Computational Intelligence Based Classifier Fusion Models for Biomedical Classification Applications

The generalization abilities of machine learning algorithms often depend on the algorithms’ initialization, parameter settings, training sets, or feature selections. For instance, SVM classifier performance largely relies on whether the selected kernel functions are suitable for real application data. To enhance the performance of individual classifiers, this dissertation proposes classifier fusion models using computational intelligence knowledge to combine different classifiers. The first fusion model called T1FFSVM combines multiple SVM classifiers through constructing a fuzzy logic system. T1FFSVM can be improved by tuning the fuzzy membership functions of linguistic variables using genetic algorithms. The improved model is called GFFSVM. To better handle uncertainties existing in fuzzy MFs and in classification data, T1FFSVM can also be improved by applying type-2 fuzzy logic to construct a type-2 fuzzy classifier fusion model (T2FFSVM). T1FFSVM, GFFSVM, and T2FFSVM use accuracy as a classifier performance measure. AUC (the area under an ROC curve) is proved to be a better classifier performance metric. As a comparison study, AUC-based classifier fusion models are also proposed in the dissertation. The experiments on biomedical datasets demonstrate promising performance of the proposed classifier fusion models comparing with the individual composing classifiers. The proposed classifier fusion models also demonstrate better performance than many existing classifier fusion methods. The dissertation also studies one interesting phenomena in biology domain using machine learning and classifier fusion methods. That is, how protein structures and sequences are related each other. The experiments show that protein segments with similar structures also share similar sequences, which add new insights into the existing knowledge on the relation between protein sequences and structures: similar sequences share high structure similarity, but similar structures may not share high sequence similarity

Removal of Zinc Ions from Model Wastewater by Electrocoagulation

This study has investigated the removal of zinc ions from the synthetic wastewater models by electrocoagulation (EC) with aluminum for both cathode and anode. The results showed that EC process had a great removal when it comes to zinc contaminated water. The effects of parameters on the EC performance have been systematically investigated, such as solution conductivity, electrode spacing, initial pH, current density and initial zinc concentration. Since the wastewater in real situations usually contains several types of metals, a series of mixed cases were also studied in this work.;The results indicated that current density is critical to EC performance, in terms of the removal efficiency and energy consumption. The basic conductivity of the solution is required to decrease the EC voltage. It was demonstrated that the neutral pH is favorable for zinc removal by EC process, while the effect of electrode spacing on EC performance was not significant in this case. With a relatively low energy consumption of 0.35 kWh/m3, more than 99.5% of zinc ions were removed from the synthetic wastewater (zinc concentration 50 mg/L) within 20 min. Later with an energy consumption of 0.88 kWh/m3, highly similar removal efficiency has been achieved at zinc concentration of 250 mg/L at EC time of 50 minutes.;The kinetic study for zinc removal was performed to describe the adsorption system during EC process. The results show that the removal of zinc ions by EC process follows the first-order model with current-dependent parameters. Additionally, the removal of zinc ions fitted well with the first order model at related low initial concentration, and fitted well with the pseudo-first order model at high initial concentrations. Different mechanisms of zinc removal were implied by comparing the results of the low initial concentration (≤ 250 mg/L) and the high one (≥ 500 mg/L). It was reasonable to conclude that, beside the co-precipitation effect of the aluminum hydroxides coagulants, the reduction of zinc ions at the cathode also contributed to the zinc removal, especially at a high initial concentration. The different removal pathways of metal ions usually exist at high initial concentrations of metal ions and alkaline pH medium

Developments of Advanced Cathodes and Stabilized Zinc Anodes for High-performance Aqueous Zinc-ion Batteries

Aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted considerable attention as one of the most promising energy storage systems for the grid-scale application owing to the natural merits of metallic Zn, including a high theoretical capacity, suitable redox potential, low cost, high safety, and eco-friendliness. However, the existing aqueous ZIBs are far from satisfying the requirements of practical applications. Significant challenges hindering the further development of ZIBs come from the low utilization and poor cycling stability of cathodes and limited reversibility of Zn anodes associated with dendrite growth, corrosion, and passivation. To date, enormous efforts have been devoted to developing high-performance cathode materials, reliable electrolytes, and stable Zn anodes to achieve ZIB with high energy and power densities and long cycle life. These progresses have been reviewed in this dissertation. Regarding the main issues of ZIBs, the dissertation covered both the cathode and anode to comprehensively improve the electrochemical performance of ZIBs. For the cathode, high-performance manganese oxide-based cathode materials have been developed by in-situ electrochemical activation of MnS, and rational design of hierarchical core-shell MnO2@carbon nanofiber structures. To further understand the underlying reasons for the enhanced electrochemical performance, the charge storage mechanisms of manganese oxide-based cathodes in ZIBs have been in-depth investigated. With respect to the Zn anode, a thin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coating layer on the Zn anode has enabled dendrite-free, long-life aqueous Zn batteries by effectively regulating the interfacial ion diffusion and inducing the homogeneous Zn nucleation and deposition of stacked plates with preferentially crystallographic orientation along (002)Zn planes. This work is expected to provide facile and low-cost approaches for developing high-performance, cost-effective, and stable aqueous ZIBs and shed light on a new mechanistic understanding of manganese oxide-based cathodes

Drivers of consumers’ intention to adopt sustainable healthy dietary patterns: evidence from China

IntroductionIn line with the shift towards sustainable consumption, sustainable healthy dietary patterns (SHDP) have received considerable attention, but no study has examined Chinese consumers’ intention to adopt SHDP.MethodsBased on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study integrated health consciousness, environmental concerns, and past eating behaviour to construct an expanded TPB framework for analyzing the factors influencing Chinese consumers’ intention to adopt SHDP. The mediating role of attitude between perceived value and consumers’ intention to adopt SHDP was also analyzed. The study empirically tested the research model using structural equation modelling estimation, based on the data collected from 402 local consumers in Wuxi, China.Results and discussionThe results showed that attitude, perceived behavioural control, health consciousness, and past eating behaviuor positively and significantly influenced consumers’ intention to adopt SHDP, whereas perceived value indirectly influenced adoption intention through attitude. Subjective norms and environmental concerns had no significant influence on adoption intention. Based on these findings, interventions through dietary education and information campaigns are recommended to enhance consumers’ value awareness and attitudes towards SHDP. Interventions, such as nudging, should be designed to enhance consumers’ perceived behavioural control and dietary practises. The findings of this study provide important insights for the development of dietary change intervention strategies

PO-192 Comparative Study on Screening Results of Functional Movements of Middle-aged and Old Women before and after Square Dance Exercise: There is no full text article associated with this abstract

Objective This study will conduct a functional action screening (FMS) test for middle-aged and older women who participate in square dances, and explore the influence of square dance exercise on the screening results of middle-aged and older women, and provide reference for women's square dance exercise. Methods Experimental method: A 12-week weekly square dance exercise was conducted on middle-aged and elderly women who participated in the square dance exercise. The functional action screening results of the experimental subjects before and after the experiment were tested and compared. Results 3.1   Functional screening results of middle-aged and older women before exercise The average functional screening results of middle-aged and older women before exercise were 13.70±2.518. The shoulder flexibility score of middle-aged and old women was 2.55±0.711, the average score of leg flexibility was 2.55±0.506, and the average score of trunk stability of middle-aged and old women was 1.79±0.485, and the rotational stability was 1.70±0.529. The scores of the front and rear leg squatting modes were 1.58±0.663, the scores of the hurdles were 1.97±0.305, and the scores of the squatting mode were 1.76±0.792. 3.2  Changes in functional action screening results of middle-aged and elderly women after the experiment After exercise, the squat action mode score was 1.39±1.088, the hurdle step action mode score was 2.30±0.529, the front and rear leg squat action mode was 1.82±0.769, and the shoulder flexibility was 2.36±0.895. The knee lift leg score was 2.36±0.549, the trunk stability score was 1.52±0.870, the rotational stability score was 1.88±0.415, and the total score was 13.67±2.847. 3.3   Comparison of screening results before and after exercise After the experiment, the total scores of FMS test indicators, shoulder flexibility, trunk stability, rotational stability, squat movement mode and front and rear leg squat mode were not significantly changed (P = 0.951, 0.311, 0.119, 0.056, 0.070 and 0.118 respectively). The hurdle step movement mode was significantly improved, and the mean increased from 1.97 to 2.30 points (p<0.01). Conclusions 4.1 The functional quality of middle-aged and older women who participate in square dance exercises is generally not high. 4.2 Once a week, 2 hours of 12-week square dance exercise can effectively improve the walking movement mode of middle-aged and older women. 4.3 Once a week, 2 hours of 12-week square dance exercise can not effectively improve the upper and lower limb flexibility, core stability and squat and front and rear leg movement modes of middle-aged and older women. 4.4   Middle-aged and older women who participate in square dance exercise need to add functional training in a targeted manner, instead of relying solely on square dance

Doxorubicin@Bcl-2 siRNA core@shell nanoparticles for synergistic anticancer chemotherapy

Acquired drug resistance in malignant tumors seriously hinders effective chemotherapy against cancer. The main mechanisms of drug resistance include decreased drug influx, increased drug efflux, as well as antiapoptotic defense behavior in cancerous cells. To overcome these issues, we have designed a nanomedicine composed of pure doxorubicin (DOX) as the core and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) siRNA as the shell for synergistic cancer treatment. Between the core and shell, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyethylenimine (PEI) are employed to increase the stability of the core DOX NPs and facilitate siRNA coating, respectively. In this design, the siRNA is able to inhibit the expression of Bcl-2 protein which has a role of protecting cancer cells from apoptosis. DOX not only is for anticancer therapy but also acts as a nanocarrier for Bcl-2 siRNA delivery. Our studies show that Bcl-2 siRNA and DOX are efficiently delivered into tumor cells and tumor tissues, and such a codelivery nanosystem possesses synergistic effects on tumor inhibition, enabling significantly enhanced antitumor outcome. This work demonstrates that the codelivery of tumor-suppressive Bcl-2 siRNA and chemotherapeutic agents without using an excipient material as a drug carrier represents a promising therapy for enhanced cancer therapy