Can Humanoid Service Robots Perform Better Than Service Employees? A Comparison of Innovative Behavior Cues

This research compares human-robot interaction with human-human interaction. More specifically, it compares potential customer responses to a humanoid service robot’s (HSR’s) behavioral cues during service encounters with those expressed by a human service employee. The behavioral cues tested in this study include innovative service behavior, defined as the extent to which a service representative creates new ideas and solutions for the customer. Based on role theory and the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm, we propose that customers generally respond positively toward an HSR’s artificial innovative service behavior cues. The experimental laboratory study with 132 student participants and an HSR of the Pepper type, shows positive responses to an HSR’s artificial innovative service behavior, but that those responses are weaker compared to human-human interactions within a similar setting. Furthermore, innovative service behavior cues exceed customer expectations and therefore, lead to customer satisfaction and delight with the HSR

Impact of growth factors, therapeutic inhibitors and cytostatic compounds on the response of non-small-cell lung carcinoma cell lines

Lung cancer with its most prevalent form non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is characterized by early metastatic spread. TGF-β is one of the growth factors that can be involved in the regulation of this process. Lung cancer is generally treated with chemotherapeutic drugs, e.g. with cisplatin, often in combination with different inhibitors, such as MEK inhibitors (MEKi). An important obstacle for lung cancer patients is the chemotherapy-induced anemia that can be treated with erythropoietin (Epo). Unfortunately, Epo was found to have tumor-stimulating effects. To establish reliable and reproducible experimental conditions, standard operating procedures for the NSCLC cell lines H1975 and H838 were developed. Cisplatin was shown to induce apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in H838 cells. The MEKi U0126 was found to rescue H838 cells of cisplatin-induced apoptosis by arresting the cells in the cell cycle phase G1 and this effect could be reproduced with clinically relevant MEK inhibitors. Epo treatment of the cell line H838 resulted in decreased cisplatin sensitivity. To identify the differences in Epo-induced signaling in erythroid progenitor cells and the cell line H838, a dynamic pathway model was established that was able to describe the Epo-induced dynamics of the activation of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway in both cell types. The mathematical model predicted 8 cell type-specific parameters. Among these, the SOCS3 mRNA turnover rate was predicted to be slower in CFU-Es which was experimentally validated by qRT-PCR. Moreover, it was shown by genome wide expression profiling, that TGF-β treatment of NSCLC cells led to the upregulation of EMT genes and the downregulation of cell cycle genes. The TGF-β pseudoreceptor BAMBI was found to be downregulated in NSCLC. Its reconstitution resulted in a decreased TGF-β signaling in the cell line H1975. In conclusion, the study shows that MEKi treatment in combination with cisplatin-based chemotherapy poses a potential risk for lung cancer patients. Furthermore, the presence of EpoR in NSCLC cell lines results in response to Epo stimulation in a decreased sensitivity to cisplatin. Finally, TGF-β was verified to induce EMT in NSCLC and BAMBI was identified as a potential tumor suppressor in lung cancer. These studies show that molecular alterations can define responsiveness to therapeutic agents

When Robots Enter Our Workplace: Understanding Employee Trust in Assistive Robots

This study is about assistive robots as internal service provider within the company Merck KGaA and examines how the physical appearance of a service representative (humanoid robot, android robot, human) affects employees’ trust. Based on the uncanny valley paradigm, we argue that employees’ trust is the lowest for the android robot and the highest for the human. Further, we will examine the effects of task complexity and requirements for self-disclosure on employees’ trust in assistive robots. According to script theory and media equation theory, we propose that high task complexity and high requirements for self-disclosure increase employees’ trust. We developed a research design to test our model by deploying a humanoid robot and an android robot within a company as robotic assistants in comparison to a human employee. In a next step, we will run a corresponding study with 300 employees

An inclusive Research and Education Community (iREC) model to facilitate undergraduate science education reform

Funding: This work was supported by Howard Hughes Medical Institute grants to DIH is GT12052 and MJG is GT15338.Over the last two decades, there have been numerous initiatives to improve undergraduate student outcomes in STEM. One model for scalable reform is the inclusive Research Education Community (iREC). In an iREC, STEM faculty from colleges and universities across the nation are supported to adopt and sustainably implement course-based research – a form of science pedagogy that enhances student learning and persistence in science. In this study, we used pathway modeling to develop a qualitative description that explicates the HHMI Science Education Alliance (SEA) iREC as a model for facilitating the successful adoption and continued advancement of new curricular content and pedagogy. In particular, outcomes that faculty realize through their participation in the SEA iREC were identified, organized by time, and functionally linked. The resulting pathway model was then revised and refined based on several rounds of feedback from over 100 faculty members in the SEA iREC who participated in the study. Our results show that in an iREC, STEM faculty organized as a long-standing community of practice leverage one another, outside expertise, and data to adopt, implement, and iteratively advance their pedagogy. The opportunity to collaborate in this manner and, additionally, to be recognized for pedagogical contributions sustainably engages STEM faculty in the advancement of their pedagogy. Here, we present a detailed pathway model of SEA that, together with underpinning features of an iREC identified in this study, offers a framework to facilitate transformations in undergraduate science education.Peer reviewe

Inhibition of Succinimide Formation in Aqueous Zn-rHirudin Suspensions1

Purpose. The formation of succinimide intermediates at Asp-Gly sites and their hydrolysis products, e.g., isoAsp isomers, represents a common source of microheterogeneity in therapeutic proteins. Here we report on the stabilization effect of a zinc chloride induced precipitation of recombinant hirudin HV1 (rHir), an anticoagulant protein. Methods. rHir was precipitated by zinc chloride at neutral pH to form a Zn-rHir suspension. An Arrhenius-type study (at 50, 40, 30, and 25°C) and a 4°C stability study were performed. Monitoring of rHir, rHir succinimides at Asp33-Gly34 (Q5) and Asp53-Gly54 (Q4), and further side products was by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Results. The activation energies of rHir degradation in both aqueous rHir solution and Zn-rHir suspension were similar, i.e. 104.5 and 110.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Zn-rHir suspension demonstrated improved shelf-life stability (t90%, 95% confidence limit) versus rHir solution, i.e., 23 versus 3 days at 25°C and 292 versus 147 days at 4°C, respectively. In rHir solution, Q4 (Asp53-Gly54 succinimide) levels were slightly above Q5 (Asp33-Gly34 succinimide) levels. In Zn-rHir suspension, however, Q4 succinimide levels dropped markedly whereas Q5 levels were not affected. Correspondingly, in Zn-rHir isoAsp53-rHir levels were reduced but not isoAsp33-rHir levels. Conclusions. In Zn-rHir suspensions, interactions of zinc and rHir show site-specific inhibition of succinimide formation only at Asp53-Gly54 (Q4), located in the highly flexible C-terminal tail of rHir. In contrast, succinimide formation at Asp33-Gly34 (Q5), located in a less flexible loop domain is not affected, reflecting steric hindranc

Customer Responses to Robotic Innovative Behavior Cues During the Service Encounter

Innovative Service Behavior (ISB) and its influence on customer responses was examined in a laboratory study with 132 participants at the service encounter comparing human-robot interactions with human-human interactions. Using a 2 x 2 experimental desig

Editors' Introduction

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