Model-Based Feature Selection Based on Radial Basis Functions and Information Measures

In this paper the development of a new embedded feature selection method is presented, based on a Radial-Basis-Function Neural-Fuzzy modelling structure. The proposed method is created to find the relative importance of features in a given dataset (or process in general), with special focus on manufacturing processes. The proposed approach evaluates the impact/importance of processes features by using information theoretic measures to measure the correlation between the process features and the modelling performance. Crucially, the proposed method acts during the training of the process model; hence it is an embedded method, achieving the modelling/classification task in parallel to the feature selection task. The latter is achieved by taking advantage of the information in the output layer of the Neural Fuzzy structure; in the presented case this is a TSK-type polynomial function. Two information measures are evaluated in this work, both based on information entropy: mutual information, and cross-sample entropy. The proposed methodology is tested against two popular datasets in the literature (IRIS - plant data, AirFoil - manufacturing/design data), and one more case study relevant to manufacturing - the heat treatment of steel. Results show the good and reliable performance of the developed modelling structure, on par with existing published work, as well as the good performance of the feature selection task in terms of correctly identifying important process features

SUMOylation Status and Effects of SUMylation on DAX-1

DAX-1 (Dosage Sensitive Sex Reversal Adrenal Hypoplasia Congenita on the X Chromosome gene 1) is a Nuclear Hormone Receptor, which acts as a transcriptional repressor in the nucleus. DAX-1 plays an important role in development and also appears to have some influence on the progression of cancer. In an effort to better understand DAX-1 function both in normal and disease states we are examining one type of posttranslational modification, SUMOylation. SUMOylation involves the addition of the small polypeptide conjugate SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier) to proteins, this can have a variety of effects on protein activity. To study the effects of SUMOylation on DAX-1, the overall SUMOylation status of DAX-1 in mammalian cell lines was determined. It was found that DAX-1 is SUMOylated in several cell lines, both normal and carcinoma cells. Mutations were made in putative SUMOylation sites within the DAX-1 gene and assayed for changes in gene expression and activity

The dicode workbench: A flexible framework for the integration of information and web services

Aiming to address requirements concerning integration of services in the context of ?big data?, this paper presents an innovative approach that (i) ensures a flexible, adaptable and scalable information and computation infrastructure, and (ii) exploits the competences of stakeholders and information workers to meaningfully confront information management issues such as information characterization, classification and interpretation, thus incorporating the underlying collective intelligence. Our approach pays much attention to the issues of usability and ease-of-use, not requiring any particular programming expertise from the end users. We report on a series of technical issues concerning the desired flexibility of the proposed integration framework and we provide related recommendations to developers of such solutions. Evaluation results are also discussed

The Treatment of Morton’s Neuroma, a Significant Cause of Metatarsalgia for People Who Exercise

Morton’s Neuroma is a common metatarsalgia in athletes created due to the entrapment of the inter-digital nerve inside the transverse inter-metatarsal ligament. The purpose of the present study is to draw the necessary conclusions from the use of a particular surgical treatment to release the digital nerve, accompanied by neurolysis in adults who exercise. On the whole, twenty five patients with twenty-five suffering extremities were treated. Five of them simultaneously had a Hallux Valgus type deformity and that supports the belief of the mechanical induce of this condition. Both ultrasonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were used for the clinical evaluation of this condition. The pain was estimated via the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The patients were re-examined after three (1st postoperative), twelve (2nd postoperative) and twenty-four (3rd postoperative) months. A significant improvement (p < 0.0001) was noticed from the correlation between the pain before the surgery and the pain after the surgery via the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Most patients (15/25) did not display any discomfort or sensory disorder after surgery. The correct clinical evaluation as well as the correct and effective surgical intervention with the simultaneous repair of all the mechanical deformities of the foot provided better post-surgery progress in patients and increased the percentage of their rehabilitation of their previous activities

Sagittal and frontal plane evaluation of the whole-spine and clinical outcomes after vertebral fractures

Although it is known that a change in any level of the spine alters biomechanics, there aren’t many studies to evaluate the spine as a whole both in sagittal and frontal planes. This prospective cohort study evaluates the morphology and mobility of the entire spine in patients with vertebral fractures. The treatment group consisted of 43 patients who underwent percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty or percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty plus fixation. The Control Group consisted of 39 healthy subjects. Spinal mouse was used for the assessment of the curvatures and the mobility of the spine. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by Visual-Analogue Scale and Oswestry Disability Index. The measurements were recorded at 15 days, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Regarding the curvatures and mobility in sagittal plane, a statistically significant increase appeared early at 3 months, for lumbar curve, spinopelvic angulation and overall trunk inclination. In the frontal plane, most of the improvements were recorded after 6 months. Patients with osteoporotic fracture showed statistically significant lower mean value than patients with traumatic fracture. Pain and disability index showed early improvements. This study provides a comprehensive and complete picture of the functionality of the spine in patients treated with percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty

About Political Change in Greece

There have been almost 40 years after the restoration of democracy in Greece and a peculiar prosperity, which was consciously cultivated by the leaders of political and economic elites, was promoted before the onset of the financial crisis. However, from the beginning of the financial recession, the temporal illusions have been revealed and the need of a complete transformation of the financial policies has been expressed, while a significant transformation of the entire political culture has started. Parties such as SYRIZA, Independent Greeks(ANEL) and Golden Dawn took advantage of the growing social discontent by propagating their selves as exponents of ordinary people and of their concerns or their fears, as the expression of resistance against an avoidable sellout of public values. However, crisis has exposed a number of successive truths which were elaborately hiding in the underbelly of the detaining political and socioeconomic system. These truths were exteriorized once it became clear that the foundations on which the Greek society was based after the restoration of democracy, were weak and insufficient to guide the country’s way towards a modern future

The Degree of Modulation of Beta Band Activity During Motor Planning Is Related to Trait Impulsivity

Impulsivity is a prominent personality trait, and a key modulating component of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. How impulsivity is related to the brain mechanisms associated with action planning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relation between impulsivity and the modulation of beta band oscillatory activity associated with action planning and execution. Given that beta power decreases during action planning and decreases further during action execution, we hypothesized that during planning the level of beta band power of more impulsive individuals would be closer to the level reached during execution than that of less impulsive individuals. This could explain the tendency to “jump the gun” (commission errors) in high impulsivity. To test this hypothesis, we recruited healthy volunteers (50 participants analyzed) and used the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale questionnaire to evaluate their impulsivity as high or low. We then recorded their brain neuromagnetic signals while they performed an instructed-delay task that induced different levels of action planning by varying the number of spatial cues, hence the uncertainty, about the location of the upcoming target. During the early cue period of the task, we found a posterior (source localized in the occipito-parietal areas) and a left fronto-central group of channels (source localized in the left sensorimotor areas) where beta power was modulated by number of cues, whereas during the late cue period only the left fronto-central group was modulated. We found that the decrease of relative beta band power during action planning in the left fronto-central group of channels was more pronounced in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group. In addition, we found that the beta band-mediated functional connectivity between the posterior and the left fronto-central groups of channels was weaker in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group during the early cue period. Furthermore, high impulsives made more commission and movement errors in the task than low impulsives. These results reveal neural mechanisms through which impulsivity affects action planning and open the way for further study of the role of beta band activity in impulsivity, especially in the context of disease and therapeutics