Negation, Coordination, and Quantifiers in Contextualized Language Models

With the success of contextualized language models, much research explores what these models really learn and in which cases they still fail. Most of this work focuses on specific NLP tasks and on the learning outcome. Little research has attempted to decouple the models' weaknesses from specific tasks and focus on the embeddings per se and their mode of learning. In this paper, we take up this research opportunity: based on theoretical linguistic insights, we explore whether the semantic constraints of function words are learned and how the surrounding context impacts their embeddings. We create suitable datasets, provide new insights into the inner workings of LMs vis-a-vis function words and implement an assisting visual web interface for qualitative analysis

A population based study of multiple myeloma patients with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw

Žurnāla mājaslapā pie raksta norādītas RSU afiliācijas, bet Scopus datubāzē Latvijas Universitātes afiliācijas.OBJECTIVE: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a rare complication of antiresorptive or antiangiogenetic therapy that manifests as an exposed bone with clinical signs of infection, persisting for more than 8 weeks, without history of radiation therapy or metastases to the jaws. The aim of the study was to describe the incidence, risk factors, staging process and clinical course of MRONJ in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed all (126) newly diagnosed MM patients at Riga East Clinical University Hospital (Riga. Latvia) from June 2014 to June 2017. RESULTS: Among 88 MM patients treated with bisphosphonates (BP), 6 (6.8%) patients developed MRONJ. All six patients received intravenous nitrogen-containing BPs. The average time until MRONJ manifestation was under two years. For our patients the severity of MRONJ was stage I in two, stage II in three, and stage III in one patient. Five patients had MRONJ of mandibula and one of maxilla. All patients with MRONJ had undergone a dental extraction or a trauma before the development of MRONJ. CONCLUSION: We found that MRONJ correlated with the patient's age. The average time until MRONJ manifestation in reserach group is 2 years. One of triggerring MRONJ factors are tooth extraction or trauma.publishersversionPeer reviewe

CommAID: Visual Analytics for Communication Analysis through Interactive Dynamics Modeling

Communication consists of both meta-information as well as content. Currently, the automated analysis of such data often focuses either on the network aspects via social network analysis or on the content, utilizing methods from text-mining. However, the first category of approaches does not leverage the rich content information, while the latter ignores the conversation environment and the temporal evolution, as evident in the meta-information. In contradiction to communication research, which stresses the importance of a holistic approach, both aspects are rarely applied simultaneously, and consequently, their combination has not yet received enough attention in automated analysis systems. In this work, we aim to address this challenge by discussing the difficulties and design decisions of such a path as well as contribute CommAID, a blueprint for a holistic strategy to communication analysis. It features an integrated visual analytics design to analyze communication networks through dynamics modeling, semantic pattern retrieval, and a user-adaptable and problem-specific machine learning-based retrieval system. An interactive multi-level matrix-based visualization facilitates a focused analysis of both network and content using inline visuals supporting cross-checks and reducing context switches. We evaluate our approach in both a case study and through formative evaluation with eight law enforcement experts using a real-world communication corpus. Results show that our solution surpasses existing techniques in terms of integration level and applicability. With this contribution, we aim to pave the path for a more holistic approach to communication analysis.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, Computer Graphics Forum 2021 (pre-peer reviewed version

Reactogenicity of Biomaterials as Studied by Biochemical, Morphological and Ultrastructural Techniques

Reactogenicity is a characteristic of biocompatible materials that provokes the reparative and proliferative reaction of connective tissues, a compulsory stage of which is inflammation. Thus, reactogenicity studies should include experiments in vivo. A quantitative assessment of reactogenicity can be obtained by subcutaneous implantation of standard olive-shaped specimens covered by the biomaterial under study followed by biochemical, histological and scanning electron microscopical studies of the capsule developing around the implant. Reactogenicity of surgical threads is evaluated by semiquantitative histological analysis of the wound healing process after suture application. Biomaterial reactogenicity can be modified by changing the structure of the surface and its chemical characteristics, and in particular, by applying different biologically active substances including atrane-containing compounds. The reactogenicity indices suggested present the results of the interaction between the biomaterials and the cells

Going beyond Visualization. Verbalization as Complementary Medium to Explain Machine Learning Models

In this position paper, we argue that a combination of visualization and verbalization techniques is beneficial for creating broad and versatile insights into the structure and decision-making processes of machine learning models. Explainability of machine learning models is emerging as an important area of research. Hence, insights into the inner workings of a trained model allow users and analysts, alike, to understand the models, develop justifications, and gain trust in the systems they inform. Explanations can be generated through different types of media, such as visualization and verbalization. Both are powerful tools that enable model interpretability. However, while their combination is arguably more powerful than each medium separately, they are currently applied and researched independently. To support our position that the combination of the two techniques is beneficial to explain machine learning models, we describe the design space of such a combination and discuss arising research questions, gaps, and opportunities

LMFingerprints: Visual Explanations of Language Model Embedding Spaces through Layerwise Contextualization Scores.

