Building language resources for a Multi-Engine English-Filipino machine translation system

In this paper, we present the building of various language resources for a multi-engine bi-directional English-Filipino Machine Translation (MT) system. Since linguistics information on Philippine languages are available, but as of yet, the focus has been on theoretical linguistics and little is done on the computational aspects of these languages, attempts are reported here on the manual construction of these language resources such as the grammar, lexicon, morphological information, and the corpora which were literally built from almost non-existent digital forms. Due to the inherent difficulties of manual construction, we also discuss our experiments on various technologies for automatic extraction of these resources to handle the intricacies of the Filipino language, designed with the intention of using them for the MT system. To implement the different MT engines and to ensure the improvement of translation quality, other language tools (such as the morphological analyzer and generator, and the part of speech tagger) were developed.     

Fast removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from contaminated water by groundwater treatment waste: impact of sorbent composition

ABSTRACT

A non-hazardous groundwater treatment waste (GWTW) was examined as a low-cost sorbent for Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions. The content of the dominant elements in GWTW was as follows: 78% Fe₂O₃, 7.4% P₂O₅, 7.4% CaO and 5.2% SiO₂. The removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) was fast, and more than 67–95% of ions were accumulated by GWTW during the first 3 min. The sorption capacity of GWTW depends on solution pH, concentration and temperature. Equilibrium data fitted well with Langmuir–Freundlich and Langmuir-partition models. The inherently formed nano-adsorbent could be utilized for the treatment of water contaminated with Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions.     

Shelf life of packaged sliced dry fermented sausage under different temperature

The aim of this study was to investigate the shelf-life of commercial sliced dry fermented sausage during storage at different temperatures. Different laminate composition was used for vacuum and nitrogen (100% N₂) packaging. The microbiological, physico-chemical and sensory parameters were analysed during 120 days storage at 4, 22 and 37 °C. Packaging materials were analysed for their barrier characteristic (oxygen permeability).     

The effect of Cd and vitamin D3 on the solidity of eggshell

 The effect of cadmium and vitamin D₃ on the solidity of eggshells was observed. Laying hens were divided into 7 groups with 10 animals per group. In the experimental groups 1, 2, and 3, we administered daily 0.3; 10.0, and 15.0 mg CdCl₂ kg^–1 body weight, respectively; in experimental groups 4, 5, and 6 were administered the same CdCl₂ concentrations as above supplemented with a preventive dose of vitamin D₃ Group 7 was the control group. In groups 1, 2, and 3, the mean values of solidity were 29.50; 27.58, and 27.34 N/cm². In the control group, the mean value was 34.05 N/cm². In the experimental groups 4, 5, and 6, supplemented with vitamin D₃ and cadmium, the values were significantly higher: 34.26, 30.59, and 29.48 N/cm², respectively It is obvious that the interaction of vitamin D₃ with Cd reduced an adverse effect of cadmium. Received: 14 February 2000 / Revised version: 15 May 2000     

Chemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of two Satureja essential oils

Hydro-distilled volatile oils from the aerial parts of Satureja montana L., and Satureja subspicata Bartl. ex Vis., growing wild in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were analyzed by GC/MS. More than one hundred compounds were identified in both plant oils, representing 92.4–98.1% of the total oil. The major constituents of essential oils obtained from the plant material of S. montana, collected from two different localities, were thymol (31.7%), and geraniol (22.3%), respectively. The most abundant compounds in essential oils of S. subspicata, collected at two different stages of development, were thymol (28.6%), and spathulenol (37.6%), respectively. The screening of antimicrobial activity of essential oil samples was individually evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis using a paper disc diffusion method. All tested microorganisms were inhibited by essential oil samples. Antioxidant activity was tested using the DPPH radical-scavenging method. All samples showed activity comparable to thymol, which was used as a positive probe.     

The study of preparation and photoelectrical properties of chemical bath deposited Zn,Sb and Ni-doped CuInS2 films for hydrogen production

Pure and Zn, Sb, Ni-doped CuInS₂ films were prepared by chemical bath deposition method. Structural, morphological, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties of the as-grown films were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that films consisted of the tetragonal CuInS₂ phase. The energy band gaps and carrier densities of these samples were in the ranges of 1.48–1.54 eV and 2.38 × 10¹⁸–9.38 × 10¹⁹, respectively. The maximum photocurrent density of samples with a potential of ?1.0 V vs. a Pt electrode was found to be ?8.58 mA/cm² with the largest hydrogen production capability of 33.26 μmol/cm² under illumination using a 300 W Xe lamp system.     

The effects of different UV‐B radiation intensities on morphological and biochemical characteristics in Ocimum basilicum L.

BACKGROUND: The effects of short‐term ultraviolet B (UV‐B) irradiation on sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L. cv. Cinnamon) plants at the 3–4 leaf pair and flowering stages were examined in controlled environment growth chambers. Plants were exposed to 0 (reference), 2 and 4 kJ UV‐B m^?2 day^?1 over 7 days. RESULTS: Exposure of basil plants to supplementary UV‐B light resulted in increased assimilating leaf area, fresh biomass and dry biomass. Stimulation of physiological functions in young basil plants under either applied UV‐B dose resulted in increased total chlorophyll content but no marked variation in carotenoid content. At the flowering stage the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of basil were affected by supplementary UV‐B radiation, decreasing with enhanced UV‐B exposure. Both total antioxidant activity (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl free radical assay) and total phenolic compound content were increased by UV‐B light supplementation. Young and mature basil plants differed in their ascorbic acid content, which was dependent on UV‐B dose and plant age. UV‐B radiation resulted in decreased nitrate content in young basil plants (3–4 leaf pair stage). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the application of short‐exposure UV‐B radiation beneficially influenced both growth parameters and biochemical constituents in young and mature basil plants. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Predicting body fat percentage based on gender,age and BMI by using artificial neural networks

In the human body, the relation between fat and fat-free mass (muscles, bones etc.) is necessary for the diagnosis of obesity and prediction of its comorbidities. Numerous formulas, such as Deurenberg et al., Gallagher et al., Jackson and Pollock, Jackson et al. etc., are available to predict body fat percentage (BF%) from gender (GEN), age (AGE) and body mass index (BMI). These formulas are all fairly similar and widely applicable, since they provide an easy, low-cost and non-invasive prediction of BF%. This paper presents a program solution for predicting BF% based on artificial neural network (ANN). ANN training, validation and testing are done by randomly divided dataset that includes 2755 subjects: 1332 women (GEN = 0) and 1423 men (GEN = 1), with AGE from 18 to 88 y and BMI from 16.60 to 64.60 kg/m². BF% was estimated by using Tanita bioelectrical impedance measurements (Tanita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). ANN inputs are: GEN, AGE and BMI, and output is BF%. The predictive accuracy of our solution is 80.43%. The main goal of this paper is to promote a new approach to predicting BF% that has same complexity and costs but higher predictive accuracy than above-mentioned formulas.     

Unusual Fatty Acids in the Fat Body of the Early Nesting Bumblebee, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombus pratorum</Emphasis>

Unusual fatty acids with 24, 26, and 28 carbon atoms were found in triacylglycerols (TAGs) isolated from fat body tissue of bumblebee Bombus pratorum. The most abundant one was (Z,Z)-9,19-hexacosadienoic acid. Its structure was determined by mass spectrometry after derivatization with dimethyl disulfide and by infrared spectroscopy. ECL (equivalent chain length) values of its methyl ester were determined on both DB-1 and DB-WAX capillary columns. (Z,Z)-9,19-Hexacosadienoic acid is quite rare in nature. So far it has been identified only in marine sponges, and this work is the first evidence of its occurrence in a terrestrial organism. HPLC/MS analysis of the bumblebee TAGs showed that (Z,Z)-9,19-hexacosadienoic acid is present in one third of all TAG molecular species. As it was found in all sn-TAG positions, it is likely that (Z,Z)-9,19-hexacosadienoic acid is transported to tissues. Interestingly, labial gland secretion of B. pratorum was found to contain (Z,Z)-7,17-pentacosadiene, a hydrocarbon with markedly similar double bond positions and geometry. Possible biosynthetic relationships between these two compounds are discussed.     

The effect of viscosity of polyethylene on the evolution of phase structure during the mixing of polypropylene/EPDM elastomer/polyethylene blends

The dependences of phase structure and notch impact strength on conditions of mixing have been compared for the binary blend PP/EPDM and for two ternary blends PP/EPDM/PE possessing different viscosities of polyethylene. At low rates and short times of mixing a phase structure with pronounced inhomogeneities (particles of the dispersed phase having diameters of tens μm) is formed in all blends. Conditions of mixing needed for the formation of a homogeneous phase structure (with particles having diameters of several μm) depend on the average viscosity of the components forming the inclusions (EPDM elastomer or EPDM elastomer/polyethylene). Depending on the conditions of mixing and on the rheological properties of components, substitution of one part of the EPDM elastomer with PE may lead to an increase or decrease in the impact strength of the final blend.