use strict;
my $str = 'The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for classifying and recognizing image patterns using a second-order neural network , thereby achieving high-rate parallel processing while lowering the complexity . The second-order neural network , which is made of adders and multipliers , corrects positional translations generated in a complex-log mapping unit to output the same result for the same object irrespective of the scale and/or rotation of the object . The present invention enables high-rate image pattern classification and recognition based on parallel processing , which is the advantage obtained in neural network models , because consistent neural networks and consistent network structure computation models are applied to all steps from the image input step to the pattern classifying and recognizing step .';
my $regex = qr/(?<=[\s])(?=[.,;?])/mp;
my $subst = '';
my $result = $str =~ s/$regex/$subst/rg;
print "The result of the substitution is' $result\n";
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Perl, please visit: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html