Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influences of Stress on Interactions with Decision Support

People regularly interact with automation to make decisions. Research shows that reliance on recommendations can depend on user trust in the decision support system (DSS), the source of information (i.e. human or automation), and situational stress. This study explored how information source and stress affect trust and reliance on a DSS used in a baggage scanning task. A preliminary sample of sixty-one participants were given descriptions for a DSS and reported trust before and after interaction. The DSS gave explicit recommendations when activated and participants could choose to rely or reject the choice. Results revealed a bias towards self-reliance and a negative influence of stress on trust, particularly for participants receiving help from automation. Controlling for perceived reliability may have eliminated trust biases prior to interaction, while stress may have influenced trust during the task. Future research should address potential differences in task motivation and include physiological measures of stress.
The Effects of Security Framing, Time Pressure, and Brand Familiarity on Risky Mobile Application Downloads

THE EFFECTS OF SECURITY FRAMING, TIME PRESSURE, AND BRAND FAMILIARITY ON RISKY MOBILE APPLICATION DOWNLOADS Cody Parker Old Dominion University, 2020 Director: Dr. Jing Chen The current study examined the effects of security system framing, time pressure, and brand familiarity on mobile application download behaviors, with an emphasis on risk taking. According to the Prospect Theory, people tend to engage in irrational decision making, and make qualitatively different decisions when information is framed in terms of gains and losses (i.e., the framing effect). Past research has used this framing effect to guide the design of a risk display for mobile applications (apps), with the purpose of communicating the potential risks and minimizing insecure app selections. Time pressure has been shown to influence the framing effect in both hypothetical choices in lab settings as well as with consumer purchases, and brand familiarity has been shown to affect consumers’ purchase behaviors. Neither factor has been studied in the context of risk communication for mobile app. The current study addressed this gap in the literature and examined the effects of time pressure and brand familiarity on the effectiveness of risk displays (framed as safety or risks) for mobile apps. Specifically, users’ choices were recorded as a measure of effective risk displays. The findings from this study indicated that users rely heavily on brand familiarity when downloading apps. We also showed that security scores, especially when framed as safety, were effective at guiding choice, though this advantage of safety framing was not present when users made decisions under time pressure. The implications from the study indicate that people implicitly trust brands they recognize, safety framed security can be helpful, and decision-making processes change under time pressure.
Gender Differences in Perceptions of Technology, Technology Readiness, and Spatial Cognition

With developments in new technologies such as mobile mapping and mixed reality (virtual and augmented reality), there is demand for insight into how individual differences influence technology readiness. We examined the influence of gender, perceived sense of direction, mental rotation, and navigation on the different aspects of technology readiness: discomfort, optimism, innovativeness, and insecurity. The results of an online questionnaire showed that women were equally optimistic about embracing technology. However, they rated themselves higher on discomfort and insecurity and lower on innovativeness. We also examined the perceived usefulness of navigation aids. For example, both men and women found mobile maps useful, but men found paper maps more useful than women. Women were more likely than men to feel that using Google Maps increased safety. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that women are less ready to embrace technology, rather it depends on its usefulness for the task at hand.
The accuracy of interrater reliability estimates found using a subset of the total data sample: A bootstrap analysis

Interrater reliability (IRR) assesses the stability of a coding protocol over time and across coders. For practical reasons, it is often difficult to assess IRR for an entire dataset, so researchers sometimes calculate the IRR for a subset of the total data sample. The purpose of this study is to investigate the accuracy of such subset IRRs. Using bootstrapping, we determined the effects of sample size (10%, 25%, & 40% of the total dataset) and IRR measure type (percent agreement, Krippendorff’s alpha, & the G Index) on the bias and percent error of subset IRRs. Results support the use of calculating IRR from subsets of the total data sample, though we discuss how the accuracy of subset IRR values may depend on aspects of the dataset such as total sample size and coding methodology.
Modeling the Interaction with Automated Vehicles in Road Bottleneck Scenarios

