Improving Communication in E-democracy Using Natural Language Processing

E-democracy, the design and development of new techniques for improving communication between public administration and citizens, is a major application field for natural language processing and language engineering. Helping citizens access information in a friendly, intuitive way is the primary objective of a global e-democracy framework. The E-democracy European Network project (EDEN) aimed at discovering whether a particular NLP (natural language processing) approach could further e-democracy by increasing citizens' participation in the decision-making process. The goal was twofold: to test whether e-democracy requirements could be meet using advanced linguistic technology and to test whether augmented phrase structure grammars (APSGs) were robust and well-assessed enough to use in a real-world environment. Also, the aim is to develop two toolsets to improve communication between PAs and citizens in the context of urban planning: a set of NLP-based tools to simplify access to information and knowledge and a set of forum and polling devices     

Enoxaparin in the prevention of deep venous thrombosis after major surgery: multicentric study. The Italian Study Group

Four hundred forty-six patients with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and/or their parents completed a 52-item self-report survey about vocal and motor tics, and the frequency of associated co-morbid conditions of aggression, obsessions and compulsions, attentional problems, sleep disturbance, mood disturbance, anxiety, and self-mutilative behaviours which have been frequently reported in the literature on TS. Respondents also responded to an open-ended question regarding the most disabling aspects of TS. Results were analyzed within two age groups; under 18 years of age (N = 245) and 18 years of age or older (N = 177). Tics and associated conditions were the most frequently reported disabling aspect by both age groups. Subjects under age 18, however, reported significantly more frequent problems with hyperactivity, temper control, aggressive behaviours and sleepwalking than adults with TS.     

In vitro short-term response of human erythrocytes to implant materials used in maxillo-facial rigid internal fixation

A number of retinal proteins are phosphorylated by a variety of kinases, resulting in well-known regulatory effects. The identity and role of corresponding phosphatases is less clear. We simultaneously measured the activity of serine/ threonine protein phosphatases type 1, 2A and 2C in bovine retinae. The enzymes were classified according to substrate specificity, divalent cation requirement and the effect of phosphatase subtype-specific inhibitors. The total- and specific activity of phosphatase type 2A was prevalent. Type 2C was 10-fold less abundant. 80% of type 1 and 50% of type 2A and type 2C, respectively, were soluble. An economic purification scheme was developed. We demonstrated the presence of phosphatase isozymes 2Calpha and 2Cbeta in bovine rod outer segments by enzymatic analysis as well as immunological techniques. The results suggest a yet unknown role of phosphatase type 2C in phototransduction. On the other hand, the immense amount of protein phosphatases found to be soluble - therefore not associated with rod outer segment membranes - points towards participation of these enzymes in the process of visual transduction not considered thus far.     

Drug Release from Lipogels According to Gelling Conditions and Mechanical Treatment

The release rate of a drug dissolved in the liquid phase of lipogels may be greatly affected by the type and concentration of gelling agent and by processing conditions and mechanical treatment of the ointment. These differences in release rate are reduced after application of mechanical stress comparable with the strain exerted on the ointment during application to the skin. Therefore, changes in the concentration of gelling agents used to achieve suitable consistency and manufacturing and packing processes that meet industrial and marketing requirements do not appear to exert a practical influence on drug availability after application to the skin.     

Influence of impact-ionization-induced base current reversal onbipolar transistor parameters

In this paper we describe a set of measurements representing a complete characterization of impact-ionization effects in bipolar transistors. We demonstrate that impact-ionization significantly influences the dependence of base resistance on current and voltages applied to the device. A dc method for the simultaneous extraction of all parasitic resistances in bipolar transistors is presented. The method can separate the influence of current-crowding on the base resistance from that of base width and conductivity modulation; the collector parasitic resistance is measured in the active region. Starting from the parameters extracted by means of these techniques, a complete and accurate circuit-model of impact-ionization effects can be defined     

Bioprocess applications of model-based estimation techniques

The last decade has seen the development of a number of approaches for estimating those variables which are difficult to measure on-line in industrial process situations. Whilst a range of techniques is available, a common element is the use of process knowledge in the form of a system model. In the case of bioprocess systems, although a large range of models has been presented in the literature, their use in estimation schemes on an industrial scale has been limited. A number of reasons can be identified for their low level of utilisation. Of particular significance is the uncertainty which exists in quantifying system performance and the process-model mismatch which inevitably results. The level of ‘pre-defined model’ uncertainty, together with the knowledge gained during the course of the fermentation, serves to dictate estimator structure. The paper considers a range of estimation strategies and contrasts, through industrial applications, their performance characteristics and utility.     

XML schema, tree logic and sheaves automata

XML documents may be roughly described as unranked, ordered trees and it is therefore natural to use tree automata to process or validate them. This idea has already been successfully applied in the context of Document Type Definition (DTD), the simplest standard for defining document validity, but additional work is needed to take into account XML Schema, a more advanced standard, for which regular tree automata are not satisfactory. In this paper, we introduce Sheaves Logic (SL), a new tree logic that extends the syntax of the – recursion-free fragment of – W3C XML Schema Definition Language (WXS). Then, we define a new class of automata for unranked trees that provides decision procedures for the basic questions about SL: model-checking; satisfiability; entailment. The same class of automata is also used to answer basic questions about WXS, including recursive schemas: decidability of type-checking documents; testing the emptiness of schemas; testing that a schema subsumes another one.This work was partially supported by the French government research grant ACI TRALALA and by IST Global Computing Profundis.     

Environmentally friendly, heterogeneous acid and base catalysis for the methylation of catechol: Chances for the control of chemo-selectivity

The properties of catalysts with (i) Brønsted-type acidity (H-mordenite and Al/P mixed oxide), (ii) Lewis-type acidity (Al trifluoride) or (iii) basic characteristics (Mg/Fe mixed oxide) were investigated in the gas-phase methylation of catechol. When methanol was used as the methylating agent, H-mordenite and AlF₃ gave high selectivities to guaiacol (the product of O-methylation) under mild reaction conditions, that is at very low catechol conversions. An increase in temperature led to the transformation of guaiacol to phenol and cresols, and to considerable catalyst deactivation. The basic catalyst Mg/Fe/O also favored an extensive degradation of guaiacol to phenol. On the mildly acidic catalyst Al/P mixed oxide a stable catalytic performance and a high selectivity to guaiacol at 40% catechol conversion were obtained. When methylformate, a more reactive methylating agent, was used with AlF₃ and Mg/Fe mixed oxide as catalysts, higher catechol conversions and slower deactivation rates could be achieved under mild reaction conditions, with a low extent of guaiacol degradation. However, methylformate rapidly decomposed when temperatures above 350 °C were used. Finally, tests were made by reacting catechol and diethoxymethane with acid catalysts, with the aim of synthesizing methylenedioxybenzene. The latter product was obtained with high selectivity, but with very low yield, due to both catalyst deactivation and decomposition of diethoxymethane.