Interactive Text2Pickup Network for Natural Language based Human-Robot Collaboration

In this paper, we propose the Interactive Text2Pickup (IT2P) network for human-robot collaboration which enables an effective interaction with a human user despite the ambiguity in user's commands. We focus on the task where a robot is expected to pick up an object instructed by a human, and to interact with the human when the given instruction is vague. The proposed network understands the command from the human user and estimates the position of the desired object first. To handle the inherent ambiguity in human language commands, a suitable question which can resolve the ambiguity is generated. The user's answer to the question is combined with the initial command and given back to the network, resulting in more accurate estimation. The experiment results show that given unambiguous commands, the proposed method can estimate the position of the requested object with an accuracy of 98.49% based on our test dataset. Given ambiguous language commands, we show that the accuracy of the pick up task increases by 1.94 times after incorporating the information obtained from the interaction.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Circulating levels of DNA-histone complex and dsDNA are independent prognostic factors of disseminated intravascular coagulation

AbstractIntroductionNeutrophils can be induced to release DNA combined with histones. The resulting neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) provides a scaffold for growing hemostatic plug. Therefore, the NET formation may be inevitable in clinical conditions that are characterized by formation of vascular thrombi. Thus far, there have been no reports on the clinical significance of NET in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Therefore, we investigated circulating levels of NET in DIC and analyzed their potential values to assess coagulation severity and predict clinical outcome.MethodsThe plasma levels of DNA-histone complexes and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), considered to be in vivo markers of NET, were measured in 199 patients suspected of having DIC and 20 healthy controls.ResultThe circulating levels of DNA-histone complexes and dsDNA were significantly elevated in overt-DIC. The increased levels of these two markers correlated with the severity of coagulopathy including DIC score and D-dimer. Multivariable Cox regression analysis, adjusted for the conventional DIC markers, revealed that elevated DNA-histone complexes and dsDNA are poor independent prognostic markers.ConclusionThe circulating levels of NET release reflect the coagulation activation and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with DIC, thereby providing potential clinical relevance for mortality prediction in DIC

Topological Semantic Graph Memory for Image-Goal Navigation

A novel framework is proposed to incrementally collect landmark-based graph memory and use the collected memory for image goal navigation. Given a target image to search, an embodied robot utilizes semantic memory to find the target in an unknown environment. % The semantic graph memory is collected from a panoramic observation of an RGB-D camera without knowing the robot's pose. In this paper, we present a topological semantic graph memory (TSGM), which consists of (1) a graph builder that takes the observed RGB-D image to construct a topological semantic graph, (2) a cross graph mixer module that takes the collected nodes to get contextual information, and (3) a memory decoder that takes the contextual memory as an input to find an action to the target. On the task of image goal navigation, TSGM significantly outperforms competitive baselines by +5.0-9.0% on the success rate and +7.0-23.5% on SPL, which means that the TSGM finds efficient paths. Additionally, we demonstrate our method on a mobile robot in real-world image goal scenarios

Effect of restorative experience in reducing the risk perception of COVID-19 infection: Korean male campers’ well-being and willingness to pay a premium for camping

During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, South Korean men exhibited greater affective risk perceptions than women, displaying anxiety and fear of COVID-19 infection as well as emotional distress. Such negative psychological states can be reduced through exposure to natural environments. Natural settings often provide restorative environments promoting individual mental health, psychological stability, and well-being. Therefore, this study aims to examine the roles of restorativeness as perceived by men in mitigating the affective risk perception of COVID-19, improving well-being, and increasing the willingness to pay a premium to camp in the context of nature-based camping. An online survey was conducted with South Korean men who experienced camping during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 208 responses were used for data analysis. The results of structural equation modeling indicated significant relationships between affective risk perception and perceived restorativeness, perceived restorativeness and well-being, and well-being and willingness-to-pay-a-premium. The mediating effect of well-being was also significant. The findings of a multi-group analysis indicated a significant moderating effect of having children on the relationship between perceived restorativeness and well-being, but not on the relationship between well-being and willingness-to-pay-a-premium. The results of this study provide enhanced insight into restorative experiences in nature as a coping mechanism for increased affective risks as perceived by men during the pandemic. In particular, this study examined the psychological benefits of a natural environment in the context of camping and empirically identified the role of camping in promoting a feeling of restorativeness and inducing men’s well-being perception by easing negative emotions. This study also provides practitioners with an understanding of changes in men’s perceptions and emotional and behavioral responses through positive restorative experiences

