Enterprise modeling using the foundation concepts of the RM-ODP ISO/ITU standard

Enterprise architecture (EA) projects require analyzing and designing across the whole enterprise and its environment. Enterprise architects, therefore, frequently develop enterprise models that span from the markets in which the organization operates down to the implementation of the IT systems that support its operations. In this paper, we present SEAM for EA: a method for defining an enterprise model in which all the systems are systematically represented with the same modeling ontology. We base our modeling ontology on the foundation modeling concepts defined in Part 2 of ISO/ITU Standard "Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing” (RM-ODP). This work has two contributions to enterprise architecture: the SEAM for EA method itself and the use of Part 2 of the RM-ODP standard as a modeling ontolog

Effectiveness of Using MyFPGA Platform for Teaching Digital Logic

Accompanying electric circuits and computer programming, digital logic is deemed one of the most essential parts of any Electrical and Computer Engineering curriculum, so student success in the course is critical. Furthermore, research shows that the academic performance of students is heavily dependent upon student engagement, which is believed to increase with classroom strategies such as flipped-classrooms, cooperative learning, project-based learning, and virtual labs. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a Hispanic serving institution with distributive campuses, where many of the students work part-time. With consideration of the special needs of our students and the latest developments in engineering education, this study focuses on our recent experience of teaching digital logical using MyFPGA, online FPGA platform. We first introduce the MyFPGA platform in this paper. Developed by one of the authors of this paper, this web-based design features I/O interfacing circuits with an Intel FPGA hardware board as well as API web services with the Intel Quartus II design software. The platform provides 24/7 real-time hardware design experience at students’ fingertips, requiring only a web browser and internet access. It exposes the students to a complete engineering design cycle that includes problem specification, block diagram design, HDL source code design, simulation and hardware verification, trouble shooting and evaluation, and reporting. We consider different cases of the platform usage in two digital logic courses. To evaluate the effectiveness of the student learning experience, data is collected using outcome assessments, student feedback and self-evaluations, instructor observations, and comparative studies. Preliminary results confirmed the effectiveness of the online digital design platform. We have also identified a few pitfalls, such as instructors’ initial reluctance in adopting the platform and students’ first perception of the platform as a pure simulation tool. Based on the studies, recommendations are made to identify the best practices in the utilization of the platform to better serve Electrical and Computer Engineering majors and secondary school students interested in the general STEM fields

Wi-Closure: Reliable and Efficient Search of Inter-robot Loop Closures Using Wireless Sensing

In this paper we propose a novel algorithm, Wi-Closure, to improve computational efficiency and robustness of loop closure detection in multi-robot SLAM. Our approach decreases the computational overhead of classical approaches by pruning the search space of potential loop closures, prior to evaluation by a typical multi-robot SLAM pipeline. Wi-Closure achieves this by identifying candidates that are spatially close to each other by using sensing over the wireless communication signal between robots, even when they are operating in non-line-of-sight or in remote areas of the environment from one another. We demonstrate the validity of our approach in simulation and hardware experiments. Our results show that using Wi-closure greatly reduces computation time, by 54% in simulation and by 77% in hardware compared, with a multi-robot SLAM baseline. Importantly, this is achieved without sacrificing accuracy. Using Wi-Closure reduces absolute trajectory estimation error by 99% in simulation and 89.2% in hardware experiments. This improvement is due in part to Wi-Closure's ability to avoid catastrophic optimization failure that typically occurs with classical approaches in challenging repetitive environments.Comment: 6 pages without reference

UVB Induces HIF-1α-Dependent TSLP Expression via the JNK and ERK Pathways

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) may have a key role in the initiation and maintenance of allergic inflammatory diseases, including atopic dermatitis. The present study revealed that UVB radiation exposure could induce TSLP expression in human keratinocytes and a human skin equivalent model. In addition, we investigated the regulatory mechanism of UVB-induced TSLP expression in keratinocytes. TSLP expression was upregulated by transfection with pcDNA3–hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α (P402A and P564A), which stably expresses HIF-1α protein. UVB-induced TSLP induction in keratinocytes was suppressed in the treatment of mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors or small interfering RNAs against HIF-1α. The results of chromatin immunoprecipitation assays indicate the direct involvement of HIF-1α in UVB-mediated TSLP induction. Taken together, these findings indicate that UVB exposure may increase TSLP expression through a HIF-1α-dependent mechanism via the c-JUN N-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathways in human keratinocytes. Our data showed that UVB-induced TSLP might increase secretion of the T-helper type 2–attracting chemokine (c–c motif) ligand 17 by human dendritic cells. The present study suggests an important role of HIF-1α in UVB-mediated immune response in keratinocytes

Crosstalk Removal in Forward Scan Sonar Image Using Deep Learning for Object Detection

This paper proposes the detection and removal of crosstalk noise using a convolutional neural network in the images of forward scan sonar. Because crosstalk noise occurs near an underwater object and distorts the shape of the object, underwater object detection is limited. The proposed method can detect crosstalk noise using the neural network and remove crosstalk noise based on the detection result. Thus, the proposed method can be applied to other sonar-image-based algorithms and enhance the reliability of those algorithms. We applied the proposed method to a three-dimensional point cloud generation and generated a more accurate point cloud. We verified the performance of the proposed method by performing multiple indoor and field experiments.11Nsciescopu