12,643 research outputs found
Efficient Temporal Pattern Mining in Big Time Series Using Mutual Information
Full text linkVery large time series are increasingly available from an ever wider range of IoT-enabled sensors deployed in different environments. Significant insights can be gained by mining temporal patterns from these time series. Unlike traditional pattern mining, temporal pattern mining (TPM) adds event time intervals into extracted patterns, making them more expressive at the expense of increased time and space complexities. Existing TPM methods either cannot scale to large datasets, or work only on pre-processed temporal events rather than on time series. This paper presents our Frequent Temporal Pattern Mining from Time Series (FTPMfTS) approach providing: (1) The end-to-end FTPMfTS process taking time series as input and producing frequent temporal patterns as output. (2) The efficient Hierarchical Temporal Pattern Graph Mining (HTPGM) algorithm that uses efficient data structures for fast support and confidence computation, and employs effective pruning techniques for significantly faster mining. (3) An approximate version of HTPGM that uses mutual information, a measure of data correlation, to prune unpromising time series from the search space. (4) An extensive experimental evaluation showing that HTPGM outperforms the baselines in runtime and memory consumption, and can scale to big datasets. The approximate HTPGM is up to two orders of magnitude faster and less memory consuming than the baselines, while retaining high accuracy
A practical protocol for the experimental design of comparative studies on water treatment
Full text linkThe design and execution of effective and informative experiments in comparative studies on water treatment is challenging due to their complexity and multidisciplinarity. Often, environmental engineers and researchers carefully set up their experiments based on literature information, available equipment and time, analytical methods and experimental operations. However, because of time constraints but mainly missing insight, they overlook the value of preliminary experiments, as well as statistical and modeling techniques in experimental design. In this paper, the crucial roles of these overlooked techniques are highlighted in a practical protocol with a focus on comparative studies on water treatment optimization. By integrating a detailed experimental design, lab experiment execution, and advanced data analysis, more relevant conclusions and recommendations are likely to be delivered, hence, we can maximize the outputs of these precious and numerous experiments. The protocol underlines the crucial role of three key steps, including preliminary study, predictive modeling, and statistical analysis, which are strongly recommended to avoid suboptimal designs and even the failure of experiments, leading to wasted resources and disappointing results. The applicability and relevance of this protocol is demonstrated in a case study comparing the performance of conventional activated sludge and waste stabilization ponds in a shock load scenario. From that, it is advised that in the experimental design, the aim is to make best possible use of the statistical and modeling tools but not lose sight of a scientific understanding of the water treatment processes and practical feasibility
The emerging legal framework for private sector development in Viet Nam's transitional economy
Full text linkA major objective of Viet Nam's transition to a market economy has been to reactivate the private sector in a mixed economy. Several new laws have been introduced in the past five years to implement this policy and to create an enabling environment for the private sector. The author reviews some of the more important laws and regulations that affect Viet Nam's private sector activities, including laws on real property, intellectual property, companies, domestic investment, foreign investment, bankruptcy, contracts, and dispute resolution. Anti-monopoly law has not yet been introduced in Viet Nam. The issue of competition is addressed in the context of trade law, the relative roles of the state and private sector, and restrictions in company law. These areas all establish the foundation of a legal framework for a market economy. The author concludes that Viet Nam's legal framework, like China's, is still influenced by ideology, which causes problems in such areas as private ownership of real property and with such fundamental legal concepts as"due process of law."It is noted that the private sector is constrained by the lack of an independent judiciary, the absence of private land ownership, other uncertainties in property law that limit the develpoment of financial markets, and the inherent bias of the system in favor of the state sector (and collective ownership). Also noted is a law-abiding attitude, equally important to development has been slow to develop. The author goes on to point out that the foreign investment process is too complicated, and its company law too restrictive. A first priority should be to strreamline regulations, as well as liberalize trade policy and increase efforts in privatization of state enterprises. In this respect the author notes that export processing zones may be a useful interim instrument to attract foreign investment but should be phased out over time. More important in the long term is a good investment climate resting on a strong legal foundation.Legal Products,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Housing and Land,Municipal Financial Management,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Housing and Land,Legal Products,Municipal Financial Management
HMOX1 gene promoter alleles and high HO-1 levels are associated with severe malaria in Gambian children.
Full text linkHeme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is an essential enzyme induced by heme and multiple stimuli associated with critical illness. In humans, polymorphisms in the HMOX1 gene promoter may influence the magnitude of HO-1 expression. In many diseases including murine malaria, HO-1 induction produces protective anti-inflammatory effects, but observations from patients suggest these may be limited to a narrow range of HO-1 induction, prompting us to investigate the role of HO-1 in malaria infection. In 307 Gambian children with either severe or uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, we characterized the associations of HMOX1 promoter polymorphisms, HMOX1 mRNA inducibility, HO-1 protein levels in leucocytes (flow cytometry), and plasma (ELISA) with disease severity. The (GT)(n) repeat polymorphism in the HMOX1 promoter was associated with HMOX1 mRNA expression in white blood cells in vitro, and with severe disease and death, while high HO-1 levels were associated with severe disease. Neutrophils were the main HO-1-expressing cells in peripheral blood, and HMOX1 mRNA expression was upregulated by heme-moieties of lysed erythrocytes. We provide mechanistic evidence that induction of HMOX1 expression in neutrophils potentiates the respiratory burst, and propose this may be part of the causal pathway explaining the association between short (GT)(n) repeats and increased disease severity in malaria and other critical illnesses. Our findings suggest a genetic predisposition to higher levels of HO-1 is associated with severe illness, and enhances the neutrophil burst leading to oxidative damage of endothelial cells. These add important information to the discussion about possible therapeutic manipulation of HO-1 in critically ill patients
HIV and tuberculosis in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 1997-2002.
Full text linkIn Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, reporting rates for tuberculosis (TB) are rising in an emerging HIV epidemic. To describe the HIV epidemic among TB patients and quantify its impact on rates of reported TB, we performed a repeated cross-sectional survey from 1997 through 2002 in a randomly selected sample of inner city TB patients. We assessed effect by adjusting TB case reporting rates by the fraction of TB cases attributable to HIV infection. HIV prevalence in TB patients rose exponentially from 1.5% to 9.0% during the study period. Young (<35 years), single, male patients were mostly affected; injection drug use was a potent risk factor. After correction for HIV infection, the trend in TB reporting rates changed from a 1.9% increase to a 0.4% decrease per year. An emerging HIV epidemic, concentrated in young, male, injection drug users, is responsible for increased TB reporting rates in urban Vietnam
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Earinus aurantius van Achterberg et Long 2010
No full textEarinus aurantius van Achterberg et Long, 2010 Figure 1 Earinus aurantius van Achterberg & Long, 2010: 68 (RMNH, type examined); Sharkey & Clutts, 2011: 122. Material examined. 1³, Tibet, Tongmai, 2053 m, 27.VII.1978, Li Fa-Sheng (ZJUH). Distribution. China (Tibet, Fuzhou?, Yunnan?, Taiwan?); Vietnam; Thailand. Notes. Earinus burmensis has the first tergite twice wide apically and tibia without dark brown ring according to its original description by Gupta & Bhat (1974) and re-examination of the holotype by the second author. Chou & Sharkey (1989) and Chen & Yang (2006) reported this species from China (Taiwan, Yunnan) and stated that the length of the first tergite of this species is 1.4 × its apical width and that the hind tibia has a dark brown ring subbasally. Actually, their species is not identical with the E. burmensis, but fits with another species, E. aurantius van Achterberg et Long, 2010. In addition, other important characters, such as the shape of the hind femur, the shape of the first tergite and the colour of the hind spurs are also similar to E. aurantius, judging from their photos. Therefore, we conclude that the specimens from Taiwan and Yunnan identified by Chou & Sharkey (1989) and Chen & Yang (2006) as E. burmensis most likely belong to E. aurantius.Published as part of Tang, Pu, Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2018, Review of the genus Earinus Wesmael (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) from China, pp. 345-358 in Zootaxa 4504 (3) on pages 346-349, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4504.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/260643
Indentical synchronization in complete networks of reaction-diffusion equations of FitzHugh-Nagumo
Full text linkSynchronization is a ubiquitous feature in many natural systems and nonlinear science. This paper studies the synchronization in complete network consisting of n nodes. Each node is connected to all other nodes by linear coupling and represented by a reaction-diffusion system of FitzHugh-Nagumo type which can be obtained by simplifying the famous Hodgkin-Huxley model. From this complete network, the author seeks a sufficient condition on the coupling strength to achieve synchronization. The result shows that the more easily the nodes synchronize, the bigger the degrees of the networks. Based on this consequence, the author will test the theoretical result numerically to see if there is a compromise
Contagion and state dependent mutations
Full text linkEarly results of evolutionary game theory showed that the risk dominant equilibrium is uniquely selected on the long run by the best response dynamics with mutation. Bergin and Lipman (1996) qualified this result by showing that for a given population size the evolutionary process can select any strict Nash equilibrium if the probability of choosing a nonbest reply is state-dependent. This paper shows that the unique selection of the risk dominant equilibrium is robust with respect to state dependent mutation in local interaction games. More precisely, for a given mutation structure there exists a minimum population size beyond which the risk dominant equilibrium is uniquely selected. Our result is driven by contagion and cohesion among players, which exists only in local interaction settings and favors the play of the risk dominant strategy. Our result strengthens the equilibrium selection result of evolutionary game theor
The impact of brand positioning and knowledge on attitude towards brand and purchase intention: A study of organic rice in Ho Chi Minh City
Full text linkThe purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of factors of brand, including Brand Positioning, Brand Knowledge, Attitude towards Organic Rice Brand, and Organic Rice Purchase Intention. The survey was conducted with a sample of 224 consumers shopping at four organic rice shops in Ho Chi Minh City. The research was performed by quantitative research methods: Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirm Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The research results were conducted in two direct models and the indirect models in which the indirect model was supported. This means that brand positioning and brand knowledge had no direct impact on the Intention to buy organic rice, but only an indirect one through the consumer attitude towards the organic rice brand
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