Multimodal Observation and Interpretation of Subjects Engaged in Problem Solving

In this paper we present the first results of a pilot experiment in the capture and interpretation of multimodal signals of human experts engaged in solving challenging chess problems. Our goal is to investigate the extent to which observations of eye-gaze, posture, emotion and other physiological signals can be used to model the cognitive state of subjects, and to explore the integration of multiple sensor modalities to improve the reliability of detection of human displays of awareness and emotion. We observed chess players engaged in problems of increasing difficulty while recording their behavior. Such recordings can be used to estimate a participant's awareness of the current situation and to predict ability to respond effectively to challenging situations. Results show that a multimodal approach is more accurate than a unimodal one. By combining body posture, visual attention and emotion, the multimodal approach can reach up to 93% of accuracy when determining player's chess expertise while unimodal approach reaches 86%. Finally this experiment validates the use of our equipment as a general and reproducible tool for the study of participants engaged in screen-based interaction and/or problem solving

Understanding Stigma, Secrecy, and Sex in CNM Relationships

Scholars have posited that the family system is becoming more diversified with increases in same-sex, mixed sex, and consensually non-monogamous relationships. While same-sex and mixed-sex relationships have received considerable attention, public and academic interest in consensually non-monogamous relationships have increased dramatically. Yet despite increased interest, little is known about the ways in which relationships with various partners in non-monogamous relationships differ, whether differences that emerge are influenced by experiences of stigma or the desired role of different partners, whether stigma was driven by one’s relationship orientation, and how individual’s sexual attitudes impact the decision to pursue consensually non-monogamous arrangements. This article-based dissertation sought to address these lines of inquiry and advance understanding of consensually non-monogamous relationships. Results suggested that meaningful differences emerge across partners in polyamorous relationships, with participants reporting greater acceptance, satisfaction, commitment, investment, and communication for their primary partners, while greater secrecy, quality of alternatives, and proportion of time spent on sex was reported for secondary partners. Likewise, these effects emerged when assessing differences among polyamorists who identified partners as co-primary and non-primary. However, results also suggested that some of these effects, namely secrecy, acceptance, and proportion of time spent on sex, are driven by levels of commitment to various partners, possibly because primary partners meet needs for nurturance, while secondary partners meet needs for eroticism. Lastly, results revealed that relationship orientation influences stigma towards CNM, and that sexual attitudes, erotophobia, and sociosexuality differ based on relationship orientation

Biometrical Models for Predicting Future Performance in Plant Breeding.

The plant breeding process begins with the selection of parents and crosses. Promising progeny from these crosses progress through a series of selection stages that typically culminate in multi-environment trials. I evaluated best linear unbiased predictors (BLUP), other predictors and prediction models at the initial (cross prediction), early replicated testing and late (multi-location) stages of a sugarcane breeding selection cycle. Model and predictor accuracy was assessed in the first two stages by using cross-validation procedures. I compared statistical models of progeny test data in their ability to predict the cross performance of untested sugarcane crosses. Random parental effect predictors and a random cross effect predictors were compared to mid-parent values (MPV) derived from a fixed female-male parental effect model. The cross effect model was evaluated with and without incorporating the genetic relationships among tested crosses into the BLUP derivation. Models with BLUP-based predictors showed smaller mean square prediction error and higher fidelity of top cross identification than the MPV for all traits evaluated. The MP-BLUP was consistently the best one. Prediction of per se (genotype) performance is needed during the selection process and requires combining information from different trials. The study investigated three mixed models involving three versions of BLUPs estimated under different strategies, a fixed least squares genotype means model, and four check-based methods for combining information at early replicated stages. BLUP-based predictors were superior to the currently used predictor (average percent of check cultivar). In addition, BLUP accuracy was not dependent on check values. In later selection stages, when few and highly selected genotypes are evaluated, genotype effects may be assumed fixed. By assuming genotype-by-environment interaction effects as random, the modeling of the covariance matrix allowed direct estimation of stability and genotype-by-environment measures. Closely related mixed models involving covariance parameters related with genotype-by-environment interaction were estimated. The covariance structure of the observations under the mixed models adjusted the genotype mean separation. Stability parameters were integrated into broad (across environment) and narrow (environment specific) inferences about genotype yield performances. A procedure to obtain visual representation of the genotype-by-environment interaction (BIPLOT) under a mixed AMMI model was also derived

Synthesis of 5-substituted 2'-deoxyuridine-5'-phosphonate analogues and evaluation of their antiviral activity

A small series of 5-(hetero)aryl-modified nucleoside phosphonates was synthesized via an 8-step procedure including a Wittig reaction and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. An unanticipated anomerization during phosphonate deprotection allowed us to isolate both anomers of the 5-substituted 2'-deoxy-uridine phosphonates and assess their antiviral activity against a broad panel of viruses

Optical Studies of the coexistence curve of the n-heptane+nitrobenzene mixture near its consolute point measured by an optical method

We have measured the coexistence curve of the binary liquid mixture n-heptane+nitrobenzene near its consolute point using an optical method. In particular, the critical exponent beta describing the coexistence curve was measured for this system. Previous experimental values of beta for n-heptane+nitrobenzene were higher than the typical theoretically calculated value, an unusual, although not unique, occurrence. In an effort to study this discrepancy, we have used an improved experimental apparatus for our measurements. We have taken special care to minimize temperature gradients and maximize the temperature stability of our thermal control system. We have also exploited features of a known optical method to analyze, thoroughly, sources of systematic errors. We measured an apparent value of beta as 0.367+/- 0.006 and by a careful study of the known sources of error we find that they are not able to remove the discrepancy between the measured and the theoretical values of beta. We also measured the critical temperature of the system at Tc=291.80+/- 0.02 K (18.65 C).Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Physical Review B. Shrunk Experimental section, expanded Equilibration and Conclusion sections, eliminated a figure, added reference; 19 pages, 7 figures, resubmitted to PRB. Replaced Fig. 3, added separate simple text file with coexistence curve data (OPvsT.txt); resubmitted to PR

Genetic distances between molecular profiles obtained from multilocus-multiallele markers

Para expresar la magnitud de la identidad genética (similaridad) o su complemento (distancia) entre dos individuos caracterizados molecularmente a través de marcadores del tipo microsatélites (SSR), que son multilocusmultialélicos, es necesario elegir una métrica acorde con la naturaleza multivariada de los datos. Comúnmente, las métricas de distancias genéticas son diseñadas para expresar, en un único número, la diferencia genética entre dos poblaciones y son expresadas como función de la frecuencia alélica poblacional. Dichas métricas pueden también ser utilizadas para calcular la distancia entre perfiles individuales, pero las frecuencias alélicas no son continuas en este caso. Alternativamente, se pueden usar distancias geométricas obtenidas como el complemento del índice de similaridad para datos binarios que indican la presencia/ ausencia de cada alelo en un individuo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar simultáneamente el desempeño de ambos tipos de métricas para ordenar y clasificar individuos en una base de datos generadas a partir de loci de marcadores microsatélites SSR. Se calcularon 11 métricas de distancias a partir de 17 loci SSR obtenidos desde 17 introducciones de un banco de germoplasma de soja [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Se evaluó el consenso de los resultados obtenidos para la clasificación de los 17 perfiles moleculares desde varias métricas. Los resultados sugieren que los diferentes tipos de métricas producen información similar para comparar individuos. No obstante, se realizó una clasificación de las métricas que responden a diferencias entre los núcleos de las expresiones de cálculo.In order to express the magnitude of the genetic identity (similarity) or its complement (distance) between individuals genotyped with microsatellites (SSR), which are multilocusmultiallele markers, is necessary to choose a metric in agreement with the multivariate nature of the marker data. Most of the metrics of genetic distances were designed to express, as a single quantity, the genetic difference between two populations and they are expressed as function of population allele frequencies. Such metrics can also be used to calculate distances between individual profiles, but the allele frequencies are not longer continuous. On the other hand, geometric distances obtained as complement of similarity indexes for binary data indicating allele presence/absence in each individual, are commonly used for pairwise individual comparisons. However, they do not take into account the nested allele within locus structure of SSR data. The objective of this work was to simultaneously evaluate the performance of both metric types to order and classify individuals in a multivariate basis generated by the use of SSR loci. We applied 11 different distance metrics to a dataset involving 17 SSR loci obtained from 17 entries of a soya [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] germoplasm, and evaluated the consensus in the results obtained from the classification of the 17 molecular profiles from severl metrics. The results suggest that most of the evaluated metrics yield similar information about marker profiles in the context of pairwise individual comparisons. We provide a kernel-based metric classification.Fil: Bruno, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Estadística y Biometría.Fil: Balzarini, Mónica. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Estadística y Biometría

Lorentz-Lorenz Coefficient, Critical Point Constants, and Coexistence Curve of 1,1-Difluoroethylene

We report measurements of the Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient density dependence, the critical temperature, and the critical density, of the fluid 1,1-difluoroethylene. Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient data were obtained by measuring refractive index and density of the same fluid sample independently of one another. Accurate determination of the Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient is necessary for transformation of refractive index data into density data from optics-based experiments on critical phenomena of fluid systems done with different apparatus, with which independent measurement of the refractive indes and density is not possible. Measurements were made along the coexistence curve of the fluid and span the density range 0.01 to 0.80 g/cc. The Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient results show a stronger density dependence along the coexistence curve than previously observed in other fluids, with a monotonic decrease from a density of about 0.2 g/cc onwards, and an overall variation of about 2.5% in the density range studied. No anomaly in the Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient was observed near the critical density. The critical temperature is measured at Tc=(302.964+-0.002) K (29.814 C) and the measured critical density is (0.4195+-0.0018)g/cc.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, MikTeX 2.4, submitted to Physical Review