Can training neural language models on a curriculum with developmentally plausible data improve alignment with human reading behavior?

The use of neural language models to model human behavior has met with mixed success. While some work has found that the surprisal estimates from these models can be used to predict a wide range of human neural and behavioral responses, other work studying more complex syntactic phenomena has found that these surprisal estimates generate incorrect behavioral predictions. This paper explores the extent to which the misalignment between empirical and model-predicted behavior can be minimized by training models on more developmentally plausible data, such as in the BabyLM Challenge. We trained teacher language models on the BabyLM "strict-small" dataset and used sentence level surprisal estimates from these teacher models to create a curriculum. We found tentative evidence that our curriculum made it easier for models to acquire linguistic knowledge from the training data: on the subset of tasks in the BabyLM challenge suite evaluating models' grammatical knowledge of English, models first trained on the BabyLM data curriculum and then on a few randomly ordered training epochs performed slightly better than models trained on randomly ordered epochs alone. This improved linguistic knowledge acquisition did not result in better alignment with human reading behavior, however: models trained on the BabyLM dataset (with or without a curriculum) generated predictions that were as misaligned with human behavior as models trained on larger less curated datasets. This suggests that training on developmentally plausible datasets alone is likely insufficient to generate language models capable of accurately predicting human language processing.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of BabyLM shared task CoNLL 202

Внутрішньокишковий тиск при реконструктивно-відновних операціях у стомованих хворих

The aim of the work: to improve treatment outcomes in patients with surgical pathology of the colon by working-out and implementing pathogeneticly grounded treatment algorithm and anastomosis creation technology, aimed at reducing the frequency of postoperative      complications. Materials and Methods. The intracolonic pressure (ICP) was measured in the postoperative period in a group of 30 patients. During the operation, except transanal drainage, which was located higher from anastomosis by 5–10 cm, was inserted a tube with diameter of 0.5 cm., which end was located at large intestine anastomosis (LIA). Pressure measurement was performed by Waldman method within 72 hours after the operation, every 4 hours. There were performed 2 measurements – before and after lavage of transanal drainage. During performing reconstructive operation worked-out LIA technique  was performed 17 times, two-row suture manual LIA – 3, machine LIA -10.  Results and Discussion. It was found that in the postoperative period the ICP  was increasing during the first 24–36 hours to an average of (5.3±0.1) mm Hg, with a further reduction of it’s level over the next 12–20 hours to (2.1±0.3) mm Hg. In 20 minutes after the lavage of transanal drainage the ICP reduced by an average of (3.0±1.3) mm Hg. This decreasing was detained for 3–5 hours, then was noticed a gradual increasing of ICP. In case of using traditional two-row suture anastomosis in 2 patients was noticed complicated postoperative period – the anastomotic leakage in one patient, the second had anastomositis. Worked-out LIA technique was used in 17 patients, machine LIA – in 10 patients, while anastomositis developed in 1 patient. It was found that  in all patients with disorders of suture wound healing  was marked the increasing of ICP after 16–60 hours to (11.4±0.2) mm Hg, with a peak of ICP (16.3–17.1) mm Hg. This dynamic of pressure was observed until the development of intestinal suture failure (anastomotic leakage), with a reduction of ICP after it. In patients with anastomositis such a reduction of ICP wasn’t noticed. It had importance not only the increasing the level of pressure 16.3–17.1 mm Hg, but it’s duration for 12–18 hours.Цель работы: улучшение результатов лечения больных с хирургической патологией ободочной кишки путем разработки и внедрения патогенетически обоснованного алгоритма лечения и техники создания анастомоза, направленного на снижение частоты послеоперационных осложнений. Материалы и методы. В группе из 30 пациентов измеряли внутрикишечное давление (ВКД) в послеоперационном периоде. Во время операции, кроме трансанального дренажа, который заводили выше анастомоза на 5–10 см, проводили трубку диаметром 0,5 см, конец которой устанавливали на уровне толстокишечного анастомоза (ТКА). Измерение давления проводили методом Вальдмана в течение 72 ч с момента операции, каждые 4 часа. Выполняли 2 измерения – до и после промывания трансанального дренажа. При выполнении восстановительного вмешательства ТКА по разработанной методике выполнили – у 17, ручной двухрядный ТКА – 3, аппаратный ТКА – 10 пациентов. Результаты исследований и их обсуждение. Установлено, что в послеоперационном периоде в ободочной кишке отмечается рост ВКД в течение первых 24–36 ч в среднем до (5,3 ± 0,1) мм рт. ст., с последующим снижением его в течение следующих 12–20 ч. до (2,1 ± 0,3) мм рт. ст. Через 20 мин после промывания трансанального дренажа уровень ВКД снижается в среднем на (3,0 ± 1,3) мм рт. ст. Это снижение удерживалось в течение 3–5 ч, после чего отмечено постепенное увеличение ВКД. При применении традиционного двухрядного анастомоза у 2 больных отмечено несостоятельность ТКА у 1 пациента, у второго – анастомозит. ТКА разработанным способом выполнено 17 больным, аппаратный ТКА применили у 10 больных, при этом анастомозит развился у одного пациента. Осложнения наблюдали преимущественно при применении ручного традиционного шва (10 %). У всех больных с развитыми нарушениями заживления кишечного отмечается повышение ВКД через 16–60 ч до (11,4 ± 0,2) мм рт. ст., с пиком уровня ВКД 16,3-17,1 мм рт. ст., что наблюдалась вплоть до развития несостоятельности анастомоза, с последующим резким снижением ВКД. При анастомозите подобного снижения ВКД не было. Имело значение не только устойчивое повышение ВКД с критическим уровнем до 16,3–17,1 мм рт. ст., но и продолжительность воздействия его в течение 12–18 ч.Мета роботи: покращення результатів лікування хворих із хірургічною патологією ободової кишки шляхом розпрацювання і впровадження патогенетично обґрунтованого алгоритму лікування та техніки створення анастомозу, спрямованого на зниження частоти післяопераційних ускладнень. Матеріали і методи. В групі з 30 пацієнтів вимірювали внутрішньокишковий тиск (ВКТ) у післяопераційному періоді. Під час операції, крім трансанального дренажу, який заводили вище анастомозу на 5–10 см, проводили трубку діаметром 0,5 см, кінець якої встановлювали на рівні товстокишкового анастомозу (ТКА). Вимірювання тиску проводили методом Вальдмана протягом 72 год із моменту операції, кожні 4 години. При цьому виконували 2 вимірювання – до і після промивання трансанального дренажу. При виконанні відновного втручання ТКА за розробленою методикою виконали – 17, ручний дворядний ТКА – 3, апаратний ТКА – 10 хворим. Результати досліджень та їх обговорення. Встановлено, що в післяопераційному періоді в ободовій кишці спостерігається зростання ВКТ (Р) протягом перших 24–36 год (t) в середньому до (5,3 ± 0,1) мм рт. ст., з подальшим зниженням цього рівня протягом наступних 12–20 год до (2,1 ± 0,3) мм рт. ст. Через 20 хв після промивання трансанального дренажу і відходження “промивних вод” рівень ВКТ знижується в середньому на (3,0 ± 1,3) мм рт. ст. Це зниження утримувалося протягом 3–5 год, після чого відбулося поступове зростання рівня ВКТ. При застосуванні традиційного дворядного анастомозу у 2 хворих відмічено в одному спостереженні неспроможність ТКА, у другому – анастомозит. ТКА розробленим способом виконано 17 хворим, апаратний ТКА – 10 хворим, анастомозит розвинувся в одного пацієнта. Ускладнення траплялися переважно при застосуванні ручного традиційного шва (10 %). У всіх хворих з розвиненими порушеннями загоєння анастомозу спостерігається підвищення ВКТ через 16–60 год до (11,4 ± 0,2) мм рт. ст., з піком близько (16,3–17,1) мм рт. ст., що спостерігалось аж до розвитку неспроможності анастомозу, з наступним різким зниженням ВКТ. При анастомозиті подібного зниження ВКТ не було. Мало значення не тільки стійке підвищення ВКТ з критичним рівнем до 16,3–17,1 мм рт. ст., а й тривалість впливу його протягом 12–18 год

