Filler model based confidence measures for spoken dialogue systems: a case study for Turkish

Because of the inadequate performance of speech recognition systems, an accurate confidence scoring mechanism should be employed to understand user requests correctly. To determine a confidence score for a hypothesis, certain confidence features are combined. The performance of filler-model based confidence features have been investigated. Five types of filler model networks were defined: triphone-network; phone-network; phone-class network; 5-state catch-all model; 3-state catch-all model. First, all models were evaluated in a Turkish speech recognition task in terms of their ability to tag correctly (recognition-error or correct) recognition hypotheses. The best performance was obtained from the triphone recognition network. Then, the performances of reliable combinations of these models were investigated and it was observed that certain combinations of filler models could significantly improve the accuracy of the confidence annotatio

Filler model based word level confidence measures for spoken dialogue systems

In conversational dialogue applications it is critical to understand the requests accurately. However, the performance of current speech recognition systems are far from perfect. In order to function effectively with imperfect speech recognition, an accurate confidence scoring mechanism should be employed. To determine a confidence score for a hypothesis, certain confidence features are combined. In this thesis, the performance of filler-model based confidence features have been investigated. Five types of filler model were defined: triphone-network, phonenetwork, phone-class network, 5-state catch-all model and 3-state catch-all model. First all models were evaluated in terms of their ability to correctly tag (recognitionerror or correct) recognition hypotheses. Here, the best performance was obtained from triphone recognition network. Then the performance of reliable combinations of these models were investigated and it was observed that certain reliable combinations of filler models could significantly improve the accuracy of the confidence annotation. On the practical side of the work, a dialogue management system was implemented for Turkish. For acoustic model training, a 3-hour speech data was collected. To increase the speech recogntion accuracy, some parameters were tied by using decision trees. For an accurate clustering, an efficient set of questions was constructed for Turkish triphones. With this setup we obtained %97.2 word recognition accuracy

Coexistence of cervico-thoracic extradural en-plaque meningioma with multiple intracranial meningiomas

Meningioma is one of the most common tumors in the spinal cord. Extradural and en-plaque variety of meningioma occur less frequently. A 47-year-old woman is presented with radiculopathy signs. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion from C6 through T3 vertebral levels compressing the cord both anteriorly and posteriorly. Subtotally excision was performed and histopathologic signs showed transitional type of meningioma (WHO Grade 1). Post operatively, she had good neurological recovery. Intraoperative findings point out that the en-plaque meningioma was pure extradural. Twelve cases of pure extradural en-plaque meningioma have been reported in the literature. Besides, to the best our knowledge coexistence of “en plaque” spinal epidural meningioma with meningiomas in cranial cavity has not been reported. Complete resection is mandatory to prevent recurrence. Moreover, it is considerably difficult to remove the parts of tumor over anterior of the dura without complication

Determination of Tourism potential of rural areas - The case of Artvin-Arhavi

Artvin iline bağlı olan Arhavi ilçesi; tarihi, kültürel ve yöresel değerler ve tahrip edilmemiş doğal yapısıyla turizme açılabilecek önemli kırsal alanlara sahiptir. Arhavi’nin kırsal turizme açılabilecek alanlarını keşfetmek, yörenin tarihi, kültürel ve geleneksel de- ğerlerini açığa çıkararak tanıtımını sağlamak, il ve ilçeye önemli katkılar sağlayacaktır. Çalışmamızın ilk bölümünde kırsal turizmin gelişme nedenleri ile kırsal turizmin kırsal kalkınmaya etkileri üzerinde durulmuştur ve ikinci bölümde Arhavi’nin turistik çekici- likleri, Arhavi köylerinin potansiyel kırsal turizm değerleri ile mevcut kültürel değerle- ri hakkında detaylı bilgi verilmiştir. Çalışmamızın son bölümünde ise sonuç ve öneriler üzerinde değerlendirme yapılmıştır. Araştırmamızın yöntem kısmında ilk olarak kapsamlı literatür taraması yapılarak veri toplanmıştır. Sonraki aşamada, Arhavi ilçesine bağlı toplam 30 köyde yörenin ileri gelenleri (muhtar, öğretmen, köy imamı vb.) ile görüşmeler yapılarak elde edilen bilgiler doğrultusunda yörenin turistik ürün değeri taşıyan tarihi ve doğal yapıların konumları tespit edilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, Arhavi’nin keşfedilme- miş kırsal turizm değerlerinin açığa çıkarılarak turistik hareketlerin bu yörelere çekilme- si beklenmektedir. Böylelikle hem kırsal alanlar turizme açılacak, hem de yerli ve yabancı turistlere gezilecek yerler açısından yarar sağlamış olacaklardır. Köy halkının turizmden gelir elde etmesi de bu çalışmanın beklenen sonuçları arasındadır.Arhavi district, the province of Artvin, has historical, cultural and local values and important rural areas that can be opened to tourism with its natural beauty which have not been destroyed yet. To explore Arhavi’s rural areas, in order to promote tourism by releasing the area’s historical, cultural and traditional value, will make important contributions to province and district. In the first part of our study, we have focused on the reasons of the development of rural tourism and the effects of tourism in rural development. In the second part, we have given detailed information about the touristic attractions of Arhavi, the potential rural tourism values and existing cultural values of Arhavi’s villages. In the last part of this study, evaluation has been made on the result and suggestions. Related to the method of our research, firstly data was collected by comprehensive literature review. Accordingly, the locations of the historical and natural structures which have touristic value of the region were selected according to the information obtained from the interwievs with the elders of the region (reeve, teacher, imam) in 30 villages of Arhavi. At the end of this study, it is expected to draw touristic activities in these regions by revealing rural tourism values of Arhavi. In this way, both rural areas will be opened to tourism and it will be beneficial for domestic and foreign tourists about the places to visit. Generating an income from tourism of village people is among the expected results of this study

Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed

Occurrence of blunthead puffer, Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller and Troschel, 1848) (Tetraodontidae) in north-eastern Aegean Sea (Izmir Bay, Turkey)

[No abstract available

Northernmost record of Upeneus molluccensis (Bleeker, 1855)(Osteichthyes: Mullidae) in the Aegean sea [Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker, 1855)(Osteichthyes: Mullidae)’in Türk Ege Denizi Kıyılarının En Kuzeyinden Kaydı]

Two specimens of Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker, 1855) were caught in İzmir and Çandarlı Bays, Aegean Sea of Turkey by bottom trawlers at depths of about 80-85 m, respectively. These fish are the first records from both areas, and this ichthyologic note constitutes also the northernmost extension range of the species in the Aegean Sea. © 2016, Central Fisheries Research Inst. All rights reserved

The marketing strategies of the hotel managements during the crisis periods: A qualitative research in five-star hotels located in İstanbul

Bu çalışmanın amacı, turizm işletmelerinin kriz dönemlerini atlatmada kullandıkları pazarlama stratejilerini belirlemek ve krizin işletmeler üzerindeki olumlu veya olumsuz etkilerini tespit etmektir. Araştırmanın yöntemi, nitel araştırma yöntemine dayandığından dolayı, İstanbul'da faaliyet gösteren yedi adet beş yıldızlı otel işletmelerinin yöneticileri ile görüşme yapılmış ve toplanan veriler içerik analizi yoluyla analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre; otel işletmelerinin krizden çok fazla etkilenmedikleri ve daha çok mevcut durumu korumaya yönelik yani durağan pazarlama stratejilerini benimsedikleri tespit edilmiştir. Rekabet stratejilerinde ise daha çok maliyet liderliği için stratejilerle birlikte, küçük değişiklikler yapılarak farklılaşma stratejilerinin uygulandığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.The aim of this study is to define tourism management's marketing strategies that is used in recovering the crisis periods and to determine the positive or negative effects of crisis on the managements. For this reason, interviews have been conducted with hotel management's managers of seven five-star hotels located in İstanbul and data collected by content analysing. According to research results; it is determined that the hotel managements haven't been effected by the crisis mostly and on the other hand, for mostly they adopted stable marketing strategies in order to maintain the current situation. It is concluded that in competition strategies, application of differentiation strategies by making little changes with for mostly cost leadership strategies

Sesli diyalog sistemlerinde dolgu modeli kullanarak güvenilirlik ölçümü = Filler model based confidence measures for spoken dialog systems

Güvenilirlik ölçütü (confidence measure) konuşma tanıma sistemlerinde tanınan sözcüğün gerçekten doğru tanınıp tanınmadığı konusundaki güven düzeyini gösterir. Günümüz ses tanıma sistemlerinin yetersiz performansı nedeniyle, gerçekçi bir güvenilirlik ölçümü, kullanıcı isteklerinin tam olarak anlaşılabilmesi için önemlidir. Bir konuşma tanıma hipotezinin güvenilirliğini belirlemek için elde edilen güvenilirlik öznitelikleri uygun kombinasyonlar halinde bir arada kullanılır. Bu çalışmada, dolgu modeli temelli güvenilirlik özniteliklerinin performansı incelenmiştir. Bu kapsamda 5 tür dolgu model ağı tanımlanmıştır; üçlü-ses ağı, tek-ses ağı, ses-sınıfları ağı, 5-durumlu genel ses modeli ve 3-durumlu genel ses modeli. Elde edilen öznitelikler bir Türkçe konuşma tanıma sistemi üzerinde kodçözücü hipotezlerini, tanıma hatası veya doğru tanıma olarak doğru sınıflandırabilme yeteneklerine göre karşılaştırılmışlardır. En iyi başarım, üçlü-ses ağından bulunan öznitelikler ile elde edilmiştir. Ayrıca özniteliklerin uygun kombinasyonlarının gösterdikleri başarıma bakılmış ve belirli bazı öznitelik kombinasyonlarının güvenilirlik sisteminin başarısını arttırdığı gözlemlenmiştir