Feeding stimulatory effects of Cyperus rotundus tuber on Cirrhinus mrigala

Traditionally tubers of cyperus (Cyperus rotundus) and its extracts have been used for alluring fish during harvesting in India. An experiment was conducted to evaluate its feeding stimulatory activity and effect on the growth of a commercially important freshwater fish, Cirrhinus mrigala. Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric formulated diets viz. plant ingredient based control and control supplemented with cyperus tuber (CS) at 1% and 5% levels were fed to the fingerlings of mrigal, C. mrigala (2.68+0.20 g) for a period of 45 days. The growth performance and the activity of metabolic enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), in liver, gill and muscle tissues of mrigal were studied during every 15 days interval. Highest relative growth (72.28%) was obtained in the mrigal fed with the diet containing 5% cyperus (5% CS), while the relative growths were 66.18% and 43.40% for the fish fed with the 1% CS diet and control respectively. The activities of AST and ALT were significantly higher (p<0.01) in both 1% and 5% CS diets as compared to the control in all the tissues studied. Higher aminotransferase activities were observed in the tissues of 5% CS group than in those of 1% CS group throughout the experimental period. The observed higher enzymatic activity was concomitant with the higher growth rate in fish. The results suggested that cyperus tuber supplementation increased feed palatability and growth

Presenting a Labelled Dataset for Real-Time Detection of Abusive User Posts

Social media sites facilitate users in posting their own personal comments online. Most support free format user posting, with close to real-time publishing speeds. However, online posts generated by a public user audience carry the risk of containing inappropriate, potentially abusive content. To detect such content, the straightforward approach is to filter against blacklists of profane terms. However, this lexicon filtering approach is prone to problems around word variations and lack of context. Although recent methods inspired by machine learning have boosted detection accuracies, the lack of gold standard labelled datasets limits the development of this approach. In this work, we present a dataset of user comments, using crowdsourcing for labelling. Since abusive content can be ambiguous and subjective to the individual reader, we propose an aggregated mechanism for assessing different opinions from different labellers. In addition, instead of the typical binary categories of abusive or not, we introduce a third class of ‘undecided’ to capture the real life scenario of instances that are neither blatantly abusive nor clearly harmless. We have performed preliminary experiments on this dataset using best practice techniques in text classification. Finally, we have evaluated the detection performance of various feature groups, namely syntactic, semantic and context-based features. Results show these features can increase our classifier performance by 18% in detection of abusive content

Limits of Quantum Speed-Ups for Computational Geometry and Other Problems: Fine-Grained Complexity via Quantum Walks

Many computational problems are subject to a quantum speed-up: one might find that a problem having an Opn3q-time or Opn2q-time classic algorithm can be solved by a known Opn1.5q-time or Opnq-time quantum algorithm. The question naturally arises: how much quantum speed-up is possible? The area of fine-grained complexity allows us to prove optimal lower-bounds on the complexity of various computational problems, based on the conjectured hardness of certain natural, well-studied problems. This theory has recently been extended to the quantum setting, in two independent papers by Buhrman, Patro and Speelman [7], and by Aaronson, Chia, Lin, Wang, and Zhang [1]. In this paper, we further extend the theory of fine-grained complexity to the quantum setting. A fundamental conjecture in the classical setting states that the 3SUM problem cannot be solved by (classical) algorithms in time Opn2´εq, for any ε ą 0. We formulate an analogous conjecture, the Quantum-3SUM-Conjecture, which states that there exist no sublinear Opn1´εq-time quantum algorithms for the 3SUM problem. Based on the Quantum-3SUM-Conjecture, we show new lower-bounds on the time complexity of quantum algorithms for several computational problems. Most of our lower-bounds are optimal, in that they match known upper-bounds, and hence they imply tight limits on the quantum speedup that is possible for these problems. These results are proven by adapting to the quantum setting known classical fine-grained reductions from the 3SUM problem. This adaptation is not trivial, however, since the original classical reductions require pre-processing the input in various ways, e.g. by sorting it according to some order, and this pre-processing (provably) cannot be done in sublinear quantum time. We overcome this bottleneck by combining a quantum walk with a classical dynamic data-structure having a certain “history-independence” property. This type of construction has been used in the past to prove upper bounds, and here we use it for the first time as part of a reduction. This general proof strategy allows us to prove tight lower bounds on several computational-geometry problems, on Convolution-3SUM and on the 0-Edge-Weight-Triangle problem, conditional on the Quantum-3SUM-Conjecture. We believe this proof strategy will be useful in proving tight (conditional) lower-bounds, and limits on quantum speed-ups, for many other problems

