Rule-based question answering system for reading comprehension tests

Journal ArticleWe have developed a rule-based system, Quarc, that can read a short story and find the sentence in the story that best answers a given question. Quarc uses heuristic rules that look for lexical and semantic clues in the question and the story. We have tested Quarc on reading comprehension tests typically given to children in grades 3-6. Overall, Quarc found the correct sentence 40% of the time, which is encouraging given the simplicity of its rules

M-222 Slope Stabilization Case History – Geotechnical Lessons Learned from Michigan Department of Transportation Design Build Project

In 2009, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) became concerned about ongoing slope movements adjacent to a segment of M-222 located on outside bend of the Kalamazoo River in the City of Allegan, Michigan. Over the next couple years, continued river erosion and seasonally wet springs caused 8- to 10-foot high scarps adjacent to M-222, condemnation of a home, and several large block slides into the river. In the early spring of 2011, MDOT secured their first Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) delivery method contract to protect M-222 and repair the slope. Improvements included constructing an up to 26-foot tall retaining wall, re-grading the roughly 70-foot high slope, and armoring the toe of slope. The improvements used were selected based on assessed risks and mobility requirements. Construction of the project began in July of 2011 and was completed in spring of 2012. A history of the slope instability progression using aerial photography, selection and design of the improvements, and resulting construction challenges are discussed. The authors conclusions on geotechnical lessons learned are shared

Drawing cycles in networks

In this paper we show how a graph that contains a specified cycle can be drawn in the plane such that the cycle is drawn circularly while the rest of the graph is layouted orthogonally. We also show how to extend this algorithm to deal with a set of disjoint cycles at once

Drawing cycles in networks

In this paper we show how a graph that contains a specified cycle can be drawn in the plane such that the cycle is drawn circularly while the rest of the graph is layouted orthogonally. We also show how to extend this algorithm to deal with a set of disjoint cycles at once

Looking Under the Hood : Tools for Diagnosing your Question Answering Engine

In this paper we analyze two question answering tasks : the TREC-8 question answering task and a set of reading comprehension exams. First, we show that Q/A systems perform better when there are multiple answer opportunities per question. Next, we analyze common approaches to two subproblems: term overlap for answer sentence identification, and answer typing for short answer extraction. We present general tools for analyzing the strengths and limitations of techniques for these subproblems. Our results quantify the limitations of both term overlap and answer typing to distinguish between competing answer candidates.Comment: Revision of paper appearing in the Proceedings of the Workshop on Open-Domain Question Answerin

Tertiary amine complexes of cobalt (II) and nickel (II) trifluoromethanesulfonates

Hydrated cobalt(II) and nickel(II) trifluoromethanesulfonates have been prepared by a previously reported procedure, and have been characterized for the first time as [ Co(H₂O)₆] (CF₃SO₃)₂H₂O and [Ni(H₂O)₆] (CF₃SO₃)₂. These formulations are based on analyses, near-infrared spectra, and on measurements of the ligand field electronic spectra and the magnetic susceptibilities. The metal ions are high-spin and octahedrally coordinated in both compounds. Methods have been developed for the preparation of the pure anhydrous cobalt(II) and the previously unknown nickel(II) trifluoromethanesulfonates from the hydrates. By determination of the d-d spectra and the magnetic moments, these are found to contain high-spin octahedrally coordinated metal cations, and therefore contain coordinated trifluoromethanesulfonate anions. The near-infrared spectral absorptions of these anions have been observed. The magnetic moment reported by previous workers for anhydrous cobalt(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate corresponds to the value found in this work for the hydrate. By vacuum line methods, pressure-composition data have been obtained for the triethylamine-cobalt(II) and nickel(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate systems. Breaks in the 25° isothermal phase diagrams show that very unstable adducts containing two molecules of triethylamine per metal ion are formed in each system. These could not be isolated. Various experimental methods for the preparation of quinuclidine complexes were investigated. The one found to be successful involved mixing, by Schlenk techniques, acetonitrile solutions of the anhydrous metal trifluoromethanesulfonate and of an excess of quinuclidine, evaporating the solvent, and removing the excess quinuclidine by sublimation. The solid complexes obtained in this way were characterized as [ Co(QUIN)₄] (CF₃SO₃)₂ and [ Ni(QUIN)₂(CF₃SO₃)₂] by their analyses, ligand field spectra, magnetic moments, and the near-infrared absorptions of the anions. As expected, quinuclidine is found to be a better ligand than its more sterically demanding analogue, triethylamine. The quinuclidine complexes of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) trifluoromethanesulfonates are much more stable. In the case of the cobalt complexes, the metal ion has a greater ligation number for quinuclidine than for triethylamine. In these solid salts and complexes, the trifluoromethanesulfonate ion shows a much greater tendency to coordinate than had been expected, based on a previous study using it in aqueous solution

A thermal grooving study of relative grain boundary energies of nickel in polycrystalline Ni and in a Ni/YSZ anode measured by atomic force microscopy

Grain boundary grooves of nickel were studied in Ni polycrystals and in Ni/YSZ (nickel/yttria-stabilized zirconia) anode microstructures of an solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in order to determine the relative grain boundary energies of nickel. Reliable material parameters are necessary for realistic simulations to model the coarsening of nickel grains in SOFC anodes. However, the reported values in literature do not meet the requirements for accuracy and the experimental conditions differ strongly from the conditions within an anode. In this work, the measurement approach for atomic force microscopy was optimized to ensure the required accuracy in measuring grain boundary grooves; the thermal grooving experiments were performed at T=750 °C in dry and humid atmosphere. The resulting distributions of measured dihedral angles and relative grain boundary energies are identical in the polycrystal and the anode microstructure and are independent of annealing time and humidity. For the first time, precise values of the relative grain boundary energies of nickel are determined with high accuracy under operating conditions of an SOFC anode. The mean value of the relative grain boundary energies γ$_{GB}$ /γ$_{S}$ of nickel is 0.475 ± 0.013 for high-angle grain boundaries, 0.157 ± 0.013 for Σ3 low-angle grain boundaries, for grain boundaries and 0.019 ± 0.002 for twin boundaries

Volcano dome dynamics at Mount St. Helens:Deformation and intermittent subsidence monitored by seismicity and camera imagery pixel offsets

The surface deformation field measured at volcanic domes provides insights into the effects of magmatic processes, gravity-and gas-driven processes, and the development and distribution of internal dome structures. Here we study short-term dome deformation associated with earthquakes at Mount St. Helens, recorded by a permanent optical camera and seismic monitoring network. We use Digital Image Correlation (DIC) to compute the displacement field between successive images and compare the results to the occurrence and characteristics of seismic events during a 6 week period of dome growth in 2006. The results reveal that dome growth at Mount St. Helens was repeatedly interrupted by short-term meter-scale downward displacements at the dome surface, which were associated in time with low-frequency, large-magnitude seismic events followed by a tremor-like signal. The tremor was only recorded by the seismic stations closest to the dome. We find a correlation between the magnitudes of the camera-derived displacements and the spectral amplitudes of the associated tremor. We use the DIC results from two cameras and a high-resolution topographic model to derive full 3-D displacement maps, which reveals internal dome structures and the effect of the seismic activity on daily surface velocities. We postulate that the tremor is recording the gravity-driven response of the upper dome due to mechanical collapse or depressurization and fault-controlled slumping. Our results highlight the different scales and structural expressions during growth and disintegration of lava domes and the relationships between seismic and deformation signals