Search Campaign Research Articles

First data on the diet of Razorbill Alca torda wintering in the Mediterranean Sea: insights from social media

Understanding a species’ diet is of paramount importance to ecology as it provides vital insights into interactions between organisms and their environment. In this study, we report the first data on the diet of wintering Razorbills (Alca torda) in the Mediterranean Sea. Taking advantage of the irruption event that occurred in the Mediterranean in winter 2022/2023, a data mining search campaign was carried out on social media to collect photographs and videos documenting Razorbills feeding at sea. Additional information was gathered by analysing the stomach contents of dead individuals salvaged from the coastline of central Italy. Overall, we obtained records from 32 pictures and 7 videos as well as 7 dead individuals. All prey items belonged to class Actinopterygii. Overall, 12 fish prey were identified (2 at the family, 3 at the genus and 7 at the species level). Razorbills fed on small-medium sized fish species of the neritic zone such as Belone belone, Trachinotus ovatus, Atherina hepsetus and Engraulis encrasicolus. Razorbills were mostly observed foraging close to the coast and within harbours, as well as begging for food from humans, raising doubts about the feeding conditions encountered and the health status of individuals. Dead individuals mainly had empty stomachs, in line with the low weights and fat scores detected during necropsy. We underline how data from social media have made it possible to describe, using non destructive methods, the behaviour and feeding habits of an uncommon seabird typical of the North Atlantic Sea, which caught the attention of photographers, nature enthusiasts, and scientists.

Generating Campaign Ads & Keywords for Programmatic Advertising

Experimenting with different ads and keywords is usual practice in search marketing. Advertisers pause underperforming keywords and ads of a search campaign, and replace them with better alternatives. Therefore, new ads and keywords need to be produced easily for effective campaign management.We built GeNN for generating campaign ads and keywords programmatically. GeNN is based on language modeling. Using the existing keywords of a campaign as input, our GPT-2 based generator created novel keywords of good quality with a high number of expected clicks and conversions according to the forecast data provided by Google’s keyword planner. Using the product landing page and sample ad copies as input, our GPT-2 based summarizer was able to generate production-ready ads. One of the ads that was tested for two weeks in a real search campaign had a CTR of 6% and converted real users. Finally, we compared GeNN’s ad performance with a recent method based on two encoder-decoder RNNs being used in parallel; GeNN outperformed this method.

Arpu Kuilpu: An H5 from the outer main belt

AbstractOn June 1, 2019, just before 7:30 p.m. local time, the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) detected a −9.3 magnitude fireball over South Australia near the Western Australia border. The event was observed by six fireball observatories, and lasted for 5 s. One station was nearly directly underneath the trajectory, greatly constraining the trajectory solution. This trajectory's backward numerical integrations indicate that the object originated from the outer main belt with a semimajor axis of 2.75 au. A light curve was also extracted and showed that the body experienced very little fragmentation during its atmospheric passage. A search campaign was conducted with several DFN team members and other volunteers. One 42 g fragment was recovered within the predicted fall area based on the dark flight model. Based on measurements of short‐lived radionuclides, the fragment was confirmed to be a fresh fall. The meteorite, Arpu Kuilpu, has been classified as an H5 ordinary chondrite. This marks the fifth fall recovered in Australia by the DFN, and the smallest meteoroid (≃2 kg) to ever survive entry and be recovered as a meteorite.

Observational constraints on the optical and near-infrared emission from the neutron star–black hole binary merger candidate S190814bv

Context. Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy has rapidly reached maturity, becoming a fundamental observing window for modern astrophysics. The coalescences of a few tens of black hole (BH) binaries have been detected, while the number of events possibly including a neutron star (NS) is still limited to a few. On 2019 August 14, the LIGO and Virgo interferometers detected a high-significance event labelled S190814bv. A preliminary analysis of the GW data suggests that the event was likely due to the merger of a compact binary system formed by a BH and a NS. Aims. In this paper, we present our extensive search campaign aimed at uncovering the potential optical and near infrared electromagnetic counterpart of S190814bv. We found no convincing electromagnetic counterpart in our data. We therefore use our non-detection to place limits on the properties of the putative outflows that could have been produced by the binary during and after the merger. Methods. Thanks to the three-detector observation of S190814bv, and given the characteristics of the signal, the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations delivered a relatively narrow localisation in low latency – a 50% (90%) credible area of 5 deg2 (23 deg2) – despite the relatively large distance of 267 ± 52 Mpc. ElectromagNetic counterparts of GRAvitational wave sources at the VEry Large Telescope collaboration members carried out an intensive multi-epoch, multi-instrument observational campaign to identify the possible optical and near infrared counterpart of the event. In addition, the ATLAS, GOTO, GRAWITA-VST, Pan-STARRS, and VINROUGE projects also carried out a search on this event. In this paper, we describe the combined observational campaign of these groups. Results. Our observations allow us to place limits on the presence of any counterpart and discuss the implications for the kilonova (KN), which was possibly generated by this NS–BH merger, and for the strategy of future searches. The typical depth of our wide-field observations, which cover most of the projected sky localisation probability (up to 99.8%, depending on the night and filter considered), is r ∼ 22 (resp. K ∼ 21) in the optical (resp. near infrared). We reach deeper limits in a subset of our galaxy-targeted observations, which cover a total ∼50% of the galaxy-mass-weighted localisation probability. Altogether, our observations allow us to exclude a KN with large ejecta mass M ≳ 0.1 M⊙ to a high (> 90%) confidence, and we can exclude much smaller masses in a sub-sample of our observations. This disfavours the tidal disruption of the neutron star during the merger. Conclusions. Despite the sensitive instruments involved in the campaign, given the distance of S190814bv, we could not reach sufficiently deep limits to constrain a KN comparable in luminosity to AT 2017gfo on a large fraction of the localisation probability. This suggests that future (likely common) events at a few hundred megaparsecs will be detected only by large facilities with both a high sensitivity and large field of view. Galaxy-targeted observations can reach the needed depth over a relevant portion of the localisation probability with a smaller investment of resources, but the number of galaxies to be targeted in order to get a fairly complete coverage is large, even in the case of a localisation as good as that of this event.

NADDNIPRYANSKA UKRAINE EMIGRANTS MUSICAL ACTIVITIES IN VOLYN VOIVODESHIP

The purpose of the research is to analyse the role and place of Ukrainian political emigrants , Naddnipryanska Ukraine ( Dnieper Ukraine ) natives , in the musical culture development on Volyn Voivodeship territory based on the archival sources and the interwar periodicals (1921 – 1939) . The methodology of the research is based on the science, historicism, verification principles. In the course of study the historical science methods have been used such as search, identification and systematization of the historical material, obtained from the archival documents and the press sources and with the further criticism of the other methods have been applied the historical-comparative, the historical-typological, the historical-chronological, the historical-geographical and other research methods. The scientific novelty of the article is based on the introduction into the scientific circulation the Sectoral State Archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine deciphered archival documents, archival-criminal cases from the Sectoral State Archives of the Security Service of Ukraine, Rivne region State Archive, other archival materials, the interwar periodical, which helped to depict Naddnipryanskykh political emigrants influences on the musical culture development of the interwar Volyn, in some places to trace their fate. It is proved that, despite the everyday difficulties, the emigrants stood out from the rest in social and socio-cultural activities, their musical activity was not only a way of earning money, but also an opportunity for creative self-realization, which helped them in adaptation to the new conditions. Conclusions . The Ukrainian Revolution figures of the 1917 – 1921, who were forced to emigrate to Poland and settled down in Volyn Voivodeship, intensified the musical life in the region. They were the folk choirs founders, moreover, they organized tours, worked as church choirs conductors, founded artistic societies, joined the search campaign for the musical and ethnographic materials for the purpose of their artistic elaboration by amateur choirs and theaters, scientific publications. At this time, the following musicians developed their talent: Mykhailo Telezhinskyi, Oleksa Kolisnichenko, Sozont Kalmutskyi, Serhiy Kozytskyi, Anna Bilohub. The Polish authorities control was manifested in censoring the repertoire, interfering with the conductors and singers, trying to use the artistic sphere in order to spread the pro-government policy. The choral art development, the concerts and competitions organizations, the ethnographic song material collection, enriched the cultural life of the region.

Direct Searches for Hidden-Photon Dark Matter with the SHUKET Experiment.

Hidden photons are dark matter candidates motivated by theories beyond the standard model of particle physics. They mix with conventional photons, and they can be detected through the very weak electromagnetic radiation they induce at the interface between a metal and the air. SHUKET [search for U(1) dark matter with an electromagnetic telescope] is a dedicated experiment sensitive to the hidden photon-induced signal. The results from a hidden photon search campaign are reported, with no significant detection of a dark matter signal. Exclusion limits are derived from the observed noise fluctuations in a 5-6.8GHz frequency range, corresponding to a hidden photon mass region ranging from 20.8 to 28.3 μeV. SHUKET is currently the most sensitive instrument in this mass range, and the obtained limits on the kinetic mixing term constrain significantly dark matter models inspired from string theory.

The search campaign to identify and image the Philae Lander on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

On the 12th of November 2014, the Rosetta Philae Lander descended to make the first soft touchdown on the surface of a comet – comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. That soft touchdown did occur but due to the failure in the firing of its two harpoons, Philae bounced and travelled across the comet making contact with the surface twice more before finally landing in a shaded rocky location somewhere on the southern hemisphere of the comet. The search campaign, led by ESA, involved multiple teams across Europe with a wide range of techniques used in support of it. This search campaign would continue through 2015 where a prime candidate on the surface was identified and on into 2016 to end on the 2nd of September 2016 when a definitive and conclusive image was taken of the lander on the surface of the comet, confirming the prime candidate to indeed be Philae.

Revamping and rebooting your paid search campaign: Optimising paid search activity for success

Over time, most paid search accounts evolve not only in purpose but also in their architecture. Such evolution may be in response to Google updates; a shift in the channel’s focus, such as a move to increase sales or supporting a brand awareness marketing campaign; or simply a change in the personnel responsible for managing the account. Without proper monitoring, however, paid search accounts risk losing their identity or require updating to succeed in the modern competitive paid search marketplace. This paper considers the importance of reviewing the current makeup of your paid search account and suggests a possible framework for simplifying your paid search strategy to ensure your channel is utilising all available opportunities. The aim here is to create thought-provoking ideas to drive your paid search marketing forward and ensure the channel is successful. The paper does not provide universal answers because each advertiser and their objectives vary, but it will provide some guidance on areas to consider and questions to answer.

Lean Marketing: Know who not to advertise to!

Internet users search the web for more and more relevant information, such as where to find the best online deals, where to go for vacation, what to wear to a wedding, and many others. Online search advertisers target these users based on their search queries. Targeting the right set of users is important as each user clicking on an online search ad costs money to the advertiser. Savvy advertisers usually pick keywords that are niche and “non-intuitive” because such keywords are cheaper than more popular keywords due to lesser number of advertisers competing for them. In order to find such keywords, multiple information sources such as web ontologies open to the public, search engine results, and search query logs were mined in the past. In these studies, the universe of all relevant keywords was approximated as the relevant keywords of all techniques combined. A given keyword selection technique was then evaluated based on the relevance of the keywords it selected to the target page that is to be advertised. Since the universe of relevant keywords was approximate, it had implications for advertising efficiency. For the campaign dataset we used in this study, out of a total of $75K spent on the campaign, 10% of this total budget was spent on the irrelevant queries. Our primary goal in this work is to reduce this excess budget spent on the irrelevant queries. For this purpose, we learn the characteristics of the “irrelevant” queries using the campaign’s past performance data. Words and phrases that occur frequently in queries, which are not likely to convert, are used as a proxy to decide who not to advertise to. In this way, we plan to preserve more of the marketing budget for queries that are more likely to convert. In our empirical study, we used a logistic regressor for identifying negative words, which distinguished the non-converting queries from the converting ones, and pruned the non-converting queries using the negatives identified. Our approach decreased the average customer acquisition cost of a live search campaign by 25% and cut the overall campaign spend by 28.6%.

TopicMachine: Conversion Prediction in Search Advertising Using Latent Topic Models

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) agencies manage thousands of search keywords for their clients. The campaign management dashboards provided by advertisement brokers have interfaces to change search campaign attributes. Using these dashboards, advertisers create test variants for various bid choices, keyword ideas, and advertisement text options. Later on, they conduct controlled experiments for selecting the best performing variants. Given a large keyword portfolio and many variants to consider, campaign management can easily become a burden on even experienced advertisers. In order to target users in need of a particular service, advertisers have to determine the purchase intents or information needs of target users. Once the target intents are determined, advertisers can target those users with relevant search keywords. In order to formulate information needs and to scale campaign management with increasing number of keywords, we propose a framework called Topic Machine, where we learn the latent topics hidden in the available search terms reports. Our hypothesis is that these topics correspond to the set of information needs that best match-make a given client with users. In our experiments, Topic Machine outperformed its closest competitor by 41 percent on predicting total user subscriptions.

New Horizons: Long-range Kuiper Belt targets observed by the Hubble Space Telescope

We report on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of three Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), discovered in our dedicated ground-based search campaign, that are candidates for long-range observations from the New Horizons spacecraft: 2011 JY31, 2011 HZ102, and 2013 LU35. Astrometry with HST enables both current and future critical accuracy improvements for orbit precision, required for possible New Horizons observations, beyond what can be obtained from the ground. Photometric colors of all three objects are red, typical of the Cold Classical dynamical population within which they reside; they are also the faintest KBOs to have had their colors measured. None are observed to be binary with HST above separations of ∼0.02arcsec (∼700km at 44AU) and Δm⩽0.5.

Performance analysis of keyword advertising campaign using gender-brand effect of search queries

In this research, we analyze the relationship among (1) the performance metrics of a sponsored search campaign, (2) the gender orientation of queries, and (3) the occurrence of branded terms in queries. The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of increased personalization of search engine advertising in order to improve the consumer’s online experience. We segregate keyphrases from a dataset covering thirty-three consecutive months from a major US retailer consisting of 7 million daily records of a real time keyword advertising campaign into three gender categories (male, female and neutral) each with two groups (branded and unbranded) term usage. Using ANOVA, we analyze the effect of gender and brand keyphrases on critical sponsored search performance metrics of impressions, clicks, cost-per-clicks, sales revenue, orders, items purchased and return on advertising. Research findings show that the combination of brand focus with the gender-orientation of keyphrases is a significant factor in predicting sponsored search performance and behavior. There are statistically significant variations in consumer behavior as measured by sponsored search metrics among the gender categories. Specifically, females are more attracted to the use of branded terms than males, perhaps due to the trust and customer loyalty generated by brand image. Our results establishes that positive brand reputation creates dramatic influence on consumer’s loyalty over the brand and hence strongly affects their interests, activities and purchasing behavior in e-commerce environment.

Optimal Bidding in Multi-Item Multislot Sponsored Search Auctions

We study optimal bidding strategies for advertisers in sponsored search auctions. In general, these auctions are run as variants of second-price auctions but have been shown to be incentive incompatible. Thus, advertisers have to be strategic about bidding. Uncertainty in the decision-making environment, budget constraints, and the presence of a large portfolio of keywords makes the bid optimization problem nontrivial. We present an analytical model to compute the optimal bids for keywords in an advertiser's portfolio. To validate our approach, we estimate the parameters of the model using data from an advertiser's sponsored search campaign and use the bids proposed by the model in a field experiment. The results of the field implementation show that the proposed bidding technique is very effective in practice. We extend our model to account for interactions between keywords, in the form of positive spillovers from generic keywords into branded keywords. The spillovers are estimated using a dynamic linear model framework and are used to jointly optimize the bids of the keywords using an approximate dynamic programming approach. Accounting for the interaction between keywords leads to an additional improvement in the campaign performance.

Gender‐brand effect of search queries on sponsored search performance

AbstractIn this research, we analyze the relationship among (1) the performance metrics of key phrases used in a sponsored search campaign, (2) the gender orientation of those key phrases, and (3) the occurrence of branded terms in those search queries. The aim of this research is increased personalization of search engine results in order to improve the consumer's online searching experience and potential interest in ads with branding focus. We segregate the key phrases into six different categories combining gender orientation with branding focus of the key phrases from a rich dataset that consists of 7 million daily records of a real time sponsored search campaign. The result of ANOVA shows that the means of sponsored search metrics significantly vary among the categories and exhibits the female's preference over branded terms.

A search for pulsars in the central parsecs of the Galactic center

AbstractThe discovery of a pulsar or pulsars orbiting near the Galactic Center (GC) could offer an unprecedented probe of strong-field gravity, the properties of our galaxy's supermassive black hole and insights into the paradoxical star formation history of the region. However, searching for pulsars near the GC is severely hampered by the large electron densities along our line of sight and the scattering-induced pulse broadening of the pulsar emission observed through it. As the broadened pulse length approaches the pulsar period, the periodicity in pulsar emission becomes nearly undetectable. Searches extended to higher frequencies, in an effort to reduce scattering, suffer from reduced intrinsic flux, higher system temperatures and increased atmospheric opacity. We are currently attempting to mitigate the challenges associated with searching for pulsars near the GC by employing new wide bandwidth receivers, upgraded IF distribution systems and novel digital spectrometers in a GC pulsar search campaign at the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, USA.Our search will cover two frequency bands, from 12-15 GHz (Ku Band) and 18-26 GHz (K Band), during a total of approximately 30 hours of observations, with expected characteristic 10-sigma sensitivities between 5-10 micro-Jy. Our first observations are scheduled for mid-March 2012. Here we will present the status of our observations and initial results.

