Machine learning-based ensemble recursive feature selection of circulating miRNAs for cancer tumor classification

Circulating microRNAs (miRNA) are small noncoding RNA molecules that can be detected in bodily fluids without the need for major invasive procedures on patients. miRNAs have shown great promise as biomarkers for tumors to both assess their presence and to predict their type and subtype. Recently, thanks to the availability of miRNAs datasets, machine learning techniques have been successfully applied to tumor classification. The results, however, are difficult to assess and interpret by medical experts because the algorithms exploit information from thousands of miRNAs. In this work, we propose a novel technique that aims at reducing the necessary information to the smallest possible set of circulating miRNAs. The dimensionality reduction achieved reflects a very important first step in a potential, clinically actionable, circulating miRNA-based precision medicine pipeline. While it is currently under discussion whether this first step can be taken, we demonstrate here that it is possible to perform classification tasks by exploiting a recursive feature elimination procedure that integrates a heterogeneous ensemble of high-quality, state-of-the-art classifiers on circulating miRNAs. Heterogeneous ensembles can compensate inherent biases of classifiers by using different classification algorithms. Selectin

Narrative Review of New Methods for Assessing Food and Energy Intake

Dietary self-report instruments are essential to nutritional analysis in dietetics practice and their use in research settings has facilitated numerous important discoveries related to nutrition, health and chronic diseases. An important example is obesity, for which measuring changes in energy intake is critical for assessing efficacy of dietary interventions. However, current methods, including counting calories, estimating portion size and using food labels to estimate human energy intake have considerable constraints; consequently, research on new methodologies/technologies has been encouraged to mitigate the present weaknesses. The use of technologies has prompted innovation in dietary analysis. In this review, the strengths and limitations of new approaches have been analyzed based on ease of use, practical limitations, and statistical evaluation of reliability and validity. Their utility is discussed through the lens of the 4Ms of Obesity Assessment and Management, which has been used to evaluate root causes of obesity and help select treatment options

Sulfamethoxazole biodegradation and impacts on soil microbial communities in a Bolivian arid high altitude catchment

International audienc

Position controller for a flapping wing drone using uwb

This paper proposes an integral approach for accurate ultra wide band indoor position control of flapping wing micro air vehicles. Three aspects are considered to reach a reliable and accurate position controller. The first aspect is a velocity/attitude flapping-wing model for drag compensation. The model is compared with real flight data and shown to be applicable for more than one type of flapping wing drone. The second improvement regards a battery-level dependent thrust control. Lastly a characterisation of ground effects in flapping-wing flight is obtained from hovering experiments. The proposed controller improves position control by a factor _ 1.5, reaching a mean absolute error of 10cm for position in x and y, and 4.9cm for position in z

Preparation Of Pure 51cr(vi) And 51cr(h2o)6 3+: Problems With Acid Contaminated Ptfe Beakers

[No abstract available]407643Bately, Use of Teflon compounds in photochemical reactors (1984) Analytical Chemistry, 56, p. 2261Collins, Archundia, Preparation and storage of high specific activity, 51Cr(VI) and 51Cr(H2O)6 3+ for critical tracer applications (1984) Int. J. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 34, p. 91

A Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Randomized Control Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Pure Prairie Living Program in Type 2 Diabetes Participants

The primary objective of this randomized control trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pure Prairie Living Program (PPLP) in a primary care setting. Adults with type 2 diabetes were randomized into intervention (PPLP, n = 25) and wait-listed controls (CON, n = 24). The PPLP group participated in education sessions. The intervention yielded no significant within-group changes in HbA1c at three-month (−0.04 (−0.27 to 0.17) and −0.15 (−0.38 to 0.08)) or six-month (−0.09 (−0.41 to 0.22) and 0.06 (−0.26 to 0.38)) follow ups in either CON or PPLP groups, respectively. Dietary adherence scores improved in the PPLP group (p < 0.05) at three and six months but were not different in the between-group comparison. No changes in diabetes self-efficacy scores were detected. In the qualitative analysis, participants described the program as clear and easy to understand. Knowledge acquired influenced their everyday decision making but participants faced barriers that prevented them from fully applying what they learned. Healthcare professionals enjoyed delivering the program but described the “back-stage” workload as detrimental. In conclusion, while some positive effects of the PPLP intervention were observed, they were not comparable to those previously attained by our group in an academic setting or to what the guidelines recommend, which reflects the challenge of translating lifestyle intervention to real-world settings

Position controller for a flapping wing drone using uwb

This paper proposes an integral approach for accurate ultra wide band indoor position control of flapping wing micro air vehicles. Three aspects are considered to reach a reliable and accurate position controller. The first aspect is a velocity/attitude flapping-wing model for drag compensation. The model is compared with real flight data and shown to be applicable for more than one type of flapping wing drone. The second improvement regards a battery-level dependent thrust control. Lastly a characterisation of ground effects in flapping-wing flight is obtained from hovering experiments. The proposed controller improves position control by a factor _ 1.5, reaching a mean absolute error of 10cm for position in x and y, and 4.9cm for position in z.Control & Simulatio

Precision Laser Ranging Using Extremely Chirped Pulses From Chirped Fiber Bragg Gratings

Spectrally resolved interferometry combining up-chirped and down-chirped pulses allows for millimeter range resolution in laser ranging applications. Key in our approach is the use of temporally stretched optical pulses of 5 nanoseconds in duration. These stretched pulses were obtained from a femtosecond semiconductor mode-locked laser and were up-chirped and down-chirped using a chirped fiber Bragg grating and recombined to realize spectral interferometry. This approach provides a means to achieve the high pulse energies required for a laser radar application which are easy to achieve using nanosecond pulses but maintains the high spatial resolution associated with femtosecond optical pulses