Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung

Dieser Beitrag behandlt die Rolle des statistischen Ansatzes in der maschinellen (oder automatischen) Sprachverarbeitung.      

New-onset psychogenic seizures after surgery for epilepsy

BACKGROUND: The emergence of psychogenic seizures after surgery for epilepsy is not well recognized. OBJECTIVES: To identify the frequency of psychogenic seizures in an 11-year surgical experience and to characterize the patients with this complication. METHODS: Ninety-six patients underwent surgery for epilepsy between 1985 and 1996. The surgical database was reviewed and all patients who experienced postoperative psychogenic seizures were identified. Patients were characterized by sex, age, psychopathologic conditions, full-scale IQ, duration of epilepsy, surgical procedure, and operative complications. Patients were compared with the surgical group as a whole for these variables. SETTING: A comprehensive epilepsy center. RESULTS: Five patients were identified: 3 men and 2 women. Mean full-scale IQ was 73 (range, 66-82). Mean age was 29.8 years (range, 22-36 years). Three patients were diagnosed as having psychosis, 1 with borderline personality disorder and 1 with generalized anxiety. Operations included 4 anterior temporal lobectomies and 1 occipital lobectomy. Two patients experienced operative complications. Compared with the surgical cohort, patients had a higher frequency of preoperative psychopathologic conditions, lower mean full-scale IQ, and a greater occurrence of operative complications. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Patients can develop new-onset psychogenic seizures after surgery for epilepsy. (2) Low full-scale IQ, serious preoperative psychopathologic conditions, and major surgical complications may be risk factors. (3) Atypical postoperative seizures should be evaluated with video electroencephalographic monitoring before concluding that they are epileptic.     

Students’ performance and satisfaction with Web vs. paper-based practice quizzes and lecture notes

The use of computers to deliver course-related materials is rapidly expanding in most universities. Yet the effects of computer vs. printed delivery modes on students’ performance and motivation are not yet fully known. We compared the impacts of Web vs. paper to deliver practice quizzes that require information search in lecture notes. Hundred and twenty two undergraduate students used either a web site or printed documents to answer 18 mathematics questions during a tutored session. A revised Web site was designed based on ergonomic criteria, to test the hypothesis that improved usability would decrease time spent on the task, the number of pages consulted, and students’ perceived cognitive load. The group working with printed documents had the highest performance. Furthermore, students perceived the paper materials as less effortful to read, and expressed preference for printing lecture notes and questions. However, students appreciated having a Web site available. No differences were found between the two sites. We conclude that Web delivery imposed higher perceived cognitive load due to the need to read lengthy documents. We suggest possible ways to improve Web-based practice materials, such as simultaneous display of questions and lecture notes.     

Deformation models for image recognition

We present the application of different nonlinear image deformation models to the task of image recognition. The deformation models are especially suited for local changes as they often occur in the presence of image object variability. We show that, among the discussed models, there is one approach that combines simplicity of implementation, low-computational complexity, and highly competitive performance across various real-world image recognition tasks. We show experimentally that the model performs very well for four different handwritten digit recognition tasks and for the classification of medical images, thus showing high generalization capacity. In particular, an error rate of 0.54 percent on the MNIST benchmark is achieved, as well as the lowest reported error rate, specifically 12.6 percent, in the 2005 international ImageCLEF evaluation of medical image specifically categorization.     

Voraussage der Bitterkeit von Peptiden aus deren Aminos?urezu-sammensetzung

Zusammenfassung Es wind eine neue Methode beschrieben, die es gestattet, anhand der Aminosäurezusammensetzung eines Peptides vorauszusagen, ob theses bitter ist. Dazu wird aus Energie-Daten für die relativen Löslichkeiten der einzelnen Aminosäuren ein WertQ errechnet. Peptide mitQ < 1300 sind nicht bitter. Peptide mitQ > 1400 haben einen bitteren Geschmack. Alle bisher beschriebenen synthetischen Peptide mit definiertem Geschmack (Di- bis Eicosapeptide, 21 selbst synthetisiert, 37 aus der Literatur) entsprechen unserer Regel. Auch 8 in der Literatur beschriebene Oligopeptide aus Spinat mit bekannter Aminosdurezusammensetzung passen in die Regel.