An important factor for designing the interaction of automated vehicles (AVs) with surrounding road users is the capability of the human communication partner, especially the perception, processing and response. As these processes need time, there is a latest moment the AV has to define its communication strategy. The present work analyzes the situation when an AV negotiates the right of way to a simultaneously oncoming human driver in a road bottleneck scenario. We modeled the sequence of human tasks when perceiving and processing the AV’s information and the time needed to respond to it. The interaction model results in a latest moment after which a comfortable interaction can no longer be initiated. Comparing the model with the data of an underlying study indicates the appropriate modeling of the time required for communication. A later start of communication leads to inefficient traffic flow and worse subjective ratings of the AV’s communication.
Where Two Ends Meet: Operator and Stakeholder Perceptions of Procedures

The differences between ‘work as imagined’ (WAI) and ‘work as done’ (WAD) reflect theoretically pervasive and well-known barriers to the examination of human performance at work. Due to the dynamic and situational nature of work, the idealized performance reflected in procedures is not always done as prescribed. The identification and examination of this gap and the nature of these deviations are imperative for high-risk industries. The present study used conventional content analysis to compare stakeholders’ performance expectations to the realities of operator performance through interviews collected at a high-risk petrochemical producer. Direct comparisons of stakeholder and operator perspectives revealed divergent expectations of how procedures are used, when they’re most useful, and reasons why operators don’t utilize the procedure amendment process. These differences could be resolved through increased collaboration between stakeholders and operators. Future research should consider collaboration interventions to bridge the gap between WAI and WAD.
The Effect of Task Complexity on Eye Movement and Multitasking Performance in Students With and Without ADHD

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects many individual’s ability to maintain and shift attention. Little is known about the connection between executive function and eye movement in individuals diagnosed with ADHD during multitasking. The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between patterns of eye movement and multitasking performance between students with and without ADHD. During the experiment, students with and without ADHD completed NASA’s Multi-Attribute Task Battery at both low and high task complexity. We found that students without ADHD showed higher error counts, higher workload ratings, and greater total number of fixations in the high task complexity than in the low task complexity. By understanding the relationship among eye movement, executive functioning, and mental workload, it is possible to gain insight in attention allocation in online learning environments and apply that knowledge to create tools for equal access to learning.
From ZnO Nanorods to Nanoplates: Chemical Bath Deposition Growth and Surface-Related Emissions

In this paper, a low-temperature controllable chemical bath deposition method was demonstrated to prepare one-dimensional ZnO nanorods and two-dimensional nanoplates, and their surface-related emissions were studied by temperature-dependent cathodoluminescence spectra. By changing the precursor concentration, the ZnO morphology evolves from nanorods to nanoplates. ZnO nanorods grow fast along the c-axis direction due to the high surface energy of the polar (0001) plane when the concentration of OH- ions is low in the precursor solution. When the OH- concentration is increased, more OH- ions preferably adsorb on the (0001) plane of ZnO, and the growth of the ZnO nanocrystallite along the c axis is partially suppressed. However, they can still grow sideways along directions. Therefore, with the OH- concentration increased, the average aspect ratio (high/width) of ZnO nanorods is decreased. Finally, two-dimensional ZnO nanoplates are formed. Low-temperature cathodoluminescence spectra of such ZnO na.
An Investigation of the Usability of a Teleconsent System

Telemedicine allows providers to facilitate online medical consultation to patients when there is a geo-graphical distance between them. Similar to other medical consultations, consent is required to receive medical care. Teleconsent, developed to accommodate this requirement, allows providers to collect patient consent via screen-sharing and videoconferencing. However, its usability needs to be evaluated to improve user acceptance. This study uses a heuristic evaluation to identify the usability issues associated with a tele-consent interface. Based on Nielsen’s 10 heuristics, four experts independently evaluated the consent form on two devices (desktop and smartphone), identified violations and assigned severity. Of the 70 violations identified 33.43% violated consistency and standards and 20% violated user control and freedom. Issues requiring immediate attention included the patient’s inability to scroll and zoom (specific to smartphone) while navigating the consent form and the unintuitive signing process. Remediations were suggested to improve the teleconsent system usability.
A Proactive Risk Assessment Methodology to Enhance Patient Safety: Reducing Wrong Site Surgery as a Preventable Medical Error

Patient safety has been a major area of concern over the last decades in the healthcare industry. The number of preventable medical errors in hospitals has been noticeably high. These errors are more likely to occur in intensive care units including Operating Rooms (ORs). Wrong site surgery is one of the critical sentinel events that occur in healthcare settings. This paper fills an important gap by proposing an integrated, system-oriented methodology for proactive risk assessment of operations in ORs, to specifically analyze the wrong site surgery issue, through the identification and monitoring of appropriate Leading Safety Indicators (LSIs) to evaluate the safety of those operations and generate warning/predicting signals for potential failures. These LSIs are identified across the layers of an introduced framework, which is built on the foundation of the Human-Organization-Technology (HOT) model originally developed by Meshkati (1992). This multi-layered framework captures the contributing causes of wrong site surgery.
Do You Need to Travel? Mapping Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Technology Affordances

Computer-mediated communications (CMC) can be used as a substitute for face-to-face (FtF) meetings but their effectiveness is highly context dependent. This paper describes a theoretical framework and initial experimental design for characterizing a travel replacement threshold. This effort begins with a use case of remote engineering maintenance training, conducted in three conditions: side-by-side (physically proximate), teleconference (using off-the-shelf software), and a custom VR/AR system designed to provide the apprentice with a virtual view of both the instructor’s larger scale lab and smaller scale workbench. The research hypotheses, experimental protocol, and dependent measures are described. The task involves an instructor demonstrating a circuit board troubleshooting task to a remote apprentice. The apprentice then completes the trained task independently, and performance and subject preferences are compared across conditions. The details of this paper, the result of extensive literature review and winnowing of variables, may assist researchers exploring CMC, training, or social communication.
A new era for executive function research: On the transition from centralized to distributed executive functioning

"Executive functions" (EFs) is an umbrella term for higher cognitive control functions such as working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. One of the most challenging problems in this field of research has been to explain how the wide range of cognitive processes subsumed as EFs are controlled without an all-powerful but ill-defined central executive in the brain. Efforts to localize control mechanisms in circumscribed brain regions have not led to a breakthrough in understanding how the brain controls and regulates itself. We propose to re-conceptualize EFs as emergent consequences of highly distributed brain processes that communicate with a pool of highly connected hub regions, thus precluding the need for a central executive. We further discuss how graph-theory driven analysis of brain networks offers a unique lens on this problem by providing a reference frame to study brain connectivity in EFs in a holistic way and helps to refine our understanding of the mechanisms underlying EFs by providing new, testable hypotheses and resolves empirical and theoretical inconsistencies in the EF literature.
No Evidence for a Decrease in Physical Activity Among Swiss Office Workers During COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study

