XLDA: Linear Discriminant Analysis for Scaling Continual Learning to Extreme Classification at the Edge

Streaming Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) while proven in Class-incremental Learning deployments at the edge with limited classes (upto 1000), has not been proven for deployment in extreme classification scenarios. In this paper, we present: (a) XLDA, a framework for Class-IL in edge deployment where LDA classifier is proven to be equivalent to FC layer including in extreme classification scenarios, and (b) optimizations to enable XLDA-based training and inference for edge deployment where there is a constraint on available compute resources. We show up to 42x speed up using a batched training approach and up to 5x inference speedup with nearest neighbor search on extreme datasets like AliProducts (50k classes) and Google Landmarks V2 (81k classes)Comment: Submitted at ICML 2023: PAC-Bayes Interactive Learning Worksho

(E)-1-(2,4-Dichloro­phen­yl)-3-[3-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl]prop-2-en-1-one

In the title mol­ecule, C25H18Cl2N2O2, the dihedral angles between the pyrazole ring and its N- and C-bonded benzene rings are 8.28 (11) and 40.89 (10)°, respectively. The dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 39.03 (11)°. The title mol­ecule exists in a trans conformation with respect to the acyclic C=C bond. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into inversion dimers by pairs of inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating R 2 2(14) loops

Probing the morphology and anti-organic fouling behaviour of a polyetherimide membrane modified with hydrophilic organic acids as additives

A facile approach for the preparation of an organic antifouling polymer membrane has been developed using low molecular weight organic acids as additives. The presence of these additives in the membrane was analysed by FTIR spectroscopy. The properties of the modified membranes were investigated in terms of contact angle, water uptake capacity, SEM and AFM analysis. These additives exerted a strong impact on the rheological properties of the casting solution, thereby altering the membrane morphology, surface roughness, water flux and the hydrophilicity of the membranes, as compared to those of the pristine polyetherimide (PEI) membrane. The organic antifouling properties of the modified membrane were analysed by filtering both bovine serum albumin (BSA) and humic acid solutions. The results showed that the additives exhibited a remarkable improvement in the antifouling properties (FRR of 72%) and a humic acid rejection of up to 86%. These outcomes offer new insights into the use of cheaper and readily available organic acids as additives, compared to the traditional, synthetic polymer materials as additives in membrane preparation

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF LIANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF LIANOID AND ARBOREAL SPECIES OF SCHEFFLERA FROM SOUTHERN INDIAANOID AND ARBOREAL SPECIES OF SCHEFFLERA FROM SOUTHERN INDIA

Objective: The genus Schefflera belongs to the family Araliaceae. The secondary metabolites of Schefflera include triterpene glycosides, oleanolic acid, and benzyl glycosides with proven biological activities. The objective of this study was to determine the antibacterial potentials of lianoid and arboreal Schefflera spp., from southern India. Methods: Schefflera venulosa, Schefflera stellata, and Schefflera racemosa were collected from the natural forests of Kodagu and Mysore regions of southern Karnataka. The plant parts such as stem bark, leaves, and inflorescence were dried, powdered and known quantity was subjected to Soxhlet extraction based on the solvent polarity. The solvent extracts from each of the species were subjected to preliminary antibacterial screening against five test bacterial strains, namely, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Klebsiella pneumoniae by agar disc diffusion method and the inhibition zones were measured. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC’s) were calculated for the positive extracts and represented. Results: Of the 30 solvent extracts tested, six solvent extracts showed antibacterial activity. The ethanol and ethyl acetate solvent extracts of all three plants showed positive results for antibacterial activity. The zone of inhibition against the bacterial test pathogens ranged from 6.00±0.00 to 15.00±0.00 mm against B. subtilis, E. aerogenes, S. pyogenes, and K. pneumoniae. The highest zones of inhibition were observed for S. racemosa leaf ethanol extract against B. subtilis, E. aerogenes, and S. pyogenes (10.00 mm to 15.00±0.00 mm). The MIC values of the positive extracts were 5.0 mg/ml in the leaf, flower ethanol, and stem bark ethyl acetate extracts of S. venulosa, leaf ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of S. stellata and the leaf ethanol extract from S. racemosa, respectively. Conclusion: Schefflera spp. from southern India possesses antibacterial potentials, which can be exploited pharmaceutically for potential health benefits against bacterial infections

Preparation of antifouling polyetherimide/hydrolysed PIAM blend nanofiltration membranes for salt rejection applications

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes are continually sought for their unique physical and chemical properties, which allow filtration of electrolytes, dyes and other substances. In continuation of our efforts to prepare NF membranes, flat sheet polyetherimide/hydrolysed poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PIAM) blend membranes have been prepared. The main aim was to explore the effect of addition of PIAM on morphological features and permeation properties of the membranes. The presence of dicarboxlic acid functionality leads to an enhancement in the hydrophilicity and antifouling properties. The results revealed that increasing the content of hydrolysed PIAMdecreases the pore size of the membranes and subsequently increases the electrolyte rejection. The PEI/hydrolysed PIAM composition (80 : 20) showed reasonably good salt rejection (sodium sulphate of 1000 ppm) of up to 76% with a pure water flux of 11.8 L m-2 h-1 at 0.4 MPa transmembrane pressure. This study provides a simple and effective approach to produce a negatively charged NF membranes for water desalination applications with low energy consumption

Preparation and evaluation of heavy metal rejection properties of polyetherimide/porous activated bentonite clay nanocomposite membrane

The acid activated bentonite clay ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 wt% was incorporated into polyetherimide membranes and was extensively studied for its morphology, porosity, membrane hydraulic resistance and hydrophilic properties. The nanocomposite membrane has shown an increment in porosity, hydrophilicity and a reduction in hydraulic resistance. Elemental mapping studies confirmed the intercalation of activated bentonite clay within the polymer matrix. Studies have been conducted to analyse the permeate flux and rejection of Cu(ii), Ni(ii) and Cd(ii) ions by varying the pH and initial feed concentration. The results revealed that membranes with higher clay dosage showed enhanced flux and rejection, whereas lower rejection was observed in the case of lower pH and higher initial feed concentrations. It has also been demonstrated that the affinity of metal ions to form the hydration sphere and the adsorption capacity towards bentonite clay plays a vital role in the effective removal of metal ions. The membrane showed good rejection of heavy metal ions without any external chelating agent. The membranes showed maximum rejection of 69.3%, 76.2% and 82.5% for 250 ppm of Cd(ii), Ni(ii) and Cu(ii) ion solutions, respectively. The low level of heavy metal concentration in the permeate indicates that good quality water could be reclaimed for further reuse

Improvement in performance of polysulfone membranes through the incorporation of chitosan-(3-phenyl-1h-pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde)

Pure polysulfone membranes are known to exhibit poor permeability, and high fouling. This study was conducted to explore the possibility of improving the permeation characteristics of polysulfone membranes by using a chitosan derivative as an additive. Polysulfone membranes blended with chitosan derivative 3-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde (ChD) were prepared by the method of wet coagulation. The hydroxyl, amine and the imine functional groups present in the ChD evidently increased the hydrophilicity of the surface of the blended membranes which was confirmed by contact angle measurements. The contact angle of the blended membrane having 2 wt.% ChD was 62 ± 1 as compared to 70 ± 1 of neat polysulfone membrane. The SEM analysis of the blended membranes revealed a highly porous structure with a very thin surface skin layer, finger like projections in the sub-layer with a macro void structure at the base. The blended membranes also showed significant improvement in pure water flux of 351 L m−2 h−1 at 0.8 MPa trans membrane pressure (TMP) as compared to 24 L m−2 h−1 of neat polysulfone membrane at the same TMP. The anti-fouling test using bovine serum albumin exhibited improved anti-fouling characteristic of blended membranes with a maximum flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 57%. The heavy metal rejection study revealed that membrane P-1 showed maximum 36 and 29% rejection for Pb and Cu respectively

Fabrication of polyetherimide nanocomposite membrane with amine functionalised halloysite nanotubes for effective removal of cationic dye effluents

Naturally, occurring, low cost and eco-friendly halloysite nanotubes were chemically modified and uniformly immobilised into the polyetherimide membrane matrix with the aim of enhancing the properties and possible cationic dye rejection efficacy. The properties of fabricated nanocomposite membranes were examined by means of porosity, hydrophilicity, zeta potential and permeability. Permeation experiments revealed the enhanced water flux up to 195 L/m2h with 4 wt% additive dosage. The dye rejection efficacy of the prepared membranes was determined by using rhodamine B (Rh.B) and methylene blue (MB). The dye rejection studies were executed in terms of pH, contact time and initial dye concentration. The membrane with 4 wt% of nanomaterial dosage, showed rejection of 97% at pH 8 and 94% at pH 7 for MB and Rh.B dyes, respectively. Langmuir adsorption isotherm is the best model to explain interaction between dye molecules and membrane surface, with quantity of dye adsorbed (qmax) was observed to be 20.4 mg/g and 19.6 mg/g for MB and Rh.B, respectively. This approach showed modified membrane has good cationic dye rejection efficacy and can be efficiently employed to remove the dyes from aqueous streams

Global comparative transcriptomes uncover novel and population-specific gene expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has a poor prognosis and is one of the deadliest gastrointestinal malignancies. Despite numerous transcriptomics studies to understand its molecular basis, the impact of population-specific differences on this disease remains unexplored.Aims This study aimed to investigate the population-specific differences in gene expression patterns among ESCC samples obtained from six distinct global populations, identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and their associated pathways, and identify potential biomarkers for ESCC diagnosis and prognosis. In addition, this study deciphers population specific microbial and chemical risk factors in ESCC.Methods We compared the gene expression patterns of ESCC samples from six different global populations by analyzing microarray datasets. To identify DEGs, we conducted stringent quality control and employed linear modeling. We cross-compared the resulting DEG lists of each populations along with ESCC ATLAS to identify known and novel DEGs. We performed a survival analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) data to identify potential biomarkers for ESCC diagnosis and prognosis among the novel DEGs. Finally, we performed comparative functional enrichment and toxicogenomic analysis.Results Here we report 19 genes with distinct expression patterns among populations, indicating populationspecific variations in ESCC. Additionally, we discovered 166 novel DEGs, such as ENDOU, SLCO1B3, KCNS3, IFI35, among others. The survival analysis identified three novel genes (CHRM3, CREG2, H2AC6) critical for ESCC survival. Notably, our findings showed that ECM-related gene ontology terms and pathways were significantly enriched among the DEGs in ESCC. We also found population-specific variations in immune response and microbial infection-related pathways which included genes enriched for HPV, Ameobiosis, Leishmaniosis, and Human Cytomegaloviruses. Our toxicogenomic analysis identified tobacco smoking as the primary risk factor and cisplatin as the main drug chemical interacting with the maximum number of DEGs across populations.Conclusion This study provides new insights into population-specific differences in gene expression patterns and their associated pathways in ESCC. Our findings suggest that changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) organization may be crucial to the development and progression of this cancer, and that environmental and genetic factors play important roles in the disease. The novel DEGs identified may serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.Peer reviewe