A Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems: Computational Creativity Evaluation Based on What it is to be Creative

Computational creativity is a flourishing research area, with a variety of creative systems being produced and developed. Creativity evaluation has not kept pace with system development with an evident lack of systematic evaluation of the creativity of these systems in the literature. This is partially due to difficulties in defining what it means for a computer to be creative; indeed, there is no consensus on this for human creativity, let alone its computational equivalent. This paper proposes a Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems (SPECS). SPECS is a three-step process: stating what it means for a particular computational system to be creative, deriving and performing tests based on these statements. To assist this process, the paper offers a collection of key components of creativity, identified empirically from discussions of human and computational creativity. Using this approach, the SPECS methodology is demonstrated through a comparative case study evaluating computational creativity systems that improvise music

Life history and chemical ecology of the Warrior wasp Synoeca septentrionalis (Hymenoptera : Vespidae, Epiponini)

Swarm-founding ‘Warrior wasps’ (Synoeca spp.) are found throughout the tropical regions of South America, are much feared due to their aggressive nest defence and painful sting. There are only five species of Synoeca, all construct distinctive nests that consist of a single sessile comb built onto the surface of a tree or rock face, which is covered by a ribbed envelope. Although locally common, research into this group is just starting. We studied eight colonies of Synoeca septentrionalis, a species recently been described from Brazil. A new colony is established by a swarm of 52 to 140 adults that constructs a colony containing around 200 brood cells. The largest colony collected containing 865 adults and over 1400 cells. The number of queen’s present among the eight colonies varied between 3 and 58 and no clear association between colony development and queen number was detected. Workers and queens were morphologically indistinguishable, but differences in their cuticular hydrocarbons were detected, particularly in their (Z)-9-alkenes. The simple cuticular profile, multiple queens, large size and small number of species makes the ‘Warrior wasps’ an excellent model group for further chemical ecology studies of swarm-founding wasps

Response rates and selection problems, with emphasis on mental health variables and DNA sampling, in large population-based, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of adolescents in Norway

Background Selection bias is a threat to the internal validity of epidemiological studies. In light of a growing number of studies which aim to provide DNA, as well as a considerable number of invitees who declined to participate, we discuss response rates, predictors of lost to follow-up and failure to provide DNA, and the presence of possible selection bias, based on five samples of adolescents. Methods We included nearly 7,000 adolescents from two longitudinal studies of 18/19 year olds with two corresponding cross-sectional baseline studies at age 15/16 (10th graders), and one cross-sectional study of 13th graders (18/19 years old). DNA was sampled from the cheek mucosa of 18/19 year olds. Predictors of lost to follow-up and failure to provide DNA were studied by Poisson regression. Selection bias in the follow-up at age 18/19 was estimated through investigation of prevalence ratios (PRs) between selected exposures (physical activity, smoking) and outcome variables (general health, mental distress, externalizing problems) measured at baseline. Results Out of 5,750 who participated at age 15/16, we lost 42% at follow-up at age 18/19. The percentage of participants who gave their consent to DNA provision was as high as the percentage that consented to a linkage of data with other health registers and surveys, approximately 90%. Significant predictors of lost to follow-up and failure to provide DNA samples in the present genetic epidemiological study were: male gender; non-western ethnicity; postal survey compared with school-based; low educational plans; low education and income of father; low perceived family economy; unmarried parents; poor self-reported health; externalized symptoms and smoking, with some differences in subgroups of ethnicity and gender. The association measures (PRs) were quite similar among participants and all invitees, with some minor discrepancies in subgroups of non-western boys and girls. Conclusions Lost to follow-up had marginal impact on the estimated prevalence ratios. It is not likely that the invitation to provide DNA influenced the response rates of 18/19 year olds. Non-western ethnicity, male gender and characteristics related to a low social class and general and mental health problems measured at baseline are associated with lost to follow-up and failure to provide DNA

Improving delirium care in the intensive care unit: The design of a pragmatic study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Delirium prevalence in the intensive care unit (ICU) is high. Numerous psychotropic agents are used to manage delirium in the ICU with limited data regarding their efficacy or harms.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This is a randomized controlled trial of 428 patients aged 18 and older suffering from delirium and admitted to the ICU of Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis. Subjects assigned to the intervention group will receive a multicomponent pharmacological management protocol for delirium (PMD) and those assigned to the control group will receive no change in their usual ICU care. The primary outcomes of the trial are (1) delirium severity as measured by the Delirium Rating Scale revised-98 (DRS-R-98) and (2) delirium duration as determined by the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU). The PMD protocol targets the three neurotransmitter systems thought to be compromised in delirious patients: dopamine, acetylcholine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. The PMD protocol will target the reduction of anticholinergic medications and benzodiazepines, and introduce a low-dose of haloperidol at 0.5-1 mg for 7 days. The protocol will be delivered by a combination of computer (artificial intelligence) and pharmacist (human intelligence) decision support system to increase adherence to the PMD protocol.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The proposed study will evaluate the content and the delivery process of a multicomponent pharmacological management program for delirium in the ICU.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00842608">NCT00842608</a></p

Extracellular ATP is a pro-angiogenic factor for pulmonary artery vasa vasorum endothelial cells

Expansion of the vasa vasorum network has been observed in a variety of systemic and pulmonary vascular diseases. We recently reported that a marked expansion of the vasa vasorum network occurs in the pulmonary artery adventitia of chronically hypoxic calves. Since hypoxia has been shown to stimulate ATP release from both vascular resident as well as circulatory blood cells, these studies were undertaken to determine if extracellular ATP exerts angiogenic effects on isolated vasa vasorum endothelial cells (VVEC) and/or if it augments the effects of other angiogenic factors (VEGF and basic FGF) known to be present in the hypoxic microenvironment. We found that extracellular ATP dramatically increases DNA synthesis, migration, and rearrangement into tube-like networks on Matrigel in VVEC, but not in pulmonary artery (MPAEC) or aortic (AOEC) endothelial cells obtained from the same animals. Extracellular ATP potentiated the effects of both VEGF and bFGF to stimulate DNA synthesis in VVEC but not in MPAEC and AOEC. Analysis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides revealed that ATP, ADP and MeSADP were the most potent in stimulating mitogenic responses in VVEC, indicating the involvement of the family of P2Y1-like purinergic receptors. Using pharmacological inhibitors, Western blot analysis, and Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) in vitro kinase assays, we found that PI3K/Akt/mTOR and ERK1/2 play a critical role in mediating the extracellular ATP-induced mitogenic and migratory responses in VVEC. However, PI3K/Akt and mTOR/p70S6K do not significantly contribute to extracellular ATP-induced tube formation on Matrigel. Our studies indicate that VVEC, isolated from the sites of active angiogenesis, exhibit distinct functional responses to ATP, compared to endothelial cells derived from large pulmonary or systemic vessels. Collectively, our data support the idea that extracellular ATP participates in the expansion of the vasa vasorum that can be observed in hypoxic conditions

Witches, Floods, and Wonder Drugs: Historical Perspectives on Risk Management

This paper reports an investigation that was undertaken to give a philosophical and historical perspective to IIASA's work on decision making in the face of uncertainty in such areas as energy, agriculture, health care, and water resources, and in particular, problems of risk management. While current risk-management methods usually apply advanced concepts of system modeling and statistical inference to societal decision making under uncertainty, it has generally been the case, as this paper points out, that risk-management problems have not revolved around obtaining the correct probabilities. Rather, the problems have important political and procedural elements, and involve how a society collects and employs imperfect and incomplete information. Clark's central point is that the answers to today's societal risk-management problems do not depend solely on the usual techniques of risk assessment; rather, they lie in developing imaginative approaches to risk management that incorporate the social decision processes that must be involved. IIASA's research amply corroborates this point

Quality of life, coping strategies and support needs of women seeking Traditional Chinese Medicine for infertility and viable pregnancy in Australia: a mixed methods approach

Extent: 11p.Background: Infertility affects about 15% of couples in Western-societies with most progressing to fertility clinics for treatment. Despite being common, infertility is often experienced as a lonely road for affected couples. In this paper we expand on our previously published findings of women’s experiences with infertility or difficulty of viable pregnancy who had sought Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy in Australia, and focus on women’s quality of life, coping strategies, and support needs. Methods: We applied mixed methods using the Tuebingen Quality of Life and the COPE questionnaires and in-depth interviews with 25 women with primary or secondary infertility, recurrent miscarriages or unexplained stillbirth, and who had consulted a TCM practitioner. We used a thematic approach to analyse the interviews, and descriptive statistics to evaluate questionnaire responses. Results: Women reported through both questionnaires and interviews compromised quality of life due to the high level of distress, guilt, grief, and frustration caused by infertility. However, our women represented a highly motivated sample, actively seeking alternative support. While the TCM approach to infertility management increased women’s sense of personal agency and control through education and continuity of care, the need for greater understanding and support on a societal level remains. Conclusions: In infertility, ongoing emotional and instrumental support is pivotal to the wellbeing and quality of life of the affected. Traditional Chinese Medicine addresses some support needs in infertility not routinely available in the Western model of care. More peer-led and professional-led support groups are greatly needed for women experiencing infertility to help break isolation and raise awareness of integrative approaches to fertility management.Karin Ried and Ann Alfre

Combination of CMS searches for heavy resonances decaying to pairs of bosons or leptons

CMS Collaboration: et al.A statistical combination of searches for heavy resonances decaying to pairs of bosons or leptons is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data are found to be consistent with expectations from the standard model background. Exclusion limits are set in the context of models of spin-1 heavy vector triplets and of spin-2 bulk gravitons. For mass-degenerate W′ and Z′ resonances that predominantly couple to the standard model gauge bosons, the mass exclusion at 95% confidence level of heavy vector bosons is extended to 4.5 TeV as compared to 3.8 TeV determined from the best individual channel. This excluded mass increases to 5.0 TeV if the resonances couple predominantly to fermions.Individuals have received support from the Marie-Curie program and the European Research Council and Horizon 2020 Grant, contract Nos. 675440, 752730, and 765710 (European Union); the Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigación Científica y Técnica de Excelencia María de Maeztu, grant MDM-2015-0509 and the Programa Severo Ochoa del Principado de Asturias

Search for strongly interacting massive particles generating trackless jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

A search for dark matter in the form of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) using the CMS detector at the LHC is presented. The SIMPs would be produced in pairs that manifest themselves as pairs of jets without tracks. The energy fraction of jets carried by charged particles is used as a key discriminator to suppress efficiently the large multijet background, and the remaining background is estimated directly from data. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 16.1 fb - 1 , collected with the CMS detector in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. For the simplified dark matter model under consideration, SIMPs with masses up to 100 GeV are excluded and further sensitivity is explored towards higher masses