Emotional design and human-robot interaction

Recent years have shown an increase in the importance of emotions applied to the Design field - Emotional Design. In this sense, the emotional design aims to elicit (e.g., pleasure) or prevent (e.g., displeasure) determined emotions, during human product interaction. That is, the emotional design regulates the emotional interaction between the individual and the product (e.g., robot). Robot design has been a growing area whereby robots are interacting directly with humans in which emotions are essential in the interaction. Therefore, this paper aims, through a non-systematic literature review, to explore the application of emotional design, particularly on Human-Robot Interaction. Robot design features (e.g., appearance, expressing emotions and spatial distance) that affect emotional design are introduced. The chapter ends with a discussion and a conclusion.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Soybean Trihelix Transcription Factors GmGT-2A and GmGT-2B Improve Plant Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses in Transgenic Arabidopsis

BACKGROUND:Trihelix transcription factors play important roles in light-regulated responses and other developmental processes. However, their functions in abiotic stress response are largely unclear. In this study, we identified two trihelix transcription factor genes GmGT-2A and GmGT-2B from soybean and further characterized their roles in abiotic stress tolerance. FINDINGS:Both genes can be induced by various abiotic stresses, and the encoded proteins were localized in nuclear region. In yeast assay, GmGT-2B but not GmGT-2A exhibits ability of transcriptional activation and dimerization. The N-terminal peptide of 153 residues in GmGT-2B was the minimal activation domain and the middle region between the two trihelices mediated the dimerization of the GmGT-2B. Transactivation activity of the GmGT-2B was also confirmed in plant cells. DNA binding analysis using yeast one-hybrid assay revealed that GmGT-2A could bind to GT-1bx, GT-2bx, mGT-2bx-2 and D1 whereas GmGT-2B could bind to the latter three elements. Overexpression of the GmGT-2A and GmGT-2B improved plant tolerance to salt, freezing and drought stress in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Moreover, GmGT-2B-transgenic plants had more green seedlings compared to Col-0 under ABA treatment. Many stress-responsive genes were altered in GmGT-2A- and GmGT-2B-transgenic plants. CONCLUSION:These results indicate that GmGT-2A and GmGT-2B confer stress tolerance through regulation of a common set of genes and specific sets of genes. GmGT-2B also affects ABA sensitivity

Human and mouse essentiality screens as a resource for disease gene discovery.

The identification of causal variants in sequencing studies remains a considerable challenge that can be partially addressed by new gene-specific knowledge. Here, we integrate measures of how essential a gene is to supporting life, as inferred from viability and phenotyping screens performed on knockout mice by the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium and essentiality screens carried out on human cell lines. We propose a cross-species gene classification across the Full Spectrum of Intolerance to Loss-of-function (FUSIL) and demonstrate that genes in five mutually exclusive FUSIL categories have differing biological properties. Most notably, Mendelian disease genes, particularly those associated with developmental disorders, are highly overrepresented among genes non-essential for cell survival but required for organism development. After screening developmental disorder cases from three independent disease sequencing consortia, we identify potentially pathogenic variants in genes not previously associated with rare diseases. We therefore propose FUSIL as an efficient approach for disease gene discovery

Receptor-defined subtypes of breast cancer in indigenous populations in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in Africa. Receptor-defined subtypes are a major determinant of treatment options and disease outcomes but there is considerable uncertainty regarding the frequency of poor prognosis estrogen receptor (ER) negative subtypes in Africa. We systematically reviewed publications reporting on the frequency of breast cancer receptor-defined subtypes in indigenous populations in Africa. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Medline, Embase, and Global Health were searched for studies published between 1st January 1980 and 15th April 2014. Reported proportions of ER positive (ER+), progesterone receptor positive (PR+), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 positive (HER2+) disease were extracted and 95% CI calculated. Random effects meta-analyses were used to pool estimates. Fifty-four studies from North Africa (n=12,284 women with breast cancer) and 26 from sub-Saharan Africa (n=4,737) were eligible. There was marked between-study heterogeneity in the ER+ estimates in both regions (I2>90%), with the majority reporting proportions between 0.40 and 0.80 in North Africa and between 0.20 and 0.70 in sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, large between-study heterogeneity was observed for PR+ and HER2+ estimates (I2>80%, in all instances). Meta-regression analyses showed that the proportion of ER+ disease was 10% (4%-17%) lower for studies based on archived tumor blocks rather than prospectively collected specimens, and 9% (2%-17%) lower for those with ≥ 40% versus those with <40% grade 3 tumors. For prospectively collected samples, the pooled proportions for ER+ and triple negative tumors were 0.59 (0.56-0.62) and 0.21 (0.17-0.25), respectively, regardless of region. Limitations of the study include the lack of standardized procedures across the various studies; the low methodological quality of many studies in terms of the representativeness of their case series and the quality of the procedures for collection, fixation, and receptor testing; and the possibility that women with breast cancer may have contributed to more than one study. CONCLUSIONS: The published data from the more appropriate prospectively measured specimens are consistent with the majority of breast cancers in Africa being ER+. As no single subtype dominates in the continent availability of receptor testing should be a priority, especially for young women with early stage disease where appropriate receptor-specific treatment modalities offer the greatest potential for reducing years of life lost. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary