The risk of transmission of a viral haemorrhagic fever infection in a United Kingdom laboratory

No abstract available

Eesti keele ühendverbide automaattuvastus lingvistiliste ja statistiliste meetoditega

Tänapäeval on inimkeeli (kaasa arvatud eesti keelt) töötlevad tehnoloogiaseadmed igapäevaelu osa, kuid arvutite „keeleoskus“ pole kaugeltki täiuslik. Keele automaattöötluse kõige rohkem kasutust leidev rakendus on ilmselt masintõlge. Ikka ja jälle jagatakse sotsiaalmeedias, kuidas tuntud süsteemid (näiteks Google Translate) midagi valesti tõlgivad. Enamasti tekitavad absurdse olukorra mitmest sõnast koosnevad fraasid või laused. Näiteks ei suuda tõlkesüsteemid tabada lauses „Ta läks lepinguga alt“ ühendi alt minema tähendust petta saama, sest õige tähenduse edastamiseks ei saa selle ühendi komponente sõna-sõnalt tõlkida ja seetõttu satubki arvuti hätta. Selleks et nii masintõlkesüsteemide kui ka teiste kasulike rakenduste nagu libauudiste tuvastuse või küsimus-vastus süsteemide kvaliteet paraneks, on oluline, et arvuti oskaks tuvastada mitmesõnalisi üksuseid ja nende eri tähendusi, mida inimesed konteksti põhjal üpriski lihtalt teha suudavad. Püsiühendite (tähenduse) automaattuvastus on oluline kõikides keeltes ja on seetõttu pälvinud arvutilingvistikas rohkelt tähelepanu. Seega on eriti inglise keele põhjal välja pakutud terve hulk meetodeid, mida pole siiamaani eesti keele püsiühendite tuvastamiseks rakendatud. Doktoritöös kasutataksegi masinõppe meetodeid, mis on teiste keelte püsiühendite tuvastamisel edukad olnud, üht liiki eesti keele püsiühendi – ühendverbi – automaatseks tuvastamiseks. Töös demonstreeritakse suurte tekstiandmete põhjal, et seni eesti keele traditsioonilises käsitluses esitatud eesti keele ühendverbide jaotus ainukordseteks (ühendi komponentide koosesinemisel tekib uus tähendus) ja korrapärasteks (ühendi tähendus on tema komponentide summa) ei ole piisavalt põhjalik. Nimelt kinnitab töö arvutilingvistilistes uurimustes laialt levinud arusaama, et püsiühendid (k.a ühendverbid) jaotuvad skaalale, mille ühes otsas on ühendid, mille tähendus on selgelt komponentide tähenduste summa. ja teises need ühendid, mis saavad uue tähenduse. Uurimus näitab, et lisaks kontekstile aitavad arvutil tuvastada ühendverbi õiget tähendust mitmed teised tunnuseid, näiteks subjekti ja objekti elusus ja käänded. Doktoritöö raames valminud andmestikud ja vektoresitused on vajalikud uued ressursid, mis on avalikud edaspidisteks uurimusteks.Nowadays, applications that process human languages (including Estonian) are part of everyday life. However, computers are not yet able to understand every nuance of language. Machine translation is probably the most well-known application of natural language processing. Occasionally, the worst failures of machine translation systems (e.g. Google Translate) are shared on social media. Most of such cases happen when sequences longer than words are translated. For example, translation systems are not able to catch the correct meaning of the particle verb alt (‘from under’) minema (‘to go’) (‘to get deceived’) in the sentence Ta läks lepinguga alt because the literal translation of the components of the expression is not correct. In order to improve the quality of machine translation systems and other useful applications, e.g. spam detection or question answering systems, such (idiomatic) multi-word expressions and their meanings must be well detected. The detection of multi-word expressions and their meaning is important in all languages and therefore much research has been done in the field, especially in English. However, the suggested methods have not been applied to the detection of Estonian multi-word expressions before. The dissertation fills that gap and applies well-known machine learning methods to detect one type of Estonian multi-word expressions – the particle verbs. Based on large textual data, the thesis demonstrates that the traditional binary division of Estonian particle verbs to non-compositional (ainukordne, meaning is not predictable from the meaning of its components) and compositional (korrapärane, meaning is predictable from the meaning of its components) is not comprehensive enough. The research confirms the widely adopted view in computational linguistics that the multi-word expressions form a continuum between the compositional and non-compositional units. Moreover, it is shown that in addition to context, there are some linguistic features, e.g. the animacy and cases of subject and object that help computers to predict whether the meaning of a particle verb in a sentence is compositional or non-compositional. In addition, the research introduces novel resources for Estonian language – trained embeddings and created compositionality datasets are available for the future research.https://www.ester.ee/record=b5252157~S

The relationship between very premature children´s development and mothers’ emotional state compared to control group

The aim of this study is to describe the emotional state of mothers of children born very preterm compared to mothers of children born at-term and examine relations between mothers’ emotional state and cognitive, language, motor and social-emotional development in very preterm and term born children at the age of two. The impact of postnatal characteristics and demographic data on both matters were examined. Methods Participants were 151 children born very preterm (<32 gestational weeks) and 149 children term born with 130 mothers of very preterm and 148 term born children mothers. At 2 year’s age for the children, maternal current emotional state was assessed as well as how they felt after birth using the Emotional State Questionnaire (EST-Q2). Child developmental outcomes were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition (Bayley-III). Results Mothers of children born very preterm reported significantly lower scores on the EST-Q2 subscales after giving birth compared to mothers of term born children. Mothers’ emotional state was associated with prematurity and social-emotional development of children. Children’s development was mainly described by prematurity and mothers’ depression. Severity of neurodevelopmental disability is an important factor, describing approximately 44% of preterm children’s developmental outcomes and 22% in control group. Conclusion Findings highlight the need to identify and support mothers of children born very preterm with mental health problems.http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2648088~S1*es

An Imperial Image: The Bath Gorgon in Context

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X16000131ABSTRACTThis paper attempts to put the Gorgon from the pediment of the Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath into a wider provincial context, by arguing for links between the Gorgon and first- and early second-century imitations in Gaul and Spain of the iconography of the Forum of Augustus in Rome. These imitations, part of what might be called a ‘visual language of empire’, served to connect the urban spaces of the provinces to Rome; by linking the Gorgon to this trend and setting aside interpretations of the Gorgon which have focused on his perceived status as a ‘Romano-Celtic’ masterpiece, we can justify more satisfactorily his position as the centrepiece of a pediment dominated by imperial imagery.</jats:p

The Rudston mosaics

Postprin

New approaches for exploring signal crayfish invasion biology and ecological impacts in headwater streams

The global spread of invasive alien species has had severe ecological, social and economic implications, with freshwater systems proving particularly vulnerable to invasion. Freshwater crayfish are exceptionally successful invaders, and 90% of species introduced to Europe have become established in the wild. As ecosystem engineers, crayfish present a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems. However, methodological constraints have thus far limited our understanding of invasive crayfish ecology and environmental impacts. This project aims to better our understanding of the spatio-temporal ecological impact invasive crayfish have on native biota, using Bookill Gill Beck and Long Preston Beck in the Yorkshire Dales as a case study. A novel method was developed to produce quantitative data on crayfish populations along an invasion gradient from well-established sites to the invasion front, where native crayfish still persist. The method was rigorously tested to evaluate efficiency and optimal deployment time for both crayfish and benthic fish. Following proof-of-concept, the method was then used to explore the invasion ecology and ecological impacts of signal crayfish within the headwater system. Population demographics of signal crayfish were investigated along the invasion gradient over three subsequent field seasons (2018 - 2020), focussing on population density, size structure and biomass, including relationships with substrate composition. Subsequently, density- dependent impacts of signal crayfish on macroinvertebrate and fish communities were explored, comparing sites along the invasion gradient and temporal changes at individual sites over the three-year timeframe. Notable changes in macroinvertebrate community composition and severe declines of native fish were observed, with European bullhead the most affected fish species. The results of this research can be used to inform conservation and management decisions by greatly enhancing our understanding of the invasion biology and ecological impacts of invasive crayfish, whilst also offering a novel method to be used in quantitative population assessments in future research and monitoring

Reviews

Rob Phillips, The Developer's Handbook to Interactive Multimedia, London: Kogan Page, 1997. ISBN: 0–7494–2121–5.241 pages. £22.50