Developing a large scale FrameNet for Italian - The IFrameNet experience

In this thesis we present the development and the current status of the IFrameNet project, aimed at the construction of a large-scale lexical semantic resource for the Italian language based on Frame Semantics theories. We will begin by contextualizing our work in the wider context of Frame Semantics and of the FrameNet project, which, since 1997, has attempted to apply these theories to lexicography. We will then analyse and discuss the applicability of the structure of the American resource to Italian and more specifically we will focus on the domain of fear, worry, and anxiety. We will finally propose some modifications aimed at improving this domain of the resource in relation to its coherence, its ability to accurately represent the linguistic reality and in particular in order to make it possible to apply it to Italian.

Constraints on cold dark matter accelerating cosmologies and cluster formation

We discuss the properties of homogeneous and isotropic flat cosmologies in which the present accelerating stage is powered only by the gravitationally induced creation of cold dark matter (CCDM) particles (Omega(m) = 1). For some matter creation rates proposed in the literature, we show that the main cosmological functions such as the scale factor of the universe, the Hubble expansion rate, the growth factor, and the cluster formation rate are analytically defined. The best CCDM scenario has only one free parameter and our joint analysis involving baryonic acoustic oscillations + cosmic microwave background (CMB) + SNe Ia data yields (Omega) over tilde = 0.28 +/- 0.01 (1 sigma), where (Omega) over tilde (m) is the observed matter density parameter. In particular, this implies that the model has no dark energy but the part of the matter that is effectively clustering is in good agreement with the latest determinations from the large- scale structure. The growth of perturbation and the formation of galaxy clusters in such scenarios are also investigated. Despite the fact that both scenarios may share the same Hubble expansion, we find that matter creation cosmologies predict stronger small scale dynamics which implies a faster growth rate of perturbations with respect to the usual Lambda CDM cosmology. Such results point to the possibility of a crucial observational test confronting CCDM with Lambda CDM scenarios through a more detailed analysis involving CMB, weak lensing, as well as the large-scale structure.

Testing for large extra dimensions with neutrino oscillations

We consider a model where sterile neutrinos can propagate in a large compactified extra dimension giving rise to Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes and the standard model left-handed neutrinos are confined to a 4-dimensional spacetime brane. The KK modes mix with the standard neutrinos modifying their oscillation pattern. We examine former and current experiments such as CHOOZ, KamLAND, and MINOS to estimate the impact of the possible presence of such KK modes on the determination of the neutrino oscillation parameters and simultaneously obtain limits on the size of the largest extra dimension. We found that the presence of the KK modes does not essentially improve the quality of the fit compared to the case of the standard oscillation. By combining the results from CHOOZ, KamLAND, and MINOS, in the limit of a vanishing lightest neutrino mass, we obtain the stronger bound on the size of the extra dimension as similar to 1.0(0.6) mu m at 99% C.L. for normal (inverted) mass hierarchy. If the lightest neutrino mass turns out to be larger, 0.2 eV, for example, we obtain the bound similar to 0.1 mu m. We also discuss the expected sensitivities on the size of the extra dimension for future experiments such as Double CHOOZ, T2K, and NO nu A.

Enzymatic Resolution of Racemic Sulcatol by Lipase from Candida Antarctica in a Large Scale

Large scale enzymatic resolution of racemic sulcatol 2 has been useful for stereoselective biocatalysis. This reaction was fast and selective, using vinyl acetate as donor of acyl group and lipase from Candida antarctica (CALB) as catalyst. The large scale reaction (5.0 g, 39 mmol) afforded high optical purities for S-(+)-sulcatol 2 and R-(+)-sulcatyl acetate 3, i.e., ee > 99 per cent and good yields (45 per cent) within a short time (40 min). Thermodynamic parameters for the chemoesterification of sulcatol 2 by vinyl acetate were evaluated. The enthalpy and Gibbs free energy values of this reaction were negative, indicating that this process is exothermic and spontaneous which is in agreement with the reaction obtained enzymatically.

Planning and operation of large-scale water distribution systems with preemptive priorities

This paper describes the development of an optimization model for the management and operation of a large-scale, multireservoir water supply distribution system with preemptive priorities. The model considers multiobjectives and hedging rules. During periods of drought, when water supply is insufficient to meet the planned demand, appropriate rationing factors are applied to reduce water supply. In this paper, a water distribution system is formulated as a network and solved by the GAMS modeling system for mathematical programming and optimization. A user-friendly interface is developed to facilitate the manipulation of data and to generate graphs and tables for decision makers. The optimization model and its interface form a decision support system (DSS), which can be used to configure a water distribution system to facilitate capacity expansion and reliability studies. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the utility and versatility of the developed DSS under different supply and demand scenarios, including applications to one of the largest water supply systems in the world, the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area Water Supply Distribution System in Brazil.

