The isoperimetric problem for regular and crystalline norms in H1\mathbb H^1

We study the isoperimetric problem for anisotropic left-invariant perimeter measures on $\mathbb R^3$, endowed with the Heisenberg group structure. The perimeter is associated with a left-invariant norm $\phi$ on the horizontal distribution. We first prove a representation formula for the $\phi$-perimeter of regular sets and, assuming some regularity on $\phi$ and on its dual norm $\phi^*$, we deduce a foliation property by sub-Finsler geodesics of $\mathrm C^2$-smooth surfaces with constant $\phi$-curvature. We then prove that the characteristic set of $\mathrm C^2$-smooth surfaces that are locally extremal for the isoperimetric problem is made of isolated points and horizontal curves satisfying a suitable differential equation. Based on such a characterization, we characterize $\mathrm C^2$-smooth $\phi$-isoperimetric sets as the sub-Finsler analogue of Pansu's bubbles. We also show, under suitable regularity properties on $\phi$, that such sub-Finsler candidate isoperimetric sets are indeed $\mathrm C^2$-smooth. By an approximation procedure, we finally prove a conditional minimality property for the candidate solutions in the general case (including the case where $\phi$ is crystalline)

Mixed up with machine Translation: Multi-word Units Disambiguation Challenge.

With the rapid evolution of the Internet, translation has become part of the daily life of ordinary users, not only of professional translators. Machine translation has evolved along with different types of computer-assisted translation tools. Qualitative progress has been made in the field of machine translation, but not all problems have been solved. The current times are auspicious for the development of more sophisticated evaluation tools that measure the performance of specific linguistic phenomena. One problem in particular, namely the poor analysis and translation of multi-word units, is an arena where investment in linguistic knowledge systems with the goal of improving machine translation would be beneficial. This paper addresses the difficulties multi-word units present to machine translation, by comparing translations performed by systems adopting different approaches to machine translation. It proposes a solution for improving the quality of the translation of multi-word units by adopting a methodology that combines Lexicon Grammar resources with OpenLogos lexical resources and semantico-syntactic rules. Finally, it discusses how an ideal machine translation evaluation tool might look to correctly evaluate the performance of machine translation engines with regards to multi-word units and thus to contribute to the improvement of translation quality

Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Questionnaire-Nonsuicidal (SITBQ-NS): Development and validation of a revised version of the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI) for the self-assessment of nonsuicidal self-injury

Objective: Despite the fact that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has become an important issue among clinicians and researchers all over the world, in Italy there is still a lack of instruments able to assess it. The objective of this study is to develop and validate the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Questionnaire-Nonsuicidal (SITBQ-NS), a self-report measuring the whole NSSI spectrum, that is, from ideation to act. Method: SITBQ-NS was administered to 51 adult patients recruited from public mental health services together with the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI), and the Nepean Dysphoria Scale (NDS-I). Results: SITBQ-NS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α=0.983). NSSI thoughts were present in 56.9% of participants, and NSSI behaviors were present in 49% of participants. Similar NSSI functions were found among participants, except for “To end suicidal ideation,” which was more common among those having NSSI thoughts (34.1%) than those exhibiting NSSI behaviors (21.6%). There were strong positive correlations between the scores of SITBQ-NS and the scores of BHS, DSHI and NDS-I. Also, there were weak to strong positive correlations between the scores of SITBQ-NS and some MCMI-III scales. Conclusions: The SITBQ-NS shows very good psychometric properties, being a useful and easy-to-handle instrument for measuring the whole NSSI spectrum. Further research in clinical samples is neede

El Trabajo Social y los debates en torno a los proyectos profesionales

El presente trabajo recupera las reflexiones producto de la tarea de formulación del nuevo Plan de Estudios de la Carrera de Trabajo Social de la Universidad Nacional de Villa María. En esta oportunidad recuperamos algunas ideas centrales desde las cuales nos posicionamos acerca de la relación entre la producción del conocimiento y la intervención profesional de los trabajadores sociales. Dicha temática, se ha constituido en objeto de preocupación para la profesión por distintos autores y desde distintas perspectivas (Grassi, 1995; Montaño, 1998; García y Seiffer, 2005) Sin embargo, todos ellos coinciden en la relación conflictiva que existe entre la producción de conocimiento y el trabajo social. Hemos estructurado el trabajo en tres de tres momentos ligados entre si. El primero, referido a los límites y posibilidades que presenta la formación profesional. El segundo momento, buscará reflexionar sobre la relación teoría-práctica, y el lugar que tienen las mediaciones en el ámbito de las prácticas pre-profesionales. Por último, en un tercer momento, se pretende pensar la formación profesional dentro de un proyecto ético-político profesional que permitan re-pensar el perfil profesional de los trabajadores sociales y las competencias teórico-metodológicas, instrumentales-operativas y éticos-políticos que deben desarrollar.Eje 2: Debates sobre el trabajo social y las ciencias sociales: su implicancia en el contexto actual.Facultad de Trabajo Socia

El Trabajo Social y los debates en torno a los proyectos profesionales

El presente trabajo recupera las reflexiones producto de la tarea de formulación del nuevo Plan de Estudios de la Carrera de Trabajo Social de la Universidad Nacional de Villa María. En esta oportunidad recuperamos algunas ideas centrales desde las cuales nos posicionamos acerca de la relación entre la producción del conocimiento y la intervención profesional de los trabajadores sociales. Dicha temática, se ha constituido en objeto de preocupación para la profesión por distintos autores y desde distintas perspectivas (Grassi, 1995; Montaño, 1998; García y Seiffer, 2005) Sin embargo, todos ellos coinciden en la relación conflictiva que existe entre la producción de conocimiento y el trabajo social. Hemos estructurado el trabajo en tres de tres momentos ligados entre si. El primero, referido a los límites y posibilidades que presenta la formación profesional. El segundo momento, buscará reflexionar sobre la relación teoría-práctica, y el lugar que tienen las mediaciones en el ámbito de las prácticas pre-profesionales. Por último, en un tercer momento, se pretende pensar la formación profesional dentro de un proyecto ético-político profesional que permitan re-pensar el perfil profesional de los trabajadores sociales y las competencias teórico-metodológicas, instrumentales-operativas y éticos-políticos que deben desarrollar.Eje 2: Debates sobre el trabajo social y las ciencias sociales: su implicancia en el contexto actual.Facultad de Trabajo Socia

Knowledge Management and Cultural Heritage Repositories. Cross-Lingual Information Retrieval Strategies

In the last years important initiatives, like the development of the European Library and Europeana, aim to increase the availability of cultural content from various types of providers and institutions. The accessibility to these resources requires the development of environments which allow both to manage multilingual complexity and to preserve the semantic interoperability. The creation of Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications is finalized to the achievement of CrossLingual Information Retrieval (CLIR). This paper presents an ongoing research on language processing based on the LexiconGrammar (LG) approach with the goal of improving knowledge management in the Cultural Heritage repositories. The proposed framework aims to guarantee interoperability between multilingual systems in order to overcome crucial issues like cross-language and cross-collection retrieval. Indeed, the LG methodology tries to overcome the shortcomings of statistical approaches as in Google Translate or Bing by Microsoft concerning Multi-Word Unit (MWU) processing in queries, where the lack of linguistic context represents a serious obstacle to disambiguation. In particular, translations concerning specific domains, as it is has been widely recognized, is unambiguous since the meanings of terms are mono-referential and the type of relation that links a given term to its equivalent in a foreign language is biunivocal, i.e. a one-to-one coupling which causes this relation to be exclusive and reversible. Ontologies are used in CLIR and are considered by several scholars a promising research area to improve the effectiveness of Information Extraction (IE) techniques particularly for technical-domain queries. Therefore, we present a methodological framework which allows to map both the data and the metadata among the language-specific ont