• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.16 no.10
• /
• pp.3390-3405
• /
• 2022

Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) combined with attention mechanism is extensively used to generate semantic sentences of images in image captioning models. However, features of salient regions and spatial information are not utilized sufficiently in most related works. Meanwhile, the LSTM also suffers from the problem of underutilized information in a single time step. In the paper, two innovative approaches are proposed to solve these problems. First, the Synergy-Gated Attention (SGA) method is proposed, which can process the spatial features and the salient region features of given images simultaneously. SGA establishes a gated mechanism through the global features to guide the interaction of information between these two features. Then, the Recurrent Fusion LSTM (RF-LSTM) mechanism is proposed, which can predict the next hidden vectors in one time step and improve linguistic coherence by fusing future information. Experimental results on the benchmark dataset of MSCOCO show that compared with the state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method can improve the performance of image captioning model, and achieve competitive performance on multiple evaluation indicators.

• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.45 no.5
• /
• pp.887-898
• /
• 2023

Aerial base stations (ABSs) seem promising to enhance the coverage and capacity of fifth-generation and upcoming networks. With the flexible mobility of ABSs, they can be positioned in air to maximize the number of users served with a guaranteed quality of service (QoS). However, ABSs may be overloaded or underutilized given inefficient placement, and user association has not been well addressed. Hence, we propose a three-dimensional ABS placement scheme with a delay-QoS-driven user association to balance loading among ABSs. First, a load balancing utility function is designed based on proportional fairness. Then, an optimization problem for joint ABS placement and user association is formulated to maximize the utility function subject to statistical delay QoS requirements and ABS collision avoidance constraints. To solve this problem, we introduce an efficient modified gray wolf optimizer for ABS placement with a greedy user association strategy. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms baselines in terms of load balancing and delay QoS provisioning.

• Research in Mathematical Education
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.175-193
• /
• 2024

In K-12 education, reassessment is a common practice, providing students with opportunities to enhance their understanding through low-stakes assignments. However, reassessment is underutilized in higher education, including during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study advocates for expanding the use of reassessment in university settings to promote holistic learning and focus on what shifts of change were made by students in an initial mathematics content course as they sought to gain licensure for teaching in a birth (daycare/pre-K setting) to eighth-grade classrooms. Our study took place during COVID-19 semesters and aimed to examine how using a reassessment approach early on in a gateway course for Prospective Teachers (PTs) affected the pass rate of the course. Results showed significant differences between the PTs who engaged with the test recovery and those who did not. We propose recovery opportunities like ours provide the necessary guidance to support early degree necessary classes that are typically gatekeeping and, as another, likely cause too few students within the courses because they were able to advance into the teacher pipeline and out into the field. Future studies may consider how the reassessment could be done more before the official summative assessment of a unit or chapter to continue the shifts in teaching practices and pedagogy that are constant within the K-12 education systems at the university level.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.87 no.2
• /
• pp.194-199
• /
• 2024

Background: In recent years, medical thoracoscopy has been well established to play an important role in undiagnosed pleural effusion; however, this procedure is underutilized due to limited availability of the instruments it requires. This study analysed the outcome of single port rigid thoracoscopy in patients with undiagnosed pleural effusions. Methods: This study retrospectively analysed the outcomes of all patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion presenting to our centre between 2016 to 2020 who underwent single port rigid medical thoracoscopy as a diagnostic procedure. Results: In total, 92 patients underwent single port rigid medical thoracoscopy. The most common presenting symptom was shortness of breath. A majority of the patients had lymphocytic exudative pleural effusion. The average biopsy sample size was 18 mm, and no major complication was reported in any of the patients. Conclusion: Single port rigid thoracoscopy is a safe and well-tolerated procedure that yields a biopsy of a larger size with high diagnostic yield. Moreover, the low cost of the instruments required by this procedure makes it particularly suited for use in developing countries.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.341-345
• /
• 2024

Common adhesives contain harmful chemicals, posing risks to humans and the environment. Basil seeds, an underutilized resource, can offer a solution. We extracted mucilage from basil seeds and found that altering the basil seed mucilage (BSM) to water ratio allowed us to control the adhesive strength. As the concentration of BSM increased and the water evaporated, adhesive strength improved. BSM can serve as both an adhesive and pressure-sensitive adhesive. This research showcases BSM's impressive strength and stability, making it a promising eco-friendly industrial adhesive option from plant-based sources, revolutionizing the adhesive industry.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.1398-1417
• /
• 2013

A method is proposed to reduce excess resources from a virtual machine(VM) while avoiding subsequent migrations for a computer cluster that provides cloud service. The proposed scheme cuts down on the resources of a VM based on the probability that migration may occur after a reduction. First, it finds a VM that can be scaled down by analyzing the history of the resource usage. Then, the migration probability is calculated as a function of the VM resource usage trend and the trend error. Finally, the amount of resources needed to eliminate from an underutilized VM is determined such that the migration probability after the resource reduction is less than or equal to an acceptable migration probability. The acceptable migration probability, to be set by the cloud service provider, is a criterion to assign a weight to the resource reduction either to prevent VM migrations or to enhance VM utilization. The results of simulation show that the proposed scheme lowers migration frequency by 31.6~60.8% depending on the consistency of resource demand while losing VM utilization by 9.1~21.5% compared to other known approaches, such as the static and the prediction-based methods. It is also verified that the proposed scheme extends the elapsed time before the first occurrence of migration after resource reduction 1.1~2.3-fold. In addition, changes in migration frequency and VM utilization are analyzed with varying acceptable migration probabilities and the consistency of resource demand patterns. It is expected that the analysis results can help service providers choose a right value of the acceptable migration probability under various environments having different migration costs and operational costs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.57 no.7
• /
• pp.26.1-26.5
• /
• 2015

Background: Rice bran is a by-product of the rice-milling process, which remains largely underutilized; however, efficient processing treatments may improve its feeding value for chickens. This is of great economic and environmental importance, as this can lower the production costs, and offer an opportunity for valorization of a low-quality agricultural by-product, to a high-value feed source. Methods: This experiment was conducted to study the effect of extruded rice bran on performance and phosphorous (P) bioavailability in broiler chickens. In a completely randomized design, 200 seven-day-old broilers (Cobb 500) were allotted to five treatments with five replicates per treatment and 8 chicks per replicate, and fed with their respective diet during the starter (8 to 21 days) and grower (22 to 42 days) periods. Diets were a basal corn-soybean based diet (T1), or diets containing 20 % rice bran (T2), 30 % rice bran (T3), 20 % extruded rice bran (T4), or 30 % extruded rice bran (T5). Results: Birds feeding on T4 and T5 diets had a higher body weight gain and lower feed-to-gain ratio compared to those feeding on T2 and T3 diets (p < 0.05). Birds receiving diets containing extruded rice bran had higher total P availability and tibia ash content, as compared with those receiving diets containing un-extruded rice bran (p < 0.05). Relative weight of the pancreas was higher in birds receiving T2 and T3 diets. Conclusions: The results confirmed the beneficial effect of extrusion treatment of rice bran on performance and P availability in broilers. Up to 30 % extruded rice bran may be included in the broiler diet without apparent adverse effects on the performance.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.101-110
• /
• 2011

Objectives: Screening for colorectal cancer is considered cost effective, but is underutilized in the U.S. Information on the efficiency of "tailored interventions" to promote colorectal cancer screening in primary care settings is limited. The paper reports the results of a cost effectiveness analysis that compared a survey-only control group to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) web-based intervention (screen for life) and to a tailored interactive computer-based intervention. Methods: A randomized controlled trial of people 50 and over, was conducted to test the interventions. The sample was 1224 partcipants 50-70 years of age, recruited from Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, a large multi-specialty clinic in Houston, Texas. Screening status was obtained by medical chart review after a 12-month follow-up period. An "intention to treat" analysis and micro costing from the patient and provider perspectives were used to estimate the costs and effects. Analysis of statistical uncertainty was conducted using nonparametric bootstrapping. Results: The estimated cost of implementing the web-based intervention was $40 per person and the cost of the tailored intervention was $45 per person. The additional cost per person screened for the web-based intervention compared to no intervention was $2602 and the tailored intervention was no more effective than the web-based strategy. Conclusions: The tailored intervention was less cost-effective than the web-based intervention for colorectal cancer screening promotion. The web-based intervention was less cost-effective than previous studies of in-reach colorectal cancer screening promotion. Researchers need to continue developing and evaluating the effectiveness and costeffectiveness of interventions to increase colorectal cancer screening.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.12.1-12.8
• /
• 2016

Roe is the term used to describe fish eggs (oocytes) gathered in skeins and is one of the most valuable food products from fishery sources. Thus, means of processing are required to convert the underutilized yellowfin tuna roes (YTR) into more marketable and acceptable forms as protein concentrate. Roe protein concentrates (RPCs) were prepared by cooking condition (boil-dried concentrate, BDC and steam-dried concentrate, SDC, respectively) and un-cooking condition (freeze-dried concentrate, FDC) from yellowfin tuna roe. The yield of RPCs was in the range from 22.2 to 25.3 g/100 g of roe. RPCs contained protein (72.3-77.3 %), moisture (4.3-5.6 %), lipid (10.6-11.3 %) and ash (4.3-5.7 %) as the major constituents. The prominent amino acids of RPCs were aspartic acid, 8.7-9.2, glutamic acid, 13.1-13.2, and leucine, 8.5-8.6 g/100 g of protein. Major differences were not observed in each of the amino acid. K, S, Na, and P as minerals were the major elements in RPCs. No difference noted in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis protein band (15-100 K) possibly representing partial hydrolysis of myosin. Therefore, RPCs from YTR could be use potential protein ingredient for human food and animal feeds.

• Journal of the Korean Professional Engineers Association
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.22-31
• /
• 1984

Sardine ant mackerel so called dark muscled fish have been underutilized due to the disadvantages in bloody meat color, high content of fat, and postmortem instability of protein. Recent efforts were made to overcome these defects and develope new types of product such as texturized protein concentrates and dark muscle eliminated minced fish. Approach of this study is based on the rapicl dehydration of foamed fish-starch paste by dielectric heating. In process comminuted sardine meat was washed more than three times by soaking and decanting in chilled water and finally centrifuged. The meat was ground in a stone mortar added with adequate amounts of salt, foaming agent, and other ingredients for aid to elasticity and foam stability. The ground meat paste was extruded in finger shape and heated in a microwave oven to give foamed, expanded, and porous solid structure by dehydration. Dielectric constant ($\varepsilon$′) and dielectric loss ($\varepsilon$") vcalues of sardine meat paste were influenced by wavelength and moisture level. Those values at 100KHz and 15MHz were ranged 2.25∼9.86 ; 2.22∼4.18 for $\varepsilon$′ and 0.24∼19.24 ; 0.16∼1.25 for $\varepsilon$", respectively, at the moisture levels of 4.2∼13.8％. For a formula for fish-starch paste preparation, addition of 20∼30% starch (potato starch) to the weight of fish meat, 2∼4% salt, and 5∼10% soybean protein was adequate to yield 4∼5 folds of expansion in volume when heated. Addition of egg yolk was of benefit to micronize foam size and better crispness. In order to provide better foaming and dehydration, addition of 0.2∼0.5% sodium bicarbonate foaming agent, was proper to result in foam size of 0.5∼0.7mm and foam density of 200∼400/$\textrm{cm}^2$ which gave a good crispness.