Tech in Hospitality

The purpose of this project was to research the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on customer service, decision making, internet of things, events, and food and beverage. This technology has benefited the hospitality industry value chain construction, from the supplier to the service delivery. Through the use of AI-powered chatbots and other related technologies, hospitality businesses can automate repetitive tasks that require little human intervention. Its ability to automate labor-intensive processes can reduce labor costs while also improving quality and reducing potential management risks from un-trained employees. Hotel software automation also has the ability to support short-staffed teams and streamline processes. AI has allowed hotels to customize services more easily, with full utilization of customer profile (software) and internet of things (hardware). The development of customer profiles provides hotels the opportunity to better serve their customers in existing and future stays. While AI is currently cost prohibitive, it is anticipated to drop in price with the development and proliferation of emerging technologies. The majority of surveyed businesses experienced higher revenues through AI adoption, with 44% claiming cost reduction. AI adoption is growing steadily, up four points from 2021. Today, 35% of companies reported using AI in their business, and an additional 42% reported they are exploring AI. By 2030, AI techniques and applications will become an important asset for many aspects of tourism organization

Income inequality and cause-specific mortality during economic development

Poster session 1 - Epidemiology and policy: P1-210published_or_final_versionThe IEA World Congress of Epidemiology, Edinburgh, Scotland, 7–11 August 2011. In Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2011, v. 65 suppl. 1, p. A124, abstract no. P1-21

Income inequality and cause-specific mortality during economic development

Poster session 1 - Epidemiology and policy: P1-210published_or_final_versionThe IEA World Congress of Epidemiology, Edinburgh, Scotland, 7–11 August 2011. In Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2011, v. 65 suppl. 1, p. A124, abstract no. P1-21

Atomistic calculations of rate of long-timescale microstructural evolution

Thesis (Sc. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2009.Vita. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-111).The ability to investigate materials systems at the resolution of individual atoms makes computational simulations a powerful tool for the study of materials phenomena. However, microstructural evolution in complex materials is only meaningfully characterized in laboratory or industry applications by deformation rate and relevant rate coefficients, quantities that require sampling over a timescale too large for traditional atomistic methods to probe. New methods and techniques have to be developed in order to obtain useful information of rate from atomistic simulations. In this thesis, we explore a set of four problems, related to two long-timescale microstructural phenomena, creep and oxidation, and use a variety of atomistic methods appropriate to each problem to demonstrate the techniques of obtaining rate information. Creep due to vacancy-driven dislocation climb critically depends on the movement of the vacancies in the bulk towards dislocation cores, and for the first contribution of the thesis we investigate the influence of carbon solute atoms on vacancy diffusion pathways in bulk BCC Fe. Using these results, we draw explanations of the trends of the experimentally-observed rate of creep. It is well-known that vacancy energetics vary with distance from dislocation cores due to the dislocation strain field, but the effect this has on creep by the dislocation climb mechanism is not well understood. In the second contribution of the thesis, we present an investigation of the vacancy-dislocation interaction of BCC Fe.(cont.) By obtaining the details of the unit processes of vacancy migration around a dislocation core and formulating this information appropriately for numerical techniques based on transition-state theory, we enable the calculation of the dislocation climb rate with full atomistic detail. In the oxidation of metals, the transport of cations through the surface oxide film governs the overall material degradation. In the third contribution of the thesis, we present calculations of the energetics of defect formation and migration in nonstoichiometric Fe3604 spinel, which is closely related to the oxide film on Fe. We provide an explanation of experimental integral measurements of diffusion rate in a mechanistic, unit-process way. Creep of nanocrystalline materials is a new area of interest as fabrication techniques begin to impinge on this lengthscale; nonetheless, this phenomenon is not well understood and existing computational studies all involve unrealistic thermal or mechanical loading conditions. In the last contribution of the thesis, we present an investigation of the creep of Fe nanocrystals, employing a novel method of activating states to directly calculate a rate. We reach a rate regime that is inaccessible by traditional methods as well as identify some of the relevant unit processes in this type of creep. The rates of these slow dynamics phenomena are all investigated on the basis of their atomistic unit processes. However, there are differences in how information of the unit processes is obtained from atomistic calculations and in how the properties of these unit processes are subsequently used to understand the overall rate.(cont.) That different investigation approaches are needed is a direct result of the variation in the complexity of the microstructures, the number and predictability of atomic transition mechanisms, and the depth of existing experimental knowledge. These four studies therefore represent distinct, but complementary, challenges within the common theme of rate calculation. We conclude the thesis with an appraisal of the types of challenges encountered and with an evaluation of the approaches we took to the problems.by Timothy Tin-Ming Lau.Sc.D

Autochthony and isotopic niches of benthic fauna at shallow-water hydrothermal vents

The food webs of shallow-water hydrothermal vents are supported by chemosynthetic and photosynthetic autotrophs. However, the relative importance of these two basal resources for benthic consumers and its changes along the physicochemical gradient caused by vent plumes are unknown. We used stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (i.e., delta C-13 and delta N-15) and Bayesian mixing models to quantify the dietary contribution of basal resources to the benthic fauna at the shallow-water vents around Kueishan Island, Taiwan. Our results indicated that the food chains and consumer production at the shallow-water vents were mainly driven by photoautotrophs (total algal contribution: 26-54%) and zooplankton (19-34%) rather than by chemosynthetic production (total contribution: 14-26%). Intraspecific differences in the trophic support and isotopic niche of the benthic consumers along the physicochemical gradient were also evident. For instance, sea anemone Anthopleura sp. exhibited the greatest reliance on chemosynthetic bacteria (26%) and photoautotrophs (66%) near the vent openings, but zooplankton was its main diet in regions 150-300 m (32-49%) and 300-700 m (32-78%) away from the vent mouths. The vent-induced physicochemical gradient structures not only the community but also the trophic support and isotopic niche of vent consumers

Reliability of Robotic Ultrasound Scanning for Scoliosis Assessment in Comparison with Manual Scanning

Background: Ultrasound (US) imaging for scoliosis assessment is challenging for a non-experienced operator. The robotic scanning was developed to follow a spinal curvature with deep learning and apply consistent forces to the patient' back. Methods: 23 scoliosis patients were scanned with US devices both, robotically and manually. Two human raters measured each subject's spinous process angles (SPA) on robotic and manual coronal images. Results: The robotic method showed high intra- (ICC > 0.85) and inter-rater (ICC > 0.77) reliabilities. Compared with the manual method, the robotic approach showed no significant difference (p < 0.05) when measuring coronal deformity angles. The MAD for intra-rater analysis lies within an acceptable range from 0 deg to 5 deg for a minimum of 86% and a maximum 97% of a total number of the measured angles. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that scoliosis deformity angles measured on ultrasound images obtained with robotic scanning are comparable to those obtained by manual scanning

Research Notes : Exotic soybean observational yield performance trial in Kien Gian province --Mekong Delta --Vietnam --dry season 1981-1982

In the light of mutual technical assistance, six soybean varieties, namely \u27Bon minori\u27 (2 lines), \u27Enrei\u27 (2 lines), \u27Akiyoshi\u27 and \u27Hyuuga\u27, were forwarded by registered mail from Japan to Vietnam in May, 1981. Due to its long postal course, soybean seed was only received in November 1981. A month later, seeds were planted on December 10, 1981, at the provincial seed farm of Kien Giang province and then harvested on February 26, 1982

Scanning Tunneling Optical Resonance Microscopy

Scanning tunneling optical resonance microscopy (STORM) is a method, now undergoing development, for measuring optoelectronic properties of materials and devices on the nanoscale by means of a combination of (1) traditional scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with (2) tunable laser spectroscopy. In STORM, an STM tip probing a semiconductor is illuminated with modulated light at a wavelength in the visible-to-near-infrared range and the resulting photoenhancement of the tunneling current is measured as a function of the illuminating wavelength. The photoenhancement of tunneling current occurs when the laser photon energy is sufficient to excite charge carriers into the conduction band of the semiconductor. Figure 1 schematically depicts a proposed STORM apparatus. The light for illuminating the semiconductor specimen at the STM would be generated by a ring laser that would be tunable across the wavelength range of interest. The laser beam would be chopped by an achromatic liquid-crystal modulator. A polarization-maintaining optical fiber would couple the light to the tip/sample junction of a commercial STM. An STM can be operated in one of two modes: constant height or constant current. A STORM apparatus would be operated in the constant-current mode, in which the height of the tip relative to the specimen would be varied in order to keep the tunneling current constant. In this mode, a feedback control circuit adjusts the voltage applied to a piezoelectric actuator in the STM that adjusts the height of the STM tip to keep the tunneling current constant. The exponential relationship between the tunneling current and tip-to-sample distance makes it relatively easy to implement this mode of operation. The choice of method by which the photoenhanced portion of the tunneling current would be measured depends on choice of the frequency at which the input illumination would be modulated (chopped). If the frequency of modulation were low enough (typically < 10 Hz) that the feedback circuit could respond, then the voltage applied to the piezoelectric tip-height actuator could be measured by use of a lock-in amplifier locked to the modulation (chopping) signal. However, at a high modulation frequency (typically in the kilohertz range or higher), the feedback circuit would be unable to respond. In this case, the photoenhanced portion of the tunneling current could be measured directly. For this purpose, the tunneling current would be passed through a precise resistor and the voltage drop would be measured by use of the lock-in amplifier

Perspectives of statistician, microbiologist, and clinician stakeholders on the use of microbiological outcomes in randomised trials of antimicrobial stewardship interventions

Microbiological data are used as indicators of infection, for diagnosis, and the identification of antimicrobial resistance in trials of antimicrobial stewardship interventions. However, several problems have been identified in a recently conducted systematic review (e.g., inconsistency in reporting and oversimplified outcomes), which motivates the need to understand and improve the use of these data including analysis and reporting. We engaged key stakeholders including statisticians, clinicians from both primary and secondary care, and microbiologists. Discussions included issues identified in the systematic review and questions about the value of using microbiological data in clinical trials, perspectives on current microbiological outcomes reported in trials, and alternative statistical approaches to analyse these data. Various factors (such as unclear sample collection process, dichotomising or categorising complex microbiological data, and unclear methods of handling missing data) were identified that contributed to the low quality of the microbiological outcomes and the analysis of these outcomes in trials. Whilst not all of these factors would be easy to overcome, there is room for improvement and a need to encourage researchers to understand the impact of misusing these data. This paper discusses the experience and challenges of using microbiological outcomes in clinical trials