Local Alignment of Frame of Reference Assignment in English and Swedish Dialogue

In this paper we examine how people assign, interpret, negotiate and repair the frame of reference (FoR) in online text-based dialogues discussing spatial scenes in English and Swedish. We describe our corpus and data collection which involves a coordination experiment in which dyadic dialogue participants have to identify differences in their picture of a visual scene. As their perspectives of the scene are different, they must coordinate their FoRs in order to complete the task. Results show that participants do not align on a global FoR, but tend to align locally, for sub-portions (or particular conversational games) in the dialogue. This has implications for how dialogue systems should approach problems of FoR assignment – and what strategies for clarification they should implement

Towards a Computational Model of Frame of Reference Alignment in Swedish Dialogue

In this paper we examine how people negotiate, interpret and repair the frame of reference (FoR) in online text based dialogues discussing spatial scenes in Swedish. We describe work-in-progress in which participants are given different perspectives of the same scene and asked to locate several objects that are only shown on one of their pictures. This task requires participants to coordinate on FoR in order to identify the missing objects. This study has implications for situated dialogue systems

Online mindfulness stress intervention for family carers of children and adults with intellectual disabilities : feasibility randomized controlled trial

Objectives: Family carers of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are twice as likely as other carers to experience stress and mental ill-health, but research exploring interventions is sparse. Online mindfulness may provide an accessible, cost-effective resource. The addition of guided telephone support could help to tailor an existing intervention for this population. A feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to inform the development of a definitive RCT. Methods: Sixty participants were randomized to complete Be Mindful (a brief online mindfulness intervention) either with or without additional Peer Mentor support. Feasibility of recruitment, retention, intervention adherence, and acceptability of study design were examined. Preliminary analyses were undertaken on participant-reported outcomes pre- and post-intervention. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted as a process evaluation. Results: Feasibility outcomes indicate that it would be possible to recruit and retain (88%) participants to a definitive RCT, and that the study design and intervention are acceptable. The addition of guided telephone support was not burdensome; indeed, it was additionally motivating. Telephone support can be delivered with high fidelity, but this is inconsistent and requires further piloting. Preliminary comparison data indicate small, but non-significant, improvements for participants receiving guided telephone support relative to those who did not over time. Conclusions: It is feasible to deliver online mindfulness with additional telephone guided support to family carers of people with ID, and this may lead to small benefits over receiving online mindfulness alone. A definitive RCT can be planned to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this intervention

A multinuclear solid state NMR, density functional theory and X-Ray diffraction study of hydrogen bonding in Group I hydrogen dibenzoates

An NMR crystallographic approach incorporating multinuclear solid state NMR (SSNMR), X-ray structure determinations and density functional theory (DFT) are used to characterise the H bonding arrangements in benzoic acid (BZA) and the corresponding Group I alkali metal hydrogen dibenzoates (HD) systems. Since the XRD data often cannot precisely confirm the proton position within the hydrogen bond, the relationship between the experimental SSNMR parameters and the ability of gauge included plane augmented wave (GIPAW) DFT to predict them becomes a powerful constraint that can assist with further structure refinement. Both the 1H and 13C MAS NMR methods provide primary descriptions of the H bonding via accurate measurements of the 1H and 13C isotropic chemical shifts, and the individual 13C chemical shift tensor elements; these are unequivocally corroborated by DFT calculations, which together accurately describe the trend of the H bonding strength as the size of the monovalent cation changes. In addition, 17O MAS and DOR NMR form a powerful combination to characterise the O environments, with the DOR technique providing highly resolved 17O NMR data which helps verify unequivocally the number of inequivalent O positions for the conventional 17O MAS NMR to process. Further multinuclear MAS and static NMR studies involving the quadrupolar 7Li, 39K, 87Rb and 133Cs nuclei, and the associated DFT calculations, provide trends and a corroboration of the H bond geometry which assist in the understanding of these arrangements. Even though the crystallographic H positions in each H bonding arrangement reported from the single crystal X-ray studies are prone to uncertainty, the good corroboration between the measured and DFT calculated chemical shift and quadrupole tensor parameters for the Group I alkali species suggest that these reported H positions are reliable

Differential production of type I IFN determines the reciprocal levels of IL-10 and proinflammatory cytokines produced by C57BL/6 and BALB/c macrophages

Pattern recognition receptors detect microbial products and induce cytokines, which shape the immunological response. IL-12, TNF-alpha, and IL-1 beta are proinflammatory cytokines, which are essential for resistance against infection, but when produced at high levels they may contribute to immunopathology. In contrast, IL-10 is an immunosuppressive cytokine, which dampens proinflammatory responses, but it can also lead to defective pathogen clearance. The regulation of these cytokines is therefore central to the generation of an effective but balanced immune response. In this study, we show that macrophages derived from C57BL/6 mice produce low levels of IL-12, TNF-alpha, and IL-1 beta, but high levels of IL-10, in response to TLR4 and TLR2 ligands LPS and Pam3CSK4, as well as Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Gram-negative bacterium that activates TLR2/4. In contrast, macrophages derived from BALB/c mice show a reciprocal pattern of cytokine production. Differential production of IL-10 in B. pseudomallei and LPS-stimulated C57BL/6 and BALB/c macrophages was due to a type I IFN and ERK1/2-dependent, but IL-27-independent, mechanism. Enhanced type I IFN expression in LPS-stimulated C57BL/6 macrophages was accompanied by increased STAT1 and IFN regulatory factor 3 activation. Furthermore, type I IFN contributed to differential IL-1 beta and IL-12 production in B. pseudomallei and LPS-stimulated C57BL/6 and BALB/c macrophages via both IL-10-dependent and -independent mechanisms. These findings highlight key pathways responsible for the regulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in macrophages and reveal how they may differ according to the genetic background of the host.his work was supported by The Francis Crick Institute, which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001126), the U.K. Medical Research Council (FC001126), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001126) since April 1, 2015 and before that by U.K. Medical Research Council Grant MRC U117565642 and also by European Research Council Grant 294682-TB-PATH (Crick 10127). A.H. was additionally funded by a U.K. Medical Research Council Centenary Award. M.S. was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal Grant FCT-ANR/BIM-MEC/ 0007/2013. M.S. is an associate Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal investigator.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prioritising Infectious Disease Mapping.

BACKGROUND: Increasing volumes of data and computational capacity afford unprecedented opportunities to scale up infectious disease (ID) mapping for public health uses. Whilst a large number of IDs show global spatial variation, comprehensive knowledge of these geographic patterns is poor. Here we use an objective method to prioritise mapping efforts to begin to address the large deficit in global disease maps currently available. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Automation of ID mapping requires bespoke methodological adjustments tailored to the epidemiological characteristics of different types of diseases. Diseases were therefore grouped into 33 clusters based upon taxonomic divisions and shared epidemiological characteristics. Disability-adjusted life years, derived from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 study, were used as a globally consistent metric of disease burden. A review of global health stakeholders, existing literature and national health priorities was undertaken to assess relative interest in the diseases. The clusters were ranked by combining both metrics, which identified 44 diseases of main concern within 15 principle clusters. Whilst malaria, HIV and tuberculosis were the highest priority due to their considerable burden, the high priority clusters were dominated by neglected tropical diseases and vector-borne parasites. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A quantitative, easily-updated and flexible framework for prioritising diseases is presented here. The study identifies a possible future strategy for those diseases where significant knowledge gaps remain, as well as recognising those where global mapping programs have already made significant progress. For many conditions, potential shared epidemiological information has yet to be exploited