Probing the statistical properties of unknown texts: application to the Voynich manuscript

While the use of statistical physics methods to analyze large corpora has been useful to unveil many patterns in texts, no comprehensive investigation has been performed on the interdependence between syntactic and semantic factors. In this study we propose a framework for determining whether a text (e.g., written in an unknown alphabet) is compatible with a natural language and to which language it could belong. The approach is based on three types of statistical measurements, i.e. obtained from first-order statistics of word properties in a text, from the topology of complex networks representing texts, and from intermittency concepts where text is treated as a time series. Comparative experiments were performed with the New Testament in 15 different languages and with distinct books in English and Portuguese in order to quantify the dependency of the different measurements on the language and on the story being told in the book. The metrics found to be informative in distinguishing real texts from their shuffled versions include assortativity, degree and selectivity of words. As an illustration, we analyze an undeciphered medieval manuscript known as the Voynich Manuscript. We show that it is mostly compatible with natural languages and incompatible with random texts. We also obtain candidates for keywords of the Voynich Manuscript which could be helpful in the effort of deciphering it. Because we were able to identify statistical measurements that are more dependent on the syntax than on the semantics, the framework may also serve for text analysis in language-dependent applications.

La responsabilidad en el transporte multimodal

[ES] La responsabilidad es en el transporte multimodal la cuestión más delicada y discutida por doctrina y jurisprudencia. La importancia de esta materia justifica un análisis jurídico detallado de la misma.

Studio di ausili tecnologici compensativi di supporto all'iter di apprendimento matematico secondario e universitario degli studenti con dislessia

Data coming out from various researches carried out over the last years in Italy on the problem of school dispersion in secondary school show that difficulty in studying mathematics is one of the most frequent reasons of discomfort reported by students. Nevertheless, it is definitely unrealistic to think we can do without such knowledge in today society: mathematics is largely taught in secondary school and it is not confined within technical-scientific courses only. It is reasonable to say that, although students may choose academic courses that are, apparently, far away from mathematics, all students will have to come to terms, sooner or later in their life, with this subject. Among the reasons of discomfort given by the study of mathematics, some mention the very nature of this subject and in particular the complex symbolic language through which it is expressed. In fact, mathematics is a multimodal system composed by oral and written verbal texts, symbol expressions, such as formulae and equations, figures and graphs. For this, the study of mathematics represents a real challenge to those who suffer from dyslexia: this is a constitutional condition limiting people performances in relation to the activities of reading and writing and, in particular, to the study of mathematical contents. Here the difficulties in working with verbal and symbolic codes entail, in turn, difficulties in the comprehension of texts from which to deduce operations that, once combined together, would lead to the problem final solution. Information technologies may support this learning disorder effectively. However, these tools have some implementation limits, restricting their use in the study of scientific subjects. Vocal synthesis word processors are currently used to compensate difficulties in reading within the area of classical studies, but they are not used within the area of mathematics. This is because the vocal synthesis (or we should say the screen reader supporting it) is not able to interpret all that is not textual, such as symbols, images and graphs. The DISMATH software, which is the subject of this project, would allow dyslexic users to read technical-scientific documents with the help of a vocal synthesis, to understand the spatial structure of formulae and matrixes, to write documents with a technical-scientific content in a format that is compatible with main scientific editors. The system uses LaTex, a text mathematic language, as mediation system. It is set up as LaTex editor, whose graphic interface, in line with main commercial products, offers some additional specific functions with the capability to support the needs of users who are not able to manage verbal and symbolic codes on their own. LaTex is translated in real time into a standard symbolic language and it is read by vocal synthesis in natural language, in order to increase, through the bimodal representation, the ability to process information. The understanding of the mathematic formula through its reading is made possible by the deconstruction of the formula itself and its “tree” representation, so allowing to identify the logical elements composing it. Users, even without knowing LaTex language, are able to write whatever scientific document they need: in fact the symbolic elements are recalled by proper menus and automatically translated by the software managing the correct syntax. The final aim of the project, therefore, is to implement an editor enabling dyslexic people (but not only them) to manage mathematic formulae effectively, through the integration of different software tools, so allowing a better teacher/learner interaction too.

Markov Constraints for Generating Texts with Style

This thesis addresses the issue of generating texts in the style of an existing author, that also satisfy structural constraints imposed by the genre of the text. Although Markov processes are known to be suitable for representing style, they are difficult to control in order to satisfy non-local properties, such as structural constraints, that require long distance modeling. The framework of Constrained Markov Processes allows to precisely generate texts that are consistent with a corpus, while being controllable in terms of rhymes and meter. Controlled Markov processes consist in reformulating Markov processes in the context of constraint satisfaction. The thesis describes how to represent stylistic and structural properties in terms of constraints in this framework and how this approach can be used for the generation of lyrics in the style of 60 differents authors An evaluation of the desctibed method is provided by comparing it to both pure Markov and pure constraint-based approaches. Finally the thesis describes the implementation of an augmented text editor, called Perec. Perec is intended to improve creativity, by helping the user to write lyrics and poetry, exploiting the techniques presented so far.

Italian texts as networks: Topological measurements, Zipf and Heaps' laws

In questa tesi si è studiato un corpus di importanti testi della letteratura Italiana utilizzando la teoria dei network. Le misure topologiche tipiche dei network sono state calcolate sui testi letterari, poi sono state studiate le loro distribuzioni e i loro valori medi, per capire quali di esse possono distinguere un testo reale da sue modificazioni. Inoltre si è osservato come tutti i testi presentino due importanti leggi statistiche: la legge di Zipf e quella di Heaps.

Multimodal (EEG-fMRI) functional connectivity study of levodopa effect in Parkinson’s disease

Aim: To assess if the intake of levodopa in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) changes cerebral connectivity, as revealed by simultaneous recording of hemodynamic (functional MRI, or fMRI) and electric (electroencephalogram, EEG) signals. Particularly, we hypothesize that the strongest changes in FC will involve the motor network, which is the most impaired in PD. Methods: Eight patients with diagnosis of PD “probable”, therapy with levodopa exclusively, normal cognitive and affective status, were included. Exclusion criteria were: moderate-severe rest tremor, levodopa induced dyskinesia, evidence of gray or white matter abnormalities on structural MRI. Scalp EEG (64 channels) were acquired inside the scanner (1.5 Tesla) before and after the intake of levodopa. fMRI functional connectivity was computed from four regions of interest: right and left supplementary motor area (SMA) and right and left precentral gyrus (primary motor cortex). Weighted partial directed coherence (w-PDC) was computed in the inverse space after the removal of EEG gradient and cardioballistic artifacts. Results and discussion: fMRI group analysis shows that the intake of levodopa increases hemodynamic functional connectivity among the SMAs / primary motor cortex and: sensory-motor network itself, attention network and default mode network. w-PDC analysis shows that EEG connectivity among regions of the motor network has the tendency to decrease after the intake the levodopa; furthermore, regions belonging to the DMN have the tendency to increase their outflow toward the rest of the brain. These findings, even if in a small sample of patients, suggest that other resting state physiological functional networks, beyond the motor one, are affected in patients with PD. The behavioral and cognitive tasks corresponding to the affected networks could benefit from the intake of levodopa.

A suggested translation of art related texts

The thesis is the translation of art related texts, translated for a sculptor of Bologna. The comment to the translation is based on functional theories.