A Brain-Inspired Multi-Modal Perceptual System for Social Robots: An Experimental Realization

We propose a multi-modal perceptual system that is inspired by the inner working of the human brain; in particular, the hierarchical structure of the sensory cortex and the spatial-temporal binding criteria. The system is context independent and can be applied to many on-going problems in social robotics, including but not limited to person recognition, emotion recognition, and multi-modal robot doctor to name a few. The system encapsulates the parallel distributed processing of real-world stimuli through different sensor modalities and encoding them into features vectors which in turn are processed via a number of dedicated processing units (DPUs) through hierarchical paths. DPUs are algorithmic realizations of the cell assemblies in neuroscience. A plausible and realistic perceptual system is presented via the integration of the outputs from these units by spiking neural networks. We will also discuss other components of the system including top-down influences and the integration of information through temporal binding with fading memory and suggest two alternatives to realize these criteria. Finally, we will demonstrate the implementation of this architecture on a hardware platform as a social robot and report experimental studies on the system

Probable maximum precipitation estimation in a humid climate

Probable maximum precipitation (PMP) estimation is one of the most important components for designing hydraulic structures. The aim of this study was the estimation of 24&thinsp;h PMP (PMP24) using statistical and hydro-meteorological (physical) approaches in the humid climate of the Qareh-Su basin, which is located in the northern part of Iran. Firstly, for the statistical estimate of PMP, the equations of empirical curves of the Hershfield method were extracted and the Hershfield standard and modified methods were written in Java programming language, as a user-friendly and multi-platform application called the PMP Calculator. Secondly, a hydro-meteorological approach, which is called the convergence model, was used to calculate PMP24. The results of both approaches were evaluated based on statistical criteria, such as the mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), correlation coefficient (r), and coefficient of determination (R2). The maximum values of PMP24 for the Hershfield standard and modified methods were estimated to be 448 and 201&thinsp;mm, respectively, while the PMP obtained by the physical approach was 143&thinsp;mm. Comparison of PMP24 values with the maximum 24&thinsp;h precipitation demonstrated that based on performance criteria including the MAE, MSE, RMSE, MAPE, r, and R2, the physical approach performed better than the statistical approach and it provided the most reliable estimates for PMP. Also, the accuracy of the Hershfield modified method was better than the standard method using modified Km values, and the standard method gives excessively large PMP for construction costs.</p

Effect of Population, Collection Year, After-Ripening and Incubation Condition on Seed Germination of \u3cem\u3eStipa bungeana\u3c/em\u3e

Knowledge of the germination behavior of different populations of a species can be useful in the selection of appropriate seed sources for restoration. The aim of this study was to test the effect of seed population, collection year, after-ripening and incubation conditions on seed dormancy and germination of Stipa bungeana, a perennial grass used for revegetation of degraded grasslands on the Loess Plateau, China. Fresh S. bungeana seeds were collected from eight locally-adapted populations in 2015 and 2016. Dormancy and germination characteristics of fresh and 6-month-old dry-stored seeds were determined by incubating them over a range of alternating temperature regimes in light. Effect of water stress on germination was tested for fresh and 6-month-old dry-stored seeds. Seed dormancy and germination of S. bungeana differed with population and collection year. Six months of dry storage broke seed dormancy, broadened the temperature range for germination and increased among-population differences in germination percentage. The rank order of germination was not consistent in all germination tests, and it varied among populations. Thus, studies on comparing seed dormancy and germination among populations must consider year of collection, seed dormancy states and germination test conditions when selecting seeds for grassland restoration and management

Perspectives of Portuguese People with Physical Disabilities Regarding Their Sexual Health: A Focus Group Study

The World Health Organization has considered sexual health as a major dimension of global health and a sexual right. However, the sexual health of people with physical disabilities is still poorly addressed by health and social care professionals, and it is very stigmatized by society. This study aimed to assess the perspectives of Portuguese people living with physical disabilities regarding issues affecting their sexual health. Nine women and 17 men with different physical disabilities participated in the study. Participants were recruited from a professional rehabilitation facility located in the North of Portugal and were assigned to four groups in one-hour sessions. Three main categories emerged from the content analysis: (1) meanings and beliefs regarding sexuality; (2) experiences of sexuality; (3) necessary changes. Despite the positive social changes towards sexuality, participants expressed that their sexual rights are still unfulfilled, as they live in a context that perpetuates their dependency. They pointed out low self-esteem, prejudice and social isolation, poor architectural accessibility and scarcity of financial support as some of the barriers to their lives and their sexual health. Finally, participants identified the main needs regarding their sexual health, such as: access to specialized information; training for health professionals. This study gives voice to people with physical disabilities and sheds light into both individual and contextual factors affecting their sexual health. Of utmost importance, this study draws attention to the need for reinforcing sexuality of people with disabilities in the social agenda and brings implications for future research and practice.This study was supported by a Grant attributed to the first author by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/112168/2015)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of COVID-19 prevention procedures on other common infections: a systematic review

Introduction: Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) began, necessary measures to prevent virus transmission and reduce mortality have been implemented, including mandatory public use of masks, regular hand-sanitizing and hand-washing, social distancing, avoidance of crowds, remote work, and cancellation of public events. During and after the introduction of COVID-19 lockout, we performed a systematic review of available published literature to investigate the incidence of seasonal influenza and other respiratory viral infections. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and the World Health Organization databases and websites were systematically searched for original studies concerning the impact of COVID-19 prevention means and measures on other common respiratory infectious diseases during the pandemic published by March 2021. Results: The findings showed that the adherence to health protocols to prevent COVID-19 could help to reduce the incidence of other infectious diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Conclusion: The implemented prevention measures and protocols might have reduced the incidence of influenza and some other common respiratory infections. However, controversies exist on this matter and future large population-based studies might provide further information to address these controversies. © 2021, The Author(s)

A systematic review of sarcopenia prevalence and associated factors in people living with human immunodeficiency virus

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) appear to be at an increased risk of sarcopenia, which can have a devastating effect on their life due to consequences such as physical disability, poor quality of life, and finally death. This systematic review examined sarcopenia prevalence and its associated factors in PLWH. A systematic search was conducted using the keywords in the online databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane databases from the dates of inception up to May 2022. The retrieved articles underwent a two-step title/abstract and full-text review process, and the eligible papers were selected and included in the qualitative synthesis. Data relating to the study population, purpose of study, gender, age, race, body mass index, medical history, paraclinical results and antiretroviral therapy as associated factors of sarcopenia were extracted. In addition, the prevalence of sarcopenia in PLWH and its promoting and reducing factors were also extracted. We reviewed the 14 related studies for identifying of sarcopenia prevalence and its associated factors in PLWH. The total number of PLWH in all the reviewed studies was 2592. There was no criterion for the minimum number of people with HIV and the lowest number of PLWH was 27, and the highest number was 860. Some studies reported a significantly higher prevalence of sarcopenia in HIV-infected individuals compared with HIV-negative controls as follows: 24.2–6.7%, 15–4% and 10–6%, respectively. We showed that, age (30–50 years), being female, >5 years post-HIV diagnosis, multiple vertebral fractures, cocaine/heroin use and lower gamma-glutamyl transferase level were the main promoting factors of sarcopenia. Higher educational level, employment, physical exercise, calf circumference >31 cm, and gait speed >0.8 m/s were also factors to reduce sarcopenia. Sarcopenia prevalence in PLWH is higher than HIV-negative population. Given the importance and prevalence of sarcopenia among PLWH and its associated consequences (i.e., mortality and disability), determining its risk factors is of great importance. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders

A Multi-Modal Person Recognition System for Social Robots

The paper presents a solution to the problem of person recognition by social robots via a novel brain-inspired multi-modal perceptual system. The system employs spiking neural network to integrate face, body features, and voice data to recognize a person in various social human-robot interaction scenarios. We suggest that, by and large, most reported multi-biometric person recognition algorithms require active participation by the subject and as such are not appropriate for social human-robot interactions. However, the proposed algorithm relaxes this constraint. As there are no public datasets for multimodal systems, we designed a hybrid dataset by integration of the ubiquitous FERET, RGB-D, and TIDIGITS datasets for face recognition, person recognition, and speaker recognition, respectively. The combined dataset facilitates association of facial features, body shape, and speech signature for multimodal person recognition in social settings. This multimodal dataset is employed for testing the algorithm. We assess the performance of the algorithm and discuss its merits against related methods. Within the context of the social robotics, the results suggest the superiority of the proposed method over other reported person recognition algorithms

A Multi-Modal Person Recognition System for Social Robots

The paper presents a solution to the problem of person recognition by social robots via a novel brain-inspired multi-modal perceptual system. The system employs spiking neural network to integrate face, body features, and voice data to recognize a person in various social human-robot interaction scenarios. We suggest that, by and large, most reported multi-biometric person recognition algorithms require active participation by the subject and as such are not appropriate for social human-robot interactions. However, the proposed algorithm relaxes this constraint. As there are no public datasets for multimodal systems, we designed a hybrid dataset by integration of the ubiquitous FERET, RGB-D, and TIDIGITS datasets for face recognition, person recognition, and speaker recognition, respectively. The combined dataset facilitates association of facial features, body shape, and speech signature for multimodal person recognition in social settings. This multimodal dataset is employed for testing the algorithm. We assess the performance of the algorithm and discuss its merits against related methods. Within the context of the social robotics, the results suggest the superiority of the proposed method over other reported person recognition algorithms