Azeroth: Auditable Zero-knowledge Transactions in Smart Contracts

With the rapid growth of the blockchain market, privacy and security issues for digital assets are becoming more important. In the most widely used public blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, all activities on user accounts are publicly disclosed, which violates privacy regulations such as EU GDPR. Encryption of accounts and transactions may protect privacy, but it also raises issues of validity and transparency: encrypted information alone cannot verify the validity of a transaction and makes it difficult to meet anti-money laundering regulations, i.e. auditability. In this paper, we propose $\textsf{Azeroth}$, an auditable zero-knowledge transfer framework. $\textsf{Azeroth}$ connects a zero-knowledge proof to an encrypted transaction, enabling it to check its validation while protecting its privacy. $\textsf{Azeroth}$ also allows authorized auditors to audit transactions. $\textsf{Azeroth}$ is designed as a smart contract for flexible deployment on existing blockchains. %According to the result of our experiment, the proof generation time is about $0.9s$, and the asset transferring time is only $4.4s$, which is practically usable. We implement the $\textsf{Azeroth}$ smart contract, execute it on various platforms including an Ethereum testnet blockchain, and measure the time to show the practicality of our proposal. The end-to-end latency of a privacy-preserving transfer takes about $4.4s$. In particular, the client\u27s transaction generation time with a proof only takes about $0.9s$. The security of $\textsf{Azeroth}$ is proven under the cryptographic assumptions

Re-intermediation in the Fashion Industry: A Qualitative Study on Brokers in the Dongdae-mun Fashion District

Traditionally, middlemen had a large role in physical markets, serving as intermediaries by evaluating and distributing products. However, the rise of online markets and intermediaries have diminished their roles. This study investigates the change of intermediaries' roles in the presence of infomediaries, and the conditions that necessitate the re-introduction of the middlemen as ``re-intermediaries''. We observed a group of brokers who work in the Dongdae-mun (DDM) fashion district in Seoul, Korea through multiple qualitative research methods including observations, contextual inquiries, and in-depth interviews. Our findings show that the reliability and depth of information relayed by human sources, along with the subjective nature of fashion have contributed to the brokers playing a major role again, despite infomediaries. The DDM fashion district relies heavily on the brokers' evaluations on trends, fashion, and product popularity, in addition to their traditional role of distributing goods in a quick manner

By the People: Hard Times, Hard Choices Michigan Residents Deliberate

Outlines the concept of deliberative polling and presents results from a face-to-face statewide deliberative poll on Michigan's economy and budget issues, including taxes, spending and benefits, the environment, and options for state assistance.For the first time, a scientific random sample of the people of Michigan gathered together to deliberate about the hard choices facing the state's economic future. Results of Michigan's first Deliberative Poll show what the people of the state would think if they could all become more informed and discuss the issues in depth. Highly representative in both attitudes and demographics, a sample of 314 participants deliberated for a long weekend in Lansing, with both small group discussions and questions answered by competing experts in plenary sessions. The resulting changes of opinion in the final survey offer some dramatic recommendations for both policymakers and the public

Novel management of expected post-radiotherapy complications in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: a case report

In recent years, radiotherapy (RT) has been used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at each stage. This clinical trend has developed with the increasing improvement of RT techniques, which show clinical results comparable to those of other treatment modalities. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy uses a high radiation dose to improve treatment effectiveness. However, the associated radiation toxicity can damage adjacent organs. Radiation-induced gastric damage with gastric ulcers is a complication of RT. This report presents a novel management strategy for preventing post-RT gastric ulcers. We present the case of a 53-year-old male patient diagnosed with HCC, who experienced gastric ulcer after RT. Before the second round of RT, the patient was administered a gas-foaming agent, which was effective in preventing RT complications

How circular design can contribute to social sustainability and legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™? The case of innovative shipping container stadium

The circular economy proposes a paradigm shift from the ‘take-make-waste’ type of economic system and aims to foster innovation, resource efficiency, and waste prevention. Mega sporting events can be considered great opportunities to promote sustainable cities and communities and leave a lasting positive legacy after the post-game stage. Qatar will organize the upcoming FIFA World Cup in 2022 and Ras Abu Aboud (RAA) is designed as a fully reusable and modular shipping container stadium, which will be dismantled, relocated, and reused after the tournament. This study aims to present the first comprehensive analysis on the social sustainability and legacy aspects of a circular and sharing economy application for the FIFA World Cup organization. The research analyzes the entire life cycle phases of the RAA stadium including the raw material production, construction, operations, and end-of-life. The Ecoinvent v.3.7.1 is used to quantify the midpoint environmental and endpoint human health impacts. For its operation phase assessment, two operation scenarios are comparatively analyzed: one-year temporary operation (Scenario 1) and 50 years of permanent operation (Scenario 2). Later, a simulation-based sensitivity analysis is conducted. Finally, we discussed how circular and modular design thinking can bring long-lasting legacy post-event, through reuse and recycling from a socio-economic perspective. An important finding shows that circular design under Scenario 1 can save up to 60% of human health impacts and significantly reduce the material footprint and dependence on imported construction materials. This research will enhance future awareness for sustainability benefits of circular and sharing economy application adopted by mega sporting events concerning the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and FIFA's post-game legacy and sustainability strategies