MORSE: Semantic-ally Drive-n MORpheme SEgment-er

We present in this paper a novel framework for morpheme segmentation which uses the morpho-syntactic regularities preserved by word representations, in addition to orthographic features, to segment words into morphemes. This framework is the first to consider vocabulary-wide syntactico-semantic information for this task. We also analyze the deficiencies of available benchmarking datasets and introduce our own dataset that was created on the basis of compositionality. We validate our algorithm across datasets and present state-of-the-art results

Unified Representation for Non-compositional and Compositional Expressions

Accurate processing of non-compositional language relies on generating good representations for such expressions. In this work, we study the representation of language non-compositionality by proposing a language model, PIER, that builds on BART and can create semantically meaningful and contextually appropriate representations for English potentially idiomatic expressions (PIEs). PIEs are characterized by their non-compositionality and contextual ambiguity in their literal and idiomatic interpretations. Via intrinsic evaluation on embedding quality and extrinsic evaluation on PIE processing and NLU tasks, we show that representations generated by PIER result in 33% higher homogeneity score for embedding clustering than BART, whereas 3.12% and 3.29% gains in accuracy and sequence accuracy for PIE sense classification and span detection compared to the state-of-the-art IE representation model, GIEA. These gains are achieved without sacrificing PIER's performance on NLU tasks (+/- 1% accuracy) compared to BART.Comment: This work is accepted to EMNLP 2023 Finding

Evaluation and identification of high yielding trees in Nigerian cocoa germplasm

Forty four Nigerian cocoa clones which are being conserved in the field gene banks of Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Regional Station, Vittal, Karnataka were assessed for their growth and yield performance. Six year old trees were observed for their morphological characters and annual pod yields were compiled over eight years from five to twelve years of age after planting. Pod and bean characteristics were also studied for all the clones. Precocious, potential high yielders were identified from their vigorous growth habit in the introduced environment with sturdy stems and optimal canopy spread. Among the clones, NC-37, NC-23, NC-26, NC-50, NC-20, NC-51, NC-27 and NC-25 were identified as heavy bearers with an average of 61.9, 53.3, 49.4, 48.4, 45.1, 44.2, 43.9 and 43.0 pods per tree per year respectively and with high dry bean yields of more than one kilogram per tree per year. These clones recorded single bean weight of more than 1 gram, 10-15 per cent shelling percentage and more than 50 percent fat which made them suitable for industries as well

A study of prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women and its impact on feto maternal outcome

Background: The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D among pregnant women and its impact on feto maternal outcome.Methods: An observational study was conducted among 80 pregnant women at PESIMSR, Kuppam over a period of one month from first September 2014 to 30th September 2014. Our primary outcome was to study prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women and secondary outcome to study maternal and fetal outcome in pregnant women with Vitamin D deficiency. The subjects participating in the study were requested to complete a questionnaire that covered socio-demographic data, religion, obstetric history, lifestyle, dietary habits and psychosocial factors. Reliable serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) level was measured using an enzyme immunoassay method in the extra nine ml blood sample. Data on date of delivery, baby sex, birth weight, length and gestational age (based on ultrasound or on the timing of the last menstrual period) were collected prospectively.Results: In the study period of the 80 women recruited, 3.8% were Christians, 78.8% were Hindus and 17.4% were Muslims. All women recruited for the study were >32 wks gestation. It was found that 53.8% had insufficient serum 25 (OH) D concentrations and 13.8% were deficient for vitamin D. The lowest 25(OH) D concentrations (insufficient levels) were found in those with only one-two hours of sun exposure (65.1%), and 54.5% had deficient levels. Highest concentrations (11.5%) were found in those with two-four hours of sun exposure. There were no significant associations between 25(OH) D concentrations and maternal outcome. The analysis showed a significant association between a deficient vitamin D status (45.5%) and low birth weight (<2.5Kg) compared to 15.4% who had normal vitamin D levels. An insufficient vitamin D status was also related to a lower birth weight, but the association was not statistically significant. Among babies born to study subjects 84.6% had a normal birth weight of 2.5-3.5 kg with normal maternal vitamin D levels, when compared to 36.4% with deficient maternal vitamin D levels. We did not find any significant association between Vitamin D levels and neonatal complications.Conclusions: In our pilot study we found that prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was very high. Our sample size was too small to comment on impact of vitamin D deficiency on fetomaternal outcome. Hence we stopped our study and considered universal supplementation to all pregnant women