Dynamic affinity-based classification of multi-class imbalanced data with one-versus-one decomposition: a fuzzy rough set approach

Although the relevance problem in recommender systems, which typically refers to the similarity between the preference of the user and the items the system recommends, has been well studied, the issue of making recommendations in right orders has barely been mentioned before. The order defines the way in which items should be better consumed in relation to each other. The analysis of real-world data sets demonstrates strong item consumption patterns in the degree of order. In this paper, we propose a novel method to tackle the right-order recommendation problem based on a graph structure that incorporates the item consumption orders. The proposed method can combine relevance and order effects in recommendations. We attempt to recommend the relevant items in the consecutive steps within a user session so that the user’s selected items in the consecutive steps can be stringed together in a right order. The experimental evaluation conducted on three real-world data sets shows that the recommendation accuracy is improved by considering item consumption orders compared with the baseline recommendation methods. In addition, the study on right-order recommendation contributes to the exploration on recommendation appropriateness besides relevance.     

Social Exclusion in Later Life: A Systematic Review of the Literature

In the last decade, there has been a growing awareness regarding social exclusion. Considering the ageing population and the likelihood of older people being socially excluded, the aims of this article are to: (1) review existing studies concerning social exclusion in later life; and (2) identify how environmental and life-course perspectives are presented in studies focusing on social exclusion in later life. A systematic review in seven scientific databases was conducted to explore the peer-reviewed evidence. In total, 26 articles were included and analysed. Findings describe the variety of methods, conceptualisation, dimensions and measures used in this recent area of research. Determinants of social exclusion in later life are discussed and life-course and environmental perspectives are examined. The discussion highlights the complex character of the concept and measurement of social exclusion, and the presence of general and age-specific dimensions of social exclusion in later life. The time and context relativity and the need for life-course and environmental perspectives on social exclusion in later life are discussed. Finally, future directions of research are discussed.     

The Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Multifunctionalised Derivatives of Noscapine as Cytotoxic Agents

Noscapine, a phthalideisoquinoline alkaloid derived from Papaver somniferum, is a well‐known antitussive drug that has a relatively safe in vitro toxicity profile. Noscapine is also known to possess weak anticancer efficacy, and since its discovery, efforts have been made to design derivatives with improved potency. Herein, the synthesis of a series of noscapine analogues, which have been modified in the 6′, 9′, 1 and 7‐positions, is described. In a previous study, replacement of the naturally occurring N‐methyl group in the 6′‐position with an N‐ethylaminocarbonyl was shown to promote cell‐cycle arrest and cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines. Here, this modification has been combined with other structural changes that have previously been shown to improve anticancer activity, namely halo substitution in the 9′‐position, regioselective O‐demethylation to reveal a free phenol in the 7‐position, and reduction of the lactone to the corresponding cyclic ether in the 1‐position. The incorporation of new aryl substituents in the 9′‐position was also investigated. The study identified interesting new compounds able to induce G2/M cell‐cycle arrest and that possess cytotoxic activity against the human prostate carcinoma cell line PC3, the human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF‐7, and the human pancreatic epithelioid carcinoma cell line PANC‐1. In particular, the ethyl urea cyclic ether noscapinoids and a compound containing a 6′‐ethylaminocarbonyl along with 9′‐chloro, 7‐hydroxy and lactone moieties exhibited the most promising biological activities, with EC₅₀ values in the low micromolar range against all three cancer cell lines, and these derivatives warrant further investigation.     

Design of a composite sulfuric acid decomposition reactor,concentrator, and preheater for hydrogen generation processes

The Hybrid Sulfur Process, as well as similar sulfur cycles for the production of nuclear hydrogen, requires the decomposition of sulfuric acid into sulfur dioxide, oxygen, and water at temperatures above 800 °C and at pressures up to 9 MPa. The design of a reactor for this process presents numerous challenges in terms of maintaining small pressure differentials and utilizing currently available materials of construction. This paper focuses on design calculations for a composite reactor that preheats, concentrates, and decomposes sulfuric acid for use in the production of hydrogen. The decomposition reaction takes place within individual tubes of a multitube reactor.     

An experimental investigation into the pre-treatment of synthetic membranes using sodium hydroxide solutions

In this paper the effect of two pre-treatment methods are compared experimentally for the filtration of (i) a spent sulphite liquor (17.8 wt.% dry solids) using a 20 kg mol⁻¹ molar mass cut off (MMCO) fluoropolymer membrane and (ii) a molasses solution (45° Brix) using a polysulphone (Psf) membrane (1.5 μm pore size). Both feeds are industrially relevant, and subject to severe fouling issues when membranes are used in their subsequent processing. The pre-treatment methods evaluated were: (i) conditioning with water at 60 °C only [Protocol 1], and (ii) conditioning with water at 60 °C followed by cleaning with 0.5 wt.% NaOH [Protocol 2]. Results are presented that confirm the benefits of sodium hydroxide preconditioning upon performance, supporting the suggestion by some membrane manufacturers that this step be included as part of the pre-treatment protocol.     

Moving ion fronts in mixed ionic‐electronic conducting polymer films

The aim of this paper is to analyze moving front dynamics of ions and holes in a planar, mixed ionic‐electronic conducting polymer film. As cations invade the film, holes evacuate; thus, an ionic current is converted to an electronic signal. Recent experiments show that the location of the advancing ion front increases as the square‐root of time, a scaling typically associated with diffusive transport, which is surprising given the large driving voltages utilized. Ionic and electronic transport is modeled via the drift‐diffusion equations. A similarity transformation reduces the governing partial differential equations to ordinary differential equations that are solved numerically. The similarity transformation elucidates the origin of the square‐root‐of‐time front scaling. The similarity solution is then compared to the numerical solution of the full drift‐diffusion equations, finding excellent agreement. When compared with experimental data, our model captures the front location; however, qualitative differences between the ion profiles are observed. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1447–1454, 2015     

Portable Infrared Spectrometer to Characterize and Differentiate Between Organic and Conventional Bovine Butter

The performance of a portable infrared system combined with pattern recognition to discriminate between organically and conventionally produced bovine butter samples as well as to predict the levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were evaluated. Sixty butter (27 organic and 33 conventional) samples were used in this study. Bovine butter–fat were applied onto an attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR‐IR) accessory equipped with a five‐bounce ZnSe crystal set at 65 °C for spectral collection. In addition, ATR‐IR spectra of bovine butter were directly collected at room temperature to avoid phase separation. The fatty acid profile and the levels of CLA were determined using reference FAME‐GC‐FID analysis. SIMCA models showed well separated clusters that discriminated between organic and conventional bovine butters due to C=C trans bending out of the plane vibration modes band at 967 cm^?1. Additionally, strong PLSR models were developed to predict CLA levels using butter–fat and bovine butter spectra with SEP of 0.05 % and RPD of 4.7, indicating that the models are suitable for quality control applications. Portable IR technology offers the ability for “in situ” analysis of butters that is much less time consuming than current analytical practices for authentication and quality control efforts by the industry.