10,433 research outputs found
Speech Recognition by Composition of Weighted Finite Automata
We present a general framework based on weighted finite automata and weighted
finite-state transducers for describing and implementing speech recognizers.
The framework allows us to represent uniformly the information sources and data
structures used in recognition, including context-dependent units,
pronunciation dictionaries, language models and lattices. Furthermore, general
but efficient algorithms can used for combining information sources in actual
recognizers and for optimizing their application. In particular, a single
composition algorithm is used both to combine in advance information sources
such as language models and dictionaries, and to combine acoustic observations
and information sources dynamically during recognition.Comment: 24 pages, uses psfig.st
A note on leapfrogging vortex rings
In this paper we provide examples, by numerical simulation using the Navier-Stokes equations for axisymmetric laminar flow, of the 'leapfrogging' motion of two, initially identical, vortex rings which share a common axis of symmetry. We show that the number of clear passes that each ring makes through the other increases with Reynolds number, and that as long as the configuration remains stable the two rings ultimately merge to form a single vortex ring
Power law burst and inter-burst interval distributions in the solar wind: turbulence or dissipative SOC ?
We calculate for the first time the probability density functions (PDFs) P of
burst energy e, duration T and inter-burst interval tau for a known turbulent
system in nature. Bursts in the earth-sun component of the Poynting flux at 1
AU in the solar wind were measured using the MFI and SWE experiments on the
NASA WIND spacecraft. We find P(e) and P(T) to be power laws, consistent with
self-organised criticality (SOC). We find also a power law form for P(tau) that
distinguishes this turbulent cascade from the exponential P(tau) of ideal SOC,
but not from some other SOC-like sandpile models. We discuss the implications
for the relation between SOC and turbulence.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to PRL on 25th February 2000. Revised
version re-submitted on 9th May 2000. Second revised version submitted Phys.
Rev. E on 26th June, 200
Redundant Arrays of IDE Drives
The next generation of high-energy physics experiments is expected to gather
prodigious amounts of data. New methods must be developed to handle this data
and make analysis at universities possible. We examine some techniques that use
recent developments in commodity hardware. We test redundant arrays of
integrated drive electronics (IDE) disk drives for use in offline high-energy
physics data analysis. IDE redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) prices
now equal the cost per terabyte of million-dollar tape robots! The arrays can
be scaled to sizes affordable to institutions without robots and used when fast
random access at low cost is important. We also explore three methods of moving
data between sites; internet transfers, hot pluggable IDE disks in FireWire
cases, and writable digital video disks (DVD-R).Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions On Nuclear Science, for the 2001 IEEE
Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, 8 pages, 1 figure,
uses IEEEtran.cls. Revised March 19, 2002 and published August 200
Intimate partner violence against women with disability and associated mental health concerns: a cross-sectional survey in Mumbai, India
OBJECTIVES: The risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women with disability is believed to be high. We aimed to compare the prevalence of past-year IPV against women with and without functional difficulties in urban informal settlements, to review its social determinants and to explore its association with mental health. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Fifty clusters within four informal settlements. PARTICIPANTS: 5122 women aged 18-49 years. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We used the Washington Group Short Set of Questions to assess functional difficulties. IPV in the past year was described by binary composites of questions about physical, sexual and emotional violence. We screened for symptoms of depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and of anxiety using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7. Multivariable logistic regression models examined associations between functional difficulties, IPV and mental health. RESULTS: 10% of participants who screened positive for functional disability had greater odds of experiencing physical or sexual IPV (adjusted OR (AOR) 1.68, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.29) and emotional IPV (1.52, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.00) than women who screened negative. Women who screened positive for functional disability had greater odds than women who screened negative of symptoms suggesting moderate or severe anxiety (AOR 2.50, 95% CI 1.78 to 3.49), depression (2.91, 95% CI 2.13 to 3.99) and suicidal thinking (AOR 1.94, 95% CI 1.50 to 2.50). CONCLUSIONS: The burden of IPV fell disproportionately on women with functional difficulties, who were also more likely to screen positive for common mental disorder. Public health initiatives need to respond at local and national levels to address the overlapping and mutually reinforcing determinants of violence, while existing policy needs to be better utilised to ensure protection for the most vulnerable
Characterization of colorectal mucus using infrared spectroscopy: a potential target for bowel cancer screening and diagnosis
Biological materials presenting early signs of cancer would be beneficial for cancer screening/diagnosis. In this respect, the suitability of potentially exploiting mucus in colorectal cancer was tested using infrared spectroscopy in combination with statistical modeling. Twenty-six paraffinized colon tissue biopsy sections containing mucus regions from 20 individuals (10 normal and 16 cancerous) were measured using mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging. A digital de-paraffinization, followed by cluster analysis driven digital color-coded multi-staining segmented the infrared images into various histopathological features such as epithelium, connective tissue, stroma, and mucus regions within the tissue sections. Principal component analysis followed by supervised linear discriminant analysis was carried out on pure mucus and epithelial spectra from normal and cancerous regions of the tissue. For the mucus-based classification, a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 83%, and an area under the curve performance of 95% was obtained. For the epithelial tissue-based classification, a sensitivity of 72%, a specificity of 88%, and an area under the curve performance of 89% was obtained. The mucus spectral profiles further showed contributions indicative of glycans including that of sialic acid changes between these pathology groups. The study demonstrates that infrared spectroscopic analysis of mucus discriminates colorectal cancers with high sensitivity. This concept could be exploited to develop screening/diagnostic approaches complementary to histopathology.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Publisher URL to access it via the publisher's site.WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
204909/Z/16/Z/Wellcome Trust (Wellcome)published version, accepted version (6 month embargo), submitted versio
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