Language models, such as BERT, construct multiple, contextualized embeddings for each word occurrence in a corpus. Understanding how the contextualization propagates through the model's layers is crucial for deciding which layers to use for a specific analysis task. Currently, most embedding spaces are explained by probing classifiers; however, some findings remain inconclusive. In this paper, we present LMFingerprints, a novel scoring-based technique for the explanation of contextualized word embeddings. We introduce two categories of scoring functions, which measure (1) the degree of contextualization, i.e., the layerwise changes in the embedding vectors, and (2) the type of contextualization, i.e., the captured context information. We integrate these scores into an interactive explanation workspace. By combining visual and verbal elements, we provide an overview of contextualization in six popular transformer-based language models. We evaluate hypotheses from the domain of computational linguistics, and our results not only confirm findings from related work but also reveal new aspects about the information captured in the embedding spaces. For instance, we show that while numbers are poorly contextualized, stopwords have an unexpected high contextualization in the models' upper layers, where their neighborhoods shift from similar functionality tokens to tokens that contribute to the meaning of the surrounding sentences

U-Pb zircon geochronology of rocks from west Central Sulawesi, Indonesia: Extension-related metamorphism and magmatism during the early stages of mountain building

Sulawesi has generally been interpreted as the product of convergence in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, and high mountains in west Central Sulawesi have been considered the product of magmatism and metamorphism related to Neogene collision. New SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating of metamorphic and granitoid rocks has identified protoliths and sources of melts, and indicates an important role for extension. Schists, gneisses and granitoids have inherited Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Paleogene zircons. Mesoproterozoic and Triassic age populations are similar to those from the Bird's Head region. Their protoliths included sediments and granitoids interpreted as part of an Australian-origin block. We suggest this rifted from the Australian margin of Gondwana in the Jurassic and accreted to Sundaland to form NW Sulawesi in the Late Cretaceous. Some metamorphic rocks have Cretaceous and/or Late Eocene magmatic zircons indicating metamorphism cannot be older than Late Eocene, and were not Australian-origin basement. Instead, they were metamorphosed in the Neogene after Sula Spur collision and subsequent major extension. Associated magmatism in west Central Sulawesi produced a K-rich shoshonitic (HK) suite in the Middle Miocene to Early Pliocene. A later episode of magmatism in the Late Miocene to Pliocene formed mainly shoshonitic to high-K calc-alkaline (CAK) rocks. I-type and silica-rich I-type granitoids and diorites of the CAK suite record a widespread short interval of magmatism between 8.5 and 4. Ma. Inherited zircon ages indicate the I-type CAK rocks were the product of partial melting of the HK suite. S-type CAK magmatism between c. 5 and 2.5. Ma and zircon rim ages from gneisses record contemporaneous metamorphism that accompanied extension. Despite its position in a convergent setting in Indonesia, NW Sulawesi illustrates the importance of melting and metamorphism in an extensional setting during the early stages of mountain building

An integrated study of geochemistry and mineralogy of the Upper Tukau Formation, Borneo Island (East Malaysia): Sediment provenance, depositional setting and tectonic implications

An integrated study using bulk chemical composition, mineralogy and mineral chemistry of sedimentary rocks from the Tukau Formation of Borneo Island (Sarawak, Malaysia) is presented in order to understand the depositional and tectonic settings during the Neogene. Sedimentary rocks are chemically classified as shale, wacke, arkose, litharenite and quartz arenite and consist of quartz, illite, feldspar, rutile and anatase, zircon, tourmaline, chromite and monazite. All of them are highly matured and were derived from a moderate to intensively weathered source. Bulk and mineral chemistries suggest that these rocks were recycled from sedimentary to metasedimentary source regions with some input from granitoids and mafic-ultramafic rocks. The chondrite normalized REE signature indicates the presence of felsic rocks in the source region. Zircon geochronology shows that the samples were of Cretaceous and Triassic age. Comparable ages of zircon from the Tukau Formation sedimentary rocks, granitoids of the Schwaner Mountains (southern Borneo) and Tin Belt of the Malaysia Peninsular suggest that the principal provenance for the Rajang Group were further uplifted and eroded during the Neogene. Additionally, presence of chromian spinels and their chemistry indicate a minor influence of mafic and ultramafic rocks present in the Rajang Group. From a tectonic standpoint, the Tukau Formation sedimentary rocks were deposited in a passive margin with passive collisional and rift settings. Our key geochemical observation on tectonic setting is comparable to the regional geological setting of northwestern Borneo as described in the literature