Robust intelligent PCA‐based face recognition framework using GNP‐fuzzy data mining

Traditional principal component analysis (PCA) based face recognition algorithms have a low recognition accuracy due to the influence of noise and illumination changes. This paper proposes a robust, intelligent PCA‐based face recognition framework in the complicated illumination database when using multiple training images per person (MTIP‐CID). There are mainly two improvements in the proposed method. One is that a face‐recognition‐oriented genetic‐based clustering algorithm is introduced to reduce the influence of a large number of classes on the classification accuracy in the MTIP‐CID. The other is that a classifier based on fuzzy class association rules (FCARs) is applied to mine the inherent relationships between eigenfaces and to improve the robustness of PCA‐based face recognition in noisy environments. Experimental results on the extended Yale‐B database demonstrate that the proposed framework performs better and is more robust against noise compared with other traditional face recognition algorithms, i.e. linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and local binary patterns (LBPs). © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Germline Whole-Gene Deletion of FH Diagnosed from Tumor Profiling

Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HL (RCC)) entails cutaneous and uterine leiomyomatosis with aggressive type 2 papillary RCC-like histology. HLRCC is caused by pathogenic variants in the FH gene, which encodes fumarate hydratase (FH). Here, we describe an episode of young-onset RCC caused by a genomic FH deletion that was diagnosed via clinical sequencing. A 35-year-old woman was diagnosed with RCC and multiple metastases: histopathological analyses supported a diagnosis of FH-deficient RCC. Although the patient had neither skin tumors nor a family history of HLRCC, an aggressive clinical course at her age and pathological diagnosis of FH-deficient RCC suggested a germline FH variant. After counseling, the patient provided written informed consent for germline genetic testing. She was simultaneously subjected to paired tumor profiling tests targeting the exome to identify a therapeutic target. Although conventional germline sequencing did not detect FH variants, exome sequencing revealed a heterozygous germline FH deletion. As such, paired tumor profiling, not conventional sequencing, was required to identify this genetic deletion. RCC caused by a germline FH deletion has hitherto not been described in Japan, and the FH deletion detected in this patient was presumed to be of maternal European origin. Although the genotype-phenotype correlation in HLRCC-related tumors is unclear, the patient’s family was advised to undergo genetic counseling to consider additional RCC screening.     

CO2 attraction by specifically adsorbed anions and subsequent accelerated electrochemical reduction

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ was studied on a copper mesh electrode in aqueous solutions containing 3 M solutions of KCl, KBr and KI as the electrolytes in a two and three phase configurations. Electrochemical experiments were carried out in a laboratory-made, divided H-type cell. The working electrode was a copper mesh, while the counter and reference electrodes were Pt wire and Ag/AgCl electrode, respectively. Results of our work suggest a reaction mechanism for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in the two phase configuration where the presence of Cu-X as the catalytic layer facilitates the electron transfer from the electrode to CO₂. Electron-transfer to CO₂ may occur via the X_ad⁻(Br⁻, Cl⁻, I⁻)-C bond, which is formed by the electron flow from the specifically adsorbed halide anion to the vacant orbital of CO₂. The stronger the adsorption of the halide anion to the electrode, the more strongly CO₂ is restrained, resulting in higher CO₂ reduction current. Furthermore, it is suggested that specifically adsorbed halide anions could suppress the adsorption of protons, leading to a higher hydrogen overvoltage. These effects may synergistically mitigate the overpotential necessary for CO₂ reduction, and thus increase the rate of electrochemical CO₂ reduction.     

A new lead alloy current-collector manufactured by a powder rolling process and its corrosion behavior under lead-acid battery conditions

A new powder rolling process for manufacturing current-collector sheets for lead-acid batteries has been developed. Gas-atomized lead–tin and lead–tin–calcium alloy powders obtained by a rapid solidification process in air were employed as raw materials for the powder rolling process. The corrosion behavior of powder-rolled lead–tin alloys with various compositions of tin has been investigated. A dipping corrosion test of square plain sheets of the alloys was performed in H₂SO₄ at 75 °C. The test was repeated up to 20 cycles with each cycle consisting of a controlled 10 mA cm⁻² oxidation current for 6 h and a rest under open circuit voltage for 6 h. The extent of corrosion–elongation and the appearance of the corroded surface of the tested specimens were the main observations. The corrosion–elongation of the corroded sheet of a powder-rolled lead alloy containing 1.5 wt% tin with ca. 200 μm initial thickness was less than 5%, whereas that of the corroded sheet of the cast-rolled lead alloy containing 1.5 wt% tin with the same initial thickness was 25–30% under the same corrosion test conditions. The corroded powder-rolled sheet of the 1.5 wt% tin lead alloy has uniform corrosion, but the cast-rolled sheet of lead alloy containing 1.5 wt% tin was much distorted and was perforated by the corrosion. Intergranular corrosion of the powder-rolled lead–tin alloys was much suppressed as compared with that of the cast-rolled lead–tin alloys.     

Chitosan-conjugated thermo-responsive polymer for the rapid removal of phenol in water

Chitosan-conjugated thermo-responsive polymers (PNIPAAm-CSs) containing 2.0–8.7% (w/w) chitosan were readily synthesized by the condensation of chitosan and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide. PNIPAAm-CSs were water-soluble at 30 °C, while they deposited above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST, ca. 34 °C in 50 mM sodium phosphate, pH 6.8). Tyrosinase-induced phenol oxidation was performed in the dilute aqueous polymer solution at 30 °C for the rapid binding of oxidized compounds to the amino moiety of PNIPAAm-CS. By heating and shaking the solution, the polymer containing highly concentrated oxidized compounds deposited and agglutinated to a condensed coagulate. Increasing polymer concentration and chitosan content in the polymer increased the removal of phenol and its oxidized compounds. When 1.0 g of PNIPAAm-CS containing 8.7% chitosan was employed for treating 1 l of contaminated water, the concentration of phenol (19 mg l⁻¹) was reduced below the detection limit (0.08 mg l⁻¹) within 2 h.     

