Affine feature extraction: A generalization of the Fukunaga–Koontz transformation

Dimension reduction methods are often applied in machine learning and data mining problems. Linear subspace methods are the commonly used ones, such as principal component analysis (PCA), Fisher's linear discriminant analysis (FDA), common spatial pattern (CSP), et al. In this paper, we describe a novel feature extraction method for binary classification problems. Instead of finding linear subspaces, our method finds lower-dimensional affine subspaces satisfying a generalization of the Fukunaga–Koontz transformation (FKT). The proposed method has a closed-form solution and thus can be solved very efficiently. Under normality assumption, our method can be seen as finding an optimal truncated spectrum of the Kullback–Leibler divergence. Also we show that FDA and CSP are special cases of our proposed method under normality assumption. Experiments on simulated data show that our method performs better than PCA and FDA on data that is distributed on two cylinders, even one within the other. We also show that, on several real data sets, our method provides statistically significant improvement on test set accuracy over FDA, CSP and FKT. Therefore the proposed method can be used as another preliminary data-exploring tool to help solve machine learning and data mining problems.     

Solution of the point reactor kinetics equations with temperature feedback by the ITS2 method

The ITS2 method is used to solve the point-reactor kinetics equations in the integral formulation with arbitrary number of delayed neutron groups and Newtonian temperature feedback. The method is based on low-order Taylor series expansions of neutron density and reactivity functions and uses variable time steps to control the numerical instabilities resulting from the stiff nature of the governing equations. Time steps are determined through an analytic criterion relating their magnitudes to the maximum admissible truncation error in the neutron-density expansion series. Temperature feedback is included in the reactivity as a function of the neutron density for different input types, including step change with adiabatic temperature feedback and compensated ramp functions. An iterative procedure is applied to determine the time steps while simultaneously updating the reactivity function. Numerical results show the ITS2 method is highly accurate for solving point reactor dynamics problems with temperature feedback.     

Enabled/disabled predicate encryption in clouds

Predicate encryption is a cryptographic primitive that provides fine-grained control over access to encrypted data. It is often used for encrypted data search in a cloud storage environment. In this paper, we propose an enabled/disabled predicate encryption scheme, which is the first work that provides timed-release services and data self-destruction (they correspond to the terms “enabled” and “disabled,” respectively). Owing to these properties, the sender can set the readable/unreadable time of the files to be sent to the receiver. The receiver can read the sent file only after the readable time. After the unreadable time, the structure of the file will be destroyed and the file will become unreadable. Furthermore, for practical usage purposes, the extended scheme, which is based on the proposed scheme, provides not only timed-release services and data self-destruction but also long message encryption and undecryptable search. In the extended scheme, the length of encrypted messages does not depend on the order of the group. Moreover, the cloud server can obtain only the matched ciphertexts after the search.     

An integrated bioinformatics analysis and experimental study identified key biomarkers CD300A or CXCL1, pathways and immune infiltration in diabetic nephropathy mice

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication that easily leads to end-stage renal disease. It is important to explore the key biomarkers and molecular mechanisms relevant to diabetic nephropathy (DN). We used highthroughput RNA sequencing to obtain the genes related to DN glomerular tissues and healthy glomerular tissues of mice. Then we used LIMMA to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between DN and non-diabetic glomerular samples. And we performed KEGG, gene ontology functional (GO) enrichment, and gene set enrichment analysis to reveal the signaling pathway of the disease. The CIBERSORT algorithm based on support vector machine was used to determine the immune infiltration score. Random forest algorithm and Cytoscape obtained hub genes. Finally, we applied co-staining, immunohistochemical staining, RT-qPCR and western blotting to validate the protein and mRNA expression of both hub genes. We obtained 913 DEGs mainly related to inflammatory factors and immunity. GSEA results showed that differential genes were mainly enriched in IL-17 signaling pathway, lipid and atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, TNF signaling pathway, neutrophil extracellular trap formation, Staphylococcus aureus infection and other pathways. The intersection of the random forest algorithm and Cytoscape revealed both hub genes of CD300A and CXCL1. Experiments have shown that the both key genes of CD300A and CXCL1 shown increased expression in glomerular podocytes, and are related to the inflammation of diabetic nephropathy. And immunohistochemical staining and RT-qPCR further confirmed that the protein and mRNA expression level of CD300A or CXCL1 in glomeruli tissue in DN mice were increased. The expression levels of CD300A and CXCL1 increased significantly under HG (high glucose) stimulation, further confirming that diabetes can lead to increased levels of CD300A and CXCL1 at the cellular level. Through bioinformatics analysis, machine learning algorithms, and experimental research, CD300A and CXCL1 are confirmed as both potential biomarkers in diabetic nephropathy. And we further revealed the main pathways of differential genes and the differentially distributed immune infiltrating cells in diabetic nephropathy.     

Microstructure and oxidation behaviour of Ir-rich Ir–Al binary alloys

In the current study, alloys of Ir–11Al, Ir–23Al, Ir–30Al, Ir–41Al and Ir–45Al (at.%) were prepared to investigate the microstructure and oxidation behaviour of Ir-rich Ir–Al alloys. Ir(Al)_ss and/or β-IrAl intermetallic phases were found to exist in the prepared alloys. During isothermal oxidation at 1100 °C, the Ir(Al)_ss and β-IrAl individually changed to porous and dense Al₂O₃. The microstructure of the oxide scale formed on Ir–23Al was similar to that of its former alloy which possessed a dendrite-like configuration. It was found that the mass change of Ir–45Al followed a parabolic law, showing the best oxidation resistance among the Ir–Al alloys.     

Comparison between two model-based algorithms for Li-ion battery SOC estimation in electric vehicles

Accurate battery State of Charge (SOC) estimation is of great significance for safe and efficient energy utilization for electric vehicles. This paper presents a comparison between a novel robust extended Kalman filter (REKF) and a standard extended Kalman filter (EKF) for Li-ion battery SOC indication. The REKF-based method is formulated to explicitly compensate for the battery modeling uncertainty and linearization error often involved in EKF, as well as to provide robustness against the battery system noise to some extent. Evaluation results indicate that both filters have a good average performance, given appropriate noise covariances, owing to a small average modeling error. However, in contrast, the REKF-based SOC estimation method possesses slightly smaller root-mean-square (RMS) error. In the worst case, the robustness characteristics of the REKF result in an obviously smaller error bound (around by 1%). Additionally, the REKF-based approach shows superior robustness against the noise statistics, leading to a better tolerance to inappropriate tuning of the process and measurement noise covariances.     

国外可降解淀粉发泡材料最新研究进展

主要综述了国外可降解环保型淀粉发泡材料的研究现状,阐述了淀粉挤出发泡和烘焙发泡以及淀粉基聚氨酯泡沫塑料的最新研究进展.同时也概述了超临界熔体挤出法应用于淀粉发泡的最新研究成果和淀粉发泡过程的模型建立,为淀粉发泡材料的进一步工业化应用提供了一定的参考.     

Immobilization of uranium in cristobalite ceramic through adsorption on mesoporous SBA-15 and further sintering process

The development of an adsorbent which can be easily transformed into stable ceramic waste forms through a simple route is necessary for the treatment of the radioactive wastewater. Herein, we report on the immobilization of uranium in cristobalite ceramic through adsorption on mesoporous SBA-15 and further sintering process. The mesoporous SBA-15 with short pore length was synthesized and employed to remove uranium from aqueous solution. Subsequently, the SBA-15 with adsorbed U (U/SBA-15) was solidified by sintering. The effects of sintering temperature and U content on the structure, densification and aqueous durability of the obtained cristobalite ceramic waste forms were investigated. The results indicate that the U/SBA-15 can be transformed into stable cristobalite ceramic after sintering at 1100–1400 °C for 6 h. Furthermore, all the obtained cristobalite ceramic waste forms exhibit good aqueous durability (∼10⁻⁴ g m^-2 d^-1). This work demonstrates a potential route and adsorbent to dispose the radioactive wastewater.     

木质素/LDPE-EVA复合材料及其发泡材料的制备

研究了天然可降解高分子材料木质素与LDPE-EVA的共混性能及进一步制备发泡材料的力学性能,共混物SEM图表明,在增容剂LDPE-g-MAH的作用下,木质素均匀地分散于LDPE-EVA基体中,并明显形成了一定的过渡层;DSC曲线分析表明,木质素/LDPE-EVA共混物有且只有一个介于两者吸热峰之间的吸热峰,进一步说明了两者具有较好的相容性。综合看来,10份LDPE-g-MAH增容20份含量的木质素与100份55/45的LDPE-EVA配以0.5份交联剂在130℃下混合具有较好的共混性能。同时,采用模塑发泡能得到具有优良力学性能和较好形貌的木质素/LDPE-EVA发泡材料。     

外源相容性溶质对S酵母耐盐性及酱油风味形成的研究

研究外源相容性溶质对S酵母(Zygosaccharomyces rouxii)耐盐性的影响,并探讨在高盐稀态酿造工艺中添加海藻糖对酱油风味的影响.结果表明,在酵母培养基中添加0.005mol/L海藻糖、甜菜碱和山梨醇,均可以显著改善S酵母在高盐培养基中的生长情况,缩短渗透胁迫条件下S酵母的延滞期,增加生物量,其中海藻糖的渗透保护效果最佳;添加海藻糖可使酱油的主体香味物质HEMF(4-羟基-2-乙基-5-甲基-3-呋喃酮)和乙酸乙酯的含量显著增加,同时促进S酵母合成酱油中典型风味物质4-EG (4-乙基愈创木酚).在酱油高盐稀态酿造中添加相容性溶质,如海藻糖,可有效改善酱油的风味和品质.