A comparison of learning methods over raw data: forecasting cab services market share in New York City

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The cab services, present in most of the cities, are one of the most used offerings for passenger transportation. Nowadays their business model is being...     

VisuaLeague: Player performance analysis using spatial-temporal data

In recent years, the phenomenon of eSports has been a growing trend and consequently, in addition to players, other groups of users, including coaches and analysts, took an interest in online video games and the data extracted from them. Among many types of video games, one of the most widely played is the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) League of Legend (LoL) game. Similary to traditional sports, players and coaches/analysts analyse all game events, such as, players’ movements, to understand how they play to define new strategies and improve their performance. Our main goal is to get a better understanding of which visualizations techniques are more adequate to handle this type of spatio-temporal information data, associated to player performance analysis in video games. To address this goal, we inquired players to identify the analytical questions they need to support for performance analysis and designed the VisuaLeague prototype for the visualization of in-game player trajectories, using animated maps, and events during a LoL match. This paper presents a user study to evaluate the adequacy of animated maps and the analytical strategies followed by players when using spatio-temporal data to analyse player performance. The results support the adequacy of using the animated maps technique to convey information to users in this context. Moreover, they also point out towards a high degree of importance given to the spatio-temporal components of the data for player performance analysis.

     

Controlled tracking in urban terrain: Closing the loop

We investigate the challenging problem of integrating detection, signal processing, target tracking, and adaptive waveform scheduling with lookahead in urban terrain. We propose a closed‐loop active sensing system to address this problem by exploiting three distinct levels of diversity: (1) spatial diversity through the use of coordinated multistatic radars; (2) waveform diversity by adaptively scheduling the transmitted waveform; and (3) motion model diversity by using a bank of parallel filters matched to different motion models. Specifically, at every radar scan, the waveform that yields the minimum trace of the one‐step‐ahead error covariance matrix is transmitted; the received signal goes through a matched‐filter, and curve fitting is used to extract range and range‐rate measurements that feed the LMIPDA‐VSIMM algorithm for data association and filtering. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system in an urban scenario contaminated by dense and uneven clutter, strong multipath, and limited line‐of‐sight.     

The spatial and temporal distribution of metals in an urban stream: A case study of the Don River in Toronto,Canada

Widespread growth of cities, the association of trace metals with urban runoff, and the potentially deleterious effect of metals on aquatic ecology have made it important to understand the distribution and transport of metals through surface water channel networks. The Don River in Toronto, Canada has been identified as an Area of Concern for pollution to Lake Ontario, with historically high levels of metal contamination. Sampling programs are sparse, therefore a model is needed to understand the spatial and temporal variability of metals in the river network. The objectives of the current study are to: i) describe the sampled spatial and temporal variability of metals in the Don River and ii) develop a modelling strategy to describe within flood metal transport dynamics. A model setup tool is developed that links Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) with the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) to allow a seamless transition from catchment hydrology to in-stream hydraulic and chemical processes. Results show that lead pollution in the Don River is decreasing, likely as a result of policy changes and sediment dredging in the mouth of the river. However, zinc and copper pollution are increasingly problematic, with copper exceeding recommended lower guidelines, particularly during floods. Model results confirm that most of the sediment and metals are transported in relatively short bursts within longer flood durations and are stored in depositional hotspots within the Lower Don River. A better monitoring strategy is needed to understand and more accurately parametrize these processes in an urban river system.     

Janus Magnetic‐Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Magnetically Guided and Thermally Activated Cancer Therapy

Progress of thermal tumor therapies and their translation into clinical practice are limited by insufficient nanoparticle concentration to release therapeutic heating at the tumor site after systemic administration. Herein, the use of Janus magneto‐plasmonic nanoparticles, made of gold nanostars and iron oxide nanospheres, as efficient therapeutic nanoheaters whose on‐site delivery can be improved by magnetic targeting, is proposed. Single and combined magneto‐ and photo‐thermal heating properties of Janus nanoparticles render them as compelling heating elements, depending on the nanoparticle dose, magnetic lobe size, and milieu conditions. In cancer cells, a much more effective effect is observed for photothermia compared to magnetic hyperthermia, while combination of the two modalities into a magneto‐photothermal treatment results in a synergistic cytotoxic effect in vitro. The high potential of the Janus nanoparticles for magnetic guiding confirms them to be excellent nanostructures for in vivo magnetically enhanced photothermal therapy, leading to efficient tumor growth inhibition.     

