Cognitive and affective processes for learning science in immersive virtual reality

As immersive virtual reality (IVR) systems proliferate in classrooms, it is important to understand how they affect learning outcomes and the underlying affective and cognitive processes that may cause these outcomes. Proponents argue that IVR could improve learning by increasing positive affective and cognitive processing, thereby supporting improved performance on tests of learning outcome, whereas opponents of IVR contend that it could hurt learning by increasing distraction, thereby disrupting cognitive learning processes and leading to poorer learning outcomes. In a media comparison study, students viewed a biology lesson either as an interactive animated journey in IVR or as a slideshow on a desktop monitor. Those who viewed the IVR lesson performed significantly worse on transfer tests, reported higher emotional arousal, reported more extraneous cognitive load and showed less engagement based on EEG measures than those who viewed the slideshow lesson, with or without practice questions added to the lessons. Mediational analyses showed that the lower retention scores for the IVR lesson were related to an increase in self-reported extraneous cognitive load and emotional arousal. These results support the notion that immersive environments create high affective and cognitive distraction, which leads to poorer learning outcomes than desktop environments.     

High performance H2 sensor based on rGO-wrapped SnO2–Pd porous hollow spheres

Hydrogen (H₂) sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) are promising for many applications such as a rocket propellant, industrial gas and the safety of storage. However, poor selectivity at low analyte concentrations, and independent response on high humidity limit the practical applications. Herein, we designed rGO-wrapped SnO₂–Pd porous hollow spheres composite (SnO₂–Pd@rGO) for high performance H₂ sensor. The porous hollow structure was from the carbon sphere template. The rGO wrapping was via self-assembly of GO on SnO₂-based spheres with subsequent thermal reduction in H₂ ambient. This sensor exhibited excellently selective H₂ sensing performances at 390 °C, linear response over a broad concentration range (0.1–1000 ppm) with recovery time of only 3 s, a high response of ～8 to 0.1 ppm H₂ in a minute, and acceptable stability under high humidity conditions (e. g. 80%). The calculated detection limit of 16.5 ppb opened up the possibility of trace H₂ monitoring. Furthermore, this sensor demonstrated certain response to H₂ at the minimum concentration of 50 ppm at 130 °C. These performances mainly benefited from the special hollow porous structure with abundant heterojunctions, the catalysis of the doped-PdO_x, the relative hydrophobic surface from rGO, and the deoxygenation after H₂ reduction.     

Multi-objective optimal allocation strategy for the energy internet in Huangpu District,Guangzhou, China

To improve the overall efficiency of the energy system, the basic structure for the energy internet of coordination and optimization of “generation-grid-load-storage” of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, China is designed, while the arrangement for the output of centralized and distributed energy module and energy storage are proposed. Taking economic benefit maximization, environmental benefit maximization and energy efficiency maximization as sub-objectives, the mathematical model of multi-objective optimal allocation and operation strategy of the energy internet is established considering supply-demand balance constraints, equipment characteristic constraints, operation mode constraints, and energy conditions constraints. The calculation results show that without considering the outsourced electricity, the balanced strategy, the economic development strategy, the environmental protection strategy, and the energy efficiency strategy are obtained by calculation, which are all superior to the traditional energy supply strategy. Moreover, considering the outsourced electricity, the proportion of outsourced electricity to total electricity is 19.8%, which is the system optimization of the energy internet under certain power demand. Compared with other strategies without outsourced electricity, the outsourced electricity strategy can have a certain emission reduction effect, but at the same time reduce the economic benefit. Furthermore, the huge difference in demand for thermal and cooling load between industrial and commercial areas results in the installed capacity of gas distributed energy stations in industrial areas being nearly twice as large as that in commercial areas. The distributed photovoltaic power generation is allocated according to the proportion of the installed roof areas of photovoltaic power generation system in residential, industrial, and commercial areas.     

