Characteristics of predictor sets found using differential prioritization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Feature selection plays an undeniably important role in classification problems involving high dimensional datasets such as microarray datasets. For filter-based feature selection, two well-known criteria used in forming predictor sets are relevance and redundancy. However, there is a third criterion which is at least as important as the other two in affecting the efficacy of the resulting predictor sets. This criterion is the degree of differential prioritization (DDP), which varies the emphases on relevance and redundancy depending on the value of the DDP. Previous empirical works on publicly available microarray datasets have confirmed the effectiveness of the DDP in molecular classification. We now propose to establish the fundamental strengths and merits of the DDP-based feature selection technique. This is to be done through a simulation study which involves vigorous analyses of the characteristics of predictor sets found using different values of the DDP from toy datasets designed to mimic real-life microarray datasets.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A simulation study employing analytical measures such as the distance between classes before and after transformation using principal component analysis is implemented on toy datasets. From these analyses, the necessity of adjusting the differential prioritization based on the dataset of interest is established. This conclusion is supported by comparisons against both simplistic rank-based selection and state-of-the-art equal-priorities scoring methods, which demonstrates the superiority of the DDP-based feature selection technique. Reapplying similar analyses to real-life multiclass microarray datasets provides further confirmation of our findings and of the significance of the DDP for practical applications.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings have been achieved based on analytical evaluations, not empirical evaluation involving classifiers, thus providing further basis for the usefulness of the DDP and validating the need for unequal priorities on relevance and redundancy during feature selection for microarray datasets, especially highly multiclass datasets.</p

Environmental Surveillance for Potential Human Exposure to Burkholderia Pseudomallei Causing Melioidosis in Changing Land Use in East Malaysia

Melioidosis is a potentially fatal disease caused by saprophytic bacteria, B. pseudomallei that are present in soil environment in tropical countries especially in South East Asia. The study was to determine the distribution of B. pseudomallei in changing land use in East Malaysia and the exposure among the communities. The soil samples were taken from school compound; Gedong Paddy Estate, villages and logging areas of Kakus in Bintulu were screened by culture methods and confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Blood sample from various occupational groups were taken for seroepidemiological exposure to B.pseudomallei by using Indirect Hemagglutination Antibody Test (IHAT). There were isolation of 23 sites for B. pseudomallei from the quadrants in football field and other playing ground in the one school compound in Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia

Liquid Marble Actuator for Microfluidic Logic Systems

© 2018, The Author(s). A mechanical flip-flop actuator has been developed that allows for the facile re-routing and distribution of liquid marbles (LMs) in digital microfluidic devices. Shaped loosely like a triangle, the actuating switch pivots from one bistable position to another, being actuated by the very low mass and momentum of a LM rolling under gravity (~4 × 10 −6 kg ms −1 ). The actuator was laser-cut from cast acrylic, held on a PTFE coated pivot, and used a PTFE washer. Due to the rocking motion of the switch, sequential LMs are distributed along different channels, allowing for sequential LMs to traverse parallel paths. This distributing effect can be easily cascaded, for example to evenly divide sequential LMs down four different paths. This lightweight, cheap and versatile actuator has been demonstrated in the design and construction of a LM-operated mechanical multiplication device — establishing its effectiveness. The actuator can be operated solely by gravity, giving it potential use in point-of-care devices in low resource areas

Epidemiological risk factors for adult dengue in Singapore: an 8-year nested test negative case control study

10.1186/s12879-016-1662-4BMC Infectious Diseases16132

Mechanical sequential counting with liquid marbles

© 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature. Here we demonstrate the first working example of a liquid marble-operated sequential binary counting device. We have designed a lightweight gate that can be actuated by the low mass and momentum of a liquid marble. By linking a number of these gates in series, we are able to digitally count up to binary 1111 (upper limit only by our requirements). Using liquid marbles in such a system opens up new avenues of research and design, by way of modifying the coating and/or core of the liquid marbles, and thereby giving extra dimensions for calculation (e.g. a calculation that takes into consideration the progress of a chemical reaction inside a liquid marble). In addition, the new gate design has multiple uses in liquid marble rerouting

Experiments in vortex avalanches

Avalanche dynamics is found in many phenomena spanning from earthquakes to the evolution of species. It can be also found in vortex matter when a type II superconductor is externally driven, for example, by increasing the magnetic field. Vortex avalanches associated with thermal instabilities can be an undesirable effect for applications, but "dynamically driven" avalanches emerging from the competition between intervortex interactions and quenched disorder constitute an interesting scenario to test theoretical ideas related with non-equilibrium dynamics. However, differently from the equilibrium phases of vortex matter in type II superconductors, the study of the corresponding dynamical phases - in which avalanches can play a role - is still in its infancy. In this paper we critically review relevant experiments performed in the last decade or so, emphasizing the ability of different experimental techniques to establish the nature and statistical properties of the observed avalanche behavior.Comment: To be published in Reviews of Modern Physics April 2004. 17 page

Wild bitter gourd improves metabolic syndrome: A preliminary dietary supplementation trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bitter gourd (<it>Momordica charantia </it>L.) is a common tropical vegetable that has been used in traditional or folk medicine to treat diabetes. Wild bitter gourd (WBG) ameliorated metabolic syndrome (MetS) in animal models. We aimed to preliminarily evaluate the effect of WBG supplementation on MetS in Taiwanese adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A preliminary open-label uncontrolled supplementation trial was conducted in eligible fulfilled the diagnosis of MetS from May 2008 to April 2009. A total of 42 eligible (21 men and 21 women) with a mean age of 45.7 ± 11.4 years (23 to 63 years) were supplemented with 4.8 gram lyophilized WBG powder in capsules daily for three months and were checked for MetS at enrollment and follow-up monthly. After supplementation was ceased, the participants were continually checked for MetS monthly over an additional three-month period. MetS incidence rate were analyzed using repeated-measures generalized linear mixed models according to the intention-to-treat principle.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for sex and age, the MetS incidence rate (standard error, <it>p </it>value) decreased by 7.1% (3.7%, 0.920), 9.5% (4.3%, 0.451), 19.0% (5.7%, 0.021), 16.7% (5.4%, 0.047), 11.9% (4.7%, 0.229) and 11.9% (4.7%, 0.229) at visit 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 compared to that at baseline (visit 1), respectively. The decrease in incidence rate was highest at the end of the three-month supplementation period and it was significantly different from that at baseline (<it>p </it>= 0.021). The difference remained significant at end of the 4th month (one month after the cessation of supplementation) (<it>p </it>= 0.047) but the effect diminished at the 5th and 6th months after baseline. The waist circumference also significantly decreased after the supplementation (<it>p </it>< 0.05). The WBG supplementation was generally well-tolerated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first report to show that WBG improved MetS in human which provides a firm base for further randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy of WBG supplementation.</p