982 research outputs found
Quantifying discrepancies in opinion spectra from online and offline networks
Online social media such as Twitter are widely used for mining public
opinions and sentiments on various issues and topics. The sheer volume of the
data generated and the eager adoption by the online-savvy public are helping to
raise the profile of online media as a convenient source of news and public
opinions on social and political issues as well. Due to the uncontrollable
biases in the population who heavily use the media, however, it is often
difficult to measure how accurately the online sphere reflects the offline
world at large, undermining the usefulness of online media. One way of
identifying and overcoming the online-offline discrepancies is to apply a
common analytical and modeling framework to comparable data sets from online
and offline sources and cross-analyzing the patterns found therein. In this
paper we study the political spectra constructed from Twitter and from
legislators' voting records as an example to demonstrate the potential limits
of online media as the source for accurate public opinion mining.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Improving Kinematic Accuracy of Soft Wearable Data Gloves by Optimizing Sensor Locations
Bending sensors enable compact, wearable designs when used for measuring hand configurations in data gloves. While existing data gloves can accurately measure angular displacement of the finger and distal thumb joints, accurate measurement of thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint movements remains challenging due to crosstalk between the multi-sensor outputs required to measure the degrees of freedom (DOF). To properly measure CMC-joint configurations, sensor locations that minimize sensor crosstalk must be identified. This paper presents a novel approach to identifying optimal sensor locations. Three-dimensional hand surface data from ten subjects was collected in multiple thumb postures with varied CMC-joint flexion and abduction angles. For each posture, scanned CMC-joint contours were used to estimate CMC-joint flexion and abduction angles by varying the positions and orientations of two bending sensors. Optimal sensor locations were estimated by the least squares method, which minimized the difference between the true CMC-joint angles and the joint angle estimates. Finally, the resultant optimal sensor locations were experimentally validated. Placing sensors at the optimal locations, CMC-joint angle measurement accuracies improved (flexion, 2.8° ± 1.9°; abduction, 1.9° ± 1.2°). The proposed method for improving the accuracy of the sensing system can be extended to other types of soft wearable measurement devices
Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy and Laparoscopy-Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy
This study suggests that total laparoscopic hysterectomy and laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy are safe and feasible with laparoscopic-assisted hysterectomy preferred in patients with a mass involving the lower uterine segment or those with a large uterus
Effective Synthesis and Recovery of Silver Nanowires Prepared by Tapered Continuous Flow Reactor for Flexible and Transparent Conducting Electrode
Silver nanowires (AgNWs) with high aspect ratio were obtained utilizing a tapered tubular reactor by the polyol process. The tapered tubular type flow reactor allowed us to obtain nanowires in high yield without defects that is generally encountered in a closed reactor due to excessive shearing for a long time. After reaction the AgNWs were precipitated in the aqueous solution with the aid of a hydrogen bond breaker and were recovered effectively without using a high-cost centrifugation process. Dispersion of the AgNWs were used to prepare transparent conducting electrode (TCE) films by a spray coating method, which showed 86% transmittance and 90 Omega sq(-1) sheet resistance.clos
Synergistic Uric Acid-Lowering Effects of the Combination of Chrysanthemum indicum
Chrysanthemum indicum Linne flower (CF) and Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J. Persl bark (CB) extracts have served as the main ingredients in several prescriptions designed to treat hyperuricemia and gout in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine. However, little is known about the combination effects of a CF and CB (CC) mixture on hyperuricemia. In our study, we investigated the antihyperuricemic effects of CC mixture and the mechanisms underlying these effects in normal and potassium oxonate- (PO-) induced hyperuricemic rats. The CC mixture significantly decreased uric acid levels in normal and PO-induced hyperuricemic rats and showed the enhanced hypouricemic effect compared to CF or CB alone. Furthermore, the CC mixture increased renal uric acid excretion in PO-induced hyperuricemic rat. We found that CC mixture and its major components, chlorogenic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid (isochlorogenic acid), coumarin, cinnamaldehyde, trans-cinnamic acid, and o-methoxycinnamaldehyde, inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase (XOD) in vitro. The CC mixture exerts antihyperuricemic effects accompanied partially by XOD activity inhibition. Therefore, the CC mixture may have potential as a treatment for hyperuricemia and gout
Development and evaluation of a plant-based air filter system for bacterial growth control
We investigated a novel plant-based air filter system for bacterial growth control. The volatile components released from the experimental plant (Cupressus macrocarpa) were used as the basis of the bacterial growth control and inhibition. We monitored the effect of light on the gas exhausted from the system, and we found that the presence of light induced an increase in the O2 concentration and a decrease in the CO2 concentration in the exhaust gas. A variety of Gram-positive and -negative bacteria was used to elucidate the effect of the exhaust gas on bacterial growth. In the Bacillus subtilis cultivation aerated with the exhaust gas (batch mode), we observed a decrease in the specific growth rate (μ = 0.227 h-1) compared with the control experiments (0.257 h-1). The same result was observed for the Staphylococcus aureus cultivation aerated with the exhaust gas. In the case of Gram-negative bacterial cultivation aerated with the gas, no significant inhibitory effect of the exhaust gas on the bacterial growth was observed. When the number of bacteria (B. subtilis) in a continuous culture was varied at different aeration rates (between 50 to 200 mL/min) using the exhaust gas, a prominent inhibitory effect was observed. Preliminary gas analysis showed that the major inhibitory factors in the exhaust gas are α- and β-pinene and linalool. The results show that the air filter system used in this study could be applied not only as a methodological aspect for estimating antibacterial activity but also for bacteria control in a given system.Keywords: Plant-based biofilter, Cupressus macrocarpa, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, α-pinene, β-pineneAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(16), pp. 2027-203
Transparent conducting film fabricated by metal mesh method with Ag and cu@ag mixture nanoparticle pastes
Transparent conducting electrode film is highly desirable for application in touch screen panels (TSPs), flexible and wearable displays, sensors, and actuators. A sputtered film of indium tin oxide (ITO) shows high transmittance (90%) at low sheet resistance (50 ??/cm2). However, ITO films lack mechanical flexibility, especially under bending stress, and have limitation in application to large-area TSPs (over 15 inches) due to the trade-off in high transmittance and low sheet resistance properties. One promising solution is to use metal mesh-type transparent conducting film, especially for touch panel application. In this work, we investigated such inter-related issues as UV imprinting process to make a trench layer pattern, the synthesis of core-shell-type Ag and Cu@Ag composite nanoparticles and their paste formulation, the filling of Ag and Cu@Ag mixture nanoparticle paste to the trench layer, and touch panel fabrication processes
- …