We present EDA: easy data augmentation techniques for boosting performance on text classification tasks. EDA consists of four simple but powerful operations: synonym replacement, random insertion, random swap, and random deletion. On five text classification tasks, we show that EDA improves performance for both convolutional and recurrent neural networks. EDA demonstrates particularly strong results for smaller datasets; on average, across five datasets, training with EDA while using only 50% of the available training set achieved the same accuracy as normal training with all available data. We also performed extensive ablation studies and suggest parameters for practical use.

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BackgroundEffective treatment of HIV since 1996 has reduced morbidity and mortality through virologic suppression. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has been recognized as key to the prevention of drug resistance and the transmission of infection. We used eighteen years of virologic outcomes in a long-standing cohort of women to describe longitudinal viral load trajectories; and examine factors associated with sustained viremia and mortality.MethodsWe analyzed data from DC WIHS women with > four semiannual visits using a group-based logistic trajectory analysis approach to identify patterns of HIV RNA detection (>80 copies/mL or lower assay limit, and >1000 copies/mL). We verified findings using cumulative viral load suppression-years, explored group characteristics using generalized linear modeling with generalized estimating equations for repeated measures, and examined survival using the Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard analyses.Results329 women contributed 6633 visits between 1994 and 2012 and demonstrated high, moderate, and low probability patterns of HIV RNA detection (>80 copies/mL) in 40.7, 35.6, and 23.7 % of participant visits, respectively. Analysis of cumulative years of viral load suppression supported these observations. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated high mortality of 31.1 % with sustained viremia, but no significant difference in mortality between intermittent viremia and non-viremia patterns, 6.9 and 4.9 % respectively. Mortality was associated with higher age, lower CD4+ T lymphocyte count, and sustained viremia by Cox multivariate analysis.ConclusionsThis ecologic study demonstrates the effectiveness of viral suppression, and conversely the association between viremia and mortality. In community delivery of cART for HIV care, distinct patterns of sustained viremia, intermittent viremia, and non-viremia were identified over nearly 18 years in the DC WIHS, capturing the dynamics and complexity of sustaining long-term HIV care. Persistent viremia was associated with lower CD4s and mortality, but surprisingly mortality was not different between continuous suppression and intermittent viremia. Classification of long-term virologic patterns such as these observed HIV treatment “careers” may provide a suitable framework to identify modifiable factors associated with treatment resilience and failure. Both individual and population interventions are needed to reduce transmission, prevent the emergence of drug resistance, and improve outcomes of community ART programs.

In this study, segregation roasting and magnetic separation are used to extract nickel from a garnierite laterite ore. The garnierite laterite ore containing 0.72% Ni, 0.029% Co, 8.65% Fe, 29.66% MgO, and 37.86% SiO 2 was collected in the Mojiang area of China. Garnierite was the Ni-bearing mineral; the other main minerals were potash feldspar, forsterite, tremolite, halloysite, quartz, and kaolinite in the garnierite laterite ore. The iron phase transformations show that nickel is transformed from (Ni,Mg)O·SiO 2 ·nH 2 O to a new nickel mineral phase dominated by [Ni]Fe solid solution; and iron changed from Fe 2 O 3 and FeOOH to a new iron mineral phase dominated by metal Fe and Fe 3 O 4 after segregation roasting. Ferronickel concentrate with Ni of 16.16%, Fe of 73.67%, and nickel recovery of 90.33% was obtained under the comprehensive conditions used: A roasting temperature of 1100 • C, a roasting time of 90 min, a calcium chloride dosage of 15%, an iron concentrate dosage of 30%, a coke dosage of 15%, a coke size of −1 + 0.5 mm, a magnetic separation grinding fineness of <45 µm occupying 90%, and a magnetic separation magnetic field intensity of H = 0.10 T. The main minerals in ferronickel concentrate are Fe, [Ni]Fe, Fe 3 O 4 , and a small amount of gangue minerals, such as CaO·SiO 2 and CaO·Al 2 O 3 ·SiO 2 .

