Building artificial personalities: expressive communication channels based on an interlingua for a human-robot dance

The development of artificial personalities requires that we develop a further understanding of how personality is communicated. This can be done through developing humanrobot interaction (HRI). In this paper we report on the development of the SpiderCrab robot. This uses an interlingua based on Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) to intermediate a human-robot dance. Specifically, we developed measurements to analyse data in real time from a simple vision system and implemented a simple stochastic dancing algorithm on a custom built robot. This shows how, through some simple rules, a personality can emerge by biasing random behaviour. The system was tested with professional dancers and members of the public and the results (formal and anecdotal) are presented herein

Reducing Interanalyst Variability in Photovoltaic Degradation Rate Assessments

The economic return on investment of a commercial photovoltaic system depends greatly on its performance over the long term and, hence, its degradation rate. Many methods have been proposed for assessing system degradation rates from outdoor performance data. However, comparing reported values from one analyst and research group to another requires a common baseline of performance; consistency between methods and analysts can be a challenge. An interlaboratory study was conducted involving different volunteer analysts reporting on the same photovoltaic performance data using different methodologies. Initial variability of the reported degradation rates was so high that analysts could not come to a consensus whether a system degraded or not. More consistent values are received when written guidance is provided to each analyst. Further improvements in analyst variance was accomplished by using the free open-source software RdTools, allowing a reduction in variance between analysts by more than two orders of magnitude over the first round, where multiple analysis methods are allowed. This article highlights many pitfalls in conducting 'routine' degradation analysis, and it addresses some of the factors that must be considered when comparing degradation results reported by different analysts or methods

Cross-modal individual recognition in wild African lions

Individual recognition is considered to have been fundamental in the evolution of complex social systems and is thought to be a widespread ability throughout the animal kingdom. Although robust evidence for individual recognition remains limited, recent experimental paradigms that examine cross-modal processing have demonstrated individual recognition in a range of captive non-human animals. It is now highly relevant to test whether cross-modal individual recognition exists within wild populations and thus examine how it is employed during natural social interactions. We address this question by testing audio–visual cross-modal individual recognition in wild African lions (Panthera leo) using an expectancy-violation paradigm. When presented with a scenario where the playback of a loud-call (roaring) broadcast from behind a visual block is incongruent with the conspecific previously seen there, subjects responded more strongly than during the congruent scenario where the call and individual matched. These findings suggest that lions are capable of audio–visual cross-modal individual recognition and provide a useful method for studying this ability in wild populations

Structural changes in gill DNA reveal the effects of contaminants on Puget Sound fish.

Structural differences were identified in gill DNA from two groups of English sole collected from Puget Sound, Washington, in October 2000. One group was from the industrialized Duwamish River (DR) in Seattle and the other from relatively clean Quartermaster Harbor (QMH). Chemical markers of sediment contamination [e.g., polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)] established that the DR was substantially more contaminated than QMH. The levels of these chemicals in the sediments of both sites were consistent with levels of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) expression in the gills of English sole from the same sites. Structural differences in gill DNA between the groups were evinced via statistical models of Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra. Marked structural damage was found in the gill DNA of the DR fish as reflected in differences in base functional groups (e.g., C-O and NH2) and conformational properties (e.g., arising from perturbations in vertical base stacking interactions). These DNA differences were used to discriminate between the two fish groups through principal components analysis of mean FT-IR spectra. In addition, logistic regression analysis allowed for the development of a "DNA damage index" to assess the effects of contaminants on the gill. The evidence implies that environmental chemicals contribute to the DNA changes in the gill. The damaged DNA is a promising marker for identifying, through gill biopsies, contaminant effects on fish

Study protocol to investigate the effect of a lifestyle intervention on body weight, psychological health status and risk factors associated with disease recurrence in women recovering from breast cancer treatment

Background Breast cancer survivors often encounter physiological and psychological problems related to their diagnosis and treatment that can influence long-term prognosis. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of a lifestyle intervention on body weight and psychological well-being in women recovering from breast cancer treatment, and to determine the relationship between changes in these variables and biomarkers associated with disease recurrence and survival. Methods/design Following ethical approval, a total of 100 patients will be randomly assigned to a lifestyle intervention (incorporating dietary energy restriction in conjunction with aerobic exercise training) or normal care control group. Patients randomised to the dietary and exercise intervention will be given individualised healthy eating dietary advice and written information and attend moderate intensity aerobic exercise sessions on three to five days per week for a period of 24 weeks. The aim of this strategy is to induce a steady weight loss of up to 0.5 Kg each week. In addition, the overall quality of the diet will be examined with a view to (i) reducing the dietary intake of fat to ~25% of the total calories, (ii) eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, (iii) increasing the intake of fibre and reducing refined carbohydrates, and (iv) taking moderate amounts of alcohol. Outcome measures will include body weight and body composition, psychological health status (stress and depression), cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life. In addition, biomarkers associated with disease recurrence, including stress hormones, estrogen status, inflammatory markers and indices of innate and adaptive immune function will be monitored. Discussion This research will provide valuable information on the effectiveness of a practical, easily implemented lifestyle intervention for evoking positive effects on body weight and psychological well-being, two important factors that can influence long-term prognosis in breast cancer survivors. However, the added value of the study is that it will also evaluate the effects of the lifestyle intervention on a range of biomarkers associated with disease recurrence and survival. Considered together, the results should improve our understanding of the potential role that lifestyle-modifiable factors could play in saving or prolonging lives

Do topical repellents divert mosquitoes within a community? Health equity implications of topical repellents as a mosquito bite prevention tool.

OBJECTIVES: Repellents do not kill mosquitoes--they simply reduce human-vector contact. Thus it is possible that individuals who do not use repellents but dwell close to repellent users experience more bites than otherwise. The objective of this study was to measure if diversion occurs from households that use repellents to those that do not use repellents. METHODS: The study was performed in three Tanzanian villages using 15%-DEET and placebo lotions. All households were given LLINs. Three coverage scenarios were investigated: complete coverage (all households were given 15%-DEET), incomplete coverage (80% of households were given 15%-DEET and 20% placebo) and no coverage (all households were given placebo). A crossover study design was used and coverage scenarios were rotated weekly over a period of ten weeks. The placebo lotion was randomly allocated to households in the incomplete coverage scenario. The level of compliance was reported to be close to 100%. Mosquito densities were measured through aspiration of resting mosquitoes. Data were analysed using negative binomial regression models. FINDINGS: Repellent-users had consistently fewer mosquitoes in their dwellings. In villages where everybody had been given 15%-DEET, resting mosquito densities were fewer than half that of households in the no coverage scenario (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR]=0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.25-0.60); p<0.001). Placebo-users living in a village where 80% of the households used 15%-DEET were likely to have over four-times more mosquitoes (IRR=4.17; 95% CI: 3.08-5.65; p<0.001) resting in their dwellings in comparison to households in a village where nobody uses repellent. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that high coverage of repellent use could significantly reduce man-vector contact but with incomplete coverage evidence suggests that mosquitoes are diverted from households that use repellent to those that do not. Therefore, if repellents are to be considered for vector control, strategies to maximise coverage are required

Influence of LAR and VAR on Para-Aminopyridine Antimalarials Targetting Haematin in Chloroquine-Resistance

Antimalarial chloroquine (CQ) prevents haematin detoxication when CQ-base concentrates in the acidic digestive vacuole through protonation of its p-aminopyridine (pAP) basic aro- matic nitrogen and sidechain diethyl-N. CQ export through the variant vacuolar membrane export channel, PFCRT, causes CQ-resistance in Plasmodium falciparum but 3-methyl CQ (sontochin SC), des-ethyl amodiaquine (DAQ) and bis 4-aminoquinoline piperaquine (PQ) are still active. This is determined by changes in drug accumulation ratios in parasite lipid (LAR) and in vacuolar water (VAR). Higher LAR may facilitate drug binding to and blocking PFCRT and also aid haematin in lipid to bind drug. LAR for CQ is only 8.3; VAR is 143,482. More hydrophobic SC has LAR 143; VAR remains 68,523. Similarly DAQ with a phenol sub- stituent has LAR of 40.8, with VAR 89,366. In PQ, basicity of each pAP is reduced by distal piperazine N, allowing very high LAR of 973,492, retaining VAR of 104,378. In another bis quinoline, dichlorquinazine (DCQ), also active but clinically unsatisfactory, each pAP retains basicity, being insulated by a 2-carbon chain from a proximal nitrogen of the single linking piperazine. While LAR of 15,488 is still high, the lowest estimate of VAR approaches 4.9 million. DCQ may be expected to be very highly lysosomotropic and therefore potentially hepatotoxic. In 11 pAP antimalarials a quadratic relationship between logLAR and logRe- sistance Index (RI) was confirmed, while log (LAR/VAR) vs logRI for 12 was linear. Both might be used to predict the utility of structural modifications

Comparison and Mapping Facilitate Relation Discovery and Predication

Relational concepts play a central role in human perception and cognition, but little is known about how they are acquired. For example, how do we come to understand that physical force is a higher-order multiplicative relation between mass and acceleration, or that two circles are the same-shape in the same way that two squares are? A recent model of relational learning, DORA (Discovery of Relations by Analogy; Doumas, Hummel & Sandhofer, 2008), predicts that comparison and analogical mapping play a central role in the discovery and predication of novel higher-order relations. We report two experiments testing and confirming this prediction

Effects on mortality of a nutritional intervention for malnourished HIV-infected adults referred for antiretroviral therapy: a randomised controlled trial.

Malnourished HIV-infected African adults are at high risk of early mortality after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). We hypothesized that short-course, high-dose vitamin and mineral supplementation in lipid nutritional supplements would decrease mortality

The elastic constants of MgSiO3 perovskite at pressures and temperatures of the Earth's mantle

The temperature anomalies in the Earth's mantle associated with thermal convection1 can be inferred from seismic tomography, provided that the elastic properties of mantle minerals are known as a function of temperature at mantle pressures. At present, however, such information is difficult to obtain directly through laboratory experiments. We have therefore taken advantage of recent advances in computer technology, and have performed finite-temperature ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the elastic properties of MgSiO3 perovskite, the major mineral of the lower mantle, at relevant thermodynamic conditions. When combined with the results from tomographic images of the mantle, our results indicate that the lower mantle is either significantly anelastic or compositionally heterogeneous on large scales. We found the temperature contrast between the coldest and hottest regions of the mantle, at a given depth, to be about 800K at 1000 km, 1500K at 2000 km, and possibly over 2000K at the core-mantle boundary.Comment: Published in: Nature 411, 934-937 (2001