Absolute configuration of conformationally flexible cis-dihydrodiol metabolites by the method of confrontation of experimental and calculated electronic CD spectra and optical rotations

We have determined the absolute configurations of conformationally flexible cis-dihydrodiol metabolites (cis-1,2-dihydroxy-3,5-cyclohexadienes), bearing different substituents (e.g., Br, F, CF3, CN, Me) in 3- and 5-positions, by the method of confrontation of experimental and calculated electronic CD spectra and optical rotations. Convergent results were obtained by both methods in eight out of ten cases. For the difficult cases, where either conformer population and/or chiroptical properties (calculated rotational strengths of the long-wavelength Cotton effect or optical rotations) of contributing conformers remain inconclusive, the absolute configuration could still be correctly assigned based on one of the biased properties (either ECD or optical rotation). This approach appears well-suited for a broad spectrum of conformationally flexible chiral molecules.

Flexible Natural Language Generation in Multiple Contexts

We present a practical approach to Natural Language Generation (NLG) for spoken dialogue systems. The approach is based on small template fragments (mini-templates). The system’s object architecture facilitates generation of phrases across pre-defined business domains and registers, as well as into different languages. The architecture simplifies NLG in well-understood application contexts, while providing the flexibility for a developer and for the system, to vary linguistic output according to dialogue context, including any intended affective impact. Mini-templates are used with a suite of domain term objects, resulting in an NLG system (MINTGEN – MINi-Template GENerator) whose extensibility and ease of maintenance is enhanced by the sparsity of information devoted to individual domains. The system also avoids the need for specialist linguistic competence on the part of the system maintainer.

Development of a Java-based Unified and Flexible Natural Language Discourse System

This paper outlines the design and development of a Java-based, unified and flexible natural language dialogue system that enables users to interact using natural language, e.g. speech. A number of software development issues are considered with the aim of designing an architecture that enables different discourse components to be readily and flexibly combined in a manner that permits information to be easily shared. Use of XML schemas assists this component interaction. The paper describes how a range of Java language features were employed to support the development of the architecture, providing an illustration of how a modern programming language makes tractable the development of a complex dialogue system.

Testing of a novel flexible concrete arch system

This paper describes the testing of a novel flexible masonry concrete arch system which requires no centering in the construction phase or steel reinforcement in the long-term. The arch is constructed from a 'flat pack' system by use of a polymer reinforcement for supporting the self-weight of the concrete voussoirs and behaves as a masonry arch once in the arch form. The paper outlines the construction of a prototype arch and load testing of the backfilled arch ring. Some comparisons to the results from analysis software have been made. The arch had a load carrying capacity far in excess of the current Highways Agency (United Kingdom) design wheel loads.

Alkali-metal salts of aromatic carboxylic acids: Liquid crystals without flexible chains

The alkali-metal salts of meta-substituted benzoic acids exhibit a smectic A mesophase at high temperatures. These compounds are examples of liquid crystals without terminal alkyl chains. The influence of the metal ion and of the type of substituents on the transition temperatures is discussed. Compounds with the substituent in the ortho- and para-positions are non-mesomorphic. The crystal structures of the compounds Rb(C7H4ClO2)(C7H4ClO2H), Na(C7H4IO2)(H2O), K(C7H4ClO2)(C7H4ClO2H) and Rb(C7H4BrO2)(C7H4BrO2H) have been determined by X-ray crystallography. These compounds possess a layerlike structure in the solid state. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005)

FLEXIBLE OMNIVORY IN DIKEROGAMMARUS VILLOSUS (SOWINSKY, 1894) (AMPHIPODA) - AMPHIPOD PILOT SPECIES PROJECT (AMPIS) REPORT 5

Feeding in Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) males was observed in the field and recorded on video in the laboratory. The following feeding modes were recognized: detritus feeding, grazing, particle feeding, coprophagy, predation on benthic and free swimming invertebrates, predation on fish eggs and larvae, as well as feeding on byssus threads of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771). The feeding methods are described and illustrated with screenshots of video recordings. The very flexible feeding modes of D. villosus, which make diet switches possible, form a trait that must be an important factor in the invasion success of this Ponto-Caspian gammaridean species, and may thus explain for a great deal its high ecosystem impact.

Inter-Frame Contextual Modelling For Visual Speech Recognition

In this paper, we present a new approach to visual speech recognition which improves contextual modelling by combining Inter-Frame Dependent and Hidden Markov Models. This approach captures contextual information in visual speech that may be lost using a Hidden Markov Model alone. We apply contextual modelling to a large speaker independent isolated digit recognition task, and compare our approach to two commonly adopted feature based techniques for incorporating speech dynamics. Results are presented from baseline feature based systems and the combined modelling technique. We illustrate that both of these techniques achieve similar levels of performance when used independently. However significant improvements in performance can be achieved through a combination of the two. In particular we report an improvement in excess of 17% relative Word Error Rate in comparison to our best baseline system.

Towards a Poetics of the Cinematographic Frame

In delineating a poetics of the cinematographic frame, this article presents a typology of framing styles, and demonstrates how filmmakers use the frame as an expressive resource and how the frame uses them. The examples discussed are modernist in orientation, and each has a particular association with a city - its history, architecture, and cultural character. Although it is common practice to refer to some framing situations as instances of 'deframing', the article enquires into the problematic nature of this term, suggesting alternative visual and cinematographic contexts more amenable to its deconstructive implications. As the boundaries between cinema and the other arts continue to converge and relations between frame, image, and screen become more complex, this article offers a reassessment of some first principles of film language, especially the aesthetic integrity of the cinematographic frame.