An intelligent internet search agent based on genetic algorithms

Searching the World Wide Web sites is one of the most common tasks performed, and Internet and Intranet searching has become one of the hottest topics. It is also one of the most frustrating tasks. In fact, the situation has become a notorious symbol of the Web's growing size and lack of structure, as well as the inadequacy of Web search technologies. While the Web offers an incredibly rich base of information, organized as a hypertext, it does not provide a uniform and efficient way to retrieve specific information based on user-defined search criteria. In this thesis, an intelligent Internet search agent based on Genetic Algorithms using Java and C++ is reported, which is grounded on automatic textual analysis of Web documents and general-purpose search algorithms. It aims to address the Web search problem by creating dynamic and intelligent search agents that take users' requests and perform realtime, customized searches. The genetic algorithm is used to form an intelligent search strategy for the agent. The crossover and mutation operators are specially designed to deal with the generation of new homepages. Experiments are presented to show the performance and efficiency of the search agent

Robust tracking control for uncertain MIMO nonlinear systems with input saturation using RWNNDO

In this paper, the robust tracking control scheme is proposed for a class of uncertain multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear systems with input saturation and unknown external disturbance based on the recurrent wavelet neural network disturbance observer (RWNNDO) and the backstepping technique. And then, the developed robust tracking control scheme is applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system. To handle the input saturation, a hyperbolic tangent function and a Nussbaum function are employed, and the dynamic surface method is applied to solve the problem of “explosion of complexity” in backstepping control. It is proved that the proposed control scheme can guarantee that all signals of the closed-loop system are bounded through the Lyapunov analysis. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme for uncertain MIMO nonlinear systems

Fault-tolerant control for a class of non-linear systems with dead-zone

In this paper, a fault-tolerant control scheme is proposed for a class of single-input and single-output non-linear systems with the unknown time-varying system fault and the dead-zone. The non-linear state observer is designed for the non-linear system using differential mean value theorem, and the non-linear fault estimator that estimates the unknown time-varying system fault is developed. On the basis of the designed fault estimator, the observer-based fault-tolerant tracking control is then developed using the backstepping technique for non-linear systems with the dead-zone. The stability of the whole closed-loop system is rigorously proved via Lyapunov analysis and the satisfactory tracking control performance is guaranteed in the presence of the unknown time-varying system fault and the dead-zone. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed backstepping fault-tolerant control scheme for non-linear systems

Robust adaptive control scheme for optical tracking telescopes with unknown disturbances

In this paper, a robust adaptive control scheme is proposed for optical tracking telescopes with parametric uncertainty, unknown external disturbance and input saturation. To improve tracking performance of this robust adaptive control scheme, a nonlinear disturbance observer (NDO) is employed to tackle the integrated effect amalgamated from unknown parameters, unknown external disturbance and input saturation. At the same time, the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is introduced to approximate the input of an unknown function. Utilizing the estimated outputs of NDO and RBFNN, the robust adaptive control scheme is developed for optical tracking telescopes. Stability of the closed-loop system is rigourously proved via Lyapunov analysis and the convergent tracking error is guaranteed for optical tracking telescopes. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed robust adaptive control scheme based on RBFNN and NDO for the uncertain dynamic of optical tracking telescopes

MCC-Net: A class attention-enhanced multi-scale model for internal structure segmentation of rice seedling stem

Internal structural parameters of rice seedling stems are of great significance for rice growth detection, rice selection, breeding, and damage examination. Aiming at the problems of non-repeatability and low detection accuracy in the existing plant internal structure phenotypic traits detection methods, this paper presents a non-destructive segmentation method for examining the internal structure of rice seedling stems based on deep learning. We use a standard X-ray CT imaging technology to obtain non-destructive tomographic images of rice seedling stems and then design a class attention-enhanced multi-scale segmentation model (MCC-Net), where UNet is used as the backbone network. Specifically, the proposed MCC-Net mainly consists of three core components: multi-scale convolutional block (MCB), coordinate spatial attention (CSA) module, and class attention enhancement (CAE) module. MCB is the main component of the encoder to improve the feature extraction ability of the model for regions of different sizes in the internal structure. CSA is embedded into the UNet skip connections to enhance the expression of effective features and automatically locate the regions with different structures of rice seedling stems. CAE is designed to calculate the dependencies between image pixels and categories, which can enhance the feature expression from the perspective of categories and correct the category errors in the segmentation results. The experimental results show that MIOU, average dice coefficient and average precision of our proposed MCC-Net model on the self-built rice seedling stem CT image dataset are 92.56%, 96.33% and 96.59% respectively. Compared with several state of the art models, the proposed model achieves better segmentation performance on the rice seedling stem CT image dataset.</p

Free and Bound States of Ions in Ionic Liquids, Conductivity, and Underscreening Paradox

Using molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical analysis of velocity-autocorrelation functions, we study ion transport mechanisms in typical room-temperature ionic liquids. We show that ions may reside in two states: free and bound with an interstate exchange. We investigate quantitatively the exchange process and reveal new qualitative features of this process. To this end, we propose a dynamic criterion for free and bound ions based on the ion trajectory density and demonstrate that this criterion is consistent with a static one based on interionic distances. Analyzing the trajectories of individual cations and anions, we estimate the time that ions spend in bound “clustered states” and when they move quasifreely. Using this method, we evaluate the average portion of “free” ions as approximately 15%–25%, increasing with temperature in the range of 300–600 K. The ion diffusion coefficients and conductivities as a function of the temperature calculated from the velocity and electrical-current autocorrelation functions reproduce the reported experimental data very well. The experimental data for the direct-current conductivity (constant ionic current) is in good agreement with theoretical predictions of the Nernst-Einstein equation based on the concentrations and diffusion coefficients of free ions obtained in our simulations. In analogy with electronic semiconductors, we scrutinize an “ionic semiconductor” model for ionic liquids, with valence and conduction “bands” for ions separated by an energy gap. The obtained band gap for the ionic liquid is small, around 26 meV, allowing for easy interchange between the two dynamic states. Moreover, we discuss the underscreening paradox in the context of the amount of free charge carriers, showing that the obtained results do not yet approve its simplistic resolution

SC-Net: A new strip convolutional network model for rice seedling and weed segmentation in paddy field

No description supplie

The structure-function relationship of a signaling-competent, dimeric Reelin fragment

Reelin operates through canonical and non-canonical pathways that mediate several aspects of brain development and function. Reelin's dimeric central fragment (CF), generated through proteolytic cleavage, is required for the lipoprotein-receptor-dependent canonical pathway activation. Here, we analyze the signaling properties of a variety of Reelin fragments and measure the differential binding affinities of monomeric and dimeric CF fragments to lipoprotein receptors to investigate the mode of canonical signal activation. We also present the cryoelectron tomography-solved dimeric structure of Reelin CF and support it using several other biophysical techniques. Our findings suggest that Reelin CF forms a covalent parallel dimer with some degree of flexibility between the two protein chains. As a result of this conformation, Reelin binds to lipoprotein receptors in a manner inaccessible to its monomeric form and is capable of stimulating canonical pathway signaling

Processed Food as a Risk Factor for the Development and Perpetuation of Crohn’s Disease—The ENIGMA Study

(1) Background: Developing countries have experienced a rapid recent rise in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) incidence and emerging evidence suggests processed foods and food additives may predispose one to the development and perpetuation of Crohn’s disease (CD). The aim of this study was to evaluate processed food and food additive intake in CD patients and controls, in Australia (high CD incidence), Hong Kong (intermediate incidence) and mainland China (emerging incidence). (2) Methods: In 274 CD patients (CD), 82 first-degree relatives (FDR), 83 household members (HM) and 92 healthy unrelated controls (HC) from Australia (n = 180), Hong Kong (HK) (n = 160) and mainland China (n = 191) we estimated early life (0–18 years), recent (12 months), and current processed and food additive intake, using validated questionnaires and a 3-day-food diary. (3) Results: Early life processed food intake: Combining all regions, CD were more likely to have consumed soft drinks and fast foods than HM, more likely to have consumed processed fruit and snacks than their FDR, and more likely to have consumed a range of processed foods than HC. HK and China CD patients were more likely to have consumed a range of processed foods than HC. Recent food-additive intake (12-months): Combining all regions, CD patients had significantly higher intakes of aspartame and sucralose, and polysorbate-80, than HC, and more total emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and titanium dioxide than FDR and HC. HK and China CD patients had a higher intake of almost all food additives than all controls. Current additive intake (3-days): Australian and HK CD patients had higher total food-additive intake than FDR, and HK CD patients had a higher intake of total food-additives and emulsifiers than HM. (4) Conclusions: CD patients have been exposed to more processed food and food additives than control groups, which may predispose them to CD development and ongoing inflammation

Intensive blood pressure control after endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke (ENCHANTED2/MT): a multicentre, open-label, blinded-endpoint, randomised controlled trial

Background The optimum systolic blood pressure after endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke is uncertain. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of blood pressure lowering treatment according to more intensive versus less intensive treatment targets in patients with elevated blood pressure after reperfusion with endovascular treatment. Methods We conducted an open-label, blinded-endpoint, randomised controlled trial at 44 tertiary-level hospitals in China. Eligible patients (aged ≥18 years) had persistently elevated systolic blood pressure (≥140 mm Hg for >10 min) following successful reperfusion with endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke from any intracranial large-vessel occlusion. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1, by a central, web-based program with a minimisation algorithm) to more intensive treatment (systolic blood pressure target Findings Between July 20, 2020, and March 7, 2022, 821 patients were randomly assigned. The trial was stopped after review of the outcome data on June 22, 2022, due to persistent efficacy and safety concerns. 407 participants were assigned to the more intensive treatment group and 409 to the less intensive treatment group, of whom 404 patients in the more intensive treatment group and 406 patients in the less intensive treatment group had primary outcome data available. The likelihood of poor functional outcome was greater in the more intensive treatment group than the less intensive treatment group (common OR 1·37 [95% CI 1·07–1·76]). Compared with the less intensive treatment group, the more intensive treatment group had more early neurological deterioration (common OR 1·53 [95% 1·18–1·97]) and major disability at 90 days (OR 2·07 [95% CI 1·47–2·93]) but there were no significant differences in symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage. There were no significant differences in serious adverse events or mortality between groups. Interpretation Intensive control of systolic blood pressure to lower than 120 mm Hg should be avoided to prevent compromising the functional recovery of patients who have received endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke due to intracranial large-vessel occlusion.</p