermodynamics of this process has not been resolved theoretically. We study the hydration state of an isolated Be$^{2+}$ ion using both the quasi-chemical theory of solutions and ab initio molecular dynamics. These studies confirm that Be$^{2+}$(aq) is tetra-hydrated. The quasi-chemical approach is then applied to then the deprotonation of Be(H_2O)_4^{2+}} to give BeOH(H_2O)_3{}^{+}}. The calculated pK$_a$ of 3.8 is in good agreement with the experimentally suggested value around 3.5. The calculated energetics for the formation of BeOHBe$^{3+}$ are then obtained in fair agreement with experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Kinetic-energy release in Coulomb explosion of metastable C3H52+

C3H52+, formed by electron impact ionization of propane, undergoes metastable decay into C2H2++CH3+. We have monitored this reaction in a magnetic mass spectrometer of reversed geometry that is equipped with two electric sectors (BEE geometry). Three different techniques were applied to identify the fragment ions and determine the kinetic-energy release (KER) of spontaneous Coulomb explosion of C3H52+ in the second and third field free regions of the mass spectrometer. The KER distribution is very narrow, with a width of about 3% [root-mean square standard deviation]. An average KER of 4.58+/-0.15 eV is derived from the distribution. High level ab initio quantum-chemical calculations of the structure and energetics of C3H52+ are reported. The activation barrier of the reverse reaction, CH3++C2H2+ (vinylidene), is computed. The value closely agrees with the experimental average KER, thus indicating that essentially all energy available in the reaction is partitioned into kinetic energy. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics

Formation of even-numbered hydrogen cluster cations in ultracold helium droplets

Neutral hydrogen clusters are grown in ultracold helium nanodroplets by successive pickup of hydrogen molecules. Even-numbered hydrogen cluster cations are observed upon electron-impact ionization with and without attached helium atoms and in addition to the familiar odd-numbered H(n)(+). The helium matrix affects the fragmentation dynamics that usually lead to the formation of overwhelmingly odd-numbered H(n)(+). The use of high-resolution mass spectrometry allows the unambiguous identification of even-numbered H(n)(+) up to n congruent to 120 by their mass excess that distinguishes them from He(n)(+), mixed He(m)H(n)(+), and background ions. The large range in size of these hydrogen cluster ions is unprecedented, as is the accuracy of their definition. Apart from the previously observed magic number n = 6, pronounced drops in the abundance of even-numbered cluster ions are seen at n = 30 and 114, which suggest icosahedral shell closures at H(6)(+)(H(2))(12) and H(6)(+)(H(2))(54). Possible isomers of H(6)(+) are identified at the quadratic configuration interaction with inclusion of single and double excitations (QCISD)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3035833

The Psychosocial Consequences of Sports Participation for Individuals with Severe Mental Illness: A Metasynthesis Review

The purpose of the current metasynthesis review was to explore the psychosocial benefits of sport and psychosocial factors which impact on sports participation for individuals with severe mental illness. AMED, CINAHL Plus, Medline, EMBASE, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source, and Science Citation Index were searched from inception until January 2014. Articles included use qualitative methods to examine the psychosocial effects of sports participation in people with severe mental illness. Methodological quality was assessed using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies and a case study tool. Included studies were analysed within a metasynthesis approach. Eight articles involving 56 patients met the inclusion criteria. The results identified the broader and direct psychosocial benefits of sport. Sport provided a ?normal? environment and interactions that were not associated with an individual?s mental illness. Sport provided individuals with a sense of meaning, purpose, belonging, identity, and achievement. Other findings are discussed. Direct psychosocial benefits are a consequence of sports participation for the vast majority of individuals with severe mental illness. Further to this, sports participation was associated with a reduction in social isolation and an increase in social confidence, autonomy, and independence