Use of normalized word vector approach in document classification for an LKMC

In order to realize the objective of expanding library services to provide knowledge managementsupport for small businesses, a series of requirements must be met. This particular phase of a largerresearch project focuses on one of the requirements: the need for a document classificationsystem to rapidly determine the content of digital documents. Document classification techniquesare examined to assess the available alternatives for realization of Library Knowledge ManagementCenters (LKMCs). After evaluating prominent techniques the authors opted to investigate aless well-known method, the Normalized Word Vector (NWV) approach, which has been usedsuccessfully in classifying highly unstructured documents, i.e., student essays. The authors proposeutilizing the NWV approach for LKMC automatic document classification with the goal ofdeveloping a system whereby unfamiliar documents can be quickly classified into existing topiccategories. This conceptual paper will outline an approach to test NWV's suitability in this area

Results at 24 months from the prospective, randomized, multicenter Investigational Device Exemption trial of ProDisc-C versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with 4-year follow-up and continued access patients.

BackgroundCervical total disk replacement (TDR) is intended to address pain and preserve motion between vertebral bodies in patients with symptomatic cervical disk disease. Two-year follow-up for the ProDisc-C (Synthes USA Products, LLC, West Chester, Pennsylvania) TDR clinical trial showed non-inferiority versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), showing superiority in many clinical outcomes. We present the 4-year interim follow-up results.MethodsPatients were randomized (1:1) to ProDisc-C (PDC-R) or ACDF. Patients were assessed preoperatively, and postoperatively at 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months. After the randomized portion, continued access (CA) patients also underwent ProDisc-C implantation, with follow-up visits up to 24 months. Evaluations included Neck Disability Index (NDI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain/satisfaction, and radiographic and physical/neurologic examinations.ResultsRandomized patients (103 PDC-R and 106 ACDF) and 136 CA patients were treated at 13 sites. VAS pain and NDI score improvements from baseline were significant for all patients (P < .0001) but did not differ among groups. VAS satisfaction was higher at all time points for PDC-R versus ACDF patients (P = .0499 at 48 months). The percentage of patients who responded yes to surgery again was 85.6% at 24 months and 88.9% at 48 months in the PDC-R group, 80.9% at 24 months and 81.0% at 48 months in the ACDF group, and 86.3% at 24 months in the CA group. Five PDC-R patients (48 months) and no CA patients (24 months) had index-level bridging bone. By 48 months, approximately 4-fold more ACDF patients required secondary surgery (3 of 103 PDC-R patients [2.9%] vs 12 of 106 ACDF patients [11.3%], P = .0292). Of these, 6 ACDF patients (5.6%) required procedures at adjacent levels. Three CA patients required secondary procedures (24 months).ConclusionsOur 4-year data support that ProDisc-C TDR and ACDF are viable surgical options for symptomatic cervical disk disease. Although ACDF patients may be at higher risk for additional surgical intervention, patients in both groups show good clinical results at longer-term follow-up

Assessment of Nutrients Levels in Groundwater within the Lower Pra Basin of Ghana

The level of concentration of nitrates, phosphates, and sulphates was determined in groundwater within the Pra Basin to ascertain the degree of anthropogenic influence via the application of fertilizer and other agro-chemical to farmlands by farmers. Sixty-five (65) boreholes in forty-five (45) communities were analysed between January and April 2012 to cover the dry season and between June and October 2012 to cover the wet season. The results show that nitrate for both seasons range between 0.011 mg/l and 5.01 mg/l and therefore within the WHO (2006) guideline value of 10 mg/l, whilst that of phosphate range between 0.01 mg/l and 3.08 mg/l and therefore outside the USEPA guideline value of 2.5 mg/l. Sulphate recorded a range between 1.60 and 96.2 mg/l and therefore within the WHO (2006) guideline value of 250 mg/l. The concentration levels of the two nutrients of the parameters, nitrates and phosphate were correlated against borehole depth and the results show a weak positive and negative correlation for nitrate and phosphate respectively. There was thus, an indication that the levels of all parameters, nitrate, phosphate and sulphate are not yet a threat to groundwater in the basin

Generational Equity, Generational Interdependence, and the Framing of the Debate Over Social Security Reform

This article analyzes the differences between the generational equity and generational interdependence conceptual packages used to frame arguments in the debate over policies such as Social Security reform. It begins with a history of the generational equity debate. This is followed by an analysis of the assumptions, values, and beliefs that inform each of these two ideological frames. It presents an analysis of why the generational equity frame has dominated the debate and highlights some of the limitations of this perspective

Two-pump parametric amplification in the presence of fiber dispersion fluctuations: a comparative study

Fiber optical parametric amplifiers (FOPAs) operating based on four-wave mixing (FWM) are versatile devices with increasing applications in optical communication systems. In this paper, the effects of dispersion fluctu�ations on the performance of bandwidth, ripple, parametric gain, and saturation power of a two-pump FOPA based on four-wave and six-wave models are studied and compared. Coupled-amplitude equations representing the non-degenerate FWM process in optical fiber are solved numerically to compute the parametric gain over the communication wavelengths. The behaviors of the performance parameters are critically analyzed and compared with different types of fluctuation strengths (or amplitudes) specified by the combinations of correlation length (Lc) and fluctuation amplitude (σ). Based on the results, it was found that the flat gain bandwidth for the four-wave model remains unchanged and is insensitive to the strengths of fluctuations. The gain ripples, however, get higher as the fluctuation strengths increase. On the other hand, the flat gain bandwidths of the six-wave model are hardly identified due to the tremendous and continuous ripples within the pump wavelengths. In addition, the minimum parametric gain values for both four-wave and six-wave models reduce as the fluctuation strengths increase. Also, the lowest value of parametric gain leads to the highest saturation power and vice versa. The dispersion fluctuations affect the FWM process’s efficiency and deteriorate the overall amplifier performance, particularly for the six-wave model. The numerical analysis obtained via the six-wave model is especially useful since this model closely matches with practical circumstances

Mechanical And Thermal Properties Of Hydroxyapatite Filled Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Composites.

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) filled with hydroxyapatite (HA) filler has been widely used in biomaterial application. Acrylic denture base material was prepared from PMMA filled with HA

Instantons of M(atrix) Theory in PP-Wave Background

M(atrix) theory in PP-wave background possesses a discrete set of classical vacua, all of which preserves 16 supersymmetry and interpretable as collection of giant gravitons. We find Euclidean instanton solutions that interpolate between them, and analyze their properties. Supersymmetry prevents direct mixing between different vacua but still allows effect of instanton to show up in higher order effective interactions, such as analog of v^4 interaction of flat space effective theory. An explicit construction of zero modes is performed, and Goldstone zero modes, bosonic and fermionic, are identified. We further generalize this to massive M(atrix) theory that includes fundamental hypermultiplets, corresponding to insertion of longitudinal fivebranes in the background. After a brief comparison to their counterpart in AdS\times S, we close with a summary.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX, references added, section 5 update