Named entity recognition with multiple segment representations

Named entity recognition (NER) is mostly formalized as a sequence labeling problem in which segments of named entities are represented by label sequences. Although a considerable effort has been made to investigate sophisticated features that encode textual characteristics of named entities (e.g. PEOPLE, LOCATION, etc.), little attention has been paid to segment representations (SRs) for multi-token named entities (e.g. the IOB2 notation). In this paper, we investigate the effects of different SRs on NER tasks, and propose a feature generation method using multiple SRs. The proposed method allows a model to exploit not only highly discriminative features of complex SRs but also robust features of simple SRs against the data sparseness problem. Since it incorporates different SRs as feature functions of Conditional Random Fields (CRFs), we can use the well-established procedure for training. In addition, the tagging speed of a model integrating multiple SRs can be accelerated equivalent to that of a model using only the most complex SR of the integrated model. Experimental results demonstrate that incorporating multiple SRs into a single model improves the performance and the stability of NER. We also provide the detailed analysis of the results.     

Limitations of cadence-based walking for assessing bouts of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity under free-living conditions

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationship between the accumulation of 1000 steps in 10 minutes (1K) and 3000 steps in 30 minutes (3K) with the amount and intensity of daily physical activity. Thirty-three adults (16 males and 17 females, 53 ± 19 years) wore an accelerometer (Lifecorder) for seven consecutive days in order to determine the number of steps and the time spent in physical activity at light intensity (LPA), moderate intensity (MPA), vigorous intensity (VPA) and moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA). Furthermore, based on the minute-by-minute stepping rate, the number, intensity and duration of walking bouts (1K and 3K) were evaluated. The daily number of steps, LPA, MPA and VPA were significantly higher on the days with 1K or 3K compared with that observed on the days without 1K or 3K (P <0.05). The duration of 1K was not found to be correlated with an MVPA >10 minutes. An MVPA >10 minutes was less than 2 min · day^?1 on the days with 1K or 3K. Therefore, it is doubtful that the concept of cadence is an alternative indicator for the commonly used definition of MVPA. It remains unclear whether participation in 1K and 3K guarantees that an individual will meet the current MVPA guidelines.     

Beyond intelligence: a meta-analytic review of the relationship among metacognition,intelligence, and academic performance

This meta-analytic study estimated the correlations among metacognition, intelligence, and academic performance. Metacognition is higher order cognition and one of the most significant predictors of academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which metacognition predicted academic performance when controlling for intelligence. The analysis of 149 samples from 118 articles revealed that, overall, metacognition weakly correlated with both academic performance and intelligence, and that these relationships were moderated by the type of measurement of metacognition. Furthermore, it was found that metacognition predicted academic performance when controlling for intelligence. Our findings indicate the importance of metacognition in educational practice and provide guidance for assessing metacognition in future research.     

When do people use query suggestion? A query suggestion log analysis

Query suggestion, which enables the user to revise a query with a single click, has become one of the most fundamental features of Web search engines. However, it has not been clear what circumstances cause the user to turn to query suggestion. In order to investigate when and how the user uses query suggestion, we analyzed three kinds of data sets obtained from a major commercial Web search engine, comprising approximately 126 million unique queries, 876 million query suggestions and 306 million action patterns of users. Our analysis shows that query suggestions are often used (1) when the original query is a rare query, (2) when the original query is a single-term query, (3) when query suggestions are unambiguous, (4) when query suggestions are generalizations or error corrections of the original query, and (5) after the user has clicked on several URLs in the first search result page. Our results suggest that search engines should provide better assistance especially when rare or single-term queries are input, and that they should dynamically provide query suggestions according to the searcher’s current state.     

Age-related differences in daily physical activity divided by bout duration: preliminary findings in female convenience samples

The purpose of the present investigation was to clarify the relationship between age and bout duration of physical activity (PA) under free-living conditions in female adults. Forty-three females wore an accelerometer (Lifecorder) for seven consecutive days in order to determine the time spent in PA at light intensity (LPA), at moderate intensity (MPA), and at vigorous intensity (VPA). The PA was divided according to the bout duration, such as PA lasting longer than 16 s, 32 s, 60 s, 3 min, >5 min, and >10 min (PA16s, PA32s, PA1m, PA3m, PA5m, PA10m). The time for LPA32s, LPA1m, MPA16s, VPA16s, and the total time for MPA and VPA were significantly associated with age (P < 0.05). There were no significant associations between age and PA lasting >60 s, regardless of intensity category. The results of the present pilot study suggest that the age-associated differences in PA occur mainly in PA lasting 1 min or shorter duration.     

Enhancing children’s activity in browsing/reading together by the installation of the BrowsReader in the children’s room of a library

Reading together draws much attention as a societal concern for children not only to yield emotional reaction but also to gradually advance intellectual thinking. We here aim to build a new environment, in which children’s browsing and reading of picture books together with families and/or friends is steadily enhanced, by installing the BrowsReader in the children’s room of a public library or a kindergarten. The original BrowsReader was a system to assist children in finding and reading picture books. The children, by gathering around the BrowsReader, can browse picture books and then choose and read a book by flipping pages on it. After reproducing each printed, digitized or web picture book as a surrogate picture book consisting of the front-cover image followed by the page images, we first introduce two basic notions: (i) an abstracted bookshelf, which presents the front-cover images of the surrogate picture books in the form where all are linearly arranged, with some of the images bundled in places, and (ii) a unified view, which presents each page of any surrogate picture book in a form that seems like a printed picture book’s page. We then specify, based on these notions, the improved version of the BrowsReader which can be installed in each children’s room so that children together with families and/or friends can easily browse a large number of surrogate picture books as if they are browsing in the physical bookshelves of the children’s room, and can read a wide variety of surrogate picture books as if they are reading ordinary printed picture books on a table. The improvement was carried out in a step by step process based on feedback and results from case studies, and its effects were clarified by seeing whether, in a new environment, the children’s activity in browsing/reading together were steadily enhanced when using the BrowsReader.     

Introduction to the special issue on patent processing

The processing of intellectual property documents, such as patents, has been important to the industry, business, and law communities. Recently, the importance of patent processing has also been recognized in academic research communities, particularly by information retrieval and natural language processing researchers. In addition, large test collections that include patents have recently become available, to enable the systematic evaluation of methodologies from a scientific point of view. In the light of these activities, this special issue is intended to collect advanced research papers on patent processing. As an introduction to the special issue on patent processing, this paper surveys the relevant literature and outlines the papers selected for the special issue.     

On-chip pressure sensor using single-layer concentric chambers

A vision-based on-chip sensor for sensing local pressure inside a microfluidic device is proposed and evaluated in this paper. The local pressure is determined from the change of color intensity in the sensing chamber which is pre-filled with colored fluid. The working principle of the sensor is based on polydimethylsiloxane deformation. The pressure at the point of interest is guided into a deformation chamber, where the structural stiffness is softened by chamber geometry, and thus, the chamber deforms as a result of pressure changes. Such deformation is transmitted to the sensing chamber, a same-layer concentric inside the deformation chamber. The deformation in the sensing chamber causes the colored fluid flowing in or out the chamber and leads to different color intensity from the top view through a microscope. Experimental evaluations on static and dynamic responses by regulated input pressures were conducted. The correlation in static response is 0.97 while the dynamic responses are successfully observed up to 16 Hz. The greatest advantage is that the local pressure can be directly seen without any additional hardware or electricity. The whole sensor is on a single-layer microfluidic design, so that the fabrication is simple, consistent, and low-cost. The single-layer design also provides the convenience of easy integration for existing microfluidic systems.