Population characteristic exploitation-based multi-orientation multi-objective gene selection for microarray data classification.

Gene selection is a process of selecting discriminative genes from microarray data that helps to diagnose and classify cancer samples effectively. Swarm intelligence evolution-based gene selection algorithms can never circumvent the problem that the population is prone to local optima in the process of gene selection. To tackle this challenge, previous research has focused primarily on two aspects: mitigating premature convergence to local optima and escaping from local optima. In contrast to these strategies, this paper introduces a novel perspective by adopting reverse thinking, where the issue of local optima is seen as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Building on this foundation, we propose MOMOGS-PCE, a novel gene selection approach that effectively exploits the advantageous characteristics of populations trapped in local optima to uncover global optimal solutions. Specifically, MOMOGS-PCE employs a novel population initialization strategy, which involves the initialization of multiple populations that explore diverse orientations to foster distinct population characteristics. The subsequent step involved the utilization of an enhanced NSGA-II algorithm to amplify the advantageous characteristics exhibited by the population. Finally, a novel exchange strategy is proposed to facilitate the transfer of characteristics between populations that have reached near maturity in evolution, thereby promoting further population evolution and enhancing the search for more optimal gene subsets. The experimental results demonstrated that MOMOGS-PCE exhibited significant advantages in comprehensive indicators compared with six competitive multi-objective gene selection algorithms. It is confirmed that the "reverse-thinking" approach not only avoids local optima but also leverages it to uncover superior gene subsets for cancer diagnosis.

Hybrid gene selection approach using XGBoost and multi-objective genetic algorithm for cancer classification.

Microarray gene expression data are often accompanied by a large number of genes and a small number of samples. However, only a few of these genes are relevant to cancer, resulting in significant gene selection challenges. Hence, we propose a two-stage gene selection approach by combining extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and a multi-objective optimization genetic algorithm (XGBoost-MOGA) for cancer classification in microarray datasets. In the first stage, the genes are ranked using an ensemble-based feature selection using XGBoost. This stage can effectively remove irrelevant genes and yield a group comprising the most relevant genes related to the class. In the second stage, XGBoost-MOGA searches for an optimal gene subset based on the most relevant genes' group using a multi-objective optimization genetic algorithm. We performed comprehensive experiments to compare XGBoost-MOGA with other state-of-the-art feature selection methods using two well-known learning classifiers on 14 publicly available microarray expression datasets. The experimental results show that XGBoost-MOGA yields significantly better results than previous state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of various evaluation criteria, such as accuracy, F-score, precision, and recall.

Color image segmentation using adaptive hierarchical-histogram thresholding.

Histogram-based thresholding is one of the widely applied techniques for conducting color image segmentation. The key to such techniques is the selection of a set of thresholds that can discriminate objects and background pixels. Many thresholding techniques have been proposed that use the shape information of histograms and identify the optimum thresholds at valleys. In this work, we introduce the novel concept of a hierarchical-histogram, which corresponds to a multigranularity abstraction of the color image. Based on this, we present a new histogram thresholding-Adaptive Hierarchical-Histogram Thresholding (AHHT) algorithm, which can adaptively identify the thresholds from valleys. The experimental results have demonstrated that the AHHT algorithm can obtain better segmentation results compared with the histon-based and the roughness-index-based techniques with drastically reduced time complexity.

Production and evaluation of biodiesel and bioethanol from high oil corn using three processing routes.

Six Korea high oil (KHO) corn varieties varying in germ and endosperm size and oil content (4-21%, wet basis) were subjected to three sequential combinations of milling (M), germ separation (S), fermentation (F), and in situ transesterification (T) to produce bioethanol and biodiesel. Production parameters including saccharification, bioethanol yield, biodiesel yield and composition, and conversion rate were evaluated. The effects of the contents of germ, endosperm size, oil, and non-oil solid mass on the production parameters strongly depended on the processing routes, namely M-F-T, M-T-F, and S-T|F. The M-F-T route produced the highest bioethanol yield while the S-T|F route produced the highest biodiesel yield. The in situ transesterification reaction, if proceeded before fermentation, reduced the bioethanol yield while fermentation and/or presence of endosperm reduced the biodiesel yield.

Inactivation of Escherichia coli on almonds using nonthermal plasma.

This study was carried out to investigate the applicability of nonthermal plasma (NTP) technology for the pasteurization of almonds. Almonds were spiked with various levels of Escherichia coli by dipping the almonds in E. coli culture broth followed by drying. The spiked almonds were treated with NTP under different treatment conditions. The pattern of the microorganisms reduction by NTP was analyzed. NTP was found to be effective on reduction of E. coli on almond evidenced by almost 5-log reduction after 30-sec treatment at 30 kV and 2000 Hz. The NTP bactericidal effect on E. coli inoculated on almond increased with the applied voltage and the frequency. The NTP reduction followed the 1st-order reaction kinetics, and the reduction rate constants varied with almond types and grades. The E. coli cells at logarithmic phase were more sensitive to the NTP than those at stationary and declining phases.

Physical and chemical properties of bio-oils from microwave pyrolysis of corn stover.

This study was aimed to understand the physical and chemical properties of pyrolytic bio-oils produced from microwave pyrolysis of corn stover regarding their potential use as gas turbine and home heating fuels. The ash content, solids content, pH, heating value, minerals, elemental ratio, moisture content, and viscosity of the bio-oils were determined. The water content was approx 15.2 wt%, solids content 0.22 wt%, alkali metal content 12 parts per million, dynamic viscosity 185 mPa.s at 40 degrees C, and gross high heating value 17.5 MJ/kg for a typical bio-oil produced. Our aging tests showed that the viscosity and water content increased and phase separation occurred during the storage at different temperatures. Adding methanol and/or ethanol to the bio-oils reduced the viscosity and slowed down the increase in viscosity and water content during the storage. Blending of methanol or ethanol with the bio-oils may be a simple and cost-effective approach to making the pyrolytic bio-oils into a stable gas turbine or home heating fuels.