Pathogenesis of failure in the anastomosis integrity and a prophylactic program in surgical treatment of the colon diseases.

Objective. To establish the impact of intraintestinal pressure on the intestinal anastomosis integrity and to propose a prophylactic measures of its insufficiency in surgical treatment of the colon diseases. Materials and methods. Intraintestinal pressure was measured in 30 patients, using Waldman method during 72 h postoperatively - before and after the transanal lavage (every 4 h). Primary operation - resection of sigmoid colon with formation of a one-barrel colostomy. The restoration intervention was performed in 3 mo with formation of a large-bowel anastomosis in accordance to the method elaborated (n=17), hand-made two-layered large-bowel anastomosis (n=3), and the apparatus large-bowel anastomosis (n=10). Results. There was noted the intraintestinal pressure raising during first 24 - 36 h up to (5.3 ± 0.1) mm Hg with its further lowering during 12 - 20 h down to (2.1 ± 0.3) mm Hg. In 20 min after the transanal drain lavage the intraintestinal pressure have lowered by (3.0 ± 1.3) mm Hg, and in 3 - 5 h - gradually raised. While application of a hand-made two-layered large-bowel anastomosis its insufficiency was observed (n=1) and anastomositis (n=1); and in the apparatus large-bowel anastomosis formation - anastomositis (n=1). While disorder of the intestinal suture healing the intraintestinal pressure have raised in 16 - 60 h up to (11.4 ± 0.2) mm Hg with peak at (16.3 - 17.1) mm Hg, which persisted 12 -18 h. Prophylactic measures were directed towards lowering of intraintestinal pressure and elimination of unfavorable local and general factors. Conclusion. While persisting noncorrected, the intraintestinal pressure in the 16.3 - 17.1 mm Hg borders during 12 - 18 h leads to complicated course of postoperative period. Direct and nondirect methods of decompression of the interintestinal anastomoses constitutes a basic prophylactic principle for it

Tracking of real and complex sinusoids using piloted adaptive notch filter

In digital signal processing, frequency estimation and tracking of sinusoids in noise using adaptive notch filter is an important area of research to solve problems in radar, communications, biomedical and other related areas. This filter is popularly implemented using the least mean square (LMS) algorithm in which the notch frequency is updated iteratively using either a fixed or an adaptive step-size to eventually converge to the frequency of the input signal. A large step-size will increase the rate of convergence but will result in larger misadjustment, while a small step-size will decrease the rate of convergence but will yield smaller misadjustment. So, in view of this trade-off, a variable step-size LMS algorithm is preferred over a fixed step-size LMS algorithm. Conventional variable step-size algorithms determine the step-size based on time-domain averaging of the gradient estimate at each sampling instance. The piloted adaptive notch filter (PANF) is a new concept in adaptive filtering which determines the step-size value based on the estimated distance between the main notch frequency and the input frequency with the help of pilot notches. A steady-state performance comparison of the PANF with conventional adaptive notch filters is conducted to verify the excellent performance exhibited by the PANF over other algorithms. Hence, this thesis aims at investigating the concept of PANF, originally proposed to estimate and track real sinusoid, to further enhance its performance and to extend the concept of pilot notches for signals in complex domain. A new steering direction determination mechanism, using a time-domain averaging based gradient analysis of the piloted notch cost function at several frequency points at the same sampling instant, is proposed to determine the direction of the main notch with respect to the input sinusoid frequency. This frequency domain information is then combined with time domain information to develop an algorithm for the determination of variable step-sizes for improved speed of convergence with significant reduction in steady-state mean square error (MSE). An improved PANF with a variable pole radius mechanism is introduced. This scheme significantly reduces the transient effect and improves the steering direction determination mechanism of the notch filter. Computer simulations demonstrate the excellent performance of the variable pole radius PANF (VP-PANF) to significantly outperform the PANF with respect to the speed of convergence and steady-state MSE. Aforementioned work leads to the development of a generalized formulation for multiple pilot-pairs adaptive notch filter (MPPANF) structure with the introduction of more number of pilots, variable pole radius mechanism, and improved steering direction determination. The transition from a very large step-size value to a very small step-size value is achieved in one or more intermediate step-size values. This reduces the probability that the main notch overshoots the optimum with large step-size producing large output error when it is close to the input frequency. Simulation results are presented to verify the excellent performance exhibited by the MPPANF and variable pole radius MPPANF (VP-MPPANF) over single-pair PANF with respect to the speed of convergence and steady-state MSE. A detailed theoretical analysis of the proposed adaptive notch filter and mathematical formulation for the determination of the probability of obtaining a correct steering direction along with the effect of input SNR, notch bandwidth and notch frequency on probability of obtaining a correct steering direction is presented. We formulate a complex piloted adaptive notch filter (CPANF) to estimate and track the frequency of complex sinusoidal signal. A novel complex coefficient filter structure with a main notch and pilot notches to track the frequency of the input complex sinusoid with a variable step-size least mean squares (LMS) based algorithm is presented. Simulation results verify the excellent performance exhibited by the CPANF over conventional complex adaptive notch filter (CANF) with respect to the speed of convergence and steady-state MSE. Theoretical analysis is also presented which closely follows the simulation results. Finally, the filter is implemented to suppress complex sinusoidal interference in a QPSK spread spectrum communication systems which shows improvement over conventional CANF in overall bit error rate (BER). This research leads to a detailed understanding and development of piloted adaptive notch filter to estimate and track both real and complex sinusoid.Doctor of Philosophy (EEE

A Piloted Notch Time-Frequency Information Based Variable Step-Size Algorithm

In this paper, we have proposed a new steering direction determination mechanism and step-size update algorithm for piloted adaptive notch filter architecture. A timedomain averaging based gradient analysis of the piloted notch cost function has been utilized to determine the direction of the main notch with respect to the input sinusoid frequency. The steering direction will indicate the distance between the frequency of the input sinusoid and the zero of the main notch. This frequency domain information has been interleaved with time domain information to develop a novel algorithm for determination of variable step-sizes for improved speed of convergence with comparatively huge reduction in steady-state mean square error (MSE). The simulation results verifies the excellent performance exhibited by our proposed steering mechanism and the step-size update algorithm over original piloted adaptive notch filter with respect to the speed of convergence and MSE.Accepted versio

Possibilities of producing microcrystalline waxes from Gujarat refinery crude oil tank sludges

Micro-crystalline waxes have been separated from Gujarat Refinery crude oil t~nk sludges. The waxes obtained are hard, brittle and of high melting point (91-93°C). These are quite comparable in characteristics to various commercially available waxes marketed all over the. world