Hybrid feature selection based on principal component analysis and grey wolf optimizer algorithm for Arabic news article classification

The rapid growth of electronic documents has resulted from the expansion and development of internet technologies. Text-documents classification is a key task in natural language processing that converts unstructured data into structured form and then extract knowledge from it. This conversion generates a high dimensional data that needs further analusis using data mining techniques like feature extraction, feature selection, and classification to derive meaningful insights from the data. Feature selection is a technique used for reducing dimensionality in order to prune the feature space and, as a result, lowering the computational cost and enhancing classification accuracy. This work presents a hybrid filter-wrapper method based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a filter approach to select an appropriate and informative subset of features and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) as wrapper approach (PCA-GWO) to select further informative features. Logistic Regression (LR) is used as an elevator to test the classification accuracy of candidate feature subsets produced by GWO. Three Arabic datasets, namely Alkhaleej, Akhbarona, and Arabiya, are used to assess the efficiency of the proposed method. The experimental results confirm that the proposed method based on PCA-GWO outperforms the baseline classifiers with/without feature selection and other feature selection approaches in terms of classification accuracy

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe

Development and Evaluation of Combined Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System and Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm in Energy, Economic and Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Oilseed Production

Energy consumption, economics, and environmental impacts of canola production were assessed using a combined technique involving an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA). Data were collected from canola farming enterprises in the Mazandaran province of Iran and were used to test the application of the combined modeling algorithms. Life cycle assessment (LCA) for one ha functional unit of canola production from cradle to farm gate was conducted in order to evaluate the impacts of energy, materials used, and their environmental emissions. MOGA was applied to maximize the output energy and benefit-cost ratio, and to minimize environmental emissions. The combined ANFIS-MOGA technique resulted in a 6.2% increase in energy output, a 144% rise in the benefit-cost ratio, and a 19.8% reduction in environmental emissions from the current canola production system in the studied region. A comparison of ANFIS-MOGA with the data envelopment analysis approach was also conducted and the results established that the former is a better system than the latter because of its ability to generate optimum conditions that allow for the assessment of a combination of parameters such as energy, economic, and environmental impacts of agricultural production systems

Sensitivity analysis of agrochemical energy inputs and their environmental impacts in rapeseed production

Abstract: Agrochemicals, especially fertilizers, are the key energetic inputs in rapeseed production in Iran. In this study the relationship between agrochemicals energy inputs and rapeseed yield was investigated and the sensitivity of energy inputs on output level was analyzed using the Marginal Physical Productivity (MPP) method and partial regression coefficients of the Cobb-Douglas production function. Also, the environmental impacts of usage agrochemical energy inputs had investigated. Data were collected from 130 randomly selected rapeseed farms in Golestan province of Iran. The results of regression model estimation showed that nitrogen, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides energy inputs had the significant impacts on yield; while the impacts of phosphate, potassium and sulfur were not significant. Moreover, the herbicides, insecticides and potassium energy inputs were negatively contributed to yield; indicating that rapeseed producers have applied an excess use of these inputs, resulting in an inverse effect on yield as well as imposing risks to natural resources and environmental health. The study showed that, optimal fertilizer and chemical energy use by growing leguminous pastures or dray-land crops in rotation with rapeseed and employing integrated pest management can maximize yield and help to reduce the environmental footprints of food production

Meta-analysis of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors effect on walking ability and ankle brachial pressure index in patients with intermittent claudication

ObjectiveThe aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors on maximum walking distance (MWD), pain-free walking distance (PFWD) and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) in patients with intermittent claudication (IC).MethodsMEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched from inception to July 2013 on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effect of ACE inhibitors on MWD, PFWD and ABPI in patients with IC.ResultsOf 348 publications found, a meta-analysis was conducted of 6 RCTs comprising 821 patients. Treatment with ACE inhibitors improved MWD by mean difference (95 per cent confidence interval) of 120.8 (2.95-238.68) m (P=0.040), improved PFWD by 74.87 (25.24-124.50) m (P=0.003) and insignificantly improved ABPI by 0.07 (-0.02-0.17) (P=0.110) compared to placebo. Heterogeneity across studies was significant. Maximum treatment benefit was achieved after a 6-months treatment period with ramipril as the ACE inhibitor.ConclusionTreatment with ACE inhibitors improved walking ability in patients with IC. However, this was not associated with significant improvement in ABPI. Patients with IC might benefit from treatment with a high tissue affinity ACE inhibitor for a period of 6 months

Assessing the technical efficiency of energy use in different barberry production systems

The main objectives of this study were to analyze the technical and scale efficiencies of farmers and to identify the wasteful uses of energy in different farm sizes of barberry production in Iran. For these purposes the data envelopment analysis approach was applied to the data of energy use for barberry production in individual farms. The results indicated that total energy input and yield value of small farms were higher than those of large farms. Also, energy resources are used more efficiently in small farms; technical efficiency of farmers in small and large farms was calculated as 0.66 and 0.50, respectively; also, scale efficiency was 0.82 and 0.62 for the respective farms. Total energy input in small and large farms could be reduced by 13.2% and 15.2%, respectively; accordingly, total energy requirement in target conditions was calculated as 20,702.4 and 13,761.2 MJ ha(-1). The highest potential improvement was derived from diesel fuel, followed by electricity and biocides. Improving energy use efficiency of water pumping systems, improving timing, amount and reliability of water application, employing the conservation tillage methods and applying integrated pest management technique are suggested for improving energy use efficiency and reducing the environmental footprints of barberry production. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Outcomes after open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms in octogenarians: a 20-year, single-center experience

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate morbidity, mortality, and survival in octogenarians undergoing open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAAs) in comparison to younger patients.MethodsThis investigation was a retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database from a tertiary referral center. We included all consecutive RAAA patients who underwent open repair from 1990 to 2011. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify predictors of inferior short- and long-term outcomes.ResultsOverall, 463 patients were identified, of whom 138 (30%) were octogenarians (group 2), with a mean age of 84 ± 0.47 years. There were 96 (69%) men and 42 women (31%). There were more women in group 2 (31%) compared with the 0.05). Median preoperative hemoglobin (P < 0.001) and creatinine (P = 0.031) levels were significantly different between the groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. Median long-term survival for octogenarians (group 2) was 5.4 years compared with 12.4 years for the younger patient group (group 1) (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified age as an independent predictor of 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 1.154, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.037-1.285) and inferior long-term survival (OR = 1.074, 95% CI 1.011-1.141). History of cigarette smoking also predicted worse long-term outcomes (OR = 3.044, 95% CI 1.318-7.032) as did multiorgan failure in the postoperative course (OR = 1.363, 95% CI 1.080-14.130).ConclusionsAdvanced age is associated with high surgical mortality; however, for octogenarians surviving surgical repair, long-term outcome is acceptable. Therefore, with responsible decision-making, surgical intervention is justifiable in the elderly. Smoking and multiorgan failure were both predictive of worse survival

Energy use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of farming systems in north Iran

Efficient use of energy resources in crop production is an important goal in sustainable agriculture. This study compares the energy flow in farming systems across farm size with their corresponding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - presented in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq.) - in the north of Iran. To reach this aim, primary data were collected by survey with farmers whose main activity was major crops production in the region that included wheat, barley, canola, soybean, paddy and corn silage. The results showed that total energy input for corn silage (52.1 GJ ha−1) is greater than other systems. The results also revealed that yield and output energy of crops were not significantly affected by field size, whereas energy use efficiency of systems increased significantly as field size increased. Study shows that the cultivation of paddy emits the highest CO2 eq. emission (6094 kg CO2 eq. ha−1) among crops, in which around 60% is contributed by methane (CH4). The efficient use of fertilizers, optimized pumping facilities for irrigation, stopping of crop residue burning in the field and use them for energy supply could be among the options to improve energy use efficiency and mitigate GHG emissions

Role of pre-operative multiple gated acquisition scanning in predicting long-term outcome in patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

ObjectiveTo determine whether resting pre-operative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) estimated by multiple gated acquisition scanning (MUGA) predicts long-term survival in patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Methods A retrospective study of MUGA scans which were performed to estimate pre-operative resting LVEF in 127 patients [106 (83%) males, mean age 74&plusmn;7.6years] who underwent elective AAA repair over a period of 4years from March 2007. We compared outcomes and long-term survival between patients who had a pre-operative LVEF&le;40% (Group 1, n=60) and LVEF&gt;40% (Group 2, n=67). Results Overall 19 (15%) patients died during the follow-up period (13 patients in group 1 and 6 patients in group 2). 30-day mortality was 8%. There was no significant difference between group 1 and 2 in terms of patients' mean age or median length of hospital stay (8days for both groups, p=0.61). However, group 2 had more females than group 1(18 vs. 3, p=0.001). Median survival for patients in group 2 was significantly higher than patients in group 1 (1,258days vs. 1,000days, p=0.03). In a Cox regression model which included age, sex, smoking status and LVEF as covariates, only smoking status and LVEF predicted survival [Hazard ratio (HR)=1.06, p=0.04 and HR=0.93, p=0.00, respectively]. Conclusion This study shows that there is a role for pre-operative MUGA scan assessment of resting LVEF in predicting long-term survival post elective AAA repair and that the lower the pre-operative LVEF the poorer the long-term outcome