Selective formation of ethylene from CO2 by catalytic electrolysis at a three-phase interface

A new electrolysis system has been developed for the selective conversion of CO₂ to ethylene in which the electrochemical reduction takes place at the three-phase (gas/liquid/solid) interface on a Cu-mesh electrode mediated with copper(I) halide in an aqueous solution of potassium halide. The conversion percentage of CO₂ (initial volume: 577 cm³) reaches about 90% by the electrolysis with the electric charge of 8.9 kC, and the selectivity for C₂H₄ formation is about 75%. The selective conversion of CO₂ to C₂H₄ is attributed to the immobilized copper(I) halide which operates as a heterogeneous catalyst by offering adsorption sites for reduction intermediates such as CO and carbene.     

Inhibition by dexamethasone of antigen-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation in rat basophilic leukemia cells

Antigen stimulation of IgE-sensitized rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) within a few minutes with maximum activity attained 40 min later. The increase in JNK activity was accompanied with an increase in phosphorylation of c-Jun in the cells. The Ag-induced JNK activation was inhibited by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors wortmannin (10-100 nM) and LY 294002 (100 microM) but not by the protein kinase C inhibitors calphostin C (1 and 3 microM) and Ro 31-8425 (1 and 3 microM). Pretreatment with dexamethasone (10 and 100 nM) for 18 h inhibited the Ag-induced increase in JNK activity in a concentration-dependent manner. At least 6 h of preincubation with dexamethasone was necessary to inhibit the Ag-induced JNK activation. The phosphorylation of c-Jun induced by the Ag stimulation was reduced by pretreatment with dexamethasone without reduction of the content of c-Jun protein. The Ag-induced activation of the JNK kinase kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase-1 was also inhibited by pretreatment with dexamethasone at 10 and 100 nM. These findings indicate that dexamethasone reduces JNK protein level and inhibits the Ag-induced activation of JNK resulting in the inhibition of c-Jun phosphorylation.     

Immunohistochemical detection of imidazolone and N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine in aortas of hemodialysis patients

The modification of long-lived proteins with advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) has been hypothesised to contribute to the development of pathologies associated with uremia. Imidazolone and N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) are common epitopes of AGE-modified proteins. Imidazolone is a reaction product of arginine with 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) which is markedly accumulated in uremic serum. CML is produced by glycoxidation, and represents a marker of oxidative stress. The specificity of anti-imidazolone antibody that we had developed was further examined using ELISA. The antibody reacted only with imidazolone derived from 3-DG and arginine, but did not react at all with the other imidazolone-like compounds such as reaction products of glyoxal, methylglyoxal, glucosone with arginine or a reaction product of 3-DG with creatine. Further, to determine if AGEs are involved in the development of atherosclerosis in hemodialysis (HD) patients, we studied the localisation of imidazolone and CML in the aortas obtained from HD patients by immunohistochemistry using the anti-imidazolone and anti-CML antibodies. Imidazolone and CML were localised in all atherosclerotic aortic walls of the HD patients. In conclusion, imidazolone and CML are localised in the characteristic lesions of atherosclerosis in HD patients. These results strongly suggest that imidazolone produced by 3-DG, and CML produced by glycoxidation may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis in uremic patients.     

Artificial neural network ensemble-based land-cover classifiers using MODIS data

Terra and Aqua, two satellites launched by the NASA-centered International Earth Observing System project, house MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) sensors. Moderate-resolution remote sensing allows the quantifying of land-surface type and extent, which can be used to monitor changes in land cover and land use for extended periods of time. In this article, we propose land-surface classification by applying an ensemble technique based on fault masking among individual classifiers in N-version programming. An N-version programming ensemble of artificial neural networks is created, in which the majority vote result is used to predict land-surface cover from MODIS data. It is shown by experiment that an N-version programming ensemble of neural networks greatly improves the classification error rate of land-cover type.     

Effect of organic amine type on the structure and properties of the complex Zn(II) salts of ethylene–methacrylic acid copolymer with organic amines

The complex Zn(II) salts of ethylene–methacrylic acid copolymer (EMAA) were synthesized by using various organic amines from monoamines to polyamines, from primary amines to tertiary amines, and from molecular amines to polymer amines. Thermal analyses by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the measurement of stiffness, melt flow rate (MFR), and dielectric properties were employed for the complex salts. It was found that the valence, strength of base, rigidity and flexibility, and bulkiness of the organic amines affect the degree of crystalline order of the ionic crystallites, which governs the stiffness of the complex ion ionomers. The stiffness is higher for the complex salts which form the higher orderliness in the ionic aggregates. The organic amines with two or more primary aliphatic amino groups and higher boiling temperatures from more rigid ionic crystallites in the complex ion ionomers leading to the enhanced modulus. Monoamines or polyamines with amino groups attached to flexible chains such as polyether and polysiloxane scarcely develop ionic crystallites and preferentially solvate the amorphous region including ionic groups leading to the decreased modulus. These results provide us with the fundamental information to control the modulus of ionomers.