Performance analysis of unsupervised feature selection methods

Feature selection (FS) is a process which attempts to select more informative features. In some cases, too many redundant or irrelevant features may overpower main features for classification. Feature selection can remedy this problem and therefore improve the prediction accuracy and reduce the computational overhead of classification algorithms. The main aim of feature selection is to determine a minimal feature subset from a problem domain while retaining a suitably high accuracy in representing the original features. In this paper, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Rough PCA, Unsupervised Quick Reduct (USQR) algorithm and Empirical Distribution Ranking (EDR) approaches are applied to discover discriminative features that will be the most adequate ones for classification. Efficiency of the approaches is evaluated using standard classification metrics.Comment: 7 pages, Conference Publication

Mechanisms underlying firing in healthy and sick human motoneurons

International audienceIn an address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Cambridge, Professor Sherrington introduced the terms " motor neurone " and " the final common path, " the latter term implying that all motor commands converge onto the motoneuron which integrates the incoming information and passes the net information to the muscle for contraction (Sherrington, 1904). The relative ease of access of the spinal motoneuron made it feasible to set up techniques for investigating the physiological, biophysical and molecular properties of these neurons. It became the most investigated neuron of the CNS in the twentieth century and the information gained from studies on motoneurons formed the basis for examining the other neurons of the CNS. Since the compound action potential of a muscle unit is strictly related one-to-one to the action potential arriving from the innervating motoneuron, the statistical analysis of muscle unit action potentials provides an investigator with an elegant way to probe the properties of motoneurons in behaving humans. In the following review the terms motoneuron and motor unit might be used interchangeably. Different aspects of human motoneuron investigations in health and disease are presented in 16 articles of this topic which are summarized below. An increase in the net excitatory synaptic input to the motoneuron pool results in an increase in the level of muscle contraction by recruitment of additional motor units (MUs) and an increase in firing rates of the already recruited units (Milner-Brown et al., 1973; Henneman et al., 1974). The principle of orderly recruitment of motoneurons by size was originally proposed by Henneman (1957) but was later questioned by other researchers presenting examples of selective, rather than orderly recruitment (e.g., Smith et al., 1980). These controversies are assessed by Bawa et al. (2014), and the opinion unifying the concept of orderly recruitment is presented. In humans, increases in firing rates of motor units have been shown to follow the " onion skin " pattern at lower levels of contraction, meaning that the lower-threshold motor units discharge with higher rates than higher-threshold ones. However, studies performed on the whole range of muscle forces indicated that for higher force levels the motor unit firing rate follows a " reverse onion skin " pattern. Hu et al. (2014) decided to approach this problem using small surface electrodes and step increases in force instead of the " ramp and hold " protocols used by previous authors. They showed that the " onion skin " pattern was preserved until 15% of maximal voluntary contraction, and from their results predict this pattern to be valid for the whole range of muscle forces, which is not supported by the previous published works. However, the reported rate saturation of the MUs discharging with higher rates implies that at the higher forces the " reverse onion skin " pattern may be expected. In another paper, Duchateau and Baudry (2014) show that during ballistic contractions the maximal discharge rates are higher than those observed in ramp contractions. It should be noted, however, that during ballistic contractions one deals with instantaneous rates, while during ramp and hold contractions one refers to tonic firing rates defined as the averag

Researching domestic violence and abuse in healthcare settings: challenges and issues

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is now recognised as a significant global health and societal issue. Conducting DVA research in healthcare contexts requires the consideration and understanding of a number of practical, methodological and ethical issues. Based on their experiences of working as clinicians and researchers, the authors aim to explore some of the pertinent issues and challenges associated with DVA research conducted in healthcare settings involving patients and/or healthcare professionals or both. A number of ethical, methodological and practical challenges, particularly those associated with research design and data collection, and ethical challenges related to participants and researchers, are explored

What do adolescents perceive to be key features of an effective dementia education and awareness initiative?

The development of dementia friendly communities is a current global and national priority for the UK. As a response to policy, there have been a number of dementia awareness initiatives disseminated with the aim of reducing the stigma associated with a diagnosis of dementia. The inclusion of adolescents in such initiatives in imperative in order to sustain dementia friendly communities. With this is mind, the aim of this study was to establish the dementia education needs of adolescents and effective dissemination strategies to convey key messages. A total of 42 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years participated in eight focus group discussions. Key themes to emerge from discussions included: the importance of dementia awareness, topics of interest within dementia, preferred methods of learning, the inclusion of the person living with dementia and the use of social media. The findings of the study will enable the development of appropriate dementia awareness initiatives for adolescents and thus facilitate the sustainability of dementia friendly communities

Genetic relatedness of infecting and reinfecting respiratory syncytial virus strains identified in a birth cohort from rural Kenya

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) reinfects individuals repeatedly. The extent to which this is a consequence of RSV antigenic diversity is unclear. Methods: Six-hundred thirty-five children from rural Kenya were closely monitored for RSV infection from birth through 3 consecutive RSV epidemics. RSV infections were identified by immunofluorescence testing of nasal washing samples collected during acute respiratory illnesses, typed into group A and B, and sequenced in the attachment (G) protein. A positive sample separated from a previous positive by ≥14 days was defined as a reinfection a priori. Results: Phylogenetic analysis was undertaken for 325 (80%) of 409 identified infections, including 53 (64%) of 83 reinfections. Heterologous group reinfections were observed in 28 episodes, and homologous group reinfections were observed in 25 episodes; 10 involved homologous genotypes, 5 showed no amino acid changes, and 3 were separated by 21–24 days and were potentially persistent infections. The temporal distribution of genotypes among reinfections did not differ from that of single infections. Conclusions: The vast majority of infection and reinfection pairs differed by group, genotype, or G amino acid sequence (ie, comprised distinct viruses). The extent to which this is a consequence of immune memory of infection history or prevalent diversity remains unclear

