Fuzzy Rule Based Interpolative Reasoning Supported by Attribute Ranking

Using fuzzy rule interpolation (FRI) interpolative reasoning can be effectively performed with a sparse rule base where a given system observation does not match any fuzzy rules. Whilst offering a potentially powerful inference mechanism, in the current literature, typical representation of fuzzy rules in FRI assumes that all attributes in the rules are of equal significance in deriving the consequents. This is a strong assumption in practical applications, thereby often leading to less accurate interpolated results. To address this challenging problem, this work employs feature selection (FS) techniques to adjudge the relative significance of individual attributes and therefore, to differentiate the contributions of the rule antecedents and their impact upon FRI. This is feasible because FS provides a readily adaptable mechanism for evaluating and ranking attributes, being capable of selecting more informative features. Without requiring any acquisition of real observations, based on the originally given sparse rule base, the individual scores are computed using a set of training samples that are artificially created from the rule base through an innovative reverse engineering procedure. The attribute scores are integrated within the popular scale and move transformation-based FRI algorithm (while other FRI approaches may be similarly extended following the same idea), forming a novel method for attribute ranking-supported fuzzy interpolative reasoning. The efficacy and robustness of the proposed approach is verified through systematic experimental examinations in comparison with the original FRI technique, over a range of benchmark classification problems while utilising different FS methods. A specific and important outcome is that supported by attribute ranking, only two (i.e., the least number of) nearest adjacent rules are required to perform accurate interpolative reasoning, avoiding the need of searching for and computing with multiple rules beyond the immediate neighbourhood of a given observationpublishersversionPeer reviewe

Silencing of two insulin receptor genes disrupts nymph-adult transition of alate brown citrus aphid

Insulin receptors play key roles in growth, development, and polymorphism in insects. Here, we report two insulin receptor genes (AcInR1 and AcInR2) from the brown citrus aphid, Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus. Transcriptional analyses showed that AcInR1 increased during the nymph-adult transition in alate aphids, while AcInR2 had the highest expression level in second instar nymphs. AcInR1 is important in aphid development from fourth instar nymphs to adults as verified by dsRNA feeding mediated RNAi. The silencing of AcInR1 or/and AcInR2 produced a variety of phenotypes including adults with normal wings, malformed wings, under-developed wings, and aphids failing to develop beyond the nymphal stages. Silencing of AcInR1 or AcInR2 alone, and co-silencing of both genes, resulted in 73% or 60%, and 87% of aphids with problems in the transition from nymph to normal adult. The co-silencing of AcInR1 and AcInR2 resulted in 62% dead nymphs, but no mortality occurred by silencing of AcInR1 or AcInR2 alone. Phenotypes of adults in the dsInR1 and dsInR2 were similar. The results demonstrate that AcInR1 and AcInR2 are essential for successful nymph-adult transition in alate aphids and show that RNAi methods may be useful for the management of this pest

Spectrophotometric detection of uric acid with enzyme-like reaction mediated 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine oxidation

ABSTRACT. WO3 nanosheets (NSs) were prepared and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The obtained WO3 NSs exhibited peroxidase-like catalytic activity, which can catalyze H2O2 to oxidize       3,3 ',5,5 '-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to generate oxidized TMB (oxTMB) with an absorption peak centered at 652 nm. Based on this, a facile method for the spectrophotometric determination of H2O2 was established. Under the selected conditions, the increase in absorbance of oxTMB enabled the detection of H2O2 ranging from 2.0 to 180 μM. Considering the fact that H2O2 is one of the products of urate oxidase (UAO)-catalyzed uric acid (UA) oxidation, a convenient method for the selective determination of UA was further developed with the help of UV–vis spectrophotometer. The increase of absorbance at 652 nm showed a linear response to UA concentration over the range of 2.0–180 μM. The limit of detection for UA was as low as 1.25 μM. More importantly, the proposed method was applied to the determination of UA in serum samples with satisfactory results.   KEY WORDS: Spectrophotometric, WO3 nanosheets, Uric acid, Determination   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2023, 37(1), 11-21.                                                             DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v37i1.2&nbsp

Stunting and soil-transmitted-helminth infections among school-age pupils in rural areas of southern China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stunting and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections including ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm remain major public health problems in school-age pupils in developing countries. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of stunting for children and its association with three major soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in rural areas of southern China. The study also aims to determine risk factors for stunting and to provide guidance on the prevention and control of stunting and STH infections for future studies in this field.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the poor rural areas in Guangxi Autonomous Regional and Hainan Province where STH prevalence was higher between September and November 2009. Pupils were from 15 primary schools. All the school-age pupils aged between 9 and 12 years old (mean age 11.2 ± 3.2 years), from grades three to six took part in this study. Study contents include questionnaire surveys, physical examination and laboratory methods (stool checking for eggs of three major STH infections and haemoglobin determination was performed for the anaemia test). Finally 1031 school-age pupils took part in survey. The results showed that the overall prevalence of stunting (HAZ < 2SD) was 25.6%, based on the WHO Child Growth Standards (2007). Risk factors for stunting based on logistic regression analyses were: (1) STH moderate-to-heavy intensity infections (OR = 1.93;95%CI:1.19,3.11); (2) anaemia (OR = 3.26;95%CI: 2.02,5.27); (3) education level of mother (OR = 2.13; 95%CI: 1.39,3.25). The overall prevalence of major STH infections was 36.7%, STH moderate-to-heavy intensity infections was 16.7%. The overall prevalence of ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm and co-infection were 18.5%, 11.2%, 14.7% and 9.1% respectively. The prevalence of anaemic children (HB < 12 g/dl) was 13.1%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study showed that stunting was highly prevalent among the study population and STH infection is one of the important risk factors for stunting, with moderate-to-heavy intensity infections being the main predictor of stunting. Hence, additional interventions measures such as to promote de-worming treatment, to enhance health education and to improve hygiene and sanitation in order to reduce stunting in this population, are needed throughout the primary school age group.</p

Dissolved carbon in a large variety of lakes across five limnetic regions in China

Dissolved carbon in lakes play a vital role in the global carbon cycling. The concentration and dynamics of lake dissolved carbon can be influenced by both the surrounding landscape and a combination of physical, chemical and biological processes within the lakes themselves. From 2009 to 2016, we conducted a large-scale assessment of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in 249 lakes across a diverse range of climatic, geopedologic, topographical and hydrological conditions in five Chinese limnetic regions: the East Limnetic Region (ELR), the Northeast Limnetic Region (NLR), the Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang Limnetic Region (MXR), the Yungui Limnetic Region (YGR), and the Tibet-Qinghai Limnetic Region (TQR). We found that the density of the organic matter in the soil in the surrounding landscape plays an important role in the DOC and DIC in lake water, as was evidenced by the high DOC and DIC levels in the NLR, where the soil is respectively organically rich. Conditions in the arid and semi-arid environments (i.e. TQR and MXR) have created a number of brackish/saline lakes and here we found that, DOC and DIC levels (median: 21.79 and 93.72 mg/L, respectively) are significantly higher than those in the freshwater lakes (median: 5.80 and 29.38 mg/L). It also appears to be the case that the trophic state of freshwater lakes influences the spatial variation of DOC. This can be seen in the relationships between DOC and trophic state index (TSI) in agriculturally-dominated regions such as the ELR (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.01), NLR (R2 = 0.65, p < 0.001), and YGR (R2 = 0.78, p < 0.001). Additionally, a close relationship between DOC and DIC can be found in lake waters with different trophic states (eutrophic: slp = 0.63, R2= 0.69; mesotrophic: slp = 1.03, R2 = 0.65; oligotrophic: slp = 1.00, R2 = 0.64). This indicates that human activities influence the quantity and quality of dissolved carbon in inland water across China. This study is able to provide insights regarding the potential effects of climate change and changes in land-use upon the amount of dissolved carbon in lake water

Non-leisure time physical activity is an independent predictor of longevity for a Taiwanese elderly population: an eight-year follow-up study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and non-leisure time physical activity (NLTPA) on mortality among the elderly in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a prospective observational cohort study. We analyzed the mortality data from a cohort of 876 non-institutionalized community-dwelling men and women aged 65 years or over, who were recruited by stratified clustering random sampling from Tainan city and participated in the 1996 Elderly Medication Survey. Information about activities and other variables were collected by structured interviews at baseline in the participants' home. The Cox proportional hazards model and crude death rate were applied to estimate mortality risk.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 876 participants, 312 died during the follow-up period (1996-2004). In the unadjusted Cox regression model, subjects aged over 75, having difficulty in carrying out activities of daily living (ADLs), a BMI less than 18.5, a history of diabetes mellitus or stroke, without LTPA or being inactive in NLTPA, were found to have a higher risk of eight-year mortality. With the adjustment for age, gender, education level, habitual smoking and drinking, living status, BMI and medical history, the mortality was found to be higher among the sedentary subjects, either defined by lack of LTPA or NLTPA, with the hazard ratio of 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.97-1.66) and 1.45 (95% CI = 1.07-1.97), respectively. Furthermore, when both LTPA and NLTPA were put into the model simultaneously, NLTPA (HR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.03-1.91) but not LTPA (HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 0.92-1.59) significantly predicted mortality during eight-year follow-up. In addition, subjects who were actively engaged in NLTPA had a lower mortality risk especially in subjects without performing LTPA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>NLTPA is an independent predictor of longevity among older people in Taiwan. A physically active lifestyle, especially engaged in NLTPA, is associated with lower mortality risk in the elderly population. We thus suggest that encouraging older people to keep on engaging in customary NLTPA is good for their health.</p