Is It Human? The Role of Anthropomorphism as a Driver for the Successful Acceptance of Digital Voice Assistants

The market of digital voice has grown significantly over the recent years. Big players like Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are focusing on the development and expansion of their assistants. Especially smart speakers are on the rise but also in smartphone integrated voice applications are getting more popular. The main characteristics of this new technology are both elements of human-computer-interaction and especially the attribution of human characteristics. Although there is an increase of the number of current users as well as of consumers intending to use digital voice assistants in the future, drivers and barriers of digital voice assistants have not yet been sufficiently empirically investigated, especially concerning the phenomenon of anthropomorphism. This study points to additional key factors that are important to foster broader acceptance. Our empirical study is based on the UTAUT2 and highlights the importance of anthropomorphism in relation to other determinants known from the literature

Differences and Similarities in Motivation for Offline and Online eSports Event Consumption

ESports is a rising phenomenon that attracts followers worldwide. Recently, big eSports events are hosted regularly as a counterpart to the “traditional” online streams. However, the differences between offline and online consumption have not been scientifically addressed. Based on the Motivation Scale for Sports Consumption (MSSC), on-site visitors and stream followers (N = 637) of a big eSports event were surveyed. By analyzing the motives for eSports consumption of these two groups, insights about users following one specific broadcast form were derived and success factors (e.g. intention to visit) were assessed. While on-site attendees are motivated by social aspects, online participants seek knowledge gain and are interested in details of the gameplay. Escape and drama motivation are equally important for both groups. The findings give new insights in the field of eSports and help practitioners develop live experiences of eSports online as well as offline

Parasitic helminths induce fetal-like reversion in the intestinal stem cell niche.

Epithelial surfaces form critical barriers to the outside world and are continuously renewed by adult stem cells1. Whereas dynamics of epithelial stem cells during homeostasis are increasingly well understood, how stem cells are redirected from a tissue-maintenance program to initiate repair after injury remains unclear. Here we examined infection by Heligmosomoides polygyrus, a co-evolved pathosymbiont of mice, to assess the epithelial response to disruption of the mucosal barrier. H. polygyrus disrupts tissue integrity by penetrating the duodenal mucosa, where it develops while surrounded by a multicellular granulomatous infiltrate2. Crypts overlying larvae-associated granulomas did not express intestinal stem cell markers, including Lgr53, in spite of continued epithelial proliferation. Granuloma-associated Lgr5- crypt epithelium activated an interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-dependent transcriptional program, highlighted by Sca-1 expression, and IFN-γ-producing immune cells were found in granulomas. A similar epithelial response accompanied systemic activation of immune cells, intestinal irradiation, or ablation of Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells. When cultured in vitro, granuloma-associated crypt cells formed spheroids similar to those formed by fetal epithelium, and a sub-population of H. polygyrus-induced cells activated a fetal-like transcriptional program, demonstrating that adult intestinal tissues can repurpose aspects of fetal development. Therefore, re-initiation of the developmental program represents a fundamental mechanism by which the intestinal crypt can remodel itself to sustain function after injury

Frequency Measurement of an Ar+ Laser Stabilized on Narrow Lines of Molecular Iodine at 501.7 nm

A spectrometer for ultra high-resolution spectroscopy of molecular iodine at wave length 501.7 nm, near the dissociation limit is described. Line shapes about 30 kHz wide (HWHM) were obtained using saturation spectroscopy in a pumped cell. The frequency of an Ar+ laser was locked to a hyperfine component of the R(26)62-0 transition and the first absolute frequency measurement of this line is reported

Evaluating Telecollaboration Modalities for the Realization of an Industrial Maintenance Operation in a Constrained Environment

The continuous improvement of reactivity and resilience of the maintenance teams is one of many industrial companies’ priorities, especially in the scope of urgent interventions. To save valuable time usually lost travelling, it is possible to mobilize a technician near the defective infrastructure, and an experienced technician to guide him entirely remotely. Teleassistance, or telecollaboration, is a subject whose interest has grown widely in recent years in line with the evolution of digital technologies. Our study brings a new eye towards the current state of the art with an important focus on the industrial aspect of the operation; in terms of constraints but also of tasks to be realized. We present an interface of telecollaboration specially developed for Android tablets in order to evaluate the quality of the communication as well as the performance of an industrial maintenance operation on the operator-assistant format. The raised problematic is related to the methodology for finding the most optimal methods and formats of communication according to the quality of the available Internet network. The results of this study intend to provide relevant information on the use of teleassistance in an industrial environment according to different levels of available Internet speeds, or different work constraints such as noise or the use of safety equipment. Our work proves that it is essential to provide some form of audio communication to the collaborators to ensure the proper execution of the operation; and solutions are presented in the case where it is impossible to do so, depending on the cause, whether it is related to the work environment or connectivity

Opposing Activities of Notch and Wnt Signaling Regulate Intestinal Stem Cells and Gut Homeostasis

SummaryProper organ homeostasis requires tight control of adult stem cells and differentiation through the integration of multiple inputs. In the mouse small intestine, Notch and Wnt signaling are required both for stem cell maintenance and for a proper balance of differentiation between secretory and absorptive cell lineages. In the absence of Notch signaling, stem cells preferentially generate secretory cells at the expense of absorptive cells. Here, we use function-blocking antibodies against Notch receptors to demonstrate that Notch blockade perturbs intestinal stem cell function by causing a derepression of the Wnt signaling pathway, leading to misexpression of prosecretory genes. Importantly, attenuation of the Wnt pathway rescued the phenotype associated with Notch blockade. These studies bring to light a negative regulatory mechanism that maintains stem cell activity and balanced differentiation, and we propose that the interaction between Wnt and Notch signaling described here represents a common theme in adult stem cell biology

Laser module based on monolithically integrated MOPAs at 1.5 µm for space-borne lidar applications

Space-borne lidar systems require laser transmitters with very good performance in terms of output power, beam quality, conversion efficiency, long term reliability and environmental compatibility. Atmospheric gas sensing additionally requires spectral purity and stability. Solid state lasers are considered the most mature technology for space lidar applications, at expenses of a relatively large size and low conversion efficiency [1]- [3]. Fiber lasers present very high power levels and very good beam quality, but they require specific attention due to their sensitivity to radiation. In this sense, progresses have been made to develop high power fiber amplifiers for different space applications [4]-[6]. Recently, a new generation of high brightness semiconductor lasers based on tapered geometry has demonstrated relatively high average power levels together with a good beam quality [7]-[10]. These devices are emerging candidates for its direct use in space lidar systems

Atoh1 \u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e secretory progenitors possess renewal capacity independent of Lgr5 \u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e cells during colonic regeneration

During homeostasis, the colonic epithelium is replenished every 3–5 days by rapidly cycling Lgr5 + stem cells. However, various insults can lead to depletion of Lgr5 + stem cells, and colonic epithelium can be regenerated from Lgr5-negative cells. While studies in the small intestine have addressed the lineage identity of the Lgr5-negative regenerative cell population, in the colon this question has remained unanswered. Here, we set out to identify which cell(s) contribute to colonic regeneration by performing genetic fate-mapping studies of progenitor populations in mice. First, using keratin-19 (Krt19) to mark a heterogeneous population of cells, we found that Lgr5-negative cells can regenerate colonic crypts and give rise to Lgr5 + stem cells. Notch1 + absorptive progenitor cells did not contribute to epithelial repair after injury, whereas Atoh1 + secretory progenitors did contribute to this process. Additionally, while colonic Atoh1 + cells contributed minimally to other lineages during homeostasis, they displayed plasticity and contributed to epithelial repair during injury, independent of Lgr5 + cells. Our findings suggest that promotion of secretory progenitor plasticity could enable gut healing in colitis

Expression of MicroRNAs in the Stem Cell Niche of the Adult Mouse Incisor

Peer reviewe

Radio-frequency ablation as primary management of well-tolerated sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in patients with structural heart disease and left ventricular ejection fraction over 30%

Aims Patients with well-tolerated sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) over 30% may benefit from a primary strategy of VT ablation without immediate need for a ‘back-up' implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Methods and results One hundred and sixty-six patients with structural heart disease (SHD), LVEF over 30%, and well-tolerated SMVT (no syncope) underwent primary radiofrequency ablation without ICD implantation at eight European centres. There were 139 men (84%) with mean age 62 ± 15 years and mean LVEF of 50 ± 10%. Fifty-five percent had ischaemic heart disease, 19% non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, and 12% arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Three hundred seventy-eight similar patients were implanted with an ICD during the same period and serve as a control group. All-cause mortality was 12% (20 patients) over a mean follow-up of 32 ± 27 months. Eight patients (40%) died from non-cardiovascular causes, 8 (40%) died from non-arrhythmic cardiovascular causes, and 4 (20%) died suddenly (SD) (2.4% of the population). All-cause mortality in the control group was 12%. Twenty-seven patients (16%) had a non-fatal recurrence at a median time of 5 months, while 20 patients (12%) required an ICD, of whom 4 died (20%). Conclusion Patients with well-tolerated SMVT, SHD, and LVEF > 30% undergoing primary VT ablation without a back-up ICD had a very low rate of arrhythmic death and recurrences were generally non-fatal. These data would support a randomized clinical trial comparing this approach with others incorporating implantation of an ICD as a primary strateg