Numerical chromosomal abnormalities detected by atomic force microscopy.

The numerical abnormalities of human metaphase chromosomes, fixed according to standard procedures for optical microscopy but not treated for banding, were detected by atomic force microscopy (AFM). High-resolution AFM imaging of chromosomes in trisomy 13, 21, and Klinefelter syndrome can be compared directly with the traditional optical image. The unbanded metaphase chromosomes, including the extra ones in trisomic patients showed a structural pattern very similar to G-banding. Comparison of AFM images with light microscopic data allows the identification of specific chromosomes, and images of chromosomes showing numerical and structural abnormalities can then be analysed.     

The Isoelectric Point of Lead Magnesium Niobate

Lead magnesium niobate (PMN) is an important relaxor ferroelectric material commonly used in multilayer capacitor and actuator manufacturing owing to its high dielectric constant and superior electrostrictive properties. However, the isoelectric point of this material in water is not known and there is justification for a detailed investigation. In this work, the isoelectric point (IEP) of aqueous PMN suspensions were determined as a function of solids concentration. Results showed that IEP of the PMN suspensions strongly depended on the solids loading. The IEP was between pH 9 and 10 at particle concentrations between 10 to 20 vol%. The IEP shifted gradually to a lower pH value as the particle concentration decreased. Solubility experiments showed that Pb²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions dissolved from the PMN surface, especially in the acidic pH range. The study provides a new insight on the aqueous stability of perovskite materials which possess more than one soluble cation in their structure .     

Scaled 3-D model studies of immiscible CO2 flooding using horizontal wells

In this study, a comprehensive laboratory investigation was conducted for the recovery of heavy oil from a scaled three-dimensional (3-D) physical model, packed with 18° API gravity crude oil, brine and crushed limestone. A total of 20 experiments were conducted using the scaled 3-D physical model with 30×30×6 cm³ dimensions. Basically, four different immiscible CO₂–water displacement processes were used for recovering heavy oil: (i) continuous CO₂ injection, (ii) waterflooding, (iii) simultaneous injection of CO₂ and water, and (iv) water alternating gas (WAG) process. Three groups of well configurations were mainly used: (1) vertical injection and vertical production wells, (2) vertical injection and horizontal production wells, and (3) horizontal injection and horizontal production wells. Base experiments were run with water only and carbon dioxide alone and optimum rates for WAG and simultaneous water–CO₂ injection were determined. In continuous CO₂ injection, highest recovery was obtained by vertical injection–horizontal production (VI–HP), followed by vertical injection–vertical production (VI–VP) and the least by horizontal injection–horizontal production (HI–HP). In VI–HP configuration, the best recovery was obtained as 15.1% OOIP. Higher oil recovery was obtained with a VI–HP wells than with a pair of vertical wells and horizontal wells. The WAG 1:5 ratio yielded a final recovery of 34.5% OOIP with VI–VP well configuration and 17.0% OOIP of additional recovery over waterflooding. In turn, the WAG 1:10 ratio was the best with a final recovery of 20.9% of OOIP with VI–HP well configuration. Oil production from WAG injection is higher than that obtained from the injection of continuous CO₂ or waterflooding alone.     

The accumulation of La,Ce and Y by Lemna minor and Lemna gibba in the Keban gallery water,Elazig Turkey

This study investigated the phytoremediation ability of Lemna minor and Lemna gibba to accumulate lanthanum, cerium and yttrium from gallery water polluted by metals. L. minor and L. gibba were settled in the mining water and adapted to separate reactors. During the experiment, the water and plant samples were daily taken and the temperature, electric conductivity and pH of the water were daily measured in situ. These plants were firstly washed, dried in and then ashed at 300°C for 24 h in an oven. Both water and ashed plant samples were measured by ICP‐MS to detect the concentrations of lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce) and yttrium (Y). Although these elements are at low concentrations in gallery water, they were accumulated at the highest levels in L. gibba and in L. minor. This study showed that both plants have high ability to remove lanthanum, cerium and yttrium in gallery water polluted by different elements.     

新的分析仪器在中国纺织厂的应用经验

<正>1介绍质量的许多定义之一是产品的某些属性满足客户或是用户的需要,对纺织工艺来说,质量常常通过纤维、纱线或是织物的不同属性来定义,这些属性必须得到系统的控制。     

Comparison of hemispheric asymmetry measurements for emotional recordings from controls

Four asymmetry measurements (conventional coherence function (CCF), cross wavelet correlation (CWC), phase lag index (PLI), and mean phase coherence (MPC)) have been compared to each other for the first time in order to recognize emotional states (pleasant (P), neutral (N), unpleasant (UP)) from controls in EEG sub-bands (delta (0–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–16 Hz), beta (16–32 Hz), gamma (32–64 Hz)) mediated by affective pictures from the International Affective Picture Archiving System (IAPS). Eight emotional features, computed as hemispheric asymmetry between eight electrode pairs (Fp1 − Fp2, F7 − F8, F3 − F4, C3 − C4, T7 − T8, P7 − P8, P3 − P4, and O1 − O2), have been classified by using data mining methods. Results show that inter-hemispheric emotional functions are mostly mediated by gamma. The best classification is provided by a neural network classifier, while the best features are provided by CWC in time-scale domain due to non-stationary nature of electroencephalographic (EEG) series. The highest asymmetry levels are provided by pleasant pictures at mostly anterio-frontal (F3 − F4) and central (C3 − C4) electrode pairs in gamma. Inter-hemispheric asymmetry levels are changed by each emotional state at all lobes. In conclusion, we can state the followings: (1) Nonlinear and wavelet transform-based methods are more suitable for characterization of EEG; (2) The highest difference in hemispheric asymmetry was observed among emotional states in gamma; (3) Cortical emotional functions are not region-specific, since all lobes are effected by emotional stimuli at different levels; and (4) Pleasant stimuli can strongly mediate the brain in comparison to unpleasant and neutral stimuli.

     

Forecasting Bank Failure: Base Learners,Ensembles and Hybrid Ensembles

The prediction of bankruptcy for financial companies, especially banks, has been extensively researched area and creditors, auditors, stockholders and senior managers are all interested in bank bankruptcy prediction. In this paper, three common machine learning models namely Logistic, J48 and Voted Perceptron are used as the base learners. In addition, an attribute-base ensemble learning method namely Random Subspaces and two instance-base ensemble learning methods namely Bagging and Multi-Boosting are employed to enhance the prediction accuracy of conventional machine learning models for bank failure prediction. The models are grouped in the following families of approaches: (i) conventional machine learning models, (ii) ensemble learning models and (iii) hybrid ensemble learning models. Experimental results indicate a clear outperformance of hybrid ensemble machine learning models over conventional base and ensemble models. These results indicate that hybrid ensemble learning models can be used as a reliable predicting model for bank failures.     

A discrete artificial bee colony algorithm for single machine scheduling problems

This paper presents a discrete artificial bee colony algorithm for a single machine earliness–tardiness scheduling problem. The objective of single machine earliness–tardiness scheduling problems is to find a job sequence that minimises the total sum of earliness–tardiness penalties. Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is a swarm-based meta-heuristic, which mimics the foraging behaviour of honey bee swarms. In this study, several modifications to the original ABC algorithm are proposed for adapting the algorithm to efficiently solve combinatorial optimisation problems like single machine scheduling. In proposed study, instead of using a single search operator to generate neighbour solutions, random selection from an operator pool is employed. Moreover, novel crossover operators are presented and employed with several parent sets with different characteristics to enhance both exploration and exploitation behaviour of the proposed algorithm. The performance of the presented meta-heuristic is evaluated on several benchmark problems in detail and compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms. Computational results indicate that the algorithm can produce better solutions in terms of solution quality, robustness and computational time when compared to other algorithms.