703 research outputs found
An example of mathematical authorship attribution
No full textIn this paper we discuss a novel mathematical approach to authorship attribution which we implemented recently to face a concrete problem of author recognition. The fundamental ideas for our methods came from statistical mechanics and information theory. We combine two approaches. Both of them use similarity measures between couples of texts as indicators of stylistic closeness: the first one is based on the comparison of frequencies of fixed length substrings (n-grams) throughout the texts; the second one relies on a suitable use of compression algorithms as relative entropy approximators, in the spirit of the so-called Ziv-Merhav theorem. The two methods were separately developed and then combined, together with a suitable and theoretically founded ranking analysis, to produce an original authorship attribution procedure that yielded very successful results on the specific problem to which it was applied. This ranking analysis could be of interest also in other application fields
Rats remind us what actually counts in episodic memory research:Comment on Crystal and Smith (2014). Binding of episodic memories in the rat. Current Biology, 24, 2957-2961. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.10.074
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Online_Appendix – Supplemental material for Cultivating Innovative Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized Registry Trials Embedded in Hemodialysis Care: Workshop Proceedings From 2018
No full textSupplemental material, Online_Appendix for Cultivating Innovative Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized Registry Trials Embedded in Hemodialysis Care: Workshop Proceedings From 2018 by Elliot J. Lee, Aakil Patel, Rey R. Acedillo, Jovina C. Bachynski, Ian Barrett, Erika Basile, Marisa Battistella, Derek Benjamin, David Berry, Peter G. Blake, Patricia Chan, Clara J. Bohm, Kristin K. Clemens, Charles Cook, Laura Dember, Jade S. Dirk, Stephanie Dixon, Elisabeth Fowler, Leah Getchell, Nazanine Gholami, Cory Goldstein, Emma Hahn, Betty Hogeterp, Susan Huang, Michelle Hughes, Meg J. Jardine, Shasikara Kalatharan, Shane Kilburn, Eduardo Lacson, Sean Leonard, Channing Liberty, Craig Lindsay, Jennifer M. MacRae, Braden J. Manns, Janice McCallum, Christopher W. McIntyre, Amber O. Molnar, Reem A. Mustafa, Gihad E. Nesrallah, Matthew J. Oliver, Michael Pandes, Sanjay Pandeya, Malvinder S. Parmar, Elijah Z. Rabin, Johnathan Riley, Samuel A. Silver, Jessica M. Sontrop, Manish M. Sood, Rita S. Suri, Navdeep Tangri, Daniel J. Tascona, Alison Thomas, Ron Wald, Michael Walsh, Charles Weijer, Matthew A. Weir, Hans Vorster, Deborah Zimmerman and Amit X. Garg in Canadian Journal of Kidney Health and Disease</p
Anatomical brain connectivity can assess cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis
No full textBackground: Brain disconnection plays a major role in determining cognitive disabilities in multiple sclerosis (MS). We recently developed a novel diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) tractography approach, namely anatomical connectivitity mapping (ACM), that quantifies structural brain connectivity. Objective: Use of ACM to assess structural connectivity modifications in MS brains and ascertain their relationship with the patients' Paced-Auditory-Serial-Addition-Test (PASAT) scores. Methods: Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients (n = 25) and controls (n = 25) underwent MRI at 3T, including conventional images, T1-weighted volumes and DW-MRI. Volumetric scans were coregistered to fractional anisotropy (FA) images, to obtain parenchymal FA maps for both white and grey matter. We initiated probabilistic tractography from all parenchymal voxels, obtaining ACM maps by counting the number of streamlines passing through each voxel, then normalizing by the total number of streamlines initiated. The ACM maps were transformed into standard space, for statistical use. Results: RRMS patients had reduced grey matter volume and FA, consistent with previous literature. Also, we showed reduced ACM in the thalamus and in the head of the caudate nucleus, bilaterally. In our RRMS patients, ACM was associated with PASAT scores in the corpus callosum, right hippocampus and cerebellum. Conclusions: ACM opens a new perspective, clarifying the contribution of anatomical brain disconnection to clinical disabilities in MS. © The Author(s) 2013
Liver parasites and body condition in relation to environmental contaminants in caribou (Rangifer tarandus) from Labrador, Canada
