Competition and Learning in a Connectionist Deterministic Parser

Deterministic parsing promises to (almost) never backtrack. Neural network technology promises competition, and learning capabilities. The marriage of these two ideas is being investigated in an experimental natural language parsing system that combines some of the best features of each. The result is a deterministic parser that learns, generalizes, and supports competition among structures and lexical interpretations. The performance of the parser is being evaluated on predicted as well as unpredicted sentence forms. Several mildly ungrammatical sentences have been successfully processed into structures judged reasonable when compared to their grammatical counterparts. Lexic^ ambiguities can create problems for traditional parsers, or at least require additional backtracking. With the use of neural netwoilcs, ambiguities can be resolved through the wider syntactic context. The results have shown the potential for parsing using this approach

The Effect of Thin Film Adhesives on Mode II Interlaminar Fracture Toughness in Carbon Fiber Composites with Shape Memory Alloy Inserts

A single sheet of nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) was introduced within an IM7/8552 polymer matrix composite (PMC) panel in conjunction with multiple thin film adhesives to promote the interfacial bond strength between the SMA and PMC. End notched flexure (ENF) testing was performed in accordance to ASTM D7905 method for evaluation of mode II interlaminar fracture toughness (GIIC) of unidirectional fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites. Acoustic emissions (AE) were monitored during testing with two acoustic sensors attached to the specimens. The composite panels examined using scanning electron microscopy techniques after part failure. GIIC values for the control composite samples were found to be higher than those of samples with embedded SMA sheets. The presence of adhesives bonded to SMA sheets further diminished the GIIC values. AE values revealed poor bonding of the panels, with little to no signals during testing

Determinism and Connectionism in a Rule-Based Natural Language System

The processing of Natural Language is, at the same time, natural symbolic and naturally symbolic and naturally sub-symbolic. It is symbolic because ultimately symbols play a critical role. Writing systems, for example, owe their existence to the symbolic nature of language. It is also sub-symbolic because of the nature of speech, the fuzziness of concepts, and the high degree of parallelism that is difficult to explain as a purely symbolic phenomenon. This report details a set of experiments which support the claim that Natural Language can be syntactically processed in a robust manner using a connectionist deterministic parser. The model is trained based on a deterministic grammar and tested with sentences which are grammatically and ones that ill-formed. Tests are also conducted with sentences containing lexically ambiguous items. Some new directions for this work are explored in the final section. The goal of fully connectionistic parsing is discussed and a detail plan for its achievements is present

The function of ‘functional’: a mixed methods investigation

OBJECTIVE: The term 'functional' has a distinguished history, embodying a number of physiological concepts, but has increasingly come to mean 'hysterical'. The DSM-V working group proposes to use 'functional' as the official diagnostic term for medically unexplained neurological symptoms (currently known as 'conversion disorder'). This study aimed to explore the current neurological meanings of the term and to understand its resilience. DESIGN: Mixed methods were used, first interviewing the neurologists in a large UK region and then surveying all neurologists in the UK on their use of the term. RESULTS: The interviews revealed four dominant uses--'not organic', a physical disability, a brain disorder and a psychiatric problem--as well as considerable ambiguity. Although there was much dissatisfaction with the term, the ambiguity was also seen as useful when engaging with patients. The survey confirmed these findings, with a majority adhering to a strict interpretation of 'functional' to mean only 'not organic', but a minority employing it to mean different things in different contexts - and endorsing the view that 'functional' would one day be a neurological construct again. CONCLUSIONS: 'Functional' embodies real divisions in neurologists' conceptualisation of unexplained symptoms and, perhaps, between those of patients and neurologists: its diversity of meanings allows it to be a common term while meaning different things to different people, or at different times, and thus conceal some of the conflict in a particularly contentious area. This flexibility may help explain the term's longevity

Estudo da cinética de secagem de sementes de cornichão (Lotus corniculátus L.) em leito fixo com escoamento de ar paralelo.

SIEPE