Artificial intelligence methods in diagnostics of coal-biomass blends co-combustion in pulverised coal burners

The paper presents technologies being developed in the Institute of Electronics and Information Technologies at Lublin University of Technology. They use optical sensors and artificial intelligence methods for process supervision and diagnostics. Research is aimed to develop a system allowing a parametric evaluation of the quality of pulverized coal burner operation. Due to the highly nonlinear nature of dependencies and lack of an analytical model, the artificial intelligence methods were used to estimate and classify the selected parameter, including a relatively new class of classification methods – artificial immunology algorithms. The article shows results for coal-shredded straw blends, yet the methodology may be applied for other types of blends.У роботі представлені технології, розроблені в Інституті електроніки та інформаційних технологій Люблінського технологічного університету. Вони використовують оптичні датчики та методи штучного інтелекту для контролю та діагностики процесу. Дослідження спрямовано на розробку системи, що дозволяє провести параметричну оцінку якості роботи пиловугільного пальника. Через високу нелінійну природу залежностей та відсутність аналітичної моделі для оцінки та класифікації обраного параметра були використані методи штучного інтелекту, включаючи відносно новий клас методів класифікації - алгоритми штучної імунології. У статті наведені результати для солом'яно-вугільних сумішей, але методологія може застосовуватися і для інших типів сумішей

Association between the c.*229C>T polymorphism of the topoisomerase IIb binding protein 1 (TopBP1) gene and breast cancer

Topoisomerase IIb binding protein 1 (TopBP1) is involved in cell survival, DNA replication, DNA damage repair and cell cycle checkpoint control. The biological function of TopBP1 and its close relation with BRCA1 prompted us to investigate whether alterations in the TopBP1 gene can influence the risk of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the association between five polymorphisms (rs185903567, rs116645643, rs115160714, rs116195487, and rs112843513) located in the 30UTR region of the TopBP1 gene and breast cancer risk as well as allele-specific gene expression. Five hundred thirty-four breast cancer patients and 556 population controls were genotyped for these SNPs. Allele-specific Top- BP1 mRNA and protein expressions were determined by using real time PCR and western blotting methods, respectively. Only one SNP (rs115160714) showed an association with breast cancer. Compared to homozygous common allele carriers, heterozygous and homozygous for the T variant had significantly increased risk of breast cancer (adjusted odds ratio = 3.81, 95 % confidence interval: 1.63–8.34, p = 0.001). Mean TopBP1 mRNA and protein expression were higher in the individuals with the CT or TT genotype. There was a significant association between the rs115160714 and tumor grade and stage. Most carriers of minor allele had a high grade (G3) tumors classified as T2-T4N1M0. Our study raises a possibility that a genetic variation of TopBP1 may be implicated in the etiology of breast cancer

Low computational complexity algorithm for recognition highly corrupted QR codes based on Hamming-Lippmann neural network

This article describes the architecture of the Hamming-Lippmann neural network and the math of the modified learning-recognition algorithm and presents some practical aspects for using it for solving an image recognition task. We have created software using C# programming language, that utilized this network as an additional error-correcting procedure, and have solved the task of recognition highly corrupted QR codes (with a connection to the database). Experimental results, of finding the optimal parameters for this algorithm, are presented. This neural network doesn’t require time-consuming computational procedures and large amounts of memory, even for high-resolution and big size images.W tym artykule opisano architekturę sieci neuronowej Hamminga-Lippmanna oraz matematykę zmodyfikowanego algorytmu rozpoznawania uczenia się, a także przedstawiono kilka praktycznych aspektów korzystania z niej w celu rozwiązania zadania rozpoznawania obrazu. Stworzyliśmy oprogramowanie wykorzystujące język programowania C #, który wykorzystał tę sieć jako dodatkową procedurę korekty błędów i rozwiązaliśmy zadanie rozpoznawania wysoce uszkodzonych kodów QR (w połączeniu z bazą danych). Przedstawiono wyniki eksperymentalne poszukiwania optymalnych parametrów dla tego algorytmu. Opisywana neuronowa nie wymaga czasochłonnych procedur obliczeniowych i dużej ilości pamięci, nawet w przypadku obrazów o wysokiej rozdzielczości i dużych rozmiarach. (Algorytm o niskiej złożoności obliczeniowej do rozpoznawania wysoce uszkodzonych kodów QR w oparciu o sieć neuronową Hamminga-Lippmanna)

Synergistic effect of stromelysin-1 (matrix metalloproteinase-3) promoter (-1171 5A->6A) polymorphism in oral submucous fibrosis and head and neck lesions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that degrade all the components of extra cellular matrix and collagen. Various types of MMPs are known to be expressed and activated in patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) as well as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The purpose of this study was to asses the association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) adenosine insertion/deletion polymorphism (-1171 5A->6A) in the MMP-3 promoter region in these lesions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MMP-3 SNP was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in a case control study consisting of 362 participants; 101 cases of OSMF, 135 of HNSCC and 126 controls, compared for age, sex and habits. ROC distribution was plotted to assess the contributions of genetic variation in MMP-3 genotypes with relation to age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analysis of MMP 3 (-1171 5A->6A) polymorphism revealed the frequency of 5A allele in OSMF, HNSCC and controls to be 0.15, 0.13 and 0.07, respectively. A significant difference was found in 5A genotype frequency between OSMF (5A genotype frequency = 0.15, p = 0.01, OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.22-4.20) and in controls (5A genotype frequency 0.07) as well as HNSCC (5A genotype frequency 0.13, p = 0.03,95%CI = 1.06-3.51) and controls (5A genotype frequency = 0.07) In this study, 5A genotype had greater than two fold risk for developing OSMF (OR = 2.26) and nearly the same in case of HNSCC (OR = 1.94) as compared to controls. In patients with OSMF as well as HNSCC, the ROC analysis between the MMP-3 genotype and age, 6A/6A allele was found to be significant in patients both over and under 45 years of age; while the 5A/5A carrier alleles showed an association only in patients less than 45 years of age.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study concluded that the expression of MMP-3 genotype associated with the 5A alleles, it may have an important role in the susceptibility of the patients to develop OSMF and HNSCC.</p

Role of genetic polymorphisms in tumour angiogenesis

Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in the development, growth and spread of solid tumours. Pro- and anti-angiogenic factors are abnormally expressed in tumours, influencing tumour angiogenesis, growth and progression. Polymorphisms in genes encoding angiogenic factors or their receptors may alter protein expression and/or activity. This article reviews the literature to determine the possible role of angiogenesis-related polymorphisms in cancer. Further research studies in this potentially crucial area of tumour biology are proposed