“电网一张图”时空信息管理系统

文章首先总结了电力企业信息管理系统的现状,提出了多源信息管理系统融合集成的邦联、子集和完全融合3种方式,分析了3种方式的优缺点,以建设企业"互联网搜索"型数字引擎为目标,提出了融合基于本体的图数据库建模,多维关联与路径因果分析,和人机共生互动可视化决策于一体的企业信息管理系统技术发展趋势;在系统分析目前正在快速发展的图数据库技术与传统关系数据库之间的本质区别基础上,总结原创的电力图计算平台技术的特点;在此基础上讨论"电网一张图"在建设能源互联网时空信息管理平台数据关联索引图中的核心作用,提出了支持能源互联网建设的"电网一张图"时空信息管理系统的技术架构与特点,最后总结"电网一张图"时空信息管理系统在提高电网安全运行水平、提升客户服务水平、增强清洁能源消纳水平、改善经营绩效水平、以及为综合能源服务和建设能源生态等提供数据服务方面的广阔应用场景。     

Applied data science in patient-centric healthcare: Adaptive analytic systems for empowering physicians and patients

We define the emerging research field of applied data science as the knowledge discovery process in which analytic systems are designed and evaluated to improve the daily practices of domain experts. We investigate adaptive analytic systems as a novel research perspective of the three intertwining aspects within the knowledge discovery process in healthcare: domain and data understanding for physician- and patient-centric healthcare, data preprocessing and modelling using natural language processing and (big) data analytic techniques, and model evaluation and knowledge deployment through information infrastructures. We align these knowledge discovery aspects with the design science research steps of problem investigation, treatment design, and treatment validation, respectively. We note that the adaptive component in healthcare system prototypes may translate to data-driven personalisation aspects including personalised medicine. We explore how applied data science for patient-centric healthcare can thus empower physicians and patients to more effectively and efficiently improve healthcare. We propose meta-algorithmic modelling as a solution-oriented design science research framework in alignment with the knowledge discovery process to address the three key dilemmas in the emerging “post-algorithmic era” of data science: depth versus breadth, selection versus configuration, and accuracy versus transparency.     

农产品质量安全舆情风险综合指数研究

在调研当前食品农产品质量安全问题舆情风险评估研究现状基础上,面向我国农产品质量安全监管工作,从媒体关注度、网民关注度、内容敏感度和负面情绪聚集度4个角度提出了农产品质量安全舆情风险综合评估体系,并通过科学方法确立的指标体系的权重分布和不同指标数值的隶属度子集情况,推导得出一定时期内某一农产品质量安全问题事件的舆情风险综合指数公式。该指数的提出在国内具有首创性,对我国农产品质量安全舆情监管及相关研究工作具有一定的借鉴和指导意义。     

网络订餐对食品安全的影响及法律规制

由于网络订餐运营模式同传统餐饮行业的较大差异,现行《食品安全法》对其食品安全进行了专门的规定。然而,由于网络订餐出现的时间不长,其依然存在行政监管缺位、第三方平台缺乏必要的食品安全审核和管理机制、消费者缺乏食品安全意识等食品安全隐患。有必要采取建立以食品药品监督管理机关为主的监管体系、加强第三方平台的自律管理、确立第三方平台的食品安全提示义务等法律规制措施,才能保证网络订餐的正常健康发展。     

The control of paracetamol particle size and surface morphology through crystallisation in a spray dryer

The parameters governing the crystallisation of paracetamol using various conventional techniques has been extensively studied, however the factors influencing the drug crystallisation using spray drying is not as well understood. The aim of this work was to investigate the crystallisation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient through evaporative crystallisation using a spray dryer to study the physicochemical properties of the drug and to use semi-empirical equations to gain insight into the morphology and particle size of the dried powder. Paracetamol solutions were spray dried at various inlet temperatures ranging from 60 °C to 120 °C and also from a series of inlet feed solvent compositions ranging from 50/50% v/v ethanol/water to 100% ethanol and solid-state characterisation was done. The size and morphology of the dried materials were altered with a change in spray drying parameters, with an increase in inlet temperature leading to an increase in particle Sauter mean diameter (from 3.0 to 4.4 µm) and a decrease in the particle size with an increase in ethanol concentration in the feed (from 4.6 to 4.4 µm) as a result of changes in particle density and atomised droplet size. The morphology of the dried particles consisted of agglomerates of individual crystallites bound together into larger semi-spherical agglomerates with a higher tendency for particles having crystalline ridges to form at higher ethanol concentrations of the feed.