Psycholinguistic Correlates of Symbol Grounding in Dictionaries

A dictionary can be represented as a directed graph with links from defining to defined words. The minimal feedback vertex sets (MinSets, Ms) of a dictionary graph are the smallest sets of words from which all the rest can be defined. We computed Ms for four English dictionaries. The words in the dictionary components revealed by our graph-theoretic analysis differ in their psycholinguistic correlates. Every MinSet has a C-part that is younger and more frequent and an S-part, that is more concrete. To understand the functional role of these components will require a close study of the words themselves, and how they are combined into definitions. We can already conclude that the closer a word is to the MinSets that can define all other words, the more concrete and frequent the word is likely to be, and the earlier it is likely to have been learned. This is what one would expect if the words in the MinSets were the ones that had been acquired through direct sensorimotor grounding

NetSim : un logiciel de modélisation et de simulation de réseaux d'information

Les réseaux électroniques basés sur Internet ont beaucoup accéléré la circulation de l'information dans notre société moderne, mais on commence à voir que les échanges d'information s'effectuent d'abord dans le cadre de réseaux sociaux. Le Web comporte également une structure en réseau, mais celle-ci est assez particulière. Ces différents types de réseaux d'information montrent à la fois des caractéristiques communes et des spécificités dont il convient de tenir compte. Pour des raisons à la fois techniques, sociales et économiques, il est donc utile de chercher à modéliser les réseaux par lesquels circulent information et connaissances. En nous inspirant des acquis importants en sociologie structurale et en analyse mathématique de réseaux, nous avons développé une approche de modélisation des réseaux par simulation. Nous avons tout d'abord développé un langage de modélisation qui se veut le plus flexible possible tout en demeurant simple et abordable pour des utilisateurs variés. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes inspirés de modèles existants de la littérature et avons tenté d'en abstraire les concepts essentiels que devrait offrir un tel langage. Ensuite, nous avons réalisé NetSim, une plate-forme paramétrable de génération de réseaux capable d'interpréter ce langage et permettant de tester diverses hypothèses sur la structure des réseaux que l'on peut observer empiriquement. Cet outil offre aussi des fonctionnalités de visualisation, sous forme de graphe, de l'évolution du réseau dans le temps. Finalement, nous avons obtenu des résultats plutôt convaincants quant à l'utilisation de notre logiciel pour modéliser et simuler divers types de modèles de l'évolution temporelle de la structure des réseaux. Les phénomènes observés par simulation s'apparentent effectivement à certains faits observés dans la réalité. Ce logiciel pourra servir d'outil de recherche, d'expérimentation, de visualisation et de formation dans un domaine en plein développement.\ud ______________________________________________________________________________ \ud MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Réseaux d'information, réseaux sociaux, modélisation, simulation

Hidden Structure and Function in the Lexicon

How many words are needed to define all the words in a dictionary? Graph-theoretic analysis reveals that about 10% of a dictionary is a unique Kernel of words that define one another and all the rest, but this is not the smallest such subset. The Kernel consists of one huge strongly connected component (SCC), about half its size, the Core, surrounded by many small SCCs, the Satellites. Core words can define one another but not the rest of the dictionary. The Kernel also contains many overlapping Minimal Grounding Sets (MGSs), each about the same size as the Core, each part-Core, part-Satellite. MGS words can define all the rest of the dictionary. They are learned earlier, more concrete and more frequent than the rest of the dictionary. Satellite words, not correlated with age or frequency, are less concrete (more abstract) words that are also needed for full lexical power.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

The Latent Structure of Dictionaries

How many words (and which ones) are sufficient to define all other words? When dictionaries are analyzed as directed graphs with links from defining words to defined words, they reveal a latent structure. Recursively removing all words that are reachable by definition but that do not define any further words reduces the dictionary to a Kernel of about 10%. This is still not the smallest number of words that can define all the rest. About 75% of the Kernel turns out to be its Core, a Strongly Connected Subset of words with a definitional path to and from any pair of its words and no word’s definition depending on a word outside the set. But the Core cannot define all the rest of the dictionary. The 25% of the Kernel surrounding the Core consists of small strongly connected subsets of words: the Satellites. The size of the smallest set of words that can define all the rest (the graph’s Minimum Feedback Vertex Set or MinSet) is about 1% of the dictionary, 15% of the Kernel, and half-Core, half-Satellite. But every dictionary has a huge number of MinSets. The Core words are learned earlier, more frequent, and less concrete than the Satellites, which in turn are learned earlier and more frequent but more concrete than the rest of the Dictionary. In principle, only one MinSet’s words would need to be grounded through the sensorimotor capacity to recognize and categorize their referents. In a dual-code sensorimotor-symbolic model of the mental lexicon, the symbolic code could do all the rest via re-combinatory definition

Modeling biomedical experimental processes with OBI

BACKGROUND: Experimental descriptions are typically stored as free text without using standardized terminology, creating challenges in comparison, reproduction and analysis. These difficulties impose limitations on data exchange and information retrieval. RESULTS: The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI), developed as a global, cross-community effort, provides a resource that represents biomedical investigations in an explicit and integrative framework. Here we detail three real-world applications of OBI, provide detailed modeling information and explain how to use OBI. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate how OBI can be applied to different biomedical investigations to both facilitate interpretation of the experimental process and increase the computational processing and integration within the Semantic Web. The logical definitions of the entities involved allow computers to unambiguously understand and integrate different biological experimental processes and their relevant components. AVAILABILITY: OBI is available at http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi/2009-11-02/obi.ow

Contributions and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples to the study of mercury in the Arctic

Arctic Indigenous Peoples are among the most exposed humans when it comes to foodborne mercury (Hg). In response, Hg monitoring and research have been on-going in the circumpolar Arctic since about 1991; this work has been mainly possible through the involvement of Arctic Indigenous Peoples. The present overview was initially conducted in the context of a broader assessment of Hg research organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. This article provides examples of Indigenous Peoples' contributions to Hg monitoring and research in the Arctic, and discusses approaches that could be used, and improved upon, when carrying out future activities. Over 40 mercury projects conducted with/by Indigenous Peoples are identified for different circumpolar regions including the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Sweden, Finland, and Russia as well as instances where Indigenous Knowledge contributed to the understanding of Hg contamination in the Arctic. Perspectives and visions of future Hg research as well as recommendations are presented. The establishment of collaborative processes and partnership/co-production approaches with scientists and Indigenous Peoples, using good communication practices and transparency in research activities, are key to the success of research and monitoring activities in the Arctic. Sustainable funding for community-driven monitoring and research programs in Arctic countries would be beneficial and assist in developing more research/ monitoring capacity and would promote a more holistic approach to understanding Hg in the Arctic. These activities should be well connected to circumpolar/international initiatives to ensure broader availability of the information and uptake in policy development

Importance of proximity to resources, social support, transportation and neighborhood security for mobility and social participation in older adults: results from a scoping study

ABSTRACT: Background: Since mobility and social participation are key determinants of health and quality of life, it is important to identify factors associated with them. Although several investigations have been conducted on the neighborhood environment, mobility and social participation, there is no clear integration of the results. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding regarding how the neighborhood environment is associated with mobility and social participation in older adults.Methods: A rigorous methodological scoping study framework was used to search nine databases from different fields with fifty-one keywords. Data were exhaustively analyzed, organized and synthesized according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) by two research assistants following PRISMA guidelines, and results were validated with knowledge users.Results: The majority of the 50 selected articles report results of cross-sectional studies (29; 58 %), mainly conducted in the US (24; 48 %) or Canada (15; 30 %). Studies mostly focused on neighborhood environment associations with mobility (39; 78 %), social participation (19; 38 %), and occasionally both (11; 22 %). Neighborhood attributes considered were mainly 'Pro ducts and technology' (43; 86) and 'Services, systems and policies' (37; 74 %), but also 'Natural and human- made changes' (27; 54 %) and 'Support and relationships' (21; 42 %). Mobility and social participation were both positively associated with Proximity to resources and recreational facilities, Social support, Having a car or driver's license, Public transportation and Neighborhood security, and negatively associated with Poor user-friendliness of the walking environment and Neighborhood insecurity. Attributes of the neighborhood environment not covered by previous research on mobility and social participation mainly concerned 'Attitudes', and 'Services, systems and policies'.Conclusion: Results from this comprehensive synthesis of empirical studies on associations of the neighborhood environment with mobility and social participation will ultimately support best practices, decisions and the development of innovative inclusive public health interventions including clear guidelines for the creation of age-supportive environments. To foster mobility and social participation, these interventions must consider Proximity to resources and to recreational facilities, Social support, Transportation, Neighborhood security and User-friendliness of the walking environment. Future studies should include both mobility and social participation, and investigate how they are associated with 'Attitudes', and 'Services, systems and policies' in older adults, including disadvantaged older adults

The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations

The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI) is an ontology that provides terms with precisely defined meanings to describe all aspects of how investigations in the biological and medical domains are conducted. OBI re-uses ontologies that provide a representation of biomedical knowledge from the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) project and adds the ability to describe how this knowledge was derived. We here describe the state of OBI and several applications that are using it, such as adding semantic expressivity to existing databases, building data entry forms, and enabling interoperability between knowledge resources. OBI covers all phases of the investigation process, such as planning, execution and reporting. It represents information and material entities that participate in these processes, as well as roles and functions. Prior to OBI, it was not possible to use a single internally consistent resource that could be applied to multiple types of experiments for these applications. OBI has made this possible by creating terms for entities involved in biological and medical investigations and by importing parts of other biomedical ontologies such as GO, Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) and Phenotype Attribute and Trait Ontology (PATO) without altering their meaning. OBI is being used in a wide range of projects covering genomics, multi-omics, immunology, and catalogs of services. OBI has also spawned other ontologies (Information Artifact Ontology) and methods for importing parts of ontologies (Minimum information to reference an external ontology term (MIREOT)). The OBI project is an open cross-disciplinary collaborative effort, encompassing multiple research communities from around the globe. To date, OBI has created 2366 classes and 40 relations along with textual and formal definitions. The OBI Consortium maintains a web resource (http://obi-ontology.org) providing details on the people, policies, and issues being addressed in association with OBI. The current release of OBI is available at http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi.owl

Conception d’une base de données de recherche sur des cas de variations d’oeuvres d’art

À l’aide de tableaux, de figures, de diagrammes ainsi que d’exemples précis, Mélanie Lord, en collaboration avec Anne Bénichou, Francine Couture, Alain Depocas, Richard Gagnier, Justine Lebeau et Véronique Rodriguez, expose les grandes étapes d’analyse et de conception ainsi que le fonctionnement d’une base de données. Réalisé spécifiquement afin de colliger les données recueillies dans le cadre d’une étude portant sur les oeuvres variables, cet outil de travail — tel que démontré dans cet article — a également eu des répercussions sur le travail du groupe, en les obligeant à adopter une typologie commune, et en forçant tous les membres de l’équipe à préciser les critères de leur recherche