Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spoken Term Discovery for Language Documentation using Translations

Vast amounts of speech data collected for language documentation and research remain untranscribed and unsearchable, but often a small amount of speech may have text translations available. We present a method for partially labeling additional speech with translations in this scenario. We modify an unsupervised speech-to-translation alignment model and obtain prototype speech segments that match the translation words, which are in turn used to discover terms in the unlabelled data. We evaluate our method on a Spanish-English speech translation corpus and on two corpora of endangered languages, Arapaho and Ainu, demonstrating its appropriateness and applicability in an actual very-low-resource scenario.
Effects of plant extracts and chemical fungicide in controlling a rice seed-borne fungus under laboratory and in irrigated cropping system in Ndop-Cameroon

The effects of seed treatments using ethanol extracts and essential oil from two aromatic plants (Callistemon citrinus and Ocimum gratissimum) were evaluated under laboratory conditions and under farmer’s field conditions with irrigated crop system. Data were recorded of the emergence, tillering capacity, number of panicles, disease incidence and yield of four rice varieties with different initial infection of B. oryzae. The effects of the plant extracts were compared with a synthetic fungicide (carbendazim 100 mg/ml + chlorothalonil 550 mg/ml). Seed treatments using essential oils and ethanol extracts significantly reduced the incidence of B. oryzae at a range of 42 to 100%. Treatments using ethanol extracts were beneficial to the overall germination, regardless of the variety. The mean effect on the control of B. oryzae of the synthetic fungicide was lower than that of all plant extracts tested. In the field trial, seed treatments using ethanol or essential oil from Callistemon citrinus significantly (P 0.05) increased the emergence of three rice varieties (Tox 3145-34-3-2, IR7167-33-2-3 and Nerica 5) out of the four tested. As example, the emergence percentage (74%) of variety Tox 3145-34-3-2 was doubled after seed treatments with extracts from C. citrinus as compared to the control non-treated (35%). Farm production was increased from 7.5 kg to 15.5 kg for the rice variety Tox 3145-34-3-2, after seed treatment with ethanol extract from C. citrinus. This increase was significantly (P 0.05) higher than that induced by treatment using carbendazim plus chlorothalonil.
Congenital Heart Disease: Global Burden and Challenges to Eliminate Health Disparities

Congenital heart disease ranks first among mortality causes by birth defects in children under 5-years-old. In 2016, The World Health Organization informed that 9,274,915 children died due to heart anomalies. Congenital heart defects can have genetic causes, but can also result after exposure to several risk factors (i.e. environmental factors, maternal health and age). Prevention and screening are key measures for lowering mortality rate among infants with heart defects.
Continuous Piloting of an Open Source Test Automation Tool in an Industrial Environment

Piloting an academic test automation tool in an industrial environment provides valuable feedback on practical applicability of the tool, but often requires a significant collaboration effort and an iterative process of feedback, development, and evaluation. In this paper, we propose an approach for continuous delivery of TESTAR open source test automation tool into an industrial continuous integration (CI) environment for piloting and evaluation.
Characterization of cheeses produced with ovine and caprine milk and microbiological evaluation of processing areas in the dairy plant in Brazil.

In this work, Fascal, Serra da Estrela-type, Roquefort-type, and Feta-type cheeses were produced with ovine milk and a Feta-like cheese was prepared with goat milk. The microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of these cheeses were determined and microbiological counts in milk, water and surfaces at processing areas were evaluated. Counts of total and fecal coliforms were below 3.0 and 2.7 log MPN/g, respectively, and Salmonella was absent in 25 g for all cheese samples, in accordance to the limits established by Brazilian legislation. Counts of coagulase positive staphylococci were higher than regulatory limits (3.0 log CFU/g) in Fascal’s curd and Feta-like cheese, but decreased during ripening of Fascal cheese. Samples of milk and water in the dairy plant presented results in accordance with the standards. Monitoring the microbiological counts at processing areas showed higher counts in the air of milk reception area and at the bulk milk tank surface. All samples showed high fat values, being classified as fatty cheeses according with current Brazilian regulations. Because the moisture values, Fascal and Serra da Estrela-type cheeses may be classified as low moisture or hard cheeses and Roquefort-type and Feta-type cheeses as semi-hard cheeses. These results may be helpful to define a standard to the products.
Design of plasmonic nanoparticles and their use for biotoxin immunosensing

L'enterotoxine A du staphylocoque (SEA) produite par certaines souches de Staphylococcus aureus est une cause majeure d'intoxication alimentaire et represente la deuxieme cause de maladies d'origine alimentaire en France. Les nanoparticules (NPs) plasmoniques aux proprietes optiques uniques sont largement utilisees comme transducteurs dans les biocapteurs en raison du phenomene de resonance de plasmons de surface localisee (LSPR). L'objectif de ce travail etait de developper des biocapteurs bases sur des NPs plasmoniques a partir desquels la detection de SEA pourrait etre realisee par lecture a l'? il nu. Deux strategies ont ete mises en place. La premiere strategie reposait sur le coefficient d'extinction extremement eleve des AuNPs. Des AuNPs conjuguees a l'anticorps anti-SEA (Ab) ont ete utilisees comme rapporteurs dans l'immunocapteur colorimetrique en phase solide de type sandwich. Le capteur a ete applique avec succes a la detection de SEA dans le tampon et le lait. 1 ng de SEA pourrait etre visualisee par lecture a l'? il nu. La deuxieme strategie reposait sur la sensibilite de la bande LSPR de NPs plasmoniques au faible changement d'indice de refraction local et a la capacite de l'homme a visualiser les changements de couleur dans la region de 500 nm. A cette fin, des NPs c? ur-coquille or-argent (Au@AgNPs) avec la bande a 500 nm ont ete synthetisees. La conjugaison de l'Ab aux Au@AgNPs a entraine un decalage vers le rouge de la bande LPSR et un changement de couleur visuel de l'orange au rouge. Cependant, le decalage vers le rouge de la bande etait important et aucun changement de couleur visible n'a ete observe a l'? il nu lors de l'addition ulterieure de SEA.
Bacterial pathogens of rice in the Kingdom of Cambodia and description of a new pathogen causing a serious sheath rot disease

A study of rice diseases in Cambodia from 2005 to 2007 showed widespread occurrence of diseases caused by Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae, Burkholderia gladioli, B. cepacia and Pantoea ananatis. This is the first report of these pathogens in Cambodia. Additionally, a pseudomonad causing a widespread disease similar to sheath brown rot (caused by Pseudomonas fuscovaginae) was isolated. The studied strains were pathogenic to rice cvs Sen Pidau and IR 66, producing similar, though slightly less severe, symptoms to those observed in the field. Based on comparative 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis, combined with cell wall fatty acid analysis and metabolic profiles, the isolated strains were allocated to the genus Pseudomonas. The novel species were differentiated from Pseudomonas fuscovaginae and P. putida by their inability to metabolize D-fructose, D-galactose, D-galactonic acid lactone, D-galacturonic acid, D-glucosaminic acid, D-glucuronic acid, p-hydroxy phenylacetic acid, D-saccharic acid and urocanic acid. The major fatty acids were C16:0 ,s ummed feature 3( C16:1 x7c and C16:1 x6c) and summed feature 8( C18:1 x7c), representing 80% of the total. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequences (1460 bp) were identical, except for two nucleotide changes amongst the six strains. Alignment of the causal strains within type-culture databases revealed similarities of 99AE7% with Pseudomonas parafulva AJ 2129 T ,9 9 AE2% with P. fulva IAM 1592 T ,9 8 AE9% with P. plecoglossicidia FPC 951 T ,a nd 98 AE1% with P. fuscovaginae MAFF 301177 T . On the basis of data from this polyphasic study, it is proposed that the unknown strains isolated from rice represent a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas.
Isolation and preliminary identification of the pathogen from largemouth bass ulcerative syndrome

A largemouth bass ulcerative disease broke out in the summer and autumn of 2008 at Foshan area of Guangdong Province.The clinical signs of this disease were a great size of ulcer and necrosis on body surface and inflamed fin bases.The ulcerative disease broke out quickly and caused a high rate of mortality,which led to large losses for many largemouth bass breeding farms and threatened its aquaculture industry.So it was necessary to find out the cause of this disease and take corresponding countermeasures for prevention and cure or diagnosis.In this research,in order to identify the pathogen of largemouth bass ulcerative disease,five Aeromonas hydrophila strains were isolated from the muscle of diseased fish for artificial infection.Experimental infection under aquarium conditions suggested the infected largemouth bass did not show any clinical sign.The homogenated muscle ultra-filtrate from diseased fish with no bacteria was prepared and injected into healthly largemouth bass.7 days later,these treated largemouth bass showed typical symptoms of ulcerative disease similar to ehose of natural diseased fish.The muscle specimens of artificially infected and naturally diseased largemouth bass were prepared and made into ultra-thin sections for observing the morphological character of the pathogen.Electron microscopic observation showed that a large amount of viral particles existed in the cytoplasm.The maturated particles were enveloped and had hexagonal outline.The diameter of these virions was about 145.5 nm.A pair of primers based on the conserved region of the reported iridovirus major capsid protein(MCP)gene was designed,and a 530 bp fragment was amplified from the DNA extracted from the muscle of artificial infected largemouth bass and sequenced.The amino acid sequence showed 39.5%-100% homology with the MCP gene sequences of other iridoviruses.Both electron microscopic observation and MCP gene sequences analysis results showed the virus belonged to the genus ranavirus of family Iridoviridae,which was different from LMBV on molecular character and induced clinical signs.These results indicated that this virus was the lethal pathogen of largemouth bass ulcerative disease.The ulcerative disease reported here was designated temporally largemouth bass ulcerative syndrome.
Perennial Plant Models to Study Species Coexistence in a Variable Environment

Living organisms face a changing physical environment. A major challenge in ecology is understanding the ecological and evolutionary role that this changing physical environment has in shaping a community. One fundamental question is how environmental variation affects species coexistence. Modern understanding of environmental variation emphasized the hypothesis that possible adaptations to a fluctuating environment allow species to use different environments in different ways. Species can partition temporally their use of resources. Persistent stages in the life cycle such as prolonged longevity can buffer species through unfavorable environments. Differences in longevity will also lead to different nonlinear responses of population growth rate to fluctuating in resources. Questions arise: how do these possible adaptations to environmental fluctuations affect coexistence. Do they act through multiple coexistence mechanisms, how strong are the mechanisms, and do the mechanisms interact? A framework has been developed for quantifying coexistence mechanisms in models. Being able to quantify coexistence mechanisms in the field is critical to understand different processes contributing to species coexistence in a community: whether a process prevents species dropping out of the community (stable coexistence), or slows down species losses (unstable coexistence), or both. In many respects, applications of those techniques for quantifying coexistence mechanisms have the potential for substantial improvements. In particular, very few studies directly quantify coexistence mechanisms for perennial plants. Coexistence of plant is often puzzling because they share similar resources. Environmental variation has been suggested as an important factor for niche
Antioxidant properties and Glutathione S-transferases inhibitory activity of Alchornea cordifolia leaf extract in Acetaminophen toxicity

Paracetamol (acetaminophen, PCM) is a widely used over-the-counter analgesic and antipyretic drug. Intake of a large dose of PCM may result in severe hepatic necrosis. Oxidative stress is mediated by oxidative capacities of the PCM metabolite (N-acetyl-para-benzo quinoneimine, NAPQI), which covalently binds to proteins and other macromolecules to cause cellular damage. At low doses, NAPQI is considered as the main cause of PCM toxicity. This work therefore was designed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of Alchornea cordifolia and to study the effect of its ethanol extract pretreatment (100-500mg/Kg) for two weeks before paracetamol intoxication (2g/Kg) on glutathione S-transferases activity. The antioxidative property revealed total phenol level of 0.22mg/ml and reducing power 0.062mg/ml which was higher than vitamin E reducing value of 0.042 mg/ml. Paracetamol toxicity produced a significant decrease in the hepatic levels of glutathione S-transferases when compared with the control. Alchornea cordifolia significantly reduced the level of hepatic glutathione S- transferase but it however , produced a dose dependent significant increase in the levels of glutathione S-transferases in the presence of the toxicant. The results suggest that the Alchornea cordifolia is a potent antioxidant since the detoxification of paracetamol can be mediated by glutathione S-transferase (GST) catalyzed conjugation with glutathione (GSH) in the liver. The plant extract can ameliorate the effect of PCM intoxication. The increased hepatic glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) levels induced by the extract treatment can, therefore, reduce the acute paracetamol toxicity.
Primate nutritional ecology: The role of food selection, energy intake, and nutrient balancing in Mexican black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) foraging strategies

Studying primate nutritional ecology is critical for addressing questions related to individual and group-based decision making, feeding ecology, life history, and reproductive success. However, understanding food selection is a complex task, and it requires integrating information on physiology, behavior, and the ecological and social environments in which the animals live. In this dissertation, I examined the nutritional ecology of Mexican black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra), an endangered nonhuman primate species characterized by a high intraspecific variability in time spent feeding on leaves, fruits, flowers, and other items (such as bark and stems) across seasons and study sites. Howler monkeys are considered the most folivorous New World primates, with leaves accounting for up to 100% of feeding time during certain months. Given assumptions regarding the challenges faced by foragers exploiting difficult to digest or high fiber foods that also may contain plant secondary compounds, howlers are considered energy-limited. While howler monkeys do consume a leaf-heavy diet during certain seasons of the year, and possess certain anatomical and physiological traits such as a capacious colon where fermentation occurs, a relatively long food transit time for their body mass, and molars with high shearing crests that contribute to the efficient processing of leafy material, describing them as folivores is an oversimplification of their dietary ecology. In this 15-month field study, I combined ecological, behavioral, and phytochemical data to analyze patterns of patch and food choice, nutrient and energy intake, and nutrient balancing in two groups (n = 14) of black howler monkeys inhabiting a 1400-ha semi-deciduous forest (“El Tormento”) in Campeche, Mexico. By following a single individual and recording its complete diet over the course of a single day, the amount in grams of each resource consumed, and the phytochemical characteristic of the food ingested, I constructed complete daily dietary profiles for each focal animal, and analyzed
Ethics and Artifacts

Marilyn Dyrud is a full professor in the Communication Department at Oregon Institute of Technology, where she has taught for nearly four decades. She has been a member of ASEE for 32 years and is active in the Engineering Ethics Division, as past chair, and the Engineering Technology Division, as communications editor the the Journal of Engineering Technology. She is an ASEE fellow (2008), winner of the James McGraw Award (2010), winner of the Berger Award (2013), and serves as the communications editor of the Journal of Engineering Technology. In addition to ASEE, she is active in the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and the Association for Business Communication.
Neck protection development and a proposal of the associated standard for the motorcyclists

