Sound design for emotion and intention expression of socially interactive robots

The current concept of robots has been greatly influenced by the image of robots from science fiction. Since robots were introduced into human society as partners with them, the importance of human–robot interaction has grown. In this paper, we have designed seven musical sounds, five of which express intention and two that express emotion for the English teacher robot, Silbot. To identify the sound design considerations, we analyzed the sounds of robots, R2-D2 and Wall-E, from two popular movies, Star Wars and Wall-E, respectively. From the analysis, we found that intonation, pitch, and timbre are dominant musical parameters to express intention and emotion. To check the validity of these designed sounds for intention and emotion, we performed a recognition rate experiment. The experiment showed that the five designed sounds for intentions and the two for emotions are sufficient to deliver the intended emotions.     

Formal Modeling and Verification of Safety-Critical Software

Rigorous quality demonstration is important when developing safety-critical software such as a reactor protection system (RPS) for a nuclear power plant. Although using formal methods such as formal modeling and verification is strongly recommended, domain experts often reject formal methods for four reasons: there are too many candidate techniques, the notations appear complex, the tools often work only in isolation, and output is often too difficult for domain experts to understand. A formal-methods-based process that supports development, verification and validation, and safety analysis can help domain experts overcome these obstacles. Nuclear engineers can also use CASE tools to apply formal methods without having to know details of the underlying formalism. The authors spent more than seven years working with nuclear engineers in developing RPS software and applying formal methods. The engineers and regulatory personnel found the process effective and easy to apply with the integrated tool support.     

Text me when it becomes dangerous: Exploring the determinants of college students’ adoption of mobile-based text alerts short message service

Guided by Davis’ (1986) technology acceptance model (TAM) and Brehm’s (1989) reactance theory, this study sought to explore the determinants of college students’ adoption of mobile-based text alert short message service (SMS). The findings of the study supported the primary argument of the model that individuals’ adoption of text alert SMS for emergency preparedness and response should be largely determined by social psychological factors, such as attitude toward, subjective norm associated with, and perceived intrusiveness of the SMS. In addition, the findings demonstrated that subjective norm of and attitude toward the service prompted individuals’ actual adoption whereas intrusiveness of the service served as a distinctive barrier to the actual adoption behavior. Finally, the findings also showed that the probability of adopting the text alert SMS was not directly increased by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the service, but was indirectly affected by the two antecedents through ones’ attitude toward the use of the SMS. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Development of a web-based decision support system for supporting integrated water resources management in Daegu city,South Korea

Demands on fresh water by human beings have been continuously increasing due to population growth, living standard improvement, and economic development. At the same time, many regions are suffering greatly from floods and droughts. Those are the results of ineffective management of water resources due to the associated complexities. In this study, a decision support system (DSS) was developed for supporting integrated water resources management in Daegu city, Republic of Korea. The developed DSS contained four subsystems including database, modelbase, and knowledgebase, as well as general user interface (GUI). It was then connected with the National Water Management Information System (WAMIS). A flow prediction could be conducted through the incorporated HEC-HMS Version 3.0.1. Also, an urban water demand forecasting model was developed using an artificial neural network (ANN) based model. At the same time, a water resources management model based on genetic algorithm (GA) was developed in the DSS, facilitating efficient allocation of water resources among different regions within a city. The result indicated that the developed DSS is very useful to deal with complex water resources management problems and could be further applied to similar cities in South Korea.     

Integration of voice/data services over PACS systems using a movable boundary slot allocation scheme

The integration of voice and data services over PACS systems using a movable boundary scheme is studied. First, we use the theory of discrete‐time Markov chain to analyse the system; then, an approximate analysis using the continuous‐time Markov chain model is conducted. For the initial access of voice calls we consider two distinct schemes: at most one idle slot being marked available, and all the idle slots being marked available. Numerical results show that the performance difference for voice calls between both schemes is trivial, but the former scheme offers a performance advantage for data calls over the latter scheme. Besides, the performance obtained by the continuous‐time Markov model is very close to that obtained by the discrete‐time Markov model. This finding suggests the effectiveness of the usage of the continuous‐time Markov model, which can dramatically simplify the analysis. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discovery of Pyridone‐Based Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors: Approaches for Metabolic Stability

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important enzymes in epigenetic regulation and are therapeutic targets for cancer. Most zinc‐dependent HDACs induce proliferation, dedifferentiation, and anti‐apoptotic effects in cancer cells. We designed and synthesized a new series of pyridone‐based HDAC inhibitors that have a pyridone ring in the core structure and a conjugated system with an olefin connecting the hydroxamic acid moiety. Consequently, most of the selected pyridone‐based HDAC inhibitors showed similar or higher inhibition profiles in addition to remarkable metabolic stability against hydrolysis relative to the corresponding lactam‐based HDAC inhibitors. Furthermore, the selectivity of the novel pyridine‐based compounds was evaluated across all of the HDAC isoforms. One of these compounds, (E)‐N‐hydroxy‐3‐{1‐[3‐(naphthalen‐2‐yl)propyl]‐2‐oxo‐1,2‐dihydropyridin‐3‐yl}acrylamide, exhibited the highest level of HDAC inhibition (IC₅₀=0.07 μM ), highly selective inhibition of class I HDAC1 and class II HDAC6 enzymes, metabolic stability in mouse liver microsomal studies, and effective growth inhibition of various cancer cell lines. Docking studies indicated that a long alkyl linker and bulky hydrophobic cap groups affect in vitro activities. Overall, the findings reported herein regarding pyridone‐based HDAC inhibitors can be used to guide future research efforts to develop new and effective anticancer therapeutics.     

Luminescent properties of Pr doped ZrSiO4 phosphors

Mixtures of ZrO₂, SiO₂, Pr₂O₃, and H₃BO₃ were fired at the temperature of 1150–1350 °C under H₂ atmosphere. A single phase ZrSiO₄:Pr phosphors could be achieved at the firing temperature above 1150 °C. Crystallinity and PL properties strongly depended on the flux amounts, firing temperature, and dopant concentrations. ZrSiO₄:Pr phosphors showed a strong red emission at 615 nm and a weak red emission at 622 nm with an excitation wavelength of 295 and 450 nm, respectively. Two sets of the emission bands and excitation spectra originated from Pr³⁺ ions at Zr and Si sites, respectively.     

Cure‐on‐demand wood adhesive based on the frontal polymerization of acrylates

We demonstrated for the first time a cure‐on‐demand wood adhesive using thermal frontal polymerization with Southern Pine wood. Monomer structure, initiator loading, and filler loading all had an impact on the strength of the adhesive and the cure‐on‐demand ability. More flexible, ethoxylated monomers produced stronger adhesives; though, the ethoxylate groups reduce the ability of the system to be polymerized frontally. Addition of a highly reactive comonomer (acrylic acid) to increase molecular weight between crosslinks along with the ethoxylated triacrylate increased the propensity for frontal polymerization and made a tougher polymer. Increasing initiator loading could help ensure front propagation, but a maximum initiator loading was reached where the gaseous byproducts of the peroxide initiator made the network highly porous and thus lacking strength. Fillers such as kaolin and sawdust helped overcome decreases in strength at high initiator loadings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44064.