Cognitive Architecture to Generate Motivational Feelings: A Way to Improve Visual Learning in Robots

Expressions and voice pitch of an individual play an indispensable role in different cognitive processes. These factor help humans to learn a lot about different things present in their environment. This paper proposes a way to motivate robot learning through their environment and human around them. This mechanism is based on recognition of other agent’s facial expressions and voice pitch analysis by robot. A motivational level can be calculated through these feelings. Motivational level can impel the robots to improve their past learning. This mechanism can possibly help a robot to apprehend its environment and interact with other agents effectively. Keywords: cognition; motivation; facial expression; voice pitch; perception; memory

Expression Characterization of Flavonoid Biosynthetic Pathway Genes and Transcription Factors in Peanut Under Water Deficit Conditions

Drought is one of the hostile environmental stresses that limit the yield production of crop plants by modulating their growth and development. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) has a wide range of adaptations to arid and semi-arid climates, but its yield is prone to loss due to drought. Other than beneficial fatty acids and micronutrients, peanut harbors various bioactive compounds including flavonoids that hold a prominent position as antioxidants in plants and protect them from oxidative stress. In this study, understanding of the biosynthesis of flavonoids in peanut under water deficit conditions was developed through expression analysis and correlational analysis and determining the accumulation pattern of phenols, flavonols, and anthocyanins. Six peanut varieties (BARD479, BARI2011, BARI2000, GOLDEN, PG1102, and PG1265) having variable responses against drought stress have been selected. Higher water retention and flavonoid accumulation have been observed in BARI2011 but downregulation has been observed in the expression of genes and transcription factors (TFs) which indicated the maintenance of normal homeostasis. ANOVA revealed that the expression of flavonoid genes and TFs is highly dependent upon the genotype of peanut in a spatiotemporal manner. Correlation analysis between expression of flavonoid biosynthetic genes and TFs indicated the role of AhMYB111 and AhMYB7 as an inhibitor for AhF3H and AhFLS, respectively, and AhMYB7, AhTTG1, and AhCSU2 as a positive regulator for the expression of Ah4CL, AhCHS, and AhF3H, respectively. However, AhbHLH and AhGL3 revealed nil-to-little relation with the expression of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes. Correlational analysis between the expression of TFs related to the biosynthesis of flavonoids and the accumulation of phenolics, flavonols, and anthocyanins indicated coregulation of flavonoid synthesis by TFs under water deficit conditions in peanut. This study would provide insight into the role of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in drought response in peanut and would aid to develop drought-tolerant varieties of peanut

THERAPEUTIC DRUG MONITORING OF BROAD SPECTRUM ANTIFUNGAL, VORICONAZOLE- A REVIEW

Voriconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal drug. It belongs to triazole group, and is available in market as oral as well as intravenous (IV) forms. It is highly effective against a number of clinically important fungi causing invasive infections. Its pharmacokinetic profile is non-linear with extensive inter-individual and intra-individual variability. Various factors contribute towards this variability including age, race, gender, genotype, hepatic functions, administration with or without food, and concomitant administration of other drugs causing drug interactions. Variability in plasma concentrations of the drug, arising from these factors, may result in variations in efficacy of the drug or may contribute towards potential toxicity. Voriconazole therapeutic drug monitoring is mandatory considering bad prognosis of patients suffering from invasive fungal infections, especially ones who are immunosuppressed, and prolonged period of treatment needed, in order to optimize antifungal treatment and to prevent the adverse events.&nbsp

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Relationship between Perceived Parenting Styles of Mothers and Emotional Intelligence Among Undergraduate Students

The objective of the study was to find out relationship between perceived parenting styles of mothers and emotional intelligence among undergraduate students. Correlational research was selected as research design. The population of the study was undergraduate students of education department of public and private universities of Lahore. The total population was 1760. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. The strata were formed on the basis of nature of the university. The total number of students selected was 528. The instrument consisted of three parts; first part consisted of demographic information (gender, nature of institution, education of mother and working status of mother). The second part consisted of Parenting Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), designed by Buri (1991) which was used to measure parenting styles and the third part consisted of Emotional Intelligence questionnaire (EI) by Schutte (1998) which was used to measure emotional intelligence. Data was collected individually from participants through questionnaires by survey method. Both inferential and descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the data. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables and Independent sample t-test was used to determine the difference between the demographic variables

Socioeconomic Status, Gender, and Politeness Strategies: Studying the Usage of Request Speech Act in Pakistani Undergraduate Students

Politeness strategy has non-linguistic as well as linguistic apprehensions. Moreover, it is observed as part of the sociolinguistics and conversational competency of the orators of a particular language.&nbsp; This recent study investigates the politeness strategies in the context of Punjabi language. The goal is to classify the politeness strategies as a part of Pakistani set culture particularly with reference to Punjabi language context. To make this study valid, Brown and Levison’s (1987) framework is employed as a ration ground for this study.&nbsp; The variable of gender and socioeconomic factors has been analyzed to investigate the impending result by stalking down the politeness strategies especially in Pakistani culture context.&nbsp; A survey was conducted through an open ended questionnaire. For this study (DCT) Discourse conclusive test is selected as a modified version. A group of 120 people which is comprised of male and female native speakers of Punjabi language are selected. This study investigates that in Pakistani culture particularly with reference to Punjabi language, people tend to remain informal when making requests which can be classified as informal politeness strategies. This study investigates socioeconomic status of Punjabi language speakers both male and female by not making in gender specific. Through this study frequency of politeness strategies has been undergone in Punjabi language

Culturally Ostracized Emoji: A Semiotic Analysis of Emojis and Emoticons

The worldwide usage of Emoji is a source to assess the globalization of the Japanese popular culture in the struggle to promote cultural literacy and multiculturalism.&nbsp; This new visual writing system of Emoji reveals prejudice among its users across the global village. The cultural diversity have made it more complex and unreadable, hence it requires to be used with conventional modes of expression to evade misunderstandings. This rise of Emoji icons was acknowledged in 2015 by Oxford Dictionary by declaring Face with Tear of Joy Emoji as the word of the year. The present research aims to explore the visual practices employed to propagate different ideologies in the culturally banned Emoji icons and Emoticons.&nbsp; This research is carried out with a proposed semiotic reading of Emoji icons and Emoticons inspired by Marcel Danesi’s the Semiotic of Emoji: The Rise of Visual Language in the Age of Internet