Hybrid POI Recommendation System for Tourism

Due to the increase in amount of available information, finding places and planning of the activities to be done during a tour can be strenuous. Tourists are looking for information about a place in which they have not been before, which worsen the selection of places that fit better with user’s preferences. Recommendation systems have been fundamentally applicable in tourism, suggest suitable places, and effectively prune large information from different locations, so tourists are directed toward those places where are matched with their needs and preferences. Several techniques have been studied for point-of-interest (POI) recommendation, including content-based which builds based on user preferences, collaborative filtering which exploits the behavior of other users, and different places, knowledge-based method, and several other techniques. These methods are vulnerable to some limitations and shortcomings related to recommendation environment such as scalability, sparsity, first-rater or gray sheep problems. This paper tries to identify the drawbacks that prevent wide spread use of these methodologies in recommendation. To improve performance of recommendation systems, these methods are combined to form hybrid recommenders. This paper proposes a novel hybrid recommender system which suggests tourism destinations to a user with minimal user interaction. Furthermore, we use sentiment analysis of user’s comments to enhance the efficiency of the proposed system

A novel algicidal properties of fermentation products from Pseudomonas sp. Ps3 strain on the toxic red tide dinoflagellate species

The viability of both China’s offshore fishing operations and the global marine fishing industry is threatened by the occurrence of red tides caused by Gymnodinium catenatum and Karenia mikimotoi. Effective control of these dinoflagellate-mediated red tides has become a pressing issue that requires immediate attention. In this study, High-efficiency marine alginolytic bacteria were isolated and underwent molecular biological identification to confirm their algicidal properties. Based on a combination of morphological, physiological, biochemical, and sequencing results, Strain Ps3 was identified as belonging to the species Pseudomonas sp. We examine the effects of algicidal bacteria on the red tide species G. catenatum and K. mikimotoi within an indoor experimental setting. Then gas chromatography– mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to analyze the structure of the algolytic active substances. This investigation demonstrated that with exposure to the algae-lysis experiment, the Ps3 strain has the best algae-lysis effect, with G. catenatum and K. mikimotoi reaching 83.0 and 78.3%. Our results from the sterile fermentation broth experiment showed that the inhibitory effect on the two red tide algae was positively correlated with the concentration of the treatment. At a treatment concentration of 2.0% (v/v), the 48 h lysis rates of G. catenatum and K. mikimotoi due to exposure to the Ps3 bacterial fermentation broth were 95.2 and 86.7%, respectively. The results of this study suggest that the algaecide may be a rapid and effective method to control dinoflagellate blooms, as evidenced by the observed changes in cellular morphology in all cases. In the ethyl acetate phase of Ps3 fermentation broth, the cyclic (leucine-leucine) dipeptide was the most abundant. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of red tide prevention and control and provide a theoretical foundation for further research in this field

Experimental Results on Advanced Rotary Desiccant Dehumidifiers

The Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) has developed the Cyclic Test Facility (CTF) to develop and validate analytical methods for evaluating and predicting the performance of advanced rotary dehumidifiers. This paper describes the CTF, the dehumidifiers tested at the CTF, and the analytical methods used. The results reported provide an engineering data base and a design tool for evaluating rotary dehumidifiers for desiccant cooling applications

Development of a Cytosensor for the Detection of Fusarium Oxysporum - A Functional Approach Towards Bioanalytical Applications

The development of bio-analytical methods for monitoring microorganisms have created opportunities for applications in biosensors, bioprocess monitoring, assessment of cell signalling, analysis of drug responses, among several others. The voltammetric sensing system employed for studying the electrode behavior of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum comprised working (gold) electrode (0.2 cm2 ) platinum as counter electrode (0.2 cm2 ) and a saturated calomel as the reference, where the electrochemical response corresponded to the growth phases (lag, log, stationary and decline) of the fungus. The electrochemical method based on voltammetric response matched well with the response obtained through conventional methodology, where the dry weight of the fungus is estimated against time. The peak potential is a function of scan rate, which is one of the characteristic features of a totally irreversible electrode process. It is important to mention here that this dependence is true regardless of reversibility for any diffusing redoxactive species. The proposed electrochemical method is less cumbersome and more accurate. Furthermore, the proposed electrochemical method captures the decline phase of fungal growth, which is generally difficult using the conventional method of assessment of the growth curve. Further experiments confirm that the anodic peaks were not due to the biomass or the fungal spores and only due to the extracellular metabolites. However, at this stage it is difficult to exactly determine the metabolite or the group of metabolites that are responsible for the anodic peak. In conclusion this cytosensor is capable of accurately and rapidly quantifying fungi with Fusarium oxysporum as a model organism

Coagulant plus Bacillus nitratireducens fermentation broth technique provides a rapid algicidal effect of toxic red tide dinoflagellate

When the toxic red tide alga Gymnodinium catenatum H.W. Graham accumulates in sediment through sexual reproduction, it provides the provenance of a periodic outbreak of red tide, a potential threat to the marine environment. In our study, the flocculation effects of four coagulants were compared. Bacteria fermentation (Ba3) broth and coagulant were combined with Ba3 to reduce the vegetative cells of G. catenatum, inhibit the cystic germination in the sediment, and control the red tide outbreak. To promote a more efficient and environmentally friendly algae suppression method, we studied these four coagulants combined with algae suppression bacteria for their effect on G. catenatum. The results show that polyaluminum chloride (PAC) is more efficient than other coagulants when used alone because it had a more substantial inhibitory effect. Ba3 broth also had a beneficial removal effect on the vegetative cells of G. catenatum. The inhibition efficiency of 2-day fermentation liquid was higher than that of 1-day and 3-day fermentation liquids. When combined, the PAC and Ba3 broth produced a pronounced algae inhibition effect that effectively hindered the germination of algae cysts. We conclude that this combination provides a scientific reference for the prevention and control of marine red tide. Our results suggest that designing environmentally friendly methods for the management of harmful algae is quite feasible

Identification of nephropathy candidate genes by comparing sclerosis-prone and sclerosis-resistant mouse strain kidney transcriptomes

Abstract Background The genetic architecture responsible for chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains incompletely described. The Oligosyndactyly (Os) mouse models focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), which is associated with reduced nephron number caused by the Os mutation. The Os mutation leads to FSGS in multiple strains including the ROP-Os/+. However, on the C57Bl/6J background the mutation does not cause FSGS, although nephron number in these mice are equivalent to those in ROP-Os/+ mice. We exploited this phenotypic variation to identify genes that potentially contribute to glomerulosclerosis. Methods To identify such novel genes, which regulate susceptibility or resistance to renal disease progression, we generated and compared the renal transcriptomes using serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) from the sclerosis-prone ROP-Os/+ and sclerosis resistant C57-Os/+ mouse kidneys. We confirmed the validity of the differential gene expression using multiple approaches. We also used an Ingenuity Pathway Analysis engine to assemble differentially regulated molecular networks. Cell culture techniques were employed to confirm functional relevance of selected genes. Results A comparative analysis of the kidney transcriptomes revealed multiple genes, with expression levels that were statistically different. These novel, candidate, renal disease susceptibility/resistance genes included neuropilin2 (Nrp2), glutathione-S-transferase theta (Gstt1) and itchy (Itch). Of 34 genes with the most robust statistical difference in expression levels between ROP-Os/+ and C57-Os/+ mice, 13 and 3 transcripts localized to glomerular and tubulointerstitial compartments, respectively, from micro-dissected human FSGS biopsies. Network analysis of all significantly differentially expressed genes identified 13 connectivity networks. The most highly scored network highlighted the roles for oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction pathways. Functional analyses of these networks provided evidence for activation of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling in ROP-Os/+ kidneys despite similar expression of the TGFβ ligand between the tested strains. Conclusions These data demonstrate the complex dysregulation of normal cellular functions in this animal model of FSGS and suggest that therapies directed at multiple levels will be needed to effectively treat human kidney diseases.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112491/1/12882_2011_Article_362.pd

Sustainable sandwich composites manufactured from recycled carbon fibers, flax fibers/PP skins, and recycled PET core

European union end of life vehicle directive mandates the use of more sustainable/recyclable materials in automotive industries. Thermoplastics matrix-based composites allow recyclability of composites at the end of life; however, their processing technology is more challenging than thermoset composites. Manufacturing process and mechanical testing of sustainable sandwich composite made from sustainable materials: flax, recycled carbon fiber, polypropylene, and recycled PET foam are presented in this article. High pressure compression molding with adhesive thermoplastic polymer film was used for manufacturing sandwich composite skin. The recycled PET foam core was integrated/joined with the skin using a thermoplastics adhesive film. A three-point bending test was conducted to compare the flexural properties. The results show that such sustainable sandwich composites will be an excellent material for truck side panel to operate in adverse wind/storm conditions. The sustainable sandwich composite can potentially be an excellent candidate for the fabrication of light-duty, lightweight, and low-cost engineering structures in automotive industry to meet the EU end of life requirements

Online health information seeking among people with diabetes mellitus and its association with self-management

Diabetes requires dedicated self-management to be able to achieve good control and outcome as this is a lifelong condition. The internet offers an amazing wealth of health information which may influence diabetes self-management. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of online health information seeking among people with diabetes and its associated factors. About 380 participants answered the online health information seeking questionnaire developed from literature search and expert panel review. Diabetes Self-Management was assessed using the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ). The prevalence of online health information seeking among people with diabetes was 38.4%. Common information sought included diabetes treatment (82.9%) lifestyle modification (77.4%) and diabetes prevention (67.3%). A large majority (93.1%) felt that the online information on diabetes was useful. Doctors and printed reading materials were the most common sources of information for diabetes (94.2% & 65.3%). Lower median age (59 years, IQR = 11), having a family member with diabetes, (COR = 1.188) tertiary education (COR = 6.037) and those who are employed (COR = 3.880) have higher odds of seeking online diabetes related health information. However, there was no significant association between online health information seeking and diabetes self-management. Prevalence of online health information seeking among people with diabetes was at an acceptable level. However, it was not associated with optimal diabetic self-management. Doctors and printed information remain as popular sources of information and hence should be maintained

Результаты внедрения новой формы управляемой самостоятельной работы студентов в учебный процесс на кафедре патофизиологии

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