Motorcyclists (including moped riders) are the most vulnerable road users in terms of injury protection. Though the head and the extremities are the most affected body parts in motorcycle accidents, the occurrence of serious to fatal injuries is often due to the injuries in the cervical spine according to the literature. Although a variety of neck braces exists in the market to protect the neck from being injured in motorcycle accidents, the effectiveness of those neck braces is not clear due to the lack of scientific evidence of the injury reduction. Moreover, the absence of standard test methods makes the quality assessment process of the braces incomplete. Hence, the development of a common regulation should be the main focus in order to evaluate all the neck braces available in the market and also the future neck protective systems. It is important to define a neck injury assessment process based on the impact conditions of motorcycle accidents. However, a lack of accidental and experimental data on injury mechanisms limits the potential of the standard development research. The main objective of this study is to contribute to the development of new personal protective equipment (PPE) focusing on neck protection for the motorcyclists. Moreover, the study aims to provide some ideas to develop the standardization procedures for the future EU standards for neck protectors. New functional prototypes, as neck protective systems, were designed for the motorcyclists. However, more focus has been given on the neck injury mechanisms and new test methods rather than on the development of new neck protectors. For such reason, a new biofidelic finite element (FE) neck model was developed and coupled with Hybrid III head model. In the following steps, a rigid torso was added to the neck model, the neck protective systems were coupled with FE head-neck-torso model and six different test conditions were simulated. The results were analyzed as functions of upper and lower neck forces, head acceleration, head rotation relative to torso, different impact speeds, and available neck injury criteria. The key suggestions provided in this thesis include modification of the ambient impact test method for motorcyclists’ impact protectors, improvement of the design of neck protective systems, advancement of different test methods for neck protectors, investigation for new neck injury assessment process and direction to develop standards for neck protectors.
Arguments supporting the use of standardised ileal amino acid digestibility in broilers.

Broilers feed formulations based on digestible amino acids are more accurate and more cost effective than those based on total amino acids. The aim of this paper is to screen the differences between digestible amino acid measurements carried out either at the ileal level or at the faecal level. These differences include the surgical procedure, the age of the animal, the type of diet/substances tested, the actual gut stimulation, the microbial fermentation contamination and the urine contamination. All these parameters may influence the final result. Finally, the comparison of amino acid digestibility coefficients in different raw materials expressed as true faecal or standardised ileal digestibility clearly shows the lack of systematic correlation between the two systems. This demonstrates that the ranking of the nutritional value of the raw materials is affected by the digestibility system considered. Taken into account the differences between the two systems, it is concluded that the standardised ileal digestible system should be preferred compared to the true faecal digestible system for the operational broiler feed formulation.
Micro-organisms and earth systems – advances in geomicrobiology: Horizontal gene transfer of metal homeostasis genes and its role in microbial communities of the deep terrestrial subsurface

Both basic and applied science issues drive our interests in the microbiology of the deep terrestrial subsurface. As an environment that is disconnected from the Earth’s surface, the deep subsurface is less subject to variations in temperature and light and, in unsaturated zones, to intense gradients across interfaces created at the microscale level. These characteristics dictate an average growth rate that is very slow, up to thousands of years per cell division (Kieft & Brockman, 2001), and an ecosystem where change occurs over very long time scales (Fredrickson & Onstott, 2001). Thus, the subsurface is one of the most extreme environments on Earth, and identifying what limits life in the subsurface has value as a model for life on other planets (Chapelle et al., 2002; Nealson & Cox, 2002). The inadvertent release of contaminants from industrial processing plants and storage tanks, as well as the possibility of permanently depositing nuclear wastes deep below the Earth’s surface (Pedersen, 2001), raise questions about how microbial activities might exacerbate or mitigate contamination problems in the subsurface.
Oversized enchytraeids (Annelida, Clitellata): a comparative study, with a revised description of Lumbricillus maximus (Michaelsen)

Abstract Syntypes of the circum-Antarctic Lumbricillus maximus Michaelsen, 1888) are re-examined, and a giant Fridericia worm referable to F. hegemon (Vejdovsky, 1878) sensu lato is described from Greece. Their anatomical features are compared to those of two other gigantic representatives of the Enchytraeidae: Mesenchytraeus antaeus Rota & Brinkhurst, 2000 and Henlea yukonensis Tynen & Coates, 1991, both Canadian. Besides disclosing the structural peculiarities of the four genera, the observed differences are shown to reflect specific adaptations to particular environments, as exemplified by certain traits of the chaetae and body wall. In all four species, the nephridial apparatus is well developed and distributed along the body. The scheme of the vascular system follows the basic pattern of the family, with neither blood supply to the nephridia nor intraepidermal capillary networks, in spite of the increased respiratory needs imposed by a larger body and greater muscular activity. This and other design constraints imply limitations with regard to the geographical and ecological distribution of giant species within this family.