Recycling Krylov subspaces for efficient large-scale electrical impedance tomography

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) captures images of internal features of a body. Electrodes are attached to the boundary of the body, low intensity alternating currents are applied, and the resulting electric potentials are measured. Then, based on the measurements, an estimation algorithm obtains the three-dimensional internal admittivity distribution that corresponds to the image. One of the main goals of medical EIT is to achieve high resolution and an accurate result at low computational cost. However, when the finite element method (FEM) is employed and the corresponding mesh is refined to increase resolution and accuracy, the computational cost increases substantially, especially in the estimation of absolute admittivity distributions. Therefore, we consider in this work a fast iterative solver for the forward problem, which was previously reported in the context of structural optimization. We propose several improvements to this solver to increase its performance in the EIT context. The solver is based on the recycling of approximate invariant subspaces, and it is applied to reduce the EIT computation time for a constant and high resolution finite element mesh. In addition, we consider a powerful preconditioner and provide a detailed pseudocode for the improved iterative solver. The numerical results show the effectiveness of our approach: the proposed algorithm is faster than the preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm. The results also show that even on a standard PC without parallelization, a high mesh resolution (more than 150,000 degrees of freedom) can be used for image estimation at a relatively low computational cost. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Large-Scale Ecological Restoration in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Over the past 150 years, Brazil has played a pioneering role in developing environmental policies and pursuing forest conservation and ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems. In particular, the Brazilian Forest Act, first drafted in 1934, has been fundamental in reducing deforestation and engaging private land owners in forest restoration initiatives. At the time of writing (December 2010), however, a proposal for major revision of the Brazilian Forest Act is under intense debate in the National Assembly, and we are deeply concerned about the outcome. On the basis of the analysis of detailed vegetation and hydrographic maps, we estimate that the proposed changes may reduce the total amount of potential areas for restoration in the Atlantic Forest by approximately 6 million hectares. As a radically different policy model, we present the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP), which is a group of more than 160 members that represents one of the most important and ambitious ecological restoration programs in the world. The AFRP aims to restore 15 million hectares of degraded lands in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome by 2050 and increase the current forest cover of the biome from 17% to at least 30%. We argue that not only should Brazilian lawmakers refrain from revising the existing Forest Law, but also greatly step up investments in the science, business, and practice of ecological restoration throughout the country, including the Atlantic Forest. The AFRP provides a template that could be adapted to other forest biomes in Brazil and to other megadiversity countries around the world.

Ultrasound Irradiation Promoted Large-Scale Preparation in Aqueous Media and Antioxidant Activity of Azoles

The scaled-up preparation of 1H-pyrazole, 1-phenylpyrazole and isoxazole via sonocatalysis is reported. The products were isolated in good yields in short time reaction. These compounds had been assayed for antioxidant activity by ORAC and DPPH methodologies. The results showed that only 1-phenylpyrazole presented good antioxidant activity compared with Trolox(R).

Employee adjustment to large-scale organisational change

The present study was designed to test the utility of a stress-coping model of employee adjustment to organisational change. Specifically, it was proposed that employee adjustment to this type of work stress would be influenced by the characteristics of the change situation, employees' appraisals of the situation, their coping strategies, and the extent of their personal resources. Data were collected from 140 middle managers and supervisors involved in a large-scale public sector integration. The results of the research provided some support for the proposed model: high levels of psychological distress were related to a reliance on informal sources of information, high appraised stress, low appraised certainty, and the use of avoidant rather than problem-focused strategies, whereas poor social functioning was associated with low self-esteem, high levels or disruption across the period of change, a reliance on informal sources of information, and the use of avoidant coping strategies. There was no evidence that coping strategies mediated the effects of the event characteristics, situational appraisals, and personal resources on adjustment; however, there was some evidence linking these variables to coping strategies, in particular, problem-focused coping. There was also some evidence to indicate that the experience of organisational change was different for managers and supervisors: levels of threat were higher for the managers than the supervisors, but there was no difference between the groups of employees in terms of adjustment.

Identifying rate-limiting nodes in large-scale cortical networks for visuospatial processing: an illustration using fMRI

With the advent of functional neuroimaging techniques, in particular functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we have gained greater insight into the neural correlates of visuospatial function. However, it may not always be easy to identify the cerebral regions most specifically associated with performance on a given task. One approach is to examine the quantitative relationships between regional activation and behavioral performance measures. In the present study, we investigated the functional neuroanatomy of two different visuospatial processing tasks, judgement of line orientation and mental rotation. Twenty-four normal participants were scanned with fMRI using blocked periodic designs for experimental task presentation. Accuracy and reaction time (RT) to each trial of both activation and baseline conditions in each experiment was recorded. Both experiments activated dorsal and ventral visual cortical areas as well as dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. More regionally specific associations with task performance were identified by estimating the association between (sinusoidal) power of functional response and mean RT to the activation condition; a permutation test based on spatial statistics was used for inference. There was significant behavioral-physiological association in right ventral extrastriate cortex for the line orientation task and in bilateral (predominantly right) superior parietal lobule for the mental rotation task. Comparable associations were not found between power of response and RT to the baseline conditions of the tasks. These data suggest that one region in a neurocognitive network may be most strongly associated with behavioral performance and this may be regarded as the computationally least efficient or rate-limiting node of the network.

Quasi-stationarity in populations that are subject to large-scale mortality or emigration

We shall examine a model, first studied by Brockwell et al. [Adv Appl Probab 14 (1982) 709.], which can be used to describe the longterm behaviour of populations that are subject to catastrophic mortality or emigration events. Populations can suffer dramatic declines when disease, such as an introduced virus, affects the population, or when food shortages occur, due to overgrazing or fluctuations in rainfall. However, perhaps surprisingly, such populations can survive for long periods and, although they may eventually become extinct, they can exhibit an apparently stationary regime. It is useful to be able to model this behaviour. This is particularly true of the ecological examples that motivated the present study, since, in order to properly manage these populations, it is necessary to be able to predict persistence times and to estimate the conditional probability distribution of population size. We shall see that although our model predicts eventual extinction, the time till extinction can be long and the stationary exhibited by these populations over any reasonable time scale can be explained using a quasistationary distribution. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.