pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Effects of Driver and Secondary Task Characteristics on Lane Change Test Performance

The main objective of this study was to examine the sensitivity of the Lane Change Test (LCT) as proposed by International Organization of Standardization by evaluating LCT performance between primary and dual‐task conditions in simulated driving conditions. The study involved four different secondary tasks that involved tracking, visual search, memory, and data entry, each under two different difficulty levels. The primary task involved a series of lane changes on a three‐lane straight roadway where the actual lane change trajectory was compared with a normative model of the trajectory. Thus, the lane change performance was measured by the mean deviation of the actual driving trajectory from the normative trajectory. Twenty‐four participants within three age groups (25–34, 35–45, and >55 years) and equally distributed between male and female took part in the study. Thus, the study also investigated the effect of age and gender on driving performance. The results showed that secondary tasks that require visual attention and psychomotor coordination deteriorated driving performance the most, whereas tasks that required memory scanning and utilization of the auditory modality least affected driving performance. The study also found differences in LCT performances with respect to three different age categories and gender. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Competence assessment in higher education: A dynamic approach

Advances in the implementation of the European Higher Education Area have had a great impact on university environment and the process of design, evaluation, and implementation of new curricula. Identifying competence levels among students can help course organizers to improve both academic content and teaching/learning processes. The present study addresses this issue by examining the implementation of an Internet-based competency assessment tool. We analyze the status and evolution of soft skills among students on the Official Masters program Creating and Managing Innovative Technology-Based Companies at the University of Barcelona, using a tool known as Tricuspoid, specifically designed for evaluating entrepreneurial competences. The results show that the tool, first, enables students to identify their strong and weak points and to develop personal strategies for improvement; second, provides teachers with additional information about the effects of their input on student competences; and third, supplies useful information for quality management of the Master's programs, because it can detect trends in the training needs of new students and help to enhance content accordingly, and therefore match the design of the academic program to the requirements of labor market
Examining the Effects of Conformal Terrain Features in Advanced Head‐Up Displays on Flight Performance and Pilot Situation Awareness

Synthetic vision systems (SVS) render terrain features for pilots through cockpit displays using a GPS database and three‐dimensional graphical models. Enhanced vision systems (EVS) present infrared imagery of terrain using a forward‐looking sensor in the nose of an aircraft. The ultimate goal of SVS and EVS technologies is to support pilots in achieving safety under low‐visibility and night conditions comparable to clear, day conditions. This study assessed pilot performance and situation awareness (SA) effects of SVS and EVS imagery in an advanced head‐up display (HUD) during a simulated landing approach under instrument meteorological conditions. Videos of the landing with various HUD configurations were presented to eight pilots with a superimposed tracking task. The independent variables included four HUD feature configurations (baseline [no terrain imagery], SVS, EVS, and a combination of SVS and EVS), two visibility conditions, and four legs of the flight. Results indicated that SVS increased overall SA but degraded flight path control performance because of visual confusion with other display features. EVS increased flight path control accuracy but decreased system (aircraft) awareness because of visual distractions. The combination of SVS and EVS generated offsetting effects. Display configurations did not affect pilot spatial awareness. Flight performance was not different among phases of the approach, but levels and types of pilot SA did vary from leg to leg. These results are applicable to development of adaptive HUD features to support pilot performance. They support the use of multidimensional measures of SA for insight on pilot information processing with advanced aviation displays. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Beyond the user preferences:Aligning the prototype design to the users' expectations

It is important for practitioners to conceptualize and tailor a prototype in tune with the users' expectations in the early stages of the design life cycle so the modifications of the product design in advanced phases are kept to a minimum. According to user preference studies, the aesthetic and the usability of a system play an important role in the user appraisal and selection of a product. However, user preferences are just a part of the equation. The fact that a user prefers one product over the other does not mean that he or she would necessarily buy it. To understand the factors affecting the user's assessment of a product before the actual use of the product and the user's intention to purchase the product we conducted a study, reported in this article. Our study, a modification of a well-known protocol, considers the users' preferences of six simulated smartphones each with different combination of attributes. A sample consisting of 365 participants was involved in our analysis. Our results confirm that the main basis for the users' pre-use preferences is the aesthetics of the product, whereas our results suggest that the main basis for the user's intention to purchase are the expected usability of the product. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the personal characteristics of the users have different effects on both the users' preferences and their intention to purchase a product. These results suggest that the designers should carefully balance the aesthetics and usability features of a prototype in tune with the users expectations. If the conceptualization of a product is done properly the redesign cycles after the usability testing can be reduced and speed up the process for releasing the product on the market
Using ergonomic risk assessment methods for designing inclusive work practices – a case study

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: HUSSAIN, A. ...et al., 2016. Using ergonomic risk assessment methods for designing inclusive work practices – a case study. Human Factors in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 26 (3), pp.337-355., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20650. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.In common with many industries, manufacturing faces the challenge of effective management of a diverse workforce. Humans differ greatly but traditional manufacturing work practices do not take into account human variability issues during the work design process. Variations in individual and organizational work performance due to many individual factors such as age, gender, level of skill, experience and background bring performance inconsistencies. This research investigates the effects of individual skill on work performance in general, and workplace safety and human well-being in particular. A research framework is proposed for highlighting major differences in work performing\ud
strategies, their potential impact on work performance and how these findings can be used for designing more inclusive work practices. A case study has been presented where ergonomics risk assessment methods have been used to validate the usefulness of this framework. It is also concluded that skill has a strong relationship with the level of risk attached to various task performing strategies
Dorsal and palmar aspect dimensions of hand anthropometry for designing hand tools and protections

