Interactive System Research Articles

A First Approach to Co-Design a Multimodal Pedagogic Conversational Agent with Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Programming in Primary Education

Pedagogic Conversational Agents (PCAs) are interactive systems that engage the student in a dialogue to teach some domain. They can have the roles of a teacher, student, or companion, and adopt several shapes. In our previous work, a significant increase of students’ performance when learning programming was found when using PCAs in the teacher role. However, it is not common to find PCAs used in classrooms. In this paper, it is explored whether pre-service teachers would accept PCAs to teach programming better if they were co-designed with them. Pre-service teachers are chosen because they are still in training, so they can be taught what PCAs are and how this technology could be helpful. Moreover, pre-service teachers can choose whether they integrate PCAs in the teaching activities that they carry out as part of their degree’s course. An experiment with 35 pre-service primary education teachers was carried out during the 2021/2022 academic year to co-design a robotic PCA to teach programming. The experience validates the idea that involving pre-service teachers in the design of a PCA facilitates their involvement to integrate this technology in their classrooms. In total, 97% of the pre-service teachers that stated in a survey that they believed robot PCA could help children to learn programming, and 80% answered that they would like to use them in their classrooms.

Personalize QA System with Contextual Memory using GooglePalm

Personalized Q&A System with Contextual memory using GooglePalm, LangChain in Ed-Tech Industry aims to build a CQA(Conversational Question Answer) system which is a interactive search systems that effectively serve information by interacting with users. Despite its effectiveness, challenges exist as human annotation is time consuming, inconsistent, and not scalable. To address this issue and investigate the applicability of large language models in conversational question-answering (CQA) simulation, we propose a simulation framework that employs Langchain, Google Palm LLMs. Here we will add a csv file which consists of frequently asked questions. Furthermore, we conduct extensive analyses to thoroughly examine the LLM performance by benchmarking state-of-the-art reading comprehension models on datasets. Our results reveal that the Service Provider LLM generates lengthier answers that tend to be more accurate and complete. This is an end to end LLM project based on Google Palm and Langchain. We are building a Q&A system for an ed-learning company. In particular, noting that it takes time for the user to speak, threading related to database searches is performed while the user is speaking.

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Menentukan Lokasi Pembangunan Jaringan Internet Menggunakan Metode Profile Matching

Decision Support Systems are interactive information systems that provide information, modeling, and data manipulation. This system is used to assist decision-making in semi-structured s and unstructured situations, where no one knows for sure how the decision should be made. The problem in this study is, determining the location of Internet network installation by BeeBeeNet, carried out based on the company's decision to determine a new location to build an Internet network in a new area, namely by surveying the area, as well as looking at the population density in an area and the current interest of the community. The purpose of making a Decision Support System for determining the location of building an internet network is to determine the right location. The method used in this research is the Profile Matching method, which is a Decision Support system in the location criteria determined by PT Batanghari Vision so that the difference in competence (GAP) can be known. The results obtained are the results of ranking using the profile matching method, using several candidates to get results in determining the new location for building an internet network, from the calculations carried out the highest value is 2.9555, this value is the highest value of the existing location criteria. the results obtained can be the right result for the company to choose the location of the internet network construction in the new location.

Analytical Solution of Non-Linear Oscillator and Thermal Properties of Interacting System of Real Polyatomic Molecules

The study examined the solution of nonlinear oscillator and thermal properties of interacting system of real polyatomic molecules. A nonlinear oscillator potential was substituted into the radial part of the Schrodinger wave equation and solved using the Frobenius method to obtain the energy eigenvalues of the system. The partition function and the energy eigenvalues are used to determine three thermal properties for four polyatomic molecules which showed that added energy is required in the absence of the nonlinear term as the orbital and magnetic quantum numbers are increased and degeneracy completely removed. Other findings also reveal that as the virial coefficients of the four polyatomic molecules vary, the additive property of entropy is observed as well as the enhancement of the mean energy approximately proportional to the volume of the molecules. The four polyatomic molecules under consideration are environmentally impactful and are indispensable to man.

Interactive CBIR System for Various Similarity Metrics Based on Colour Content of Image

Interactive CBIR System for Various Similarity Metrics Based on Colour Content of Image

Мультилингвальная интерактивная обучающая система для подготовки военнослужащих стран ОДКБ

The article delves into the interactive possibilities of innovative learning technologies that allow to ensure the formation of communicative competence of foreign cadets of military universities of the Russian Federation. In addition, the work gives the justification of multilingual representation of learning systems and outlines the op-tions for their application in preparation for lectures and laboratory works. The research describes the levels of interactivity and key characteristics of innovative learning technologies that ensure the realization of the Con-cept of development of electronic information and educational environment of military higher education institu-tion, approved in 2020. The fragment of the multilingual interactive learning system presented in the article is designed for the military personnel of the CSTO countries and can be implemented in the process of conduct-ing joint classes with this category of people. Such a system can serve as a component of the electronic infor-mation and educational environment and be used in the process of independent training of foreign military personnel.

Nursing students’ satisfaction and clinical competence by type of pediatric nursing practicum during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate student nurses’ satisfaction by type of clinical practicum and to determine predictors of clinical competence in pediatric nursing.Methods: A total of 189 Junior and Senior student nurses across seven colleges in the Busan Metropolitan City were enrolled in the study. The participants completed a structured questionnaire containing items about their learning satisfaction with different types of pediatric nursing practicums and their clinical competence. Data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis.Results: Regarding satisfaction with each type of clinical practicum, the mean satisfaction score (out of 10) was 8.18±2.26 for on-site clinical rotations and 7.35±2.20 for alternative practicums. Among the different types of alternative practicum approaches, those with a satisfaction score of 7 or higher included fundamental nursing skills, watching videos, simulation etc., while those with a satisfaction score of less than 6 were virtual simulation and problem-based learning. The predictors of clinical competence in pediatric nursing were learning satisfaction with practice, school year, and alternative practicum, accounting for 35.0% of the variance in clinical competency.Conclusion: It would be helpful to combine on-site clinical rotations with alternative practicum approaches and to develop various alternative practice programs using simulation practice, virtual reality, immersive interactive systems, and standardized patients to enhance students’ clinical competency.

Evaluating Target Expansion for Eye Pointing Tasks

Abstract The idea of target expansion was proposed two decades ago for manual target acquisition, but it is not feasible to implement this idea in traditional user interfaces as the interactive system cannot know exactly which target is the desired one and should be expanded among several candidates. With the increasing maturity of eye tracking technology, gaze input has moved from an academically promising technique to an input method with built-in support in Windows 10; and target expansion has already become very feasible in the context of gaze input, as the user’s eye gaze is inherently an indicator of the desired target due to the natural eye-hand coordination in everyday tasks. However, a comprehensive evaluation is still lacking. In this study, two experiments were conducted, each with a different group of subjects, to investigate the effects of target expansion under different expansion feedback styles (visible vs. invisible), expansion factors, as well as different target appearances (i.e., circular vs. rectangular). The experimental results indicated that (1) the index of difficulty in eye pointing tasks (IDeye) does not depend on the initial size of the target, but on its final size, and that the corresponding human performance can be accurately predicted using the IDeye model instead of Fitts’ law; and that (2) the visible expansion style could disrupt the user’s fixations, making the measured human performance less efficient to some extent, but overall the theoretical predictions using the IDeye model were almost the same as the baselines. Following the experimental results, this study also provided some practical suggestions for UI design.

Varenicline solution nasal spray for dry eye disease in Chinese patients: a randomized phase 3 trial

Dry eye disease has a high prevalence and exerts a significant negative effect on quality of life. In China, there are currently no available nasal sprays to promote natural tear production in patients with dry eye disease. We therefore evaluated the efficacy and safety of OC-01 (varenicline solution) nasal spray versus vehicle in Chinese patients with dry eye disease. This was a randomized, multicenter, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial conducted at ophthalmology departments in 20 hospitals across China (NCT05378945). Eligible patients had a diagnosis of dry eye disease based on patient symptoms, Eye Dryness Score (EDS), Schirmer's Test (with topical anesthesia) Score (STS), and corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) score. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 using an Interactive Web Response System (IWRS) to receive OC-01 0.6mg/mL twice daily (BID) or vehicle nasal spray. Participants, investigators, and sponsor were all masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was the percentage of subjects in the intention-to-treat population achieving ≥10mm improvement in STS from baseline at week4. In total, 340 patients were randomized from 21 July 2022 to 04 April 2023, 78.8% were female. Patients in the OC-01 group (n=176) had significantly higher achievement of ≥10mm improvement in STS (35.8% [n=63] versus 17.7% [n=29], stratified odds ratio: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.570-4.533, p=0.0002) and a significantly greater increase from baseline STS (least-squares mean difference [SE]: 3.87 [0.794], p<0.0001) at week 4 versus the vehicle group (n=164). In addition, OC-01 led to a numerically greater reduction in mean EDS from baseline at week 4 compared to the vehicle group (LS mean [SE] difference:-1.3 [2.20]; 95% CI:-5.64 to 2.99, p=0.5467). The most common adverse event was mild, transient sneezing (78% of OC-01 administrations). No serious adverse events related to nasal administration occurred. OC-01 (varenicline solution) nasal spray BID has clinically meaningful efficacy for reducing the signs (as measured by STS) and may improve the symptoms (as measured by EDS) of dry eye disease, with an excellent safety and tolerability profile, in the Chinese population. Jixing Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Conversational agent in HCI a review

Nowadays, AI technology is developing rapidly and slowly covering all areas of life. AI facilitates different parts of our lives and provides us with a lot of help. For example, in learning, students can acquire knowledge more conveniently through AI, and buyers can find suitable goods more conveniently through AI when shopping. At the same time, more and more technology is used in the field of voice agents, which allows humans to enjoy a lot of better services. In this article, we will study to better understand "how to understand human natural language and how the repository of knowledge is built." In the article we build with examples and deep learning models (CNN and RNN) through databases. Through repeated research and analysis, we can find that there are some limitations in this paper, such as the single learning model and the insufficient elaboration of data analysis and signal system technology. But at the same time, we also found a lot of future application prospects that voice agents can develop, it can be applied in many fields, such as finance, medical care, education and so on. For example, in children's education, parents can use voice agents to set time limits and monitor their children's progress. Existing digital interactive storytelling systems have limitations in terms of available storybooks and hand-crafted issues. Voice agents are becoming more popular in everyday scenarios, and more users are adopting devices like Siri and Google Assistant. In the future, conversational agents are expected to play an important role in oral communication with users.

Touch-activated information interaction system based on body-heat-powered flexible thermoelectric generator for food spoilage monitoring

With the rapid advancement of the Internet of Things, a wide range of information interaction platforms have been developed to enhance the quality of life and work. Nevertheless, rigid batteries greatly limit its development, which requires frequent replacement or recharge. Thermoelectric generators (TEG) have emerged as an attractive form for energy suppliers owing to their ability to convert low-grade energy heat into sustainable electricity. Herein, we have implemented a flexible TEG-based multifunctional information interaction system, which utilizes body heat to enable information interaction through finger touch. To increase the efficiency of energy conversion, the flexible TEG achieves high performance by optimizing the filling factor and material thermal conductivity, leading to a normalized power density of 1.43 μW/cm2 K2. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, the system has been applied to food spoilage monitoring with an MXene-based sensor to achieve stable and sensitive ammonia detection. The TEG-based information interaction system provides an attractive solution for intelligent packaging and will act as an exciting platform for human body energy harvesting and human–machine interaction for point of care testing.

Multimodal Robot Programming Interface Based On RGB-D Perception and Neural Scene Understanding Modules

In this paper, we propose a system for natural and intuitive interaction with the robot. Its purpose is to allow a person with no specialized knowledge and no training in robot programming to program a robotic arm.We utilize data from the RGB-D camera to segment the scene and detect objects. We also estimate the configuration of the operator's hand and the position of the visual marker to determine the intentions of the operator and the actions of the robot. To this end, we utilize trained neural networks and operations on the input point clouds. Also, voice commands are used to define or trigger the execution of the motion. Finally, we performed a set of experiments to show the properties of the proposed system.

Fuzzy Logic Method for Measuring Sustainable Decent Work Levels as a Corporate Social Responsibility Approach

The purpose of this study was to propose an interactive computer system that utilises the MATLAB Fuzzy Logic Designer to measure the level of implementation of SDG 8, which focuses on sustainable decent work (SDW) and economic growth. This study used policies and laws as parameters to determine the presence or absence of SDW. The fuzzy method was implemented in car windshield manufacturing in the auto parts industry as a case study to define and quantify work conditions and to determine the level of sustainable decent work (SDWL). The study described environmental conditions, such as noise, lighting, and heat stress; ergonomic factors, such as exposure time, the mass of the object manipulated, and lifting frequency; and organisation at work, such as workplace violence, salary, and workday, as linguistic variables. The level of the presence or absence of SDW was defined as their membership functions. The resulting vectors determined the absence of SDW with a score of 1.5 in two linguistic variables: environmental conditions and ergonomic factors. Some features of SDW in the linguistic variable organisation at work had an SDW score of 5. The SDWL vector determined a final score of 1.24, indicating the absence of decent work in production areas. This study found that the workers suffer a lack of long and healthy lives and a bad standard of living without economic growth due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders and work illnesses, increasing their out-of-pocket spending and catastrophic health expenses. As a CSR approach, assessing SDWLs helped managers improve policies and work conditions.

Automated and interactive selective collection system in the educational context of the early years of elementary education

Striving for a more sustainable future, selective waste collection is essential to minimize environmental impacts and promote societal awareness. This project aims to raise awareness among children in the early years of elementary school. It teaches them interactively about the importance of selective waste collection through the reinforcement and practice of sustainable actions in a playful manner. The automated trash bin, constructed using electronic components, is controlled through the Arduino platform with the assistance of sensors and actuators. Thus, when a child approaches the automated trash bin, a sound is emitted to indicate the type of material the bin receives. This solution aims to teach non-literate children how to perform selective waste collection in an interactive and playful manner, instructing them on the separation and disposal of waste using the trash bin. The final prototype underwent preliminary evaluation by 64 individuals through an online questionnaire comprising nine closed-ended questions. The results were positive regarding the effectiveness of this tool's proposal.

A Hierarchical Prediction Method for Pedestrian Head Injury in Intelligent Vehicle with Combined Active and Passive Safety System.

With the development of intelligent vehicle technology, the probability of road traffic accidents occurring has been effectively reduced to a certain extent. However, there is still insufficient research on head injuries in human vehicle collisions, making it impossible to effectively predict pedestrian head injuries in accidents. To study the efficacy of a combined active and passive safety system on pedestrian head protection through the combined effect of the exterior airbag and the braking control systems of an intelligent vehicle, a "vehicle-pedestrian" interaction system is constructed in this study and is verified by real collision cases. On this basis, a combined active and passive system database is developed to analyze the cross-influence of the engine hood airbag and the vehicle braking curve parameters on pedestrian HIC (head injury criterion). Meanwhile, a hierarchy design strategy for a combined active and passive system is proposed, and a rapid prediction of HIC is achieved via the establishment of a fitting equation for each grading. The results show that the exterior airbag can effectively protect the pedestrian's head, prevent the collision between the pedestrian's head and the vehicle front structure, and reduce the HIC. The braking parameter H2 is significantly correlated with head injury, and when H2 is less than 1.8, the HIC value is less than 1000 in nearly 90% of cases. The hierarchy design strategy and HIC prediction method of the combined active and passive system proposed in this paper can provide a theoretical basis for rapid selection and parameter design.

Physical effects of learning.

Interacting many-body physical systems ranging from neural networks in the brain to folding proteins to self-modifying electrical circuits can learn to perform diverse tasks. This learning, both in nature and in engineered systems, can occur through evolutionary selection or through dynamical rules that drive active learning from experience. Here, we show that learning in linear physical networks with weak input signals leaves architectural imprints on the Hessian of a physical system. Compared to a generic organization of the system components, (a) the effective physical dimension of the response to inputs decreases, (b) the response of physical degrees of freedom to random perturbations (or system "susceptibility") increases, and (c) the low-eigenvalue eigenvectors of the Hessian align with the task. Overall, these effects embody the typical scenario for learning processes in physical systems in the weak input regime, suggesting ways of discovering whether a physical network may have been trained.

Testing androgen-induced immunosuppression: Environmental androgens as a model system for steroid-immune interaction.

It is well known that hormones influence and direct most facets of physiology; however, there is still contention regarding the directions of certain relationships, for example, between gonadal hormones and immunity. Among the many proposed relationships relating to gonadal-immune interactions, support for immunosuppressive effects of androgens remains prominent within physiological literature. Although ample study has been directed towardthe immunosuppressive effects of androgens, considerable disagreement remains regarding their influence on immune function. In this study, we test the hypothesis that androgens inhibit immunocompetence in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Developing alligators were incubated at female-producing temperatures with a subset of individuals being exposed to 17-α-methyltestosterone (MT) before sexual determination. 17-α-methyltestosterone is a potent androgen, not aromatizable by crocodilians, that has been found to exert masculinizing effects in exposed crocodilian populations in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, a subset of animals was exposed to a novel antigen to quantify innate and acquired immune function. We recovered no significant differences in leukocyte ratios or proportions between groups and found no significant differences in innate immune function as measured by hemolysis-hemagglutination. However, we did find significant differences in acquired immune function, where masculinized individuals expressed greater antibody titers. Our findings reject the hypothesis that androgens suppress immune function; rather, androgens may be immunoenhancing to acquired humoral responses and neutral to innate humoral immunity in crocodilians.

