Impact of Head Motion on the Assistive Robot Expressiveness - Evaluation with Elderly Persons

International audienceIn the near future, robots will support human to perform tasks in many domains (industrial, domestic, educational and health tasks).Such robot behaviors need to take into account the social interaction between robot and human.In this context, we focus on the expressiveness of a moving head for an assistive robot for the elderly.We designed a new moving head for the Kompaï companion robot.On one hand, this new head improves its perception capabilities.On the other hand, we expect to jointly increase its social skills and thus its acceptability.This new head is composed of a tablet to animate a virtual face according to 4 facial expressions and a mechanical neck with 4 degrees of freedom to enhance the robot's expression.Before improving face expressions and adding more complex head movements, it is essential to evaluate the combination of simple head movements with virtual face expressions. A study was held jointly with physicians (psychologists, ergonomists) at the Broca Hospital in Paris to assess the impact to combine head movements with virtual face expressions, and the global acceptability of the Kompaï head by the elderly

Terceiro molar impactado em região de seio maxilar- Relato de caso

Introdução: Os terceiros molares comumente estão em posições ectópicas, geralmente devido à impacção, causada pela falta de espaço no respectivo arco. Geralmente são encontrados em achados radiográficos, mas podem estar relacionados a sintomas apresentados pelos pacientes, como edema e dor. O tratamento pode ser conservador ou cirúrgico e irá depender das condições clínicas e/ou dos sintomas relatados pelo paciente.Objetivo: O objetivo do artigo é o relato de caso de remoção cirúrgica de um terceiro molar impactado em região íntima ao seio maxilar relacionado a queixa de dor crônica da paciente.Relato de caso: Paciente, gênero feminino, 29 anos, leucoderma, compareceu com queixa principal de dor intensa e contínua, na região maxilar superior esquerda. Os exames de imagem demonstraram a presença de um elemento dentário, intimamente relacionado ao seio maxilar. Esse foi removido por meio de técnica cirúrgica conservadora.Conclusão: O tratamento de dentes impactados requer a avaliação por um profissional capacitado para tomar a melhor decisão acerca da conduta para cada caso, podendo ser um tratamento conservador ou cirúrgico

Ion concentrations in the solution of an Oxisol under different management systems

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as concentrações de íons na solução de um Latossolo Vermelho, em diferentes sistemas de manejo. Foram avaliados os sistemas de lavoura e pastagem contínua, assim como os rotacionados em integração lavoura-pecuária. O experimento foi iniciado em 1991, e as coletas das soluções foram realizadas em 2005 e 2006. Cápsulas porosas foram instaladas às profundidades de 20 e 150 cm, e as soluções foram extraídas em seis épocas de cada ano. As concentrações de Cl-, SO4(2-), NO3-, H2PO4-, K+, Mg2+ e Ca2+ foram determinadas. Independentemente das profundidades e dos sistemas de manejo, a concentração de íons nas soluções, em ordem decrescente de grandeza, foi: NO3- >Cl- >SO4(2-) >H2PO4- e Ca2+ >K+ >Mg2+. Entre os sistemas de cultivo, a concentração dos íons na solução decresceu e foi maior em lavoura contínua sob preparo convencional, seguida de lavoura contínua sob plantio direto e, finalmente, pelo sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária e pela pastagem contínua. À profundidade de 150 cm, as concentrações dos íons na solução do solo sob pastagem contínua e integração lavoura-pecuária foram sempre baixas, o que indica baixo risco de lixiviação.The objective of this work was to evaluate ion concentrations in an Oxisol solution, in plots subjected to different management systems. Continuous crop and pasture, and the integrated crop-livestock management system were evaluated. The experiment started in 1991, and the soil solutions were collected in 2005 and 2006. Ceramic cups were installed at 20 and 150 cm soil depths, and the solutions were extracted six times each year. The concentrations of Cl-, SO4(2-), NO3-, H2PO4-, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ were determined. Irrespective of the depths and cropping systems considered, the concentrations of ions into the soil solutions, in decreasing order, were: NO3- >Cl- >SO4(2-) >H2PO4- and Ca2+ >K+ >Mg2+. Among the cropping systems, the ion concentrations in the soil solution was higher in the continuous crop under conventional tillage, followed by the continuous crop under no-tillage, and finally by the integrated crop-livestock system and the continuous pasture. At 150 cm depth, the ion concentrations in soil solutions under continuous pasture and integrated crop-livestock system were always low, which indicates a low leaching risk

Concentração de íons na solução de um Latossolo Vermelho sob diferentes sistemas de manejo

The objective of this work was to evaluate ion concentrations in an Oxisol solution, in plots subjected to different management systems. Continuous crop and pasture, and the integrated crop-livestock management system were evaluated. The experiment started in 1991, and the soil solutions were collected in 2005 and 2006. Ceramic cups were installed at 20 and 150 cm soil depths, and the solutions were extracted six times each year. The concentrations of Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, H2PO4-, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ were determined. Irrespective of the depths and cropping systems considered, the concentrations of ions into the soil solutions, in decreasing order, were: NO3- >Cl- >SO42- >H2PO4- and Ca2+ >K+ >Mg2+. Among the cropping systems, the ion concentrations in the soil solution was higher in the continuous crop under conventional tillage, followed by the continuous crop under no‑tillage, and finally by the integrated crop‑livestock system and the continuous pasture. At 150 cm depth, the ion concentrations in soil solutions under continuous pasture and integrated crop-livestock system were always low, which indicates a low leaching risk.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as concentrações de íons na solução de um Latossolo Vermelho, em diferentes sistemas de manejo. Foram avaliados os sistemas de lavoura e pastagem contínua, assim como os rotacionados em integração lavoura-pecuária. O experimento foi iniciado em 1991, e as coletas das soluções foram realizadas em 2005 e 2006. Cápsulas porosas foram instaladas às profundidades de 20 e 150 cm, e as soluções foram extraídas em seis épocas de cada ano. As concentrações de Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, H2PO4-, K+, Mg2+ e Ca2+ foram determinadas. Independentemente das profundidades e dos sistemas de manejo, a concentração de íons nas soluções, em ordem decrescente de grandeza, foi: NO3->Cl- >SO42->H2PO4- e Ca2+ >K+ >Mg2+. Entre os sistemas de cultivo, a concentração dos íons na solução decresceu e foi maior em lavoura contínua sob preparo convencional, seguida de lavoura contínua sob plantio direto e, finalmente, pelo sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária e pela pastagem contínua. À profundidade de 150 cm, as concentrações dos íons na solução do solo sob pastagem contínua e integração lavoura-pecuária foram sempre baixas, o que indica baixo risco de lixiviação

Impact of Head Motion on the Assistive Robot Expressiveness - Evaluation with Elderly Persons

International audienceIn the near future, robots will support human to perform tasks in many domains (industrial, domestic, educational and health tasks).Such robot behaviors need to take into account the social interaction between robot and human.In this context, we focus on the expressiveness of a moving head for an assistive robot for the elderly.We designed a new moving head for the Kompaï companion robot.On one hand, this new head improves its perception capabilities.On the other hand, we expect to jointly increase its social skills and thus its acceptability.This new head is composed of a tablet to animate a virtual face according to 4 facial expressions and a mechanical neck with 4 degrees of freedom to enhance the robot's expression.Before improving face expressions and adding more complex head movements, it is essential to evaluate the combination of simple head movements with virtual face expressions. A study was held jointly with physicians (psychologists, ergonomists) at the Broca Hospital in Paris to assess the impact to combine head movements with virtual face expressions, and the global acceptability of the Kompaï head by the elderly

The relationship between γ Cassiopeiae’s X-ray emission and its circumstellar environment

γ Cas is the prototypical classical Be star and is recently best known for its variable hard X-ray emission. To elucidate the reasons for this emission, we mounted a multiwavelength campaign in 2010 centered around four XMM-Newton observations. The observational techniques included long baseline optical interferometry (LBOI) from two instruments at CHARA, photometry carried out by an automated photometric telescope and Hα observations. Because γ Cas is also known to be in a binary, we measured radial velocities from the Hα line and redetermined its period as 203.55 ± 0.20 days and its eccentricity as near zero. The LBOI observations suggest that the star’s decretion disk was axisymmetric in 2010, has an system inclination angle near 45°, and a larger radius than previously reported. In addition, the Be star began an “outburst” at the beginning of our campaign, made visible by a brightening and reddening of the disk during our campaign and beyond. Our analyses of the new high resolution spectra disclosed many attributes also found from spectra obtained in 2001 (Chandra) and 2004 (XMM-Newton). As well as a dominant hot ( ≈ 14 keV) thermal component, the familiar attributes included: (i) a fluorescent feature of Fe K even stronger than observed at previous times; (ii) strong lines of N VII and Ne XI lines indicative of overabundances; and (iii) a subsolar Fe abundance from K-shell lines but a solar abundance from L-shell ions. We also found that two absorption columns are required to fit the continuum. While the first one maintained its historical average of 1 × 1021 cm-2, the second was very large and doubled to 7.4 × 1023 cm-2 during our X-ray observations. Although we found no clear relation between this column density and orbital phase, it correlates well with the disk brightening and reddening both in the 2010 and earlier observations. Thus, the inference from this study is that much (perhaps all?) of the X-ray emission from this source originates behind matter ejected by γ Cas into our line of sight

Represas de abastecimento público de Juiz de Fora: mananciais da vida

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Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO