Integration of prior knowledge of measurement noise in kernel density classification

Samples can be measured with different precisions and reliabilities in different experiments, or even within the same experiment. These varying levels of measurement noise may deteriorate the performance of a pattern recognition system, if not treated with care. Here we seek to investigate the benefit of incorporating prior knowledge about measurement noise into system construction. We propose a kernel density classifier which integrates such prior knowledge. Instead of using an identical kernel for each sample, we transform the prior knowledge into a distinct kernel for each sample. The integration procedure is straightforward and easy to interpret. In addition, we show how to estimate the diverse measurement noise levels in a real world dataset. Compared to the basic methods, the new kernel density classifier can give a significantly better classification performance. As expected, this improvement is more obvious for small sample size datasets and large number of features.     

有线和无线宽带接入产品技术

射频存储系统的目标市场有两个，一个是宽带网络，一个是无线局域网：下图介绍的是第一公里的无线宽带接入系统。图的中央有一个中枢（hub)，它的周围是一个分布网络。这是一个包括光和电的、数据和模拟结合的网络，这种系统在中国的大城市都有广泛的部署。圆圈是飞利浦开发的一些结点、中枢和分布网络，包括放大器和光电设备。     

Removal of E. coli and helminth eggs in UASB: Polishing pond systems in Brazil.

Ponds following anaerobic reactors, such as Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors, have been termed polishing ponds in the literature. The present paper analyses the removal of E. coli and helminth eggs in five UASB-polishing pond systems in Brazil. Since there were ponds in series, the total number of ponds was 10. The ponds had average retention times varying from 2 to 21 days, and depths ranging from 0.40 to 2.00 m. The shallow ponds in series, even with low retention times, were able to produce effluents complying with the coliform WHO guidelines for unrestricted irrigation (< or = 1000 MPN/100 ml). An equation for the coliform decay coefficient was proposed: Kb (dispersed flow) = 0.710H(-0955) (20 degrees C). The equation highlights the inverse relationship between the pond depth and the decay coefficient. All polishing pond systems were able to produce effluents with helminth eggs concentrations predominantly equal to zero, and satisfying the WHO guidelines for unrestricted and restricted irrigation (< or = 1 egg/L, arithmetic mean). The approximate range of helminth eggs removal efficiency was predicted satisfactorily.     

Semi-1 thermoplastic interpenetrating polymer networks of physically crosslinked poly(n-butyl acrylate) and polystyrene

Poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PnBA) chemically crosslinked with tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDM) and physically crosslinked PnBAs produced by neutralization of poly(n-butyl acrylate-stat-acrylic acid) with NaOH or Ca(OH)₂ were prepared as a polymer I network. Each polymer I was swollen with styrene and cured in situ into semi-IPN-TEGDM, semi-IPN-Na, or semi-IPN-Ca, respectively. Both physically crosslinked polymers maintained their shapes during the swelling procedure. Dynamic mechanical spectroscopy indicated that good mixing of the two polymers took place in the semi-IPN-Ca as well as in semi-IPN-TEGDM, but a distinct phase separation occurred in the semi-IPN-Na. These results were supported by their transparent or optical opaque appearances, respectively. Annealing at 180°C developed further phase separation in the semi-IPN-Na, but very little in the semi-IPN-Ca. Analyses by the incompatibility number (based on the modulus–temperature curve) and the calculation of individual phase compositions (from the glass transition temperature shifts) were used in estimating the extent of molecular mixing.     

Synthesis of transparent fluorocarbon elastomers: Effect of crosslinker type and electron beam irradiation level on physical and mechanical behavior

Saturated fluorocarbon elastomers are very resistant to chemical reactions, including those of a crosslinking nature. In order to study proper methods of preparing these materials, Viton GLT was mixed with various levels of trimethylol propane trimethacrylate, TMPTM, and triallyl isocyanurate, Diak #7. After molding, the materials were subjected to electron beam irradiation. The glass transition, rubbery modulus, viscoelastic behavior, and equilibrium swelling were used to characterize the materials as a function of crosslinker and irradiation level. In general, the modulus and gel fraction increased with both crosslinker content and irradiation level. Mixtures of both crosslinking monomers produced an unexpected synergism, yielding higher tensile strength, and earlier onset of gelation.     

Characterization of electron beam crosslinked poly(styrene-block-ethylene-co-butylene-block-styrene)

A saturated triblock copolymer, poly(styrene-block-ethylene-co-butylene-block-styrene) was chemically crosslinked using trimethylol propane trimethacrylate, TMPTM, and subjected to electron beam radiation. The gel percent, Gehman ten second modulus, and stress relaxation were measured to characterize the materials as a function of crosslinker concentration and radiation level. A time-temperature super-position master curve was generated at 63°C for 3 percent TMPTM and 5 Mrads of radiation, which indicated rubbery plateau behavior at long times of measurement, as opposed to the uncrosslinked material, which continued to creep and flow. The main locus of crosslinking was within the polystyrene phase, which explains reduced creep and stress relaxation only for long times of measurement and/or high temperatures. Based on shifts of the glass transition temperatures, it was estimated that 11 to 16 percent poly(ethylene-co-butylene) was dissolved in the polystyrene phase.     

Miscible blends of styrene-acrylic acid copolymers with aliphatic,crystalline polyamides

Styrene-acrylic acid copolymers exhibit miscibility with various aliphatic, crystalline polyamides (e.g., nylon 6, 11, and 12) at 20% acrylic acid content in the copolymer. At 8% acrylic acid, phase separation is observed with the crystalline polyamides. At 14% acrylic acid, partial miscibility is observed with each polyamide, resulting in the T_g's of the constituents shifted toward the other constituent. The miscibility of the styrene-acrylic acid copolymers ( > 14 wt % AA) can be ascribed to hydrogen bonding interactions with the polyamides. Styrene-acrylic acid (20% AA) copolymers are miscible with other nylons with alternating amide orientation along the chain (e.g., nylon 6,6 and nylon 6,9). These samples tend to crosslink upon exposure to temperatures above the polyamide melting point unlike the nylon 6, 11, and 12 blends in which branching may only occur. Nylon 11/styrene-acrylic acid blends were chosen for crystallization rate studies. A melting point depression of nylon 11 occurs with addition of the styrene-acrylic acid (20% AA). The Flory-Huggins interaction parameter from the melting point depression is calculated to be -0.27. The crystallization rate of nylon 11 is significantly reduced with the addition of the miscible SAA copolymers (20% AA). The spherulitic growth rate equation predicts this behavior based on a T_g increase with SAA addition.     

CoMem: collaborative memory management for real-time operation within reactive sensor/actor networks

Increasing complexity and modularity of today??s WSAN applications impose demanding challenges on the system design. This especially affects real-time operation, resource sharing and dynamic memory management. Preemptive task systems are one way to retain good reactivity within dynamic environments. Yet, since memory is often too rare for static assignment, this rapidly leads to severe compositional problems among tasks with interfering and even varying requirements. We present our novel CoMem approach for maintaining high reactivity and efficient memory usage in such systems. With respect to task priorities and the typically limited resources of sensor nodes, we facilitate compositional software design by providing independently developed tasks with runtime information for yet collaborative and self-reflective memory sharing. Thereby, we require no special hardware-support like MMUs but operate entirely software-based.     

Chronic-Antibiotics Induced Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Rescues Memory Impairment and Reduces β-Amyloid Aggregation in a Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease Model

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial pathology characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits, Tau hyperphosphorylation, neuroinflammatory response, and cognitive deficit. Changes in the bacterial gut microbiota (BGM) have been reported as a possible etiological factor of AD. We assessed in offspring (F1) 3xTg, the effect of BGM dysbiosisdysbiosis in mothers (F0) at gestation and F1 from lactation up to the age of 5 months on Aβ and Tau levels in the hippocampus, as well as on spatial memory at the early symptomatic stage of AD. We found that BGM dysbiosisdysbiosis with antibiotics (Abx) treatment in F0 was vertically transferred to their F1 3xTg mice, as observed on postnatal day (PD) 30 and 150. On PD150, we observed a delay in spatial memory impairment and Aβ deposits, but not in Tau and pTau protein in the hippocampus at the early symptomatic stage of AD. These effects are correlated with relative abundance of bacteria and alpha diversity, and are specific to bacterial consortia. Our results suggest that this specific BGM could reduce neuroinflammatory responses related to cerebral amyloidosis and cognitive deficit and activate metabolic pathways associated with the biosynthesis of triggering or protective molecules for AD.     

Evaluating expectations about negative emotional states of aggressive boys using Bayesian model selection.

Researchers often have expectations about the research outcomes in regard to inequality constraints between, e.g., group means. Consider the example of researchers who investigated the effects of inducing a negative emotional state in aggressive boys. It was expected that highly aggressive boys would, on average, score higher on aggressive responses toward other peers than moderately aggressive boys, who would in turn score higher than nonaggressive boys. In most cases, null hypothesis testing is used to evaluate such hypotheses. We show, however, that hypotheses formulated using inequality constraints between the group means are generally not evaluated properly. The wrong hypotheses are tested, i.e.. the null hypothesis that group means are equal. In this article, we propose an innovative solution to these above-mentioned issues using Bayesian model selection, which we illustrate using a case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)