Purpose The COVID-19 lockdown interrupted normal daily activities, which may have led to an increase in sedentary behavior (Castelnuovo et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of physical activity among Swiss office workers. Methods Office workers from two Swiss organizations, aged 18–65 years, were included. Baseline data from January 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic became effective in Switzerland were compared with follow-up data during the lockdown phase in April 2020. Levels of physical activity were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Paired sample t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank test were performed for statistical analysis. Results Data from 76 participants were analyzed. Fifty-four participants were female (71.1%). The mean age was 42.7 years (range from 21.8 to 62.7) at baseline. About 75% of the participants met the recommendations on minimal physical activity, both before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the lockdown. Weak statistical evidence for a decline in total physical activity in metabolic equivalent of task minutes per week (MET min/week) was found (estimate = −292, 95% CI from – ∞ to 74, p-value = 0.09), with no evidence for a decrease in the three types of activity: walking (estimate = −189, 95% CI from – ∞ to 100, p-value = 0.28), moderate-intensity activity (estimate = −200, 95% CI from – ∞ to 30, p-value = 0.22) and vigorous-intensity activity (estimate = 80, 95% CI from – ∞ to 460, p-value = 0.74). Across the three categories “high,” “moderate,” and “low” physical activity, 17% of the participants became less active during the lockdown while 29% became more active. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic did not result in a reduction in total physical activity levels among a sample of Swiss office workers during the first weeks of lockdown. Improved work-life balance and working times may have contributed to this finding. Clinical Trial Registration www.ClinicalTrials. gov, NCT04169646. Registered 15 November 2019 – Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04169646.
Transcriptomic Analysis of Wheat Seedling Responses to the Systemic Acquired Resistance Inducer N-Hydroxypipecolic Acid

The fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum can cause destructive diseases on wheat, such as Fusarium head blight and Fusarium crown rot. However, a solution is still unavailable. Recently, N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP) was identified as a potent signaling molecule that is capable of inducing systemic acquired resistance to bacterial, oomycete, and fungal infection in several plant species. However, it is not clear whether NHP works in wheat to resist F. graminearum infection or how NHP affects wheat gene expression. In this report, we showed that pretreatment with NHP moderately increased wheat seedling resistance to F. graminearum. Using RNA sequencing, we found that 17% of wheat-expressed genes were significantly affected by NHP treatment. The genes encoding nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat immune receptors were significantly overrepresented in the group of genes upregulated by NHP treatment, while the genes encoding receptor-like kinases were not. Our results suggested that NHP treatment sensitizes a subset of the immune surveillance system in wheat seedlings, thereby facilitating wheat defense against F. graminearum infection.
Cisplatin-Resistant Gastric Cancer Cells Promote the Chemoresistance of Cisplatin-Sensitive Cells via the Exosomal RPS3-Mediated PI3K-Akt-Cofilin-1 Signaling Axis

Cisplatin is an important agent in first-line chemotherapy against gastric cancer (GC). However, consequential drug resistance limits its effectiveness for the treatment of GC. In this study, a cisplatin resistant gastric cancer cell line SGC7901R was determined by LC-MS/MS with increased exosomal levels of RPS3 protein. SGC7901R cell-derived exosomes were readily taken up by cisplatin-sensitive SGC7901S cells, thus triggering off a phenotype of chemoresistance in the receptor cells. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that exosomal RPS3 was essential for inducing chemoresistance of receptor cells as shown by the acquisition of this phenotype in SGC7901S cells with enforced expression of RPS3. Further mechanism study demonstrated that cisplatin-resistant gastric cancer cell-derived exosomal RPS3 enhanced the chemoresistance of cisplatin-sensitive gastric cancer cells through the PI3K-Akt-cofilin-1 signaling pathway. All these findings demonstrated that cisplatin-resistant gastric cancer cells communicate with sensitive cells through the intercellular delivery of exosomal RPS3 and activation of the PI3K-Akt-cofilin-1 signaling pathway. Targeting exosomal RPS3 protein in cisplatin-resistant gastric cancer cells may thus be a promising strategy to overcome cisplatin resistance in gastric cancer.
Electrokinetic Evaluation of Individual Exosomes by On-Chip Microcapillary Electrophoresis with Laser Dark-Field Microscopy

Cell-secreted nanovesicles called exosomes are expected as a promising candidate biomarker of various diseases. Toward the future application of exosomes as a disease biomarker for low-invasive diagnostics, challenges remain in the development of sensitive and precise analysis methods for exosomes. In this study, we performed the electrokinetic evaluation of individual exosomes by the combined use of on-chip microcapillary electrophoresis and laser dark-field microscopy. We extracted exosomes from six types of human cell cultured in a serum-free medium by differential ultracentrifugation and their zeta potential (electrophoretic mobility) were evaluated. We demonstrated that the proposed electrophoresis apparatus is particularly suitable for the tracking analysis of the electrophoretic migration of individual exosomes and enables the accurate evaluation of the zeta potential distribution of exosomes, for the first time. From the experimental results, we found that there is a strong correlation between the average zeta potentials of exosomes and their cells of origin.
Crossed Entorhino-Dentate Projections Form and Terminate With Correct Layer-Specificity in Organotypic Slice Cultures of the Mouse Hippocampus

The entorhino-dentate projection, i.e., the perforant pathway, terminates in a highly ordered and laminated fashion in the rodent dentate gyrus (DG): fibers arising from the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) terminate in the middle molecular layer, whereas fibers arising from the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) terminate in the outer molecular layer of the DG. In rats and rabbits, a crossed entorhino-dentate projection exists, which originates from the entorhinal cortex (EC) and terminates in the contralateral DG. In contrast, in mice, such a crossed projection is reportedly absent. Using single and double mouse organotypic entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures, we studied the ipsi- and crossed entorhino-dentate projections. Viral tracing revealed that entorhino-dentate projections terminate with a high degree of lamina-specificity in single as well as in double cultures. Furthermore, in double cultures, entorhinal axons arising from one slice freely intermingled with entorhinal axons originating from the other slice. In single as well as in double cultures, entorhinal axons exhibited a correct topographical projection to the DG: medial entorhinal axons terminated in the middle and lateral entorhinal axons terminated in the outer molecular layer. Finally, entorhinal neurons were virally transduced with Channelrhodopsin2-YFP and stimulated with light, revealing functional connections between the EC and dentate granule cells. We conclude from our findings that entorhino-dentate projections form bilaterally in the mouse hippocampus in vitro and that the mouse DG provides a permissive environment for crossed entorhinal fibers.
Lactobacillus-Depleted Vaginal Microbiota in Pregnant Women Living With HIV-1 Infection Are Associated With Increased Local Inflammation and Preterm Birth

Background Pregnant women living with HIV-1 infection (PWLWH) have an elevated risk of preterm birth (PTB) of unknown aetiology, which remains after successful suppression of HIV. Women at high risk for HIV have a common bacterial profile which has been associated with poor birth outcomes. We set out to explore factors associated with gestational age at delivery of PWLWH in a UK population. Methods Prospective study of PWLWH (n = 53) in whom the vaginal microbiota and cervicovaginal cytokine milieu were assessed using metataxonomics and multiplexed immunoassays, respectively. Cross-sectional characterisation of vaginal microbiota in PWLWH were compared with 22 HIV uninfected pregnant women (HUPW) at a similar second trimester timepoint. Within PWLWH the relationships between bacterial composition, inflammatory response, and gestational age at delivery were explored. Findings There was a high rate of PTB among PWLWH (12%). In the second trimester the vaginal microbiota was more diverse in PWLWH than in HUPW (Inverse Simpson Index, p = 0.0004 and Species Observed, p = 0.009). PWLWH had a lower prevalence of L. crispatus dominant vaginal microbiota group (VMB I, 15 vs 54%) than HUPW and higher prevalence of L. iners dominant (VMB III, 36 vs 9% and VMB IIIB, 15 vs 5%) and mixed anaerobes (VMB IV, 21 vs 0%). Across the second and third trimesters in PWLWH, VMB III/IIIB and IV were associated with PTB and with increased local inflammation [cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) cytokine concentrations in upper quartile]. High bacterial diversity and anaerobic bacterial abundance were also associated with CVF pro-inflammatory cytokines, most notably IL-1β. Interpretation There is an association between local inflammation, vaginal dysbiosis and PTB in PWLWH. Understanding the potential of antiretroviral therapies to influence this cascade will be important to improve birth outcomes in this population.