Information Gap Technique on Speaking Skill

Speaking is one of the most important skills to be developed in education curriculum in Indonesia. It indicates communicative purposes involving authentic oral interaction material because students do not study the language as a subject but also using it for social communication. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not there is significant effect of using Information Gap on students’ speaking skill. The population of this research were tenth grade students at SMK Negeri 4 Tanjungpinang and chose randomly by using cluster sampling. The sample of this research were 30 students of X RPL 3 as the experimental group and X MM 1 as the control group consisted 30 students. This research employed Information Gap in experimental group as the source of ideas to make the students communicate. While in the control group were taught using Rote Learning. The instrument used in the study was oral test. The data were analyzed quantitative using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The result showed, There is a significant effect of using Information Gap on students’ speaking skill, as tcount = 2.666 and sig = 0.010 < 0.05 and the mean score of post-test in experimental was higher (74.00) than control group (69.23). It can be concluded there is any effect of using Information Gap Technique on speaking skill at SMK Negeri 4 Tanjungpinang.

A transfer learning with deep neural network approach for diabetic retinopathy classification

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease caused by high blood sugar and pressure which damages the blood vessels in the eye. Diabetic retinopathy is the root cause of more than 1% of the blindness worldwide. Early detection of this disease is crucial as it prevents it from progressing to a more severe level. However, the current machine learning-based approaches for detecting the severity level of diabetic retinopathy are either, i) rely on manually extracting features which makes an approach unpractical, or ii) trained on small dataset thus cannot be generalized. In this study, we propose a transfer learning-based approach for detecting the severity level of the diabetic retinopathy with high accuracy. Our model is a deep learning model based on global average pooling (GAP) technique with various pre-trained convolutional neural net- work (CNN) models. The experimental results of our approach, in which our best model achieved 82.4% quadratic weighted kappa (QWK), corroborate the ability of our model to detect the severity level of diabetic retinopathy efficiently.

Knee Stability following Posterior-Stabilized Total Knee Arthroplasty: Comparison of Medial Preserving Gap Technique and Measured Resection Technique

Novel medial preserving gap technique (MPGT) focuses on medial compartment stability and allows lateral physiological laxity. This study aimed to compare the MPGT with the measured resection technique (MRT) to determine which provides better postoperative knee stability after posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty (PS-TKA). Primary PS-TKA, using either MPGT (n = 65) or MRT (n = 65), was performed in 130 patients with varus knee osteoarthritis. Postoperative knee stabilities at extension and flexion were assessed using varus–valgus stress radiographs and stress epicondylar view, respectively (at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years postoperatively). The distance between the femoral prosthesis and polyethylene insert was measured on each medial and lateral side, defined as the medial joint opening (MJO) and lateral joint opening (LJO), respectively. Decreasing MJO or LJO translated to increasing postoperative stability. The femoral external rotation angle was compared between the two surgical techniques; postoperative knee stability was also compared between the medial and lateral compartments, as well as the surgical techniques. A significant difference was found in the femoral external rotation angle between MPGT (4.2 ± 0.2 degrees) and MRT (3.6 ± 0.1 degrees, p < 0.01). Postoperative MJOs both at extension and flexion were significantly smaller than LJOs using MPGT and MRT at all time points (p < 0.05). MJOs and LJOs at extension using MPGT were significantly smaller than those when using MRT, at 1 and 3 years postoperatively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, MJOs at flexion using MPGT were significantly smaller than those when using MRT at 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years postoperatively (p < 0.05). MPGT provided higher postoperative medial knee stability than MRT both at extension and flexion, even at 3 years after PS-TKA. This suggests that this newly developed surgical technique is a more feasible option than MRT for the preservation of postoperative medial knee stability.

Accuracy of total knee arthroplasty using the modified gap technique based on the bone gap: an evaluation of the bone gap with a distal femoral trial component

Background In total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using the modified gap technique, the soft-tissue balance is measured after osteotomy of the distal femur and proximal tibia (conventional bone gap). However, after osteotomy, the flexion gap size during 90° knee flexion may be larger than that observed after implantation. The tension of the lateral compartment during 90° flexion may also be reduced after osteotomy of the distal femur. We manufactured a distal femoral trial component to reproduce the condition after implantation and prior to posterior condyle osteotomy. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the trial component on the flexion gap. Methods This prospective study included 21 consecutive patients aged 78 years with medial osteoarthritis who underwent cruciate-retaining TKA between February 2017 and March 2018. The postoperative flexion gap size and inclination during 90° flexion were compared between cases with and without the trial component. Results The mean joint gap size with the trial component (13.4 ± 0.80 mm) was significantly smaller than that without the trial component (14.7 ± 0.84 mm). The mean gap inclination angle with the trial component (3.7° ± 0.62°) was significantly smaller than that without the trial component (5.5° ± 0.78°). Conclusions In the present study, the joint gap size and medial tension were significantly reduced after the trial component had been set. Accurate measurement of the soft-tissue balance is an important factor in the modified gap technique, and this method using a distal femoral trial component can offer better outcomes than those achieved with conventional methods.

High gain antenna at 915 MHz for off grid wireless networks

This paper presents a high gain antenna for off-grid wireless networks at 915 MHz. The requirements for compact size and high gain antenna are needed in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band for better performance and coverage. Hence, microstrip planar substrate is proposed to overcome the size challenges. The proposed antenna is designed based on rectangular patch with air gap technique. The proposed antenna is optimized using computer simulation technology software (CST) and fabricated on low profile FR-4 substrate. The measured performance agreed well with the simulated one. The reflection of less than -10 dB is obtained with high gain of 6.928 dB at desired frequency. Overall, this antenna can be a good candidate for the off-grid wireless network applications.

Improving English Language Speaking Skills Using “Absyak” On-Line Learning Model for Second Semester in Higher Education

This study aims to improve students' speaking skills. The research sample consisted of 30 students (20 female students and 8 male students) all of whom were studying English, the majority of the sample were second semester students, the form of this study was to analyze (1) teaching and learning plans to speak through the task of information gaps that exist in "Absyak" on-line learning media websites, (2) the implementation of teaching speaking through structured tasks and information gaps with "absyak" on-line learning media websites, (3) teaching teaching evaluation systems through the task gap "absyak" information media website-based online learning, (4) improvement of student speaking using the information gap task on "absyak" website-based on-line learning. This is a classroom action research that takes place in 2 cycles. The subjects of the study were the second semester students of Surabaya Pharmacy Academy, Regular Class A consisting of 30 students in the academic year 2019/2020. Data collected by tests, observation notes and documentation. Data were analyzed descriptively qualitatively. The results showed that learning that was designed using the information gap technique with "absyak". Website-based online learning with cycle procedures. Cycle I results are still not optimal, then continue to the second cycle. In cycle II the results are maximum. Student activities increase every cycle II for learning, student activity, performance indicators, learning processes, completeness scores increase, decrease the number of unfinished and success indicators. Based on the results of research 11 which has been conducted 11 with 1 application of information gap techniques and "absyak" on-line learning website in learning Speaking in the second semester students of the Surabaya pharmacy academy that there is a significant increase in speaking skills from the results of learning achievements of cycle I and cycle II. This means that the students' speaking skills from the stages are increasingly increasing and succeeding well.