Large-Scale Similarity Search Profiling of ChEMBL Compound Data Sets

A large-scale similarity search investigation has been carried out on 266 well-defined compound activity classes extracted from the ChEMBL database. The analysis was performed using two widely applied two-dimensional (2D) fingerprints that mark opposite ends of the current performance spectrum of these types of fingerprints, i.e., MACCS structural keys and the extended connectivity fingerprint with bond diameter four (ECFP4). For each fingerprint, three nearest neighbor search strategies were applied. On the basis of these search calculations, a similarity search profile of the ChEMBL database was generated. Overall, the fingerprint search campaign was surprisingly successful. In 203 of 266 test cases (∼76%), a compound recovery rate of at least 50% was observed with at least the better performing fingerprint and one search strategy. The similarity search profile also revealed several general trends. For example, fingerprint searching was often characterized by an early enrichment of active compounds in database selection sets. In addition, compound activity classes have been categorized according to different similarity search performance levels, which helps to put the results of benchmark calculations into perspective. Therefore, a compendium of activity classes falling into different search performance categories is provided. On the basis of our large-scale investigation, the performance range of state-of-the-art 2D fingerprinting has been delineated for compound data sets directed against a wide spectrum of pharmaceutical targets.

Meteorites from the United Arab Emirates: Description, weathering, and terrestrial ages

Abstract–We report on the first meteorite search campaign in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The geology and proximity of our search region suggest that it is the north‐western extension of the Oman meteorite fields. We found 26 ordinary chondrites, bringing the total number of official meteorites from the UAE to 28. The campaign was organized and conducted in close cooperation with the UAE government and the main masses of the meteorites remained in the country where they will become part of an exhibition. The bulk composition of five meteorite and three soil samples indicates an uptake of U, Mo, Sr, Ba, Li, and Pb from the soil into the meteorites during terrestrial weathering. Terrestrial ages determined from14C decay of 21 meteorites range from recent falls to 24.4 ka, with two meteorites having >37 ka and approximately 39 ka, respectively. Weak correlations between weathering degree, meteorite bulk chemical composition, and terrestrial age suggest highly localized weathering conditions, possibly related to abundant occurrences of sabkhas in the search region.

From Generic to Branded: A Model of Spillover in Paid Search Advertising

In Internet paid search advertising, marketers pay for search engines to serve text advertisements in response to keyword searches that are generic (e.g., “hotels”) or branded (e.g., “Hilton Hotels”). Although standalone metrics usually show that generic keywords have higher apparent costs to the advertiser than branded keywords, generic search may create a spillover effect on subsequent branded search. Building on the Nerlove–Arrow advertising framework, the authors propose a dynamic linear model to capture the potential spillover from generic to branded paid search. In the model, generic search advertisements serve to expose users to information about the brand's ability to meet their needs, raising awareness that the brand is relevant to the search. In turn, this can induce additional future search activity for keywords that include the brand name. Using a Bayesian estimation approach, the authors apply the model to data from a paid search campaign for a major lodging chain. The results show that generic search activity positively affects future branded search activity through awareness of relevance. However, branded search does not affect generic search, demonstrating that the spillover is asymmetric. The findings have implications for understanding search behavior on the Internet and the management of paid search advertising.

Optimal Bidding in Multi-Item Multi-Slot Sponsored Search Auctions

We study optimal bidding strategies for advertisers in sponsored search auctions. In general, these auctions are run as variants of second-price auctions but have been shown to be incentive incompatible. Thus, advertisers have to be strategic about bidding. Uncertainty in the decision- making environment, budget constraints and the presence of a large portfolio of keywords makes the bid optimization problem non-trivial. We present an analytical model to compute the optimal bids for keywords in an advertiser’s portfolio. To validate our approach, we estimate the parameters of the model using data from an advertiser’s sponsored search campaign and use the bids proposed by the model in a field experiment. The results of the field implementation show that the proposed bidding technique is very effective in practice. We extend our model to account for interactions between keywords, in the form of positive spillovers from generic keywords into branded keywords. The spillovers are estimated using a dynamic linear model framework and used to jointly optimize the bids of the keywords using an approximate dynamic programming approach. Accounting for the interaction between keywords leads to an additional improvement in the campaign performance.

Meteorite finds from southern Tunisia

Abstract— We report on the meteorite search campaign of April 2008, conducted by a joint Tunisian‐Italian scientific expedition in southern Tunisia (Dahar region). Nine likely unpaired meteorites (seven H‐class and two L‐class chondrites) totalling ?1.3 kg were recovered by exploring an approximately 45 km2area, therefore demonstrating that southern Tunisia is a suitable terrain for systematic searches for meteorites.