Structure adaptation of hierarchical knowledge-based classifiers

This paper introduces a new method to identify the qualified rule-relevant nodes to construct hierarchical neuro-fuzzy systems (HNFSs). After learning, the proposed method analyzes the entire history of activities and behaviors of all rule nodes, which reflects their levels of involvement or contribution during the process. The less qualified rule-relevant nodes can then be identified and removed, reducing the size and complexity of the HNFS. Upon the repetitive learning process, the method may be repetitively applied until a satisfactory result is obtained, simultaneously improving the performance and reducing the size and complexity. Incorporated with the method is a new HNFS architecture which addresses both the scalability problem experienced in rule based systems and the restriction of the “overcrowded defuzzification” problem found in hierarchical designs. In order to verify the performance, the proposed method has been successfully tested against five well-known classification problems whose results are provided and then discussed in the concluding remarks.     

An objective and subjective quality assessment study of passive gaming video streaming

Passive gaming video‐streaming applications have recently gained much attention as evident with the rising popularity of many Over The Top (OTT) providers such as Twitch.tv and YouTube Gaming. For the continued success of such services, it is imperative that the user Quality of Experience (QoE) remains high, which is usually assessed using subjective and objective video quality assessment methods. Recent years have seen tremendous advancement in the field of objective video quality assessment (VQA) metrics, with the development of models that can predict the quality of the videos streamed over the Internet. A study on the performance of objective VQA on gaming videos, which are artificial and synthetic and have different streaming requirements than traditionally streamed videos, is still missing. Towards this end, we present in this paper an objective and subjective quality assessment study on gaming videos considering passive streaming applications. Subjective ratings are obtained for 90 stimuli generated by encoding six different video games in multiple resolution‐bitrate pairs. Objective quality performance evaluation considering eight widely used VQA metrics is performed using the subjective test results and on a data set of 24 reference videos and 576 compressed sequences obtained by encoding them in 24 resolution‐bitrate pairs. Our results indicate that Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion (VMAF) predicts subjective video quality ratings the best, while Naturalness Image Quality Evaluator (NIQE) turns out to be a promising alternative as a no‐reference metric in some scenarios.     

RF-magnetron sputter deposited hydroxyapatite-based composite & multilayer coatings: A systematic review from mechanical,corrosion, and biological points of view

Till date, a variety of efforts have been made to develop the essential properties of hydroxyapatite as the most promising bioactive ceramic used in a broad spectrum of clinical applications from bone-tissue engineering to the bio-coatings applied on the implants. Radio frequency magnetron sputtering provides multiple advantages including high efficiency, favorable bonding strength, and controllable properties, therefore an increasing tendency has been emerged for exploiting its benefits in fabrication of HAp bio-coatings. The present review strives to systematically address all of the reported results in the field of RFMS'ed HAp-based composite and multilayer bio-coatings with putting the stress on drawing a clear correlation between the assessed variables, e.g. chemical composition and content of reinforcing phase(s) and interlayer(s), operating conditions, pre/post treatments, and the final characteristics of the bio-coatings. The facing challenges and future horizons of these systems are also treated in detail.     

Supervised Single Channel Speech Enhancement Based on Stationary Wavelet Transforms and Non-negative Matrix Factorization with Concatenated Framing Process and Subband Smooth Ratio Mask

Journal of Signal Processing Systems - In this paper, we propose a novel single channel speech enhancement approach that takes up the Stationary Wavelet Transform (SWT) and Nonnegative Matrix...     

Synthesis of strong acid resins from macroporous styrene–divinylbenzene copolymers: Is diluent extraction step necessary?

Strong acidic cation‐exchange resins derived from the same batch of styrene–divinylbenzene copolymers with and without acetone washing are compared with respect to ion‐exchange capacity and leachable organics. The capacity was the same throughout 10 cycles of resin exhaustion and regeneration. Ultraviolet spectra showed the same level of leachable organics in the two cases compared. Fourier transform infrared spectra were also similar. The results are explained on the basis of the fact that n‐heptane and toluene used as diluents were removed through a steam distillation phenomenon during the copolymer curing step. Residual homopolymers were washed away with water after the sulfonation of the copolymers just like acetone washing of them from the copolymer. Acetone washing, which accounts for about 80% of the cost of the chemicals in the copolymer synthesis, can be eliminated in the case of diluents such as n‐heptane and toluene, making the process simple, economical, and environment friendly. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

A memetic algorithm for bi-objective integrated forward/reverse logistics network design

Logistics network design is a major strategic issue due to its impact on the efficiency and responsiveness of the supply chain. This paper proposes a model for integrated logistics network design to avoid the sub-optimality caused by a separate, sequential design of forward and reverse logistics networks. First, a bi-objective mixed integer programming formulation is developed to minimize the total costs and maximize the responsiveness of a logistics network. To find the set of non-dominated solutions, an efficient multi-objective memetic algorithm is developed. The proposed solution algorithm uses a new dynamic search strategy by employing three different local searches. To assess the quality of the novel solution approach, the quality of its Pareto-optimal solutions is compared to those generated by an existing powerful multi-objective genetic algorithm from the recent literature and to exact solutions obtained by a commercial solver.     

Pattern separation deficits may contribute to age-associated recognition impairments.

Normal aging is associated with impairments in stimulus recognition. In the current investigation, object recognition was tested in adult and aged rats with the standard spontaneous object recognition (SOR) task or two variants of this task. On the standard SOR task, adult rats showed an exploratory preference for the novel object over delays up to 24 h, whereas the aged rats only showed significant novelty discrimination at the 2-min delay. This age difference appeared to be because of the old rats behaving as if the novel object was familiar. To test this hypothesis directly, rats participated in a variant of the SOR task that allowed the exploration times between the object familiarization and the test phases to be compared, and this experiment confirmed that aged rats falsely “recognize” the novel object. A final control examined whether or not aged rats exhibited reduced motivation to explore objects. In this experiment, when the environmental context changed between familiarization and test, young and old rats failed to show an exploratory preference because both age groups spent more time exploring the familiar object. Together these findings support the view that age-related impairments in object recognition arise from old animals behaving as if novel objects are familiar, which is reminiscent of behavioral impairments in young rats with perirhinal cortical lesions. The current experiments thus suggest that alterations in the perirhinal cortex may be responsible for reducing aged animals' ability to distinguish new stimuli from ones that have been encountered previously. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for solid‐phase extraction of carvedilol in serum samples

Herein, we report a magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (m‐MIPs) using Fe₃O₄ as a magnetic component, carvedilol as a template molecule for the solid‐phase extraction (MISPE) as the sample clean‐up technique combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and for the controlled release of carvedilol at different pH values of 1.0 (simulated gastric fluid), 6.8 (simulated intestinal fluid), and 7.4 (simulated biological fluid). The adsorption kinetics was modeled with the pseudo‐first‐order and pseudo‐second‐order kinetics, and the adsorption isotherms were fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich models. The performance of the m‐MIPs for the controlled release of carvedilol was assessed and results indicated that the magnetic MIPs also have potential applications in controlled drug release. Furthermore, the m‐MIPs were applied to the extraction of carvedilol from human blood plasma samples. Carvedilol can be quantified by this method in the 2–350 μg L^?1 concentration range. The limit of detection and limit of quantification in plasma samples are 0.13 and 0.45 μg L^?1. The results from HPLC showed good precision (3.5% for 50.0 μg L^?1) and recoveries (between 85 and 93) using m‐MIP from human plasma samples. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41209.     

槽钢剪力连接件的性能研究第二部分:分析研究

建立了一个有效的数值模型,主要是利用有限元方法模拟槽钢剪力连接件的试验。重点测试单调加载下钢筋混凝土板的槽钢剪力连接件的抗剪能力。通过第一部分的试验研究中的试验数据证实,本文的数值模型是有效的,而且与北美设计规范中给出的数据进行了对比。利用这个非线性模型进行的参数研究主要涉及混凝土强度、开槽尺寸和开槽方向等变量。结果显示:混凝土强度、开槽腹板和翼缘厚度以及开槽的长度都对槽钢剪力连接件的极限强度影响很大,但是开槽截面高度的影响很有限。同样,改变开槽的方向也会对剪力连接件的刚度和极限强度产生影响。