A Certain Class of Statistical Deferred Weighted A-summability Based on (p; q)-integers and Associated Approximation Theorems

Statistical summability has recently enhanced researchers’ substantial awareness since it is more broad than the traditional (ordinary) convergence. The basic concept of statistical weighted A- summability was introduced by Mohiuddine (2016). In this investigation, we introduce the (presumably new) concept of statistical deferred weighted A-summability and deferred weighted A- statistical convergence with respect to the difference sequence of order r involving (p; q)-integers and establish an inclusion relation between them. Furthermore, based upon the proposed methods, we intend to approximate the rate of convergence and to demonstrate a Korovkin type approximation theorem for functions of two variables defined on a Banach space CB(D). Finally, several illustrative examples are presented in light of our definitions and outcomes established in this paper

TransRate: reference-free quality assessment of de novo transcriptome assemblies.

TransRate is a tool for reference-free quality assessment of de novo transcriptome assemblies. Using only the sequenced reads and the assembly as input, we show that multiple common artifacts of de novo transcriptome assembly can be readily detected. These include chimeras, structural errors, incomplete assembly, and base errors. TransRate evaluates these errors to produce a diagnostic quality score for each contig, and these contig scores are integrated to evaluate whole assemblies. Thus, TransRate can be used for de novo assembly filtering and optimization as well as comparison of assemblies generated using different methods from the same input reads. Applying the method to a data set of 155 published de novo transcriptome assemblies, we deconstruct the contribution that assembly method, read length, read quantity, and read quality make to the accuracy of de novo transcriptome assemblies and reveal that variance in the quality of the input data explains 43% of the variance in the quality of published de novo transcriptome assemblies. Because TransRate is reference-free, it is suitable for assessment of assemblies of all types of RNA, including assemblies of long noncoding RNA, rRNA, mRNA, and mixed RNA samples

Lightweight 3D Convolutional Neural Network for Schizophrenia diagnosis using MRI Images and Ensemble Bagging Classifier

Structural alterations have been thoroughly investigated in the brain during the early onset of schizophrenia (SCZ) with the development of neuroimaging methods. The objective of the paper is an efficient classification of SCZ in 2 different classes: Cognitive Normal (CN), and SCZ using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. This paper proposed a lightweight 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) based framework for SCZ diagnosis using MRI images. In the proposed model, lightweight 3D CNN is used to extract both spatial and spectral features simultaneously from 3D volume MRI scans, and classification is done using an ensemble bagging classifier. Ensemble bagging classifier contributes to preventing overfitting, reduces variance, and improves the model's accuracy. The proposed algorithm is tested on datasets taken from three benchmark databases available as open-source: MCICShare, COBRE, and fBRINPhase-II. These datasets have undergone preprocessing steps to register all the MRI images to the standard template and reduce the artifacts. The model achieves the highest accuracy 92.22%, sensitivity 94.44%, specificity 90%, precision 90.43%, recall 94.44%, F1-score 92.39% and G-mean 92.19% as compared to the current state-of-the-art techniques. The performance metrics evidenced the use of this model to assist the clinicians for automatic accurate diagnosis of SCZ

Excision of formamidopyrimidine lesions by endonucleases III and VIII is not a major DNA repair pathway in Escherichia coli

Proper maintenance of the genome is of great importance. Consequently, damaged nucleotides are repaired through redundant pathways. We considered whether the genome is protected from formamidopyrimidine nucleosides (Fapy•dA, Fapy•dG) via a pathway distinct from the Escherichia coli guanine oxidation system. The formamidopyrimidines are produced in significant quantities in DNA as a result of oxidative stress and are efficiently excised by formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase. Previous reports suggest that the formamidopyrimidine nucleosides are substrates for endonucleases III and VIII, enzymes that are typically associated with pyrimidine lesion repair in E.coli. We investigated the possibility that Endo III and/or Endo VIII play a role in formamidopyrimidine nucleoside repair by examining Fapy•dA and Fapy•dG excision opposite all four native 2′-deoxyribonucleotides. Endo VIII excises both lesions more efficiently than does Endo III, but the enzymes exhibit similar selectivity with respect to their action on duplexes containing the formamidopyrimidines opposite native deoxyribonucleotides. Fapy•dA is removed more rapidly than Fapy•dG, and duplexes containing purine nucleotides opposite the lesions are superior substrates compared with those containing formamidopyrimidine–pyrimidine base pairs. This dependence upon opposing nucleotide indicates that Endo III and Endo VIII do not serve as back up enzymes to formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase in the repair of formamidopyrimidines. When considered in conjunction with cellular studies [J. O. Blaisdell, Z. Hatahet and S. S. Wallace (1999) J. Bacteriol., 181, 6396–6402], these results also suggest that Endo III and Endo VIII do not protect E.coli against possible mutations attributable to formamidopyrimidine lesions

FLOATING MULTIPLE UNIT MINITABLETS OF METOPROLOL SUCCINATE: FORMULATION, IN VITRO AND IN VIVO CHARACTERIZATION

Objective: In this present research, formulation of floating multiple unit minitablets of metoprolol succinate without using gas generating agent was attempted with an objective of increased residence time, sustained release, and improved oral bioavailability. Methods: Solid dispersions were prepared with lipophilic carriers such as compritol ATO888, Gelucire 43/01, Gelucire 39/01, and precirol ATO 05 was formulated using fusion technique. Neusillin US2 was used as an adsorbent. The solid dispersions were compressed into minitablets, weighing 20 mg, and then filled into ‘0’ size capsule. Results: Formulation F9, F10, F14, and F15 showed instantaneous floating lag time, i.e., 0 min, floating time more than 12 h, and sustained release up to 12 h. Pharmacokinetic study of the optimized formulation (F9) showed 2.46 times increase in area under the curve with increased residence time. Conclusion: Hence gelucire 43/01 based floating multiple unit minitablets of metoprolol succinate can be considered a promising approach

Reconstruction of Network Evolutionary History from Extant Network Topology and Duplication History

Genome-wide protein-protein interaction (PPI) data are readily available thanks to recent breakthroughs in biotechnology. However, PPI networks of extant organisms are only snapshots of the network evolution. How to infer the whole evolution history becomes a challenging problem in computational biology. In this paper, we present a likelihood-based approach to inferring network evolution history from the topology of PPI networks and the duplication relationship among the paralogs. Simulations show that our approach outperforms the existing ones in terms of the accuracy of reconstruction. Moreover, the growth parameters of several real PPI networks estimated by our method are more consistent with the ones predicted in literature.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, submitted to ISBRA 201

How space-number associations may be created in preliterate children : six distinct mechanisms

The directionality of space-number association (SNA) is shaped by cultural experiences. It usually follows the culturally dominant reading direction. Smaller numbers are generally associated with the starting side for reading (left side in Western cultures), while larger numbers are associated with the right endpoint side. However, SNAs consistent with cultural reading directions are present before children can actually read and write. Therefore, these SNAs cannot only be shaped by the direction of children's own reading/writing behavior. We propose six distinct processes - one biological and five cultural/educational - underlying directional SNAs before formal reading acquisition: (i) Brain lateralization, (ii) Monitoring adult reading behavior, (iii) Pretend reading and writing, and rudimentary reading and writing skills, (iv) Dominant attentional directional preferences in a society, not directly related to reading direction, (v) Direct spatial-numerical learning, (vi) Other spatial-directional processes independent of reading direction. In this mini-review, we will differentiate between these processes, elaborate when in development they might emerge, discuss how they may create the SNAs observed in preliterate children and propose how they can be studied in the future