Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factored Neural Machine Translation on Low Resource Languages in the COVID-19 crisis

Factored Neural Machine Translation models have been developed for machine translation of COVID-19 related multilingual documents from English to ﬁve low resource languages, Lingala, Nigerian Fulfulde, Kurdish Kurmanji, Kinyarwanda, and Luganda, which are spoken in the impoverished and strive-torn regions of Africa and Middle-East Asia. The objective of the task is to ensure that COVID-19 re-lated authentic information reaches the common people in their own language, primarily those in marginalized communities with limited linguistic resources, so that they can take appropriate measures to combat the pandemic without falling for the infodemic arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Two NMT systems have been developed for each of the ﬁve language pairs – one with the sequence-to-sequence NMT transformer model as the base-line and the other with factored NMT model in which lemma and POS tags are added to each word on the source English side. The motivation behind the factored NMT model is to address the paucity of linguistic resources by us-ing the linguistic features which also helps in generalization. It has been observed that the factored NMT model outperforms the baseline model by a factor of around 10% in terms of the Unigram BLEU score.
Control processes before and after passing a developmental deadline: Activation and deactivation of intimate relationship goals

This study addressed activation and deactivation o partnership oals in a sample of 116 recently separated or committed individuals in young adulthood and late midlife. Across adulthood, the opportunities for forming a partnership decrease dramatically. The authors argue that such deteriorating opportunity structures (developmental deadlines) call for a shift from goal realization efforts to goal disengagement. The findings showed that younger as compared with older separated persons more frequently reported partnership goals, expressed greater control striving for partnership realization, and responded more to positive than to negative information about partnerships. Separated persons in late midlife disengaged from partnership goals and redirected their resources to other social domains. A longitudinal follow-up at 15 months showed that age differences in control processes were related to improvement in emotional well-being of separated individuals.
TAXONOMIC STATUS OF CAR BACILLUS BASED ON THE SMALL SUBUNIT RIBOSOMAL RNA SEQUENCES

In an attempt to identify the taxonomic relationship between CAR bacillus and other bacteria, the SSU rRNA gene sequences of two CAR bacillus strains, CBM and CBR isolated from mice and rats respectively were used in the present studies. The SSU rRNA gene sequences, approximately 1. 5 kb in size amplified from genomic DNAs from both strains, were determined and 96. 8% homologies were found to exist between them. Those sequences were aligned to most eubacteria with a computer search showing high homology with those of Flavobacter/Flexibacter species especially closed to Fx. sancti and Fv. ferrugineum.Phylogenetic analysis indicated that CAR bacillus belongs to a species close to Fx. sancti and Fv. ferrugineum subdivision.
Effects of Glume Opening and Stigma Exertion on Outcrossing Seed-Setting of Wheat Thermo-photo-sensitive Genic Male Sterile Lines

In order to improve the yield of seed production in hybrid wheat,the relationship between glume opening rate and stigma exertion rate and outcrossing rate was studied in 33 wheat thermo-photo sensitive genic male sterile(TPSGMS)lines under natural pollination.The results showed that the average sterile rate of 33 TPSGMS lines was 99.60%,and the total outcrossing rate was 79.74%,and the glume opening rate and stigma exertion rate were 83.40% and 4.85%,respectively.The average outcrossing rate of the florets with glume opening was 86.13%in 33 lines,and the seed sets from florets with glume opening accounted for 80.88% of the total outcrossing seed-setting.The glume opening rate was significantly correlated with the total outcrossing rate(r=0.831 4),which suggested that the glume opening rate is one of the key factors determining the outcrossing rate of wheat TPSGMS lines and the yield of hybrid seed production.The average outcrossing rate of the florets with stigma exertion was 90.23%,and the seed sets of florets with stigma exertion accounted for5.39% of the total outcrossing seed-setting.Stigma exertion rate was positively correlated with the total outcrossing rate,but not at the significant level because of the low average rate of stigma exer-tion for all lines.However,the outcrossing ability of florets with stigma exertion was better than that of glume opening florets in this study.It is expected that breeding wheat TPSGMS lines with higher stigma exertion rate would help to increase the outcrossing rate and the yield of hybrid seed production further.
Attention-Based Multi-Model Ensemble for Automatic Cataract Detection in B-Scan Eye Ultrasound Images

Accurate detection of early-stage cataract is essential for preventing blindness, but clinical cataract diagnosis requires the professional knowledge of experienced ophthalmologists, which may present difficulties for cataract patients in poverty-stricken areas. Deep learning method has been successful in many image classification tasks, but there are still huge challenges in the field of automatic cataract detection due to two characteristics of cataract and its B-scan eye ultrasound images. First, cataract is a disease that occurs in the lens of the eyeball, but the eyeball occupies only a small part of the eye B-ultrasound image. Second, lens lesions in eye B-ultrasound images are diverse, resulting in small difference and high similarity between positive and negative samples. In this paper, we propose a multi-model ensemble method based on residual attention for cataract classification. The proposed model consists of an object detection network, three pre-trained classification networks: DenseNet-161, ResNet-152 and ResNet-101, and a model ensemble module. Each classification network incorporates a residual attention module. Experimental results on the benchmark B-scan eye ultrasound dataset show that our method can adaptively focus on the discriminative areas of cataract in the eyeball and achieves an accuracy of 97.5%, which is markedly superior to the five baseline methods.
A retrospective analysis of shame, dissociation, and adult victimization in survivors of childhood sexual abuse

The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and victimization in adulthood was studied using a sample of 548 university women, including 56 who reported childhood incidences of incestuous abuse, 98 who reported sexual abuse by a peer or a nonfamily member, and 394 who reported no childhood sexual abuse experiences. Possible mediating variables of shame and dissociation were investigated. Chi-square analyses showed that there was a statistically significant association between women who were abused in childhood and adult victimization. Logit regression analyses demonstrated that the odds of revictimization in adulthood were greater for women who were abused in childhood than for those who were not abused. Dissociation was not found to be a predictor of adult victimization, whereas shame was found to be a statistically significant predictor.
Nutritional Strategies to Reduce Nutrient Losses in Intensive Aquaculture

Expansion of aquaculture production is largely the result of intensification of farming activities with a higher degree of feed input and waste output per rearing system. Concerns about the effects of waste output on the quality of receiving water systems have led to efforts to lower levels of enriching nutrients in discharge water. Since the enriching nutrients originate in feed added to the rearing systems, efforts to reduce levels in farm effluents must begin with feed. Phosphorus, nitrogen and fecal solids in farm effluent water are the “pollutants” of concern. Strategies to lower their concentrations in farm effluent water focus on decreasing the amount of uneaten feed, and on increasing the retention of dietary phosphorus and nitrogen by the fish. Modifying feeding levels and methods, plus increasing pellet water stability, are the approaches used to reduce waste from uneaten feed. Reducing phosphorus levels in farm effluents requires effort in three areas, e.g., information on the bioavailability of phosphorus in feeds and feed ingredients, accurate estimations of requirements for phosphorus at various life-history stages, and formulation of feeds to match as closely as is practical the available phosphorus level in the feed to the requirement of the fish or shrimp. Reducing nitrogen levels in farm effluents involves the development of feeds that support high percentages of nitrogen (protein) retention by the farmed fish or shrimp. Another nutritional strategy useful in lowering nutrient levels in farm discharge waters is phase feeding, involving the use of diets containing sub-optimal levels of phosphorus or protein during the final grow-out phase. Using appropriate nutritional strategies, levels of enriching nutrients in farm effluents can be significantly reduced without lowering fish performance or farm profitability.
LATE EVENTS OF HUMAN METAPNEUMOVIRUS INFECTION: INSIGHTS INTO VIRAL SPREAD WITHIN THE RESPIRATORY EPITHELIUM

OF DISSERTATION Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a leading cause of respiratory tract infections worldwide across all age groups, and is particularly devastating in the pediatric, elderly and immunocompromised populations. Despite its high prevalence and burden on human health, there are currently no treatments or vaccines against HMPV infections. HMPV is an enveloped virus that belongs to the paramyxovirus family. Paramyxoviruses in general form by assembly of virus components at the plasma membrane followed by budding and release of virus particles into the extracellular matrix to spread infection. The process of forming new virus particles requires complex interactions between viral and cellular components and the requirements for particle production differ substantially among paramyxoviruses. Several key aspects of the life cycle of HMPV remain unknown. The work presented here provides significant advances in understanding the mechanisms underlying assembly and spread of HMPV in human bronchial airway epithelial cells. We provide evidence that HMPV induces reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and microtubules at late stages of infection leading to the formation of complex networks of branched filaments and intercellular extensions, structures that have not been previously reported for paramyxoviruses. Our results indicate a novel mode of HMPV spread directly from cell-to-cell across intercellular extensions. We identified an important role of actin and the Rho GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 in direct cell-to-cell spread of HMPV. While roles for paramyxovirus matrix and fusion proteins in membrane deformation have been previously demonstrated for several paramyxoviruses, we show that the HMPV phosphoprotein (P) associates with actin and induces formation of membrane extensions, suggesting a role for the P protein in HMPV exit from the cell. Additionally, infection of differentiated, polarized human airway tissues showed that release of HMPV particles at the apical side is inefficient and revealed that spread of HMPV in these tissues can occur in the presence of neutralizing LATE EVENTS OF HUMAN METAPNEUMOVIRUS INFECTION: INSIGHTS INTO VIRAL SPREAD WITHIN THE RESPIRATORY EPITHELIUM antibodies. HMPV infection also resulted in reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in these tissues mainly at the apical side. Collectively, the data provided in this dissertation reveal a novel mechanism by which HMPV uses the cytoskeleton for cell-to-cell transmission and provide critical insights into spread of respiratory viruses within the airway epithelium.
Estudio de la capacidad regenerativa de los sabinares albares (Juniperus thurifera l.) occidentales de la provincia de Albacete

La Tesis aborda la capacidad regenerativa de los sabinares albares occidentales de la provincia de Albacete a traves del analisis del banco de semillas del suelo y de la produccion de frutos y semillas de las sabinas. Asi mismo, se han efectuado ensayos de viabilidad de las semillas para determinar sus posibilidades reales de germinar. Se han comparado las existencias estimadas de frutos y semillas en el banco edafico con las de fructificacion de los arboles, y de igual modo se ha actuado con la viabilidad de las semillas encontradas en esos dos estratos. Como paso previo a las investigaciones mencionadas, se ha hecho un estudio dasometrico y selvicola de los sabinares albares de la zona de estudio. Como complemento del trabajo mencionado, se proponen algunas medidas para mejorar la gestion actual de los sabinares albares.
Population genetic diversity of the insular plant Neolitsea sericea based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

The Zhoushan archipelago is the largest archipelago in China. It separated from the mainland about 9000 years ago due to rising sea level and climate change. Because of the long-term influences of human activities, forest vegetation on the larger islands was badly damaged and plant diversity reduced. The remaining plants are deserving of attention, especially the 21 endangered plant species distributed in the archipelago. Genetic diversity and genetic differentiation were examined in six populations of the insular endangered plant Neolitsea sericea in Zhoushan archipelago using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. A total of 84 discernible loci were obtained for all populations using 10 primers, 38.10% of which were polymorphic (PPL=38.10%). As analyzed by POPOGENE, average percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL=23.18%), Nei's genetic diversity (H_E=0.0793) and Shannon's information index (H=0.1201) indicated that Neolitsea sericea had a lower level of genetic diversity than other insular plants. The high value of differentiation (Gst=0.3646) indicated that geographic isolation strongly influenced genetic differentiation among populations, and a significant correlation was found between genetic distance and geographic distance (r=0.7697,p=96.62%). The combined information from analyses of genetic diversity and UPGMA indicated that some individuals on Putu Island were immigrants from Damao Island, and that populations on Zhujiajian Island had been translocated from Putu Island by human activities. Management strategies were proposed for species conservation and resource utilization for Neolitsea sericea. These included (a) in situ protection from human disturbance to facilitate natural regeneration, and (b) construction of germplasm resources and cultivate plants collected from insular populations for use to enhance gene flow, and to select elite lines for vegetation restoration and gardening applications on islands.
A heterologous in-cell assay for investigating intermicrovillar adhesion complex interactions and function

Solute transporting epithelial cells build arrays of microvilli on their apical surface to increase membrane scaffolding capacity and enhance function potential. In epithelial tissues such as the kidney and gut, microvilli are length-matched and assembled into tightly packed ‘brush borders’, which are organized by ∼50 nm thread-like links that form between the distal tips of adjacent protrusions. Composed of protocadherins CDHR2 and CDHR5, adhesion links are stabilized at the tips by a cytoplasmic tripartite module containing the scaffolds USH1C and ANKS4B, and the actin-based motor, MYO7B. As several questions about the formation and function of this ‘intermicrovillar adhesion complex’ remain open, we devised a system that allows one to study individual binary interactions between specific complex components and MYO7B. Our approach employs a chimeric myosin consisting of the motor domain of MYO10 fused to the cargo-binding tail domain of MYO7B. When expressed in HeLa cells, which do not normally produce adhesion complex proteins, this motor exhibited robust trafficking to the tips of filopodia and was also able to transport individual components to these sites. Unexpectedly, the MYO10/MYO7B chimera was able to deliver CDHR2 and CDHR5 to distal tips in the absence USH1C or ANKS4B. Cells engineered to localize high levels of CDHR2 at filopodial tips acquired inter-filopodial adhesion and exhibited a striking dynamic length matching activity that aligned distal tips over time. These observations reveal a robust adhesion-dependent mechanism for matching the lengths of adjacent surface protrusions, and may offer insight on how epithelial cells minimize microvillar length variability.
Genome assembly and transcriptome analysis provide insights into the anti-schistosome mechanism of Microtus fortis

Microtus fortis (M. fortis) so far is the only mammal host that exhibits intrinsic resistance against Schistosoma japonicum infection. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of this intrinsic resistance are not yet known. Here we performed the first de novo genome assembly of M. fortis, comprehensive gene annotation and evolution analysis. Furthermore, we compared the recovery rate of schistosome, pathological change and liver transcriptome between non-permissive host M. fortis and susceptible host mouse at different time points after Schistosome infection. We reveal that Immune response of M. fortis and mouse is different in time and type. M. fortis activates immune and inflammatory responses on the 10th days post infection, involving in multiple pathways, such as leukocyte extravasation, antibody activation (especially IgG3), Fc-gamma receptor mediated phagocytosis, and interferon signaling cascade. The strong immune responses of M. fortis in early stages of infection play important roles in preventing the development of schistosome. On the contrary, intense immune response occurred in mouse in late stages of infection (28~42 days post infection), and cannot eliminate schistosome. Infected mouse suffers severe pathological injury and continuous decrease of important functions such as cell cycle and lipid metabolism. Our findings offer new insights to the intrinsic resistance mechanism of M. fortis against schistosome infection. The genome sequence also provides bases for future studies of other important traits in M. fortis.
Insular Cortical Thickness in Patients With Somatoform Pain Disorder: Are There Associations With Symptom Severity and Childhood Trauma?

Background Studies show significant alterations in insular cortical thickness in patients with somatoform pain disorder (SPD). Additionally, associations between childhood maltreatment and morphometric alterations in insular cortex have been observed. Since patients with SPD often report about adverse childhood experiences, we were interested in the interrelationship of exposure to childhood maltreatment and insular cortical thickness in patients with SPD. Methods Fifteen adult patients with SPD (ICD-10 F 45.40/41, DSM-Code 307.80) and thirteen healthy adult controls underwent T1-weighted MR brain imaging. In the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis we compared whole brain cortical thickness between patients and controls using a Student’s two-sampled t-test (p < .05). Then we performed a secondary analysis to detect differences in cortical thickness levels in the insular cortex between both groups. For further analysis of differences in insular cortical thickness we used gender, age, depressive symptoms [Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9], and whole brain cortical thickness as nuisance covariates. Subsequently we explored associations between insular cortical thickness, symptom severity (PHQ-15) and past experiences of childhood maltreatment (CTQ) in both groups. Results Patients showed reduced insular cortical thickness in a subregion of right Brodmann area (BA) 13 (anterior part of the insular cortex), whereas whole brain cortical thickness did not differ between groups. The between-group difference in the identified insular subregion of right BA 13 was not diminished by any of the covariates. This implies that the reduction in cortical thickness in the identified insular subregion might be due to a specific group effect. The effect sizes indicate that the group of patients experienced more childhood maltreatment than the control group. Nonetheless, significant correlations of insular cortical thickness with symptom severity and childhood maltreatment in the total collective could not be demonstrated for the group of patients. Conclusions Our data suggest that alterations in the identified insular subregion of right BA 13 are associated with somatoform pain, independent of gender, age, or coincident depression levels. To identify significant associations of insular cortical thickness and experiences of childhood maltreatment in patients with SPD investigations within larger samples are highly recommended.
Genetic manipulation of insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway activity has sex-biased effects on Drosophila body size

In Drosophila, female body size is approximately 30% larger than male body size due to an increased rate of larval growth. While the mechanisms that control this sex difference in body size remain incompletely understood, recent studies suggest that the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway (IIS) plays a role in the sex-specific regulation of growth during development. In larvae, IIS activity differs between the sexes, and there is evidence of sex-specific regulation of IIS ligands. Yet, we lack knowledge of how changes to IIS activity impact growth in each sex, as the majority of studies on IIS and body size use single- or mixed-sex groups of larvae and/or adult flies. The goal of our current study was to clarify the requirement for IIS activity in each sex during the larval growth period. To achieve this goal we used established genetic approaches to enhance, or inhibit, IIS activity, and quantified body size in male and female larvae. Overall, genotypes that inhibited IIS activity caused a female-biased decrease in body size, whereas genotypes that augmented IIS activity caused a male-specific increase in body size. This data extends our current understanding of larval growth by showing that most changes to IIS pathway activity have sex-biased effects on body size, and highlights the importance of analyzing data by sex in larval growth studies.