Learning 3D Navigation Protocols on Touch Interfaces with Cooperative Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

Using touch devices to navigate in virtual 3D environments such as computer assisted design (CAD) models or geographical information systems (GIS) is inherently difficult for humans, as the 3D operations have to be performed by the user on a 2D touch surface. This ill-posed problem is classically solved with a fixed and handcrafted interaction protocol, which must be learned by the user. We propose to automatically learn a new interaction protocol allowing to map a 2D user input to 3D actions in virtual environments using reinforcement learning (RL). A fundamental problem of RL methods is the vast amount of interactions often required, which are difficult to come by when humans are involved. To overcome this limitation, we make use of two collaborative agents. The first agent models the human by learning to perform the 2D finger trajectories. The second agent acts as the interaction protocol, interpreting and translating to 3D operations the 2D finger trajectories from the first agent. We restrict the learned 2D trajectories to be similar to a training set of collected human gestures by first performing state representation learning, prior to reinforcement learning. This state representation learning is addressed by projecting the gestures into a latent space learned by a variational auto encoder (VAE).Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. Accepted at The European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases 2019 (ECMLPKDD 2019

Children hold owners responsible when property causes harm

Since ancient times, legal systems have held owners responsible for harm caused by their property. Across 4 experiments, we show that children aged 3–7 also hold owners responsible for such harm. Older children judge that owners should repair harm caused by property, and younger children may do this as well. Younger and older children judge that owners should apologize for harm, even when children do not believe the owners allowed the harm to occur. Children are also as likely to hold owners responsible for harm caused by property as for harm caused by the owners themselves. The present findings contribute to psychological accounts of ownership by showing that ownership not only confers rights to control property, but also responsibility for harm caused by property. The findings also contribute to our understanding of the attribution of responsibility, and challenge accounts claiming that directly causing harm, or allowing it to happen, is a prerequisite for responsibility. The findings provide support for an account claiming that property is an extension of its owner, and likewise reveal that responsibility for harm caused by property is an early developing aspect of the psychology of ownership. 2018 APA, all rights reserved

Cultivating Character with Curriculum: A Service Project

Often misbranded as an imposition of morality or a form of “conversion therapy,” character education is intentionally designing instructional practices to foster the growth of specific character traits. This service project explored how explicit character education can be implemented in the modern classroom at three out of class academic preparatory sessions for low-income high school students who will be the first in their families to achieve a college degree. These sessions were conducted during the Eastern Kentucky University Upward Bound Programs monthly Saturday Academies. During each session, students received direct instruction and participated in experiential learning activities regarding a specific character trait. Each character trait was selected in conjunction with both the Upward Bound Program Mission, Vision, and Values Statement and research-proven values associated with success. While not technically academic, these traits are crucial for lifelong success and improve academic performance in high school students

ARDS Pathophysiology

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition that involves severe injury to the lung and was first identified during the Vietnam War. Continual research has been performed which has led to multiple treatment modalities. Some treatment modalities are viewed as controversial which proves that more research regarding ARDS needs completed in order to improve patient outcomes. Further education and investment in bedside interventions will continue to improve the clinical treatment and survival rates of affected patients

THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE DURATION OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING: A MIXED METHODS DESIGN

Breastfeeding is the gold standard of infant feeding and its benefits extend beyond the mother and child. Multiple organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life. Exclusive breastfeeding rates nationally and in the state of Kentucky fall below the Healthy People 2020 goals. A mother’s intention to breastfeed has been shown to impact actual breastfeeding behavior. The current state of the measurement of intention was explored through a literature review. A majority of the measures were single item scales. The reliability and validity of the scales should be further tested in diverse populations. The purposes of this dissertation were to: a) explore the role of breastfeeding intention on duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and b) determine the common modifiable factors among women who breastfeed exclusively for at least four months. English speaking mothers 18 years of age and older were asked to participate if they had delivered a healthy infant in the last 72 hours and if they intended to feed their baby some amount of breast milk (n = 84). Mothers were followed for 16 weeks or until they weaned their infant, whichever came first. Social support, breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding intention were measured at baseline. Breastfeeding support and breastfeeding self-efficacy were measured at four and 16 weeks. Results indicated that mothers with stronger intention to breastfeed were more likely to breastfeed exclusively for a longer period of time. Mothers who breastfed their infant exclusively for 16 weeks were asked to participate in one of two focus group meetings (n = 15). The following five themes emerged from the data: 1) knowledge, 2) peer experience, 3) support, 4) perseverance, and 5) the public

A Mathematical Model for Dengue Fever in a Virgin Environment

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The disease was named in 1779 and the first recorded epidemic of it occurred simultaneously on three continents within the following decade. Dengue is characterized by flu-like symptoms and, while its symptoms are generally reported as quite unpleasant, is rarely fatal. However, in some cases patients can contract a more serious form of the disease, known as Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, which is far more dangerous. The World Health Organization estimates that today over 2.5 billion people are at risk for Dengue (over 40% of the world’s population). Between 50 and 100 million cases of traditional Dengue occur globally per year, with an estimated additional 500,000 cases of the hemorrhagic variation. Four decades ago, the disease was endemic in only nine countries. Currently it is endemic in more than 100 countries, and is spreading. A variety of characteristics complicate any attempt to study or model the Dengue virus. Foremost among these is that the virus exists in four serotypes. Infection from one serotype grants life-long immunity, but makes the patient more susceptible to the other three forms. There is also an elevated risk of contracting Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever from a secondary infection. Furthermore, endemic Dengue tends to appear cyclically, with each outbreak separated by several years. Thus, populations where Dengue is endemic (such as many parts of Asia and Latin America) and several serotypes exist are exceedingly difficult to accurately represent with a single mathematical model. In this paper, a system of differential equations is used as a virus dynamics model, based off a Dengue epidemics model proposed by Pinho et. al (2010). A 2009 Cape Verde epidemic, the first in that country’s history, is chosen as the outbreak for this study because of its unique characteristics: a virgin environment with no immunities or increased susceptibilities to the various Dengue serotypes, and the existence of a single serotype through-out the epidemic. Due to this novel incidence of Dengue in Cape Verde and to minimal reporting, the data set for the epidemic is sparse. However, this shortcoming is dealt with by using an extended logistic model-fitting technique. Certain key parameter values in the differential equations model can then be found based on this fitting. Other parameters are taken from previous studies in similar environments. With these, the basic reproductive rate (R0) can be calculated, giving a numerical measure of this particular epidemic\u27s infectiousness. The validity of this differential equation model is then tested by comparing generated values to the fitted data. The Cape Verde epidemic presents a valuable opportunity to study the behavior of the Dengue virus without the added complexity of immunity, increased susceptibility, or multiple serotypes. Furthermore, this simplified population is natural, and not the result of human data selection or manipulation. This paper represents the first attempt in existing literature to carefully apply existing Dengue models and theory to such a virgin environment