A study of hierarchical and flat classification of proteins

Automatic classification of proteins using machine learning is an important problem that has received significant attention in the literature. One feature of this problem is that expert-defined hierarchies of protein classes exist and can potentially be exploited to improve classification performance. In this article we investigate empirically whether this is the case for two such hierarchies. We compare multi-class classification techniques that exploit the information in those class hierarchies and those that do not, using logistic regression, decision trees, bagged decision trees, and support vector machines as the underlying base learners. In particular, we compare hierarchical and flat variants of ensembles of nested dichotomies. The latter have been shown to deliver strong classification performance in multi-class settings. We present experimental results for synthetic, fold recognition, enzyme classification, and remote homology detection data. Our results show that exploiting the class hierarchy improves performance on the synthetic data, but not in the case of the protein classification problems. Based on this we recommend that strong flat multi-class methods be used as a baseline to establish the benefit of exploiting class hierarchies in this area

The effect of plastic deformation on the electrical properties of indium antimonide

Imperial Users onl

Sun shield

A shading device which is capable of compactly storing a flexible shade on a biased, window shade type spring roller is disclosed. It is controlled to deliver the shade selectively to either its operative shading or compact storage orientation

How does insect resistance to phosphine affect insect control costs of stored-grain?

Crop Production/Industries,

Philoctetes and the Good Companion Story

The idea of a companion story is developed through an analysis of Sophocles’ play Philoctetes, about living in chronic pain. That story is anchored by an ethnographic report of a boy living with pain, and his companion story. The good companion story is distinguished by three qualities: it consoles its companion, it complicates lives that it enters, and it promises a form of hope. The article thus seeks to demonstrate the therapeutic capacity of stories to effect healing