Soft syntactic constraints for Arabic–English hierarchical phrase-based translation

In adding syntax to statistical machine translation, there is a tradeoff between taking advantage of linguistic analysis and allowing the model to exploit parallel training data with no linguistic analysis: translation quality versus coverage. A number of previous efforts have tackled this tradeoff by starting with a commitment to linguistically motivated analyses and then finding appropriate ways to soften that commitment. We present an approach that explores the tradeoff from the other direction, starting with a translation model learned directly from aligned parallel text, and then adding soft constituent-level constraints based on parses of the source language. We argue that in order for these constraints to improve translation, they must be fine-grained: the constraints should vary by constituent type, and by the type of match or mismatch with the parse. We also use a different feature weight optimization technique, capable of handling large amount of features, thus eliminating the bottleneck of feature selection. We obtain substantial improvements in performance for translation from Arabic to English.     

三种电阻技术在电阻功率系数方面的比较

电阻精度的问题看起来比想象的要复杂些。电阻有三种基本类型:BulkMetal箔、薄膜及厚膜,这三种电阻表面上看起来很相似,并且可能具有类似的采购规格。但实际上,这三种电阻的制造方式均不同。本身固有的设计与处理将极大影响电气性能,因此在安装后,这三种电阻的行为均不相同。当     

How do clinicians reconcile conditions and medications? The cognitive context of medication reconciliation

Medication omissions and dosing failures are frequent during transitions in patient care. Medication reconciliation (MR) requires bridging discrepancies in a patient’s medical history as a setting for care changes. MR has been identified as vulnerable to failure, and a clinician’s cognition during MR remains poorly described in the literature. We sought to explore cognition in MR tasks. Specifically, we sought to explore how clinicians make sense of conditions and medications. We observed 24 anesthesia providers performing a card-sorting task to sort conditions and medications for a fictional patient. We analyzed the spatial properties of the data using statistical methods. Most of the participants (58%) arranged the medications along a straight line (p < 0.001). They sorted medications by organ systems (Friedman’s χ ²(54) = 325.7, p < 0.001). These arrangements described the clinical correspondence between each two medications (Wilcoxon W = 192.0, p < 0.001). A cluster analysis showed that the subjects matched conditions and medications related to the same organ system together (Wilcoxon W = 1917.0, p < 0.001). We conclude that the clinicians commonly arranged the information into two groups (conditions and medications) and assigned an internal order within these groups, according to organ systems. They also matched between conditions and medications according to similar criteria. These findings were also supported by verbal protocol analysis. The findings strengthen the argument that organ-based information is pivotal to a clinician’s cognition during MR. Understanding the strategies and heuristics, clinicians employ through the MR process may help to develop practices to promote patient safety.     

Stability Testing of Two-Dimensional Discrete-Time Systems by a Scattering-Type Stability Table and Its Telepolation

Stability testing of two-dimensional (2-D) discrete-time systems requires decision on whether a 2-D (bivariate) polynomial does not vanish in the closed exterior of the unit bi-circle. The paper reformulates a tabular test advanced by Jury to solve this problem. The 2-D tabular test builds for a real 2-D polynomial of degree (n ₁, n ₂) a sequence of n ₂ matrices or 2-D polynomials (the 2-D table). It then examines its last polynomial - a 1-D polynomial of degree 2n ₁ n ₂ - for no zeros on the unit circle. A count of arithmetic operations for the tabular test is performed. It shows that the test has O(n ⁶) complexity (assuming n ₁ = n ₂ = n)- a significant improvement compared to previous tabular tests that used to be of exponential complexity. The analysis also reveals that, even though the testing of the condition on the last polynomial requires O(n ⁴) operations, the count of operations required for the table's construction makes the overall complexity O(n ⁶). Next it is shown that it is possible to telescope the last polynomial of the table by interpolation and circumvent the construction of the 2-D table. The telepolation of the tabular test replaces the table by n ₁ n ₂ + 1 stability tests of 1-D polynomials of degree n ₁ or n ₂ of certain form. The resulting new 2-D stability testing procedure requires a very low O(n ⁴) count of operations. The paper also brings extension for the tabular test and its simplification by telepolation to testing 2-D polynomials with complex valued coefficients.     

Is there more to complicated grief than depression and posttraumatic stress disorder? A test of incremental validity.

There is growing interest in complicated grief reactions as a possible new diagnostic category for inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, no research has yet shown that complicated grief has incremental validity (i.e., predicts unique variance in functioning). The authors addressed this issue in 2 studies by comparing grief, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms with different measures of functioning (interviewer ratings, friend ratings, self-report, and autonomic arousal). The 1st study (N = 73) used longitudinal data collected at 4 and 18 months postloss, and the 2nd study (N = 447) used cross-sectional data collected 2.5-3.5 years postloss. With depression and PTSD controlled, grief emerged as a unique predictor of functioning, both cross-sectionally and prospectively. The findings provide convergent support for the incremental validity of complicated grief as an independent marker of bereavement-related psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrodeposited Quantum Dots. 6. Epitaxial Size Control in Cd(Se,Te) Nanocrystals on {111} Gold

Size control in epitaxial Cd(Se, Te) quantum dots (QDs) electrochemically deposited on {111} textured Au is achieved by mismatch tuning. The formation of QDs as a form of relaxation of heteroepitaxial strain energy is demonstrated. The increased lattice parameter resulting from incorporation of small amounts of Te in the CdSe lattice leads to reduced mismatch-induced strain energy and therefore larger QD size. While the QD interatomic spacings at the interface are shown to be unchanged due to the heteroepitaxy with the Au substrate, the perpendicular QD d-spacings (along the c-axis) strongly increase with increasing Te content due to strain relaxation.     

Diurnal patterns of micropollutants concentrations in domestic greywater

In recent years, much interest has been given to presence of micropollutants in municipal wastewater, some of which are suspected to be endocrine disruptors, toxic or carcinogenic. Much less attention has been paid to their presence in greywater. The present research studies the diurnal patterns of micropollutants in greywater and computes their daily loads. Monitoring was carried-out using auto-controlled sampling system, designed to overcome the erratic greywater generation. Two main generation periods were identified: morning (5:00–11:00) and evening-night (18:00–2:00), contributing about 20% and >50% of daily greywater discharge, respectively. Average specific daily greywater discharge was 57 L p^?1d^?1, which matches reported value for greywater generated by showers and washbasins in Israel. The most frequently detected micropollutants in this study were methylparben (preservative), galaxolide (fragrance) and oxybenzone (UV-filter), which are common ingredients in many personal care-products. Their daily loads were 2, 840, 1, 887 and 728 µg p^?1d^?1, respectively.