Quality, Frequency and Similarity Based Fuzzy Nearest Neighbor Classification

This paper proposes an approach based on fuzzy rough set theory to improve nearest neighbor based classification. Six measures are introduced to evaluate the quality of the nearest neighbors. This quality is combined with the frequency at which classes occur among the nearest neighbors and the similarity w.r.t. the nearest neighbor, to decide which class to pick among the neighbor's classes. The importance of each aspect is weighted using optimized weights. An experimental study shows that our method, Quality, Frequency and Similarity based Fuzzy Nearest Neighbor (QFSNN), outperforms state-of-the-art nearest neighbor classifiers

Fuzzy Rough Positive Region based Nearest Neighbour Classification

Abstract—This paper proposes a classifier that uses fuzzy rough set theory to improve the Fuzzy Nearest Neighbour (FNN) classifier. We show that previous attempts to use fuzzy rough set theory to improve the FNN algorithm have some shortcomings and we overcome them by using the fuzzy positive region to measure the quality of the nearest neighbours in the FNN classifier. A preliminary experimental evaluation shows that the new approach generally improves upon existing methods. I

More-than-national and less-than-global: The biochemical infrastructure of vaccine manufacturing

The recent efforts to mount an R&D response to public health emergencies of international concern have led to the formation of what we term a biochemical infrastructure of vaccine development and production. In principle, this infrastructure is expected not only to curtail existing pandemics but also anticipate and contain yet-to-emerge future threats. Critically, by nature of its geographical distribution and technical modularity, that infrastructure promises both to accelerate and expand access to essential medical tools, and in so doing, redress global health inequities. In practice, however, the biochemical infrastructure of vaccines remains highly uneven, fragmented and unjust. Moving beyond calls for ‘global health solidarity’, this paper examines the key actors, normative techniques and socio-technical assemblages, from viral platform technologies to intellectual property waivers and from accelerated regulatory pathways to advance market commitments, that serve to link ‘just-in-case’ and ‘just-in-time’ modalities of global health R&D. We argue that the biomedical infrastructure of vaccine development and production emerging in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is unfolding across an innovation ecosystem that is more-than-national and yet less-than global: a reconfiguration that may offer possibilities for a new, radically-overhauled, model of vaccine equity

Concrete with supplementary cementitious materials

This volume contains the proceedings of the MSSCE 2016 conference segment on “Concrete with Supplementary Cementitious Materials” (SCM). The conference segment is organized by the RILEM technical committee TC 238-SCM: Hydration and microstructure of concrete with supplementary cementitious materials. TC 238-SCM started activities in 2011 and has about 50 members from all over the world. The main objective of the committee is to support the increasing utilisation of hydraulic and pozzolanic industrial by-products, natural resources and societal waste to obtain more sustainable, less CO2-intensive binders for the construction industry. The TC serves as a knowledge platform where fundamental science and practical expertise are gathered to create a horizontal overview of the research area and to implement and promote the dissemination of more integrated generic approaches into the scientific community. One of the main challenges of the TC is to deal with SCM variability and binder diversification. The present conference segment deals with theory, modeling, and results from experimental investigations with relation to the use of SCMs in concrete. The topics covered include characterization of SCMs, SCM reactivity in blended cements, cement-SCM interaction, SCM-admixture interaction, hydration products, pore solution composition, effect of SCM on fresh concrete, hardened concrete with SCM, SCM influence on microstructure and durability of concrete with SCM. All these topics have relation to the aforementioned RILEM technical committee 238-SCM. The conference segment is attended by more than 40 presenters from university, industry and practice representing 30 different countries. Hopefully, it will contribute to synthesis of research on concrete with SCMs and promote knowledge transfer from academia to practice. All contributions have been peer reviewed

Can superabsorbent polymers mitigate shrinkage in cementitious materials blended with supplementary cementitious materials?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Can superabsorbent polymers mitigate shrinkage in cementitious materials blended with supplementary cementitious mateirals?

A promising way to mitigate autogenous shrinkage in cementitious materials with a low water-to-binder ratio is internal curing by the use of superabsorbent polymers. Superabsorbent polymers are able to absorb multiple times their weight in water and can be applied as an internal water reservoir to induce internal curing and mitigation of self-desiccation. Their purposefulness has been demonstrated in Portland cement pastes with and without silica fume. Nowadays, fly ash and blast-furnace slag containing binders are also frequently used in the construction industry. The results on autogenous shrinkage in materials blended with fly ash or blast-furnace slag remain scarce, especially after one week of age. This paper focuses on the autogenous shrinkage by performing manual and automated shrinkage measurements up to one month of age. Without superabsorbent polymers, autogenous shrinkage was reduced in cement pastes with the supplementary cementitious materials versus Portland cement pastes. At later ages, the rate of autogenous shrinkage is higher due to the pozzolanic activity of the supplementary cementitious materials. Internal curing by means of superabsorbent polymers is successful, independent of this long-term higher rate of shrinkage in mixtures with supplementary cementitious materials. Superabsorbent polymers proved to be successful in mitigating self-desiccation