Previous work indicates that physical robots elicit more favorable social responses than virtual agents. These effects have been attributed to the physical embodiment. However, a recent meta-analysis by Li [1] suggests that the benefits of robots are due to physical presence rather than physical embodiment. To further explore the importance of presence we conducted a pilot study investigating the

Introduction: Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) improves survival and may reduce hospital admissions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe hypoxemia, but the impact of daily duration of LTOT on hospitalization rate is unknown. We aimed to estimate the association between the daily duration of LTOT (24 vs 15 h/d) and hospital admissions in patients with LTOT due to

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are effective against seizures, but their use is often limited by adverse effects, among them psychiatric and behavioral ones including aggressive behavior (AB). Knowledge of the incidence, risk factors, and the underlying mechanisms of AB induced by AEDs may help to facilitate management and reduce the risk of such side effects. The exact incidence of AB as an adverse e

To investigate the mechanical behaviour of timber-concrete composite (TCC) beams strengthened with carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), one TCC beam without CFRP and three TCC beams with different thickness of CFRP were tested under four point bending. During the loading process, the deformation development and failure mode of the composite beams were observed. The strain distribution at mid-sp

Background and Objective: The possible adverse or positive effects of levothyroxine treatment among patients with atrial fibrillation have been debated. Atrial fibrillation, levothyroxine treatment, and dementia are common among older adults, yet little is known about the effects of levothyroxine on the development of dementia. Methods: The study population included all adults (n = 12,057) aged ≥

Tau is an axonal microtubule-binding protein. Tau pathology in brain and increased tau concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Most of tau in CSF is present as fragments. We immunoprecipitated tau from CSF and identified several endogenous peptides ending at amino acid (aa) 123 or 224 using high-resolution mass spectrometry. We raised neo-epitope-s

The Large Gain Theorem is an input-output stability result with intriguing applications in the field of control systems. This paper aims to increase understanding and appreciation of the Large Gain Theorem by presenting an interpretation of it for linear time-invariant systems using the well-known Nyquist stability criterion and illustrative examples of its use. The Large Gain Theorem is complemen

In this paper we derive the finite-sample distribution of the estimated weights of the tangency portfolio when both the population and the sample covariance matrices are singular. These results are used in the derivation of a statistical test on the weights of the tangency portfolio where the distribution of the test statistic is obtained under both the null and alternative hypotheses. Moreover, w

Abstract: Coagulation of cellulose solutions is a process whereby many useful materials with variable microstructures and properties can be produced. This study investigates the complexity of the phase separation that generates the structural heterogeneity of such materials. The ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim][OAc]), and a co-solvent, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), are used t

Here we present a study of the abundance and orientation of planar deformation features (PDFs) in the Vakkejokk Breccia, a proposed lower Cambrian impact ejecta layer in the North-Swedish Caledonides. The presence of PDFs is widely accepted as evidence for shock metamorphism associated with cosmic impact events and their presence confirms that the Vakkejokk Breccia is indeed the result of an impac

Water body extraction (WBE) has attracted considerable attention in the field of remote sensing image analysis. Herein, we present an enhanced deep convolutional encoder-decoder (DCED) network (or Deep U-Net) specifically tailored to WBE from remote sensing images by applying superpixel segmentation and conditional random fields (CRFs). First, we preclassify the entire remote sensing image into th

Recognizing that two elements within a sequence of variable length depend on each other is a key ability in understanding the structure of language and music. Perception of such interdependencies has previously been documented in chimpanzees in the visual domain and in human infants and common squirrel monkeys with auditory playback experiments, but it remains unclear whether it typifies primates

I Sverige inträffar runt 5500 bränder i bostäder årligen och i ca 80 av dessa bränder omkommer en eller flera personer. Det finns en långsamt nedåtgående trend för antalet omkomna i landet och världen, men nedgången är långsam och det finns inte heller några tydliga indikationer på vad denna nedgång kan beror på.Syftet med detta arbete är att studera olika byggnadstekniska faktorer i bostäder där The purpose of this work is to study fatal residential fires and see if they are correlated with any specific building characteristics. In this report, data on fatal fires are paired with data about the properties where the fires occurred. The analysis has shown that apartment buildings are overrepresented among properties with fatal fires compared to single-family units and agricultural units. It

BackgroundPower output and force development during exercise are thought to be important indices of performance in elite athletes. The aim of this preliminary study was to determine the forces applied at the footrest during ergometric kayaking in individual kayakers at different competitive levels.MethodsThree elite female kayakers participated voluntarily in the study. Oxygen consumption (VO2) an

Background and Aims: The risk of synchronous and metachronous colorectal cancer is influenced by heritable and environmental factors. As a basis for comparative studies, we provide population-based estimates of synchronous and metachronous colorectal cancer with a focus on non-heritable cases. Material and Methods: Based on data from national Danish cancer registers, we estimated the proportion of

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms, pain (headaches and stomachaches), and analgesic consumption in addition to the association between depressive symptoms and analgesic consumption among adolescents. Design and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in southern Sweden. The survey was distributed among students in grade 8 (aged 13–15 years, n = 878). Results: