Gaze Stabilization for Humanoid Robots: a Comprehensive Framework

6 pages, appears in 2014 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid RobotsGaze stabilization is an important requisite for humanoid robots. Previous work on this topic has focused on the integration of inertial and visual information. Little attention has been given to a third component, which is the knowledge that the robot has about its own movement. In this work we propose a comprehensive framework for gaze stabilization in a humanoid robot. We focus on the problem of compensating for disturbances induced in the cameras due to self-generated movements of the robot. In this work we employ two separate signals for stabilization: (1) an anticipatory term obtained from the velocity commands sent to the joints while the robot moves autonomously; (2) a feedback term from the on board gyroscope, which compensates unpredicted external disturbances. We first provide the mathematical formulation to derive the forward and the differential kinematics of the fixation point of the stereo system. We finally test our method on the iCub robot. We show that the stabilization consistently reduces the residual optical flow during the movement of the robot and in presence of external disturbances. We also demonstrate that proper integration of the neck DoF is crucial to achieve correct stabilization

Conjunctival chemosis: A case series of systemic causes

Conjunctival chemosis is a common ophthalmic finding that presents with a wide range of severity, symptoms, signs, and underlying etiologies. Although most cases of conjunctival chemosis are ocular in nature (allergy, infection, irritation), atypical presentations such as dusky conjunctival hue, corkscrew conjunctival veins, and periorbital edema, should prompt further investigation for a systemic cause.  In atypical cases, reviewing the patient’s medical history and medications, physically examining and auscultating the patient’s heart and lungs, and obtaining vitals (i.e. blood pressure, pulse, weight), are crucial parts of the investigation for a potential systemic source. This article reviews systemic causes for conjunctival chemosis and provides case examples to demonstrate evaluative and management techniques for optometrists to make a distinction between ocular and systemic conjunctival chemosis.  &nbsp

Unveiling Diversity in amino acid stable isotope profiles for classifying rice Varieties, refining types and cultivation systems

Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) is a promising tool in organic authentication cases. Premium-priced Italian rice varieties (Carnaroli, Arborio, Baldo) are used in cuisines worldwide for their unique qualitative properties. Organic authentication of rice by morphological assessment is unfeasible, while its market availability at different refining stages (brown, white) further increases the data variability. In this study, bulk and compound-specific (CS) − IRMS analysis of nine rice amino acids (AAs), by elemental analyser (EA) – IRMS and gas chromatography (GC) − combustion (C) − IRMS, respectively, were applied in order to explore their organic authentication potential in cases involving different rice varieties and refining types. The individual and interactive effects of the different variables were assessed on the δ13CAAs, δ15NAAs, δ13Cbulk and δ15Nbulk, and the sample classification was attempted by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and decision tree analysis (DTA). Organic authentication of brown rice was achieved by CS-IRMS. Generic rice was differentiated from all Italian organic and conventional varieties (δ15Nleucine < 2.5 ‰). The δ13C values of glutamic acid, glycine, phenylalanine and proline, significantly contributed to the complete LDA separation of conventional Arborio, conventional Carnaroli and organic Carnaroli samples. This study showcases the interplay between refining type, variety and cultivation, which should be considered in cases of organic authentication by IRMS method

Causes systémiques de la chimiose conjonctivale : série de cas

La chimiose conjonctivale est une affection ophtalmique couramment observée qui présente divers degrés de gravité et un large éventail de symptômes, de signes et d’étiologies sous-jacentes. Bien que la plupart des cas soient de nature oculaire (allergie, infection, irritation), les manifestations atypiques comme la teinte empourprée de la conjonctive, les veines conjonctivales en tire-bouchon et l’œdème périorbital devraient inciter à chercher une cause systémique. Lorsque la chimiose est atypique, l’examen des antécédents médicaux et des médicaments du patient, l’examen physique du cœur et l’examen thoracique ainsi que la prise des signes vitaux (tension artérielle, pouls, poids) sont essentiels à l’identification de la source systémique potentielle. Cet article passe en revue les causes systémiques de la chimiose conjonctivale et présente des exemples de cas qui démontrent les techniques d’évaluation et de prise en charge permettant aux optométristes d’établir une distinction entre la chimiose conjonctivale oculaire et la chimiose conjonctivale systémique.&nbsp

#Everything Will Be Fine. Duration of Home Confinement and “All-or-Nothing” Cognitive Thinking Style as Predictors of Traumatic Distress in Young University Students on a Digital Platform During the COVID-19 Italian Lockdown

On March 10, 2020, Italy announced its lockdown caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and home confinement exposed individuals to a stressful situation of unknown duration. Our study aimed to analyze the emotional and cognitive experiences and the psychopathological symptoms of young Italian University students seeking help from our University student Counseling and Consultation Service during the COVID-19 lockdown. Also, our study aimed to identify the predictors of traumatic psychological distress, investigating variables that could influence the students' well-being, related to their socio-demographic and clinical condition, to the “exposition” to the social distancing, and related to their cognitive thinking style. One-hundred and three University students were included in our study. The traumatic impact was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). A digital platform was used in our study, focused on narrative dimensions analyses. Our results showed that 21.4% of our help-seeking students experienced lockdown as a traumatic experience. The main stressful factors reported by students were: adjustment to the new academic activities (23.3 %), lack of autonomy (19.4%), and conflicts with family members (6.8%). The three main areas impaired were: changes in the sleeping pattern (68%), difficulty in concentration (67%), and loss of energy (58.6%). Furthermore, 36% of our student sample reported being suffering from anxiety symptoms, whereas 26% showed depressive symptomatology. Students having previous psychological and psychiatric contacts with mental health services (23%) showed a more severe traumatic and depressive symptomatology. The problematic thinking style “all or nothing” was predominantly associated with psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms. “Everything Will Be Fine” could be identified by the “optimistic style” (27.2%), inversely correlated with the psychopathological measures and concentration problems. The results of the logistic regression analysis indicated that the length of home confinement (second month) seemed to increase by over 3 times the likelihood of experience posttraumatic symptomatology, and a thinking style “all or nothing” was the final strongest predictor increasing the risk by over 5 times. The implementation of psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable young subgroups to contain the structuring of psychopathological profiles represent a fundamental challenge

Aromatic characterization of Moscato Giallo by GC-MS/MS and stable isotopic ratio analysis of the major volatile compounds

Among the Moscato grapes, Moscato Giallo is a winegrape variety characterized by a highcontent of free and glycosylated monoterpenoids, which gives very aromatic wines. Thearomatic bouquet of Moscato Giallo is strongly influenced by the high concentration of linalool, geraniol, linalool oxides, limonene, α-terpineol, citronellol, HO-trienol, HO-diols, 8-Hydroxylinalool, geranic acid and β-myrcene, that give citrus, rose, and peach notes. Except the quali-quantitative analysis, no investigations regarding the isotopic values of the target volatile compounds are documented in literature. Stable isotope ratio analysis represents a modern and powerful tool used by the laboratories responsible for official consumer protection, for the food quality and genuineness assessment. In this study, samples of Moscato Giallo were collected during the harvest season in 2019 from two Italian regions:Trentino – Alto Adige and Veneto, known lands for the cultivation of this aromatic variety. The flavor compounds were extracted from grapes and wines, after alcoholic fermentation of grape juice, and analysed by GC-MS/MS. The results confirmed the presence of typical terpenoids both in free and glycosylated form, responsible for the characteristic aroma of Moscato Giallo variety. The aromatic compounds were also analysed by GC-C\Py-IRMS for a preliminary investigation. The compound-specific isotope ratio analysis allowed to determine the carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotopic signatures of the major volatile compounds for the first time

Social cognition in people with schizophrenia: A cluster-analytic approach

Background The study aimed to subtype patients with schizophrenia on the basis of social cognition (SC), and to identify cut-offs that best discriminate among subtypes in 809 out-patients recruited in the context of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses. Method A two-step cluster analysis of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), the Facial Emotion Identification Test and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test scores was performed. Classification and regression tree analysis was used to identify the cut-offs of variables that best discriminated among clusters. Results We identified three clusters, characterized by unimpaired (42%), impaired (50.4%) and very impaired (7.5%) SC. Three theory-of-mind domains were more important for the cluster definition as compared with emotion perception and emotional intelligence. Patients more able to understand simple sarcasm (14 for TASIT-SS) were very likely to belong to the unimpaired SC cluster. Compared with patients in the impaired SC cluster, those in the very impaired SC cluster performed significantly worse in lie scenes (TASIT-LI <10), but not in simple sarcasm. Moreover, functioning, neurocognition, disorganization and SC had a linear relationship across the three clusters, while positive symptoms were significantly lower in patients with unimpaired SC as compared with patients with impaired and very impaired SC. On the other hand, negative symptoms were highest in patients with impaired levels of SC. Conclusions If replicated, the identification of such subtypes in clinical practice may help in tailoring rehabilitation efforts to the person's strengths to gain more benefit to the person