Collaboration and competition in groups of humans and robots: effects on socioemotional and task-oriented behaviors

Advancements in technology have allowed the emergence of novel forms of social interaction. More specifically, in the last decades, the emergence of social robots has triggered a multidisciplinary effort towards achieving a better understanding of how humans and robots interact. In this dissertation, our goal was to contribute towards that effort by considering the role of goal orientation displayed by the robot (i.e. competitive vs. cooperative) and the role displayed by each player (partners and opponents). Sixty participants engaged in a typical Portuguese card-game called Sueca (two robots and two humans). Each participant played three games with each of the other players and the goal orientation was manipulated by the set of pre-validated verbal utterances displayed by the robot. The interactions were video-recorded, and we used a coding scheme based on Bales Interaction Process Analysis (1950) for small groups to analyze socioemotional positive, negative and task-oriented behaviors. A MultiLevel Modelling analysis yielded a significant effect of the role for all dimensions. Participants directed more socioemotional positive and task-oriented behaviors towards the human playing as a partner than as opponent and also interacted more with the other human in comparison to both robots. Comparing both robots, participants displayed more positive and task-oriented behaviors when interacting with robots as opponents than as partners. These results suggest the occurrence of different behavioral patterns in competitive and collaborative interactions with robots, that might be useful to inform the future development of more socially effective robots.O desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias tem proporcionado a emergência de novas formas de interação social. Mais especificamente, nas últimas décadas, o desenvolvimento de robôs sociais tem despoletado um esforço interdisciplinar orientado para o estabelecimento de uma melhor compreensão acerca da forma como pessoas e robôs interagem. Com esta dissertação, pretendemos contribuir para esse esforço considerando o efeito da orientação estratégica exibida pelo robô (i.e. competitivo vs. colaborativo) e o efeito do papel assumido pelos jogadores (parceiro ou oponente). Sessenta participantes jogaram à Sueca (dois robôs e dois humanos). Cada participante jogou três jogos em parceria com cada um dos outros jogadores e a orientação estratégica foi manipulada através do conjunto pré-validado de interações verbais exibido pelos robôs. As interações foram filmadas e analisadas usando o guião de análise sugerido por Bales (1950) que inclui interações socioemocionais negativas, positivas e relacionadas com a tarefa. Uma análise Multi-nível dos resultados revelou um efeito principal do papel para todas as dimensões. Os participantes dirigiram mais comportamentos positivos e relacionados com a tarefa para os humanos no papel de parceiros do que oponentes e interagiram mais frequentemente com o humano do que com os robôs. Os participantes também direcionaram mais interações positivas e relacionadas com a tarefa para os robôs quando estes assumiram o papel de oponentes, em comparação com quando jogaram como parceiros. Estes resultados sugerem a ocorrência de diferentes padrões comportamentais quando interagindo com robôs competitivos e colaborativos que poderão ser úteis para informar o desenvolvimento de robôs mais socialmente eficazes

HPLC põhine regulaatornukleotiidide (p)ppGpp ja ppApp tasemete analüüs bakterirakus

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneBakteritel on evolutsiooni käigus välja kujunenud arvukalt kohanemismehhanisme, mis aitavad neil ellu jääda ka karmides keskkonnatingimustes. Keerukad molekulaarsed võrgustikud kontrollivad adaptiivseid füsioloogilisi vastuseid, näiteks antibiootikumiresistentsust, biokile moodustumist ja bakterite minekut uinunud olekusse.  Sellised kohanemismehhanismid sõltuvad stressi tajuvate ja sellele reageerivate valkude ensümaatilistest aktiivsustest. Üheks oluliseks komponendiks stressivastuses on signaalmolekulide süntees ja lagundamine. Käesolevas töös uuriti ühte kõige laiemalt levinud adaptiivset mehhanismi, mida nimetatakse poomisvastuseks. Selle mehhanismi puhul on võtmetähtsusega RelA / SpoT homoloogsed (RSH) ensüümid, mis sünteesivad ja lagundavad alarmoon-nukleotiide ppGpp ja ppp(G)pp. Nende nukleotiidide ühiseks nimetamiseks kasutatakse tähistust (p)ppGpp. Need molekulid mõjutavad mitmeid protsesse bakterirakus, näiteks virulentsust ja antibiootikumitolerantsust. Käesoleva töö eesmärgiks oli välja töötada metoodika nukleotiidide, sealhulgas (p)ppGpp, tasemete kvantifitseerimiseks. Rakendades seda metoodikat uuriti nukleotiidide taset bakterite kasvul ning antibiootikumitöötluse käigus.   Nukleotiidide, sealhulgas (p)ppGpp taseme kvantifitseerimiseks töötati välja HPLC-l põhinev meetod. Nukleotiidide kvantifitseerimise meetodid sisaldavad kolme etappi: proovi kogumine, nukleotiidide ekstraheerimine ja kvantifitseerimine. Kogumisetapis filtreeriti bakterikultuur ja nukleotiidide ekstraheerimiseks viidi filter äädikhappesse. (p)ppGpp kvantifitseerimiseks rakendati HPLC metoodikat 5 µm 4,6 x 150 mm tugeval anioonvahetuskolonnil. Teiste nukleotiidide tuvastamiseks ja kvantifitseerimiseks kasutati ioon-paar pöördfaasi (IPRP) kromatograafiat Kinetex C18 2,6 µm 4,6 x 150 mm kolonnil. Kasutades väljatöötatud metoodikaid uuriti nukleotiidide tasemete muutust bakterite stressivastuse korral. Soolekepikesel (Escherichia coli) analüüsiti nukleotiidide tasemeid kasvukõvera erinevates faasides ja aminohapete nälja puhul. Aminohapete nälja puhul täheldati kiiret (p)ppGpp taseme tõusu. Translatsiooni inhibeerivate antibiootikumide (tiostreptooni, klooramfenikooli ja tetratsükliini) mõju (p)ppGpp ja teiste nukleotiidide tasemetele bakterirakus uuriti nii Gram-negatiivsetes kui ka Gram-positiivsetes bakterites, esindajateks vastavalt E.coli ja  Bacillus subtilis. (p)ppGpp kuhjumise indutseerimiseks kasutati eeltöötlust muprirotsiiniga. Seejärel lisati uuritav antibiootikum subinhibeerivas kontsentratsioonis. Mõlema bakteriliigi korral pidurdasid kõik testitud translatsiooni inhibiitorid (p)ppGpp kuhjumist. Meie uurimisrühma bioinformaatiline analüüs tuvastas, et mõnedes bakteriliikides on RSH ensüümid, millel on ainult (p)ppGpp sünteesi eest vastutav osa. Leiti, et selline ensüüm bakteris Cellulomonas marina  võib fosforüleerida ka adenosiini, tekitades  molekuli ppApp. Koos paralleelselt ilmunud töödega teistest laboritest on alust arvata, et tegemist on uudse regulaatornukleotiidiga. Selle nukleotiidi täpse rolli kindlakstegemine nõuab edasisi uuringuid.Bacteria through evolution developed numerous adaptation mechanisms that made them survive in harsh environmental conditions. Therefore, to protect themselves from environmental challenges bacteria evolved complex molecular networks that leads to suitable physiological responses by acquiring resistance to antibiotics, forming biofilms or by entering in a dormant state. These adaptation mechanisms depend on enzymatic activity of specific proteins that sense and respond to stress. The responses of these stresses are mediated by synthesis and degradation of signaling molecules that can regulate transcription and protein activities. The PhD work comprise the study of stringent response that is one of the most widely spread adaptive mechanism in bacteria. This mechanism is orchestrated by RelA SpoT Homologue (RSH) enzymes that produce and degrade a highly charged alarmone nucleotide called guanosine(penta)tetraphosphate ((p)ppGpp), comprising guanosine pentaphosphate (pppGpp) and tetraphosphate (ppGpp), collectively referred as (p)ppGpp. The (p)ppGpp-mediated signaling is one of the master regulators of bacterial physiology and plays an important role in bacterial virulence, and tolerance to antibiotics. In order to quantify the varying levels of (p)ppGpp and housekeeping nucleotides in different stress conditions as well as during normal bacterial growth, we developed a HPLC-based quantification method. Using Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis as the two representatives of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, I studied the effects of antibiotic treatment on the cellular levels of ppGpp, (p)ppGpp as well as housekeeping nucleotides such as ATP and GTP. Finally, using the HPLC-based approach, I discovered that a toxic Small Alarmone Synthetase RSH from Cellulomonas marina, in addition to coproducing ppGpp alarmone synthesizes a highly toxic ppGpp analogue, ppApp. Together with the recent report by Laub and Whitney labs who described Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tas1 – a divergent RSH enzyme that acts as a toxic effector of a secretion system via production of (pp)pApp (Ahmad et al., 2019) this discovery opens up a new direction in studies of RSH enzymes.https://www.ester.ee/record=b536990

Role of the stringent response in antibiotic tolerance of Escherichia coli

The stringent response is a near-universal bacterial adaptation system control mediated by accumulation of two guanine nucleotides ppGpp and pppGpp, collectively known as (p)ppGpp. The response monitors several environmental stress inputs, such as nutrient limitation and heat shock and remodels bacterial physiology in order to overcome the challenges. In Echerichia coli (p)ppGpp levels controlled by two enzymes – RelA and SpoT, the namesakes of RelA SpoT Homologue (RSH) protein family. The stringent response is associated to induction of virulence, antibiotic resistance and was recently suggested to be the driving force behind the formation of so-called persister cells – antibiotictolerant phenotypic variants in antibiotic-sensitive population. Since drug resistance and tolerance constitute a significant public health threat, understanding the connection amongst (p)ppGpp, antibiotic treatment and persistence is of great importance

A hyperpromiscuous antitoxin protein domain for the neutralization of diverse toxin domains

Toxin–antitoxin (TA) gene pairs are ubiquitous in microbial chromosomal genomes and plasmids as well as temperate bacteriophages. They act as regulatory switches, with the toxin limiting the growth of bacteria and archaea by compromising diverse essential cellular targets and the antitoxin counteracting the toxic effect. To uncover previously uncharted TA diversity across microbes and bacteriophages, we analyzed the conservation of genomic neighborhoods using our computational tool FlaGs (for flanking genes), which allows high-throughput detection of TA-like operons. Focusing on the widespread but poorly experimentally characterized antitoxin domain DUF4065, our in silico analyses indicated that DUF4065-containing proteins serve as broadly distributed antitoxin components in putative TA-like operons with dozens of different toxic domains with multiple different folds. Given the versatility of DUF4065, we have named the domain Panacea (and proteins containing the domain, PanA) after the Greek goddess of universal remedy. We have experimentally validated nine PanA-neutralized TA pairs. While the majority of validated PanA-neutralized toxins act as translation inhibitors or membrane disruptors, a putative nucleotide cyclase toxin from a Burkholderia prophage compromises transcription and translation as well as inducing RelA-dependent accumulation of the nucleotide alarmone (p)ppGpp. We find that Panacea-containing antitoxins form a complex with their diverse cognate toxins, characteristic of the direct neutralization mechanisms employed by Type II TA systems. Finally, through directed evolution, we have selected PanA variants that can neutralize noncognate TA toxins, thus experimentally demonstrating the evolutionary plasticity of this hyperpromiscuous antitoxin domain

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat