Structural translation with synchronous tree adjoining grammars in VERBMOBIL

The VERBMOBIL project is developing a translation system that can assist a face-to-face dialogue between two non-native english speakers. Instead of having continiously speak english, the dialogue partners have the option to switch to their respective mother tongues (currently german or japanese) in cases where they can\u27t find the required word, phrase or sentence. In such situations, the users activate VERBMOBIL to translate their utterances into english. A very important requirement for such a system is realtime processing. Realtime processing is essentially necessary, if such a system is to be smoothly integrated into an ongoing communication. This can be achieved by the use of anytime processing, which always provides a result. The quality of the result however, depends on the computation time given to the system. Early interruptions can only produce shallow results. Aiming at such a processing mode, methods for fast but preliminary translation must be integrated into the system assisted by others that refine these results. In this case we suggest structural translation with Synchronous Tree Adjoining Grammars (S-TAGs), which can serve as a fast and shallow realisation of all steps necessary during translation, i.e. analysis, transfer and generation, in a system capable of running anytime methods. This mode is especially adequate for standardized speech acts and simple sentences. Furthermore, it provides a result for early interruptions of the translation process. By building an explicit linguistic structure, methods for refining the result can rearrange the structure in order to increase the quality of the translation given extended execution time. This paper describes the formalism of S-TAGs and the parsing algorithm implemented in VERBMOBIL. Furthermore the language covered by the german grammar is described. Finally we list examples together with the execution time required for their processing

Tree adjoining grammars mit Unifikation

Tree Adjoining Grammars (TAGs) - as used in the parsing algorithm of Harbusch - can be improved with respect to compactness and transparency for the task of grammar design. We have combined the two formalisms Tree Adjoining Grammar and Unification in order to benefit from their respective advantages. Our approach is contrasted with the approach of Vijay-Shanker

Interdisciplinary approaches to a connected landscape: upland survey in the Northern Ochils

The key to understanding a landscape is through its connections, which tie together people and environment within and beyond that landscape and across many different periods. This is particularly true of the northern face of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland, which is characterised by dense networks of connections between lowlands and uplands, local and regional. To trace those connections we integrate the results of walkover survey, aerial archaeology, excavations, documentary analysis and place name analysis, revealing significant continuities and differences in the networks and relationships that have connected this landscape across time and space. Iron Age hillforts used their prominence and monumentality to guide people along very specific routes across the Ochils. Regular seasonal movements of cattle and herders in the medieval and post-medieval periods were closely related to the agriculture and settlement they encountered on the way: this interaction can be clearly seen in the elaborate intertwining of paths, braided cattle tracks, farmsteads and enclosures, most strikingly in the 18th century. Such intricate connections across the landscape are equally keyed in to the specifics of particular locations and to much broader networks and historical change

Interferon-β Suppresses Transcriptionally Active Parvovirus B19 Infection in Viral Cardiomyopathy: A Subgroup Analysis of the BICC-Trial

Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) is the predominant virus currently detected in endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs). Recent findings indicate that, specifically, transcriptionally active B19V with detectable viral RNA is of prognostic relevance in inflammatory viral cardiomyopathy. We aimed to evaluate B19V replicative status (viral RNA) and beneficial effects in a sub-collective of the prospective randomized placebo-controlled phase II multi-center BICC-Trial (Betaferon In Chronic Viral Cardiomyopathy) after interferon beta-1b (IFN-β) treatment. EMBs of n = 64 patients with B19V mono-infected tissue were retrospectively analyzed. Viral RNA could be detected in n = 18/64 (28.1%) of B19V DNA positive samples (mean age 51.7 years, 12 male), of whom n = 13 had been treated with IFN-ß. Five patients had received placebo. PCR analysis confirmed in follow-up that EMBs significantly reduced viral RNA loads in n = 11/13 (84.6%) of IFN-ß treated patients (p = 0.001), independently from the IFN-ß dose, in contrast to the placebo group, where viral RNA load was not affected or even increased. Consequently, a significant improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after treatment with IFN-ß was observed (LVEF mean baseline 51.6 ± 14.1% vs. follow-up 61.0 ± 17.5%, p = 0.03). In contrast, in the placebo group, worsening of LVEF was evaluated in n = 4/5 (80.0%) of patients. We could show for the first-time the beneficial effects from treatment with IFN-ß, suppressing B19V viral RNA and improving the hemodynamic course. Our results need further verification in a larger prospective randomized controlled trial.Peer Reviewe

Bestimmung der Effizienz bei kommunalen Dienstleistern - Ein Beitrag zur kommunalen Effizienzforschung am Beispiel von Kindertagesstätten

Ziel des Beitrags ist die Untersuchung der Effizienz kommunaler Dienstleistungen am Beispiel Mecklenburg- Vorpommerns. Er illustriert ein wissenschaftlich- exemplarisches Vorgehen in einem typischen Aufgabenfeld der Gemeinden, dem Produktbereich Kindertagesstätte. Auf Basis einer empirischen Untersuchung wird anhand der Data-Envelopment-Analysis die Effizienz der Gemeinden berechnet. Um den Besonderheiten der Gemeinden in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern Rechnung zu tragen, werden Vergleichsgruppen mittels einer Clusteranalyse gebildet. Der gewählte Ansatz zur Effizienzbeurteilung wird durch die Qualität der angebotenen Dienstleistung interpretiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass erhebliche Einsparpotentiale auf Seiten der Gemeinden im Produktbereich Kindertagesstätte existieren. Diese Einsparpotentiale können einerseits durch die Minimierung der eingesetzten Ressourcen als auch durch die Veränderung der Kita-Größe erreicht werden.The objective of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of municipal services in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For the illustration of a scientific exemplary approach, we use the municipal service of daycare centers as an instance. In an empirical analysis, we calculate the municipal efficiency based on the Data-Envelopment-Analysis. Beforehand, it is necessary to cluster the heterogeneous communities of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Furthermore, we present a method to consider service quality in the efficiency analysis. Our findings show that municipalities have an enormous money-saving potential concerning day-care centers. Money-savings can be achieved by reducing the input resources or by changing the capacity of a day-care center

Adiponectin protects against Toll-like receptor 4-mediated cardiac inflammation and injury

Aims Adiponectin (APN) is an immunomodulatory and cardioprotective adipocytokine. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 mediates autoimmune reactions that cause myocarditis resulting in inflammation-induced cardiac injury. Here, we investigated whether APN inhibits inflammation and injury in autoimmune myocarditis by interfering with TLR4 signalling. Methods and results APN overexpression in murine experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) down-regulated cardiac expression of TLR4 and its downstream targets tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, CC chemokine ligand (CCL)2, and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 resulting in reduced infiltration with cluster of differentiation (CD)3+, CD14+, and CD45+ immune cells as well as diminished myocardial apoptosis. Expression of TLR4 signalling pathway components was unchanged in hearts and spleens of APN-knockout (APN-KO) mice. In vitro APN had no effect on TLR4 expression in cardiac and immune cells but induced dissociation of APN receptors from the activated TLR4/CD14 signalling complex. APN inhibited the expression of a TLR4-mediated inflammatory phenotype induced by exogenous and endogenous TLR4 ligands as assessed by attenuated nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation and reduced expression of TNFα, IL-6, CCL2, and ICAM-1. Accordingly, following TLR4 ligation, splenocytes from APN-KO mice showed enhanced expression of TNFα, IL-6, IL-12, CCL2, and ICAM-1, whereas dendritic cells (DCs) from APN-KO mice demonstrated increased activation and T-cell priming capacity. Moreover, APN diminished TLR4-mediated splenocyte migration towards cardiac cells as well as cardiomyocyte apoptosis after co-cultivation with splenocytes. Mechanistically, APN inhibited TLR4 signalling through cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, protein kinase A (PKA), and meiosis-specific serine/threonine kinase (MEK)1. Conclusion Our observations indicate that APN protects against inflammation and injury in autoimmune myocarditis by diminishing TLR4 signalling thereby attenuating inflammatory activation and interaction of cardiac and immune cell

Accessing a Large Multimodal Corpus Using an Automatic Content Linking Device

As multimodal data becomes easier to record and store, the question arises as to what practical use can be made of archived corpora, and in particular what tools allowing efficient access to it can be built. We use the AMI Meeting Corpus as a case study to build an automatic content linking device, i.e. a system for real-time data retrieval. The corpus provides not only the data repository, but is used also to simulate ongoing meetings for development and testing of the device. The main features of the corpus are briefly described, followed by an outline of data preparation steps prior to indexing, and of the methods for building queries from ongoing meeting discussions, retrieving elements from the corpus and accessing the results. A series of user studies based on prototypes of the content linking device have confirmed the relevance of the concept, and methods for task-based evaluation are under development

Adiponectin expression in patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy indicates favourable outcome and inflammation control

Aims Circulating adiponectin (APN) is an immunomodulatory, pro-angiogenic, and anti-apoptotic adipocytokine protecting against acute viral heart disease and preventing pathological remodelling after cardiac injury. The purpose of this study was to describe the regulation and effects of APN in patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy (DCMi). Methods and results Adiponectin expression and outcome were assessed in 173 patients with DCMi, 30 patients with non-inflammatory DCM, and 30 controls. Mechanistic background of these findings was addressed in murine experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM), a model of human DCMi, and further elucidated in vitro. Adiponectin plasma concentrations were significantly higher in DCMi compared with DCM or controls, i.e. 6.8 ± 3.9 µg/mL vs. 5.4 ± 3.6 vs. 4.76 ± 2.5 µg/mL (P< 0.05, respectively) and correlated significantly with cardiac mononuclear infiltrates (CD3+: r2= 0.025, P= 0.038; CD45R0+: r2= 0.058, P= 0.018). At follow-up, DCMi patients with high APN levels showed significantly increased left ventricular ejection fraction improvement, decreased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and reduced cardiac inflammatory infiltrates compared with patients with low APN levels. A multivariate linear regression analysis implicated APN as an independent prognostic factor for inhibition of cardiac inflammation. In accordance with these findings in human DCMi, EAM mice exhibited elevated plasma APN. Adiponectin gene transfer led to significant downregulation of key inflammatory mediators promoting disease. Mechanistically, APN acted as a negative regulator of T cells by reducing antigen specific expansion (P< 0.01) and suppressed TNFα-mediated NFκB activation (P< 0.01) as well as release of reactive oxygen species in cardiomyocytes. Conclusion Our results implicate that APN acts as endogenously upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokine confining cardiac inflammation and progression in DCM