Integration of Action and Language Knowledge: A Roadmap for Developmental Robotics

“This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder." “Copyright IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.”This position paper proposes that the study of embodied cognitive agents, such as humanoid robots, can advance our understanding of the cognitive development of complex sensorimotor, linguistic, and social learning skills. This in turn will benefit the design of cognitive robots capable of learning to handle and manipulate objects and tools autonomously, to cooperate and communicate with other robots and humans, and to adapt their abilities to changing internal, environmental, and social conditions. Four key areas of research challenges are discussed, specifically for the issues related to the understanding of: 1) how agents learn and represent compositional actions; 2) how agents learn and represent compositional lexica; 3) the dynamics of social interaction and learning; and 4) how compositional action and language representations are integrated to bootstrap the cognitive system. The review of specific issues and progress in these areas is then translated into a practical roadmap based on a series of milestones. These milestones provide a possible set of cognitive robotics goals and test scenarios, thus acting as a research roadmap for future work on cognitive developmental robotics.Peer reviewe

Produção de gado de corte e acúmulo de matéria seca em sistemas de integração lavoura: pecuária em presença e ausência de trevo branco e nitrogênio.

O trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de verificar a influência da adubação nitrogenada em uma pastagem de azevém (Lolium multiflorium L.) e aveia (Avena strigosa Scherb) em presença e ausência de trevo branco (Trifolium repens L.), conferida pelo acúmulo e produção de matéria seca, ganho médio diário, ganho de peso vivo e carga animal no sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária sob sistema de plantio direto. A cultura antecessora da pastagem foi a soja (Glycine Max L.). O delineamento experimental foi em blocos completos ao acaso, com parcelas subdivididas e três repetições. Nas parcelas, foram testadas quatro doses de nitrogênio (0, 100, 200 e 300 kg.ha-1) e nas subparcelas, a combinação de presença e ausência de trevo branco. A elevação das doses crescentes de N aumentaram de forma linear crescente o acúmulo e a produção de matéria seca da pastagem. A carga animal e o ganho de peso vivo por hectare de bovinos aumentaram com o incremento de nitrogênio. Os resultados demonstram o efeito da adubação nitrogenada no acúmulo diário, na produção de matéria seca, carga animal e no ganho de peso vivo

Ensaio nacional de aveias forrageiras, 1997: análise conjunta.

Com o objetivo de avaliar genotipos de aveias (brancas e pretas), nos diferentes ambientes do Sul do Brasil, para aptidao forrageira, conduziu-se um ensaio em rede em 13 locais (4 no Rio Grande do Sul, 3 em Santa Catarina, 5 no Parana e 1 em Sao Paulo)

Ensaio nacional de aveias forrageiras, 1997: analise conjunta.

Resumo

Ensaio nacional de aveias forrageiras, 1997: análise conjunta.

Planta forrageira, Aveia, Ensaio nacional; Forage; Oat; Essay.Resumo

Update on vaccination of preterm infants: a systematic review about safety and efficacy/effectiveness. Proposal for a position statement by Italian Society of Pediatric Allergology and Immunology jointly with the Italian Society of Neonatology

Preterm infants (PIs) are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). However, delayed vaccination start and low vaccine coverage are still reported. Areas covered: This systematic review includes 37 articles on preterm vaccination published in 2008-2018 in PubMed. Both live attenuated and inactivated vaccines are safe and well tolerated in PIs. Local reactions, apnea, and reactivity changes are the most frequently reported adverse events. Lower gestational age and birth weight, preimmunization apnea, longer use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) are risk factors for apnea. The proportion of PIs who develop protective humoral and cellular immunity is generally similar to full terms although later gestational age is associated with increased antibody IgG concentrations (i.e. against certain pneumococcal serotypes, influenza, hepatitis B virus and poliovirus 1) and increased mononuclear cells proliferation (i.e. after inactivated poliovirus). Expert opinion: PIs can be safely and adequately protected by available vaccines with the same schedule used for full terms. Data at this regard have been retrieved by studies using a 3-dose primary series for pneumococcal and hexavalent vaccines. Further studies are needed regarding the 2 + 1 schedule. Apnea represents a nonspecific stress response in PIs, thus those hospitalized at 2 months should have cardio-respiratory monitoring after their first vaccination

Short communication: Concentrate supplementation strategies in ryegrass pasture for productive performance in lambs

This study evaluated the effect of two concentrate supplementation strategies on performance, metabolic profile and economic evaluation of suckling lambs and ewes in ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) pasture. Twenty-seven ewes and 45 lambs were divided into three groups: (1) ryegrass pasture without supplementation - control (CON); (2) CON plus supplemented ewes and lambs at 1% of live weight (SEL), and (3) CON plus creep feeding supplemented lambs at 1% of live weight (CSL). Concentrate use increased (p<0.05) average daily gain (ADG) by 19.95% over CON (21.6 and 18.3% for SEL and CSL, respectively). Concentrate use contributed to minimizing forage quality fluctuation and provided greater ADG stability, mainly when ryegrass nutritional content and digestibility decreased. Blood metabolites profiles did not differ between groups, with exception of phosphorus which was higher for CON than SEL, and calcium which was higher for CSL than CON (p<0.05). Compared to CON, stoking rate values were greater to SEL (p<0.05). Compared to CSL, ewe and total stocking rate were greater (p<0.05) to SEL. Considering the control group as break even feed investment, SEL strategy had a positive economic return, while CSL showed economic losses. Concentrate use increased ADG of lambs and decrease the impact of nutrient quality changes of forage on daily gains, but must be considered that supplemental strategy used could affect negatively economic return

Perforated Calculous Cholecystitis and Incidental Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Gallbladder—A Complex Relationship with a Difficult Management in the Acute Setting

The worldwide prevalence of gallstones (GSs) is estimated to be between 10% and 15% in the general population. Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is the most common biliary tract neoplasia, and it is characterized by highly aggressive behavior and poor overall prognosis. Long-standing GSs and chronic inflammatory state represent the most common risk factors for GBC, promoting a carcinogenic microenvironment. Long-standing GSs expose patients to potentially severe surgical and oncological complications. A 71-year-old gentleman, who had never experienced biliary symptoms and had diabetes mellitus (DM), presented with severe peritonitis due to perforated acute calculous cholecystitis. The patient underwent an emergent laparotomic cholecystectomy. Histopathology found a rare pT2b poorly differentiated squamocellular carcinoma of the gallbladder. Although more difficult due to the concomitant inflammatory context, it is critical to identify suspicious lesions during preoperative imaging in patients at high risk of malignancy presenting with complex acute gallbladder pathologies. A review of the literature was conducted to gain a deeper insight into the relationship between long-standing GSs and GBC, evaluating also the difficult diagnosis and management of malignancy in the acute setting. Considering the existing literature, the choice to pursue a prophylactic cholecystectomy may be justifiable in selected asymptomatic GS patients at high risk for GBC