Integrating Dictionary and Web N-grams for Chinese Spell Checking

Abstract Chinese spell checking is an important component of many NLP applications, including word processors, search engines, and automatic essay rating. Nevertheless, compared to spell checkers for alphabetical languages (e.g., English or French), Chinese spell checkers are more difficult to develop because there are no word boundaries in the Chinese writing system and errors may be caused by various Chinese input methods. In this paper, we propose a novel method for detecting and correcting Chinese typographical errors. Our approach involves word segmentation, detection rules, and phrase-based machine translation. The error detection module detects errors by segmenting words and checking word and phrase frequency based on compiled and Web corpora. The phonological or morphological typographical errors found then are corrected by running a decoder based on the statistical machine translation model (SMT). The results show that the proposed system achieves significantly better accuracy in error detection and more satisfactory performance in error correction than the state-of-the-art systems

Emergence of Ceftriaxone-Resistant Salmonella Isolates and Rapid Spread of Plasmid-Encoded CMY-2–Like Cephalosporinase, Taiwan

Of 384 Salmonella isolates collected from 1997 to 2000 in a university hospital in Taiwan, six ceftriaxone-resistant isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium were found in two patients in 2000. The resistance determinants were on conjugative plasmids that encoded a CMY-2–like cephalosporinase. During the study period, the proportion of CMY-2–like enzyme producers among Escherichia coli increased rapidly from 0.2% in early 1999 to >4.0% in late 2000. Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates producing a CMY-2–like β-lactamase did not emerge until 2000. The presence of blaCMY-containing plasmids with an identical restriction pattern from Salmonella, E. coli, and K. pneumoniae isolates was found, which suggests interspecies spread and horizontal transfer of the resistance determinant. Various nosocomial and community-acquired infections were associated with the CMY-2–like enzyme producers. Our study suggests that the spread of plasmid-mediated CMY-2–like β-lactamases is an emerging threat to hospitalized patients and the public in Taiwan

Canine Hepatic Carcinoma: Diagnoses and Treatments Via Global State-of-the-Art Approach and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine

This chapter discusses effective diagnostics and treatment of canine hepatic carcinoma (CHC), where state-of-the-art global technologies are complemented by traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM). The biokinetic Ga-67 model of CHC is proposed to clarify the Ga-67 metabolic mechanism among various organs. It is aimed at identifying the best routine for detecting the metastatic or primary CHC and substantiating the optimal further treatment. The routine examination of CHC can be performed via Ga-67 nuclear examination or MRI, biological index, X-ray, and abdominal ultrasound. The available methods of animal cancer treatment imply separate or combined application of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy targeted at the particular cancer cells. However, there is also a general concern on the quality of life of pets/canine patients. This leaves enough space to the TCVM (including acupuncture and famous herbal drugs) with a long application history in Asia and growing usage as alternative treatment in other regions. However, its current applications to domestic animals/pets suffering from carcinomas are based on individual expert opinions, while there are no outlined veterinary treatment strategies and guidelines for clinical practice in this field. A comprehensive combination of state-of-the-art global technologies and TCVM is considered instrumental in curing canine hepatic carcinoma

Edge-Termination and Core-Modification Effects of Hexagonal Nanosheet Graphene

[[abstract]]Optimized geometries and electronic structures of two different hexagonal grapheme nanosheets (HGNSs), with armchair (n-A-HGNS, n = 3–11) and zigzag (n-Z-HGNS, n = 1–8) edges have been calculated by using the GGA/PBE method implemented in the SIESTA package, with the DZP basis set, where n represents the number of peripheral rings. The computed HOMO-LUMO energy gap (Eg = ELUMO − EHOMO) decreases for fully H-terminated A- and Z-HGNSs with increasing n, i.e., with increasing nanosheet size and pπ-orbitals being widely delocalized over the sheet surface. The full terminations, calculated with various functional groups, including the electron-withdrawing (F-, Cl-, and CN-) and -donating (OH-, and SH-) substitutions, were addressed. Significant lowering of EHOMO and ELUMO was obtained for CN-terminated HGNS as compared to those for H-terminated ones due to the mesomeric effect. The calculated Eg value decreases with increasing n for all terminations, whereby for the SH-termination in HGNS, the termination effect becomes less significant with increasing n. Further, the calculation results for stabilities of HGNS oxides support the tendency toward the oxidative reactivity at the edge site of the sheet, which shows most pronounced C-C bond length alternation, by chemical modification. Physical properties of HGNSs with various numbers of the core-defects, which can be obtained by strong oxidation, were also investigated. Their structures can change drastically from planar to saddle-like shapes. These conformations could be used as stationary phases with controlled interaction in the separation methods such as HPLC and the other chemical analysis techniques.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子

Increasing Ceftriaxone Resistance in Salmonellae, Taiwan

In Taiwan, despite a substantial decline of Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis infections, strains resistant to ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone persist. A self-transferable blaCMY-2-harboring IncI1 plasmid was identified in S. enterica serotypes Choleraesuis, Typhimurium, Agona, and Enteritidis and contributed to the overall increase of ceftriaxone resistance in salmonellae

Study on the Stability of DeoxyArbutin in an Anhydrous Emulsion System

The skin-whitening agent, deoxyArbutin, is a potent tyrosinase inhibitor that is safer than hydroquinone and arbutin. However, it is thermolabile in aqueous solutions, where it decomposes to hydroquinone. Pharmaceutical and cosmetic emulsions are normally oil-in-water (o/w) or water-in-oil (w/o) systems; however, emulsions can be formulated with no aqueous phase to produce an anhydrous emulsion system. An anhydrous emulsion system could offer a stable vehicle for compounds that are sensitive to hydrolysis or oxidation. Therefore, to enhance the stability of deoxyArbutin in formulations, we chose the polyol-in-silicone, anhydrous emulsion system as the basic formulation for investigation. The quantity of deoxyArbutin and the accumulation of hydroquinone in both hydrous and anhydrous emulsions at various temperatures were analyzed through an established high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. The results indicated that water increased the decomposition of deoxyArbutin in the formulations and that the polyol-in-silicone, oil-based, anhydrous emulsion system provided a relatively stable surrounding for the deoxyArbutin that delayed its degradation at 25 °C and 45 °C. Moreover, the composition of the inner hydrophilic phase, containing different amounts of glycerin and propylene glycol, affected the stability of deoxyArbutin. Thus, these results will be beneficial when using deoxyArbutin in cosmetics and medicines in the future

Location-based Data Analysis of Visitor Structure for Recreational Area Management

This work presents a location-based data analysis framework for profiling visitors structures. In terms of recreational area management, understanding visitors’ structure and popularity is important. Traditionally, visitors monitoring with automatic counting devices has drawbacks of inaccurate visitors counting. In this work, compared to automatic counting devices, we use Wi-Fi tracking as the main method to count visitors, which provides a fairly precise picture of visitor structures. Moreover, we deliver rich analytic functions in this framework and we present the functionality with visitor data collected from Guanyinshan Visitor Center. This framework not only standardizes visitor counting process but also facilitates a profound analysis of visitor structures. Key Words: Guanyinshan Visitor Center, Wi-Fi trackin

A comparative epidemiologic analysis of SARS in Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The 2002-2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak infected 8,422 individuals leading to 916 deaths around the world. However, there have been few epidemiological studies of SARS comparing epidemiologic features across regions. The aim of this study is to identify similarities and differences in SARS epidemiology in three populations with similar host and viral genotype.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We present a comparative epidemiologic analysis of SARS, based on an integrated dataset with 3,336 SARS patients from Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan, epidemiological and clinical characteristics such as incubation, onset-to-admission, onset-to-discharge and onset-to-death periods, case fatality ratios (CFRs) and presenting symptoms are described and compared between regions. We further explored the influence of demographic and clinical variables on the apparently large differences in CFRs between the three regions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All three regions showed similar incubation periods and progressive shortening of the onset-to-admission interval through the epidemic. Adjusted for sex, health care worker status and nosocomial setting, older age was associated with a higher fatality, with adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.10 (95% confidence interval: 1.45, 3.04) for those aged 51-60; AOR: 4.57 (95% confidence interval: 3.32, 7.30) for those aged above 60 compared to those aged 41-50 years. Presence of pre-existing comorbid conditions was also associated with greater mortality (AOR: 1.74; 95% confidence interval: 1.36, 2.21).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The large discrepancy in crude fatality ratios across the three regions can only be partly explained by epidemiological and clinical heterogeneities. Our findings underline the importance of a common data collection platform, especially in an emerging epidemic, in order to identify and explain consistencies and differences in the eventual clinical and public health outcomes of infectious disease outbreaks, which is becoming increasingly important in our highly interconnected world.</p