No abstract

Eye-to-eye contact and facial expressions are key communicators, yet there has been little done to evaluate the basic properties of face-to-face; mutual head orientation behaviors. This may be because there is no practical device available to measure the behavior. This paper presents a novel headband-type wearable device called FaceLooks, used for measuring the time of the face-to-face state with identity of the partner, using an infrared emitter and receiver. It can also be used for behavioral healthcare applications, such as for children with developmental disorders who exhibit difficulties with the behavior, by providing awareness through the visual feedback from the partner’s device. Two laboratory experiments showed the device’s detection range and response time, tested with a pair of dummy heads. Another laboratory experiment was done with human participants with gaze trackers and showed the device’s substantial agreement with a human observer. We then conducted two field studies involving children with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders. The first study showed that the devices could be used in the school setting, observing the children did not remove the devices. The second study showed that the durations of children’s face-to-face behavior could be increased under a visual feedback condition. The device shows its potential to be used in therapy and experimental fields because of its wearability and its ability to quantify and shape face-to-face behavior.

Figure 1: EnhancedTouchX: (a) Identifying a partner, a direction (from one initiating the touch (active touch) to the one being touched (passive touch)), and gestures of interpersonal touch of the left user; (b) Interpersonal touch logging system using a smartphone (EnhancedTouchLog).

No abstract

Integrons are genetic elements that can acquire and rearrange gene cassettes. The gene encodes an extended-spectrum β-lactamase, BEL-1, that is present at the second position of the variable region of class 1 integrons identified in The mobility of the gene cassette was analyzed under physiological conditions and with the integrase gene being overexpressed. Cassette mobility in was detected by excision/integration into the recipient integron In on the conjugative plasmid R388 with the overproduced integrase. Despite several antibiotic pressures, the cassette remained at the second position in the integron, highlighting its stability in Overexpression of the integrase gene in induced cassette recombination. However, cassettes containing two genes ( and or and ) were excised, suggesting that the cassette site was defective. We show that is a stable gene cassette under physiological growth conditions, irrespective of the selective antibiotic pressure, that may be mobilized upon overexpression of the integrase gene.