Modelling Cross Talk in the Spatiotemporal System Dynamics of Calcium, IP3 and Nitric Oxide in Neuron Cells.

The bioenergetic system of calcium ([Ca2+]), inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphophate (IP3) and nitric oxide (NO) regulate the diverse mechanisms in neurons. The dysregulation in any or all of the calcium, IP3 and nitric oxide dynamics may cause neurotoxicity and cell death. Few studies are noted in the literature on the interactions of two systems like [Ca2+] with IP3 and [Ca2+] with nitric oxide in neuron cells, which gives limited insights into regulatory and dysregulatory processes in neuron cells. But, no study is available on the cross talk in dynamics of three systems [Ca2+], IP3 and NO in neurons. Thus, the cross talk in the system dynamics of [Ca2+], IP3 and NO regulation processes in neurons have been studied using mathematical model. The two-way feedback process between [Ca2+] and IP3 and two-way feedback process between [Ca2+] and NO through cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) with plasmalemmal [Ca2+]-ATPase (PMCA) have been incorporated in the proposed model. This coupling handles the indirect two-way feedback process between IP3 and nitric oxide in neuronal cells automatically. The numerical outcomes were acquired by employing the finite element method (FEM) with the Crank-Nicholson scheme (CNS). The present model incorporating the sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX) and voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) provides novel insights into the various regulatory and dysregulatory processes due to buffer, IP3-receptor, ryanodine receptor, cGMP kinetics through PMCA channel, etc. and their impacts on the interactive spatiotemporal system dynamics of [Ca2+], IP3 and NO in neurons. It is concluded that the behavior of different crucial mechanisms is quite different for interactions of two systems of [Ca2+] and NO and the interactions of three systems of [Ca2+], IP3 and nitric oxide in neuronal cell due to mutual regulatory adjustments. The association of several neurological disorders with the alterations in calcium, IP3 and NO has been explored in neurons.

Vehicle suspension tuning for bridge-friendliness and influence on coupled vehicle-bridge system frequency

A novel study on the mitigation of bridge response via tuning of vehicle suspension parameters is presented. The coupled vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI) system consists of a quarter car model with a semi-active skyhook suspension. Transmissibility functions of the time-varying VBI system are derived and an extended fixed points principle is applied to obtain optimally tuned values of the vehicle suspension parameters for bridge-friendliness. Performances of both the optimally tuned passive and semi-active suspensions are assessed in terms of the dynamic responses, energetics and interacting force of the VBI system, and are shown to achieve excellent bridge-friendliness. Effects of vehicle suspension parameters on the temporal variation of the coupled bridge frequency are also studied. It is found that the bridge frequency depends strongly on two key physical parameters: vehicle-bridge frequency ratio and vehicle damping ratio. Moreover, variations of the bridge frequency during the vehicle passage are small when the tuned suspensions are used. This new finding may have critical implications in future research in bridge frequency identification using a moving vehicle.

Stylus and Gesture Asymmetric Interaction for Fast and Precise Sketching in Virtual Reality

This research investigates fast and precise Virtual Reality (VR) sketching methods with different tool-based asymmetric interfaces. In traditional real-world drawing, artists commonly employ an asymmetric interaction system where each hand holds different tools, facilitating diverse and nuanced artistic expressions. However, in virtual reality (VR), users are typically limited to using identical tools in both hands for drawing. To bridge this gap, we aim to introduce specifically designed tools in VR that replicate the varied tool configurations found in the real world. Hence, we developed a VR sketching system supporting three hybrid input techniques using a standard VR controller, a VR stylus, or a data glove. We conducted a formal user study consisting of an internal comparative experiment with four conditions and three tasks to compare three asymmetric input methods with each other and with a traditional symmetric controller-based solution based on questionnaires and performance evaluations. The results showed that in contrast to symmetric dual VR controller interfaces, the asymmetric input with gestures significantly reduced task completion times while maintaining good usability and input accuracy with a low task workload. This shows the value of asymmetric input methods for VR sketching. We also found that the overall user experience could be further improved by optimizing the tracking stability of the data glove and the VR stylus.