In the era of Large Language Models (like ChatGPT or Google BARD), the field of computational linguistics faces a pressing challenge: bridging the gap between theoretical linguistic models and the transformative capabilities of network models, particularly transformer-based models. A long-standing understanding within linguistics is that the frequency of words within semantic networks is closely linked to their meanings and syntactic functions, a concept dating back to the earliest models in quantitative linguistics and connectionist models. However, the training data for large language models diverges significantly from the conventional acquisition of human languages. This disparity underscores the importance of delving into new models and quantitative linguistic principles and the so-called “Linguistic laws”: these are statistical patterns that hold true in human languages and other communication systems, analogous to the statistical laws of physics. For example, G. K. Zipf formulated a couple of statistical laws on the relationship between the frequency of a word with its number of meanings: the law of meaning distribution, relating the frequency of a word and its frequency rank, and the meaning-frequency law, relating the frequency of a word with its number of meanings. In light of this, we recently introduce a novel concept called ”semanticity” which establishes a connection between a word’s potential meanings and its position within the linguistic network. To explore this notion, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of Catalan using extensive oral and written corpora, leveraging the resources of the official dictionary (DIEC2). Our findings reveal that the semanticity of words provides a straightforward classification for content and function words and for various word types in Catalan, allowing for the integration of both their semantic and syntactic attributes within this single parameter. Ultimately, we present the potential and limitations of this linguistic property and advocate for the examination of semanticity in other languages. This endeavor aims to forge new connections between the realms of computational and theoretical linguistics, ushering in a new era of linguistic exploration and understanding.

Un equip de la UPC i de l’Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2) ha dissenyat un fotocatalitzador eficient i estable capaç de produir hidrogen directament amb la llum del Sol. Els resultats es publiquen a la revista científica 'Nature Communications'.

El catedràtic Jordi Llorca, investigador del grup de recerca ENCORE-NEMEN del Departament d’Enginyeria Química i l’Institut de Tècniques Energètiques (INTE) de la UPC, i que també forma part del Centre Específic de Recerca de l’Hidrogen (CER-H2), explica com s'ha dut a terme el desenvolupament d'aquests materials.

Sisè vídeo de la sèrie 'Consells per afrontar un projecte de recerca i innovació', en què Clara Prats, investigadora del grup de recerca de Biologia Computacional i Sistemes Complexos (BIOCOM-SC) i professora de l'Escola d'Enginyeria Agroalimentària i de Biosistemes de Barcelona (EEABB) de la UPC, explica la importància de comunicar els resultats de la recerca científica.

'Consells per afrontar un projecte de recerca i innovació' és una iniciativa del Servei de Suport a la Recerca i la Innovació (SSRI) amb la col·laboració de Laboratori d'Innovació i Suport Audiovisual (LISA) i el Servei de Comunicació de la UPC.

The UPC’s Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group (BBT) leads the international project Bio-TUNE, which aims to develop multifunctional materials with high antibacterial potential and efficient tissue integration. The consortium is made up of ten research teams from Europe, America and Asia, and is funded through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.

El Grupo de Investigación en Biomateriales, Biomecánica e Ingeniería de Tejidos (BBT) de la UPC lidera el proyecto internacional Bio-TUNE, centrado en el desarrollo de materiales multifuncionales, de alto potencial bactericida e integración eficiente con los tejidos celulares. El consorcio está integrado por diez equipos de investigación de Europa, Asia y América del Sur, y recibe financiación de la Unión Europea, en el marco del programa Horizon 2020. Carles Mas, coordinador científico del proyecto Bio-TUNE, y Nerea García, estudiante de doctorado en el Departamento de Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales de la UPC, explican los objetivos del proyecto.