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Prediction of bitterness of peptides from their amino acid composition

Summary A method is described permitting to predict whether a peptide is bitter or not. The method is based on the amino composition, whereby a valueQ is calculated from the solubility data of the individual amino acids. Peptides withQ < 1300 are not bitter, peptides withQ > 1400 show a bitter taste.All synthetic peptides with defined taste described so far (di- to eicosapeptides, 21 synthesised ourselves, 37 from the literature) do comply with our rule. Eight oligopeptides from spinach with known amino acid composition described in the literature fit also in this scheme.

     

Ab initio calculation of the BCC Fe–Al–Mo (Iron–Aluminum–Molybdenum) phase diagram: Implications for the nature of the phase

The metastable phase diagram of the BCC-based ordering equilibria in the Fe–Al–Mo system has been calculated via a truncated cluster expansion, through the combination of Full-Potential-Linear augmented Plane Wave (FP-LAPW) electronic structure calculations and of Cluster Variation Method (CVM) thermodynamic calculations in the irregular tetrahedron approximation. Four isothermal sections at 1750 K, 2000 K, 2250 K and 2500 K are calculated and correlated with recently published experimental data on the system. The results confirm that the critical temperature for the order–disorder equilibrium between Fe₃Al–D0₃ and FeAl–B2 is increased by Mo additions, while the critical temperature for the FeAl–B2/A2 equilibrium is kept approximately invariant with increasing Mo contents. The stabilization of the Al-rich A2 phase in equilibrium with overstoichiometric B2–(Fe,Mo)Al is also consistent with the attribution of the A2 structure to the τ₂ phase, stable at high temperatures in overstoichiometric B2–FeAl.     

Prediction of residual retroperitoneal mass histology after chemotherapy for metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumor: multivariate analysis of individual patient data from six study groups

PURPOSE: To develop a statistical model that predicts the histology (necrosis, mature teratoma, or cancer) after chemotherapy for metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumor (NSGCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: An international data set was collected comprising individual patient data from six study groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the probability of necrosis and the ratio of cancer and mature teratoma. RESULTS: Of 556 patients, 250 (45%) had necrosis at resection, 236 (42%) had mature teratoma, and 70 (13%) had cancer. Predictors of necrosis were the absence of teratoma elements in the primary tumor, prechemotherapy normal alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), normal human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, a small prechemotherapy or postchemotherapy mass, and a large shrinkage of the mass during chemotherapy. Multivariate combination of predictors yielded reliable models (goodness-of-fit tests, P > .20), which discriminated necrosis well from other histologies (area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, .84), but which discriminated cancer only reasonably from mature teratoma (area, .66). Internal and external validation confirmed these findings. CONCLUSION: The validated models estimate with high accuracy the histology at resection, especially necrosis, based on well-known and readily available predictors. The predicted probabilities may help to choose between immediate resection of a residual mass or follow-up, taking into account the expected benefits and risks of resection, feasibility of frequent follow-up, the financial costs, and the patient's individual preferences.     

Mn- and Cr-Doped InN: A Promising Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor Material

Cr- and Mn-doped InN films were successfully grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on c-plane sapphire substrates. Low temperature GaN buffer layers grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy were used to accommodate the large lattice mismatch between InN and sapphire. A high n-type carrier concentration of 1.5×10²⁰ cm^–3 was measured in InN films with 3% Cr-doping. Films of this type exhibit a well-defined in-plane magnetic hysteresis loop and remanence for temperatures varying from 5 to 300K. The Mn-doped films, however, turned out to exhibit less clear magnetic properties. Thus, ferromagnetism in Cr-doped InN can be concluded from our measurements.     

Multiphase precipitation of carbides in Fe-C system: Part II. Model based on kinetics of complex reactions

The precipitation of carbides in the Fe-C system aged at constant temperature is simulated considering two transformation kernels of complex reactions, involving different impingement and rate-time factors. The metastable and stable phase are identified by deconvolution of the experimental kinetics. The activation energy of carbides is found to depend, slightly, on the transformation kernel in which it is used.     

Multiphase precipitation of carbides in Fe-C systems: Part I. Model based upon simple kinetic reactions

In this work, we present a theoretical scheme that allows us to follow the kinetics of the precipitation of carbides in the Fe-C system. Our scheme is based on reaction equations, which take into account all possible ways of atomic exchange between the different competing phases. Through the use of nonlinear regression methods, we have fitted the results from our model to those obtained from thermoelectric power measurements for the Fe-C system in the temperature range between 20 °C and 450 °C. By deconvolution of optimally fitted theoretical kinetics, we have deduced ranges for coexistence of the different carbides that formed and their activation energies. An adequate agreement between our results and those reported in the literature is obtained.