Number Translation and Unit Conversion Using Machine Learning

Machine translation is widely utilized to translate text between different language pairs. Applications of automatic translation include content localization. Different regions of the world utilize different measurement units (e.g., acre vs. hectare). Correctly converting and translating measurement units is thus an important part of content localization. Current machine translation models have low accuracy when translating numbers and are unable to handle unit conversions. This disclosure describes techniques to train a machine learning model such that it can generate accurate translations of numbers, including unit conversions. A base model is trained using input text that is tokenized, including splitting numbers into individual digits. Parameters of the trained base model are used to initialize a custom model that is fine-tuned using training data that has been augmented to include annotations, e.g., different values and units for each measurement in the source text. The trained custom model described can deliver correct number translations and unit conversions and can be used for content localization

The double inhibition of PDK1 and STAT3-Y705 prevents liver metastasis in colorectal cancer.

As a key glycolysis enzyme, the significance of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. This study revealed that the prognosis of CRC patients with high levels of PDK1 was poor, and PDK1 knockdown significantly reduced liver metastasis of CRC in both nude mice and immune competent BALB/C mice. When combined with cryptotanshinone (CPT), an inhibitor of STAT3-p-Y705, the liver metastasis was further inhibited. PDK1 knockdown obviously increased reactive oxygen species level in anoikis conditions and subsequently resulted in an elevated anoikis, but the combination of PDK1 knockdown and CPT showed a reduced effect on anoikis. Based on this discrepancy, the adherence ability of CRC cells to matrix protein fibronectin was further detected. It showed that PDK1 knockdown significantly decreased the adherence of CRC cells to fibronectin when combined with CPT. These results suggest that inhibition of PDK1 can decrease the surviving CRC cells in blood circulation via up-regulation of anoikis, and inhibition of STAT3-p-Y705 can prevent it to settle down on the liver premetastatic niche, which ultimately reduces liver metastasis

Comprehensive evaluation of untargeted metabolomics data processing software in feature detection, quantification and discriminating marker selection

Data analysis represents a key challenge for untargeted metabolomics studies and it commonly requires extensive processing of more than thousands of metabolite peaks included in raw high-resolution MS data. Although a number of software packages have been developed to facilitate untargeted data processing, they have not been comprehensively scrutinized in the capability of feature detection, quantification and marker selection using a well-defined benchmark sample set. In this study, we acquired a benchmark dataset from standard mixtures consisting of 1100 compounds with specified concentration ratios including 130 compounds with significant variation of concentrations. Five software evaluated here (MS-Dial, MZmine 2, XCMS, MarkerView, and Compound Discoverer) showed similar performance in detection of true features derived from compounds in the mixtures. However, significant differences between untargeted metabolomics software were observed in relative quantification of true features in the benchmark dataset. MZmine 2 outperformed the other software in terms of quantification accuracy and it reported the most true discriminating markers together with the fewest false markers. Furthermore, we assessed selection of discriminating markers by different software using both the benchmark dataset and a real-case metabolomics dataset to propose combined usage of two software for increasing confidence of biomarker identification. Our findings from comprehensive evaluation of untargeted metabolomics software would help guide future improvements of these widely used bioinformatics tools and enable users to properly interpret their metabolomics results

Phenol Adsorption Mechanism of Organically Modified Bentonite and Its Microstructural Changes

Bentonite was modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The organically modified bentonite (OMB) was used to remove phenol from aqueous solution, the microstructural changes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and phenol adsorption kinetic was obtained using batch adsorption test results. The results indicated that the rate of adsorption of phenol onto the OMB was positively correlated with the initial concentration, and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 10.1 mg/g at the initial concentration of 150 mg/L at 25 °C and pH 10. The investigations of adsorption kinetics models showed that the adsorption kinetic was better reflected by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the properties of the OMB samples with different adsorption times were obtained by SEM and XRD. The statistic analysis revealed that the pore diameter of the OMB samples decreased with the increasing adsorption time and gradually reached equilibrium

Phenol Adsorption Mechanism of Organically Modified Bentonite and Its Microstructural Changes

Bentonite was modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The organically modified bentonite (OMB) was used to remove phenol from aqueous solution, the microstructural changes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and phenol adsorption kinetic was obtained using batch adsorption test results. The results indicated that the rate of adsorption of phenol onto the OMB was positively correlated with the initial concentration, and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 10.1 mg/g at the initial concentration of 150 mg/L at 25 °C and pH 10. The investigations of adsorption kinetics models showed that the adsorption kinetic was better reflected by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the properties of the OMB samples with different adsorption times were obtained by SEM and XRD. The statistic analysis revealed that the pore diameter of the OMB samples decreased with the increasing adsorption time and gradually reached equilibrium