174 research outputs found
CAPIR: Collaborative Action Planning with Intention Recognition
We apply decision theoretic techniques to construct non-player characters
that are able to assist a human player in collaborative games. The method is
based on solving Markov decision processes, which can be difficult when the
game state is described by many variables. To scale to more complex games, the
method allows decomposition of a game task into subtasks, each of which can be
modelled by a Markov decision process. Intention recognition is used to infer
the subtask that the human is currently performing, allowing the helper to
assist the human in performing the correct task. Experiments show that the
method can be effective, giving near-human level performance in helping a human
in a collaborative game.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for presentation at AIIDE'1
Differences in perception of dysentery and enteric fever and willingness to receive vaccines among rural residents in China.
BACKGROUND: Enteric diseases including dysentery and enteric fever remain significant public health problems in China. While vaccines offer great potential in controlling these diseases, greater understanding of factors influencing acceptance of vaccines is needed to create effective enteric disease control programs in rural China. DESIGN: Cross-sectional quantitative study with randomly sampled households from two sites in China, one experiencing high rates of shigellosis (Zengding) and the other of typhoid/paratyphoid (Lingchuan). METHODS: Sociobehavioral survey data were collected through face-to-face interviews from 501 respondents (56% female) in Zhengding regarding dysentery and 624 in Lingchuan (51% female) regarding enteric fever. Vaccine acceptability was measured by expressed need for vaccination and willingness to pay. Comparative and associative analyses were conducted to assess disease perception, vaccination service satisfaction, likelihood of improvements in water and sanitation, and vaccine acceptability. RESULTS: Nearly all respondents in Lingchuan considered enteric fever to be prevalent in the community, while only one half of the respondents in Zhengding considered dysentery to be problematic (p < 0.01). Nevertheless, more respondents in Zhengding were fearful that a household member would acquire dysentery than were Lingchuan respondents worried that a household member would acquire enteric fever (p < 0.01). Perceived vulnerability of specific subgroups (odds ratios ranging from 1.6 to 8.1), knowing someone who died of the disease (odds ratio reached infinity) and satisfaction with past vaccination services (odds ratios reached infinity) were consistently associated with perceived need for vaccines of target populations of all age groups while the association between perception of sanitary improvement and vaccine need was limited. Perceived need for a vaccine was associated with willingness to pay for the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Perceptions of enhanced vulnerability of specific subgroups to a disease and satisfactory experiences with vaccination services may increase the perceived need for a vaccine, leading to increased willingness to pay for vaccine. Vaccines are not perceived as important for the elderly
Using a product's sustainability space as a design exploration tool
Sustainable design is often practiced and assessed through the consideration of three essential areas: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability. For even the simplest of products, the complexities of these three areas and their tradeoffs cause decision-making transparency to be lost in most practical situations. The existing field of multiobjective optimization offers a natural framework to define and explore a given design space. In this paper, a method for defining a product’s sustainability space (defined by economic, environmental, and social sustainability objectives) is outlined and used to explore the tradeoffs within the space, thus offering both the design team and the decision makers a means of better understanding the sustainability tradeoffs. This paper concludes that sustainable product development can indeed benefit from tradeoff characterization using multiobjective optimization techniques – even when using only basic models of sustainability. Interestingly, the unique characteristics of the three essential sustainable development areas lead to an alternative view of some traditional multiobjective optimization concepts, such as weak-Pareto optimality. The sustainable redesign of a machine to drill boreholes for water wells is presented as a practical example for method demonstration and discussion
Lightweight Knowledge Representations for Automating Data Analysis
The principal goal of data science is to derive meaningful information from
data. To do this, data scientists develop a space of analytic possibilities and
from it reach their information goals by using their knowledge of the domain,
the available data, the operations that can be performed on those data, the
algorithms/models that are fed the data, and how all of these facets
interweave. In this work, we take the first steps towards automating a key
aspect of the data science pipeline: data analysis. We present an extensible
taxonomy of data analytic operations that scopes across domains and data, as
well as a method for codifying domain-specific knowledge that links this
analytics taxonomy to actual data. We validate the functionality of our
analytics taxonomy by implementing a system that leverages it, alongside domain
labelings for 8 distinct domains, to automatically generate a space of
answerable questions and associated analytic plans. In this way, we produce
information spaces over data that enable complex analyses and search over this
data and pave the way for fully automated data analysis
Sociobehavioural Research Methods for the Introduction of Vaccines in the Diseases of the Most Impoverished Programme
Participation in vaccination campaigns worldwide, particularly the
Expanded Programme on Immunization, has increased significantly in
recent years. However, there remain multiple and integrated
behavioural, sociocultural and political-economic barriers to
vaccination. The Diseases of the Most Impoverished (DOMI) Programme has
undertaken shigellosis disease-burden studies and oral cholera and
typhoid Vi polysaccharide vaccine trials in seven Asian countries. As
part of these projects, sociobehavioural studies have been undertaken
to determine the potential demand for vaccines for these diseases and
the obstacles and enabling factors that may affect acceptance,
delivery, and use of vaccines. A theoretical model of acceptance of
vaccination and a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods
have been used for fully elucidating the range of issues relating to
vaccination for shigellosis, cholera, and typhoid fever. In this paper,
the theoretical and methodological basis of the DOMI projects has been
reviewed in a context of current sociobehavioural research on the
acceptability and desirability of vaccination
Bedtime habits in adults with and without type 2 diabetes
This study aimed to identify determinants of objectively-estimated bedtime habits and to determine if these bedtime habits differed between adults with and without type 2 diabetes. Adults with accelerometry data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 cohorts were classified as having no diabetes or type 2 diabetes and matched for age, gender, and BMI across the two groups. Multivariate linear regression models assessed bedtime habits (time-in-bed, early versus late bedtime periods, regularity), chronotype (mid-points), and type 2 diabetes status. While the results indicated no differences in bedtime habits between adults with and without type 2 diabetes, an interesting finding was the support for an association between objectively-estimated earlier bedtime midpoints and greater physical activity
The Health Belief Model and Factors Relating to Potential Use of a Vaccine for Shigellosis in Kaeng Koi District, Saraburi Province, Thailand
Shigellosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality throughout
the world. Approximately, 1.1 million deaths occur a year due to this
disease, making it the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide.
This paper explores local interest in and potential use of a vaccine
for shigellosis in Thailand where Shigella poses an important
public-health concern. Data for this study were collected during
June-November 2002 from 522 subjects surveyed using a sociobehavioural
questionnaire in Kaeng Koi district in central Thailand. The community
demand and likely use of a vaccine were examined in relation to the
Health Belief Model, which provides analytical constructs for
investigating the multiple issues of local readiness to accept and
access a new vaccine. As the key outcome variable, most respondents
showed interest in receiving a vaccine against dysentery which they
thought would provide useful protection against the disease. However,
there was only a moderate number who perceived dysentery as serious and
themselves as susceptible to it, although it was perceived to cause
some burden to and additional expense for families. Most people
identified a number of groups who were thought to be especially
vulnerable to dysentery, such as the elderly, pre-school, and
school-age children, and poor labourers. Other outcomes of the study
included the identification of acceptable and convenient sites for its
delivery, such as government health clinics and private clinics, and
respected sources for information about the vaccine, such as health
clinic personnel and community health volunteers. This information
suggests that components of the Health Belief Model may be useful in
identifying community acceptance of a vaccine and the means of
introducing it. This health information is important for planning and
implementing vaccine programmes
Global expression analysis of cancer/testis genes in uterine cancers reveals a high incidence of BORIS expression
Abstract Purpose: Cancer/testis (CT) genes predominantly expressed in the testis (germ cells) and generally not in other normal tissues are aberrantly expressed in human cancers. This highly restricted expression provides a unique opportunity to use these CTgenes for diagnostics, immunotherapeutic, or other targeted therapies. The purpose of this study was to identify those CT genes with the greatest incidence of expression in uterine cancers. Experimental Design: We queried the expression of known and putative CT gene transcripts (representing 79 gene loci) using whole genome gene expression arrays. Specifically, the global gene expressions of uterine cancers (n = 122) and normal uteri (n = 10) were determined using expression data from the Affymetrix HG-U133A and HG-U133B chips. Additionally, we also examined the brother of the regulator of imprinted sites (BORIS) transcript by reverse transcription-PCR and quantitative PCR because its transcript was not represented on the array. Results: Global microarray analysis detected many CT genes expressed in various uterine cancers; however, no individual CT gene was expressed in more than 25% of all cancers. The expression of the two most commonly expressed CT genes on the arrays, MAGEA9 (24 of 122 cancers and 0 of10 normal tissues) and Down syndrome critical region 8 (DSCR8)/MMA1 (16 if 122 cancers and 0 of 10 normal tissues), was confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR methods, validating the array screening approach. In contrast to the relatively low incidence of expression of the other CTgenes, BORIS expression was detected in 73 of 95 (77%) endometrial cancers and 24 of 31 (77%) uterine mixed mesodermal tumors. Conclusions: These data provide the first extensive survey of multiple CT genes in uterine cancers. Importantly, we detected a high frequency of BORIS expression in uterine cancers, suggesting its potential as an immunologic or diagnostic target for these cancers. Given the high incidence of BORIS expression and its possible regulatory role, an examination of BORIS function in the etiology of these cancers is warranted
Developing accurate models of the human airways
Objectives Particle delivery to the airways is an attractive prospect for many potential therapeutics, including vaccines. Developing strategies for inhalation of particles provides a targeted, controlled and non-invasive delivery route but, as with all novel therapeutics, in vitro and in vivo testing are needed prior to clinical use. Whilst advanced vaccine testing demands the use of animal models to address safety issues, the production of robust in vitro cellular models would take account of the ethical framework known as the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal use), by permitting initial screening of potential candidates prior to animal use. There is thus a need for relevant, realistic in vitro models of the human airways. Key findings Our laboratory has designed and characterised a multi-cellular model of human airways that takes account of the conditions in the airways and recapitulates many salient features, including the epithelial barrier and mucus secretion. Summary Our human pulmonary models recreate many of the obstacles to successful pulmonary delivery of particles and therefore represent a valid test platform for screening compounds and delivery systems
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