Discrete-time system modelling in Lp with orthonormal basis functions

In this paper, model sets for linear time-invariant systems spanned by fixed pole orthonormal bases are investigated. The obtained model sets are shown to be complete in L_p(T) (1<p<∞), the Lebesque spaces of functions on the unit circle T, and in C(T), the space of periodic continuous functions on T. The L_p norm error bounds for estimating systems in L_p(T) by the partial sums of the Fourier series formed by the orthonormal functions are computed for the case 1<p<∞. Some inequalities on the mean growth of the Fourier series are also derived. These results have application in estimation and model reduction.     

Detection of early anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in childhood cancer with dobutamine stress echocardiography

Although several studies have examined differences in daily blood pressure variability between African-American and Caucasian groups in the United States, little is known about the blood pressure variation of other ethnic groups. This study examined the effects of emotional state, setting, posture, and ethnicity on the ambulatory blood pressure of female health care workers (nurses and nurse's aides) from 2 ethnic groups: Filipino-Americans (N = 38) and Caucasians (N = 22). Ambulatory blood pressure measurements were obtained at 15-min intervals during a typical work day. Participants reported in a diary their setting (work or home), posture, mood, and specific activity at each measurement. The effects of these factors and ethnicity were examined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that for all subjects blood pressure was higher at work (P < 0.05), while standing (P < 0.05), during reports of negative moods (anxiety, anger, or sadness) (P < 0.05), and while engaging in activities such as interacting with fellow staff members at work and "washing up" at home. However, the Filipino-American women reported negative moods more frequently than their Caucasian counterparts (P < 0.05), had a greater proportion of readings taken while standing at work, and reacted differently than the Caucasian women to some specific activities; for instance, their blood pressure was not elevated when doing household chores. These results suggest that the extent of blood pressure variation in daily life may depend upon cognitive processes which are influenced by the cultural background and emotional state of the individual. They further suggest that ethnicity has an important impact on blood pressure variation.     

Analyzing the solutions of DEA through information visualization and data mining techniques: SmartDEA framework

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has proven to be a useful tool for assessing efficiency or productivity of organizations, which is of vital practical importance in managerial decision making. DEA provides a significant amount of information from which analysts and managers derive insights and guidelines to promote their existing performances. Regarding to this fact, effective and methodologic analysis and interpretation of DEA results are very critical. The main objective of this study is then to develop a general decision support system (DSS) framework to analyze the results of basic DEA models. The paper formally shows how the results of DEA models should be structured so that these solutions can be examined and interpreted by analysts through information visualization and data mining techniques effectively. An innovative and convenient DEA solver, SmartDEA, is designed and developed in accordance with the proposed analysis framework. The developed software provides DEA results which are consistent with the framework and are ready-to-analyze with data mining tools, thanks to their specially designed table-based structures. The developed framework is tested and applied in a real world project for benchmarking the vendors of a leading Turkish automotive company. The results show the effectiveness and the efficacy of the proposed framework.     

A dempster-shafer theoretic framework for boosting based ensemble design

Training set resampling based ensemble design techniques are successfully used to reduce the classification errors of the base classifiers. Boosting is one of the techniques used for this purpose where each training set is obtained by drawing samples with replacement from the available training set according to a weighted distribution which is modified for each new classifier to be included in the ensemble. The weighted resampling results in a classifier set, each being accurate in different parts of the input space mainly specified the sample weights. In this study, a dynamic integration of boosting based ensembles is proposed so as to take into account the heterogeneity of the input sets. An evidence-theoretic framework is developed for this purpose so as to take into account the weights and distances of the neighboring training samples in both training and testing boosting based ensembles. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is compared to the AdaBoost algorithm using three different base classifiers.     

Human serum albumin (HSA) adsorption with chitosan microspheres

In this study, chitosan microspheres were prepared and characterized for adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) as affinity sorbent. The chitosan microspheres were obtained with a “suspension crosslinking technique” in the size range of 30–700 μm by using a crosslinker, i.e., glutaraldehyde. The chitosan microspheres used in HSA adsorption studies were having the average size of 170 ± 81 μm. Adsorption medium pH and the initial HSA concentration in the adsorption medium were changed as 4.0–7.0 and 0.5–2.0 mg HSA/mL, respectively, to investigate the HSA adsorption capacity of chitosan microspheres. Maximum HSA adsorption (i.e., 11.35 mg HSA/g chitosan microspheres) was obtained at pH 5.0 and 1.5 mg HSA/mL of the initial HSA concentration in the adsorption medium was obtained as the saturation value for HSA adsorption. A very common dye ligand, i.e., Cibacron Blue F3GA was attached to the chitosan microspheres to increase the HSA adsorption capacity. Actually, the HSA adsorption capacity was increased up to 15.35 mg HSA/g chitosan microspheres in the case of Cibacron Blue F3GA attached to chitosan microspheres used. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3035–3039, 2002     

The effects of anhydride type and amount on viscosity and film properties of alkyd resin

In this study, a modified method for preparing low viscosity alkyd resin was suggested. For this purpose the preparation of sunflower oil-based alkyd resins were achieved into two steps. First sunflower oil and glycerol were reacted to form partial glycerides, and then, after removing free glycerol, esterification reaction was achieved between partial glycerides and anhydride. Glutaric, maleic, phthalic and succinic anhydride were used. Sunflower oil alkyd resins were also prepared by classical method. The results obtained were compared with each other. By the modified method low viscosity and good film properties resins could be prepared.     

PVA/PAA-Based Antibacterial Wound Dressing Material with Aloe Vera

The incorporation of drugs into the dressings make these dressings antimicrobial and help in control of infection around the wound. The wound dressing materials based on PVA/PAA, ciprofloxacin HCl, and aloe vera have been designed and developed so that the wound undergoes proper healing and scar formation is minimal. These wound dressing materials are produced using the electrospinning method. The wound dressing materials are characterized using the FT-IR, DSC, DTA, TGA, and SEM techniques. The wound dressing materials are tested for microbial activity tests and drug release experiments. Controlled ciprofloxacin HCl release is observed.     

A Feasibility study for the Development of a Prospective Compaction Functionality test and the Establishment of a Compaction data BANK

The feasibility for the development of a standard compaction functionality testing method, which is capable of comparing the relative tabletability features of different materials and different lots of the same material with high sensitivity, was tested using an Integrated Compaction Research System. The following factors were optimized: tablet weight, lubrication, tooling, punch displacement profile, pressure range, as well as other pre-, during and post-compaction parameters. The optimized test conditions were found to be as follows: the amount of material to be compacted was calculated to produce a compact with a true volume of 0.25ml; internal lubricant with magnesium stearate at a concentration of 0.5%; standard 10.3mm, flat-faced, round BB tooling; constant punch velocities of 100mm/s and 300mm/s; and a pressure range of 25 to 550MPa. Several model powders which included microcrystalline cellulose, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, calcium sulfate, dextrates, lactose anhydrous, and spray dried lactose were tested. Using the data generated in this work, the establishment of a compaction data bank that can be utilized as a reference source for tablet formulation studies was also found to be feasible.     

Convergence analysis of central and minimax algorithms in scalar regressor models

In this paper, the estimation of a scalar parameter is considered with given lower and upper bounds of the scalar regressor. We derive non-asymptotic, lower and upper bounds on the convergence rates of the parameter estimate variances of the central and the minimax algorithms for noise probability density functions characterized by a thin tail distribution. This presents an extension of the previous work for constant scalar regressors to arbitrary scalar regressors with magnitude constraints. We expect our results to stimulate further research interests in the statistical analysis of these set-based estimators when the unknown parameter is multi-dimensional and the probability distribution function of the noise is more general than the present setup.     

Revealed comparative advantages in academic publishing of “old” and “new” European Union Member States 1998–2018

Scientometrics - The paper uses a variant of the Revealed Comparative Advantage index to examine comparative advantages of the European Union (EU) countries in 254 research areas and their...