A CLUSTERING ALGORITHM FOR MIXED NUMERIC AND CATEGORICAL DATA

Most of the earlier work on clustering mainly focused on numeric data whose inherent geometric properties can be exploited to naturally define distance functions between data points. However, data mining applications frequently involve many datasets that also consists of mixed numeric and categorical attributes. In this paper we present a clustering algorithm which is based on the k-means algorithm. The algorithm clusters objects with numeric and categorical attributes in a way similar to k-means. The object similarity measure is derived from both numeric and categorical attributes. When applied to numeric data, the algorithm is identical to the k-means. The main result of this paper is to provide a method to update the “cluster centers“ of clustering objects described by mixed numeric and categorical attributes in the clustering process to minimise the clustering cost function. The clustering performance of the algorithm is demonstrated with the two well known data sets, namely credit approval and abalone databases.     

Effects of nitric oxide on the contraction of skeletal muscle

A review of the literature suggests that the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on skeletal muscles fibers can be classified in two groups. In the first, the effects of NO are direct, due to nitrosation or metal nitrosylation of target proteins: depression of isometric force, shortening velocity of loaded or unloaded contractions, glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration. The effect on calcium release channels varies, being inhibitory at low and stimulatory at high NO concentrations. The general consequence of the direct effects of NO is to ‘brake’ the contraction and its associated metabolism. In the second group, the effects of NO are mediated by cGMP: increase of the shortening velocity of loaded or unloaded contractions, maximal mechanical power, initial rate of force development, frequency of tetanic fusion, glucose uptake, glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration; decreases of half relaxation time of tetanus and twitch, twitch time-to-peak, force maintained during unfused tetanus and of stimulus-associated calcium release. There is negligible effect on maximal force of isometric twitch and tetanus. The general consequence of cGMP-mediated effects of NO is to improve mechanical and metabolic muscle power, similar to a transformation of slow-twitch to fast-twitch muscle, an effect that we may summarize as a ‘slow-to-fast’ shift.     

Predictability of Plastic Parts Behaviour Made from Rapid Manufacturing

One of the most important issues to resolve in parts manufactured from rapid manufacturing (RM) technologies is to know their behavior working under real conditions. Total quality manufacturing (TQM) is only possible if mechanical properties are well known in the design stage depending on the processing parameters. This work is mainly focused on testing of several samples made with different selective laser sintering (SLS) parameters and technologies. This procedure is the starting point to establish a basis for designing for RM and the standardization of RM testing. The experiments and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyzed the effects of several factors on mechanical properties. The SLS technologies were 3DSystem and EOS. The results show which factor has a large effect on the variables and the interaction between them. The conclusions are very useful for developing rules for designing (designing for RM) and creating new standard rules (ISO, AISI, and DIN) for RM materials and parts testing. The ANOVA gives a better knowledge of the effects of these factors and eliminates unimportant parameters.     

Effects of insulin hypoglycaemia on the adrenal medulla of the hamster

Résumé Pendant l'hypoglycémie insulinique (4 U/100 g), le hamster maintenu a 19°C présente une augmentation de l'adrénaline et de la noradrénaline plasmatiques, ainsi qu'une réduction de ces deux catécholamines dans les surrénales. Maintenu à 26°C, l'hypoglycémie se produit aussi bien avec 4 U/100 g d'insuline mais il n'y a pas de changements de l'adrénaline et noradrénaline du plasma et des surrénales. Pour obtenir des modifications, il est nécessaire d'augmenter la dose d'insuline à 8 U/100 g. En conclusion, la température extérieure a une influence marquée sur la réponse médullo-surrénale de l'hypoglycémie insulinique.     

On the regulatory properties of a halophilic malic enzyme fromHalobacterium cutirubrum

Summary The NADP-linked malic enzyme fromHalobacterium cutirubrum is strongly inhibited by acetyl-CoA and NADH, and rather weakly inhibited by oxaloacetate and glyoxylate, in the presence of very high KCl concentrations (3,M), considered physiological for the extremely halophilic bacteria.This work was supported by grants from the consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina, and the Consejo de Investigaciones de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario. JJC and MCV are members of the Carrera del Investigador Científico of the former and the latter institutions, respectively.     

Oxidative activity of limbic structures during sexual cycle in rats

Resumen Se ha estudiado el consumo de oxígeno de la amigdala y del hipocámpo en ratas hembras durante el ciclo sexual. La corteza cerebral se utilizó como control. Los resultados obtenidos indican que ambas estructuras límbicas sufren cambios ciclicos. La mayor actividad metabólica de la amigdala fué observada durante el estro en cambio el hipocampo tiene su mayor consumo de oxígeno durante el diestro.

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Supported by a grant of Fundacón Marqués de Urquijo.     

XPF nuclease-dependent telomere loss and increased DNA damage in mice overexpressing TRF2 result in premature aging and cancer

TRF2 is a telomere-binding protein that has a role in telomere protection. We generated mice that overexpress TRF2 in the skin. These mice had a severe phenotype in the skin in response to light, consisting of premature skin deterioration, hyperpigmentation and increased skin cancer, which resembles the human syndrome xeroderma pigmentosum. Keratinocytes from these mice were hypersensitive to ultraviolet irradiation and DNA crosslinking agents. The skin cells of these mice had marked telomere shortening, loss of the telomeric G-strand overhang and increased chromosomal instability. Telomere loss in these mice was mediated by XPF, a structure-specific nuclease involved in ultraviolet-induced damage repair and mutated in individuals with xeroderma pigmentosum. These findings suggest that TRF2 provides a crucial link between telomere function and ultraviolet-induced damage repair, whose alteration underlies genomic instability, cancer and aging. Finally, we show that a number of human skin tumors have increased expression of TRF2, further highlighting a role for TRF2 in skin cancer.