Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing an Agent's Self-Presentational Strategies During an Interaction

In this paper we present a computational model for managing the impressions of warmth and competence (the two fundamental dimensions of social cognition) of an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) while interacting with a human. The ECA can choose among four different self-presentational strategies eliciting different impressions of warmth and/or competence in the user, through its verbal and non-verbal behavior. The choice of the non-verbal behaviors displayed by the ECA relies on our previous studies. In our first study, we annotated videos of human-human natural interactions of an expert on a given topic talking to a novice, in order to find associations between the warmth and competence elicited by the expert's non-verbal behaviors (such as type of gestures, arms rest poses, smiling). In a second study, we investigated whether the most relevant non-verbal cues found in the previous study were perceived in the same way when displayed by an ECA. The computational learning model presented in this paper aims to learn in real-time the best strategy (i.e., the degree of warmth and/or competence to display) for the ECA, that is, the one which maximizes user's engagement during the interaction. We also present an evaluation study, aiming to investigate our model in a real context. In the experimental scenario, the ECA plays the role of a museum guide introducing an exposition about video games. We collected data from 75 visitors of a science museum. The ECA was displayed in human dimension on a big screen in front of the participant, with a Kinect on the top. During the interaction, the ECA could adopt one of 4 self-presentational strategies during the whole interaction, or it could select one strategy randomly for each speaking turn, or it could use a reinforcement learning algorithm to choose the strategy having the highest reward (i.e., user's engagement) after each speaking turn.
High DNA Uptake Capacity of International Clone II Acinetobacter baumannii Detected by a Novel Planktonic Natural Transformation Assay

Acquisition of novel resistance genes is a key driver of multidrug resistance in the nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. To investigate the DNA uptake ability among clinical A. baumannii strains, a planktonic salt-free transformation assay was developed. A total of 142 clinical A. baumannii isolates with divergent genetic distance were selected, and 86 of them belong to international clonal lineage II (ICL2). Using this new transformation assay, 38% of the clinical A. baumannii isolates were natural competent. Among the multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates, the transformable isolates all belonging to the ICLs, and showed significant higher transformation frequency compared with sensitive isolates. In addition, some of the ICL2 isolates triggered competence much earlier than the sensitive isolates with similar transformation frequencies. This may give them more opportunities to obtain successful transformation in their natural environment and provides an important clue to explain the severe drug resistance and clinical successfulness of ICL2.
A Comparison of Immersive Realities and Interaction Methods: Cultural Learning in Virtual Heritage

In recent years, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Virtuality (AV), and Mixed Reality (MxR) have become popular immersive reality technologies for cultural knowledge dissemination in Virtual Heritage (VH). These technologies have been utilized for enriching museums with a personalized visiting experience and digital content tailored to the historical and cultural context of the museums and heritage sites. Various interaction methods, such as sensor-based, device-based, tangible, collaborative, multimodal, and hybrid interaction methods, have also been employed by these immersive reality technologies to enable interaction with the virtual environments. However, the utilization of these technologies and interaction methods isn't often supported by a guideline that can assist Cultural Heritage Professionals (CHP) to predetermine their relevance to attain the intended objectives of the VH applications. In this regard, our paper attempts to compare the existing immersive reality technologies and interaction methods against their potential to enhance cultural learning in VH applications. To objectify the comparison, three factors have been borrowed from existing scholarly arguments in the Cultural Heritage (CH) domain. These factors are the technology's or the interaction method's potential and/or demonstrated capability to: (1) establish a contextual relationship between users, virtual content, and cultural context, (2) allow collaboration between users, and (3) enable engagement with the cultural context in the virtual environments and the virtual environment itself. Following the comparison, we have also proposed a specific integration of collaborative and multimodal interaction methods into a Mixed Reality (MxR) scenario that can be applied to VH applications that aim at enhancing cultural learning in situ.
Multi-Year Observations of Fluorescence and Backscatter at the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) Shed Light on Two Distinct Seasonal Bio-Optical Regimes

This work presents insights from 6 years of chlorophyll-a fluorescence and backscatter (700 nm) data at the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) moorings, located in the Subantarctic Zone southwest of Tasmania. Using local calibrations from available voyage data, the fluorescence and backscatter records were related to chlorophyll-a (Chl) and particulate organic carbon (POC), allowing us to estimate and interpret carbon:Chl ratios. Surprisingly, observed carbon:Chl ratios were higher in winter than in summer, indicating that photo-acclimation of phytoplankton to decreased light levels in the deep winter mixed layer is not the main signal. Instead, the data suggest a seasonal succession of two trophodynamic regimes at SOTS: a phytoplankton-dominated community in summer, while in winter the proportion of “non-phytoplankton” POC increases. The two regimes can also be differentiated in an optical index based on fluorescence and backscatter, indicating two distinct bio-optical populations. Seasonal iron limitation and deep winter mixing in the SAZ, reaching as deep as 600m, likely play key roles in setting the stage for the observed ecological succession of the two trophodynamic regimes.
Light-Activated Sub-ppm NO2 Detection by Hybrid ZnO/QD Nanomaterials vs. Charge Localization in Core-Shell QD

New hybrid materials – photosensitized nanocomposites containing nanocrystal heterostructures with spatial charge separation, show high response for practically important sub-ppm level NO2 detection at room temperature. Nanocomposites ZnO/CdSe, ZnO/(CdS@CdSe), ZnO/(ZnSe@CdS) were obtained by the immobilization of nanocrystals – colloidal quantum dots (QDs), on the matrix of nanocrystalline ZnO. The formation of crystalline core-shell structure of QDs was confirmed by HAADF-STEM coupled with EELS mapping. Optical properties of photosensitizers have been investigated by optical absorption and luminescence spectroscopy combined with spectral dependences of photoconductivity, which proved different charge localization regimes. Photoelectrical and gas sensor properties of nanocomposites have been studied at room temperature under green light (λmax = 535 nm) illumination in the presence of 0.12 – 2 ppm NO2 in air. It has been demonstrated that sensitization with type II heterostructure ZnSe@CdS with staggered gap provides the rapid growth of effective photoresponse with the increase in the NO2 concentration in air and the highest sensor sensitivity toward NO2. We believe that the use of core-shell QDs with spatial charge separation opens new possibilities in the development of light-activated gas sensors working without thermal heating.
Delimiting the Function of the C-Terminal Extension of the Escherichia coli [NiFe]-Hydrogenase 2 Large Subunit Precursor

The active site of all [NiFe]-hydrogenases (Hyd) has a bimetallic NiFe(CN)2CO cofactor that requires the combined action of several maturation proteins for its biosynthesis and insertion into the precursor form of the large subunit of the enzyme. Cofactor insertion is an intricately controlled process, and the large subunit of almost all Hyd enzymes has a C-terminal oligopeptide extension that is endoproteolytically removed as the final maturation step. This extension might serve either as one of the recognition motifs for the endoprotease, as well as an interaction platform for the maturation proteins, or it could have a structural role to ensure the active site cavity remains open until the cofactor is inserted. To distinguish between these alternatives, we exchanged the complete C-terminal extension of the precursor of Escherichia coli hydrogenase 2 (Hyd-2) for the C-terminal extension of the Hyd-1 enzyme. Using in-gel activity staining, we demonstrate clearly that this large subunit precursor retains its specificity for the HybG maturation chaperone, as well as for the pro-HybC-specific endoprotease HybD, despite the C-terminal exchange. Bacterial two-hybrid studies confirmed interaction between HybD and the pro-HybC variant carrying the exchanged C-terminus. Limited proteolysis studies of purified precursor and mature HybC protein revealed that, in contrast to the precursor, the mature protein was protected against trypsin attack, signifying a major conformational change in the protein. Together, our results support a model whereby the function of the C-terminal extension during subunit maturation is structural.
Predictors of Reading Comprehension in Children With Cochlear Implants

Children with a profound hearing loss who have been implanted with cochlear implants (CI), vary in terms of their language and reading skills. Some of these children have strong language skills and are proficient readers whereas others struggle with language and both the decoding and comprehension aspects of reading. Reading comprehension is dependent on a number of skills where decoding, spoken language comprehension and receptive vocabulary have been found to be the strongest predictors of performance. Children with CI have generally been found to perform more poorly than typically hearing peers on most predictors of reading comprehension including word decoding, vocabulary and spoken language comprehension, as well as working memory. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationships between reading comprehension and a number of predictor variables in a sample of twenty-nine 11–12-year-old children with profound hearing loss, fitted with CI. We were particularly interested in the extent to which reading comprehension in children with CI at this age is dependent on decoding and receptive vocabulary. The predictor variables that we set out to study were word decoding, receptive vocabulary, phonological skills, and working memory. A second purpose was to explore the relationships between reading comprehension and demographic factors, i.e., parental education, speech perception and age of implantation. The results from these 29 children indicate that receptive vocabulary is the most influential predictor of reading comprehension in this group of children although phonological decoding is, of course, fundamental.
Different Types of Physical Activity and Metabolic Control in People With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Background The aim of presented cross-sectional study was to determine the association of different types of physical activity (PA) with metabolic control in people with type 1 diabetes. Materials and Methods A total of 109 adult subjects with type 1 diabetes were asked to complete the non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) questionnaire, the hypoglycemia questionnaire, and the World Health Organization Global PA Questionnaire (GPAQ) which was used to assess moderate PA (MPA) and vigorous PA (VPA). Results NEAT score (p < 0.001) and total duration of work as assessed with GPAQ (p = 0.007) were positively associated with chronic glycemic control when controlled for sex, BMI, and continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) use. We could not confirm such association with total leisure time PA (LTPA) assessed with GPAQ (p = 0.443), though. Multivariate regression model controlled for sex showed positive effects of HbA1c (p = 0.011) and age (p = 0.035), and negative effect of NEAT score (p = 0.001) on BMI. Systolic blood pressure was positively associated with duration of MPA (p = 0.009) and VPA (p = 0.012), but not with NEAT score (p = 0.830) when controlled for sex and BMI. NEAT score and VPA were positively associated with HDL levels when controlled for sex and BMI. Controlled for sex and BMI, higher values of VPA were significantly associated with lower levels of total cholesterol (p = 0.009) and LDL (p = 0.005). Conclusion Higher levels of NEAT are associated with some favorable metabolic effects in adult people with type 1 diabetes, but may also present an additional burden for them with more challenging environment regarding glycemic control.
Growth Hormone and Endometrial Receptivity

Administration of growth hormone (GH) during ovarian stimulation has shown beneficial effects on in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. It is generally believed that this improvement is due to the stimulating effect of GH on oocyte quality. However, studies are emerging that show possible positive effect of GH administration on endometrial receptivity, thus suggesting an additional potential benefit at the level of the uterus, especially among women with recurrent implantation failure, thin endometrium, and older normal responders. This review summarizes recent data on GH co-treatment effects on endometrium and endometrial receptivity among infertile women undergoing IVF, and proposes possible mechanisms of GH actions in the endometrium.
Structure–function study of a novel inhibitor of the casein kinase 1 family in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract Casein kinase 1 (CK1) is an evolutionarily conserved protein kinase family among eukaryotes. Studies in non‐plants have shown CK1‐dependent divergent biological processes, but the collective knowledge regarding the biological roles of plant CK1 lags far behind other members of the Eukarya. One reason for this is that plants have many more genes encoding CK1 than do animals. To accelerate our understanding of the plant CK1 family, a strong CK1 inhibitor that efficiently inhibits multiple members of the CK1 protein family in vivo (i.e., in planta) is required. Here, we report a novel, specific, and effective CK1 inhibitor in Arabidopsis. Using circadian period‐lengthening activity as an estimation of the CK1 inhibitor effect in vivo, we performed a structure–activity relationship study of analogues of the CK1 inhibitor PHA767491 (1,5,6,7‐tetrahydro‐2‐(4‐pyridinyl)‐4H‐pyrrolo[3,2‐c]pyridin‐4‐one hydrochloride). A propargyl group at the pyrrole nitrogen atom (AMI‐212) or a bromine atom at the pyrrole C3 position (AMI‐23) had stronger CK1 inhibitory activity than PHA767491. A hybrid molecule of AMI‐212 and AMI‐23 (AMI‐331) was about 100‐fold more inhibitory than the parent molecule PHA767491. Affinity proteomics using an AMI‐331 probe showed that the targets of AMI‐331 inhibition are mostly CK1 kinases. As such, AMI‐331 is a potent and selective CK1 inhibitor that shows promise in the research of CK1 in plants.
Supporting Source Code Annotations with Metadata-Aware Development Environment

To augment source code with high-level metadata with the intent to facilitate program comprehension, a programmer can use annotations. There are several types of annotations: either those put directly in the code or external ones. Each type comes with a unique workflow and inherent limitations. In this paper, we present a tool providing uniform annotation process, which also adds custom metadata-awareness for an industrial IDE. We also report an experiment in which we sought whether the created annotating support helps programmers to annotate code with comments faster and more consistently. The experiment showed that with the tool the annotating consistency was significantly higher but also that the increase in annotating speed was not statistically significant.
Integrating Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing to Guide Blind Movements

Vision is the most essential sense for human beings. Vision impairment is one of the most problems faced by the elderly. Blindness is a state of lacking the visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors. This paper presents a detailed systematic and critical review that explores the available literature and outlines the research efforts that have been made in relation to movements of the blind and proposes an integrated guidance system involving computer vision and natural language processing. An advanced Smartphone equipped with vision, language and intelligence capabilities is attached to the blind person in order to capture surrounding images and is then connected to a central server programmed with a faster region convolutional neural network algorithm and an image detection algorithm to recognize images and multiple obstacles. The server sends the results back to the Smartphone which are then converted into speech for the blind person’s guidance.
A Fog Computing Architecture for Security and Quality of Service

—The Fog Computing paradigm is an emerging architecture and focuses on optimizing resources for the Internet of Things environment, bringing to the Edge, Cloud’s characteristics. The demand generated by the number of possible devices in this network attracts problems related to quality of service, security, among others, attracting researchers from the most diverse areas. In our work, in addition to performing a study on selected works in a mapping process, detecting trends in the use of Fog architectures. The main contribution is presented by a security-based Fog Computing architecture using QoS for scalable environments with Docker containers for orchestration and deployment of security with SDN.
Predicting Automotive Sales using Pre-Purchase Online Search Data

Sales forecasting is an essential element for implementing sustainable business strategies in the automotive industry. Accurate sales forecasts enhance the competitive edge of car manufacturers in the effort to optimize their production planning processes. We propose a forecasting technique that combines keyword-specific customer online search data with economic variables to predict monthly car sales. To isolate online search data related to pre-purchase information search, we follow a backward induction approach and identify those keywords that are frequently applied by search engine users. In a set of experiments using real-world sales data and Google Trends, we find that our keyword-specific forecasting technique reduces the out-of-sample error by 5% as compared to existing techniques without systematic keyword selection. We also find that our regression models outperform the benchmark model by an out-of-sample prediction accuracy of up to 27%.
Dendritic Cells and T Lymphocytes in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

textabstractThe history of sarcoidosis begins in 1899 when the Norwegian dermatologist Ceasar Boeck described nodular skin lesions characterized by epitheloid cells and a few giant cells as multiple benign sarcoid of the skin. Now, many years later, a lot more is known about sarcoidosis. The definition of sarcoidosis is described in the American Thoracic Society statement on sarcoidosis in 1999: sarcoidosis is regarded as a multisystem disorder of unknown cause, commonly affecting young and middle aged adults, with bilateral hilar adenopathy, pulmonary infiltrates, eye and skin lesions. Also other organs like the liver, the spleen, lymph nodes, salivary glands, the heart, muscles, bones and the nervous system can be involved. The diagnosis is established when clinical and radiological findings are supported by histological evidence of non-caseating epitheloid cell granulomas. Granulomas caused by other diseases need to be excluded. Sarcoidosis affects people of all racial and ethnic groups and occurs at all ages although it usually develops before the age of 50 years, with a peak incidence at 20-39 years. The incidence of sarcoidosis varies widely all over the world with the highest incidence in the northern European countries. There is a predispondance of sarcoidosis in females. In America, the incidence of sarcoidosis in Afro-Americans is roughly three times higher compared to white americans. In black Americans the peak incidence occurs later in live and sarcoidosis is more often chronic and fatal.
Reducing the Discard of MBT Test Cases using Distance Functions

Model-Based Testing (MBT) is used for generating test suites from system models. However, as software evolves, its models tend to be updated, which often leads to obsolete test cases that are discarded. Test case discard can be very costly since essential data, such as execution history, are lost. In this paper, we investigate the use of distance functions to help to reduce the discard of MBT tests. For that, we ran a series of empirical studies using artifacts from industrial systems, and we analyzed how ten distance functions can classify the impact of MBT-centred use case edits. Our results showed that distance functions are effective for identifying low impact edits that lead to test cases that can be updated with little effort. Moreover, we found the optimal configuration for each distance function. Finally, we ran a case study that showed that, by using distance functions, we could reduce the discard of test cases by 15%.
An Approach to Customer Community Discovery

In the paper, a new multi-level hybrid method of community detection combining a density-based clustering with a label propagation method is proposed. Many algorithms have been applied to preprocess, visualize, cluster, and interpret the data describing customer behavior, among others DBSCAN, RFM, k-NN, UMAP, LPA. In the paper, two key algorithms have been detailed: DBSCAN and LPA. DBSCAN is a density-based clustering algorithm. However, managers usually find the clustering results too difficult to interpret and apply. To enhance the business value of clustering and create customer communities, the label propagation algorithm (LPA) has been proposed due to its quality and low computational complexity. The approach is validated on real life marketing database using advanced analytics platform Upsaily.
Mobile Service Technician 4.0 ? Knowledge-Sharing Solutions for Industrial Field Maintenance

With the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, many work tasks are becoming knowledge intensive. At the forefront of the change are workers that are already mobile, working in the field with customers. We describe the human-centred design process that resulted in the Mobile Service Technician 4.0 concept. The concept illustrates how industrial field maintenance work could benefit from knowledge-sharing solutions based on Industry 4.0. The solutions utilize industrial internet, virtual and augmented reality as well as wearable technologies to improve mobile service technicians’ daily work performance and work satisfaction. The Mobile Service Technician 4.0 concept illustrates the user experience of future maintenance work: feeling competent, feeling connected to the work community, and feeling of success and achievement by being better prepared for maintenance visits, getting situationally relevant support in maintenance operations, sharing knowledge with peers, and making maintenance reports effortless.