The use of socially assistive robots is able to alleviate some depression symptoms, according to existing research. However, due to comorbidities that often accompany depression and the unique experiences of each individual, it is necessary to get a better understanding of how SARs should be personalized. Through 10 hourlong workshops with 10 individuals living with depression, we explored the customization of a zoomorphic SAR for adults with depression. By using the SAR Therabot? as a base platform, participants designed their own unique covering for the robot, and discussed desired robot behaviors and privacy concerns around data collection. Though the physical designs of the robots varied greatly, participants expressed common themes regarding their preference for a soft touchable exterior, comfort with sharing data with their therapists, and interest in the robot producing more realistic sounds and movements, among other design features.

Robots could support older adults' well-being by engaging them in meaningful conversations, specifically to reflect on, support, and improve different aspects of their well-being. We implemented a system on a QT social robot to conduct short autonomous conversations with older adults, to help understand what brings them feelings of joy and meaning in life. We evaluated the system with written surveys and observations of 12 participants including older adults, caregivers, and dementia care staff. From this, we saw the need to improve user experience through personalized interaction that better support older adults as they talk about well-being. Improving the interactions will involve improving the conversation flow, detecting emotions and nonverbal cues, and natural language processing to extract topics around well-being.

Citizens and policy institutions increasingly express their concerns regarding the emerging challenges in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and have concrete demands for the protection of human rights. In parallel, studies in the field of AI and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) indicate the impact of social robots on children's development. We conducted a systematic review based on UNICEF's AI Policy Guidance to map the landscape of research on social robots and children's rights. We used the PRISMA method and identified N=37 papers that address one of the rights, which we then annotated to indicate tendencies and areas of alignment and misalignment with the UNICEF guidance. Our findings reveal that although the field of HRI is looking at specific rights, with a focus on inclusion, some of the rights have been under-researched. Furthermore, we observed a misalignment between HRI and UNICEF regarding the terminology. With this paper, we hope to bring awareness to the field of HRI regarding children's rights and to highlight directions for alignment among research, societal needs, and policy.

Yusong Tian,a,∗ Giovanni Calderini, Imogen Camp, Thibaud Idriss Carcone, Paul Mickael Chabrillat, Artur Cordeiro Oudot Choi, Francesco Crescioli, Jörn Große-Knetter, Šejla Hadžić, Shunsuke Iizaka, Christopher Krause, Lingxin Meng, f Koji Nakamura, Arnulf Quadt, Stefano Terzo, Ana Sofia Torrento Coello and Hua Ye II. Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, DE 37077 Göttingen, Germany LPNHE, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CNRS/IN2P3, 4 place Jussieu, FR 75005 Paris, France Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, DE 80805 München, Germany Division of Physics and Tomonaga Center for the History of the Universe, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1 Chome-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Japan Fakultät Physik, Technische Universität Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Straße 4, DE 44227 Dortmund, Germany f Physics Department, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YW, United Kingdom KEK, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Japan Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, UAB Campus, Edifici CN, ES 08193 Barcelona, Spain Detectors and Instrumentation Department, IJCLab – Laboratoire de Physique des 2 Infinis Irène Joliot-Curie, UMR 9012 – CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay / Université Paris Cité, 15 rue Georges Clémenceau, FR 91405 Orsay, France

The ITk detector, the new ATLAS silicon tracking system for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), will be equipped with 3D pixel sensor modules in the innermost layer (L0). The pixel cell dimensions will be 25 × 100 µ m 2 in the barrel and 50 × 50 µ m 2 in the end-caps, with one readout electrode at the centre of each pixel and four bias electrodes at the corners. Sensors from pre-production wafers (50 × 50 µ m 2 ) produced by FBK have been bump-bonded to ITkPixV1.1 chips at IZM. Bare modules have been assembled in Genoa on Single Chip Cards (SCCs) and characterized in laboratory measurements and in test beam campaigns. Some of these modules have been irradiated in Bonn and at the CERN IRRAD facility. Preliminary results of their characterization after irradiation

Malassezia is a lipophilic yeast that is a part of the human mycobiome. Malassezia folliculitis appears when the benign colonization of the hair follicles, by the Malassezia yeasts, becomes symptomatic with pruritic papules and pustules. Although Malassezia folliculitis is common in hospital departments, diagnosing and treating it varies among dermatologists and countries. The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Mycology Task Force Malassezia folliculitis working group has, therefore, sought to develop these recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Malassezia folliculitis. Recommendations comprise methods for diagnosing Malassezia folliculitis, required positive findings before starting therapies and specific treatment algorithms for individuals who are immunocompetent, immunocompromised or who have compromised liver function. In conclusion, this study provides a clinical strategy for diagnosing and managing Malassezia folliculitis.

Various methods are nowadays available to design observers for broad classes of systems, where the primary focus is on establishing the convergence of the estimated states. Nevertheless, the question of the tuning of the observer to achieve satisfactory estimation performance remains largely open. In this context, we present a general design framework for the online tuning of the observer gains. Our starting point is a robust nominal observer designed for a general nonlinear system, for which an input-to-state stability property can be established. Our goal is then to improve the performance of this nominal observer. We present for this purpose a new hybrid multi-observer scheme, whose flexibility can be exploited to enforce various desirable properties, e.g., fast convergence and good sensitivity to measurement noise. We prove that an input-to-state stability property also holds for the proposed scheme and, importantly, we ensure that the estimation performance in terms of a quadratic cost is (strictly) improved. We illustrate the efficiency of the approach in improving the performance of given nominal observers in two numerical examples (Van der Pol oscillator and lithium-ion battery model).

Comparing portfolio performance is complex due to the fact that each model is dominant in its own risk space. Since there is no single dominant performance measure, the research problem is how to incorporate several different measures into a performance evaluation model that allows portfolios to be ranked. In this regard, the objective of this study was to develop a new comprehensive method for comparing portfolio performance based on multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM). This paper proposes an integrated approach for stock market decision making that combines the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), which allow hierarchical evaluation of a finite number of alternatives according to different criteria. This hybrid approach is especially advantageous, utilizing the strengths of both individual methods. AHP enables the decomposition of a complex problem into its constituent parts and the determination of weights for criteria, while the PROMETHEE method allows the investor to determine the preference function, complete ranking, and analysis of the robustness of the results. For the MCDM model in this study, different dimensions of performance measures are considered criteria: return measures, risk measures, stability measures, and predictability measures. The methodology has been applied in comparing real portfolios selected on the basis of different risk measures. For this purpose, weekly return data were used for a sample of stocks that are components of the STOXX Europe 600 Index for the period 2000–2020. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the strength of the results of this method. It suggests that the simultaneous consideration of different performance measures and the investor’s attitude towards the importance of these measures are notably important in the portfolio efficiency estimation process.

Selenium (Se) is a nonmetal that is essential for humans and other animals, and is considered beneficial for plants. The bioavailability of Se strongly influences its content in the food chain. Soils are the main source of Se, and their Se content primarily influences its availability, along with other soil properties. A field survey was conducted on soils of Southeast Europe, specifically in Croatia (Osijek), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, and Prud), and Serbia (Novi Sad). Soil samples were taken from the arable soil layer (0–30 cm depth), and two types of Se availability were measured: Se extracted using pure HNO3 (SeTot) and Se readily extracted in water (SeH2O). Only soils from the Mostar area had Se concentrations above deficit levels (0.5 mg kg−1), with the highest values of cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOM) measured as loss of ignition (LOI), total C, total N, ZnTot and CdTot. The connections between the chemical characteristics of the soil and SeH2O were investigated. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained 73.7% of the variance in the data set in the first three principal components (PCs). Using the provided data, we developed a partial least squares (PLS) regression model that predicted the amount of SeH2O in the soil, with an accuracy ranging from 77% to 90%, depending on the input data. The highest loadings in the model were observed for LOI, CEC, total C, total N, and SeTot. Our results indicate the need for biofortification in these key agricultural areas to supplement the essential dietary requirements of humans and livestock. To efficiently and economically implement biofortification measures, we recommend utilizing regression models to accurately predict the availability of Se.

This study aimed to assess the efficiency of ketamine and medetomidine by two different doses and routes on anesthesia depth and cardiac stability in red-eared sliders. Each turtle was anesthetized two times, with seven days wash-out period. Induction of anesthesia consisted of a bolus combination of ketamine (10 mg/kg) and medetomidine (0.2 mg/kg) administered in the left brachial biceps in the intramuscular protocol, or a bolus combination of ketamine (20 mg/kg) and medetomidine (0.2 mg/kg) administered in subcarapacial sinus after clear blood presence confirmation in the intravenous protocol. Vital signs, reaction on the skin palpation, manual mouth opening for endotracheal intubation, palpebral and cloacal reflex, and the withdrawal reflex of the front and hind limbs were measured and recorded every 5 minutes for 60 minutes after anesthesia injection. Atipamezole (1 mg/kg) was administered in the right brachial biceps one hour after ketamine and medetomidine administration. Needle insertion and possible painful reactions to drug administration were also evaluated and recorded. Obtained data were analyzed for normality and paired t-tests, Wilcoxon, or McNamar tests were performed where appropriate. The values of P ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. A significantly less pronounced decrease in heart rate was observed with intravenous anesthesia protocol. Both protocols recorded complete anesthesia recovery 60 minutes after intramuscular atipamezole administration. A ketamine-medetomidine dose combination administered intravenously provides a more stable and consistent anesthetic plane in red-eared sliders than ketamine-medetomidine administered intramuscularly.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions from routine life habits had a tremendous impact on psychological and physical health of youth. It is known that stress, anxiety and depression can be associated with the development of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and known to exacerbate present GI symptoms. The pandemic has forced many changes in the behavior of student population such as the studying in an asocial environment. The aim of this study was to examine and quantify the influence of stress onto the quality of life and GI symptoms in the student population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), before and during the pandemic lockdown. Methods: A total of 279 students from B&H were assessed for their GI and emotional status in pre-COVID period and during the COVID period using validated instruments: GI symptom rating scale (GSRS), Visceral Sensitivity Index, and the Patient Health Questionnaire 15-item Somatic Symptom Severity Scale. Results: The results showed that moderate and severe GI symptoms were more frequently present among student population at the time of the pandemic than in period before pandemic. The most pronounced symptoms were bloating syndrome and abdominal pain syndrome according to the GSRS. Conclusions: We concluded that concern for one’s health and changed way of life are directly related to a worsening of the symptoms of GI disorders in the student population. Further research should go in the direction of early prevention of GI disorders that take root in early youth and later develop into chronic forms.

The 16s-rRNA consists of hypervariable regions (V1 – V9) that demonstrate considerable sequence diver-sity among different bacteria. Species-specific sequences within a given hypervariable region constitute useful targets for diagnostic assays and other scientific investigations. Usually, the size of the gene region is 1500 bp, which is large enough to be analyzed using bioinformatic tools and applied for detection. The need to advance the knowledge of the 16s-rRNA gene segments in bacterial strains would allow better understanding and better diagnostic possibilities when dealing with them. This could also be the basis for investigation of pathogenic microorganisms.

Understanding consumers’ behavior and their handling of high-risk foods at home is essential for reducing the number of foodborne illnesses. This study shows the results of a cross-national analysis of consumers’ perception from nine countries, and the identification of customers’ clusters and its characteristics in order to understand customers’ behavior, and to build safe chilled ready-to-eat (RTE) foods prevention strategies. The cluster analysis resulted in two clusters: (1) “Precautious consumers” characterized by the orientation towards pre-packed RTE foods, with consumers mainly coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. Their attitudes and self-reported practices may be categorized as less risky in terms of food-borne illnesses connected with the consumption of RTE foods; (2) “Unconcerned consumers” preferred cutting and slicing RTE foods freshly at the point of purchase, usually sold at the delicatessen department in a supermarket or at open markets. Those consumers mostly came from Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia and their attitudes and self-reported practices were riskier. These results allow a better understating of what characterizes consumers of RTE foods in different countries.

This study investigates the genetic diversity and relatedness among a small local population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a genetic research study, a sample of 38 individuals was collected from the village of Vukotići, consisting of 21 male and 17 female subjects. The total genomic DNA was extracted using a mod-ified Miller protocol. The QUANTIFILER DNA identification kit was used to quantify the total human DNA in the sample. The sibship relationship was assessed by computing the likelihood ratio for each of the 15 STR loci in both relatives and non-relatives. Results showed a higher homogeneity of the small local population compared to the mixed population within the larger population. Variability in peak height ob-served in the genetic analysis was attributed to differences in DNA concentration in the extracted samples. Probability of relatedness among participants in the Vukotići village was found to be low. Central tendency and variability measures revealed valuable insights into sample distribution and variation. The study con-cludes that CSI=1 and CSI=3 can be used as reliable tools to determine sibship in small local populations without a "gray zone".