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How might queries that trigger structured information cards change over time?
When does a search engine decide that it should show a knowledge panel in response to a query?
What words in a query will trigger that knowledge panel?
A knowledge panel is sometimes referred to as a structured information card by Google.
Other structured information cards contain information about things such as hotel reservations, flight arrivals, dinner reservations, movie tickets, and others.
If you’ve worked with knowledge panels, you’ve learned that different searches will trigger those to appear.
Often those include a mention of an entity, such as a business name, or a certain thing.
And queries that trigger structured information cards can change over time according to a recently granted patent.
Search queries can be used to return resources – such as web pages, images, text documents, electronic mail documents, multimedia content, etc. – relevant to a searcher’s needs and to present information about those resources in a way that is most useful to the searcher.
Sometimes the best result may be a structured information card.
A computer system may:
Receive a search query.
Process the search query.
Identify results that are relevant to the search query.
Return a set of search results in response to a searcher submitted query.
The patent this post is about is from the start of November 2023, and it tells us about a card trigger-term identification unit that could identify additional trigger-terms that show a structured information card.
The card trigger-term identification unit allows the grammar of one or more structured information cards to be tuned, over time, by evaluating candidate terms in queries for potential inclusion in the grammar of a structured information card.
For example, assume the grammar for a “Movie” structured information card includes terms such as “movie time,” “movie ticket confirmation,” and “ticket confirmation number.”
The card trigger-term identification unit may:
Analyze terms associated with the grammar of the “Movie” structured information card and one or candidate queries.
Identify an additional trigger-term for the “Movie” structured information card such as the trigger-term “movie ticket.”
Accordingly, follow-up queries that are received may include terms such as “movie time”, “movie ticket,” or both and will trigger the display of a “Movie” structured information card in response to such queries.
The subject matter of this patent may be used to identify additional trigger-terms that will show structured information cards.
The process behind the patent may include accessing data associated with a template for presenting structured information in response to a search query, wherein the accessed data references:
One or more label terms that, when included in the search query, triggers a structured information card to be presented according to the template.
For each of the one or more label terms, a value, obtaining a candidate label term that is not already associated with the template for presenting the structured information.
For each of the one or more label terms:
Identifying entities that are associated with the label term.
Identifying entities that are associated with the candidate label term.
For each of the entities associated with a candidate label term, a query may cause an association, with a candidate label term:
One or more of the label terms that are associated with the entity.
For each of the one or more of the label terms that are associated with the entity, the value associated with the label term, and after receiving a query that includes the candidate label term.
Using the one or more values associated with the candidate label term to determine whether to trigger the structured information to be presented according to the template.
These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features:
The label terms may correspond to parameters of a search query.
The value may be indicative of the number of times the query has been used to trigger the appearance of the structured information card.
Obtaining a candidate label term that is not already associated with the template for presenting the structured information card may involve identifying query terms from a query log.
Using the one or more values associated with the candidate label term to determine whether to trigger the structured information to be presented according to the template may include aggregating the one or more values that are associated with the candidate label term.
Determining whether the aggregated value satisfies a predetermined threshold, and in response to determining that the aggregated value satisfies the predetermined threshold.
Determining that the search query including the candidate label term will trigger the presentation of the structured information.
Triggering Structured Information CardsUsing the values associated with a candidate label term to trigger a structured information card to be presented according to the template may involve:
Aggregating the one or more values that are associated with the candidate label term.
Determining whether the aggregated value satisfies a predetermined threshold.
In response to determining that the aggregated value exceeds the predetermined threshold, determining that the search query including the candidate label term will not trigger the presentation of the structured information.
The method behind the patent may also include adjusting the values that are associated with candidate labels based on those candidate label’s similarity to the label terms.
This structured information cards patent can be found at:
Search and retrieval of structured information cards
Filed: October 26, 2023
Abstract
Methods, systems, apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, to facilitate identification of additional trigger-terms for a structured information card. In one aspect, the method includes actions of accessing data associated with a template for presenting structured information, wherein the accessed data references:
(ii) a value.
Other actions may include obtaining a candidate label term, identifying one or more entities that are associated with the label term, identifying one or more of the entities that are associated with the candidate label term, and for each particular entity of the one or more entities that are associated with the candidate label term, associating, with the candidate label term, (i) a label term that is associated with the particular entity, and (ii) the value associated with the label term.
A System for Identifying Additional Trigger – Terms for a Structured Information CardThe patent shows off some examples of information that might be used to create structured information cards in a drawing:
It provides an example of a structured information card involving flight information.
Assume a searcher is standing at an airport ticket counter before his or her flight #437 to Denver, Colorado.
To check their bags, and obtain a boarding pass, they need to provide a flight confirmation number for their upcoming flight.
To respond to a request for a flight confirmation number from an airline employee, the searcher may look for a confirmation email from the airline that includes their flight confirmation number.
To obtain that confirmation email, the searcher may search for a query that includes the term “Flight Ticket” into a search box at the search engine.
After receiving a query, the search device may send the query to a server using a network.
The server may process the query, identify search results responsive to the query term “Flight Ticket,” and then return the search results to the search device.
The search results may be received by the search device and provided for display using the interface of the search device.
The search results may include references to email documents. The references may include a link that, when selected, provides an email document associated with the link to display on the search device.
Each respective email reference may include text such as the name of the email sender, the subject line of the email, the time the email was received, and the date the email was received.
The search results identified based on the query “Flight Ticket” may include emails from a variety of different senders.
The search results may refer to an email from a movie theater “ABC Theatre” related to the searcher’s purchase of a movie ticket to see “Pilot’s First Flight.”
The search results may also refer to an email from a restaurant reservation service “Closed Table” for a reservation at the “Wine Flight Bar.”
The search results may also refer to an email of an order confirmation from “DC Outfitters” for the purchase of a “Flight Jacket.”
The search results may refer to emails associated with airline ticket purchase confirmations from an airline such as “NE Airlines,” “SE Airlines,” or the like.
One particular reference is for a confirmation email that the searcher received after purchasing an airline ticket from “NE Airlines” for “Flight 437.”
However, given the number of search results provided in response to the search query, it could be time-consuming to obtain the searcher’s flight confirmation number.
This is because the searcher must read the sender and subject line of each reference to each respective email that is responsive to the search.
Then, the searcher using the search device must request the email document associated with the reference.
Finally, after the email document is selected, the email document with the flight confirmation number for the searcher’s upcoming Flight #437 is returned.
Though the searcher was able to obtain the user’s confirmation number, the process was inefficient.
In addition, the process may not go smoothly for reasons below and the like, such as:
Pressure on the user because of a long line of passengers at the ticket counter.
Slow cellular data signals due to poor reception in the airport terminal.
This system may work to improve the searcher’s retrieval of information from the searcher’s email inbox.
For instance, at stage A, the system provides multiple structured information cards stored in a structured information card storage unit.
Each structured information card includes a template and a grammar.
The template of the structured information card includes one or more predetermined fields that can be populated with information from an email document in response to a particular search query.
For example, the structured information storage unit may include a structured information card for “Flight” information.
The structured information card for “Flight” information may include:
A “To” field
A “From” field
A “Departs” field
A “Conf. #” field
A “Flight #” field
Trigger Terms Associated with Structured Information CardsThe grammar of structured information cards may include one or more trigger-terms that are associated with the card.
A trigger-term may include terms that, when detected by the server as being included in a search query, trigger the retrieval, population, and the display of the structured information card associated with the trigger-term.
So, in response to a query that includes the term “flight reservation,” the “Flight” structured information card may be:
Obtained.
Populated with data from the most recent email that is associated with an upcoming flight.
Provided for display via a searcher interface.
However, the “Flight” structured information card may not have been triggered in response to a query including the term “Flight Ticket” because the search term “Flight Ticket” may not have been included in the “Flight” structured information card’s grammar at an initial stage A.
The search server may use the card trigger-term identification unit to identify additional terms that trigger the “Flight” structured information card.
Those additional terms may be based on queries received from a search box associated with a user interface displayed by a search device such as a search box.
The card trigger-term identification unit could:
Obtain a query term from a log of received query terms.
Determine if the query term is related to one or more other terms in a structured information card’s grammar.
Add the query term to the structured information card’s grammar.
The card trigger-term identification unit may determine that the term “Flight Ticket” should be added to the grammar of the “Flight” structured information card.
Adding the term “Flight Ticket” to the grammar of the “Flight” structured information card results would be done in an updated structured information storage unit at stage B of the process.
At stage B, the searcher of the same search device can access a user interface at a later point in time.
The search interface may be the same searcher interface. The searcher may input a search query that includes the term “Flight Ticket” into the search box.
The search device may transmit the search query to a server.
The server may process the query, identify search results responsive to the search query “Flight Ticket,” and then return the search results to the search device.
The search results may be received by the search device and provided for display using the interface of the search device.
The search results may refer to email documents.
At stage B the search interface includes a structured information card.
That structured information card may include a display with fields that are populated with data extracted from a resource that is responsive to the search query.
The structured information card may be obtained, populated, and provided for display through the search interface because the grammar of the structured information card now includes the term “Flight Ticket.”
The term “Flight Ticket” may have been added to the grammar of the “Flight” structured information card based on:
The card trigger-term identification unit’s analysis of the existing terms included within the grammar of the structured information card.
Identified relationships between existing terms included within the grammar of the structured information card.
Identified relationships between the aforementioned grammar terms and one or more queries previously submitted via the search box.
The particular structured information card obtained and displayed may be based on query terms submitted through the search box.
For example, the server may select a particular structured information card for display via the user interface based on a determination that the search query term such as “Flight Ticket” matches one or more grammar terms associated with the particular structured information card.
The server may populate the obtained structured information card with the contents from the highest-ranked search result that includes information requested by the fields of the structured information card template.
Those highest-ranked search results might be from the most recent email document that includes information requested by the fields of the structured information card template.
Advantages of This Structured Information Card ApproachIt can display relevant information related to the searcher’s upcoming flight without requiring the searcher to read the data associated with each reference returned as a search result by the server.
The structured information card displays:
The user’s flight destination (e.g., Denver, Co).
The user’s flight origin (e.g., Washington, D.C.).
The user’s flight departure time (e.g., 11:45 a.m. EST).
The user’s flight confirmation number (e.g., KP4EG).
The user’s flight number (e.g., 437).
The searcher does not need to open the email including information about the searcher’s upcoming flight because the necessary information associated with the user’s upcoming flight is within the structured information card.
Because of this, the searcher using the search device who is standing at the ticket counter can:
Quickly search their email.
Obtain their flight confirmation number from the structured information card.
Provide the flight confirmation number to the airline representative in an efficient manner.
The patent description provides an example of a system that uses a card trigger-term identification unit to identify additional terms that can be added to the grammar of a structured information card is directed towards a “Flight” structured information card.
However, the description of the patent tells us that it should not be so limited.
The card trigger-term identification unit can be used to identify additional grammar terms for any type of structured information card such as:
Movie Ticket structured information cards.
Dinner Reservation structured information cards.
Hotel Reservation structured information cards.
Vehicle Rental structured information cards.
Device Rental structured information cards.
The like.
The patent also tells us that any type of structured information card may be used where the structured information card can be uniquely identified using a set of one or more grammar terms.
Entities, Attributes, & Graph Structure Information CardsGoogle identifies entities and associates labels and attributes with those entities, and described in the following flowchart drawing from the patent:
A card trigger-term identification unit analyzes existing terms associated with the grammar of one or more structured information cards.
The terms associated with the grammar of one or more structured information cards include terms that, when received in a query, trigger the display of a particular structured information card.
Analyzing existing terms associated with the grammar of one or more information cards may include the generation of a graph structure.
This graph structure may include query nodes each associated with a particular grammar term that triggers the selection, population, and display of a particular structured information card.
Each query node may be associated with a respective label term.
One query node may be associated with the label term “Flight Reservation” and another query node may be associated with the label term “Ticket.”
Label terms used to build the graph may be obtained from the structured information card storage unit, a query log, or the like.
The graph structure may also include one or more entity nodes.
The entity nodes may include an item of data that is indicative of a relationship between the respective label terms of one or more nodes.
The relationship may include a semantic relationship associated with the label terms.
By way of example, the card trigger-term identification unit may obtain the candidate query term “Flight Ticket” to evaluate the candidate query term “Flight Ticket” for potential inclusion in the grammar associated with a structured information card such the “Flight” structured information card.
The query term “Flight Ticket” may have been stored in a query log after the user of a user device such as user device submitted the query “Flight Ticket” to search one or more emails using an interface for an electronic mailbox such as interface before the inclusion of the term “Flight Ticket” in the grammar of the “Flight” structured information card.
A query node may be generated in the graph structure based on the candidate query term “Flight Ticket.”
The candidate query node is associated with a candidate label term “Flight Ticket.”
The information from the structured information card may be information that is in a graph structure.
For instance, when an information card is about flight information, it contains key/value pairs that provide information about related entities and attributes of those entities (making it structured information).
Referring to it as a card means that it is using a display format with a related template for that format.
For flight information, you would have a departure city, a destination city, a departure time, and an arrival time, a departure airport and an arrival airport, a confirmation number, a flight number, and so on.
These related entities and attributes for them can be found in a template that has labels for each of the fields of information that it covers, and those labels can be used in a query to show an information card about a flight ticket.
They can be used for identifying an additional trigger-term for a structured information card.
This drawing from the patent shows how labels might be connected to entities and attributes:
Generally, the process may include:
Accessing data associated with a template for presenting structured information.
Identifying the first set of one or more entities.
Associating one or more labels and one or more values with one or more entities in the first set of the identified entities.
Obtaining a candidate label term.
Identifying a subset of one or more entities from the first set of entities.
Associating one or more labels and one or more values with one or more candidate label terms
Receiving a search query.
Using values associated with each candidate label term to determine whether to trigger display of the structured information.
So these candidate labels may be chosen, when they appear in queries to display a structured information card.
For example, where an entity includes an email document, network address, URL, or the like, an entity may be associated with a candidate label term if the candidate label term would return the email document, network address, URL, or the like when a query that includes the candidate label term is executed.
The system may associate one or more labels and one or more values with each candidate label term.
For example, any label terms associated with a particular entity at stage may be associated with a candidate label term with which the entity is related.
Thus a label term that was propagated to a particular entity from a query node may be further propagated from the entity to a candidate label term with which the particular entity is related.
One or more values associated with an entity may similarly be associated with one or more candidate label terms with which the entity is related.
Accordingly, a value that was propagated to a particular entity from a query node may be further propagated to a candidate label term.
This system may analyze each of the one or more values that are associated with a candidate label term to determine whether the candidate label term should be added to the grammar associated with a structured information card.
Determining whether a label term should be associated with a structured information card may include aggregating the values associated with the candidate label term, and evaluating the aggregated value against a predetermined threshold.
If it is determined that the aggregated value satisfies a predetermined threshold, the label term may be added to the grammar of the structured information card.
If the aggregated value does not satisfy a predetermined threshold, the label term is not added to the grammar of the structured information card.
Triggering a Structured Information CardThe system may process the received search query, and use values associated with each identified candidate label term to determine whether to trigger the display of a structured information card.
Using the values associated with each candidate label term may include:
Aggregating the values associated with the candidate label term.
Evaluating the aggregated value against a predetermined threshold.
Determining that the aggregated value associated with the candidate label term satisfies the predetermined threshold, the system may let the search query including the candidate label term trigger a related structured information card.
Triggering Structured Information Cards TakeawaysA structured information card may appear in response to a query that is related to the grammar from the template for the different types of structured information cards.
It may be possible to anticipate which entities may be relevant for a structured information card, and which queries might trigger that card.
Structured information cards evolve in how they are triggered based on queries and the grammar of the information in the card.
More Resources:
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All screenshots taken by author, December 2023
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Knowledge Management Meets The Portal
Within minutes of learning of an oil refinery fire on the West Coast, a salesperson from Equilon Enterprises LLC in Houston can turn to his company’s corporate portal, find out which customers are affected, and make sure he sells them the gas they need at current market prices. Five months ago that salesperson would have had to make a bunch of telephone calls and cruise various Internet sites to find that information.
AT A GLANCE: Equilon Enterprises LLC
The company: Houston-based Equilon Enterprises handles pipeline operations and gasoline distributions to all Texaco and Shell retail stations in the western United States. The company has 500 employees.
The problem: Need to increase the bottom line by bringing together disjointed technology and making information more Internet-centric.
The solution: Develop a corporate knowledge management portal that integrates all Equilon information into one central location on the desktop.
The technology: The portal runs on Windows NT servers from Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. servers that run UNIX and Oracle 8i database.
But since Equilon, a joint venture of Shell Oil Co. and Texaco Inc., launched its corporate portal in June 2000, its salesforce and some account managers and pipeline schedulers now have access to much of the company’s internal data from one Web-enabled starting point. The portal integrates Equilon’s customer relationship management (CRM) system, suite of office software, and collaboration and document management tools, along with selected content, onto a single screen.
“It’s not so much that the information hasn’t been available, it’s the timeliness that the portal brings to us,” says Robert Stephens, an Equilon business information manager who helped implement the portal before leaving in September 2000 for another job. “We can get that information in real-time and make decisions quicker based on the information. It’s getting the right information to the right people at the right time.”
Equilon is among the growing number of firms launching corporate portals to help employees gather, manage, share, and utilize information that in the past had been stored in disparate databases throughout the company. These knowledge management portals not only bring the information to the employees’ fingertips through a corporate intranet site, or in some cases the Internet, but also help them interact with it, mine the data, and share information between one application and another.
Carl Frappaolo, executive vice president and cofounder of Delphi Group in Boston
The Evolving State of Corporate Portals
Dephi Group, which specializes in knowledge management research, estimates the corporate portal market by 2001 will grow to $740 million, from $178 million in 1999. By the beginning of next year, Delphi estimates nearly 90% of large organizations will be developing portals, with 80% in production mode. Similarly, Gartner Group Inc. of Stamford, Conn., estimates that by 2003, 50% of Fortune 1000 companies will have a knowledge management system in place. Both firms say there is a growing trend toward achieving knowledge management solutions through a portal interface.
“Knowledge management is a business process, not a technology,” says Jim Jacobs, Gartner Group knowledge management research director. “Portals are valuable technology that can assist with the business process.”
The idea is not just to gather information, but to present it so employees can interact with it and contribute back so others can learn from it, too. Software vendors began offering portal tools two years ago. Now more than 100 vendors have emerged, offering everything from niche tools to full, out-of-the-box solutions. However, there are no true leaders in this diversified space.
Lotus Development Corp. and Microsoft Corp. in October 2000 picked up the pace by announcing new knowledge management portal tools. Lotus’ K-station will work with collaborative tools such as Sametime, QuickPlace, and Domino to give users a single point of access to information. Microsoft announced a server application, code-named Tahoe, which will combine with its Digital Dashboard tools that are available for businesses that want to build their own portals.
Because there are so many portal vendors and the companies are so new, Gartner Group estimates there will be a shakeout in the industry by the middle of next year. “This is going to be a best-of-breed market,” says Jacobs. “We do not see a single vendor like Lotus dominating this space.”
While Delphi estimates the majority of large companies will be developing portals by next year, the types of portals will vary. A true knowledge management portal is one that brings together various data and technology systems from within a company and makes it easier for workers to gather and share information through a corporate intranet and online. The portal will allow workers to extract data that otherwise is hidden inside systems and oftentimes only available to the information technology staff.
“Knowledge resides between applications, not in applications itself,” says Delphi’s Frappaolo. “For example, give me a list of customers who have goals we’re not going to meet this week. When you start asking these complex questions, you don’t have a single place to answer the questions.”
Improving the Bottom Line
Companies are using knowledge management portals for different parts of their business. Office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller Inc. in 1995 embarked on a quest to use technology to improve its bottom line by reducing manufacturing lead time and increasing reliability for its customers. At the time, the Zeeland, Mich., company dealt with suppliers mainly by telephone and fax. An attempt to go through a third-party electronic data interchange had largely failed. So Herman Miller looked at portal software to bring all of its supply-chain data onto a single screen and make it accessible over the Internet to its suppliers.
Lessons Learned about Corporate Portals
1. Figure out what business problem you’re trying to solve, then go after a knowledge management solution that addresses that problem.
2. Check out portal providers carefully. There are more than 100, and the market is new. Many won’t be here two or three years from now.
3. Implement your knowledge management solution slowly to make sure it addresses the needs of users and to test how employees will use it.
4. A true knowledge management portal includes the ability to gather and feed data back into it, not just the ability of users to extract data. Make sure the system is able to accept and integrate new data back in.
After looking at different options through consultant Deloitte & Touche, Herman Miller chose to work with TopTier Software Inc., which offered a portal tool that allowed officials to integrate the company’s Baan enterprise resource planning (ERP) package with its browser. The portal includes payment information, invoices, demand, delivery, and quality control information about items ordered from Herman Miller. News and other Web information have also been integrated into the portal.
Brunsting says timely shipments to customers have improved because of the immediate cross communication between the suppliers and Herman Miller. “Five years ago we were averaging 75% [on-time shipments]; today we are consistently hitting 95% and above. We see the portal helping as one of the key enablers of getting that last 5%,” he says.
Delphi Group’s Frappaolo points to some Delphi clients that have implemented knowledge management portals to improve their businesses. AT&T uses its knowledge management portal for its international salesforce, reducing the time necessary to close deals. Scientists at Lawrence Livermore Labs in California use their portal to organize and access scientific information. And J.D. Edwards & Co. built a knowledge garden, which it uses to organize and disseminate business process and product information.
“[J.D. Edwards] achieved 1,080% return on investment in their ability to respond to complex [request for proposals] in a shorter period of time because the information was readily available,” Frappaolo says.
Insurance Companies Put Portals to Work
While some companies like Equilon and Herman Miller are well into their portal implementations, others like St. Paul Reinsurance, are just beginning. A member of insurance provider St. Paul Companies Inc., it is one of the first firms to beta test Lotus’s portal solution. By the end of the year the firm expects to begin rolling out its corporate portal, which will integrate corporate information, department information, and individual information into a series of screens. St. Paul Reinsurance uses Windows NT servers running on Compaq hardware.
“The vision is to provide collaboration capabilities and to allow people to organize their content and be able to control it in terms of how it gets authored, edited, approved, and published to the portal,” says Andrew Cole, senior vice president and chief information officer at St. Paul Reinsurance.
The portal will bring together Lotus Notes, Domino, chúng tôi Raven Enterprise Server, Microsoft Office applications, and anything from the Internet or St. Paul’s intranet. “If we have a merger and acquisition and are doing due diligence, people all over the world can meet in a knowledge window and feed in information,” says Cole. “It will be a repository of content on a given issue that lots of people can easily see. The knowledge worker doesn’t have to figure out where the content is located, or what format it is in, or what version it is. They just open up the knowledge window for that topic and there is the latest and greatest information at their fingertips.”
Equilon, meanwhile, by the end of the year expects to have more than 500 employees using the company’s portal. It integrates the firm’s CRM system from Siebel Systems Inc., collaboration software from OpenText Corp., and Microsoft’s suite of office products, including Outlook and Office. The system runs on Windows NT servers from Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. servers that run UNIX and Oracle 8i database. By April 1, 2001, the portal will serve 2,500 employees and include Equilon’s SAP applications and the company’s geographical information system from Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc.
learn from it, too.“
Choosing the Best Portal Product
While no portal vendor has emerged as the leader, Gartner Group points to several that have promising software and vision (see “Portal Options” below). Among them are Corechange Inc., Datachannel Inc., Hummingbird Ltd., InfoImage Inc., Plumtree Software Inc., Sequoia Software Corp., SilverStream Software, Sybase Inc., TopTier Software, and Viador Inc. Companies offering niche products include Autonomy Inc., Brio Technology Inc., Epicentric Inc., Hyperwave Information Management Inc., Intraspect Software Inc., KnowledgeTrack Corp., Oracle Corp., Sagemaker Inc., and Verity Inc.
