29,754 research outputs found
Neural agents can evolve to reproduce sequences of arbitrary length
No full textInden B, Jost J. Neural agents can evolve to reproduce sequences of arbitrary length. In: Liò P, Miglino O, Nicosia G, Nolfi S, Pavone M, eds. Advances in Artificial Life, ECAL 2013: Proceedings of the Twelfth European Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems. Cambridge (MA, USA): The MIT Press; 2013
Un modello di Robotica Evolutiva e Collettiva ispirato ai corvidi
No full textUn modello di Robotica Evolutiva e Collettiva ispirato ai corvidi
Nei primi anni della Robotica Evolutiva l'attenzione si è concentrata sull' emergenze di comportamenti piuttosto
semplici. Col tempo per ottenere comportamenti più complessi si poteva optare per aumentare la complessità
all'interno del robot o all'esterno del robot.
Un comportamento complesso può derivare da uno o due organismi piuttosto complessi o da moltissimi agenti
molto semplici che interagiscono tra loro e con il loro ambiente, che si auto-organizzano sotto la pressione
evolutiva. Attualmente la robotica collettiva in cui non è importante il singolo agente, ma il gruppo nella sua totalità trae ispirazione daggli insetti sociali, ma bisognerebbe anche guardare ad altri componenti del regno animale come
primati, corvidi, delfini che cooperano. In questo caso abbiamo pochi agenti che lavorano insime per ottenere un risultato altrimenti impossibile. In questo lavoro descriviamo un modello di Robotica Evolutiva ispirato ai corvidi
Novel molecular pathologies in asthma and COPD
Get PDFBoth asthma and COPD are respiratory diseases and a major global health problem with
increasing prevalence. Airway inflammation is a characteristic and important hallmark in both
diseases and therefore, in the past, investigations focused strongly on the immunological aspect of
these disorders.
In recent years, it has been shown that resident cells of the airways, in particular airway smooth
muscle (ASM) cells, would be pivotal in understanding the mechanisms underlying asthma, since
they are able to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines and exert a major effector function in airway
constriction. Especially the abnormal expression in ASM cells in asthmatic patients of the cell
cycle regulator and pro-inflammatory gene transcription factor C/EBPα may account for many
asthma-specific phenotypes (increased proliferation and increased bulk of ASM cells, increased
release of inflammatory mediators).
In a first phase, we analyzed the translation of the CEBPA mRNA with a translation control
reporter system (TCRS), which is able to monitor translation regulation of the C/EBPα. We found
an impaired translation re-initiaion in ASM cells of asthmatic patients, which coincided with
decreased levels of eIF4E, an important protein for translation initiation.
In a second part of this thesis, we investigated the interaction of ASM cells with house dust mite
extract, a potent airborne allergen. We found that HDM extract (i) reduces C/EBPα expression in
ASM cells of asthma patients, (ii) enhances the release of IL-6 and (iii) induces cell proliferation.
The reduction of the C/EBPα protein is achieved trough up-regulation of calreticulin, a repressor
of CEBPA mRNA translation. Therefore, the direct, not immune-mediated interaction of HDM
extract with the ASM cells is able to trigger an inflammatory response in these cells and to induce
an enhanced proliferation, which may finally lead to the characteristic increased muscle mass observed in the airway of asthmatic patients. These findings may be of particular importance to
explain non-atopic, intrinsic asthma, which affects 30% - 50% of asthmatic subjects. In the light
of these findings, new therapeutic strategies targeting regulatory mechanisms of CEBPA mRNA
translation should be considered in order to restore a balanced expression of the C/EBPα protein.
In a third part of this thesis, we investigated the effect of cigarette smoke on the expression levels
of C/EBPα and C/EBPβ in primary lung fibroblasts. Cigarette smoke affects both C/EBPα and C/EBPβ expression via translational control mechanisms in primary lung fibroblasts. In serumfree
environment, cigarette smoke increased both C/EBPα and -β expression at the translational
level via the uORF mechanism. In the presence of FCS, cigarette smoke increased the levels of
hnRNP E2, an inhibitor of C/EBPα translation. As a consequence, both C/EBPα and -β
expression decreased with increasing concentration of cigarette smoke. In both conditions,
cigarette smoke had a potent antiproliferative effect on fibroblasts. Furthermore, cigarette smoke
increased the release of IL-8. We postulate that the cigarette smoke-induced imbalance of proand
anti-proliferative signals provides a novel mechanism to explain many pathologies of COPD
and emphysema, especially the tissue destruction defined as an imbalance between tissue injury
and tissue repair. Furthermore, we showed that that the direct interaction of lung fibroblast with
cigarette smoke triggers the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, contributing to the
inflammatory environment that characterizes COPD
Artificial Life. A New Way to Build Educational and Therapeutic Games.
No full textCambridge, MA: MIT pres
Artificial Life. A New Way to Build Educational and Therapeutic Games.
No full textCambridge, MA: MIT pres
How to evolve autonomuos robots: Different approaches in evolutionary robotics.
No full textCambridge, MA: MIT press
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
How to evolve autonomuos robots: Different approaches in evolutionary robotics.
No full textCambridge, MA: MIT press
Exploring Emptiness: An Investigation of MA and MU in My Sonic Composition Practice
No full textThe commentary investigates Japanese aesthetics of space, silence and emptiness - ma and mu - that informed my compositional practice during the research period 2012 - 2015. The portfolio comprises text compositions and sound installations in which forms of micro events and sustained events are employed. Throughout, the emphasis is on my personal engagement with, and manifestation of emptiness that concerns a particular model of listening and perception.
Chapter 1 discusses six primary research areas: ma and mu, material, text, form, listening and perception. Firstly, I introduce ma and mu by examining noh culture and Zeami's teaching of senu hima (where there is no-action) in the context of my personal approaches to music. The following subjects are then used to contextualise my PhD practice by means of examples from various composers and visual artists. Here, these particular and enigmatic concepts are explored through Japanese art as well as Western contemporary works by Alvin Lucier, Eliane Radigue and those of the Wandelweiser collective.
Part 2 provides contextual commentaries on selected compositions from the portfolio that mostly articulate my aesthetics in relation to the topics covered in Chapter 1. koso koso addresses my methodologies to investigate the essence of senu hima, followed by treow that discusses my approach to materials and the importance of space. I move on to grade two and grade two extended in order to examine text scores, and then, look into Espèces d'espaces 03 and 04 as examples of musical forms that I employ.
Finally, listening and perception are investigated through the compositions gnome and con.de.structuring. Throughout, I describe how my works explore emptiness as a result of my particular emphasis on listening over composing
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
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