This paper proposes an interaction learning method for collaborative and assistive robots based on movement primitives. The method allows for both action recognition and human–robot movement ...coordination. It uses imitation learning to construct a mixture model of human–robot interaction primitives. This probabilistic model allows the assistive trajectory of the robot to be inferred from human observations. The method is scalable in relation to the number of tasks and can learn nonlinear correlations between the trajectories that describe the human–robot interaction. We evaluated the method experimentally with a lightweight robot arm in a variety of assistive scenarios, including the coordinated handover of a bottle to a human, and the collaborative assembly of a toolbox. Potential applications of the method are personal caregiver robots, control of intelligent prosthetic devices, and robot coworkers in factories.
This article describes a 5-step model of intervention research. From lessons learned in our work, we develop an outline of core activities in designing and developing social programs. These include ...(a) develop problem and program theories; (b) design program materials and measures; (c) confirm and refine program components in efficacy tests; (d) test effectiveness in a variety of practice settings; and (e) disseminate program findings and materials. Last, using a risk and protective factor perspective, we discuss the adaptation of interventions for new settings and populations.
In this paper, we propose and evaluate six methods for the segmentation of skin lesions in dermoscopic images. This set includes some state of the art techniques which have been successfully used in ...many medical imaging problems (gradient vector flow (GVF) and the level set method of Chan et al.(C-LS). It also includes a set of methods developed by the authors which were tailored to this particular application (adaptive thresholding (AT), adaptive snake (AS), EM level set (EM-LS), and fuzzy-based split-and-merge algorithm (FBSM). The segmentation methods were applied to 100 dermoscopic images and evaluated with four different metrics, using the segmentation result obtained by an experienced dermatologist as the ground truth. The best results were obtained by the AS and EM-LS methods, which are semi-supervised methods. The best fully automatic method was FBSM, with results only slightly worse than AS and EM-LS.
As the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, microglia have a wide range of functions such as surveillance, phagocytosis, and signaling through production of chemokines and cytokines. ...Recent studies have identified and characterized macrophages residing at the meninges, a series of layers surrounding the brain and spinal cord. While perivascular microglia within the brain parenchyma increase following chronic hypertension, there are no reports of changes at the meninges, and specifically, associated with the pial vasculature. Thus, we used female Sprague Dawley and Dahl salt-sensitive (SS/Jr) rat brains, stained for ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule (Iba1), and characterized microglia/macrophages associated with pial vessels in the posterior brain. Results indicate that Iba1
pial vessel-associated microglia (PVAM) completely surrounded the vessels in brains from the Dahl-SS/Jr rats. PVAM density was significantly higher and distance between PVAMs lower in Dahl-SS/Jr compared to the Sprague Dawley rat brains. Pregnancy history did not affect these findings. While the functional role of these cells are not known, we contextualize our novel findings with that of other studies assessing or characterizing myeloid cells at the borders of the CNS (meninges and choroid plexus) and perivascular macrophages and propose their possible origin in the Dahl-SS/Jr model of chronic hypertension.
Preeclampsia (PE), a multifactorial pregnancy-specific syndrome accounting for up to 8% of pregnancy complications, is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. PE is also ...associated with long-term risk of hypertension and stroke for both mother and fetus. Currently, the only "cure" is delivery of the baby and placenta, largely because the pathogenesis of PE is not yet fully understood. PE is associated with impaired vascular remodeling at the maternal-fetal interface and placental insufficiency; however, specific factors contributing to this impairment have not been identified. To identify molecular pathways involved in PE, we examined temporal transcriptomic changes occurring within the uterus, uterine implantation sites, and placentae from the Dahl salt-sensitive (Dahl S) rat model of superimposed PE compared with Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. We hypothesized that targeted gene analysis and whole transcriptome analysis would identify genetic factors that contribute to development of the preeclamptic phenotype in the Dahl S rat and unveil novel biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and mechanistic pathways in PE. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and whole genome microarray analysis were performed on isolated total RNA from uterus (
), uterine implantation sites (
and
), and placenta (
and
). We found 624, 332, 185, and 366 genes to be differentially expressed between Dahl S (PE) and SD (normal pregnancy) on
, and
, respectively. Our data revealed numerous pathways that may play a role in the pathophysiology of spontaneous superimposed PE and allow for further investigation of novel therapeutic targets and biomarker development.
Nurse administrators must evaluate and comprehend nurses' practical competence in their wards' management. The evaluation perspective is not only limited to what can be seen but also the thinking ...process that takes place in the nurse's mind. However, the criteria for evaluation are not clear yet. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey to determine from what perspective nurse administrators evaluate the ability of staff members to process information in their minds (human information processing skills). The results revealed that the perspectives from which nurse administrators consider the human information processing skills of their staff consist of “knowledge management skills,” “cognitive data processing that supports patient orientation,” and “thinking skills that support cognitive data processing.”. In addition, it shows that human information processing skills, which should be invisible to others, can be evaluated by others.
Two Twelfth-Century Texts on Chinese Painting presents two texts in translation that provide dual insight into the Painting Academy of Emperor Hui-tsung and the literati school of painting.The ...Shan-shui ch’un-ch’uan chi is a treatise for beginning landscape painters dated to the Hsüan-ho era. The treatise was written by Han Cho, a reputed member of the Academy, but the text was not specifically directed at Academicians. The treatise collects and orders previous writings on landscape painting; one of Han Cho’s main goals is to list all landscape definitions and their practical application in painting. Yet his view is more detached and analytical than a stereotypical Academy painter, revealing an approach reminiscent of Confucian scholarship and literati painting as well.The Hua-chi by Teng Ch’un is a history of painting that was written as a sequel to two earlier painting histories. In ten chapters, Teng Ch’un compiles facts and critical evaluations of painters from 1075 to 1167, as well as listings of selected masterpieces. Teng Ch’un provides more specific information about the Academy than Han Cho, discussing its organization and examination system, and noting that “form-likeness” and adherence to rules were leading standards for painting in the Academy. On the other hand, he thinks that painting should transmit “soul,” not just “form.” Thus, Teng Ch’un writes the history of both the establishment values of the Academy and the intellectual tendencies of the literati.
Rationale
The beneficial effects of psychostimulant drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders occur because they increase the extracellular dopamine concentration by inhibiting re-uptake of ...extracellular dopamine at dopamine transporters. However, the psychological effects at low dopamine transporter occupancy have not been well demonstrated.
Objectives
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychological effects, dopamine transporter occupancy, and dopamine release induced by a single oral administration of a clinical dose of mazindol.
Methods
Ten healthy male volunteers were orally administered a placebo and a clinical dose of mazindol (1.5 mg) on separate days. The psychological effects of mazindol were assessed using a visual analogue scale to detect alterations in the state of consciousness. The amount of blockade of dopamine transporters was assessed using positron emission tomography with
18
FFE-PE2I and extracellular dopamine release was measured as the amount of change in
11
Craclopride binding.
Results
Following administration of a clinical dose of mazindol, the dopamine transporters were blocked by 24–25 %, and the binding potential of
11
Craclopride was reduced by 2.8–4.6 %. The differences of a score measuring derealisation and depersonalization associated with a positive basic mood were significantly correlated with the change in the
11
Craclopride binding in the limbic striatum.
Conclusions
A subtle alteration in the state of consciousness was detected with a correlation to the changes in the
11
Craclopride binding, which implies that a subtle alteration in extracellular dopamine concentration in the limbic striatum by a small amount of dopamine transporter occupancy can affect the state of consciousness.
Trial registration
https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000009703
UMIN000008232
In demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, a critical problem is failure of remyelination, which is important for protecting axons against degeneration and restoring conduction deficits. ...However, the underlying mechanism of demyelination/remyelination remains unclear. N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-IX (GnT-IX; also known as GnT-Vb) is a brain-specific glycosyltransferase that catalyzes the branched formation of O-mannosyl glycan structures. O-Mannosylation of α-dystroglycan is critical for its function as an extracellular matrix receptor, but the biological significance of its branched structures, which are exclusively found in the brain, is unclear. In this study, we found that GnT-IX formed branched O-mannosyl glycans on receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase β (RPTPβ) in vivo. Since RPTPβ is thought to play a regulatory role in demyelinating diseases, GnT-IX-deficient mice were subjected to cuprizone-induced demyelination. Cuprizone feeding for 8 weeks gradually promoted demyelination in wild-type mice. In GnT-IX-deficient mice, the myelin content in the corpus callosum was reduced after 4 weeks of treatment, but markedly increased at 8 weeks, suggesting enhanced remyelination under GnT-IX deficiency. Furthermore, astrocyte activation in the corpus callosum of GnT-IX-deficient mice was significantly attenuated, and an oligodendrocyte cell lineage analysis indicated that more oligodendrocyte precursor cells differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes. Together, branched O-mannosyl glycans in the corpus callosum in the brain are a necessary component of remyelination inhibition in the cuprizone-induced demyelination model, suggesting that modulation of O-mannosyl glycans is a likely candidate for therapeutic strategies.
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