Annual Report 2009 - Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7559)

Contributions collected in this report provide a representative overview of the scientific outcome of INE research activities in 2009. The structure of the report follows widely the organization of the institute according to research topics: Basic research towards understanding geochemical reactions of radionuclides on a molecular scale and applied studies on radionuclide retention in multi-barrier system under real repository conditions

Exploration and adaptation of large language models for specialized domains

Large language models have transformed the field of natural language processing (NLP). Their improved performance on various NLP benchmarks makes them a promising tool—also for the application in specialized domains. Such domains are characterized by highly trained professionals with particular domain expertise. Since these experts are rare, improving the efficiency of their work with automated systems is especially desirable. However, domain-specific text resources hold various challenges for NLP systems. These challenges include distinct language, noisy and scarce data, and a high level of variation. Further, specialized domains present an increased need for transparent systems since they are often applied in high stakes settings. In this dissertation, we examine whether large language models (LLMs) can overcome some of these challenges and propose methods to effectively adapt them to domain-specific requirements. We first investigate the inner workings and abilities of LLMs and show how they can fill the gaps that are present in previous NLP algorithms for specialized domains. To this end, we explore the sources of errors produced by earlier systems to identify which of them can be addressed by using LLMs. Following this, we take a closer look at how information is processed within Transformer-based LLMs to better understand their capabilities. We find that their layers encode different dimensions of the input text. Here, the contextual vector representation, and the general language knowledge learned during pre-training are especially beneficial for solving complex and multi-step tasks common in specialized domains. Following this exploration, we propose solutions for further adapting LLMs to the requirements of domain-specific tasks. We focus on the clinical domain, which incorporates many typical challenges found in specialized domains. We show how to improve generalization by integrating different domain-specific resources into our models. We further analyze the behavior of the produced models and propose a behavioral testing framework that can serve as a tool for communication with domain experts. Finally, we present an approach for incorporating the benefits of LLMs while fulfilling requirements such as interpretability and modularity. The presented solutions show improvements in performance on benchmark datasets and in manually conducted analyses with medical professionals. Our work provides both new insights into the inner workings of pre-trained language models as well as multiple adaptation methods showing that LLMs can be an effective tool for NLP in specialized domains

Quality of service support for multimedia applications in mobile ad hoc networks

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Annual Report 2011 : Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal. (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7617)

The R&D at the Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal, INE, (Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) focuses on (i) long term safety research for nuclear waste disposal, (ii) immobilization of high level radioactive waste (HLW), (iii) separation of minor actinides from HLW and (iv) radiation protection

The cognitive neuroscience of visual working memory

Visual working memory allows us to temporarily maintain and manipulate visual information in order to solve a task. The study of the brain mechanisms underlying this function began more than half a century ago, with Scoville and Milner’s (1957) seminal discoveries with amnesic patients. This timely collection of papers brings together diverse perspectives on the cognitive neuroscience of visual working memory from multiple fields that have traditionally been fairly disjointed: human neuroimaging, electrophysiological, behavioural and animal lesion studies, investigating both the developing and the adult brain

The cultural evolution of coinage as an informational system

The invention of coined money significantly changed economic history, by introducing a convenient and universal medium of exchange, whose value is regulated and guaranteed by a political authority. In order to be used as a means of payment, coins need to be recognized as valid and trustworthy. Combining carefully designed material features with inscriptions and images, they form a system of symbols that store and transmit information, primarily of an economic nature. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how coins encode information, and to understand how historical dynamics and human cognition shaped their evolution as an informational system. These questions were explored over three studies. The first study investigated the influence of changing political and economic circumstances in the ancient Mediterranean (7th - 1st ct. BCE) on the informative role of graphic designs as marks of issuing authority and monetary value. The second study discussed the advantages and challenges of digitization, standardization and quantitative approaches to cultural data, with a focus on coin iconography. The third study examined the representation and perception of monetary value in the properties of contemporary coins. This thesis shows how we can examine the structure and evolution of coins within an interdisciplinary framework, using quantitative methods, combined with insights from evolutionary and cognitive anthropology, and information theory. The increasing availability of expertly curated digital collections opens more possibilities for developing quantitative approaches necessary for proper interpretation of the processes which shaped observed patterns in cultural data. The approach taken in this thesis complements the research in numismatics and economic history on the origins and development of coinage, while also highlighting the possibilities of using historical artefacts to study large-scale patterns in the evolution and transmission of cultural traits

National Astronomy Meeting 2019 Abstract Book

The National Astronomy Meeting 2019 Abstract Book. Abstracts accepted and presented, including both oral and poster presentations, at the Royal Astronomical Society's NAM2019 conference, held at Lancaster University between 30 June and 4 July 2019

Management accounting in new product development : case-study evidence from process-oriented high-technology R&D environment

siirretty Doriast