FrameNet is a three-year NSF-supported project in corpus-based computational lexicography, now in its second year (NSF IRI-9618838, "Tools for Lexicon Building"). The project's key features are (a) a commitment to corpus evidence for semantic and syntactic generalizations, and (b) the representation of the valences of its target words (mostly nouns, adjectives, and verbs) in which the semantic portion makes use of frame semantics. The resulting database will contain (a) descriptions of the semantic frames underlying the meanings of the words described, and (b) the valence representation (semantic and syntactic) of several thousand words and phrases, each accompanied by (c) a representative collection of annotated corpus attestations, which jointly exemplify the observed linkings between "frame elements" and their syntactic realizations (e.g. grammatical function, phrase type, and other syntactic traits). This report will present the project's goals and workflow, and information about the computational tools that have been adapted or created in-house for this work.

FrameNet is a three-year NSF-supported project in corpus-based computational lexicography, now in its second year (NSF IRI-9618838, "Tools for Lexicon Building"). The project's key features are (a) a commitment to corpus evidence for semantic and syntactic generalizations, and (b) the representation of the valences of its target words (mostly nouns, adjectives, and verbs) in which the semantic portion makes use of frame semantics. The resulting database will contain (a) descriptions of the semantic frames underlying the meanings of the words described, and (b) the valence representation (semantic and syntactic) of several thousand words and phrases, each accompanied by (c) a representative collection of annotated corpus attestations, which jointly exemplify the observed linkings between "frame elements" and their syntactic realizations (e.g. grammatical function, phrase type, and other syntactic traits). This report will present the project's goals and workflow, and information about the computational tools that have been adapted or created in-house for this work.

Background-Thromboembolic disease secondary to complicated carotid atherosclerotic plaque is a major cause of cerebral ischemia. Clinical management relies on the detection of significant (Ͼ70%) carotid stenosis. A large proportion of patients suffer irreversible cerebral ischemia as a result of lesser degrees of stenosis. Diagnostic techniques that can identify nonstenotic high-risk plaque would therefore be beneficial. High-risk plaque is defined histologically if it contains hemorrhage/thrombus. Magnetic resonance direct thrombus imaging (MRDTI) is capable of detecting methemoglobin within intraplaque hemorrhage. We assessed this as a marker of complicated plaque and compared its accuracy with histological examination of surgical endarterectomy specimens. Methods and Results-Sixty-three patients underwent successful MRDTI and endarterectomy with histological examination. Of these, 44 were histologically defined as complicated (type VI plaque). MRDTI demonstrated 3 false-positive and 7 false-negative results, giving a sensitivity and specificity of 84%, negative predictive value of 70%, and positive predictive value of 93%. The interobserver (ϭ0.75) and intraobserver (ϭ0.9) agreement for reading MRDTI scans was good. Conclusions-MRDTI of the carotid vessels in patients with cerebral ischemia is an accurate means of identifying histologically confirmed complicated plaque. The high contrast generated by short T 1 species within the plaque allows for ease of interpretation, making this technique highly applicable in the research and clinical setting for the investigation of carotid atherosclerotic disease. Key Words: thrombus Ⅲ plaque Ⅲ carotid arteries Ⅲ imaging Ⅲ cerebral ischemia A therothrombotic carotid disease is a major cause of cerebral ischemia. Embolization from the surface of an atherosclerotic plaque to cerebral vessels can result in occlusion, which, if sufficiently prolonged, will result in cerebral infarction. More transient vascular occlusion may result in temporary ischemia, producing a neurological deficit that recovers with little or no residual brain damage. Clinically, transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) provide a warning of further cerebral ischemic events; Ϸ10% of patients who sustain a TIA, left untreated, will suffer a definitive stroke in the following year, 1 followed by a rate of 5% per annum. A warning TIA therefore offers the chance to intervene to prevent future permanent cerebral damage. The North American 2 and European 3 endarterectomy trials have both shown the positive benefit of surgery in patients with significant stenosis. The trials also indicate that lesser degrees of carotid disease are responsible for a significant number of strokes, but the risks of surgery matched or outweighed the benefits. Techniques have been sought to further define those among the group with moderate stenosis who are at high risk.In 1995, Stary et al, 4 for the American Heart Association, defined different atherosclerotic subtypes, the purpose being to pathologically identify plaque more likely to ...

Background-It is recognized that complicated plaque largely accounts for the morbidity and mortality from atherosclerosis. Ideally, investigation of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients would identify atheromatous plaques independently of stenosis. We have previously shown that a magnetic resonance direct thrombus imaging (MRDTI) technique demonstrates complicated atheroma as high signal within the carotid arterial wall. We used this technique to examine the prevalence of complicated carotid plaque in vivo in the ipsilateral arteries of recently symptomatic patients with suspected carotid artery stenosis and to compare this with their contralateral arteries and with those of healthy age-and sex-matched controls. Methods and Results-The carotid arteries of 120 patients with suspected severe carotid artery stenosis and previous acute cerebral ischemia were imaged using MRDTI, as were 28 control arteries. High signal was not seen in any control artery. However, there was a 60% prevalence of high signal, suggestive of complicated plaque in the patients' ipsilateral arteries. The prevalence of high signal was significantly greater in the patients' ipsilateral vessels compared with the contralateral, asymptomatic side (60% versus 36%, 2 PϽ0.001), particularly for vessels of only moderate stenosis. Conclusions-MRDTI high signal suggestive of complicated plaque is prevalent in the ipsilateral carotid arteries of patients with carotid stenosis and recent cerebral ischemic events. MRDTI has a potential role in identifying "at risk" plaque, studying atherogenesis and the effects of plaque-modifying strategies. (Circulation. 2003;107:3053-3058.)

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