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The menace of antimicrobial resistance continues to increase and hence the need to discover new antibiotics, especially alternative and effective sources such as hybrid organic-inorganic, organic-organic materials, and other combinations. In this study, an antimicrobial hybrid supra-nano material was prepared by the bi-titration synthesis method of chitosan (CS) and ZnAl layered double hydroxide. Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), thermogravimetric and differential thermal gravimetric (TGA/DTG), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses indicated that the ZnAl/CS hybrid exhibited low crystallinity with high thermal stability. The results of ZnAl/CS characterization showed the characteristic properties of the individual components ZnAl and CS, indicating a successful preparation of the ZnAl/CS hybrid. The antibacterial tests revealed that the ZnAl/CS hybrid possessed an enhanced antimicrobial effect against both Escherichia coli (E. coli, MTCC 739) and Penicilliumcyclopium (P. cyclopium, AS 3.4513). Under the central composite design (CCD) of the response surface methodology (RSM) tool, the parameters of the hybrid synthesis reaction were optimized and the result obtained was as follows: reaction pH was 11.3, reagent Zn/Al ratio was 3.27, and chitosan concentration was 1.07 g/L. After optimization, it was found that the antibacterial activity of ZnAl/CS was strengthened against E. coli as evidenced by a widening of the inhibition zone of about 41.6%. The antibacterial activity of ZnAl/CS was mainly due to the reactivation of the antibacterial activity of CS associated with the release of Zn2+ and Al3+ metal ions in addition to ZnO, Al2O3, and ZnAl2O4 compounds resulting from the method of preparation.

In this study, sulfuric acid leaching and gravity shaking-table separation by shaking a table are used to extract lead and zinc from a Pb-Zn oxidizing roasting cinder. The oxidizing roasting cinder—containing 16.9% Pb, 30.5% Zn, 10.3% Fe and 25.1% S—was obtained from a Pb-Zn sulfide ore in the Hanyuan area of China by a flotation-rotary kiln oxidizing roasting process. Anglesite and lead oxide were the main Pb-bearing minerals, while zinc sulfate, zinc oxide and zinc ferrite were the main Zn-bearing minerals. The results show that a part of lead contained in lead oxide is transformed to anglesite, and a 3PbO·PbSO4·H2O-dominated new lead mineral phase after acid leaching. A zinc leaching efficiency of 96.7% was obtained under the leaching conditions used: a leaching temperature of 55 °C; a leaching time of 90 min; a sulfuric acid dosage of 20%; a sulfurous acid dosage of 4%; a cinder particle size of <0.3 mm; and a solid-liquid ratio of R = 1:4. After the gravity shaking-table separation, a lead concentrate with 50.2% Pb, 2.33% Zn and lead recovery of 86.0% was produced. The main chemical compounds in leaching residue are anglesite, 3PbO·PbSO4·H2O, SiO2 and ZnFe2O4, while the main chemical compounds in lead concentrate are anglesite, 3PbO·PbSO4·H2O and SiO2.

Pretreatment with a microwave was conducted before enzymolysis and shown to enhance the enzymolysis, which changed the secondary structure of the lotus seed protein. Under high-power microwave irradiation, sub bonds of the protein were broken, causing disaggregation and unfolding of the secondary structure, namely a decrease in the intermolecular aggregate structure and increase in the random coil structure, making the protein bonds susceptible to papain in the enzymolysis. On the other hand, a response surface methodology (RSM) was launched to investigate the influence of the enzymolysis process variables on the DH (degree of hydrolysis). The statistical analysis revealed that the optimized conditions were a protein substrate concentration of 15 g/L, pH of 5.5, enzymolysis temperature of 57 °C, papain amount of 0.5 g/L, and enzymolysis time of 45 min, for which the predicted value of the DH was 35.64%. The results indicated that a microwave also had better potential for applications in the enzymolysis of foods.