• Title/Summary/Keyword: Tsukuba

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Greeting, Function, and Music: How Users Chat with Voice Assistants

  • Wang, Ji;Zhang, Han;Zhang, Cen;Xiao, Junjun;Lee, Seung Hee
    • Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.61-74
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    • 2020
  • Voice user interface has become a commercially viable and extensive interaction mechanism with the development of voice assistants. Despite the popularity of voice assistants, the academic community does not utterly understand about what, when, and how users chat with them. Chatting with a voice assistant is crucial as it defines how a user will seek the help of the assistant in the future. This study aims to cover the essence and construct of conversational AI, to develop a classification method to deal with user utterances, and, most importantly, to understand about what, when, and how Chinese users chat with voice assistants. We collected user utterances from the real conventional database of a commercial voice assistant, NetEase Sing in China. We also identified different utterance categories on the basis of previous studies and real usage conditions and annotated the utterances with 17 labels. Furthermore, we found that the three top reasons for the usage of voice assistants in China are the following: (1) greeting, (2) function, and (3) music. Chinese users like to interact with voice assistants at night from 7 PM to 10 PM, and they are polite toward the assistants. The whole percentage of negative feedback utterances is less than 6%, which is considerably low. These findings appear to be useful in voice interaction designs for intelligent hardware.

Nutrient Value of Saltwort (Salicornia herbacea L.) as Feed for Ruminants

  • Ishikawa, N.;Shimizu, K.;Koizumi, T.;Shimizu, T.;Enishi, O.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.15 no.7
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    • pp.998-1001
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    • 2002
  • Saltwort (Salicornia herbacea L.), a kind of halophytes in Japan, is under investigation as a feed source for livestock as well as potential oilseed crop in salt marshes and salt fields. The present experiment was undertaken to analyze the nutritive value of saltwort as feed for ruminants. To determine the apparent digestibility and nutritive value of saltwort, five Japanese native goats were fed the diets consisting of alfalfa hay cubes with 15 or 20% (n=3 and n=2, respectively) inclusion levels of saltwort in the total diet on a DM basis. All the animals were randomly offered alfalfa hay cubes as a base diet or a mixed diet of alfalfa hay cubes and saltwort at maintenance level, thereafter, alternative feed (a base or mixed diet) was offered to the experimental animals (the incomplete crossover design). Analysis of the chemical composition of saltwort showed that the plant contained high levels of total ash (40.2% DM), sodium (12.7% DM) and chlorine (19.7% DM), and relatively high levels of CP (11.7% DM) and NDF (40.4% DM). Contents of TDN and digestible CP (DCP), DE and ME of saltwort were 33.5% DM, 8.4% DM, 7.4MJ/DM kg and 5.0MJ/DM kg, respectively. These results indicate that saltwort is rich in DCP and minerals (mainly sodium chloride), but poor in energy, suggesting that saltwort could be used as a mineral or CP supplement for ruminants raised around salinized areas in which high quality feed may not be available.

Internal Changes of Blood Compartment and Heat Distribution in Swamp Buffaloes under Hot Conditions : Comparative Study of Thermo-Regulation in Buffaloes and Friesian Cows

  • Koga, A.;Kurata, K.;Ohata, K.;Nakajima, M.;Hirose, H.;Furukawa, R.;Kanai, Y.;Chikamune, T.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.12 no.6
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    • pp.886-890
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    • 1999
  • From previous studies, there is a strong possibility in buffaloes that the marked increase in blood volume (BV) under hot conditions contributes to heat transportation from the rectum to the skin. The present study was done to clarify changes with environmental temperature on water-shift between blood and extracellular fluid (ECF), heat distribution between the rectum and the skin, and blood flow rates (BFR) at the hind legs (reflecting the skin surface). Four buffaloes and four Friesian cows were successively exposed to three different temperatures of $20^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$ and $35^{\circ}C$. BV and ECF volume were measured with Evans' blue and sodium-thiocyanate dilution methods, respectively. Rectal and subcutaneous (as the skin) temperatures were measured by copper-constantan thermocouples. BFR were measured by a supersonic blood flow meter. With an increase in environmental temperature, skin temperature in buffaloes increased significantly than cows, but rectal temperature was not significantly different between two species. BV, especially plasma compartment, increased significantly in only buffaloes, while ECF volume did not change in both species. BFR increased significantly in buffaloes, but not in cows. From these results, the increased of BV may be caused by water flowing from ECF compartment. The water-shift may induce the increase of BFR and skin temperature. It is suggested in the present study that internal changes of blood compartment in buffaloes contribute to transfer of heat to the skin surface.

Olanzapine Attenuates Mechanical Allodynia in a Rat Model of Partial Sciatic Nerve Ligation

  • Fukuda, Taeko;Yamashita, Soichiro;Hisano, Setsuji;Tanaka, Makoto
    • The Korean Journal of Pain
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.185-192
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    • 2015
  • Background: Neuropathic pain is a global clinical problem; nevertheless, nerve injury treatment methods remain limited. Olanzapine has antinociceptive and anti-nueropathic properties; however, its preventive effects have not been assessed in nerve injury models. Methods: We prepared a partial sciatic nerve ligation (Seltzer model) or sham-operated model in male Sprague-Dawley rats under isoflurane anesthesia. In a pre-treatment study, we administered olanzapine (10 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 1 h before nerve ligation. In post-treatment and dose-dependent studies, we injected 3 different doses of olanzapine intraperitoneally 1 h after nerve ligation. Mechanical allodynia was measured before and 7 days after surgery. Immunohistochemical analysis using anti-Iba-1 antibody was used to assess the effect of olanzapine at the spinal level. Results: In the pre-treatment study, median withdrawal thresholds of the normal saline groups were significantly lower than those of the sham-operated groups; however, those of the olanzapine (10 mg/kg) and sham-operated groups were not different. In the post-treatment and dose-dependent studies, the median withdrawal thresholds of the olanzapine (2.5 mg/kg) and normal saline groups were not different; however, those of the olanzapine (10 and 50 mg/kg) groups were significantly higher than those of the normal saline groups. Olanzapine did not have a significant effect on the density of Iba-1 staining. Conclusions: Olanzapine attenuated mechanical allodynia dose-dependently in the Seltzer model. This anti-allodynic effect of olanzapine was observed even when injected 1 h after nerve ligation. This effect of olanzapine appeared to be unrelated to microglia activation in the ipsilateral dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord.

A Novel Simple Method to Purify Recombinant Soluble Human Complement Receptor Type 1 (sCR 1) from CHO Cell Culture

  • Wang, Pi-Chao;Hisamune Kato;Takehiro Inoue;Masatoshi Matsumura;Noriyuki Ishii;Yoshinobu Murakami;Tsukasa Seya
    • Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.67-75
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    • 2002
  • The human complement receptor type 1 (CR 1, C3 b/C4b receptor) is a polymorphic membrane glycoprotein expressed on human erythrocytes, peripheral leukocytes, plasma and renal glomerular podocytes, which consists of transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains with 30 repeating homologous protein domains known as short consensus repeats (SCR). CR1 has been used as an inhibitor for inflammatory and immune system for the past several years. Recently; it is reported that CRl was found to suppress the hyper-acute rejection in xeno-transplantation and can be used to cure autoimmune diseases. A soluble form of CRl, called sCRl, is a recombinant CRl by cleaving the transmembrane domain at C-terminus and has been expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Several purification methods for sCR1 from CHO cells have been reported, but most of them require complicated steps at high cost. Moreover, such methods are mostly performed under the pH condition apt to denaturing sCR1 and causes sCRl losing its activity. We here report a rapid and efficient method to purify sCR1 from CHO cell. The new method consists of a two-stage of cell culture by cultivating cells in serum medium followed by serum-free medium, and a two-stage of column purification by means of heparin and gel filtration column chromatography. By using this novel method, sCR1 can be purified in a simple and effective way with high yield and purity, furthermore, the purified sCR1 was confirmed to retain its activity to suppress the complement activation in vivo and ex vivo.

Rate-Dependence of Off-Axis Tensile Behavior of Cross-Ply CFRP Laminates at Elevated Temperature and Its Simulation

  • Takeuchi, Fumi;Kawai, Masamichi;Zhang, Jian-Qi;Matsuda, Tetsuya
    • Advanced Composite Materials
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.57-73
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    • 2008
  • The present paper focuses on experimental verification of the ply-by-ply basis inelastic analysis of multidirectional laminates. First of all, rate dependence of the tensile behavior of balanced symmetric cross-ply T800H/epoxy laminates with a $[0/90]_{3S}$ lay-up under off-axis loading conditions at $100^{\circ}C$ is examined. Uniaxial tension tests are performed on plain coupon specimens with various fiber orientations $[{\theta}/(90-{\theta})]_{3S}$ ($\theta$ = 0, 5, 15, 45 and $90^{\circ}C$) at two different strain rates (1.0 and 0.01%/min). The off-axis stress.strain curves exhibit marked nonlinearity for all the off-axis fiber orientations except for the on-axis fiber orientations $\theta$ = 0 and $90^{\circ}$, regardless of the strain rates. Strain rate has significant influences not only on the off-axis flow stress in the regime of nonlinear response but also on the apparent off-axis elastic modulus in the regime of initial linear response. A macromechanical constitutive model based on a ply viscoplasticity model and the classical laminated plate theory is applied to predictions of the rate-dependent off-axis nonlinear behavior of the cross-ply CFRP laminate. The material constants involved by the ply viscoplasticity model are identified on the basis of the experimental results on the unidirectional laminate of the same carbon/epoxy system. It is demonstrated that good agreements between the predicted and observed results are obtained by taking account of the fiber rotation induced by deformation as well as the rate dependence of the initial Young's moduli.

Change in the Chemical Composition of Chestnuts (Castanea crenata) from Different Periods (국내산 밤의 시기별 영양성분 변화)

  • Jeong, Hee-Rok;Jo, Yu-Na;Jeong, Ji-Hee;Jin, Dong-Eun;Song, Byung-Gi;Jin, Young-Rok;Kim, Man-Jo;Lee, Uk;Heo, Ho-Jin
    • Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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    • v.44 no.4
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    • pp.393-400
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    • 2012
  • Compositional changes of the Korean chestnut (Castanea crenata) including Daebo, Tsukuba, Tanzawa and Okkwang were investigated in order to characterize them from different periods (immature, mature and storage period). Proximate compositions of mature cultivars were higher than that of the immature cultivars. Between minerals, K (263.0-420.6 mg/100 g) and P (45.8-69.6 mg/100 g) of Tanzawa were highest, and they gradually increased during storage. Tsukuba, in mature period, showed the highest contents of total essential amino acids and glutamic acids as savory amino acids. Major fatty acids were palmitic acid and linolenic acid in four cultivars. In addition, linoleic acids, as ${\omega}$-6 fatty acids, were increased during the storage period. Tanzawa, in the mature period, presented the highest levels of sucrose, however, tsukuba, in the storage period, showed relatively higher free sugar content than others. ${\beta}$-Carotene, as a provitamin A, of Tsukuba in the mature period was highly detected among them, and vitamin C of Tsukuba and Tanzawa was more plentiful than others.

Characteristics of soil respiration temperature sensitivity in a Pinus/Betula mixed forest during periods of rising and falling temperatures under the Japanese monsoon climate

  • Oe, Yusuke;Yamamoto, Akinori;Mariko, Shigeru
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.193-202
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    • 2011
  • We studied temperature sensitivity characteristics of soil respiration during periods of rising and falling temperatures within a common temperature range. We measured soil respiration continuously through two periods (a period of falling temperature, from August 7, 2003 to October 13, 2003; and a period of rising temperature from May 2, 2004 to July 2, 2004) using an open-top chamber technique. A clear exponential relationship was observed between soil temperature and soil respiration rate during both periods. However, the effects of soil water content were not significant, because the humid monsoon climate prevented soil drought, which would otherwise have limited soil respiration. We analyzed temperature sensitivity using the $Q_{10}$ value and $R_{ref}$ (reference respiration at the average temperature for the observation period) and found that these values tended to be higher during the period of rising temperature than during the period of falling temperature. In the absence of an effect on soil water content, several other factors could explain this phenomenon. Here, we discuss the factors that control temperature sensitivity of soil respiration during periods of rising and falling temperature, such as root respiration, root growth, root exudates, and litter supply. We also discuss how the contribution of these factors may vary due to different growth states or due to the effects of the previous season, despite a similar temperature range.

A STUDY ON THE ANALYSIS OF THE RIPARIAN VEGETATION NATURALITY AND VIEWSCAPE IN URSTREAM (하천상류지역의 하반식생 자연도 및 경관 분석에 관한 연구 - 경기도 남양주군 수입천을 중심으로 -)

  • ;Amada Takaaki;Ichihara Kouichi
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.222-233
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    • 1997
  • Riparian zone occupies not more than 5% of the total watershed area and can be considered in between the terrestrial and aquatic ecology as that does not fall under both of them. Unlike to common terrestrial plant that can e seen on other land, the riparian vegetation that exist in riparian zone can be classified into various groups because of their peculiar living form. The recognition of importance of terrestrial environment has considered the importance of natural river due to which even today, the movement throughout the world to retrograde the river development is taking place customarily. In this research, noticing the actual condition of the river management reality, the original capacity of river landscaping of Han river has been quantified grasping the actual condition of riparian vegetation from distribution area surveying and analysis. The objective of the research is to find out the river retrogression and maintenance methods based on the ecological environmental quality around the river by maintaining the river plants having high natural capacity and river planning method based on the harmony between conservation of river environment and use of riparian zone.

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Floristic Composition, Grazing Effects and Above-ground Plant Biomass in the Hulunbeier Grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China

  • Kawada, Kiyokazu;Kurosu, Mayu;Cheng, Yunxiang;Tsendeekhuu, Tsagaanbandi;Wuyunna, Wuyunna;Nakamura, Toru;Hayashi, Ichiroku
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.297-307
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    • 2008
  • In order to assess the effect of grazing on grasslands using floristic composition, we studied the floristic composition and plant biomass of steppe vegetation in Hulunbeier, Inner Mongolia. The dominant species of the grasslands were Stipa krylovii, Stipa grandis and Leymus chinensis. Floristic composition changed according to grazing pressure, being light, heavy and moderate. Under heavy grazing conditions, the importance value of P. acaulis, C. korshinskyi and Cleistogenes squarrosa increased in the plant community. These species were indicators of heavily grazed stand. Plant biomass of the stands ranged within 11.6g $m^{-2}$ and 63.5g $m^{-2}$ and 69.5g $m^{-2}$ and 166.2g $m^{-2}$ to the west and east of Lake Hulun, respectively. These values are equivalent to ca. $450{\sim}1,000kg$ of atmospheric carbon per hector, which is retained within the stand during the summer season.