Continuous Interaction with a Virtual Human

Attentive Speaking and Active Listening require that a Virtual Human be capable of simultaneous perception/interpretation and production of communicative behavior. A Virtual Human should be able to signal its attitude and attention while it is listening to its interaction partner, and be able to attend to its interaction partner while it is speaking – and modify its communicative behavior on-the-fly based on what it perceives from its partner. This report presents the results of a four week summer project that was part of eNTERFACE’10. The project resulted in progress on several aspects of continuous interaction such as scheduling and interrupting multimodal behavior, automatic classification of listener responses, generation of response eliciting behavior, and models for appropriate reactions to listener responses. A pilot user study was conducted with ten participants. In addition, the project yielded a number of deliverables that are released for public access

Preliminary Report: Missense mutations in the APOL gene family are associated with end stage kidney disease risk previously attributed to the MYH9 gene

MYH9 has been proposed as a major genetic risk locus for a spectrum of non-diabetic end stage kidney disease (ESKD). We use recently released sequences from the 1000 Genomes Project to identify two western African specific missense mutations (S342G and I384M) in the neighbouring APOL1 gene, and demonstrate that these are more strongly associated with ESKD than previously reported MYH9 variants. We also show that the distribution of these risk variants in African populations is consistent with the pattern of African ancestry ESKD risk previously attributed to the MYH9 gene. Additional associations were also found among other members of the APOL gene family, and we propose that ESKD risk is caused by western African variants in members of the APOL gene family, which evolved to confer protection against pathogens, such as Trypanosoma.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Worldwide Distribution of the MYH9 Kidney Disease Susceptibility Alleles and Haplotypes: Evidence of Historical Selection in Africa

MYH9 was recently identified as renal susceptibility gene (OR 3–8, p<10−8) for major forms of kidney disease disproportionately affecting individuals of African descent. The risk haplotype (E-1) occurs at much higher frequencies in African Americans (≥60%) than in European Americans (<4%), revealing a genetic basis for a major health disparity. The population distributions of MYH9 risk alleles and the E-1 risk haplotype and the demographic and selective forces acting on the MYH9 region are not well explored. We reconstructed MYH9 haplotypes from 4 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning introns 12–23 using available data from HapMap Phase II, and by genotyping 938 DNAs from the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP). The E-1 risk haplotype followed a cline, being most frequent within sub-Saharan African populations (range 50–80%), less frequent in populations from the Middle East (9–27%) and Europe (0–9%), and rare or absent in Asia, the Americas, and Oceania. The fixation indexes (FST) for pairwise comparisons between the risk haplotypes for continental populations were calculated for MYH9 haplotypes; FST ranged from 0.27–0.40 for Africa compared to other continental populations, possibly due to selection. Uniquely in Africa, the Yoruba population showed high frequency extended haplotype length around the core risk allele (C) compared to the alternative allele (T) at the same locus (rs4821481, iHs = 2.67), as well as high population differentiation (FST(CEU vs. YRI) = 0.51) in HapMap Phase II data, also observable only in the Yoruba population from HGDP (FST = 0.49), pointing to an instance of recent selection in the genomic region. The population-specific divergence in MYH9 risk allele frequencies among the world's populations may prove important in risk assessment and public health policies to mitigate the burden of kidney disease in vulnerable populations

uMine: A Blockchain Based on Human Miners

Blockchain technology like Bitcoin is a rapidly growing field of research which has found a wide array of applications. However, the power consumption of the mining process in the Bitcoin blockchain alone is estimated to be at least as high as the electricity consumption of Ireland which constitutes a serious liability to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology. We propose a novel instantiation of a proof of human-work which is a cryptographic proof that an amount of human work has been exercised, and show its use in the mining process of a blockchain. Next to our instantiation there is only one other instantiation known which relies on indistinguishability obfuscation, a cryptographic primitive whose existence is only conjectured. In contrast, our construction is based on the cryptographic principle of multiparty computation (which we use in a black box manner) and thus is the first known feasible proof of human-work scheme. Our blockchain mining algorithm called uMine, can be regarded as an alternative energy-efficient approach to mining

Temporal dynamics of selective attention and conflict resolution during cross-dimensional go-nogo decisions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Decision-making is a fundamental capacity which is crucial to many higher-order psychological functions. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a visual target-identification task that required go-nogo choices. Targets were identified on the basis of cross-dimensional conjunctions of particular colors and forms. Color discriminability was manipulated in three conditions to determine the effects of color distinctiveness on component processes of decision-making.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Target identification was accompanied by the emergence of prefrontal P2a and P3b. Selection negativity (SN) revealed that target-compatible features captured attention more than target-incompatible features, suggesting that intra-dimensional attentional capture was goal-contingent. No changes of cross-dimensional selection priorities were measurable when color discriminability was altered. Peak latencies of the color-related SN provided a chronometric measure of the duration of attention-related neural processing. ERPs recorded over the frontocentral scalp (N2c, P3a) revealed that color-overlap distractors, more than form-overlap distractors, required additional late selection. The need for additional response selection induced by color-overlap distractors was severely reduced when color discriminability decreased.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We propose a simple model of cross-dimensional perceptual decision-making. The temporal synchrony of separate color-related and form-related choices determines whether or not distractor processing includes post-perceptual stages. ERP measures contribute to a comprehensive explanation of the temporal dynamics of component processes of perceptual decision-making.</p

