An automated cloud-based big data analytics platform for customer insights

Product reviews have a significant influence on strategic decisions for both businesses and customers on what to produce or buy. However, with the availability of large amounts of online information, manual analysis of reviews is costly and time consuming, as well as being subjective and prone to error. In this work, we present an automated scalable cloud-based system to harness big customer reviews on products for customer insights through data pipeline from data acquisition, analysis to visualisation in an efficient way. The experimental evaluation has shown that the proposed system achieves good performance in terms of accuracy and computing time

Exploring the integration of the human as a flexibility factor in CPS enabled manufacturing environments: methodology and results

Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are expected to shape the evolution of production towards the fourth industrial revolution named Industry 4.0. The increasing integration of manufacturing processes and the strengthening of the autonomous capabilities of manufacturing systems make investigating the role of humans a primary research objective in view of emerging social and demographic megatrends. Understanding how the employees can be better integrated to enable increased flexibility in manufacturing systems is a prerequisite to allow technological solutions, as well as humans, to harness their full potential. Humans can supervise and adjust the settings, be a source of knowledge and competences, can diagnose situations, take decisions and several other activities influencing manufacturing performances, overall providing additional degrees of freedom to the systems. This paper, studies two different integration models: Human-in-the-Loop and Human-in-the-Mesh. They are both analysed in the context of four industrial cases of deployment of cyber physical systems in production

胃食道逆流症における好酸球性食道炎の頻度とタイトジャンクション蛋白の変動に関する前向き研究

研究科: 千葉大学大学院医学薬学府学位:千大院医薬博甲第医1127号要約博士(医学)千葉大

Steroid-associated hip joint collapse in bipedal emus

In this study we established a bipedal animal model of steroid-associated hip joint collapse in emus for testing potential treatment protocols to be developed for prevention of steroid-associated joint collapse in preclinical settings. Five adult male emus were treated with a steroid-associated osteonecrosis (SAON) induction protocol using combination of pulsed lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and methylprednisolone (MPS). Additional three emus were used as normal control. Post-induction, emu gait was observed, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, and blood was collected for routine examination, including testing blood coagulation and lipid metabolism. Emus were sacrificed at week 24 post-induction, bilateral femora were collected for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histological analysis. Asymmetric limping gait and abnormal MRI signals were found in steroid-treated emus. SAON was found in all emus with a joint collapse incidence of 70%. The percentage of neutrophils (Neut %) and parameters on lipid metabolism significantly increased after induction. Micro-CT revealed structure deterioration of subchondral trabecular bone. Histomorphometry showed larger fat cell fraction and size, thinning of subchondral plate and cartilage layer, smaller osteoblast perimeter percentage and less blood vessels distributed at collapsed region in SAON group as compared with the normal controls. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed poor mineral matrix and more osteo-lacunae outline in the collapsed region in SAON group. The combination of pulsed LPS and MPS developed in the current study was safe and effective to induce SAON and deterioration of subchondral bone in bipedal emus with subsequent femoral head collapse, a typical clinical feature observed in patients under pulsed steroid treatment. In conclusion, bipedal emus could be used as an effective preclinical experimental model to evaluate potential treatment protocols to be developed for prevention of ON-induced hip joint collapse in patients

PEMBELAJARAN LUKIS TOTEBAG PADA MATA PELAJARAN SENI BUDAYA DI KELAS X MIA 3 SMA NEGERI 3 BOYOLALI TAHUN AJARAN 2017/2018

ABSTRAK Muhammad Fahmi Al Amiq. PEMBELAJARAN LUKIS PADA TOTEBAG DALAM MATA PELAJARAN SENI BUDAYA DI KELAS X MIA 3 SMA NEGERI 3 BOYOLALI TAHUN AJARAN 2017/2018. Skripsi, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta, Januari 2018. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui: (1) Proses pelaksanaan pembelajaran Lukis Totebag di kelas X MIA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Boyolali tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Dan (2) Bagaimana bentuk hasil karya Lukis Totebag yang dihasilkan siswa di kelas X MIA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Boyolali tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Sumber data yang digunakan adalah informan yang dipilih yaitu Bapak Subandiyo S.Pd selaku guru mata pelajaran seni budaya di kelas X MIA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Boyolali, serta foto proses pembelajaran, hasil karya siswa dan dokumen arsip. Teknik yang digunakan dalam pengumpulan data adalah observasi langsung, wawancara terstruktur dan mendalam, serta dokumentasi. Uji validitas data dilakukan dengan membandingkan sumber data yang di peroleh berupa daftar hasil wawancara dengan Bapak Subandiyo S.Pd selaku guru mata pelajaran Seni Budaya dengan siswa di kelas X MIA 3 SMA Negeri 3 Boyolali, serta review informant. Analisis data yang digunakan adalah model analisis mengalir, yaitu: reduksi data, sajian data, dan penarikan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa: (1) Pembelajaran Lukis Totebag diawali dengan pembuatan RPP, selanjutnya pembelajaran dilaksanakan selama tiga kali pertemuan. Strategi yang digunakan guru dalam pembelajaran ini adalah pendekatan scientific. Metode pembelajaran yang digunakan meliputi metode ceramah, tanya jawab, diskusi, dan pemberian tugas. Media pembelajaran yang digunakan berupa slide power point dan media visual berupa sampel karya dari guru. Evaluasi pembelajaran dilakukan dengan menilai aspek kognitif, afektif, dan psikomotorik. Proses pembuatan karya dilakukan dengan beberapa langkah, yaitu membuat sketsa, proses pewarnaan, dan finishing. (2) Secara umum pembuatan karya lukis totebag siswa sudah baik, teknik lukis pada pewarnaan dan finishing dalam membuat karya lukis totebag sudah baik. Karya lukis totebag yang dihasilkan oleh siswa sudah mengandung unsur-unsur seni rupa, yaitu: garis, bentuk, bidang, gelap terang, dan warna. Selain itu, karya lukis totebag yang dihasilkan oleh siswa juga sudah mengandung prinsip-prinsip seni rupa, yaitu: irama (rhytm), dominasi (dominance), keseimbangan (balance), kesatuan (unity), keserasian (harmony), dan kesebandingan (proportion). Kata Kunci: Seni Budaya, Pembelajaran Seni Rupa, Lukis Toteba

Advanced control of photovoltaic converters

It is essential to always track maximum power from photovoltaic (PV) sources. Failure to track the global maximum power point under partial shading conditions is one of the major reasons that lead to significant power losses. Several maximum power point tracking methods have been proposed to deal with this problem. However, none of them were able to effectively identify the occurrence of partial shading. With the facility of Matlab modelling and simulation as well as the aid of a constructed solar emulator, the power-voltage characteristics of a PV panel under uniform and non-uniform irradiance conditions have been studied and some useful conclusions have been identified from observation. Based on these conclusions, a novel maximum power point tracking algorithm has been proposed, which is capable of identifying the occurrence of partial shading hence determining the need for a global scan over the operation range of PV panels for the true maximum power point. In the meantime, the effect of PV dynamics, due to the capacitance of PV cells, on maximum power point trackers has been investigated and some initial results and suggestions have been presented in this work

Improving Chinese University Students' Speaking Performance in Mobile-Assisted English Learning

Using guidelines from expectancy-value theory, I investigated the effect of positive feedback on Chinese university students’ English speaking performance in a mobile learning context. Aged between 18 and 22 (M=20.09, SD = .69), a total of 99 Chinese university students (n female = 53) who were learning English as a foreign language performed two mobile-assisted decision-making tasks in pairs. Each student submitted an audio recording of their group decision summary at the end of each task. Between the two tasks, students in the comparison group and the intervention group respectively received neutral and positive feedback on their performance in the first task. The students’ audio recordings of their summaries were used to assess their speaking performance in three different aspects: complexity, accuracy and fluency. Students’ language learning beliefs, engagement with mobile technology, task values and expectancies for the task were measured before and after they performed the two mobile-assisted language learning tasks. The use of positive feedback was found to have neither positive nor negative effect on students’ speaking accuracy or fluency, but significantly improved the complexity of their speaking performance. Neither task values nor expectancy beliefs were found to significantly predict speaking performance. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship among students’ expectancy beliefs, speaking performance, and their second language proficiency. Findings from this study help guide task implementations to influence performance and suggest a new, more detailed measure of expectancy beliefs to better capture the different aspects of language performance

High Stability, High Activity Pt/ITO Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts

Sn-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanoparticles (NPs) were conceived as a high stability noncarbon support for Pt NPs, and the activity and stability of Pt/ITO for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were probed. Sn was employed as the In₂O₃ dopant to exploit the strong interaction between Sn and Pt that was previously reported to enhance the activity of Pt on Pt/SnO₂, while concomitantly avoiding the intrinsic stability limitations of SnO₂ and leveraging the high stability of bulk In₂O₃ at ORR relevant potentials. The mass activity of Pt was extremely high on Pt/ITO, 621 ± 31 mA/mg_Pt, which far exceeded the 2015 DOE goal for Pt mass activity of 440 mA/mg_Pt. The enhanced ORR activity was linked to the faceting of the Pt NPs, which overwhelmingly consisted of Pt (111) facets. The stability of Pt/ITO was also very impressive, with the electrochemically active area unchanged and the Pt half wave potential shifting only 4 mV over 1000 potential cycles to 1.4 V vs RHE, a very harsh condition for ORR electrocatalysts where state-of-the-art Pt/C electrocatalysts typically show very poor stability

Different Auditory Feedback Control for Echolocation and Communication in Horseshoe Bats

<div><p></p><p>Auditory feedback from the animal's own voice is essential during bat echolocation: to optimize signal detection, bats continuously adjust various call parameters in response to changing echo signals. Auditory feedback seems also necessary for controlling many bat communication calls, although it remains unclear how auditory feedback control differs in echolocation and communication. We tackled this question by analyzing echolocation and communication in greater horseshoe bats, whose echolocation pulses are dominated by a constant frequency component that matches the frequency range they hear best. To maintain echoes within this “auditory fovea”, horseshoe bats constantly adjust their echolocation call frequency depending on the frequency of the returning echo signal. This Doppler-shift compensation (DSC) behavior represents one of the most precise forms of sensory-motor feedback known. We examined the variability of echolocation pulses emitted at rest (resting frequencies, RFs) and one type of communication signal which resembles an echolocation pulse but is much shorter (short constant frequency communication calls, SCFs) and produced only during social interactions. We found that while RFs varied from day to day, corroborating earlier studies in other constant frequency bats, SCF-frequencies remained unchanged. In addition, RFs overlapped for some bats whereas SCF-frequencies were always distinctly different. This indicates that auditory feedback during echolocation changed with varying RFs but remained constant or may have been absent during emission of SCF calls for communication. This fundamentally different feedback mechanism for echolocation and communication may have enabled these bats to use SCF calls for individual recognition whereas they adjusted RF calls to accommodate the daily shifts of their auditory fovea.</p></div

Interleukin-6 contributes to myocardial damage in pregnant rats with reduced uterine perfusion pressure

<div><p>Preeclampsia is one of the most frequent and difficult illnesses in pregnancy, which jeopardizes both mother and fetus. There are several diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia. However, the preeclampsia-associated myocardial damage has not been described. In this study, we employed reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) to generate a rat model of preeclampsia for the evaluation of myocardial damage in late-gestation rats. The expressions of cardiac injury markers were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. The arterial pressure and myocardial tissue velocities were also measured. The role of interleukin (IL)-6 in RUPP-associated myocardial damage was further explored. The results showed that RUPP rats had significant myocardial damage, as demonstrated by the high expressions of myoglobin, creatine kinase isoenzyme, cardiac troponin I, and brain natriuretic peptide. In addition, RUPP increased the mean arterial pressure and the early transmitral flow velocity to mitral annulus early diastolic velocity ratio (E/Ea). Furthermore, IL-6 deteriorated these abnormalities, whereas inhibition of IL-6 significantly relieved them. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that RUPP rats displayed myocardial damage in an IL-6-dependent manner.</p></div