The importance of Term Weighting in semantic understanding of text: A review of techniques.

In this paper we review a wide spectrum of techniques which have been proposed in literature to enable acceptable recognition of language and text by machines. We discuss many techniques which have been proposed by researchers in the field of term weighting and explore the mathematical foundations of these methods. Term weighting schemes have broadly been classified as supervised and statistical methods and we present numerous examples from both categories to highlight the difference in approaches between the two broad categories. We pay particular attention to the Vector Space Model and its variants which form the basis of many of the other methods which have been discussed in the paper.

Improved photocatalytic dye degradation and seed germination through enzyme-coupled titanium oxide nanopowder - A cost-effective approach.

Enzyme-coupled titanium oxide nanopowder samples were prepared usingdifferent volumes of vermiwash using a cost-effective soft chemical method and their photocatalytic efficiency was studied against Methylene Blue (MB) dye decomposition. The volume of vermiwash used in the starting solution was varied from 50 to 200 mL in steps of 50 mL and the effect of enzymes prevalent in the vermiwash on the photocatalytic activity of titanium oxide (TiO2) was studied. The resultant water obtained after the photocatalytic dye degradation was found to inherit the enzymes from the nanoproduct. This enzyme-activated treated water showed effective seed germination of black gram (Vigna mungo L.). The results suggested that the enzyme-coupled TiO2 can be used as an effective and eco-friendly material for the treatment of contaminated water and consequently the treated water can also be utilized for enhanced seed germination.

An Efficient Signal Processing Algorithm for Detecting Abnormalities in EEG Signal Using CNN.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is crucial for epilepsy detection; however, detecting abnormalities takes experience and knowledge. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a technology that measures brain motion and represents the brain's function. EEG is an effective instrument for deciphering the brain's complicated activity. The information contained in the EEG signal pertains to the electric functioning of the brain. Neurologists have typically used direct visual inspection to detect epileptogenic abnormalities. This method is time-consuming, restricted by technical artifacts, produces varying findings depending on the reader's level of experience, and is ineffective at detecting irregularities. As a result, developing automated algorithms for detecting anomalies in EEGs associated with epilepsy is critical. The construction of a novel class of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for detecting aberrant waveforms and sensors in epilepsy EEGs is described in this research. In this study, EEG signals are analyzed using a convolutional neural network (CNN). For the automatic detection of abnormal and normal EEG indications, a novel deep one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D CNN) model is suggested in this paper. The regular, pre-ictal, and seizure categories are detected using this approach. The proposed model achieves an accuracy of 85.48% and a reduced categorization error rate of 14.5%.

Implementation of Combined Machine Learning with the Big Data Model in IoMT Systems for the Prediction of Network Resource Consumption and Improving the Data Delivery.

In recent years, health applications based on the internet of medical things have exploded in popularity in smart cities (IoMT). Many real-time systems help both patients and professionals by allowing remote data access and appropriate responses. The major research problems include making timely medical judgments and efficiently managing massive data utilising IoT-based resources. Furthermore, in many proposed solutions, the dispersed nature of data processing openly raises the risk of information leakage and compromises network integrity. Medical sensors are burdened by such solutions, which reduce the stability of real-time transmission systems. As a result, this study provides a machine-learning approach with SDN-enabled security to forecast network resource usage and enhance sensor data delivery. With a low administration cost, the software define network (SDN) design allows the network to resist dangers among installed sensors. It provides an unsupervised machine learning approach that reduces IoT network communication overheads and uses dynamic measurements to anticipate link status and refines its tactics utilising SDN architecture. Finally, the SDN controller employs a security mechanism to efficiently regulate the consumption of IoT nodes while also protecting them against unidentified events. When the number of nodes and data production rate varies, the suggested approach enhances network speed. As a result, to organise the nodes in a cluster, the suggested model uses an iterative centroid technique. By balancing network demand via durable connections, the multihop transmission technique for routing IoT data improves speed while simultaneously lowering the energy hole problem.

A Modified Deep Learning Framework for Arrhythmia Disease Analysis in Medical Imaging Using Electrocardiogram Signal.

Arrhythmias are anomalies in the heartbeat rhythm that occur occasionally in people's lives. These arrhythmias can lead to potentially deadly consequences, putting your life in jeopardy. As a result, arrhythmia identification and classification are an important aspect of cardiac diagnostics. An electrocardiogram (ECG), a recording collecting the heart's pumping activity, is regarded the guideline for catching these abnormal episodes. Nevertheless, because the ECG contains so much data, extracting the crucial data from imagery evaluation becomes extremely difficult. As a result, it is vital to create an effective system for analyzing ECG's massive amount of data. The ECG image from ECG signal is processed by some image processing techniques. To optimize the identification and categorization process, this research presents a hybrid deep learning-based technique. This paper contributes in two ways. Automating noise reduction and extraction of features, 1D ECG data are first converted into 2D pictures. Then, based on experimental evidence, a hybrid model called CNNLSTM is presented, which combines CNN and LSTM models. We conducted a comprehensive research using the broadly used MIT_BIH arrhythmia dataset to assess the efficacy of the proposed CNN-LSTM technique. The results reveal that the proposed method has a 99.10 percent accuracy rate. Furthermore, the proposed model has an average sensitivity of 98.35 percent and a specificity of 98.38 percent. These outcomes are superior to those produced using other procedures, and they will significantly reduce the amount of involvement necessary by physicians.

Antihistaminic effect of Bauhinia racemosa leaves.

Bauhinia racemosa Lam. (Caesalpiniaceae) leaves have been used in the treatment of asthma traditionally and we therefore undertook this study to scientifically validate its benefit in asthma using suitable animal models. Antihistaminic principles are known to be useful in the treatment of asthma; hence, in the present work, the antihistaminic activity of an ethanol extract of B. racemosa (at a dose of 50 mg/kg, i.p.) was assessed using clonidine-induced catalepsy and haloperidol-induced catalepsy in Swiss albino mice. The results showed that the ethanol extract inhibits clonidine-induced catalepsy but there is no effect on haloperidol-induced catalepsy. This suggests that the inhibition is through an antihistaminic action and that there is no role of dopamine. Hence, we concluded that the ethanol extract has significant antihistaminic activity. The polar constituents in the ethanol extract of leaves of B. racemosa may be responsible for the antihistaminic activity and B. racemosa may therefore have a role in the treatment of asthma.

Preservation and transplantation of porcine testis tissue.

Grafting of immature mammalian testis tissue to mouse hosts can preserve the male germline. To make this approach applicable to a clinical or field situation, it is imperative that the testis tissue and/or spermatozoa harvested from grafted tissue are preserved successfully. The aim of the present study was to evaluate protocols for the preservation of testis tissue in a porcine model. Testis tissue was stored at 4 degrees C for short-term preservation or cryopreserved by slow-freezing, automated slow-freezing or vitrification for long-term storage. Preserved tissue was transplanted ectopically to mouse hosts and recovered xenografts were analysed histologically. In addition, spermatozoa were harvested from xenografts and cryopreserved. Total cell viability and germ cell viability remained high after tissue preservation. Complete spermatogenesis occurred in xenografts preserved by cooling up to 48 h, whereas spermatogenesis progressed to round spermatids in the xenografts that were frozen-thawed before grafting. Approximately 50% of spermatozoa harvested from xenografts remained viable after freezing and thawing. The in vivo developmental potential of cryopreserved tissue was reduced despite high post-thaw viability. Therefore, it is important to evaluate germ cell differentiation in vivo in addition to cell viability in vitro when optimising freezing protocols for testis tissue.

Germ cell development in equine testis tissue xenografted into mice.

Grafting of testis tissue from immature animals to immunodeficient mice results in complete spermatogenesis, albeit with varying efficiency in different species. The objectives of this study were to investigate if grafting of horse testis tissue would result in spermatogenesis, and to assess the effect of exogenous gonadotropins on xenograft development. Small fragments of testis tissue from 7 colts (2 week to 4 years of age) were grafted under the back skin of castrated male immunodeficient mice. For 2 donor animals, half of the mice were treated with gonadotropins. Xenografts were analyzed at 4 and 8 months post-transplantation. Spermatogenic differentiation following grafting ranged from no differentiation to progression through meiosis with appearance of haploid cells. Administration of exogenous gonadotropins appeared to support post-meiotic differentiation. For more mature donor testis samples where spermatogenesis had progressed into or through meiosis, after grafting an initial loss of differentiated germ cells was observed followed by a resurgence of spermatogenesis. However, if haploid cells had been present prior to grafting, spermatogenesis did not progress beyond meiotic division. In all host mice with spermatogenic differentiation in grafts, increased weight of the seminal vesicles compared to castrated mice showed that xenografts were releasing testosterone. These results indicate that horse spermatogenesis occurs in a mouse host albeit with low efficiency. In most cases, spermatogenesis arrested at meiosis. The underlying mechanisms of this spermatogenic arrest require further investigation.

Efficacy of local dipyridamole therapy in a porcine model of arteriovenous graft stenosis.

Perivascular delivery of antiproliferative drugs has been proposed as an approach to prevent neointimal hyperplasia associated with hemodialysis polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts. We examined this approach to deliver dipyridamole in a porcine graft model. PTFE grafts were implanted between the carotid artery and external jugular vein bilaterally in pigs. During the surgery or 1 week post-graft placement, dipyridamole (0.26-52 mg) alone or incorporated in microspheres was mixed with an injectable polymeric gel and applied to the graft-arterial and graft-venous anastomoses on one side, whereas the contralateral control graft received no treatment. Three or four weeks after operation, the grafts and adjacent vessels were explanted en bloc and cross-sections of the anastomoses were examined histologically. The degree of neointimal hyperplasia was quantified by planimetry. In separate experiments, dipyridamole was extracted from the explanted tissues and assayed by spectrofluorometry. The normalized median hyperplasia areas of the treated and control graft-venous anastomoses were 0.45 (25th-75th percentile, 0.30-0.86) and 0.24 (0.21-0.30), respectively (N=7; P=0.08). The median hyperplasia areas of the treated and control graft-arterial anastomoses were 0.12 (0.07-0.39) and 0.11 (0.09-0.13), respectively (N=7; P=0.31). The dipyridamole levels in the vascular walls around the anastomoses were at or above the in vitro inhibitory concentrations for approximately 3 weeks. These results suggest that the local perivascular sustained delivery of dipyridamole, even at high dosages, was ineffective in inhibiting neointimal hyperplasia associated with PTFE grafts in a porcine model.

Progesterone induces acrosome reaction in stallion spermatozoa via a protein tyrosine kinase dependent pathway.

Progesterone (P(4)) is a physiological inducer of the acrosome reaction (AR) in stallion spermatozoa. However, the capacitation-dependent changes that enable progesterone binding, and the nature of the signaling cascade that is triggered by progesterone and results in induction of the AR, are poorly understood. The aim of the current study was, therefore, to investigate the protein kinase dependent signaling cascades involved in progesterone-mediated induction of the AR in stallion spermatozoa. In addition, we aimed to determine whether bicarbonate, an inducer of sperm capacitation, acted via the same pathway as P(4) or whether it otherwise synergized P(4)-mediated induction of the AR. We examined the effect on AR progression of specific inhibitors and stimulators of protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), protein kinase G (PKG), and protein tyrosine kinase (PTK), in the presence or absence of 15 mM bicarbonate and/or 1 microg/ml progesterone. Progression of the AR was assessed using the Pisum sativum agglutinin conjugated to fluorescein iso thiocyanate (PSA-FITC) staining technique. Bicarbonate specifically activated a PKA-dependent signaling pathway, whereas the effect of P(4) was independent of PKA. Conversely, while P(4)-mediated AR induction was dependent on PTK, the effects of bicarbonate were PTK-independent. Finally, although the AR inducing effects of both P(4) and bicarbonate were sensitive to staurosporin, a potent blocker of PKC activity at moderate (50 nM) concentrations, the effect of P(4) was completely blocked at 50 nM staurosporin, whereas that of bicarbonate was only completely inhibited by much higher concentrations (2 microM) where staurosporin also inhibits PKA activity. In conclusion, P(4)-mediated activation of the AR is dependent on a pathway that includes both PTK and PKC. While the effects of bicarbonate on the AR are mediated via a separate PKA-dependent signaling pathway, P(4) and bicarbonate have synergistic effects on the AR.

Capacitation and the acrosome reaction in equine sperm.

During sexual reproduction, the sperm and oocyte must fuse before the production of a diploid zygote can proceed. In mammals such as equids, fusion depends critically on complex changes in the plasma membrane of the sperm and, not surprisingly, this membrane differs markedly from that of somatic cells. After leaving the testes, sperm cease to synthesize plasma membrane lipids or proteins, and vesicle-mediated transport stops. When the sperm reaches the female reproductive tract, it is activated by so-called capacitation factors that initiate a delicate reorientation and modification of molecules within the plasma membrane. These surface changes enable the sperm to bind to the extracellular matrix of the egg (zona pellucida ZP) and the zona then primes the sperm to initiate the acrosome reaction, an exocytotic event required for the sperm to penetrate the zona. This paper will review the processes that occur at the sperm plasma membrane before and during successful penetration of the equine ZP. It is noted that while several methods have been described for detecting changes that occur during capacitation and the acrosome reaction in bovine and porcine sperm, relatively little has been documented for equine sperm. Special attention will therefore be dedicated to recent attempts to develop and implement new assays for the detection of the capacitation status of live, acrosome-intact and motile equine sperm.

Evaluation of in vitro capacitation of stallion spermatozoa.

