Feature selection for high dimensional imbalanced class data using harmony search

Misclassification costs of minority class data in real-world applications can be very high. This is a challenging problem especially when the data is also high in dimensionality because of the increase in overfitting and lower model interpretability. Feature selection is recently a popular way to address this problem by identifying features that best predict a minority class. This paper introduces a novel feature selection method call SYMON which uses symmetrical uncertainty and harmony search. Unlike existing methods, SYMON uses symmetrical uncertainty to weigh features with respect to their dependency to class labels. This helps to identify powerful features in retrieving the least frequent class labels. SYMON also uses harmony search to formulate the feature selection phase as an optimisation problem to select the best possible combination of features. The proposed algorithm is able to deal with situations where a set of features have the same weight, by incorporating two vector tuning operations embedded in the harmony search process. In this paper, SYMON is compared against various benchmark feature selection algorithms that were developed to address the same issue. Our empirical evaluation on different micro-array data sets using G-Mean and AUC measures confirm that SYMON is a comparable or a better solution to current benchmarks

Molecular determinants of binding to the Plasmodium subtilisin-like protease 1.

PfSUB1, a subtilisin-like protease of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is known to play important roles during the life cycle of the parasite and has emerged as a promising antimalarial drug target. In order to provide a detailed understanding of the origin of binding determinants of PfSUB1 substrates, we performed molecular dynamics simulations in combination with MM-GBSA free energy calculations using a homology model of PfSUB1 in complex with different substrate peptides. Key interactions, as well as residues that potentially make a major contribution to the binding free energy, are identified at the prime and nonprime side of the scissile bond and comprise peptide residues P4 to P2'. This finding stresses the requirement for peptide substrates to interact with both prime and nonprime side residues of the PfSUB1 binding site. Analyzing the energetic contributions of individual amino acids within the peptide-PfSUB1 complexes indicated that van der Waals interactions and the nonpolar part of solvation energy dictate the binding strength of the peptides and that the most favorable interactions are formed by peptide residues P4 and P1. Hot spot residues identified in PfSUB1 are dispersed over the entire binding site, but clustered areas of hot spots also exist and suggest that either the S4-S2 or the S1-S2' binding site should be exploited in efforts to design small molecule inhibitors. The results are discussed with respect to which binding determinants are specific to PfSUB1 and, therefore, might allow binding selectivity to be obtained

Concordant Gene Expression in Leukemia Cells and Normal Leukocytes Is Associated with Germline cis-SNPs

The degree to which gene expression covaries between different primary tissues within an individual is not well defined. We hypothesized that expression that is concordant across tissues is more likely influenced by genetic variability than gene expression which is discordant between tissues. We quantified expression of 11,873 genes in paired samples of primary leukemia cells and normal leukocytes from 92 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Genetic variation at >500,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was also assessed. The expression of only 176/11,783 (1.5%) genes was correlated (p<0.008, FDR = 25%) in the two tissue types, but expression of a high proportion (20 of these 176 genes) was significantly related to cis-SNP genotypes (adjusted p<0.05). In an independent set of 134 patients with ALL, 14 of these 20 genes were validated as having expression related to cis-SNPs, as were 9 of 20 genes in a second validation set of HapMap cell lines. Genes whose expression was concordant among tissue types were more likely to be associated with germline cis-SNPs than genes with discordant expression in these tissues; genes affected were involved in housekeeping functions (GSTM2, GAPDH and NCOR1) and purine metabolism

NALP3 inflammasome upregulation and CASP1 cleavage of the glucocorticoid receptor cause glucocorticoid resistance in leukemia cells

Glucocorticoids are universally used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and resistance to glucocorticoids in leukemia cells confers poor prognosis. To elucidate mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance, we determined the prednisolone sensitivity of primary leukemia cells from 444 patients newly diagnosed with ALL and found significantly higher expression of CASP1 (encoding caspase 1) and its activator NLRP3 in glucocorticoid-resistant leukemia cells, resulting from significantly lower somatic methylation of the CASP1 and NLRP3 promoters. Overexpression of CASP1 resulted in cleavage of the glucocorticoid receptor, diminished the glucocorticoid-induced transcriptional response and increased glucocorticoid resistance. Knockdown or inhibition of CASP1 significantly increased glucocorticoid receptor levels and mitigated glucocorticoid resistance in CASP1-overexpressing ALL. Our findings establish a new mechanism by which the NLRP3-CASP1 inflammasome modulates cellular levels of the glucocorticoid receptor and diminishes cell sensitivity to glucocorticoids. The broad impact on the glucocorticoid transcriptional response suggests that this mechanism could also modify glucocorticoid effects in other diseases

Significant benefits of AIP testing and clinical screening in familial isolated and young-onset pituitary tumors

Context Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene are responsible for a subset of familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) cases and sporadic pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Objective To compare prospectively diagnosed AIP mutation-positive (AIPmut) PitNET patients with clinically presenting patients and to compare the clinical characteristics of AIPmut and AIPneg PitNET patients. Design 12-year prospective, observational study. Participants & Setting We studied probands and family members of FIPA kindreds and sporadic patients with disease onset ≤18 years or macroadenomas with onset ≤30 years (n = 1477). This was a collaborative study conducted at referral centers for pituitary diseases. Interventions & Outcome AIP testing and clinical screening for pituitary disease. Comparison of characteristics of prospectively diagnosed (n = 22) vs clinically presenting AIPmut PitNET patients (n = 145), and AIPmut (n = 167) vs AIPneg PitNET patients (n = 1310). Results Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut PitNET patients had smaller lesions with less suprasellar extension or cavernous sinus invasion and required fewer treatments with fewer operations and no radiotherapy compared with clinically presenting cases; there were fewer cases with active disease and hypopituitarism at last follow-up. When comparing AIPmut and AIPneg cases, AIPmut patients were more often males, younger, more often had GH excess, pituitary apoplexy, suprasellar extension, and more patients required multimodal therapy, including radiotherapy. AIPmut patients (n = 136) with GH excess were taller than AIPneg counterparts (n = 650). Conclusions Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut patients show better outcomes than clinically presenting cases, demonstrating the benefits of genetic and clinical screening. AIP-related pituitary disease has a wide spectrum ranging from aggressively growing lesions to stable or indolent disease course

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Optimization of Neural Network Parameters for Defect Characterization

Natural gas, which is one of the nation’s cheapest forms of energy, is transported to consumer sites via a vast transmission pipeline network .Safety considerations and a desire to assure uninterrupted energy supply require that the pipelines be inspected periodically. The effective detection of defects in the pipeline is vital to assure the integrity of the transmission systems. A variety of nondestructive evaluation techniques (NDE), such as ultrasonic, eddy current, and magnetic flux leakage (MFL) methods have been employed to detect defects in gas pipelines [1]. Among these methods, the MFL method represents the commonly used technique.</p