Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning for Genomic Prediction of Continuous Outcomes

This chapter provides elements for implementing deep neural networks (deep learning) for continuous outcomes. We give details of the hyperparameters to be tuned in deep neural networks and provide a general guide for doing this task with more probability of success. Then we explain the most popular deep learning frameworks that can be used to implement these models as well as the most popular optimizers available in many software programs for deep learning. Several practical examples with plant breeding data for implementing deep neural networks in the Keras library are outlined. These examples take into account many components in the predictor as well many hyperparameters (hidden layer, number of neurons, learning rate, optimizers, penalization, etc.) for which we also illustrate how the tuning process can be done to increase the probability of a successful application.

Detailed analysis and comparison of different activity metrics

Actigraphic measurements are an important part of research in different disciplines, yet the procedure of determining activity values is unexpectedly not standardized in the literature. Although the measured raw acceleration signal can be diversely processed, and then the activity values can be calculated by different activity calculation methods, the documentations of them are generally incomplete or vary by manufacturer. These numerous activity metrics may require different types of preprocessing of the acceleration signal. For example, digital filtering of the acceleration signals can have various parameters; moreover, both the filter and the activity metrics can also be applied per axis or on the magnitudes of the acceleration vector. Level crossing-based activity metrics also depend on threshold level values, yet the determination of their exact values is unclear as well. Due to the serious inconsistency of determining activity values, we created a detailed and comprehensive comparison of the different available activity calculation procedures because, up to the present, it was lacking in the literature. We assessed the different methods by analysing the triaxial acceleration signals measured during a 10-day movement of 42 subjects. We calculated 148 different activity signals for each subject’s movement using the combinations of various types of preprocessing and 7 different activity metrics applied on both axial and magnitude data. We determined the strength of the linear relationship between the metrics by correlation analysis, while we also examined the effects of the preprocessing steps. Moreover, we established that the standard deviation of the data series can be used as an appropriate, adaptive and generalized threshold level for the level intersection-based metrics. On the basis of these results, our work also serves as a general guide on how to proceed if one wants to determine activity from the raw acceleration data. All of the analysed raw acceleration signals are also publicly available.

Ionic liquid facilitated melting of the metal-organic framework ZIF-8

Hybrid glasses from melt-quenched metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been emerging as a new class of materials, which combine the functional properties of crystalline MOFs with the processability of glasses. However, only a handful of the crystalline MOFs are meltable. Porosity and metal-linker interaction strength have both been identified as crucial parameters in the trade-off between thermal decomposition of the organic linker and, more desirably, melting. For example, the inability of the prototypical zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) ZIF-8 to melt, is ascribed to the instability of the organic linker upon dissociation from the metal center. Here, we demonstrate that the incorporation of an ionic liquid (IL) into the porous interior of ZIF-8 provides a means to reduce its melting temperature to below its thermal decomposition temperature. Our structural studies show that the prevention of decomposition, and successful melting, is due to the IL interactions stabilizing the rapidly dissociating ZIF-8 linkers upon heating. This understanding may act as a general guide for extending the range of meltable MOF materials and, hence, the chemical and structural variety of MOF-derived glasses.

Potential Cross-Links of Inflammation With Schizophreniform and Affective Symptoms: A Review and Outlook on Autoimmune Encephalitis and COVID-19

Based on current implications of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with regards to mental health, we show that biological links exist between inflammation and mental illness in addition to psychoreactive effects. We describe key principles of the biological interaction of the immune system and the mind, as well as the possible routes of viral entry into the brain. In addition, we provide a stepwise scheme for the diagnosis and therapy of autoimmune-encephalitis with schizophrenia-like symptomatology as a general guide for clinical practice and in the specialized scenario of infections, such as those caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Evaluation of Bolt and Guide Rail Considering Surface Roughness and Bionics in Reciprocating Motion

The temperature rise in the contact area of the sliding friction pair is an important factor that causes the sliding friction pairs to adhere and affect the movement, and the temperature of the sliding friction pair is affected by many factors. The influential trend of these factors on the temperature is analyzed by using the finite element software, the bolt and guide rail of a Gatling weapon is simulated under the condition of considering the surface roughness and bionics. The results demonstrate that the stress of the result decreases a lot when the bolt is bionic, which is 41.1% lower than the normal condition. However, the displacement increases slightly, only 0.0016mm. Bionics has more benefits than roughness in reducing stress. In the thermal situation analysis of the 10000 firing rate, the combination which comes from the general guide rail and the bionics bolt is 168.130, but the combination which comes from the general guide rail and general bolt is 86.2580. This also explains why modern Gatling weapons do not use the bionics structure, because, with the friction, its temperature is high. For continuous firing weapons, too high a temperature is a problem. If the firing rate is lower, a bionics structure can be used.

