Body Language Without a Body: Nonverbal Communication in Technology Mediated Settings

Humans are wired for face-to-face interaction because this was the only possible and available setting during the long evolutionary process that has led to Homo Sapiens. At the moment an increasingly significant fraction of our interactions take place in technology mediated settings, it is important to investigate how such a wiring - mainly corresponding to neural processes - reacts and adapts to them. This talk focuses in particular on how nonverbal communication - one of the main channels through which people convey socially and psychologically relevant information - plays a role in settings where natural nonverbal cues (facial expressions, vocalizations, gestures, etc.) are no longer available. Such an issue is important not only from a technological point of view (it can help to design interaction and communication technologies that better address human needs), but also from a societal one (it can help to understand major phenomena such as cyberbullyism and virality)

An exploratory study of the cost-effectiveness of orthodontic care in seven European countries

This study investigated the orthodontic treatment of 429 consecutive patients [172 male (40.1 per cent) and 257 female (59.9 per cent)] carried out by 10 orthodontic specialist practitioners in seven European countries [two in the Czech Republic (A and B), two in Germany (A and B), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Netherlands, and two in Slovenia (A and B)]. The median age of the patients at the start of treatment was 13.0 years (minimum 7.3 years maximum 50.3 years). The patients had a range of malocclusions and the majority (97 per cent) were treated with upper and lower fixed appliances

Genetic evidence for causal relationships between maternal obesity-related traits and birth weight

Importance  Neonates born to overweight or obese women are larger and at higher risk of birth complications. Many maternal obesity-related traits are observationally associated with birth weight, but the causal nature of these associations is uncertain.Objective  To test for genetic evidence of causal associations of maternal body mass index (BMI) and related traits with birth weight.Design, Setting, and Participants  Mendelian randomization to test whether maternal BMI and obesity-related traits are potentially causally related to offspring birth weight. Data from 30 487 women in 18 studies were analyzed. Participants were of European ancestry from population- or community-based studies in Europe, North America, or Australia and were part of the Early Growth Genetics Consortium. Live, term, singleton offspring born between 1929 and 2013 were included. Exposures  Genetic scores for BMI, fasting glucose level, type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level, vitamin D status, and adiponectin level.Main Outcome and Measure  Offspring birth weight from 18 studies.Results  Among the 30 487 newborns the mean birth weight in the various cohorts ranged from 3325 g to 3679 g. The maternal genetic score for BMI was associated with a 2-g (95% CI, 0 to 3 g) higher offspring birth weight per maternal BMI-raising allele (P = .008). The maternal genetic scores for fasting glucose and SBP were also associated with birth weight with effect sizes of 8 g (95% CI, 6 to 10 g) per glucose-raising allele (P = 7 × 10−14) and −4 g (95% CI, −6 to −2g) per SBP-raising allele (P = 1×10−5), respectively. A 1-SD ( ≈ 4 points) genetically higher maternal BMI was associated with a 55-g higher offspring birth weight (95% CI, 17 to 93 g). A 1-SD ( ≈ 7.2 mg/dL) genetically higher maternal fasting glucose concentration was associated with 114-g higher offspring birth weight (95% CI, 80 to 147 g). However, a 1-SD ( ≈ 10 mm Hg) genetically higher maternal SBP was associated with a 208-g lower offspring birth weight (95% CI, −394 to −21 g). For BMI and fasting glucose, genetic associations were consistent with the observational associations, but for systolic blood pressure, the genetic and observational associations were in opposite directions.Conclusions and Relevance  In this mendelian randomization study, genetically elevated maternal BMI and blood glucose levels were potentially causally associated with higher offspring birth weight, whereas genetically elevated maternal SBP was potentially causally related to lower birth weight. If replicated, these findings may have implications for counseling and managing pregnancies to avoid adverse weight-related birth outcomes

Metal-Insulator transition in the Generalized Hubbard model

We present the exact ground-state wave function and energy of the generalized Hubbard model, subjected to the condition that the number of double occupied sites is conserved, for a wide, physically relevant range of parameters. For one hole and one double occupied site the existence of the ferromagnetic ground-state is proved which allow one to determine the critical value of the on-site repulsion corresponding to the point of metal-insulator transition. For the one dimensional model the exact solution for special values of the parameters is obtained.Comment: 20 pages, LaTex. Mod.Phys.Lett.B 7 (1993) 1397; Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (to appear

SN 1997bs in M66: Another Extragalactic Eta Carinae Analog?

We report on SN 1997bs in NGC 3627 (M66), the first supernova discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search using the 0.75-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT). Based on its early-time optical spectrum, SN 1997bs was classified as Type IIn. However, from the BVRI light curves obtained by KAIT early in the supernova's evolution, and F555W and F814W light curves obtained from Hubble Space Telescope archival WFPC2 images at late times, we question the identification of SN 1997bs as a bona fide supernova. We believe that it is more likely a super-outburst of a very massive luminous blue variable star, analogous to Eta Carinae, and similar to SN 1961V in NGC 1058 (Filippenko et al. 1995 [AJ, 110, 2261]) and SN 1954J (``Variable 12'') in NGC 2403 (Humphreys & Davidson 1994 [PASP, 106, 1025]). The progenitor may have survived the outburst, since the SN is seen in early 1998 at m_F555W=23.4, about 0.5 mag fainter than the progenitor identified by Van Dyk et al. (1999, [AJ, 118, 2331]) in a pre-discovery image. Based on analysis of its environment in the Hubble Space Telescope images, the progenitor was not in an H II region or association of massive stars. The recent discovery of additional objects with properties similar to those of SN 1997bs suggests that the heterogeneous class of Type IIn supernovae consists in part of ``impostors.''Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the PASP (2000 Dec issue

A Study on the Parallelization of Terrain-Covering Ant Robots Simulations

Agent-based simulation is used as a tool for supporting (time-critical) decision making in differentiated contexts. Hence, techniques for speeding up the execution of agent-based models, such as Parallel Discrete Event Simulation (PDES), are of great relevance/benefit. On the other hand, parallelism entails that the final output provided by the simulator should closely match the one provided by a traditional sequential run. This is not obvious given that, for performance and efficiency reasons, parallel simulation engines do not allow the evaluation of global predicates on the simulation model evolution with arbitrary time-granularity along the simulation time-Axis. In this article we present a study on the effects of parallelization of agent-based simulations, focusing on complementary aspects such as performance and reliability of the provided simulation output. We target Terrain Covering Ant Robots (TCAR) simulations, which are useful in rescue scenarios to determine how many agents (i.e., robots) should be used to completely explore a certain terrain for possible victims within a given time. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

GPER/GPR30, a Membrane Estrogen Receptor, is Expressed in the Brain and Retina of a Social Fish (Carassius auratus) and Colocalizes with Isotocin

Estradiol rapidly (within 30 minutes) influences a variety of sociosexual behaviors in both mammalian and nonmammalian vertebrates, including goldfish, in which it rapidly stimulates approach responses to the visual cues of females. Such rapid neuromodulatory effects are likely mediated via membrane-associated estrogen receptors; however, the localization and distribution of such receptors within the nervous system is not well described. To begin to address this gap, we identified GPER/GPR30, a G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor, in goldfish (Carassius auratus) neural tissue and used reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and in situ hybridization to test if GPR30 is expressed in the brain regions that might mediate visually guided social behaviors in males. We then used immunohistochemistry to determine whether GPR30 colocalizes with isotocin-producing cells in the preoptic area, a critical node in the highly conserved vertebrate social behavior network. We used quantitative (q)PCR to test whether GPR30 mRNA levels differ in males in breeding vs. nonbreeding condition and in males that were socially interacting with a female vs. a rival male. Our results show that GPR30 is expressed in the retina and in many brain regions that receive input from the retina and/or optic tectum, as well as in a few nodes in the social behavior network, including cell populations that produce isotocin. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:252–270, 2017

Validity of single item responses to short message service texts to monitor depression:an mHealth sub-study of the UK ACUDep trial

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of research designs are using text messaging (SMS) as a means of self-reported symptom and outcome monitoring in a variety of long-term health conditions, including severity ratings of depressed mood. The validity of such a single item SMS score to measure latent depression is not currently known and is vital if SMS data are to inform clinical evaluation in the future. METHODS: A sub-set of depressed participants in the UK ACUDep trial submitted a single SMS text score (R-SMS-DS) between 1 and 9 on how depressed they felt around the same time as completing the PHQ-9 depression questionnaire on paper at 3 months follow-up of the trial. Exploratory categorical data factor analysis (EFA) was used to ascertain the alignment of R-SMS-DS scores with the factor structure of the PHQ-9. Any response bias with regard to age or gender was assessed by differential item functioning (DIF) analysis. RESULTS: Depression scores based on the PHQ-9 and R-SMS-DS at 3 months were available for 337 participants (74 % female; mean age: 42 years, SD = 11.1), 213 of which completed the two outcomes within 6 days of each other. R-SMS-DS scores aligned with the underlying latent depression of the PHQ-9 (factor loading of 0.656) and in particular its affective rather than somatic dimension. The R-SMS-DS score was most strongly correlated with depressed mood (r = 0.607), feeling bad about oneself (r = 0.588) and anhedonia (r = 0.573). R-SMS-DS responses were invariant with respect to gender (p = 0.302). However, there was some evidence for age related response bias (p = 0.031), with older participants being more likely to endorse lower R-SMS-DS scores than younger ones. CONCLUSIONS: The R-SMS-DS used in the ACUDep trial was found to be a valid measure of latent affective depression with no gender related response bias. This text message item may therefore represent a useful assessment and monitoring tool meriting evaluation in further research. For future study designs we recommend the collection of outcome data by new health technologies in combination with gold standard instruments to ensure concurrent validity

An attempt to observe economy globalization: the cross correlation distance evolution of the top 19 GDP's

Economy correlations between the 19 richest countries are investigated through their Gross Domestic Product increments. A distance is defined between increment correlation matrix elements and their evolution studied as a function of time and time window size. Unidirectional and Bidirectional Minimal Length Paths are generated and analyzed for different time windows. A sort of critical correlation time window is found indicating a transition for best observations. The mean length path decreases with time, indicating stronger correlations. A new method for estimating a realistic minimal time window to observe correlations and deduce macroeconomy conclusions from such features is thus suggested.Comment: to be published in the Dyses05 proceedings, in Int. J. Mod Phys C 15 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl