Apertium: a free/open-source platform for rule-based machine translation

Apertium is a free/open-source platform for rule-based machine translation. It is being widely used to build machine translation systems for a variety of language pairs, especially in those cases (mainly with related-language pairs) where shallow transfer suffices to produce good quality translations, although it has also proven useful in assimilation scenarios with more distant pairs involved. This article summarises the Apertium platform: the translation engine, the encoding of linguistic data, and the tools developed around the platform. The present limitations of the platform and the challenges posed for the coming years are also discussed. Finally, evaluation results for some of the most active language pairs are presented. An appendix describes Apertium as a free/open-source project.     

Promoting competition in regulated markets: Application to a study of transport services in Spain

Economic deregulation of industry and transport is one of the economic policies exerted in recent years in Spain, with the aim of increasing efficiency in the economic system. This paper focus on the economic effects of transport deregulation. To this end, we have applied the theoretical apparatus pertaining to the estimation of the consumers surplus, using a series of previous empirical studies on the different modes of transport in Spain, their regulations and the effects of such deregulation as they have undergone. Empirical evidence provide predictions which indicate that deregulation of transport services may produce substantial benefits to Spanish consumers.Received: January 2003/Accepted: January 2004The authors acknowledge the numerous comments and suggestions of the anonymous referees and the editor which have significantly contributed to improve this paper. The remaining errors and responsibilities belong only to authors.     

Effect of chemically modified clinoptilolite on the thermal,morphological, and gas separation properties of mixed matrix membranes

Mixed matrix membranes (MMM) based on polysulfone and chemically modified clinoptilolite were prepared. Clinoptilolite enriched with Ca²⁺, K⁺, and Na⁺ by ion exchange at two test temperatures was prepared. Chemical composition was monitored by energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms were also performed. Thermal and morphological properties of MMM were evaluated. CH₄/CO₂ gas mixture permeability tests at different upstream pressure were carried out. Type of exchanged cation in modified clinoptilolite affected the CO₂ permeability. An improvement on the CO₂/CH₄ selectivity values in the MMM compared to the polymeric membrane was appreciated. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45659.     

Antioxidants of therapeutic relevance in COPD from the neotropical blueberry Anthopterus wardii

Four flavone C-glycosides, isoorientin (1), orientin (2), vitexin (3), and isovitexin (4), were isolated from the neotropical blueberry of Anthopterus wardii, a so-called “superfruit”, using antioxidant activity-guided fractionation. A dose-response relationship of compounds 1-4 was determined for their anti-inflammatory activity against interleukin-8 (IL-8) and for the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression, an inflammatory marker for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The four flavone C-glycosides exhibited inhibitory activity against IL-8 production and MMP-1 expression, with compounds 1, 3, and 4 having the most potent inhibitory activities in both assays at 100 μg/ml. The structures of compounds 1-4 were determined by spectroscopic methods. These flavone C-glycosides are reported for the first time in the Anthopterus genus.