19. Mooting skills

This chapter provides a step-by-step guide to assist students through the process of preparing and delivering a moot argument with reference made to associated issues, such as conducting legal research and production of a skeleton argument. It highlights the aspects of mooting that students often find worrying or difficult, such as formulating a flowing argument, developing a confident oral presentation style, and dealing with judicial interventions. The chapter is a general guide that will be invaluable for preparation of any moot but a sample moot is used throughout as a source of specific explanation and illustration.

A General Guide To Generate Different Humanized Mouse Models v1

This protocol details how to create humanized mouse models from NSG mice. Four different variants of humanized mice can be generated based on whether or not the native thymus is retained or if a human thymus piece is transplanted. Which type of humanized mouse is desired depends on the goals for the experiment. See our protocols on NSG mouse thymectomy, human CD34+ cell isolation, and human fetal thymus preparation for more details on some of the steps in this protocol (“Thymectomy procedure to remove native thymus of NSG mice”, “Human CD34+ cell isolation from fetal liver, and fetal thymus preparation”, “CD34+ isolation from human bone marrow”).

Orofacial Dental Pain and Its Management – A General Guide and Systemic Review

Pain is one of the main symptoms for which patients seek medical attention. Pain has been designated as the “Fifth vital sign” to mark its importance as health status indicator. Orofacial dental pain may be due to various conditions affecting numerous structures local to or distant to the oral cavity including the meninges, cornea, oral, nasal, sinus mucosa, dentition, musculature, salivary glands and temporomandibular joint. Evidence support the fact that the most commonly experienced orofacial pain is dental in nature. The dental reasons should be well thought of as the first step even in cases where orofacial pain is poorly localized. One of the most common reasons for seeking dental care is said to be pain and dysfunction, usually involving the teeth and surrounding tissue. Musculoskeletal, vascular and neuropathic causes of orofacial pain occur very frequently. Orofacial disorders may have pain and associated symptoms arising from a discrete cause, such as postoperative pain or pain associated with a malignancy, or may be syndromes in which pain constitutes the primary problem, such as TMJ disorder pain or headache.

The Challenges in Implementation of Halal Vaccine Certification in Malaysia

The global halal pharmaceutical sector is valued at USD 132 billion by 2021. (Pharmaceuticals, 2020). This sector is seen as a high priority development area. Apart from food products, Muslim consumers are also becoming more aware of halal pharmaceuticals. They are beginning to see the potential detrimental effects created by product development, testing, and production, all of which could be deviating from the halal values. Based on this uncertainty, the public at large is increasingly questioning the sources of their pharmaceutical products. Under such circumstances, the situation of children contracting contagious diseases has been noted to be on the rise in Malaysia, especially in the last few years. As a result, health authorities are concerned that there would be parents who may reject the immunization programs for their children out of the fear that the vaccines used may infringe on some strict religious rules. (Johari Ab Latiff, 2018) A conservative Muslim may sometimes reject the inoculation over concerns that some vaccines were derived from contents of pigs or porcine, of which Muslims are forbidden to consume. Vaccines are part of the pharmaceutical products, and like all other pharmaceutical products, they can be developed using halal ingredients, which can replace the use of non halal contents or animal products and their derivatives for medication. The implementation of halal certification for vaccines is strictly bounded by Shariah law and Fatwa. Malaysia. As a Muslim country, Malaysia is widely and globally regarded as one of the pioneers in halal pharmaceuticals. This can be traced to its world first halal pharmaceutical standard which was introduced as MS 2424: Halal Pharmaceuticals – General Guidelines since 2012, with first revision in 2019. Nonetheless, from then until presently, Malaysia has not been able to provide halal certification for the vaccine products. The implementation of the halal certification for vaccine products in Malaysia may have been triggered by the use of non-halal or forbidden ingredients in the manufacturing of those vaccine products. Thus far, the Malaysian Standard of the MS 2424 is the only standard, and it is also only a general guide. There is a need to develop a more thorough manual that can be adhered to by pharmaceuticals. This necessity to certify vaccine products as halal for the context of Malaysia has thus put the Halal Certification Body, like JAKIM, to be in limbo

Modelling crosslinguistic n-gram correspondence in typologically different languages

N-gram analysis (popularized e.g. by Biber et al., 1999) has become a popular method for the identification of recurrent language patterns. Although the extraction of n-grams from a corpus may seem straightforward, it proves to be very challenging when applied cross-linguistically (cf. e.g. Ebeling and Ebeling, 2013; Granger and Lefer, 2013; Čermáková and Chlumská, 2017). The major issue is that the quantities of n-grams of a certain length in typologically different languages do not correspond. Consequently, n-grams of a given length may function differently across languages, rendering a direct comparison inadequate. Our paper introduces a function capable of modelling the relation between the quantities of n-grams in typologically distant languages, using the example of Czech and English (and some other language pairs). Based on our model, we can suggest what n-gram lengths should be contrasted to better reflect the size of n-gram inventories in each language. The correspondence may not be intuitive (e.g. a Czech 2-gram may best correspond to an English 2.5-gram), but it still provides researchers with a general guide as to what might be useful to include in their analysis (e.g. in this case 2-grams in Czech and 2- and 3-grams in English).