Taxation Policies and Its Effect on the Growth of Small &Medium Size Enterprises in Cameroon in the Midst of the Ongoing Sociopolitical Crisis

Tax policies have a great role to play on the growth of small and medium size enterprises in developing countries and Cameroon in particular. The objective of this paper is aimed at assessing the effect of tax policies on the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bamenda Municipality, Northwest Region of Cameroon. Data for this study was collected with the help of questionnaires. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to owners of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bamenda municipality, Northwest Region of Cameroon. The data collected was analyzed with the use of SPSS for descriptive statistics, OLS regression and ANOVA. The results reveals that tax policies, including value added tax (VAT), income tax, and excise tax, have a significant impact on the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bamenda. The findings indicate that a unit increase in VAT corresponds to a 0.513 increase in the growth of SMEs, while the impact of income tax is relatively weaker with a 0.082 increase. Similarly, excise tax shows a moderate impact on the growth of SME with a 0.378 increase. Based on the findings, it was recommended that policymakers should carefully evaluate the VAT rates and consider implementing measures that promote a favorable business environment. This may involve reducing VAT rates for SMEs or introducing incentives and exemptions to alleviate the tax burden on these enterprises. Such measures can help stimulate economic activity and encourage SMEs to expand their operations. Keywords: Value added tax, income tax, excise tax, performance , Small and Medium size enterprise DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/14-14-03 Publication date:July 31st 202

Nutrients elimination from meat processing wastewater using Scenedesmus sp.; optimizations; artificial neural network and kinetics models

The potential of an algae-based system as an environmentally friendly and low-cost wa�ter treatment method to eliminate contaminants from water bodies has been considered. The purpose of this research was to see how effective Scenedesmus sp is in eliminating nutrients from meat processing wastewater (MPWW) throughout the phycoremediation process. Response surface methodology (RSM) and an artificial neural network (ANN) model were applied to improve the inactivation process as a function of cell concentra�tions (3–7 log10 CFU/mL) and time (1–13 days). At 103 to 107 cell/mL of Scenedesmus sp., phycoremediation was carried out at atmospheric temperature (28 ± 2 ◦C, ±2500lux for 12:12 h of light/dark and pH 8). The findings documented 73.76% as the highest removal efficacy of total nitrogen (TN) and 77.85% of total phosphorus (TP), 75.40% of ammonia nitrogen (NH4-H), 77.88% of orthophosphate (PO3− 4 ), and 64.97% of chemical oxygen demand (COD). The ANN revealed that both factors contribute significantly to the nutrient removal process. The batch kinetic coefficients of NH4-H removal were Km = 40.10 mg/L and k = 1.43 mg mg −1Chl a d −1 . Meanwhile, for PO3− 4 , 1.07 mg mg −1Chl a d−1 , as well as 42.80 mg/L, were obtained. The NH4-N yield coefficient of NH4-N was Yn = 0.0192 mg Chl a mg −1 while PO3− 4 was equal to Yp = 0.0409 mg Chl a mg −1 . These findings indicated successful use of Scenedesmus sp. for efficient pollutant removal from meat processing wastewater plants

PEG Branched Polymer for Functionalization of Nanomaterials with Ultralong Blood Circulation

Nanomaterials have been actively pursued for biological and medical applications in recent years. Here, we report the synthesis of several new poly(ethylene glycol) grafted branched-polymers for functionalization of various nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles (NP) and gold nanorods (NRs), affording high aqueous solubility and stability for these materials. We synthesize different surfactant polymers based upon poly-(g-glutamic acid) (gPGA) and poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene) (PMHC18). We use the abundant free carboxylic acid groups of gPGA for attaching lipophilic species such as pyrene or phospholipid, which bind to nanomaterials via robust physisorption. Additionally, the remaining carboxylic acids on gPGA or the amine-reactive anhydrides of PMHC18 are then PEGylated, providing extended hydrophilic groups, affording polymeric amphiphiles. We show that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), Au NPs and NRs functionalized by the polymers exhibit high stability in aqueous solutions at different pHs, at elevated temperatures and in serum. Morever, the polymer-coated SWNTs exhibit remarkably long blood circulation (t1/2 22.1 h) upon intravenous injection into mice, far exceeding the previous record of 5.4 h. The ultra-long blood circulation time suggests greatly delayed clearance of nanomaterials by the reticuloendothelial system (RES) of mice, a highly desired property for in vivo applications of nanomaterials, including imaging and drug delivery

Not Managing Expectations: A Grounded Theory of Intimate Partner Violence From the Perspective of Pakistani People

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major social and public health problem affecting people from different cultures and societies. Much research has been undertaken to understand the phenomenon, its determinants, and its consequences in numerous countries. However, there is a paucity of research on IPV in many areas of the world including Pakistan. The present study aimed to develop a theory of the meaning and process of IPV from the perspective of Pakistani men and women living in and outside Pakistan