The primary aim of this study was to establish a flow cytometric technique for determining the capacitation status of stallion spermatozoa. To this end, a flow cytometric technique that demonstrates changes in plasma membrane fluidity; namely, merocyanine 540 staining, was compared with the more conventional Ca(2+)-dependent fluorescence microscopic technique, chlortetracycline (CTC) staining, for assessing capacitation status. In addition, the effect of bicarbonate/CO(2) on the progress of capacitation and the acrosome reaction (AR) and on temporal changes in sperm motility, with particular regard to hyperactivation, was analyzed. For the study, fresh semen was washed and then incubated for 5 h in bicarbonate-containing or bicarbonate-free medium, with or without Ca(2+) ionophore to induce the AR, and at intervals during incubation aliquots were taken and analyzed for capacitation and acrosome status. The AR was assessed using both the CTC and fluorescein isothiocyanate-peanut agglutinin (FITC-PNA) staining techniques with similar results. In brief, it was found that merocyanine 540 detects capacitation-related changes much earlier than CTC does (0.5 h versus approximately 3 h), and that flow cytometry for evaluation of capacitation and AR was a quicker (10 sec per sample) and more accurate (10,000 cells counted) technique than fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, it was observed that Ca(2+) ionophore could not induce the AR in the absence of bicarbonate, but that the ionophore synergized the bicarbonate-mediated induction of the AR as detected by CTC (although it was not significant when evaluated using FITC-PNA). The percentage of hyperactive sperm in each sample was not affected by time of incubation under the experimental conditions studied. In conclusion, merocyanine 540 staining is a better method than CTC staining for evaluating the early events of capacitation for stallion spermatozoa incubated in vitro. Furthermore, bicarbonate sperm activation clearly plays a vital role in the induction of the AR in stallion spermatozoa.

Biodegradable block copolymers for delivery of proteins and water-insoluble drugs.

Release of several drugs from new ABA-type biodegradable thermal gels, ReGel, including proteins and conventional molecules, are presented. These are biodegradable, biocompatible polymers that demonstrate reverse thermal gelation properties. Organic solvents are not used in the synthesis, purification, or formulation of these polymers. The unique characteristics of ReGel hinge on the following two key properties: (1) ReGel is a water soluble, biodegradable polymer at temperatures below the gel transition temperature; (2) ReGel forms a water-insoluble gel once injected. This is consistent with a hydrophobically bonded gel state where all interactions are physical, with no covalent crosslinking. An increase in viscosity of approximately 4 orders of magnitude accompanies the sol--gel transition. The gel forms a controlled release drug depot with delivery times ranging from 1 to 6 weeks. ReGel's inherent ability to solubilize (400 to >2000-fold) and stabilize poorly soluble and sensitive drugs, including proteins is a substantial benefit. The gel provided excellent control of the release of paclitaxel for approximately 50 days. Direct intratumoral injection of ReGel/paclitaxel (OncoGel) results in a slow clearance of paclitaxel from the injection site with minimal distribution into any organ. Efficacies equivalent to maximum tolerated systemic dosing were observed at OncoGel doses that were 10-fold lower. Data on protein release (pGH, G-CSF, insulin, rHbsAg) and polymer biocompatibility are discussed.

Exposure of progesterone receptors on the plasma membranes of stallion spermatozoa as a parameter for prediction of fertility.

Subfertility in stallions is attributed to the inability of spermatozoa to undergo the acrosome reaction in response to progesterone. In the present study, it was assessed whether there is a correlation between stallion fertility, defined on the basis of first cycle foaling rate and first cycle 'non-return rate', and the proportion of spermatozoa with exposed progesterone receptors on their plasma membranes. Semen from Dutch Warmblood (n=10) and Friesian (n=4) stallions was analysed. Progesterone 3-(o-carboxymethyl) oxime-BSA coupled with fluorescein isothiocyanate was used as a progesterone receptor probe and ethidium homodimer was used as a supravital stain. A high correlation was observed between the proportion of spermatozoa with exposed progesterone receptors and stallion fertility (r > 0.70; P < 0.01). This result indicates that exposure of progesterone receptors is a potential parameter for predicting stallion fertility.

Regulation of smooth muscle cell proliferation using paclitaxel-loaded poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(lactide/glycolide) nanospheres.

Available data suggest that drugs should be delivered to a vascular lesion at a high concentration over an extended period of time to control vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation. This study was undertaken to formulate a paclitaxel, an antimicrotubule agent, into a biodegradable poly (ethylene oxide)-poly(lactide/glycolide) (PEO-PLGA) nanosphere as a sustained drug delivery system and to study its effects on VSMC in culture. The paclitaxel-loaded nanospheres (PT/NS), prepared by an emulsion-solvent evaporation method, had an average diameter of approximately 150 nm and showed a sustained release profile over 4 weeks. The PT/NS exhibited antiproliferative effects comparable to those observed with free paclitaxel. The cellular internalization of nanospheres was visualized using confocal fluorescence microscopy, and from a flow cytometry study the progressive cellular uptake profile, uptake inhibition at low temperature, and saturation uptake kinetics (concentration dependency) were observed. These suggest that (adsorptive) pinocytosis is a major uptake mechanism of the nanospheres. The sustained drug release profile and cellular internalization results suggest that nanospheres loaded with paclitaxel may potentially be used as an endocytizable, local sustained drug delivery system for the prevention of restenosis.