A Computational Approach to Poetic Structure, Rhythm and Rhyme

In this paper we present SPARSAR, a system for the automatic analysis of English and Italian poetry. The system can work on any type of poem and produces a set of parameters that are then used to compare poems with one another, of the same author or of different authors. In this paper, we will concentrate on the second module, which is a rule-based system to represent and analyze poetic devices. Evaluation of the system on the basis of a manually created dataset - including poets from Shakespeare's time down to T.S.Eliot and Sylvia Plath - has shown its high precision and accuracy approximating 90%

Harmful Elements in Estuarine and Coastal Systems

Abstract Estuaries and coastal zones are dynamic transitional systems which provide many economic and ecological benefits to humans, but also are an ideal habitat for other organisms as well. These areas are becoming contaminated by various anthropogenic activities due to a quick economic growth and urbanization. This chapter explores the sources, chemical speciation, sediment accumulation and removal mechanisms of the harmful elements in estuarine and coastal seawaters. It also describes the effects of toxic elements on aquatic flora and fauna. Finally, the toxic element pollution of the Venice Lagoon, a transitional water body located in the northeastern part of Italy, is discussed as a case study, by presenting the procedures adopted to measure the extent of the pollution, the impacts on organisms and the restoration activities

Statistical analysis of Italian earthquake catalogue 1600 - 2003

Earthquake catalogues are an historical memory of seismology that contains the main characteristics of shocks like time, magnitude and epicenter coordinates. These catalogues are very important because they allow to study the past seismic events of a reference region. Here we study an Italian catalogue from 1600 to 2003 and report results based on statistical data depth. With this method we want to measure the seismic risk. Small (Small, 1990) first advocated the use of data depth to study the spatial distribution of earthquake epicenters on the Earth’ surface. His suggestion was meant as an illustration of data depth of directional data because epicenters can be represented as points on the surface of a sphere. In this work, first, we illustrate the general features of the Italian earthquake catalogue together with the results of preliminary descriptive analysis. After that we introduce the concept of data depth and provide a map of seismic risk for Italy using the depth centrality ordering (Liu et al, 1999). Finally, we include in the analysis the intensity of earthquakes with the goal to obtain a comprehensive investigation of the data

One-pot oximation–Beckmann rearrangement of ketones and aldehydes to amides of industrial interest: Acetanilide, caprolactam and acetaminophen

High yielding one-pot oximation–Beckmann rearrangement of ketones to amides in ktrifluoroacetic acid has been conducted on several ketones and aldehydes. The substrate reactivity showed to depend on both oximation and Beckmann rearrangement reaction rate. In this synthetic procedure, trifluoroacetic acid acts as solvent, acid catalyst and organocatalyst and can be easily recycled

The communication of foreign products in China through the store: an empirical analysis

In China foreign brands are faced with brand origin confusion, which creates benefits for local brands. Therefore, marketers should provide information related to the COO by using not only products and promotions, but also distribution. In particular, stores could be an important starting point to communicate the brand origin and image, as they represent evidence of the brand world and a powerful setting for storytelling. In order to analyse how the COO has been used by foreign (Italian) brands in the Chinese market, we examined 45 points of sale in China to check whether Italy is somehow recalled in their hard elements or during the shopping experience by using the mystery shopping research technique. The results highlight a relatively traditional, marginal, and iconic use of the COO in a market that is new, important, and highly dynamic. Some managerial implications will be discussed