Feature Generation by Convolutional Neural Network for Click-Through Rate Prediction

Click-Through Rate prediction is an important task in recommender systems, which aims to estimate the probability of a user to click on a given item. Recently, many deep models have been proposed to learn low-order and high-order feature interactions from original features. However, since useful interactions are always sparse, it is difficult for DNN to learn them effectively under a large number of parameters. In real scenarios, artificial features are able to improve the performance of deep models (such as Wide & Deep Learning), but feature engineering is expensive and requires domain knowledge, making it impractical in different scenarios. Therefore, it is necessary to augment feature space automatically. In this paper, We propose a novel Feature Generation by Convolutional Neural Network (FGCNN) model with two components: Feature Generation and Deep Classifier. Feature Generation leverages the strength of CNN to generate local patterns and recombine them to generate new features. Deep Classifier adopts the structure of IPNN to learn interactions from the augmented feature space. Experimental results on three large-scale datasets show that FGCNN significantly outperforms nine state-of-the-art models. Moreover, when applying some state-of-the-art models as Deep Classifier, better performance is always achieved, showing the great compatibility of our FGCNN model. This work explores a novel direction for CTR predictions: it is quite useful to reduce the learning difficulties of DNN by automatically identifying important features

Fabrication of palladium/graphene oxide composite by plasma reduction at room temperature

Pd nanoparticles were fabricated on graphene oxide (GO) using a deposition-precipitation method with a glow discharge plasma reduction at room temperature. Argon was employed as the plasma-generating gas. The novel plasma method selectively reduces the metal ions. The graphene oxide has no change with this plasma reduction according to the Fourier transform infrared analysis. The Pd nanoparticles on the GO were uniformly distributed with an average diameter of 1.6 nm. The functional groups on the GO not only prevent Pd nanoparticles from further aggregation but also provide a strong hydrophilic property to the Pd/GO composite, which can form stable colloidal dispersions in water

Market Discipline and City Commercial Banks’ Risk Taking

Since the end of 2006, commitment period of China’s joining into the WTO is over, Chinese bank industry fully opened, and market competition has become stronger. But China has an implicit deposit insurance, under this circumstances whether market discipline exists in city commercial banks has become an important question. This paper used data from 60 city commercial banks between 2003 and 2010 to analyze this issue. Study shows that before Chinese bank sector fully opened, the power of market is weak, market is unable to restrict city commercial bank’s risk effectively; in the wake of Chinese bank sector opening at the end of 2006, the power of market discipline gradually appeared, which controlled risk taking efficiently by price mechanism, but quantity discipline is always not obvious.Key words: Market discipline; Banking sector; Risk takin

Stimuli-responsive gel impregnated surface with switchable lipophilic/oleophobic properties

In this paper, we developed a novel morphing surface technique consisting of a 3D printed miniature groove structure and injected stimuli-responsive hydrogel pattern, which is capable of switching between lipophilicity and oleophobicity under certain stimuli. Under swelling, the geometrical change of the hydrogel will buckle the surface due to the structural confinement and create a continuous transition of surface topology. Thus, it will yield a change in the surface wetting property from oleophilic to super-oleophobic with a contact angle of oil of 85° to 165°. We quantitatively investigate this structure–property relationship using finite element analysis and analytical modeling, and the simulation results and the modeling are in good agreement with the experimental ones. This morphing surface also holds potential to be developed into an autonomous system for future sub-sea/off-shore engineering applications to separate oil and water

Unified Spatial Intersection Algorithms Based on Conformal Geometric Algebra

Conformal Geometric Algebra has been introduced into geographic information science as a mathematical theory because of its advantages in terms of uniform multidimensional representation and computation. The traditional intersection computation between two geometric objects of different types is not unified. In this study, we propose algorithms based on Conformal Geometric Algebra to determine the spatial relationships between geographic objects in a unified manner. The unified representation and intersection computation can be realized for geometric objects of different dimensions. Different basic judgment rules are provided for different simple geometries. The algorithms are designed and implemented using MapReduce to improve the efficiency of the algorithms. From the results of several experiments we provide, the correctness and effectiveness of the algorithms can be verified

A pulmonary nodule mislocated in “dorsal” segment due to tri-lobed left lung

BackgroundThe left lung has two lobes and one fissure, while the right lung has three lobes and two fissures. Accessory fissures are usually found in imaging examinations and autopsies; however, finding an actual accessory lobe is rare.Case presentationIn a lung nodule resection surgery, a 68-year-old male patient was found with three lobes and two fissures in his left lung. The lung nodule was misdiagnosed as being located in the lower lobe because the accessory fissure was misregarded as the oblique fissure. The lung nodule was found in the upper lobe, and this anatomical variation changed the surgical plan. The pathology of the lung nodule was granulomatous inflammation with caseous necrosis with the positive antacid stain. The patient was eventually diagnosed with tuberculosis.Literature reviewCases involving the lung accessory fissure and lung accessory lobe variants were reviewed. In 10 autopsy and dissection studies, the incidence of accessory fissure in the left lung was 13.5% (79/587, ranging from 2.7% to 50.0%), and in the right lung, it was 7.3% (42/575, ranging from 3.1% to 30.4%). The incidence of accessory lobes in the left lung was 2.0% (11/547, ranging from 0.0% to 7.4%), and in the right lung was 2.6% (14/539, ranging from 0.0% to 17.4%). The incidence of accessory fissures in bilateral lungs identified by chest x-ray or computed tomography ranged from 7.3% to 32.0%. Three surgical case reports inferred accessory lobes, including a left upper lobectomy, left lung transplantation, and an open thoracotomy.ConclusionThis is the first clinical case report that shows that lung accessory lobe caused the mislocation of a lung nodule. Therefore, radiologists and surgeons should be aware of the possibility of an accessory lobe in the lung

Association between gout and atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis of observational studies

Background: Gout is a systemic inflammatory arthritis characterized by the deposition of monosodium urate crystals due to hyperuricemia. Previous studies have explored the link between gout and atrial fibrillation (AF). Given the increasing prevalence and incidence of gout, there is a need to quantify the relationship between gout and the risk of AF. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic. Methods: PubMed and Embase were searched for studies that reported the association between gout and AF using the following search term: (‘Gout’ and ‘Arrhythmia’). The search period was from the start of the database to 3rd August 2018 with no language restrictions. Results: A total of 75 and 22 articles were retrieved from PubMed and Embase, respectively. Of these, four observational studies (three cohort studies, one case-control study) including 659,094 patients were included. Our meta-analysis demonstrated that gout was significantly associated with increased risk of AF (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.31; 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.70; P = 0.05; I2 = 99%) after adjusting for significant comorbidities and confounders. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis confirms the significant relationship between gout and AF. More data are needed to determine whether this risk can be adequately reduced by urate-lowering therapy