The role of the RACK1 ortholog Cpc2p in modulating pheromone-induced cell cycle arrest in fission yeast

The detection and amplification of extracellular signals requires the involvement of multiple protein components. In mammalian cells the receptor of activated C kinase (RACK1) is an important scaffolding protein for signal transduction networks. Further, it also performs a critical function in regulating the cell cycle by modulating the G1/S transition. Many eukaryotic cells express RACK1 orthologs, with one example being Cpc2p in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In contrast to RACK1, Cpc2p has been described to positively regulate, at the ribosomal level, cells entry into M phase. In addition, Cpc2p controls the stress response pathways through an interaction with Msa2p, and sexual development by modulating Ran1p/Pat1p. Here we describe investigations into the role, which Cpc2p performs in controlling the G protein-mediated mating response pathway. Despite structural similarity to Gβ-like subunits, Cpc2p appears not to function at the G protein level. However, upon pheromone stimulation, cells overexpressing Cpc2p display substantial cell morphology defects, disorientation of septum formation and a significantly protracted G1 arrest. Cpc2p has the potential to function at multiple positions within the pheromone response pathway. We provide a mechanistic interpretation of this novel data by linking Cpc2p function, during the mating response, with its previous described interactions with Ran1p/Pat1p. We suggest that overexpressing Cpc2p prolongs the stimulated state of pheromone-induced cells by increasing ste11 gene expression. These data indicate that Cpc2p regulates the pheromone-induced cell cycle arrest in fission yeast by delaying cells entry into S phase

QTL analysis of measures of mouse home-cage activity using B6/MSM consomic strains

The activity of mice in their home cage is influenced greatly by the cycle of light and dark. In addition, home-cage activity shows remarkable time-dependent changes that result in a prominent temporal pattern. The wild-derived mouse strain MSM/Ms (MSM) exhibits higher total activity in the home cage than does C57BL/6 (B6), a commonly used laboratory strain. In addition, there is a clear strain difference in the temporal pattern of home-cage activity. This study aimed to clarify the genetic basis of strain differences in the temporal pattern of home-cage activity between MSM and B6. Through the comparison of temporal patterns of home-cage activity between B6 and MSM, the pattern can be classified into five temporal components: (1) resting phase, (2) anticipation phase, (3) 1st phase, (4) 2nd phase, and (5) 3rd phase. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) involved in these temporal components, we used consomic strains established from crosses between B6 and MSM. Five consomic strains, for Chrs 2T (telomere), 3, 4, 13, and 14, showed significantly higher total activity than B6. In contrast, the consomic strains of Chrs 6C (centromere), 7T, 9, 11, and 15 were less active than B6. This indicates that multigenic factors regulate the total activity. Further analysis showed an impact of QTLs on the temporal components of home-cage activity. The present data showed that each temporal component was regulated by different combinations of multigenic factors, with some overlap. These temporal component-related QTLs are important to understand fully the genetic mechanisms that underlie home-cage activity

The Search for Host Genetic Factors of HIV/AIDS Pathogenesis in the Post-Genome Era: Progress to Date and New Avenues for Discovery

Though pursuit of host genetic factors that influence the pathogenesis of HIV began over two decades ago, progress has been slow. Initial genome-level searches for variations associated with HIV-related traits have yielded interesting candidates, but less in the way of novel pathways to be exploited for therapeutic targets. More recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that include different phenotypes, novel designs, and that have examined different population characteristics suggest novel targets and affirm the utility of additional searches. Recent findings from these GWAS are reviewed, new directions for research are identified, and the promise of systems biology to yield novel insights is discussed

An investigation of ribosomal protein L10 gene in autism spectrum disorders

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are severe neurodevelopmental disorders with the male:female ratio of 4:1, implying the contribution of X chromosome genetic factors to the susceptibility of ASD. The ribosomal protein L10 (RPL10) gene, located on chromosome Xq28, codes for a key protein in assembling large ribosomal subunit and protein synthesis. Two non-synonymous mutations of <it>RPL10</it>, L206M and H213Q, were identified in four boys with ASD. Moreover, functional studies of mutant RPL10 in yeast exhibited aberrant ribosomal profiles. These results provided a novel aspect of disease mechanisms for autism – aberrant processes of ribosome biosynthesis and translation. To confirm these initial findings, we re-sequenced <it>RPL10 </it>exons and quantified mRNA transcript level of <it>RPL10 </it>in our samples.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>141 individuals with ASD were recruited in this study. All <it>RPL10 </it>exons and flanking junctions were sequenced. Furthermore, mRNA transcript level of <it>RPL10 </it>was quantified in B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCL) of 48 patients and 27 controls using the method of SYBR Green quantitative PCR. Two sets of primer pairs were used to quantify the mRNA expression level of <it>RPL10</it>: RPL10-A and RPL10-B.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No non-synonymous mutations were detected in our cohort. Male controls showed similar transcript level of RPL10 compared with female controls (RPL10-A, U = 81, P = 0.7; RPL10-B, U = 61.5, P = 0.2). We did not observe any significant difference in RPL10 transcript levels between cases and controls (RPL10-A, U = 531, P = 0.2; RPL10-B, U = 607.5, P = 0.7).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that RPL10 has no major effect on the susceptibility to ASD.</p