Predicate Informed Syntax-Guidance for Semantic Role Labeling

In this thesis, we consider neural network approaches to the semantic role labeling task in seman-tic parsing. Recent state-of-the-art results for semantic role labeling are achieved by combiningLSTM neural networks and pre-trained features. This work offers a simple BERT-based modelwhich shows that, contrary to the popular belief that more complexity means better performance,removing LSTM improves the state of the art for span-based semantic role labeling. This modelhas improved F1 scores on both the test set of CoNLL-2012, and the Brown test set of CoNLL-2005 by at least 3 percentage points.In addition to this refinement of existing architectures, we also propose a new mechanism. Therehas been an active line of research focusing on incorporating syntax information into the atten-tion mechanism for semantic parsing. However, the existing models do not make use of whichsub-clause a given token belongs to or where the boundary of the sub-clause lies. In this thesis,we propose a predicate-aware attention mechanism that explicitly incorporates the portion of theparsing spanning from the predicate. The proposed Syntax-Guidance (SG) mechanism further improves the model performance. We compare the predicate informed method with three other SG mechanisms in detailed error analysis, showing the advantage and potential research directions ofthe proposed method

A Superhydrophobic Coating : Fluorophilic Silica Nanoparticle-Doped Teflon Films

Coatings prepared from a suspension of fluoroalkyl-silane modified silica nanoparticles (FNPs) in a solution containing Teflon AF 2400 show wetting properties that depend on composition and the method of film formation. Static contact angle and sliding angle measurements revealed that adding FNPs improved their water repellency. Specifically, water droplets have static contact angles of 120-151° on FNP-containing films, compared with 114.6° on a FNP-free Teflon AF coated surface. Static contact angles increase with the weight percent of FNPs. Superhydrophobic (contact angle >150° and sliding angle <10°) states were achieved on films with 70% weight percentage of 510 nm FNPs. Surface morphologies were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Spin coating was later proved a better film fabrication method than solution-cast deposition, in terms of surface morphology and sliding angles

Discovering the Finnish Chopin —Selim Palmgren\u27s 24 Preludes, op. 17, and Tres Piezas para Piano, op. 54

Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) is one of the most significant musical figures in Finland. Unlike Jean Sibelius, who is undoubtedly the greatest Finnish symphonic composer of his time, Palmgren’s concentration is more on smaller-scale character pieces. His contribution to the piano and vocal repertoires earned him the reputation of being the “Chopin of the North” and also the “Schumann of the North.” Palmgren was not only prolific, having written over 300 piano works and 200 vocal pieces, but also versatile, frequently blending within his works various nationalistic, impressionistic, and other musical styles and elements within his works. This paper is focused on the analytical study of two piano suites by Selim Palmgren—24 Preludes, op. 17, and Tres Piezas para Piano, op. 54. It aims to enhance our understanding of these two suites and to discover their pedagogical and aesthetic aspects. Palmgren’s piano solo works are often written in miniature form and are not often performed. However, his works are well suited for intermediate-level piano study. Their forms, lyrical melodies, and technical approaches offer good examples for the study of several pedagogical aspects. They also enrich and contribute to the piano repertoire and they deserve to be better known among pianists and audiences alike

A Review of China’s Great Leap Famine

China’s Great Famine was one of the greatest man-made tragedies, during which 16.5 to 45 million individuals perished in rural areas. Massive scholars have studied the causes and effects of the Famine from many aspects. This article presents a comprehensive review and integration of these bibliographies

Waiting time distribution of solar energetic particle events modeled with a non-stationary Poisson process

We present a study of the waiting time distributions (WTDs) of solar energetic particle (SEP) events observed with the spacecraft $WIND$ and $GOES$. Both the WTDs of solar electron events (SEEs) and solar proton events (SPEs) display a power-law tail $\sim \Delta t^{-\gamma}$. The SEEs display a broken power-law WTD. The power-law index is $\gamma_{1} =$ 0.99 for the short waiting times ($$100 hours). The break of the WTD of SEEs is probably due to the modulation of the corotating interaction regions (CIRs). The power-law index $\gamma \sim$ 1.82 is derived for the WTD of SPEs that is consistent with the WTD of type II radio bursts, indicating a close relationship between the shock wave and the production of energetic protons. The WTDs of SEP events can be modeled with a non-stationary Poisson process which was proposed to understand the waiting time statistics of solar flares (Wheatland 2000; Aschwanden $\&$ McTiernan 2010). We generalize the method and find that, if the SEP event rate $\lambda = 1/\Delta t$ varies as the time distribution of event rate $f(\lambda) = A \lambda^{-\alpha}exp(-\beta \lambda)$, the time-dependent Poisson distribution can produce a power-law tail WTD $\sim \Delta t^{\alpha - 3}$, where $0 \leq \alpha < 2$.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Empirical comparison of diffusion kurtosis imaging and diffusion basis spectrum imaging using the same acquisition in healthy young adults

As diffusion tensor imaging gains widespread use, many researchers have been motivated to go beyond the tensor model and fit more complex diffusion models, to gain a more complete description of white matter microstructure and associated pathology. Two such models are diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI). It is not clear which DKI parameters are most closely related to DBSI parameters, so in the interest of enabling comparisons between DKI and DBSI studies, we conducted an empirical survey of the interrelation of these models in 12 healthy volunteers using the same diffusion acquisition. We found that mean kurtosis is positively associated with the DBSI fiber ratio and negatively associated with the hindered ratio. This was primarily driven by the radial component of kurtosis. The axial component of kurtosis was strongly and specifically correlated with the restricted ratio. The joint spatial distributions of DBSI and DKI parameters are tissue-dependent and stable across healthy individuals. Our contribution is a better understanding of the biological interpretability of the parameters generated by the two models in healthy individuals