An Unprecedented Stimuli‐Controlled Single‐Crystal Reversible Phase Transition of a Metal–Organic Framework and Its Application to a Novel Method of Guest Encapsulation

The flexibility and unexpected dynamic behavior of a third‐generation metal–organic framework are described for the first time. The synthetic strategy is based on the flexibility and spherical shape of dipyridyl‐based carborane linkers that act as pillars between rigid Co/BTB (BTB: 1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylate) layers, providing a 3D porous structure ( 1 ). A phase transition of the solid can be induced to generate a new, nonporous 2D structure ( 2 ) without any loss of the carborane linkers. The structural transformation is visualized by snapshots of the multistep single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal transformation by single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction. Poor hydrogen bond acceptors such as MeOH, CHCl₃ or supercritical CO₂ induce such a 3D to 2D transformation. Remarkably, the transformation is reversible and the 2D phase 2 is further converted back into 1 by heating in dimethylformamide. The energy requirements involved in such processes are investigated using periodic density functional theory calculations. As a proof of concept for potential applications, encapsulation of C₆₀ is achieved by trapping this molecule during the reversible 2D to 3D phase transition, whereas no adsorption is observed by straight solvent diffusion into the pores of the 3D phase.     

Highly Fluorescent Magnetic Nanobeads with a Remarkable Stokes Shift as Labels for Enhanced Detection in Immunoassays

Fluorescence immunoassays are popular for achieving high sensitivity, but they display limitations in biological samples due to strong absorption of light, background fluorescence from matrix components, or light scattering by the biomacromolecules. A powerful strategy to overcome these problems is introduced here by using fluorescent magnetic nanobeads doped with two boron‐dipyrromethane dyes displaying intense emission in the visible and near‐infrared regions, respectively. Careful matching of the emission and absorption features of the dopants leads to a virtual Stokes shift larger than 150 nm achieved by an intraparticle Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) process between the donor and the acceptor dyes. Additionally, the magnetic properties of the fluorescent beads allow preconcentration of the sample. To illustrate the usefulness of this approach to increase the sensitivity of fluorescence immunoassays, the novel nanoparticles are employed as labels for quantification of the widely used Tacrolimus (FK506) immunosuppressive drug. The FRET‐based competitive inhibition immunoassay yields a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.08 ng mL^?1, with a dynamic range (DR) of 0.15–2.0 ng mL^?1, compared to a LOD of 2.7 ng mL^?1 and a DR between 4.1 and 130 ng mL^?1 for the immunoassay carried out with direct excitation of the acceptor dye.     

Investigation of metallic nanoparticles adsorbed on the QCM sensor by SEM and AFM techniques

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is known as a very sensitive device used for determination of mass quantity adsorbed on sensor surface. Its detection limits are in the range of ng cm\(^{-2}\). The adsorption mechanism of metallic nanoparticles on QCM sensor was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). This study aims to highlight the importance of QCM applications in nanoparticles deposition field. The layers formed through adsorption process, induced by the oscillations of the QCM sensor, were investigated by AFM for surface topography and for particle mean size values. The morphology of layers and nanoparticles dimensions were determined by SEM. For a more complex investigation of the nanoparticles adsorption mechanism, the chemical composition of layers was achieved using SEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS). This preliminary research involved a new approach in characterization of metallic nanoparticles layers to achieve functional assembled monolayers.     

Sol–gel-derived manganese-releasing bioactive glass as a therapeutic approach for bone tissue engineering

Sol–gel processing allows the production of bioactive glasses (BG) with flexible compositions and the incorporation of different metallic ions with therapeutic benefits into the glass network. Manganese is among several previously studied therapeutically beneficial ions and has been shown to favour osteogenic differentiation, in addition to playing an important role in cell adhesion. The incorporation of Mn into bioactive glasses for tissue engineering has been previously conducted using the conventional melting route, whereas the sol–gel route has not yet been explored. Sol–gel technology has great versatility, allowing the preparation of BG with various compositions, sizes, morphologies and a large surface area that could provide improved cellular responses and enhanced bioactivity when compared to melt-derived glasses. In this context, this work developed new compositions of sol–gel bioactive glasses (on the SiO₂–P₂O₅–CaO–MnO system) and explored the effects of incorporating MnO on the structure, texture, in vitro bioactivity and cytocompatibility of these materials. Our results show that Mn-containing bioactive glasses present an amorphous character, high surface area and mesoporous structure. The formation of a hydroxycarbonate apatite (HCA) layer after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) revealed the high bioactivity of the glasses. Ion release evaluation indicated that the Si, Ca, P and Mn release levels could be adjusted within therapeutic limits, and cytotoxic analysis demonstrated that the ionic products of all samples generated a cell-friendly environment. Therefore, Mn incorporation into the bioactive glass network appears to be a potential strategy to develop superior materials with sustained ion release for tissue engineering.