Interactive Exploration of Large-scale UI Datasets with Design Maps

in Interacting with Computers (2021)

The Breuer-Major Theorem in total variation: improved rates under minimal regularity

in Stochastic Processes and Their Applications (2021), 131

Bücherschau

in Shakekespeare Jahrbuch (2021), 157

Dense and Sparse 3D Deformation Signatures for 3D Dynamic Face Recognition

in IEEE Access (2021), 9

iPSC-Derived Microglia as a Model to Study Inflammation in Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease.

in Frontiers in cell and developmental biology (2021), 9

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease with unknown cause in the majority of patients, who are therefore considered "idiopathic" (IPD). PD predominantly affects dopaminergic neurons in ... [more ▼]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease with unknown cause in the majority of patients, who are therefore considered "idiopathic" (IPD). PD predominantly affects dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), yet the pathology is not limited to this cell type. Advancing age is considered the main risk factor for the development of IPD and greatly influences the function of microglia, the immune cells of the brain. With increasing age, microglia become dysfunctional and release pro-inflammatory factors into the extracellular space, which promote neuronal cell death. Accordingly, neuroinflammation has also been described as a feature of PD. So far, studies exploring inflammatory pathways in IPD patient samples have primarily focused on blood-derived immune cells or brain sections, but rarely investigated patient microglia in vitro. Accordingly, we decided to explore the contribution of microglia to IPD in a comparative manner using, both, iPSC-derived cultures and postmortem tissue. Our meta-analysis of published RNAseq datasets indicated an upregulation of IL10 and IL1B in nigral tissue from IPD patients. We observed increased expression levels of these cytokines in microglia compared to neurons using our single-cell midbrain atlas. Moreover, IL10 and IL1B were upregulated in IPD compared to control microglia. Next, to validate these findings in vitro, we generated IPD patient microglia from iPSCs using an established differentiation protocol. IPD microglia were more readily primed as indicated by elevated IL1B and IL10 gene expression and higher mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3 after LPS treatment. In addition, IPD microglia had higher phagocytic capacity under basal conditions-a phenotype that was further exacerbated upon stimulation with LPS, suggesting an aberrant microglial function. Our results demonstrate the significance of microglia as the key player in the neuroinflammation process in IPD. While our study highlights the importance of microglia-mediated inflammatory signaling in IPD, further investigations will be needed to explore particular disease mechanisms in these cells. [less ▲]

Interoception in preschoolers: New insights into its assessment and relations to emotion regulation and stress

in Biological Psychology (2021), 165(1), 108166

Interoception may play an important role for emotion regulation and stress, thereby affecting mental health in children and adults. Yet, little is known on interoception in preschool children. Therefore ... [more ▼]

Interoception may play an important role for emotion regulation and stress, thereby affecting mental health in children and adults. Yet, little is known on interoception in preschool children. Therefore, we investigated interoceptive accuracy using the adapted Jumping Jack Paradigm (JJP) and its relationship with emotion regulation and stress. In Study I, 40 preschoolers completed the JJP and an emotion regulation task, demonstrating a positive relationship between interoceptive accuracy and emotion regulation at trend level (R² = 0.231, p = .023; β = .278, p = .073). In Study II, 31 preschoolers completed the adapted JJP before and after an acute laboratory stress test. Higher total cortisol output following acute stress induction were associated with reduced interoceptive accuracy (r = -0.670, p = .017). Extending earlier findings in adults and school-children, the relationship of interoceptive accuracy with emotion regulation and stress highlights the importance to investigate interoception in early childhood. [less ▲]

Ausschließlichkeit in der (Corona-)Krise – Über Alternativen und Zugangslösungen im pandemierelevanten Innovationsermöglichungsrecht.

in JuristenZeitung (2021)

Review of: Sacha Pulli (2020). Das gescheiterte Jahrhundertprojekt. Die Geschichte der Atomzentrale in Remerschen von 1973-1979. Luxemburg: Fondation Lydie Schmit

in Hemecht: Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte (2021), 73(4), 496498

Design of a 2-Bit Neural Network Quantizer for Laplacian Source

in Entropy (2021), 23(8), 933

Achieving real-time inference is one of the major issues in contemporary neural network applications, as complex algorithms are frequently being deployed to mobile devices that have constrained storage ... [more ▼]

Achieving real-time inference is one of the major issues in contemporary neural network applications, as complex algorithms are frequently being deployed to mobile devices that have constrained storage and computing power. Moving from a full-precision neural network model to a lower representation by applying quantization techniques is a popular approach to facilitate this issue. Here, we analyze in detail and design a 2-bit uniform quantization model for Laplacian source due to its significance in terms of implementation simplicity, which further leads to a shorter processing time and faster inference. The results show that it is possible to achieve high classification accuracy (more than 96% in the case of MLP and more than 98% in the case of CNN) by implementing the proposed model, which is competitive to the performance of the other quantization solutions with almost optimal precision. [less ▲]

Incremental learning strategies for credit cards fraud detection.

in nternational Journal of Data Science and Analytics (2021)

very second, thousands of credit or debit card transactions are processed in financial institutions. This extensive amount of data and its sequential nature make the problem of fraud detection ... [more ▼]

very second, thousands of credit or debit card transactions are processed in financial institutions. This extensive amount of data and its sequential nature make the problem of fraud detection particularly challenging. Most analytical strategies used in production are still based on batch learning, which is inadequate for two reasons: Models quickly become outdated and require sensitive data storage. The evolving nature of bank fraud enshrines the importance of having up-to-date models, and sensitive data retention makes companies vulnerable to infringements of the European General Data Protection Regulation. For these reasons, evaluating incremental learning strategies is recommended. This paper designs and evaluates incremental learning solutions for real-world fraud detection systems. The aim is to demonstrate the competitiveness of incremental learning over conventional batch approaches and, consequently, improve its accuracy employing ensemble learning, diversity and transfer learning. An experimental analysis is conducted on a full-scale case study including five months of e-commerce transactions and made available by our industry partner, Worldline. [less ▲]

Constitutive Powers of Executive Bodies: a Functional Analysis of the Single Resolution Board

in Modern Law Review (2021), 84(6), 13301359

Executive bodies can acquire constitutive powers,even if subject to detailed substantive strictures. Constitutive powers give executive bodies the possibility to transform normative understandings of the ... [more ▼]

Executive bodies can acquire constitutive powers,even if subject to detailed substantive strictures. Constitutive powers give executive bodies the possibility to transform normative understandings of the meaning of norms and of the goals of public action into legal forms. These bodies thus engage in a jurisgenerative process that enables them to progressively delimit their legal mandates in reaction to socio-economic and political realities. The article illustrates this argument by examining the power of the EU Single Resolution Board (SRB) to determine the resolution of a bank in crisis. It concludes that, in view of constitutive powers, the normative demands that the EU legal system places on executive and administrative bodies must be reconsidered. On that basis and to that effect, mechanisms of accountability should be reconceptualised and reoriented. [less ▲]

Precoding with Received-Interference Power Control for Multibeam Satellite Communication Systems

in Frontiers in Space Technologies (2021)

Zero-Forcing (ZF) and Regularized Zero-Forcing (RZF) precoding are low-complexity sub-optimal solutions widely accepted in the satellite communications community to mitigate the resulting co-channel ... [more ▼]

Zero-Forcing (ZF) and Regularized Zero-Forcing (RZF) precoding are low-complexity sub-optimal solutions widely accepted in the satellite communications community to mitigate the resulting co-channel interference caused by aggressive frequency reuse. However, both are sensitive to the conditioning of the channel matrix, which can greatly reduce the achievable gains. This paper brings the attention to the benefits of a design that allows some residual received interference power at the co-channel users. The motivation behind this approach is to relax the dependence on the matrix inversion procedure involved in conventional precoding schemes. In particular, the proposed scheme aims to be less sensitive to the user scheduling, which is one of the key limiting factors for the practical implementation of precoding. Furthermore, the proposed technique can also cope with more users than satellite beams. In fact, the proposed precoder can be tuned to control the interference towards the co-channel beams, which is a desirable feature that is not met by the existing RZF solutions. The design is formulated as a non-convex optimization and we study various algorithms in order to obtain a practical solution. Supporting results based on numerical simulations show that the proposed precoding implementations are able to outperform the conventional ZF and RZF schemes. [less ▲]

Predicting correlated outcomes from molecular data

in Bioinformatics (2021), 37(21), 38893895

Motivation: Multivariate (multi-target) regression has the potential to outperform univariate (single-target) regression at predicting correlated outcomes, which frequently occur in biomedical and ... [more ▼]

Motivation: Multivariate (multi-target) regression has the potential to outperform univariate (single-target) regression at predicting correlated outcomes, which frequently occur in biomedical and clinical research. Here we implement multivariate lasso and ridge regression using stacked generalisation. Results: Our flexible approach leads to predictive and interpretable models in high-dimensional settings, with a single estimate for each input-output effect. In the simulation, we compare the predictive performance of several state-of-the-art methods for multivariate regression. In the application, we use clinical and genomic data to predict multiple motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients. We conclude that stacked multivariate regression, with our adaptations, is a competitive method for predicting correlated outcomes. Availability and Implementation: The R package joinet is available on GitHub (https://github.com/rauschenberger/joinet) and CRAN (https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=joinet). [less ▲]

Exciton band structure of molybdenum disulfide: from monolayer to bulk

in Electronic Structure (2021), 3

Exciton band structures analysis provides a powerful tool to identify the exciton character of materials, from bulk to isolated systems, and goes beyond the mere analysis of the optical spectra. In this ... [more ▼]

Exciton band structures analysis provides a powerful tool to identify the exciton character of materials, from bulk to isolated systems, and goes beyond the mere analysis of the optical spectra. In this work, we focus on the exciton properties of molybdenum sisulfide (MoS 2 ) by solving the ab initio many-body Bethe–Salpeter equation, as a function of momentum, to obtain the excitation spectra of both monolayer and bulk MoS 2 . We analyse the spectrum and the exciton dispersion on the basis of a model excitonic Hamiltonian capable of providing an efficient description of the excitations in the bulk crystal, starting from the knowledge of the excitons of a single layer. In this way, we obtain a general characterization of both bright and darks excitons in terms of the interplay between the electronic band dispersion (i.e. interlayer hopping) and the electron–hole exchange interaction. We identify for both the 2D and the 3D limiting cases the character of the lowest-energy excitons in MoS 2 , we explain the effects and relative weights of both band dispersion and electron–hole exchange interaction and finally we interpret the differences observed when changing the dimensionality of the system. [less ▲]

Thermodynamics of Active Field Theories: Energetic Cost of Coupling to Reservoirs

in PHYSICAL REVIEW X (2021), 11(2),

The hallmark of active matter is the autonomous directed motion of its microscopic constituents driven by consumption of energy resources. This motion leads to the emergence of large-scale dynamics and ... [more ▼]

The hallmark of active matter is the autonomous directed motion of its microscopic constituents driven by consumption of energy resources. This motion leads to the emergence of large-scale dynamics and structures without any equilibrium equivalent. Though active field theories offer a useful hydrodynamic description, it is unclear how to properly quantify the energetic cost of the dynamics from such a coarse-grained description. We provide a thermodynamically consistent framework to identify the energy exchanges between active systems and their surrounding thermostat at the hydrodynamic level. Based on linear irreversible thermodynamics, we determine how active fields couple with the underlying reservoirs at the basis of nonequilibrium driving. This approach leads to evaluating the rate of heat dissipated in the thermostat, as a measure of the cost to sustain the system away from equilibrium, which is related to the irreversibility of the active field dynamics. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach in two popular active field theories: (i) the dynamics of a conserved density field reproducing active phase separation and (ii) the coupled dynamics of density and polarization describing motile deformable droplets. Combining numerical and analytical approaches, we provide spatial maps of dissipated heat, compare them with the irreversibility measure of the active field dynamics, and explore how the overall dissipated heat varies with the emerging order. [less ▲]

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MICA) and the EU Digital Finance Strategy

in Capital Markets Law Journal (2021), 16(1),

Identities and Methodologies of Border Studies: Recent Empirical and Conceptual Approaches

in Borders in Perspective (2021), (6), 126

In recent decades, Border Studies have gained importance and have seen a noticeable increase in development. This manifests itself in an increased institutionalization, a differentiation of the areas of ... [more ▼]

In recent decades, Border Studies have gained importance and have seen a noticeable increase in development. This manifests itself in an increased institutionalization, a differentiation of the areas of research interest and a conceptual reorientation that is interested in examining processes. So far, however, little attention has been paid to questions about (inter)disciplinary self-perception and methodological foundations of Border Studies and the associated consequences for research activities. This thematic issue addresses these desiderata and brings together articles that deal with their (inter)disciplinary foundations as well as method(olog)ical and practical research questions. The authors also provide sound insights into a disparate field of work, disclose practical research strategies, and present methodologically sophisticated systematizations. [less ▲]

Natura temporanea del lavoro tramite agenzia e limiti derivanti daldirittoeuropeo

in Rivista Italiana di Diritto del Lavoro (2021)

GA4GH Passport standard for digital identity and access permissions

in Cell Genomics (2021), 1(2),

Preface of the special issue ‘Logic, argumentation and AI’ in JLC

in Journal of Logic and Computation (2021), 31(8), 1901-1902

Ability of 6- to 7-year-old children to choose the control of variables strategy.

in Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology (2021), 20(2), 70-82

Planning and conducting experiments require the application of the control of vari- ables strategy (CVS). Research indicates that older children can learn the CVS by engag- ing in guided-inquiry ... [more ▼]

Planning and conducting experiments require the application of the control of vari- ables strategy (CVS). Research indicates that older children can learn the CVS by engag- ing in guided-inquiry activities. It has not been studied yet whether this is also the case for children as young as 6- to 7-years. 145 children aged 6–7 years participated in a study with a pre-, post-, follow-up test design comprising two experimental groups (EG 1, EG 2) and a control group (CG). EG 1 and EG 2 received a structured-inquiry lesson, thus, carrying out six predetermined experiments with an adult’s implicit guid- ance. While the lesson in EG 1 was in the same physics domain as the test’s phys- ics domain, in EG 2 the lesson’s physics domain differed from the test’s domain. The CG did not experiment. We assessed children’s CVS ability with a multiple-choice test. Results suggested that some children in the EGs learned the CVS, whereas in the CG, no learning effects occurred. However, most children in the EGs did not gain in the CVS ability, indicating that the small dose of six experiments in one physics domain was insufficient for learning the CVS. [less ▲]

Understanding Attentional Biases in Severe Alcohol Use Disorder: A Combined Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Perspective.

in Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) (2021), 56(1), 1-7

RATIONALE: Severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) is a psychiatric condition linked to cerebral and cognitive consequences. SAUD is notably characterized by an overactivation of the reflexive/reward system ... [more ▼]

RATIONALE: Severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) is a psychiatric condition linked to cerebral and cognitive consequences. SAUD is notably characterized by an overactivation of the reflexive/reward system when confronted with alcohol-related cues. Such overreactivity generates a preferential allocation of attentional resources toward these cues, labeled as attentional biases (AB). Theoretical assumptions have been made regarding the characteristics of AB and their underlying processes. While often considered as granted, these assumptions remain to be experimentally validated. AIMS: We first identify the theoretical assumptions made by previous studies exploring the nature and role of AB. We then discuss the current evidence available to establish their validity. We finally propose research avenues to experimentally test them. METHODS: Capitalizing on a narrative review of studies exploring AB in SAUD, the current limits of the behavioral measures used for their evaluation are highlighted as well as the benefits derived from the use of eye-tracking measures to obtain a deeper understanding of their underlying processes. We describe the issues related to the theoretical proposals on AB and propose research avenues to test them. Four experimental axes are proposed, respectively, related to the determination of (a) the genuine nature of the mechanisms underlying AB; (b) their stability over the disease course; (c) their specificity to alcohol-related stimuli and (d) their reflexive or controlled nature. CONCLUSIONS: This in-depth exploration of the available knowledge related to AB in SAUD, and of its key limitations, highlights the theoretical and clinical interest of our innovative experimental perspectives capitalizing on eye-tracking measures. [less ▲]

Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung als Kompetenzorientierung

in KiTa aktuell HRS - Fachzeitschrift für Leitungen, Fachkräfte und Träger der Kindertagesbetreuung (2021), 29(9), 197

The time course of attentional biases in pain : a meta-analysis of eye tracking studies

in PAIN (2021)

Dynamical SPQEIR model assesses the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 epidemic outbreaks.

in PloS one (2021), 16(5), 0252019

Against the current COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide have devised a variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate it. However, it is generally difficult to estimate the joint impact of ... [more ▼]

Against the current COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide have devised a variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate it. However, it is generally difficult to estimate the joint impact of different control strategies. In this paper, we tackle this question with an extended epidemic SEIR model, informed by a socio-political classification of different interventions. First, we inquire the conceptual effect of mitigation parameters on the infection curve. Then, we illustrate the potential of our model to reproduce and explain empirical data from a number of countries, to perform cross-country comparisons. This gives information on the best synergies of interventions to control epidemic outbreaks while minimising impact on socio-economic needs. For instance, our results suggest that, while rapid and strong lockdown is an effective pandemic mitigation measure, a combination of social distancing and early contact tracing can achieve similar mitigation synergistically, while keeping lower isolation rates. This quantitative understanding can support the establishment of mid- and long-term interventions, to prepare containment strategies against further outbreaks. This paper also provides an online tool that allows researchers and decision makers to interactively simulate diverse scenarios with our model. [less ▲]

Bringing representatives back in. How political parties moderate patterns of inequality in opinion representation

in European Political Science (2021)

Democratic theory argues that individuals should have their policy preferences equally represented in politics. Research on opinion congruence has often found, however, that political parties’ views are ... [more ▼]

Democratic theory argues that individuals should have their policy preferences equally represented in politics. Research on opinion congruence has often found, however, that political parties’ views are more likely to align with those of higher-income and higher educated citizens. We argue that this conclusion does not account for heterogeneity among parties. Based on an integrated dataset containing the positions of over 1,700 Belgian citizens and 11 Belgian parties on over 120 policy statements, we examine how opinion congruence inequality between privileged and underprivileged people varies between parties. We find that left-wing parties align more with underprivileged citizens than they do with privileged citizens on economic issues, while the opposite holds for right-wing parties. On cultural issues, however, both left- and right-wing parties better represent the preferences of privileged people. The exception is the radical right party Vlaams Belang, which on the cultural dimensions better represents the views of underprivileged voters. [less ▲]

Enhancing children’s numerical skills through a play-based intervention at kindergarten and at home: a quasi-experimental study

in Early Childhood Research Quarterly (2021), 54

Motives, Supporting Activities, and Selection Criteria of Social Impact Incubators: An Experimental Conjoint Study

in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (2021), 51(5), 1095-1133

Social impact incubators (SIIs) are a new type of incubator that support social enterprises (SEs) in their early business stages to foster and develop their hybrid objectives. However, research on SIIs is ... [more ▼]

Social impact incubators (SIIs) are a new type of incubator that support social enterprises (SEs) in their early business stages to foster and develop their hybrid objectives. However, research on SIIs is still scarce, and little is known about SIIs’ motives, supporting activities, and selection criteria. In investigating 71 SII decision- makers, we find the societal duty motive stated as “most important,” while the financial motive is stated as “least important.” Furthermore, we identify the authenticity of the founding team and the importance of the societal problem addressed as SIIs’ most important selection criteria. However, significant heterogeneity exists within the group of SIIs with regard to their selection criteria. In particular, SIIs with strong innovation and societal duty motives stand out and differ in their SE selection criteria from other SIIs. Our results extend prior research on SIIs and contribute to the discussion on the selection criteria of SE supporters. [less ▲]

Editorial: Celebrating the Diversity of Genetic Research to Dissect the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease

in Frontiers in Neurology (2021), 12

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurological disorder worldwide, taking into account age-standardized rates for prevalence, disability and deaths (1). PD is characterized by a clinical ... [more ▼]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurological disorder worldwide, taking into account age-standardized rates for prevalence, disability and deaths (1). PD is characterized by a clinical symptomatology involving both motor and non-motor symptoms. According to the Global Burden of Disease study (2018), the global burden of this disorder has more than doubled over the past two decades from 2.5 million patients in 1990 to 6.1 million patients in 2016 (2). In this editorial and eBook, we highlight the research done on PD by members of a global consortium known as the Genetic Epidemiology of Parkinson's disease (GEoPD) Consortium. We begin the editorial by providing a brief history of how GEoPD was started and how it has subsequently developed into an international endeavor. We then briefly summarize the completed and ongoing projects, and conclude with the future vision of this unique consortium. [less ▲]

Changes in Neighborhood-Level Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Older Americans’ Cognitive Functioning

in Health and Place (2021)

Background: While associations of neighborhood conditions with cognitive functioning at older ages have been established, few studies have investigated with a dynamic perspective if changing neighborhood ... [more ▼]

Background: While associations of neighborhood conditions with cognitive functioning at older ages have been established, few studies have investigated with a dynamic perspective if changing neighborhood socioeconomic conditions affect older residents’ cognitive declines, and which putative factors mediate this relationship. Method: Using data from waves 2 (2010–2011) and 3 (2015–2016) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) survey (n = 1837), ordinary least squares regressions and mediation analyses were conducted, adjusting for multiple confounders and testing eight putative mediators. Results: Worsening neighborhood socioeconomic circumstances were associated with cognitive declines. Changes in depressive symptoms, sizes of close social networks, and physical activity substantially mediated this relationship. Discussion: While 18.10% of the total effect occurred through these mechanisms, further pathways may work through contextual- and individual-level variables not assessed in the NSHAP. [less ▲]

The fall in income inequality during COVID-19 in four European countries

in Journal of Economic Inequality (2021), 19

We here use panel data from the COME-HERE survey to track income inequality during COVID-19 in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Relative inequality in equivalent household disposable income among ... [more ▼]

We here use panel data from the COME-HERE survey to track income inequality during COVID-19 in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Relative inequality in equivalent household disposable income among individuals changed in a hump-shaped way between January 2020 and January 2021, with an initial rise from January to May 2020 being more than reversed by September 2020. Absolute inequality also fell over this period. Due to the pandemic some households lost more than others, and government compensation schemes were targeted towards the poorest, implying that on average income differences decreased. Generalized Lorenz domination reveals that these distributive changes reduced welfare in Italy. [less ▲]

Efficient Preamble Detection and Time-of-Arrival Estimation for Single-Tone Frequency Hopping Random Access in NB-IoT

in IEEE Internet of Things Journal (2021), 8(9), 7437-7449

The narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) standard is a new cellular wireless technology, which has been introduced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) with the goal to connect massive low ... [more ▼]

The narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) standard is a new cellular wireless technology, which has been introduced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) with the goal to connect massive low-cost, low-complexity and long-life IoT devices with extended coverage. In order to improve power efficiency, 3GPP proposed a new Random Access (RA) waveform for NB-IoT based on a single-tone frequencyhopping scheme. RA handles the first connection between user equipments (UEs) and the base station (BS). Through this, UEs can be identified and synchronized with the BS. In this context, receiver methods for the detection of the new waveform should satisfy the requirements on the successful user detection as well as the timing synchronization accuracy. This is not a trivial task, especially in the presence of radio impairments like carrier frequency offset (CFO) which constitutes one of the main radio impairments besides the noise. In order to tackle this problem, we propose a new receiver method for NB-IoT Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH). The method is designed to eliminate perfectly the CFO without any additional computational complexity and supports all NPRACH preamble formats. The associated performance has been evaluated under 3GPP conditions. We observe a very high performance compared both to 3GPP requirements and to the existing state-of-the-art methods in terms of detection accuracy and complexity. [less ▲]

Educational Robotics and Robot Creativity: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue

in Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2021)

There is a growing literature concerning robotics and creativity. Although some authors claim that robotics in classrooms may be a promising new tool to address the creativity crisis in school, we often ... [more ▼]

There is a growing literature concerning robotics and creativity. Although some authors claim that robotics in classrooms may be a promising new tool to address the creativity crisis in school, we often face a lack of theoretical development of the concept of creativity and the mechanisms involved. In this article, we will first provide an overview of existing research using educational robotics to foster creativity. We show that in this line of work the exact mechanisms promoted by robotics activities are rarely discussed. We use a confluence model of creativity to account for the positive effect of designing and coding robots on students' creative output. We focus on the cognitive components of the process of constructing and programming robots within the context of existing models of creative cognition. We address as well the question of the role of meta-reasoning and emergent strategies in the creative process. Then, in the second part of the article, we discuss how the notion of creativity applies to robots themselves in terms of the creative processes that can be embodied in these artificial agents. Ultimately, we argue that considering how robots and humans deal with novelty and solve open-ended tasks could help us to understand better some aspects of the essence of creativity. [less ▲]

Post-growth perspectives in Economic Geography

in Die Erde (2021), 152(4), 213-217

A De Lege Ferenda Perspective on Artificial Intelligence Systems Designated as Inventors in the European Patent System.

in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht. Internationaler Teil (2021)

The European patent system was designed around a paradigm of human inventorship. This paper will analyse in depth and from a de lege ferenda perspective the rather general arguments against and in favour ... [more ▼]

The European patent system was designed around a paradigm of human inventorship. This paper will analyse in depth and from a de lege ferenda perspective the rather general arguments against and in favour of a possible designation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems as inventors. For the sake of a more concrete discussion, it will also outline a potential reform of the European patent system to implement AI inventorship and allocate the right to the European patent for such inventions by default to the machine’s operator. In the process, it will highlight the major specific issues associated with a reform that acknowledges AI inventorship and touch upon possible alternative approaches to addressing the growing autonomy of machines within the R&D process. The study must not be understood as a call for a reform to recognise AI systems as inventors but rather as a manner of laying the foundations for a more concrete, critical and fruitful discussion on non-human inventorship and its alternatives. The analysis will show that the more general, highly conceptional reservations advanced in the current discussion against AI inventorship are somewhat unfounded, e.g. the alleged break with the functions of the current patent system or the alleged need to endow AI with legal personality. More convincing arguments against a reform that allows for the designation of AI systems as inventor might instead relate to the specific difficulties associated with such reform. [less ▲]

Investigating the dimensionality of early numeracy using the bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling framework

in Frontiers in Psychology (2021)

DCcov: Repositioning of drugs and drug combinations for SARS-CoV-2 infected lung through constraint-based modeling.

in iScience (2021), 24(11), 103331

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a worldwide pandemic with currently no approved effective antiviral drug. Flux balance analysis (FBA) is an efficient method to analyze metabolic networks ... [more ▼]

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a worldwide pandemic with currently no approved effective antiviral drug. Flux balance analysis (FBA) is an efficient method to analyze metabolic networks. Here, FBA was applied on human lung cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to reposition metabolic drugs and drug combinations against the virus replication within the host tissue. Making use of expression datasets of infected lung tissue, genome-scale COVID-19-specific metabolic models were reconstructed. Then, host-specific essential genes and gene pairs were determined through in silico knockouts that permit reducing the viral biomass production without affecting the host biomass. Key pathways that are associated with COVID-19 severity in lung tissue are related to oxidative stress, ferroptosis, and pyrimidine metabolism. By in silico screening of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs on the putative disease-specific essential genes and gene pairs, 85 drugs and 52 drug combinations were predicted as promising candidates for COVID-19 (https://github.com/sysbiolux/DCcov). [less ▲]

Predictors of Problematic Social Media Use in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents in Luxembourg

in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021), 18(22),

Social media use has increased substantially over the past decades, especially among adolescents. A proportion of adolescents develop a pattern of problematic social media use (PSMU). Predictors of PSMU ... [more ▼]

Social media use has increased substantially over the past decades, especially among adolescents. A proportion of adolescents develop a pattern of problematic social media use (PSMU). Predictors of PSMU are insufficiently understood and researched. This study aims to investigate predictors of PSMU in a nationally representative sample of adolescents in Luxembourg. Data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in Luxembourg were used, in which 8687 students aged 11–18 years old participated. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. A range of sociodemographic, social support, well-being and media use predictors were added to the model in four blocks. The predictors in the final model explained 22.3% of the variance in PSMU. The block of sociodemographic predictors explained the lowest proportion of variance in PSMU compared with the other blocks. Age negatively predicted PSMU. Of the predictors related to social support, cyberbullying perpetration was the strongest predictor of PSMU. Perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints positively predicted PSMU. The intensity of electronic media communication and preference for online social interaction were stronger predictors of PSMU than the other predictors in the model. The results indicate that prevention efforts need to consider the diverse range of predictors related to PSMU. [less ▲]

Rezension:Claude D. CONTER, Daniela LIEB, Marc LIMPACH, Sandra SCHMIT, Jeff SCHMITZ, Josiane WEBER (Hg.), Luxemburg und der Zweite Weltkrieg. Literarisch-intellektuelles Leben zwischen Machtergreifung und Epuration

in Hemecht: Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte (2021), (4), 489-491

Token Economy

in Business and Information Systems Engineering (2021)

Post-crisis developments in young adults’ housing wealth

in Journal of European Social Policy (2021), 31(5), 580-596

How has housing wealth inequality changed for young-adult households in the post-financial crisis period, and what is driving such change? We chart a path for subsequent studies by analysing the ... [more ▼]

How has housing wealth inequality changed for young-adult households in the post-financial crisis period, and what is driving such change? We chart a path for subsequent studies by analysing the previously unexamined post-crisis housing wealth profile of young adults via different angles and using multiple inequality measures. Using household micro-data for 11 European countries (Household Finance and Consumption Survey, 2010–2017) and the United States (Survey of Consumer Finances, 2010–2016), we find that the accumulation of housing assets for 22–44 year olds is unevenly concentrated among high-income homeowners, over and above what would be expected given the well-known decline in homeownership. We describe and assess several potential drivers for these wealth profile changes, finding that the current explanations offered in the literature do not adequately account for the unequal wealth profile of young people. We conclude that a mix of dynamics, including housing market volatility, housing market configurations leading to uneven capital gains and losses, and the increased social selectivity of homeownership intersect to shape the ways that young adults navigate the housing market in post-crisis times. [less ▲]

Degree Adjusted Large-Scale Network Analysis Reveals Novel Putative Metabolic Disease Genes.

in Biology (2021), 10(2),

A large percentage of the global population is currently afflicted by metabolic diseases (MD), and the incidence is likely to double in the next decades. MD associated co-morbidities such as non-alcoholic ... [more ▼]

A large percentage of the global population is currently afflicted by metabolic diseases (MD), and the incidence is likely to double in the next decades. MD associated co-morbidities such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiomyopathy contribute significantly to impaired health. MD are complex, polygenic, with many genes involved in its aetiology. A popular approach to investigate genetic contributions to disease aetiology is biological network analysis. However, data dependence introduces a bias (noise, false positives, over-publication) in the outcome. While several approaches have been proposed to overcome these biases, many of them have constraints, including data integration issues, dependence on arbitrary parameters, database dependent outcomes, and computational complexity. Network topology is also a critical factor affecting the outcomes. Here, we propose a simple, parameter-free method, that takes into account database dependence and network topology, to identify central genes in the MD network. Among them, we infer novel candidates that have not yet been annotated as MD genes and show their relevance by highlighting their differential expression in public datasets and carefully examining the literature. The method contributes to uncovering connections in the MD mechanisms and highlights several candidates for in-depth study of their contribution to MD and its co-morbidities. [less ▲]

Cultural representation in Luxembourgish street naming practices

in Linguistics Vanguard (2021), 7(s5), 111

The brain under stress—A systematic review and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of changes in BOLD signal associated with acute stress exposure

in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (2021), 124

Regulating Libra

in Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (2021)

A First Look at Android Applications in Google Play related to Covid-19

in Empirical Software Engineering (2021)

Due to the convenience of access-on-demand to information and business solutions, mobile apps have become an important asset in the digital world. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, app developers ... [more ▼]

Due to the convenience of access-on-demand to information and business solutions, mobile apps have become an important asset in the digital world. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, app developers have joined the response effort in various ways by releasing apps that target different user bases (e.g., all citizens or journalists), offer different services (e.g., location tracking or diagnostic-aid), provide generic or specialized information, etc. While many apps have raised some concerns by spreading misinformation or even malware, the literature does not yet provide a clear landscape of the different apps that were developed. In this study, we focus on the Android ecosystem and investigate Covid-related Android apps. In a best-effort scenario, we attempt to systematically identify all relevant apps and study their characteristics with the objective to provide a First taxonomy of Covid related apps, broadening the relevance beyond the implementation of contact tracing. Overall, our study yields a number of empirical insights that contribute to enlarge the knowledge on Covid-related apps: (1) Developer communities contributed rapidly to the Covid-19, with dedicated apps released as early as January 2020; (2) Covid-related apps deliver digital tools to users (e.g., health diaries), serve to broadcast information to users (e.g., spread statistics), and collect data from users (e.g., for tracing); (3) Covid-related apps are less complex than standard apps; (4) they generally do not seem to leak sensitive data; (5) in the majority of cases, Covid-related apps are released by entities with past experience on the market, mostly official government entities or public health organizations. [less ▲]

Characterizing autonomous Maxwell demons

in Physical Review. E. (2021), 103(3), 032118

Socioeconomic and behavioural factors associated with access to and use of Personal Health Records

in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making (2021), 21

Background: Access to and use of digital technology are more common among people of higher socioeconomic status. These differences might be due to lack of interest, not having physical access or having ... [more ▼]

Background: Access to and use of digital technology are more common among people of higher socioeconomic status. These differences might be due to lack of interest, not having physical access or having lower intentions to use this technology. By integrating the digital divide approach and the User Acceptance of Information Technology (UTAUT) model, this study aims to further our understanding of socioeconomic factors and the mechanisms linked to different stages in the use of Personal Health Records (PHR): desire, intentions and physical access to PHR. Methods: A cross-sectional online and in-person survey was undertaken in the areas of Lorraine (France), Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland (Germany), and Wallonia (Belgium). Exploratory factor analysis was performed to group items derived from the UTAUT model. We applied linear and logistic regressions controlling for country-level heterogeneity, health and demographic factors. Results: A total of 829 individuals aged over 18 completed the questionnaire. Socioeconomic inequalities were present in the access to and use of PHR. Education and income played a significant role in individuals' desire to access their PHR. Being older than 65 years, and migrant, were negatively associated with desire to access PHR. An income gradient was found in having a physical access to PHR, while for the subgroup of respondents who expressed desire to have access, higher educational level was positively associated with intentions to regularly use PHR. In fully adjusted model testing the contribution of UTAUT-derived factors, individuals who perceived PHRs to be useful and had the necessary digital skills were more inclined to use their PHR regularly. Social influence, support and lack of anxiety in using technology were strong predictors of regular PHR use. Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of considering all stages in PHR use: desire to access, physical access and intention to regularly use PHRs, while paying special attention to migrants and people with lower socioeconomic backgrounds who may feel financial constraints and are not able to exploit the potential of PHRs. As PHR use is expected to come with health benefits, facilitating access and regular use for those less inclined could reduce health inequalities and advance health equity. [less ▲]

Predictive and interpretable models via the stacked elastic net

in Bioinformatics (2021), 37(14), 20122016

Motivation: Machine learning in the biomedical sciences should ideally provide predictive and interpretable models. When predicting outcomes from clinical or molecular features, applied researchers often ... [more ▼]

Motivation: Machine learning in the biomedical sciences should ideally provide predictive and interpretable models. When predicting outcomes from clinical or molecular features, applied researchers often want to know which features have effects, whether these effects are positive or negative, and how strong these effects are. Regression analysis includes this information in the coefficients but typically renders less predictive models than more advanced machine learning techniques. Results: Here we propose an interpretable meta-learning approach for high-dimensional regression. The elastic net provides a compromise between estimating weak effects for many features and strong effects for some features. It has a mixing parameter to weight between ridge and lasso regularisation. Instead of selecting one weighting by tuning, we combine multiple weightings by stacking. We do this in a way that increases predictivity without sacrificing interpretability. Availability and Implementation: The R package starnet is available on GitHub: https://github.com/rauschenberger/starnet. [less ▲]

Test Selection for Deep Learning Systems

in ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (2021), 30(2), 131--1322