No full textOver the last several decades, elders and hunters of the Innu Nation in Labrador, Canada, have expressed concerns over perceived declines in environmental health and the integrity of country food, including caribou. The primary objective of this study was to determine links between specific health parameters and contaminants found in caribou from the George River herd. Twenty-seven caribou killed by local Innu hunters between February and December 2001 were evaluated for gross and microscopic pathology, body condition, liver parasitology, and contaminant levels in kidney and fat. Overall, the sampled caribou appeared to be in adequate body condition for the time of year, and no clinically significant lesions were found. Concentrations of selenium, metals (Hg, Cd, and Pb), 20 organochlorine pesticides (HCB, a-HCH, g-HCH, aldrin, dieldrin, methoxychlor, mirex, a- and b-endosulfan, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, g-CHL, cis-CHL, trans-nonachlor, and o,p'- and p,p'-DDD, DDE, DDT), and 24 PCB congeners were within the ranges reported for caribou in Canada. In general, contaminant levels were relatively low, with the exception of cadmium in kidneys (geometric mean: 6.5 µg/g wet weight; range: 1.5–44.0 µg/g). Two types of liver parasites were found: the liver fluke Fascioloides magna (prevalence: 78%; geometric mean abundance: 4.2 flukes/caribou) and a tapeworm larva consistent with Taenia hydatigena (prevalence: 50%; geometric mean abundance: 0.6 larvae/caribou). Using multiple variable regression analysis, we found renal concentrations of cadmium to be positively associated, and selenium to be negatively associated, with F. magna abundance.Source type: Printhttp://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1671852081&am
Nota sull’uso di dimidiatus (Gell., Noct. XII 1. 6)
No full textLexical choices made by Aulus Gellius in the Noctes Atticae are characterised by originality: the analysis conducted on the use of the adjective dimidiatus in the passage in question, semantically marked in the previous attestations, aims to show how the author uses a term foreign to the moral vocabulary in order to support his thesis.[it] Le scelte lessicali operate da Aulo Gellio nelle Noctes Atticae si caratterizzano per una particolare originalità: l’analisi condotta sull’uso dell’aggettivo dimidiatus nel passo in questione, semanticamente connotato nelle attestazioni precedenti alla scrittura gelliana, mira a dimostrare come l’autore adoperi un termine estraneo al lessico morale allo scopo di supportare la propria tesi
From theory to the complex geospatial ground-truth of contaminated soils.
No full textCharacterization and subsequent reclamation of contaminated sites require detailed knowledge of the geospatial distribution of contamination. In Italy, a potentially contaminated site is an area where the concentration of one or more contaminants in soils is above land-use legal limits (CSC according to Italian law 152/06). Four main phases have to be followed to assess contamination and then reclamation: 1) preliminary conceptual model, 2) characterization plan, 3) site specific risk analysis (by Risk-net software) setting the contamination threshold concentration (CSR), 4) assessment of contamination and therefore reclamation action by comparison between CSC and CSR. The geospatial distribution of contaminants is considered in the characterization plan. It is mandatory to sample at least three samples for each surveyed point (one sample in the 0 to 1 m depth, one sample in the capillary fringe zone and one in between). There aren’t clear indications on the sampling strategy and spatial density. According to Italian law (D.M. 471/99), it is usual to identify 5 to 15 sampling points for areas of 1 to 5 hectares.
In this work we attempt to answer the question: “After more than a decade from the introduction of law 152/06 and considering the progress of scientific knowledge, are these soil sampling criteria suitable for assessing the spatial and volumetric distribution of site contamination?
We considered the analytical and spatial dataset obtained from two rural and industrial potentially polluted sites of south Italy, formerly interested by past disposal of industrial sludge and wastes.
In both sites results showed that: (i) the geospatial variability of contamination is always much more complex than expected and depends by the history of the contamination; (ii) the sampling of the first meter - as a single body - is not satisfactory because it does not take into account the real vertical distribution of pollutants and the soil stratigraphy (such as the presence of centimeter horizons).
The work illustrates the use of proximal sensing sensors, such as EMI, ARP, portable gamma-ray spectrometers and portable XRFs to obtain detailed mappings for homogeneous areas identification, where to address subsequent pedological and chemical investigations.
Moreover, the pedological observation - guided by these technologies - often provides essential information to understand the process of emplacement and possible migration of pollutants towards other environmental sectors. The applied integrated approach, which was found very relevant for the site characterization, can assume even greater importance in the subsequent phase of reclamation
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