James Kobielus, collaboration and messaging analyst with The Burton Group in Midvale, Utah, says companies should look to their groupware vendors for knowledge management tools. “[Ask] how you can take that information and leverage it further, provide the information on your users, and give them the tools, applications, and data they need for knowledge management.”
Gartner’s Jacobs recommends that IT managers look at their business strategy and their current technology first. “The goal of the IT manager is not to implement exciting new technology, it’s to support the business process of your organization,” he says. “Be aware of the impact of technologies and the utility for them. Don’t wait for the magic bullet of technology to come along or look at the existing products as an automatic solution to their problems. There’s no easy answer, no quick fix.”
Portal Options
Company/Product:
Plumtree Software Inc./Plumtree Corporate Portal 4.0, San Francisco
Lotus Development Corp./IBM Corp./K-Station, Boston
InfoImage Inc./Freedom, Phoenix
Viador Inc./e-Portal Framework, Mountain View, Calif.
Hummingbird Ltd./Enterprise Portal Suite, Toronto, Ontario
Sequoia Software Corp./XPS, Columbia, Md.
Sybase Inc. /Enterprise Portal, Emeryville, Calif.
TopTier Software/eBusiness Integration Portal, San Jose, Calif.
How An Otherwise Harmless Virus Can Trigger Celiac Disease
The Karelia regions of Finland and Russia are remarkably similar. They have unique architecture, they share a common heritage and genes, and speak similar dialects. But if you live on the Finnish side, you’ll have around ten times as many neighbors with celiac disease.
And no, it’s not because Finns eat more bread. If anything, Russians eat more gluten than do their Scandinavian neighbors, so you can stop right now with the “it’s because we eat such refined wheat products!” argument. That’s not the whole story. It’s not yet clear exactly what’s causing this massive divide between two very similar populations. Even without an answer, though, it is a useful paradigm.
See, we know that almost everyone with celiac disease has one of two genetic abnormalities. That seems to suggest that celiac is mostly a hereditary problem, not an environmental one. But look at Karelia—two groups of people with nearly identical genetics, yet vastly different patterns in celiac prevalence. Really, the main difference between Finnish Karelians and their Russian counterparts is their lifestyle. And it’s not just Karelians. A significant fraction of people have the same genetic abnormalities as those who develop celiac, but only about one percent of the population actually gets the disease. About 15 percent of all monozygotic twins with the celiac markers don’t both develop it. And all this means that celiac isn’t only a genetic problem—it’s about your environment as well.
There seem to be a lot of factors that influence your likelihood of getting celiac. One of the more popular theories, though, is infection. Infections obviously have short-term effects on your immune system, but some can have more lasting impacts. Take reoviruses. You’ve probably never heard that term before, because unlike a rhinovirus (the common cold) or rotavirus (diarrheal problems), they don’t make you sick. Or rather, they don’t make you conspicuously sick. Reoviruses mostly cause subclinical infections, which means your body is actively fighting them off but you don’t develop symptoms that clue you in. That makes reoviruses almost entirely harmless—unless you have the genetic abnormalities that lead to celiac disease.
Researchers at the University of Chicago, along with several other leading institutions, suspected that reoviruses could permanently change the immune system such that you would be more likely to develop celiac disease, assuming that you already had the genetic markers. And they were right. They published their results in Science on Thursday, showing how a reovirus could impact the gut long after it’s left your body.
Reoviruses + gluten + genetic abnormalities = celiac disease?That system works well almost all of the time. It even works well if you have one of those two genetic abnormalities. The mutations are actually called HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8, which is an abbreviation for a part of your immune system that identifies self from non-self called the human leukocyte antigen (HLA). In people with DQ2 or DQ8, that identifying function can get confused. And if you also happen to have, say, a reovirus infection at the same time as you’re eating a gluten-containing food, your immune system might get mixed up. Some reoviruses cause an inflammatory reaction at a separate location from where the immune system encounters gluten.
But some don’t. Some reoviruses cause a flurry of activity right where the body is identifying gluten, and if you have one of the HLA abnormalities it’s easier for your immune system to conflate the two reactions. It thinks that the inflammation it’s experiencing is from gluten, not from the reovirus, so it starts producing cells specifically designed to attack gluten.
This is essentially what celiac disease (and really every autoimmune disorder) is: the body getting confused about what should and should not be attacked.
Jabri and her team did this work primarily in mice, since they could genetically engineer them to have human-like celiac mutations and use a human reovirus to experiment. Give the mice these genetic abnormalities, expose them to gluten and the virus, then watch as they lose the ability to digest gluten. They were essentially watching the process of developing celiac in miniature.
They didn’t stop at mice, though. They went on to look at whether celiac patients had actually had reovirus infections. Surprise, surprise—they had. Not every person had indicators that they’d seen a reovirus before, but a subset had blaring signs in the form of lots and lots of antibodies against the virus. Those patients also had a kind of immune signature—certain changes that the reovirus had induced—that were identical to what the researchers saw in mice. That’s no coincidence.
Here’s why all this mattersThis probably won’t help you if you already have celiac. It could help future generations, though. “This is an exciting study to my mind, because it provides some mechanistic explanation for the epidemiological studies,” says gastroenterologist and celiac specialist Peter Green at Columbia University, who was not involved in the study. “Once we know the mechanism, we could start to consider possible therapies.”
People who inherit HLA-DQ2 or -DQ8 could be vaccinated against celiac-inducing reoviruses, making them less likely to develop the full-blown disease. Green points out that epidemiological studies already suggest that would work. Vaccines against rotavirus, which have also been linked to celiac, seem to protect against the disease.
One infection might not be sufficient to trigger celiac, but over time various factors add up until it’s bad enough to produce symptoms. Or not. We know that celiac is under-recognized and under-diagnosed, especially in the U.S.—and there are plenty of patients who have no symptoms and yet still end up with intestinal damage.
And as always in the world of science, it’s not as simple as one factor. Green notes that taking antibiotics and being born via c-section both increase the risk of getting celiac, which suggests the microbiome plays some role in things. And there’s a gradation in how common it is across the U.S., such that people in the northern states have higher risk. That could mean vitamin D has an influence.
The point is, there’s a lot left to learn about celiac, and the more we learn about what causes it the more therapies we can develop. That might only matter to one percent of the population, but just try telling someone with celiac that they can eat a chocolate croissant again. Or have a slice of pizza. A group of Australian celiac patients who got hookworms as an experimental therapy chose to keep the parasites in their guts rather than go back to avoiding gluten. And a vaccine beats intestinal worms any day.
Display Basic Information On The Screen
There are just certain things in life that don’t have an easy fix and seeing what time it is in the middle of the night shouldn’t be one of them. Thanks to an app called Glance Plus we can see things such as what time it is or what the temperature is without even having to touch our Android devices. How is this possible? Keep reading to find out.
What Does It Let You Do?This app lets you save battery power as you don’t have to turn on your phone’s display just to see what time it is. You can see that and much more in a brightness that will not harm your eyesight at all, something your eyes wI’ll appreciate.
If your Android device has an LCD screen, unfortunately, you won’t be saving any battery power, but if your device has a Super AMOLED display, then you will see benefits to using the app. You will have quick access to information such as the time, date, battery percentage, calendar, local weather, etc. You can also choose from different fonts such as Boston Traffic, Digital, Royal, and Samurai!
When it comes to choosing what kind of clock you want, you hare various options that go from Analog Square, Analog Love, Analog Simple, Standard, Roman, No Number, Minimal and Digital.
The app also lets you decide if you want the screen to rotate or stay vertical, but this is a feature you will need to pay $0.90 for.
Response and Ways to Use ItRemember, with Glance Plus you are not going to have the display on all the time; it will only light up when you want it to. There is option, called Always-On, leaves the panel always active but only if your device is charging, whether it’s a USB port, AC charge or wireless charge.
You also have the option of having the display turn on only in certain moments and for a certain amount of time that goes from five seconds to two minutes. There is also the option of activating the app when you pass your hand over the sensor once, twice or three times. If you want the app to enable itself after you have blocked your device, you can do that also.
This is a good app to try if you are tired of being blinded by the brightness of your device’s display. During the day it can look fine, but at night it’s the worst. When you first open the app and scroll down just a tad, you will also see an option that allows you to inactivate the app for the time periods you want.
ConclusionJudy Sanhz
Judy Sanhz is a tech addict that always needs to have a device in her hands. She loves reading about Android, Softwares, Web Apps and anything tech chúng tôi hopes to take over the world one day by simply using her Android smartphone!
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How Does Data Science Unleash The Value Of Your Legal Information?
Data science gives people the ability to make knowledgeable, data-driven business decisions
Corporate legal management solutions enable legal departments to gather a tonne of information about their legal operations. The systems that the legal department uses to conduct business are used to record information regarding transactions, open matters, matter history, the functioning of outside counsel, and many other aspects of the department’s operations. Even while this data can offer crucial insights that aid the department in operating more productively, affordably, and efficiently, those data insights must first be accessed. The secret to unlocking the full potential of the gathered data is data science.
Why is data science important?In the subject of business known as data science, knowledge and insights are derived from noisy data using scientific methods, procedures, algorithms, and systems. With the use of data science, it is possible to extract useful knowledge and understanding from data points. Despite its apparent technicality, it actually gives people the ability to make knowledgeable, data-driven business decisions.
Modern machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are sophisticated enough to handle vast amounts of data and produce insightful results. Some of the solutions used by corporate legal departments and insurance claims divisions to help their strategic decision-making incorporate these technologies.
By utilising data science, legal and claims divisions can greatly enhance internal procedures and workflows and standardise the data they collect to ensure that their choices are based on facts rather than gut feelings.
How to Find the Expertise?In order to use data science to maximise the value of the information that you collect, the appropriate knowledge and experience are essential. The majority of firms, however, do not have a group of data scientists on hand to establish a centre of excellence in data science to create AI algorithms and address challenging issues. Therefore, it is essential for the majority of businesses to collaborate with a supplier who can supply the required expertise and technology.
To successfully transform your data into actionable decisions and beneficial business consequences, a data science provider should have the following three types of expertise on its team:
Experts in process design consult with you and your team to identify any areas of your work that are particularly challenging or don’t function as intended. They also come up with solutions to these problems. These professionals are very empathic and perceptive when it comes to the conditions necessary to streamline and lessen the complexity of operations. They are also experts in customer service and user interfaces.
To create the specifications for the AI model, domain experts collaborate closely with process design specialists. They combine client feedback with their understanding of industry best practises doing this. Additionally, data is properly labelled by domain experts to aid in the creation of a unique AI model.
Based on the requirements of the client, data scientists translate data sets and build an appropriate AI model with the necessary features. Data scientists must fully comprehend the client’s requirements in order to avoid starting with a predetermined, one-size-fits-all AI solution. Data scientists have knowledge in UI/UX design and are strategic design gurus.
5 Digital Alternatives To Paper Christmas Cards
Paperless is here to stay — and for very good reasons, too!
Here, I want to explore five of the best digital alternatives to traditional Christmas greetings cards and show you how paperless can make this festive time of the year even more memorable.
If you are looking for seasonal inspiration for family or for work, check out these digital choices to complement or replace the paper card this Christmas.
1. E-Cards For All OccasionsProbably the biggest direct competitor is the electronic card (or e-card). There are many paid and free e-card services available online, but creating your own from scratch using email clients like Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail are my preferred choice.
This gives you the chance to get creative and have fun with family, friends or colleagues, and really gives Christmas that personalized touch.
For those of you with family and friends overseas, or for people working away during the festivities, e-cards can also provide an instant means to say something special at the right time.
For business purposes, you can also use affiliate tracking software to make sure your message was received and fuel further conversation.
Here’s an example of e-cards in action. In this case, it was the team at Vertical Leap (my place of work) getting festive and donating to Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day:
2. SMS From SantaFor younger members of the family, what better way to say Merry Christmas than with a call or SMS direct from Santa Claus? Santa can chat directly to your children or even text your phone with a personalized message.
In this example from chúng tôi text messages will be sent over the festive season, and throughout the week building up to Christmas day.
This can be great for checking children have been good, reinforcing what they are hoping for from Santa, and making Christmas morning extra special for you and your family.
Here’s an example of the type of personalizing that can be achieved to make your children feel truly special this Christmas:
3. Video GreetingsDepending on how tech savvy you are, video greetings can be a fantastic way to wish people well over the holiday season.
Basic video greetings can be recorded and send from mobile to mobile, or you may wish to use some of the paid-for retail offerings. Examples of this include MoonPig and VideoGram, although many other alternatives are available (including free options).
Here’s the video explainer from MoonPig:
4. Audio GreetingsSaying (or even singing) your seasonal messages can be fantastic means to share personality this time of the year.
An audio message can be an easier option for the less technical savvy, and can be attached to emails, sent via SMS, or included as part of a digital or traditional card or message.
5. DIY Digital Photo CollagesFrom static images to photo slideshows and more, collages can be an excellent way to get everyone involved with the festive fun.
They are quick to create, provide lots of follow-up opportunities – including personalized gifts – and enable you to create whatever your imagination can come up with. It is also a great way to humanize your brand.
Almost every mobile phone includes app functionality for creating collages, as do most basic office applications.
Here’s some my work team showing a basic collage for Christmas:
ConclusionAt this time of the year, wishing colleagues, friends, family members and loved ones good will, regardless of the medium, is a great thing to do.
With the growth of digital alternatives to the traditional paper greetings cards, e-cards, audio, and photo collages, give you an immediate method to communicating when it is likely to matter the most. Whatever your medium, make sure your messages are well received this Christmas time.
Merry Christmas to you all and a happy New Year!
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