The perception of emotion in artificial agents

Given recent technological developments in robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, it is perhaps unsurprising that the arrival of emotionally expressive and reactive artificial agents is imminent. However, if such agents are to become integrated into our social milieu, it is imperative to establish an understanding of whether and how humans perceive emotion in artificial agents. In this review, we incorporate recent findings from social robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how people recognize and respond to emotions displayed by artificial agents. First, we review how people perceive emotions expressed by an artificial agent, such as facial and bodily expressions and vocal tone. Second, we evaluate the similarities and differences in the consequences of perceived emotions in artificial compared to human agents. Besides accurately recognizing the emotional state of an artificial agent, it is critical to understand how humans respond to those emotions. Does interacting with an angry robot induce the same responses in people as interacting with an angry person? Similarly, does watching a robot rejoice when it wins a game elicit similar feelings of elation in the human observer? Here we provide an overview of the current state of emotion expression and perception in social robotics, as well as a clear articulation of the challenges and guiding principles to be addressed as we move ever closer to truly emotional artificial agents

Optical analysis of textured plastic substrates to be used in thin silicon solar cells

Light confinement strategies in thin-film silicon solar cells play a crucial role in the performance of the devices. In this work, the possible use of Ag-coated stamped polymers as reflectors to be used in n-i-p solar cells is studied. Different random roughnesses (nanometer and micrometer size) have been transferred on poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) by hot embossing. Morphological and optical analyses of masters, stamped polymers and reflectors have been carried out evidencing a positive surface transference on the polymer and the viability of a further application in solar cells

Tropheryma whipplei in Fecal Samples from Children, Senegal

We tested fecal samples from 150 healthy children 2–10 years of age who lived in rural Senegal and found the prevalence of Tropheryma whipplei was 44%. Unique genotypes were associated with this bacterium. Our findings suggest that T. whipplei is emerging as a highly prevalent pathogen in sub-Saharan Africa

Octreotide treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma - a retrospective single centre controlled study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies of treatment with octreotide of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) gave conflicting results. We analyzed retrospectively the survival of our patients treated with octreotide monotherapy and compared it to stage-matched patients who received either TACE, multimodal therapy or palliative care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>95 patients seen at the department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna with HCC in BCLC stage A or B, who received either TACE, multimodal therapy, long-acting octreotide or palliative care were reviewed for this retrospective study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage B and any "active" treatment (long-acting octreotide, TACE or multimodal therapy) were significantly higher (22.4, 22.0, 35.5 months) compared to patients who received palliative care only (2.9 months). Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage A and "active" treatment (31.4, 37.3, 40.2 months) compared to patients who received only palliative care (15.1 months) did not show statistically significant differences. Octreotide monotherapy showed a similar outcome compared to patients who received TACE or multimodal therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Survival under octreotide treatment was not different compared to TACE or multimodal therapy and might be a therapeutic option for patients with HCC.</p

Mutations at positions 186 and 194 in the HA gene of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus improve replication in cell culture and eggs

Obtaining suitable seed viruses for influenza vaccines poses a challenge for public health authorities and manufacturers. We used reverse genetics to generate vaccine seed-compatible viruses from the 2009 pandemic swine-origin influenza virus. Comparison of viruses recovered with variations in residues 186 and 194 (based on the H3 numbering system) of the viral hemagglutinin showed that these viruses differed with respect to their ability to grow in eggs and cultured cells. Thus, we have demonstrated that molecular cloning of members of a quasispecies can help in selection of seed viruses for vaccine manufacture

Tropheryma whipplei in Children with Gastroenteritis

This bacterium may be an etiologic agent of gastroenteritis

The Long March: A Sample Preparation Technique that Enhances Contig Length and Coverage by High-Throughput Short-Read Sequencing

High-throughput short-read technologies have revolutionized DNA sequencing by drastically reducing the cost per base of sequencing information. Despite producing gigabases of sequence per run, these technologies still present obstacles in resequencing and de novo assembly applications due to biased or insufficient target sequence coverage. We present here a simple sample preparation method termed the “long march” that increases both contig lengths and target sequence coverage using high-throughput short-read technologies. By incorporating a Type IIS restriction enzyme recognition motif into the sequencing primer adapter, successive rounds of restriction enzyme cleavage and adapter ligation produce a set of nested sub-libraries from the initial amplicon library. Sequence reads from these sub-libraries are offset from each other with enough overlap to aid assembly and contig extension. We demonstrate the utility of the long march in resequencing of the Plasmodium falciparum transcriptome, where the number of genomic bases covered was increased by 39%, as well as in metagenomic analysis of a serum sample from a patient with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related acute liver failure, where the number of HBV bases covered was increased by 42%. We also offer a theoretical optimization of the long march for de novo sequence assembly