An Information Extraction Approach to Reorganizing and Summarizing Specifications

Materials and Process Specifications are complex semi-structured documents containing numeric data, text, and images. This article describes a coarse-grain extraction technique to automatically reorganize and summarize spec content. Specifically, a strategy for semantic-markup, to capture content within a semantic ontology, relevant to semi-automatic extraction, has been developed and experimented with. The working prototypes were built in the context of Cohesia\u27s existing software infrastructure, and use techniques from Information Extraction, XML technology, etc

Semi-Automatic Content Extraction from Specifications

Specifications are critical to companies involved in complex manufacturing. The constant reading, reviewing, and analysis of materials and process specifications is extremely labor-intensive, quality impacting, and time-consuming. A conceptual design for a tool that provides computer-assistance in the interpretation of specification requirements has been created and a strategy for semantic-markup, which is the overlaying of abstract syntax (“the essence”) on the text, has been developed. The solution is based on the techniques for Information Extraction and the XML technology, and it captures the specification content within a semantic ontology. The working prototype of the tool being built will serve as the foundation for potential full-scale commercialization

Semi-Automatic Content Extraction from Specifications

Specifications are critical to companies involved in complex manufacturing. The constant reading, reviewing, and analysis of materials and process specifications is extremely labor-intensive, quality impacting, and time-consuming. A conceptual design for a tool that provides computer-assistance in the interpretation of specification requirements has been created and a strategy for semantic-markup, which is the overlaying of abstract syntax (“the essence”) on the text, has been developed. The solution is based on the techniques for Information Extraction and the XML technology, and it captures the specification content within a semantic ontology. The working prototype of the tool being built will serve as the foundation for potential full-scale commercialization

An Information Extraction Approach to Reorganizing and Summarizing Specifications

Materials and Process Specifications are complex semi-structured documents containing numeric data, text, and images. This article describes a coarse-grain extraction technique to automatically reorganize and summarize spec content. Specifically, a strategy for semantic-markup, to capture content within a semantic ontology, relevant to semi-automatic extraction, has been developed and experimented with. The working prototypes were built in the context of Cohesia\u27s existing software infrastructure, and use techniques from Information Extraction, XML technology, etc

Observed Customer Seating and Standing Behavior and Seat Preferences on Board Subway Cars in New York City

An observational sampling methodology was used to explore seat occupancy patterns in New York City subway cars. The study was performed under uncrowded conditions on the basis of special attributes of what otherwise were highly homogeneous plastic bench seats. Onboard seating patterns, measured as relative seat occupancy probabilities, were explained in terms of interactions between railcar design, layout, customer preferences, and resulting behavior. Earlier research focused in general on passenger distribution between cars within long trains or on the desirability of attributes common to all seats, rather than on passenger seating patterns within a single car. Results of the study reported here had their basis in seating- and standing-room occupancy statistics and showed that customers had a clear preference for seats adjacent to doors, no real preference for seats adjacent to support stanchions, and disdain for bench spots between two other seats. On cars that featured transverse seating, customers preferred window seats, but their preference was almost equal for backward- or forward-facing seats. No gender bias in all seated passengers was detected, but as load factor increased, the chance of standing was higher for men than for women. Use of 90% of the seats was achieved only at a 120% load factor. Customers who stood strongly preferred to crowd vestibule areas between doors (particularly in cars with symmetric door arrangements) and to hold on to vertical poles. These findings were consistent with published anecdotes. In future, cars should be designed with asymmetric doors, 2 + 2 + 2 partitioned, longitudinal seats, and no stanchions or partitions near doorways. To understand customer seating preferences further, research should be conducted in commuter rail vehicles with suburban layouts and booth seating and in the subways of other cities

ATM signaling facilitates repair of DNA double-strand breaks associated with heterochromatin

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) signaling is essential for the repair of a subset of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs); however, its precise role is unclear. Here, we show that ≤25% of DSBs require ATM signaling for repair, and this percentage correlates with increased chromatin but not damage complexity. Importantly, we demonstrate that heterochromatic DSBs are generally repaired more slowly than euchromatic DSBs, and ATM signaling is specifically required for DSB repair within heterochromatin. Significantly, knockdown of the transcriptional repressor KAP-1, an ATM substrate, or the heterochromatin-building factors HP1 or HDAC1/2 alleviates the requirement for ATM in DSB repair. We propose that ATM signaling temporarily perturbs heterochromatin via KAP-1, which is critical for DSB repair/processing within otherwise compacted/inflexible chromatin. In support of this, ATM signaling alters KAP-1 affinity for chromatin enriched for heterochromatic factors. These data suggest that the importance of ATM signaling for DSB repair increases as the heterochromatic component of a genome expands

Efficacy of alemtuzumab in relapsing-remitting MS patients who received additional courses after the initial two courses: Pooled analysis of the CARE-MS, extension, and TOPAZ studies.

Alemtuzumab is given as two annual courses. Patients with continued disease activity may receive as-needed additional courses. To evaluate efficacy and safety of additional alemtuzumab courses in the CARE-MS (Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif® Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis) studies and their extensions. Subgroups were based on the number of additional alemtuzumab courses received. Exclusion criteria: other disease-modifying therapy (DMT); In the additional-courses groups, Courses 3 and 4 reduced annualized relapse rate (12 months before: 0.73 and 0.74, respectively; 12 months after: 0.07 and 0.08). For 36 months after Courses 3 and 4, 89% and 92% of patients were free of 6-month confirmed disability worsening, respectively, with 20% and 26% achieving 6-month confirmed disability improvement. Freedom from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disease activity increased after Courses 3 and 4 (12 months before: 43% and 53%, respectively; 12 months after: 73% and 74%). Safety was similar across groups; serious events occurred irrespective of the number of courses. Additional alemtuzumab courses significantly improved outcomes, without increased safety risks, in CARE-MS patients with continued disease activity after Course 2. How this compares to outcomes if treatment is switched to another DMT instead remains unknown