Grouping WWW Image Search Results by Novel Inhomogeneous Clustering Method

In this paper, a novel inhomogeneous clustering method is proposed for grouping web images. It is used to re-organize the search result of web image search engines into a hierarchical structure so that the users can conveniently browse the search result. This method takes into account various features associated with web images, and treats them in different ways. For the surrounding text extracted from the containing web pages, co-clustering approach is adopted; for low-level features of the image content and other features, one-way clustering approach is adopted. The clustering results of different approaches are combined together to produce the final image groups. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method

Quantitative combination of natural anti-oxidants prevents metabolic syndrome by reducing oxidative stress

AbstractInsulin resistance and abdominal obesity are present in the majority of people with the metabolic syndrome. Antioxidant therapy might be a useful strategy for type 2 diabetes and other insulin-resistant states. The combination of vitamin C (Vc) and vitamin E has synthetic scavenging effect on free radicals and inhibition effect on lipid peroxidation. However, there are few studies about how to define the best combination of more than three anti-oxidants as it is difficult or impossible to test the anti-oxidant effect of the combination of every concentration of each ingredient experimentally. Here we present a math model, which is based on the classical Hill equation to determine the best combination, called Fixed Dose Combination (FDC), of several natural anti-oxidants, including Vc, green tea polyphenols (GTP) and grape seed extract proanthocyanidin (GSEP). Then we investigated the effects of FDC on oxidative stress, blood glucose and serum lipid levels in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes, high fat diet (HFD)-fed rats which serve as obesity model, and KK-ay mice as diabetic model. The level of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in the treated rats was studied and Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining or Oil red slices of liver and adipose tissue in the rats were examined as well. FDC shows excellent antioxidant and anti-glycation activity by attenuating lipid peroxidation. FDC determined in this investigation can become a potential solution to reduce obesity, to improve insulin sensitivity and be beneficial for the treatment of fat and diabetic patients. It is the first time to use the math model to determine the best ratio of three anti-oxidants, which can save much more time and chemical materials than traditional experimental method. This quantitative method represents a potentially new and useful strategy to screen all possible combinations of many natural anti-oxidants, therefore may help develop novel therapeutics with the potential to ameliorate the worldwide metabolic abnormalities

Multivariate Time Series Density Clustering Algorithm Using Shapelet Space

Multivariate time series clustering has become an important research topic in the task of time series analysis. Compared with univariate time series, the research of multivariate time series is more complex and difficult. Although many clustering algorithms for multivariate time series have been proposed, these algorithms still have difficulties in solving the accuracy and interpretation at the same time. Firstly, most of the current work does not consider the length redundancy and variable correlation of multivariable time series, resulting in large errors in the final similarity matrix. Secondly, the data are commonly used in the clustering process with the division paradigm, when the numerical space presents a complex distribution, this idea does not perform well, and it does not have the explanatory power of each variable and space. To address the above problems, this paper proposes a multivariate time series adaptive weight density clustering algorithm using Shapelet (high information-rich continuous subsequence) space (MDCS). This algorithm firstly performs a Shapelet search for each variable, and obtains its own Shapelet space through an adaptive strategy. Then, it weights the numerical distribution generated by each variable to obtain a similarity matrix that is more consistent with the characteristics of data distribution. Finally, the data are finally allocated using the shared nearest neighbor density peak clustering algorithm with improved density calculation and secondary allocation. Experimental results on several real datasets demonstrate that MDCS has better clustering results compared with current state-of-the-art clustering algorithms, with an average increase of 0.344 and 0.09 in the normalized mutual information and Rand index, balancing performance and interpretability

Role of the ortho-bridge system in the length unstable subtrochanteric femur fracture in school going children: a retrospective clinical study of 19 cases

BackgroundTreating subtrochanteric femur fractures in pediatric patients remains challenging, and an optimal fixation device has yet to be established. This study aimed to asess the clinical and radiological outcomes of Ortho-Bridge System (OBS) treatment for length-unstable subtrochanteric femur fractures in children aged 5–16 years.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective review of pediatric patients with subtrochanteric femur fractures treated with OBS between January 2018 and December 2021. The study included 19 children (12 boys, 7 girls) with an average age of 10.4 ± 2.6 years. Two of the patients had pathological fractures associated with aneurysmal bone cyst. Demographic information, mechanism of accident, fracture type, associated neurovascular injuries, surgical duration and blood loss, were collected from the hospital database. Time to union and postoperative complications were recorded. Clinical and radiological outcomes were assessed using the Harris scoring system at the latest follow-up.ResultsInjuries resulted from vehicle accidents in 10 patients (52.6%), falls over 3 meters in height in 3 patients (15.8%), and sports-related injuries in 6 patients (31.6%). The average patient weight was 41.5 kg (range: 21–78). Of the fractures, 14 (73.7%) were complex, and 5 (26.3%) were spiral. The average surgical duration was 111 min (range: 90–180), and the average surgical blood loss was 134 ml (range: 70–300). The mean time to union was 12.7 weeks (range: 8–16). No cases of infection, malunion, implant failure, or femoral head osteonecrosis were reported. Leg length discrepancy of 10 mm was observed in one patient. All patients achieved excellent results according to the Harris scoring system.ConclusionThis study suggests that the OBS may serve as an effective alternative fixation option for managing length-unstable subtrochanteric femur fractures in school-aged children

TOD typologies for metro stations based on the butterfly model

As a promising planning strategy for urban sustainability, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely encouraged and adopted to integrate land use and transport systems. Because of the different applications in form, function and impact, it is necessary to explore context-based TOD typologies to better map the TOD specificities and focus on strategic planning. As the best-known method, the node-place model provides a useful analytical framework to evaluate TOD typologies. However, by using two indexes to aggregate the node and place value, details of some important TOD characteristics are disregarded in this model. Proposing a multi-axial indexes system, the butterfly model can perform a more detailed evaluation of node and place. In this research, we have revised and optimized the butterfly model and taken Tianjin Metro Line 1 as a case study. We find that all stations can be divided into five TOD types with significant spatial variations. TOD principles have already been implemented in Tianjin with good integration between metro system and land use. The method demonstrated in this paper equips urban planners with a useful tool for evaluating TOD performance and adopting more targeted strategies

Improving "color rendering" of LED lighting for the growth of lettuce

Light plays a vital role on the growth and development of plant. On the base of white light with high color rendering to the benefit of human survival and life, we proposed to improve “color rendering” of LED lighting for accelerating the growth of lettuce. Seven spectral LED lights were adopted to irradiate the lettuces under 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 for a 16 hd−1 photoperiod. The leaf area and number profiles, plant biomass, and photosynthetic rate under the as-prepared LED light treatments were investigated. We let the absorption spectrum of fresh leaf be the emission spectrum of ideal light and then evaluate the “color rendering” of as-prepared LED lights by the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and CIE chromaticity coordinates. Under the irradiation of red-yellow-blue light with high correlation coefficient of 0.587, the dry weights and leaf growth rate are 2-3 times as high as the sharp red-blue light. The optimized LED light for lettuce growth can be presumed to be limited to the angle (about 75°) between the vectors passed through the ideal light in the CIE chromaticity coordinates. These findings open up a new idea to assess and find the optimized LED light for plant growth