Towards an agent-based framework for online after-sales services

The multi-agent paradigm for building intelligent systems has gradually been accepted by researchers and practitioners in the research field of artificial intelligence. There are also attempts of adapting agents and agent-based systems for creating industrial applications and providing e-services. In this paper, we present an attempt to use agents for constructing an online after-sale services system. The system is decomposed into four major cooperative agents, and in which each agent concentrates on particular aspects in the system and expresses intelligence by using various techniques. The proposed agent-based framework for the system is presented at both the micro-level and the macro-level according to the Gaia methodology. UML notations are also used to represent some software design models. As the result of this, agents are implemented into a framework for which exploits Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) technique to fulfil real life on-line services' diagnoses and tasks

Classification of Overlapped Audio Events Based on AT, PLSA, and the Combination of Them

Audio event classification, as an important part of Computational Auditory Scene Analysis, has attracted much attention. Currently, the classification technology is mature enough to classify isolated audio events accurately, but for overlapped audio events, it performs much worse. While in real life, most audio documents would have certain percentage of overlaps, and so the overlap classification problem is an important part of audio classification. Nowadays, the work on overlapped audio event classification is still scarce, and most existing overlap classification systems can only recognize one audio event for an overlap. In this paper, in order to deal with overlaps, we innovatively introduce the author-topic (AT) model which was first proposed for text analysis into audio classification, and innovatively combine it with PLSA (Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis). We propose 4 systems, i.e. AT, PLSA, AT-PLSA and PLSA-AT, to classify overlaps. The 4 proposed systems have the ability to recognize two or more audio events for an overlap. The experimental results show that the 4 systems perform well in classifying overlapped audio events, whether it is the overlap in training set or the overlap out of training set. Also they perform well in classifying isolated audio events

Conceptual Design for Long-Endurance Convertible Unmanned Aerial System

This research is aimed at analysing the effect of design parameters on critical aerodynamic performance of convertible unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities and providing a sizing tool for its conceptual design. The research was based on new aerodynamic models specifically developed and validated for convertible aircraft, performed using mission-based optimisation techniques. To accommodate a wide range of convertible aircraft configurations, a non-linear lifting-line method was used to efficiently analyse different combinations of lifting surface and propeller arrangements. Propeller loads were calculated using a blade element momentum approach and corrected for high incidence angle conditions according to numerical and experimental studies. Propeller-wing interactions were considered by modifying local boundary conditions at wing sections immersed in propeller slipstream. Previous studies have suggested that the design of convertible aircraft is sensitive to typical mission requirements, notably the endurance breakdown between near-hover flight and cruise flight. A clear sizing law for wing and propeller according to given mission specification could greatly improve the understanding of compromises between hover and high speed flight

Optimizacija metodom odzivne površine ekstrakcije ukupnih flavonoida iz Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to predict optimum conditions for extraction of flavonoid from Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. A central composite design (CCD) was used to monitor the effect of extraction temperature, extraction time, and water-to-material ratio on yield of total flavonoids. The optimal extraction conditions were obtained as water-to-material ratio of 55 ml g−1, extraction temperature of 80 °C and extraction time of 70 minutes. Under these conditions, the average total flavonoids yield, according to the mass of raw material, was 9.0 ± 0.6 %, which corresponds to the predicted value of 8.9 %. Thus, the extraction method was applied successfully to extract total flavonoids from C. tinctoria.Metodom odzivne površine (RSM) utvrđeni su optimalni uvjeti za ekstrakciju flavonoida iz Coreopsis tinctoria. Središnje kompozitni plan (CCD) primijenjen je za praćenje utjecaja temperature, vremena te omjera vode i sirovog materijala na prinos ukupnih flavonoida. Optimalni ekstrakcijski uvjeti su omjer vode i materijala 55 ml g−1, temperatura 80 °C i ekstrakcijsko vrijeme 70 min. Pri tim uvjetima prosječno iskorištenje ekstrakcije ukupnih flavonoida u odnosu na sirovi materijal bilo je 9,0 ± 0.6 %, što se slaže s predviđenom vrijednosti 8,9 %. Ekstrakcija je uspješno primijenjena za ekstrakciju ukupnih flavonoida iz C. tinctoria

The low-lying excitations of polydiacetylene

The Pariser-Parr-Pople Hamiltonian is used to calculate and identify the nature of the low-lying vertical transition energies of polydiacetylene. The model is solved using the density matrix renormalisation group method for a fixed acetylenic geometry for chains of up to 102 atoms. The non-linear optical properties of polydiacetylene are considered, which are determined by the third-order susceptibility. The experimental 1Bu data of Giesa and Schultz are used as the geometric model for the calculation. For short chains, the calculated E(1Bu) agrees with the experimental value, within solvation effects (ca. 0.3 eV). The charge gap is used to characterise bound and unbound states. The nBu is above the charge gap and hence a continuum state; the 1Bu, 2Ag and mAg are not and hence are bound excitons. For large chain lengths, the nBu tends towards the charge gap as expected, strongly suggesting that the nBu is the conduction band edge. The conduction band edge for PDA is agreed in the literature to be ca. 3.0 eV. Accounting for the strong polarisation effects of the medium and polaron formation gives our calculated E(nBu) ca. 3.6 eV, with an exciton binding energy of ca. 1.0 eV. The 2Ag state is found to be above the 1Bu, which does not agree with relaxed transition experimental data. However, this could be resolved by including explicit lattice relaxation in the Pariser- Parr-Pople-Peierls model. Particle-hole separation data further suggest that the 1Bu, 2Ag and mAg are bound excitons, and that the nBu is an unbound exciton.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages, 4 postscript tables and 8 postscript figure

Brain tumour diagnostics using a DNA methylation-based classifier as a diagnostic support tool

Aims: Methylation profiling (MP) is increasingly incorporated in the diagnostic process of central nervous system (CNS) tumours at our centres in The Netherlands and Scandinavia. We aimed to identify the benefits and challenges of MP as a support tool for CNS tumour diagnostics. Methods: About 502 CNS tumour samples were analysed using (850 k) MP. Profiles were matched with the DKFZ/Heidelberg CNS Tumour Classifier. For each case, the final pathological diagnosis was compared to the diagnosis before MP. Results: In 54.4% (273/502) of all analysed cases, the suggested methylation class (calibrated score ≥0.9) corresponded with the initial pathological diagnosis. The diagnosis of 24.5% of these cases (67/273) was more refined after incorporation of the MP result. In 9.8% of cases (49/502), the MP result led to a new diagnosis, resulting in an altered WHO grade in 71.4% of these cases (35/49). In 1% of cases (5/502), the suggested class based on MP was initially disregarded/interpreted as misleading, but in retrospect, the MP result predicted the right diagnosis for three of these cases. In six cases, the suggested class was interpreted as ‘discrepant but noncontributory’. The remaining 33.7% of cases (169/502) had a calibrated score <0.9, including 7.8% (39/502) for which no class indication was given at all (calibrated score <0.3). Conclusions: MP is a powerful tool to confirm and fine-tune the pathological diagnosis of CNS tumours, and to avoid misdiagnoses. However, it is crucial to interpret the results in the context of clinical, radiological, histopathological and other molecular information

Exceptional Drought across Southeastern Australia Caused by Extreme Lack of Precipitation and Its Impacts on NDVI and SIF in 2018

Increased drought frequency in Australia is a pressing concern for scholars. In 2018, a severe drought in eastern Australia was recorded by the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT). To investigate the main causes and impacts of this drought across southeastern Australia, this work presents an overview of the drought mechanism and depicts its evolutionary process. The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) from the Global Drought Monitor was used to identify the drought event and characterize its spatiotemporal distribution. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) were used to investigate the drought impacts on vegetation growth. In addition, the effects of drought response measures on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were analyzed. Our results showed that the exceptional drought occurred across southeastern Australia from April to December, and it was most severe in July, owing to an extreme lack of precipitation and increase in temperature. Moreover, we identified profound and long-lasting impacts of the drought on NDVI and SIF levels, especially for cropland. Furthermore, we also found that SIF was superior to NDVI in detecting drought impacts. This study advised on how to formulate timely and effective drought-response measures and supports sustainable socioeconomic development in Australia.</jats:p

Automated, high frequency, on-line dimethyl sulfide measurements in natural waters using a novel “microslug” gas-liquid segmented flow method with chemiluminescence detection

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is the major biogenic volatile sulfur compound in surface seawater. Good quality DMS data with high temporal and spatial resolution are desirable for understanding reduced sulfur biogeochemistry. Here we present a fully automated and novel “microslug” gas-liquid segmented flow-chemiluminescence (MSSFCL) based method for the continuous in-situ measurement of DMS in natural waters. Samples were collected into a flow tank and DMS transferred from the aqueous phase to the gas phase using a vario-directional coiled flow, in which microvolume liquid and gas slugs were interspersed. The separated DMS was reacted with ozone in a reaction cell for CL detection. The analytical process was automated, with a sample throughput of 6.6 h− 1. Using MSSF for DMS separation was more effective and easily integrated with CL detection compared with the commonly used bubbling approach. Key parameters of the proposed method were investigated. The linear range for the method was 0.05–500 nM (R2 = 0.9984) and the limit of detection (3 x S/N) was 0.015 nM, which is comparable to the commonly used gas chromatography (GC) method and sensitive enough for direct DMS measurement in typical aquatic environments. Reproducibility and recovery were assessed by spiking natural water samples (river, lake, reservoir and pond) with different concentrations of DMS (10, 20 and 50 nM), giving relative standard deviations (RSDs) ≤1.75% (n = 5) and recoveries of 94.4–107.8%. This fully automated system is reagent free, easy to assemble, simple to use, portable (weight ~5.1 kg) and can be left in the field for several hours of unattended operation. The instrumentation can provide high quality DMS data for natural waters with an environmentally relevant temporal resolution of ~9 min

A Memetic Analysis of a Phrase by Beethoven: Calvinian Perspectives on Similarity and Lexicon-Abstraction

This article discusses some general issues arising from the study of similarity in music, both human-conducted and computer-aided, and then progresses to a consideration of similarity relationships between patterns in a phrase by Beethoven, from the first movement of the Piano Sonata in A flat major op. 110 (1821), and various potential memetic precursors. This analysis is followed by a consideration of how the kinds of similarity identified in the Beethoven phrase might be understood in psychological/conceptual and then neurobiological terms, the latter by means of William Calvin’s Hexagonal Cloning Theory. This theory offers a mechanism for the operation of David Cope’s concept of the lexicon, conceived here as a museme allele-class. I conclude by attempting to correlate and map the various spaces within which memetic replication occurs

Catalysis to discriminate single atoms from subnanometric ruthenium particles in ultra-high loading catalysts

We report a procedure for preparing ulta-high metal loading (10-20 % w/w Ru) Ru@C60 nanostructured catalysts comprising exclusively Ru single atoms. We show that by changing the Ru/C60 ratio and the nature of the solvent used during the synthesis, it is possible to increase the Ru loading up to 50% w/w, and to produce hetero-structures containing subnanometric Ru nanoparticles. Several techniques such as high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy – high angle annular dark field (STEM-HAADF), Raman spectroscopy, wideangle X-ray scattering (WAXS), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) together with theoretical calculations were used to characterize these materials. At such high metal loading, the distinction between Ru single atoms and clusters is not trivial, even with this combination of techniques. We evaluated the catalytic properties of these materials for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene. The catalysts containing only Ru single atoms are much less active for these reactions than the ones containing clusters. For nitrobenzene hydrogenation, this is because electro-deficient Ru single atoms and few atom Run clusters are not performant for H2 activation compared to larger clusters (n ≥ 13), as shown by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. For the more crowded substrate 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, DFT calculations have shown that this is due to steric hindrance. These simple tests can thus been used to distinguish samples containing metallic sub-nanometer nanoparticles. These novel catalysts are also extremely active for the hydrogenation of -substituted 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene