Mining non-derivable hypercliques

A hyperclique (Xiong et al. in Proceedings of the IEEE international conference on data mining, pp 387–394, 2003) is an itemset containing items that are strongly correlated with each other, based on a user-specified threshold. Hypercliques (HCs) have been successfully used in a number of applications, for example, clustering (Xiong et al. in Proceedings of the 4th SIAM international conference on data mining, pp 279–290, 2004) and noise removal (Xiong et al. in IEEE Trans Knowl Data Eng 18(3):304–319, 2006). Even though HC has been shown to respond well to datasets with skewed support distribution and low support threshold, it may still grow very large for dense datasets and lower h-confidence threshold. In this paper, we propose a new pruning method based on combining HCs and non-derivable itemsets (NDIs) (Calders and Goethals in Proceedings of the PKDD international conference on principles of data mining and knowledge discovery, pp 74–85, 2002) in order to substantially reduce the amount of generated HCs. Specifically, we propose a new collection of HCs, called non-derivable hypercliques (NDHCs). The NDHC collection is a lossless representation of HCs, that is, given the itemsets in NDHCs, we can generate the complete HC collection and their support, without additional scanning of the dataset. We present an efficient algorithm to mine all NDHC sets, NDHCMiner, and an algorithm to derive all HC sets and their support from NDHCs, NDHCDeriveAll. We experimentally compare our collection, NDHC with HC, with respect to runtime performance as well as total number of generated sets, using real and artificial data. We also show comparisons with another condensed representation of HCs, maximal hyperclique patterns (MHPs). Our experiments show that the NDHC collection offers substantial advantages over HCs, and even MHPs, especially for dense datasets and lower h-confidence values.     

Free fatty acid inhibition of the insulin induction of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in rat hepatocyte monolayers

Rat hepatocytes in monolayer culture were utilized to determine if the decrease in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity resulting from the ingestion of fat can be mimicked by the addition of fatty acids to a chemically, hormonally defined medium. G6PD activity in cultured hepatocytes was induced several-fold by insulin. Dexamethasone or T3 did not amplify the insulin induction of G6PD. Glucose alone increased G6PD activity in cultured hepatocytes from fasted donors by nearly 500%. Insulin in combination with glucose induced G6PD an additional two-fold. The increase in G6PD activity caused by glucose was greater in hepatocytes isolated from 72 hr-fasted rats as compared to fed donor rats. Such a response was reminiscent of the “overshoot” phenomenon in which G6PD activity is induced well above the normal level by fasting-refeeding rats a high glucose diet. Addition of linoleate to the medium resulted in a significant suppression of insulin’s ability to induce G6PD, but linoleate had no effect on the induction of G6PD activity by glucose alone. A shift to the right in the insulin-response curve for the induction of G6PD also was detected for the induction of malic enzyme and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Arachidonate (0.25 mM) was a significantly more effective inhibitor of the insulin action than linoleate was. Apparently rat hepatocytes in monolayer culture can be utilized as a model to investigate the molecular mechanism by which fatty acids inhibit the production of lipogenic enzymes. In part, this mechanism of fatty acid inhibition involves desensitization of hepatocytes to the lipogenic action of insulin.     

The content and composition of sterols and sterol esters in low erucic acid rapeseed (Brassica napus)

The low temperature crystallization technique for the enrichment of “minor” components, such as sterols and sterol esters, from vegetable oils was applied to low erucic acid rapeseed oils. The recovery of free sterols and sterol esters was estimated by use of¹⁴C-cholesterol and¹⁴C-cholesterol oleate. 80% of the free sterols and 45% of the sterol esters were recovered in the liquid fraction, while in two studies total recoveries were 95% and 99%, respectively. This technique showed some selectivity toward the sterol bound fatty acids when compared to direct preparative thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the crude oil. Gas liquid chromatography (GLC) analysis of the free and esterified sterols as TMS-derivatives showed very little selectivity in the enrichment procedure. The fatty acid patterns of the sterol esters demonstrated, however, a preference in the liquid fraction for those sterol esters which have a high linoleic and linolenic acid content. The content of free sterols was 0.3–0.4% and that of sterol esters 0.7–1.2% of the rapeseed oils in both winter and summer types of low erucic acid rapeseed (Brassica napus) when the lipid classes were isolated by direct preparative TLC of the oils. The free sterols in the seven cultivars or breeding lines analyzed were composed of 44–55% sitosterol, 27–36% campesterol, 17–21% brassicasterol, and a trace of cholesterol. The esterified sterols were 47–57% sitosterol, 36–44% campesterol, 6–9% brassicasterol, and traces of cholesterol and Δ5-avenasterol. The fatty acid patterns of these esters were characterized by ca. 30% oleic acid and ca. 50% linoleic acid, whereas these acids constitute 60% and 20%, respectively, of the total fatty acids in the oil. Little or no variation in sterol and sterol ester patterns with locality within Sweden was observed for the one cultivar of summer rapeseed investigated by the low temperature crystallization technique.     

A comparative study of two wayfinding aids for simulated driving tasks – single-scale and dual-scale GPS aids

Global Positioning System (GPS) is currently the most frequently used wayfinding aid for driving. Yet, GPS is designed to act as a driving guide rather than to help users gain spatial knowledge. Accordingly, GPS might be less usable in situations where such knowledge is required or highly desirable. In this study, we experimentally study the influence of GPS display scales (single-scale vs. dual-scale) using simulated driving tasks in a virtual environment. The single-scale GPS is similar to the regular GPS view. The dual-scale GPS aid is a dual-scale navigation tool that provides two levels of detail, including both detailed and contextual information. The results demonstrate that the dual-scale GPS was more efficient in leading the participants to the destination during the simulated driving and was more useful for the participants to establish spatial awareness and a cognitive map; the dual-scale GPS participants also reported higher subjective evaluations. The proposed dual-scale GPS design and experimental results show some indications for designing new wayfinding aids aimed at increasing wayfinding performance while simultaneously helping users construct a cognitive map.     

The removal of dichloromethane from atmospheric pressure air streams using plasma-assisted catalysis

Plasma-assisted catalysis was used for the destruction of 500 ppm of dichloromethane, CH₂Cl₂ (DCM), in gas streams of air using a non-thermal, atmospheric pressure plasma utilising a dielectric packed bed. The combination of plasma and catalyst gave improved destruction of DCM. Eight catalysts which including alumina, TiO₂ and various zeolites were investigated with the finding that alumina in a one-stage reactor configuration and TiO₂ and HZSM-5 in two-stage configurations gave the best DCM destructions. The sodium zeolites are capable of reducing by 50% the unwanted NO_x by-products, formed by plasma processing in air. The nature of the catalyst is important in terms of the destruction efficiency, end-product selectivity and NO_x reduction.     

Supported Alumina Members by an in-Situ Sol–Gel Method

Alumina membranes were prepared using a sol–gel process. Thin gel layers were grown onto porous alumina support tubes by using the permeation of water through the tube to control the rate of hydrolysis. Optimum coating conditions were found to be an ASB to 2-propanol volume ratio of 1:25, coating times between 10 and 15 s, and partial drying times between 2.5 and 3 min, depending on whether the water was flowing in the tube or stored in the tube. The coatings remained crack-free and adherent when fired to 800°C.     

Engineering of functional supramacromolecular complexes of proteins (enzymes) using reversed micelles as matrix microreactors

The size of the inner water cavity of reversed micelles formedin a triple system ‘water-surfactant-organic solvent’can be widely varied by changing the degree of surfactant hydration.This gives grounds to use reversed micelles as matrix microreactorsfor the design of supramolecular complexes of proteins. Usingultracentrifugation analysis, it has been demonstrated thatthe oligomeric composition of various enzymes (ketoglutaratedehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase) solubilized in reversed micelles of Aerosol OT[sodium bis(2-ethylehexyl)sulfosuccinate] in octane changesupon variation of the degree of hydration. An oligomeric complexforms under conditions when the radius of the micelle innercavity is big enough to incorporate this complex as a whole.At lower degrees of hydration the micelles ‘uncouple’such complexes to their components. The catalytic propertiesof various oligomeric complexes have been studied. Possibilitiesof using reversed micelles for the separation of subunits ofoligomeric enzymes under non-denaturating conditions have beendemonstrated. In particular, the isolated subunits of alkalinephosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase and glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase have been found to be active in Aerosol OT reversedmicelles. The dependences of the catalytic activity of oligomericenzymes represent saw-like curves. The maxima of the catalyticactivity observed at these curves relate to the functioningof various oligomeric forms of an enzyme. The radii of the micelleinner cavity under conditions when these maxima are observedcorrelate with the linear dimensions of the enzyme oligomericforms. Correlation of the position of a maximum with the shapeof an oligomeric complex is discussed.     

Polyesters containing sulfur. I. Products of melt polycondensation of diphenylmethane-4,4′-di(methylthioacetic acid) with some diols

Several new polyesters containing sulfur in the main chain were obtained by melt polycondensation of diphenylmethane-4,4′-di(methylthioacetic acid) with ethanediol, 1,3-propane diol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentenediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,2-propanediol, and 2,2′-oxydiethanol. The structure of all polyesters was determined from elemental analysis and infrared (IR) spectra. Yield, reduced viscosity, molecular weight, and softening temperature for reaction products have been found. Initial decomposition and initial intensive decomposition temperature were defined from the curves of thermogravimetric analysis.     

A new wideband spread target maximum likelihood estimator for blood velocity estimation. I. Theory

The derivation and theoretical evaluation of new wideband maximum-likelihood strategies for the estimation of blood velocity using acoustic signals are presented. A model for the received signal from blood scatterers, using a train of short wideband pulses, is described. Evaluation of the autocorrelation of the signal based on this model shows that the magnitude, periodicity, and phase of the autocorrelation are affected by the mean scatterer velocity and the presence of a velocity spread target. New velocity estimators are then derived that exploit the effect of the scatterer velocity on both the signal delay and the shift in frequency. The wideband range spread estimator is derived using a statistical model of the target. Based on the point target assumption, a simpler wideband maximum-likelihood estimator is also obtained. These new estimation strategies are analyzed for their local and global performance. Evaluation of the Cramer-Rao bound shows that the bound on the estimator variance is reduced using these estimators, in comparison with narrowband strategies. In order to study global accuracy, the expected estimator output is evaluated, and it is determined that the width of the mainlobe is reduced. In addition, it is shown that the height of subsidiary velocity peaks is reduced through the use of these new estimators.