Optimizing Boiler Efficiency by Data Mining Teciques: A Case Study

In a fertilizer plant, the steam boiler is the most important component. In order to keep the plant operating in the effective mode, the boiler efficiency must be observed continuously by several operators. When the trend of the boiler efficiency is going down, they may adjust the controlling parameters of the boiler to increase its efficiency. Since manual operation usually leads to unex-pectedly mistakes and hurts the efficiency of the system, we build an information system that plays the role of the operators in observing the boiler and adjusting the controlling parameters to stabilize the boiler efficiency. In this paper, we first introduce the architecture of the information system. We then present how to apply K-means and Fuzzy C-means algorithms to derive a knowledge base from the historical operational data of the boiler. Next, recurrent fuzzy neural network is employed to build a boiler simulator for evaluating which tuple of input values is the best optimal and then automatically adjusting controlling inputs of the boiler by the optimal val-ues. In order to prove the effectiveness of our system, we deployed it at Phu My Fertilizer Plant equipped with MARCHI boiler having capacity of 76-84 ton/h. We found that our system have improved the boiler efficiency about 0.28-1.12% in average and brought benefit about 57.000 USD/year to the Phu My Fertilizer Plant

Class based Influence Functions for Error Detection

Influence functions (IFs) are a powerful tool for detecting anomalous examples in large scale datasets. However, they are unstable when applied to deep networks. In this paper, we provide an explanation for the instability of IFs and develop a solution to this problem. We show that IFs are unreliable when the two data points belong to two different classes. Our solution leverages class information to improve the stability of IFs. Extensive experiments show that our modification significantly improves the performance and stability of IFs while incurring no additional computational cost.Comment: Thang Nguyen-Duc, Hoang Thanh-Tung, and Quan Hung Tran are co-first authors of this paper. 12 pages, 12 figures. Accepted to ACL 202

Co-infection of human parvovirus B19 with Plasmodium falciparum contributes to malaria disease severity in Gabonese patients

Background: High seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 (B19V) coinfection with Plasmodium falciparum has been previously reported. However, the impact of B19V-infection on the clinical course of malaria is still elusive. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and clinical significance of B19V co-infection in Gabonese children with malaria. Methods: B19V prevalence was analyzed in serum samples of 197 Gabonese children with P. falciparum malaria and 85 healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and direct DNA-sequencing. Results: B19V was detected in 29/282 (10.28%) of Gabonese children. B19V was observed more frequently in P. falciparum malaria patients (14.21%) in comparison to healthy individuals (1.17%) (

The CIPAZ study protocol: an open label randomised controlled trial of azithromycin versus ciprofloxacin for the treatment of children hospitalised with dysentery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background: Diarrhoeal disease remains a common cause of illness and death in children <5 years of age. Faecal-oral infection by Shigella spp. causing bacillary dysentery is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhoea, particularly in low and middle-income countries. In Southeast Asia, S. sonnei predominates and infections are frequently resistant to first-line treatment with the fluoroquinolone, ciprofloxacin. While resistance to all antimicrobials is increasing, there may be theoretical and clinical benefits to prioritizing treatment of bacillary dysentery with the azalide, azithromycin. In this study we aim to measure the efficacy of treatment with azithromycin compared with ciprofloxacin, the current standard of care, for the treatment of children with bacillary dysentery. Methods and analysis: We will perform a multicentre, open-label, randomized controlled trial of two therapeutic options for the antimicrobial treatment of children hospitalised with dysentery. Children (6–60 months of age) presenting with symptoms and signs of dysentery at Children’s Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City will be randomised (1:1) to treatment with either oral ciprofloxacin (15mg/kg/twice daily for 3 days, standard-of-care) or oral azithromycin (10mg/kg/daily for 3 days). The primary endpoint will be the proportion of treatment failure (defined by clinical and microbiological parameters) by day 28 (+3 days) and will be compared between study arms by logistic regression modelling using treatment allocation as the main variable. Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol (version 1.2 dated 27th December 2018) has been approved by the Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee (47–18) and the ethical review boards of Children's Hospital 2 (1341/NĐ2-CĐT). The study has also been approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (5044/QĐ-BYT). Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03854929 (February 26th 2019)

Cancer cells produce liver metastasis via gap formation in sinusoidal endothelial cells through proinflammatory paracrine mechanisms

Intracellular gap (iGap) formation in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) is caused by the destruction of fenestrae and appears under pathological conditions; nevertheless, their role in metastasis of cancer cells to the liver remained unexplored. We elucidated that hepatotoxin-damaged and fibrotic livers gave rise to LSECs-iGap formation, which was positively correlated with increased numbers of metastatic liver foci after intrasplenic injection of Hepa1-6 cells. Hepa1-6 cells induced interleukin-23-dependent tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion by LSECs and triggered LSECs-iGap formation, toward which their processes protruded to transmigrate into the liver parenchyma. TNF-α triggered depolymerization of F-actin and induced matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), intracellular adhesion molecule 1, and CXCL expression in LSECs. Blocking MMP9 activity by doxycycline or an MMP2/9 inhibitor eliminated LSECs-iGap formation and attenuated liver metastasis of Hepa1-6 cells. Overall, this study revealed that cancer cells induced LSEC-iGap formation via proinflammatory paracrine mechanisms and proposed MMP9 as a favorable target for blocking cancer cell metastasis to the liver

Self-reported use of tobacco products in nine rural INDEPTH Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems in Asia

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of premature death and disability. Even though tobacco use is common in many Asian countries, reliable and comparable data on the burden imposed by tobacco use in this region are sparse, and surveillance systems to track trends are in their infancy. OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the prevalence of tobacco use and its associated factors in nine selected rural sites in five Asian countries. METHODS: Tobacco use among 9,208 men and 9,221 women aged 25-64 years in nine Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites in five Asian countries of the INDEPTH Network were examined in 2005 as part of a broader survey of the major chronic non-communicable disease risk factors. All sites used a standardised protocol based on the WHO STEPS approach to risk factor surveillance; expanded questions of local relevance, including chewing tobacco, were also included. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess demographic factors associated with tobacco use. RESULTS: Tobacco use, whether smoked or chewed, was common across all sites with some notable variations. More than 50% of men smoked daily; this applied to almost all age groups. Few women smoked daily in any of the sites. However, women were more likely to chew tobacco than men in all sites except Vadu in India. Tobacco use in men began in late adolescence in most of the sites and the number of cigarettes smoked daily ranged from three to 15. Use of both forms of tobacco, smoked and chewed, was associated with age, gender and education. Men were more likely to smoke compared to women, smoking increased with age in the four sites in Bangladesh but not in other sites and with low level of education in all the sites. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of tobacco use, regardless of the type of tobacco, was high among men in all of these rural populations with tobacco use started during adolescence in all HDSS sites. Innovative communication strategies for behaviour change targeting adolescents in schools and adult men and women at work or at home, may create a mass awareness about adverse health consequences of tobacco smoking or chewing tobacco. Such efforts, to be effective, however, need to be supported by strong legislation and leadership. Only four of the five countries involved in this multi-site study have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and even where it has been ratified, implementation is uneven.Supplement: 1</p

Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors

Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18–85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p &lt; 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p &lt; 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p &lt; 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with “unchanged/more” physical activity (p &lt; 0.001), or “unchanged/more” drinking (p &lt; 0.001 for only anxiety), or “unchanged/healthier” eating (p &lt; 0.001), and high PB score (p &lt; 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, “never/stopped/less” physical activity, drinking, “less healthy” eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors