The scarcity of data is likely to have a negative effect on machine learning (ML). Yet, in the health sciences, data is diverse and can be costly to acquire. Therefore, it is critical to develop ...methods that can reach similar accuracy with minimal clinical features. This study explores a methodology that aims to build a model using minimal clinical parameters to reach comparable performance to a model trained with a more extensive list of parameters. To develop this methodology, a dataset of over 1,000 COVID-19-positive patients was used. A machine learning model was built with over 90% accuracy when combining 24 clinical parameters using Random Forest (RF) and logistic regression. Furthermore, to obtain minimal clinical parameters to predict the mortality of COVID-19 patients, the features were weighted using both Shapley values and RF feature importance to get the most important factors. The six most highly weighted features that could produce the highest performance metrics were combined for the final model. The accuracy of the final model, which used a combination of six features, is 90% with the random forest classifier and 91% with the logistic regression model. This performance is close to that of a model using 24 combined features (92%), suggesting that highly weighted minimal clinical parameters can be used to reach similar performance. The six clinical parameters identified here are acute kidney injury, glucose level, age, troponin, oxygen level, and acute hepatic injury. Among those parameters, acute kidney injury was the highest-weighted feature. Together, a methodology was developed using significantly minimal clinical parameters to reach performance metrics similar to a model trained with a large dataset, highlighting a novel approach to address the problems of clinical data collection for machine learning.
In today’s postcritical environment, the philosophical disciplines have at times acquired a negative reputation for abstraction, relativity and impracticability. While indispensable to the modern ...university curriculum, the meaning and utility of the philosophical enterprise continues to register ambivalently in modern popular consciousness. In this article, I challenge this popular assumption with a case study in philosophical interpretation, by applying the hermeneutics of German existentialist Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) to issues of practical religious life. Within a life-context of anxiety over intellectual finitude and its ensuing projections, I demonstrate how the innovative sapiential reading of Christ by medieval Franciscan theologian Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (c. 1217–1274) supplies a productive intervention to ensure a new state-of-mind. This new state-of-mind arising from a new mode of understanding and being-in-the-world, amounts to a transmutation of the Heideggerian hermeneutic mode in the light of biblical truth. Bonaventure’s threefold way of Christological exegesis serves as a requisite framework in which to practically redeploy the Heideggerian way of understanding towards a positive existential end.
Bycatch is generally thought of as unwanted and unintentional catch, but this definition is very broad and ambiguous, as it does not apply to every fishery as seen in Southeast Asia. This has led to ...poor management plans and bycatch mitigation efforts. This study assesses baseline data on bycatch observed at the Anilao Fish Port, Batangas, Philippines. Fishermen, dealers, and vendors were interviewed regarding catch, fishing methods and equipment, market prices, and final destination of catch over a period of eight months in order to get data for the wet-warm, wet-cold and dry-cold seasons. Landed species were documented for photo identification using FishBase, then cross referenced with the IUCN Red List. A total of 35 species from 15 families, seven of which are considered bycatch, were observed during the visits. Many of these have not been evaluated by the IUCN. Based on three criteria (how targeted the species is, the action of fishermen on the fish upon the fish's capture, and the market value of the fish), six categories of bycatch were identified: A: species not actively targeted but kept if caught and eventually sold; B: species not actively targeted but retained if caught and given away for free; C: species not targeted due to lack of utility such as sickly or injured fish; D: species not caught because it is illegal to do so, but dead specimens are usually sold in the black market; E: species that are generally avoided, but if caught dead are usually used for consumption; and F: species that are generally avoided and released immediately when caught. The bycatch in Anilao Fish Port, such as Lutjanids, belong to category B. These categories can be used to describe other bycatch from neighboring countries in order to have a clearer definition on bycatch so authorities and programs will have a better picture of how certain countries view certain species of fish, which can lead to more effective and universal management plans, mitigation efforts and bycatch quantification. Having the different categories can help countries with many different islands and fishports (such as the Philippines) have a more concrete system of valuing biological resources and setting policies for both targeted and non-targeted species, which ultimately addresses the issue of overexploitation for fisheries. This is necessary because the fishing industry generates immense wastage and cost. Minimizing these with better management plans would mean a greater availability of food, a greater supply of resources for future utilization and consumption, and a healthier living environment for both marine and human life.
•Varying bycatch definitions make it hard to form effective fisheries management plans.•The group proposed categories to clearer define bycatch based on three criteria.•Different groups can use these categories to improve and unify management effort.
Regenerated cellulose fibers from bagasse and wood were produced under various processing conditions using the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) as a solvent. Two different ...ionic liquid solutions were prepared with 6 wt% of bagasse cellulose and 6 wt% of wood cellulose. The solutions were extruded with a dry-jet and wet-spinning method using water as a coagulation bath. A thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) was used to measure the thermal properties of these regenerated fibers. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was used to determine the thermal mechanical property of the regenerated cellulose fibers and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) was used to measure the degree of crystallinity, as well as the degree of crystal orientation for those experimental fibers. To evaluate the quantity of ionic liquid residue in the regenerated fibers, the instrumental methods of FT-IR and mass spectrometry were applied to test the residues of BMIMCl in the regenerated fibers. Research results indicated increases in the degree of crystallinity and storage modulus under a higher fiber drawing speed. Both regenerated bagasse film and regenerated wood film had similar thermal properties. However, the regenerated bagasse fibers showed a higher degree of crystallinity, and higher tenacity than the regenerated wood fibers obtained under the same condition. The study also revealed that water treatment would be helpful for eliminating the ionic liquid residue in the regenerated fibers.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of laundering on the drape, shear, and bending properties of bottom weight fabrics.Design methodology approach - Six bottom-weight 100 ...percent cotton fabrics were included. Collier's Drape Tester was utilized to obtain drape values. Bending and shear values were measured on the KES-F Shear Tester and the Pure Bending Tester. Three laundering cycles (unlaundered, one and five home launderings) following AATCC methods were explored.Findings - Laundry cycle did not have a significant effect on fabric drape, shear or bending properties. However, drape values increased overall, while shear and bending modulus and hysteresis decreased, resulting in a more drapable, pliable fabric after five laundry cycles.Research limitations implications - Future research examining a wider variety of fabrics and conducting a greater number of laundry cycles to approximate an average yearly number of laundry cycles is recommended. An expansion of this preliminary study should give more conclusive evidence of the trends observed.Originality value - Objective measurement of drape and fabric mechanical properties related to drape after laundry treatments would assist the apparel manufacturer in developing laundry recommendations based on the fabric's performance and in selecting fabrics which maintain their drape characteristics, mechanical properties, and dimensional stability with use. Higher quality garments with increased consumer satisfaction would result.
Ecological footprint （EF） has attracted much attention internationally as a potential indicator for sustainable development. In China, EF has also gained recognition in related fields and ...disciplines. Moreover, some scholars in these fields have proposed alternative methods to calculate EF and have made some progress. This paper, therefore, begins with the introduction and development of EF in China. However, the established methods of EF calculation hold some limitations, such as indicator variance and result abnormality. In order to resolve those problems, the authors make a further modification considering the demand of EF as a comprehensive indicator： 1） More accurate analysis has been done to divide EF into several parts： imported EF, exported EF, and producible EF, which is the solution to the problem of abnormality in original EF results and can explain abnormal phenomena reasonably. 2） Considering the actual situa- tion of Shanghai, emended equivalence factor is brought forward and a matrix is formed with equivalence factors. The measure can reduce the deviation between the fact and the results. 3） The calculation compares local yield with global average yield to analyze the effects of yields. And based on local yields in different years, the results are more accurate. Finally, the calculation method is applied to calculating EF of Shanghai from 1980 to 2003, and the subsequent detailed analysis is presented. Available data and results suggest a statistically significant correlation coefficient between EF and GDP, population density and urbaniTation level. Through analyzing the process of calculating EF and its results, it can be seen that EF, as a macro-indicator, can not exactly indicate whether development within a region can meet the re- quests of sustainable development, which can be explained by the fact that the result of EF is impacted greatly by sub- jective factors including national policy,available technology, population, etc. Nevertheless, EF can demonstrate, at least to some degree, the regional status in terms of resources and energy consumption, as well as developmental potential. The calculation of EF, therefore, deserves further research to achieve more far-reaching significance in application.
A needle-punched cotton nonwoven was produced as a precursor for making activated carbon material. Carbonization and activation of the cotton nonwoven was carried out in a high temperature clean room ...oven. Microporous properties of the nonwoven in terms of surface area, micropore volume, micropore size, and adsorption isotherms were characterized using a micropore physisorption analyzer. Influence of carbonization temperature and difference between the N2 and CO2 adsorptions was analyzed. Tensile strength of the cotton nonwoven before and after the carbonization and activation was evaluated. Microporous structure of the carbonized and activated cotton nonwoven was examined using an scanning electron microscopy technique. The study exhibited that the carbonized and activated cotton nonwoven was a special type of renewable and biodegradable material featuring lightweight, high microporosity, and high performance of chemical adsorption and separation.
Beam dynamics in front ends of ion accelerators is often subject to strong space charge and significant transverse coupling due to magnetic fields in the source and the use of focusing solenoids in ...the beam line. This thesis starts with an overview and a brief primer on beam dynamics to frame two research themes: simulation and analytic studies on beam dynamics, and improvements on transverse beam diagnostics. Each theme is first developed in a general treatment, followed by applications to the front end of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). The first research theme includes: (1) numerical modelling of accelerator front ends, and (2) analytic studies of coupled transverse beam dynamics. In (1), a set of readily adaptable simulation tools based on the PIC code Warp is constructed to model the transport and manipulation of intense multi-species beams with high levels of detail. The tools are applied to investigate beam evolution in the FRIB front end including the species separation process. In (2), general analytic results on beams with rotational symmetry and the formalism of eigen-emittances are derived to elucidate non-axisymmetric initial conditions at the ion source and beam states advantageous for solenoid transport. The results are employed to construct LEBT/MEBT (low/medium energy beam transport) tuning schemes currently adopted at FRIB for transverse matching of strongly magnetized beams into the RFQ and cryomodules respectively. The second research theme presents improvements on transverse beam diagnostics including: (1) corrections in the conventional data analysis model of high-resolution phase space measurements with Allison scanners, and (2) error minimization in beam matrix measurements and enhanced tomography capabilities using beam profile monitors. All techniques and algorithms under this theme have been verified using measurements at FRIB.
Automated vehicles can access a much wider range of maneuvers - and therefore, avoid accidents in a larger number of scenarios - by operating safely beyond the stability limits.This thesis presents a ...series of contributions towards this goal, supported throughout by fully autonomous experiments on MARTY, a heavily-modified 1981 DMC DeLorean. First, we develop a physically insightful controller structure for automated drifting along a general path. In stark contrast with conventional driving scenarios, the speed of the vehicle is not explicitly tracked. Instead, we show that the coupling between lateral and longitudinal dynamics, often regarded as a formidable challenge for human drivers, allows velocity to be regarded as a stable zero dynamic under the imposed control law. This approach is experimentally demonstrated on a slowly-changing trajectory.The thesis then builds upon this result to present the fully autonomous execution of highly dynamic drifting maneuvers. The planning of a 'Figure 8' trajectory is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem. We show that the key challenge is the loss of independent control over the velocity vector and vehicle body rotation rates that occurs when operating at the limits of the achievable state derivatives. Experiments confirm the effectiveness of modifications to the controller that account for this effect.To confidently venture past the well-known stability limits and utilize these transient maneuvers, however, it is critical to know the bounds on what is achievable. This thesis proposes a novel and intuitive approach for defining such an envelope, namely that the relevant criteria is avoiding the loss of steering authority over the rotational dynamics. The utility of this approach is demonstrated through a pair of experiments with and without a 'supervisor' that modifies the underlying controller. While the vehicle successfully completes the maneuver with the supervisor active, it spins out otherwise. Finally, the effectiveness of this combined approach is showcased though a series of tests on a long sustained drifting course of almost 1 kilometer in length, that includes several highly dynamic transitions, and reaches 40 degrees of sideslip, 2.5 rad/s of yaw rate, and speeds of 50km/h.
Introduction: Psychological variables such as personality, perceived stress and mood have been proposed as antecedents to musculoskeletal injury. Furthermore, a positive relationship between life ...stress and athletic injury has been reported in the literature. However, these variables have not yet been examined with respect to sport concussion. Purpose and Method: Baseline measures of perfectionism and perceived stress (PS) were examined as potential risk factors for concussion. Specifically, adaptive perfectionism (AP), maladaptive perfectionism (MP), and PS were investigated as predictors of concussion. Mood states were hypothesized to mediate these relationships. A total of 828 varsity athletes completed the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Results: Significant correlations were found between AP, MP, PS, and the POMS. Based on logistic regression analysis, AP, MP, and PS did not predict concussion occurrence. Conclusion: Risk of concussion is not associated with perfectionism or perceived stress.
