A POS-based preordering approach for English-to-Arabic statistical machine translation

In this work, we present a POS-based preordering approach that tackles both long- and short-distance reordering phenomena. Syntactic unlexicalized reordering rules are automatically extracted from a parallel corpus using only word alignment and a source-side language tagging. The reordering rules are used in a deterministic manner; this prevents the decoding speed from being bottlenecked in the reordering procedure. A new approach for both rule filtering and rule application is used to ensure a fast and efficient reordering. The tests performed on the IWSLT2016 English-to-Arabic evaluation benchmark show a noticeable increase in the overall Blue Score for our system over the baseline PSMT system

Assessment of Testicular Corticosterone Biosynthesis in Adult Male Rats

<div><p>Corticosterone is synthesized in the adrenal glands and is circulated throughout the body to perform regulatory functions in various tissues. The testis is known to synthesize and secrete testosterone and other androgens. We developed an accurate method to measure steroid content using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. In the present study, significant levels of the precursor compounds of testosterone and corticosterone synthesis could be detected in rat testis using this method. After adrenalectomy, corticosterone remained in the blood and testicular tissue at approximately 1% of the amount present in the control testis. When the excised testicular tissue was washed and incubated with NADH, NADPH and progesterone, not only testosterone and its precursors but also 11-deoxycorticosterone and corticosterone were produced; the levels of 11-deoxycorticosterone and corticosterone increased with incubation time. The production rate of 11-deoxycorticosterone from progesterone was estimated to be approximately 1/20 that of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and the corticosterone level was approximately 1/10 that of testosterone. These ratios coincided with those in the testicular tissue of the adrenalectomized rats, indicating that corticosterone was synthesized in the testis and not in the blood. A primary finding of this study was that corticosterone and testosterone were synthesized in a 1/10-20 ratio in the testis. It is concluded that corticosterone, which has various functions, such as the regulation of glycolysis and mediating spermatogenesis, is produced locally in the testis and that this the local production is convenient and functional to respond to local needs.</p></div

Amounts of the products in the enzyme assay using rat testis.

<p>The steroid production levels after the one-hour enzymatic reaction described in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0117795#pone.0117795.g002" target="_blank">Fig. 2</a> are shown in the column figure. The data for each group represents the mean ± S.E.M. of three experiments.</p

Steroid hormones and precursors in the testis of adrenalectomized rats.

<p>The adult male rats were adrenalectomized (AL) or sham-operated (Sham) as described in Materials and Methods. Two weeks after breeding, the levels of steroid hormones and their precursors were determined via LC-MS analysis, as described in Materials and Methods. The productions of pregnenolone (A), progesterone (B), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (C), androstenedione (D), testosterone (E), dihydrotestosterone (F), 11-deoxycorticosterone (G), corticosterone (H) and dehydrocorticosterone (I) are shown. The data for each group represents the mean ± S.E.M. of three to five rats. * P<0.05 and **P<0.01 compared with the control rats.</p

Enzyme activities of the synthesis steroids in rat testis.

<p>One half of the rat testis was washed with phosphate buffered saline at least three times, and the excised tissue was incubated with 30 μM progesterone in the culture medium containing 4 mM MgCl₂, 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.4), 100 μM NADPH and NADH at 37°C in a test tube. The reaction products in the medium were determined using LC-MS analysis, as described in Materials and Methods. The contents of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (HPGS) (A), androstenedione (ADS) (B), testosterone (TS) (C), 11-deoxycorticosterone (DCC) (D), and corticosterone (CCS) (E) are shown.</p

Concentrations of testosterone, corticosterone and aldosterone in the blood and testes of adrenalectomized adult male rats.

<p>Adult male rats were adrenalectomized and bred for one week as described in the Materials and Methods section. Then, the testosterone, corticosterone and aldosterone concentrations in the blood and the testicular tissue were assayed, as described in the Materials and Methods section. ND; not detectable (Limit of detection; 5.0 fmoles/ml of blood or g of tissue). The data for each group represents the mean ± S.E.M of three to five rats.</p><p>**P<0.01 compared with the control rats.</p><p>Concentrations of testosterone, corticosterone and aldosterone in the blood and testes of adrenalectomized adult male rats.</p

Production of 11-deoxycorticosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in the enzyme assay using rat testis.

<p>After one hour of the enzymatic reaction described in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0117795#pone.0117795.g002" target="_blank">Fig. 2</a>, the production of 17-hydroxyprogesterone and 11-deoxycorticosterone was analyzed using LC-MS. Then, the two precursors with the same molecular weight in the same chromatogram were separated with LC; the ratio of the two products was 1:20.</p

Bilaterality index in mice with or without crossing nerve transfer.

<p>The bilaterality index in mice with crossing nerve transfer surgery using three different methods is significantly greater than that in naïve mice (P<0.0001, respectively). The bilaterality index is not significantly different between mice operated in an end-to-end fashion, with or without sequential nerve cut. However, the index in mice operated in an end-to-side fashion was significantly larger than that in mice operated in an end-to-end fashion with (P<0.002) or without sequential nerve cut (P<0.007). Numbers in the parentheses show the numbers of mice.</p

Bilateral cortical representation induced by direct cortical stimulation.

<p>(A) Cortical responses elicited by left forepaw stimulation before (a), within 20 min (b) and more than 40 min (c) after cessation of direct stimulation applied to the ipsilateral left S1 paired with left forepaw stimulation in the same mouse. These experiments were performed in naïve mice. The black dot in (a–c) shows the direct cortical stimulation site. (B) Amplitudes of cortical responses elicited by left forepaw stimulation in the ipsilateral left S1 (red) and contralateral right S1 (blue).</p

Crossing nerve transfer surgery.

<p>The cut ends of the left median (MN) and ulnar nerves (UN) were connected to the right brachial plexus (BP) via a sciatic nerve graft at 8 weeks of age. The left radial (RN) and musculocutaneous nerves (McN) were cut at the same time, or at 15 weeks of age (sequential nerve cut). Imaging was performed at 16 weeks of age.</p