Most hand anthropometric studies are performed on the palmar aspect, while dimensions of the dorsal aspect are also useful in ergonomics and hand modelling. A survey of hand anthropometrics for a Spanish population (69 females, 70 males) is presented. Landmarks were selected to compare lengths from the dorsal and palmar aspects and to be useful for hand modelling and ergonomics design. Ninety-nine dimensions of fingers and thumb of the right hand (41 lengths, 32 depths, 26 breadths) were collected, including thumb breadths and depths. Descriptive statistics of all the dimensions are presented. Lengths were measured from both dorsal and palmar aspects and paired lengths compared through T-tests. Significant differences were found in almost all the lengths, showing that databases should explicitly state the aspect (dorsal or palmar) where dimensions have been measured. The data provided are useful for designing tools and hand protections and developing hand models more accurately
Different behavioral effects of neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions placed under either isoflurane or propofol anesthesia

Anesthetic protocols for behavioral neuroscience experiments are evolving as new anesthetics are developed and surgical procedures are refined to improve animal welfare. We tested whether neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions produced under two different anesthetic protocols would have different behavioral and/or histo-pathological effects. Rats were anesthetized with either propofol, an intravenous anesthetic, or isoflurane, a gaseous anesthetic, and multiple injections of an excitotoxin (N-methyl-d-aspartate) were stereotaxically placed in the dorsal hippocampus bilaterally. Intraoperative physiological parameters were similar in the two surgical groups, as were the volumes of the lesions, although the profile of postoperative impairment in a spatial learning task differed between the lesion groups depending on the anesthetic regimen used. These results show that the choice of anesthetic protocol is a critical variable in designing behavioral neuroscience experiments using neurosurgical procedures. This factor should be considered carefully in experimental design and in cross-study comparisons of lesion effects on behavior
Patterns of hippocampal-neocortical interactions in the retrieval of episodic autobiographical memories across the entire life-span of aged adults.
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Hippocampal-neocortical interactions during EAM retrieval

International audienceWe previously demonstrated that episodic autobiographical memories (EAMs) rely on a network of brain regions comprising the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and distributed neocortical regions regardless of their remoteness. The findings supported the model of memory consolidation, which proposes a permanent role of MTL during EAM retrieval (multiple-trace theory or MTT) rather than a temporary role (standard model). Our present aim was to expand the results by examining the interactions between the MTL and neocortical regions (or MTL-neocortical links) during EAM retrieval with varying retention intervals. We used an experimental paradigm specially designed to engage aged participants in the recollection of EAMs, extracted from five different time-periods, covering their whole life-span, in order to examine correlations between activation in the MTL and neocortical regions. The nature of the memories was checked at debriefing by means of behavioral measures to control the degree of episodicity and properties of memories. Targeted correlational analyses carried out on the MTL, frontal, lateral temporal, and posterior regions revealed strong links between the MTL and neocortex during the retrieval of both recent and remote EAMs, challenging the standard model of memory consolidation and supporting MTT instead. Further confirmation was given by results showing that activation in the left and right hippocampi significantly correlated during the retrieval of both recent and remote memories. Correlations among extra-MTL neocortical regions also emerged for all time-periods, confirming the critical role of the prefrontal, temporal (lateral temporal cortex and temporal pole), precuneus, and posterior cingulate regions in EAM retrieval. Overall, this paper emphasizes the role of a bilateral network of MTL and neocortical areas whose activation correlate during the recollection of rich phenomenological recent and remote EAMs
Automated Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields From Ultra-High Resolution In Vivo MRI

Recent developments in MRI data acquisition technology are starting to yield images that show anatomical features of the hippocampal formation at an unprecedented level of detail, providing the basis for hippocampal subfield measurement. However, a fundamental bottleneck in MRI studies of the hippocampus at the subfield level is that they currently depend on manual segmentation, a laborious process that severely limits the amount of data that can be analyzed. In this article, we present a computational method for segmenting the hippocampal subfields in ultra-high resolution MRI data in a fully automated fashion. Using Bayesian inference, we use a statistical model of image formation around the hippocampal area to obtain automated segmentations. We validate the proposed technique by comparing its segmentations to corresponding manual delineations in ultra-high resolution MRI scans of 10 individuals, and show that automated volume measurements of the larger subfields correlate well with manual volume estimates. Unlike manual segmentations, our automated technique is fully reproducible, and fast enough to enable routine analysis of the hippocampal subfields in large imaging studies.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH NCRR; Grant number: P41-RR14075)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 RR16594-01A1)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant NAC P41-RR13218)Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN002)Biomedical Informatics Research Network (U24 RR021382)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (R01 EB001550)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (R01EB006758)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (NAMIC U54-EB005149)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (R01 NS052585-01)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (R01 NS051826)Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) InstituteEllison Medical Foundation (Autism & Dyslexia Project
CA3 NMDA Receptors are Required for the Rapid Formation of a Salient Contextual Representation

The acquisition of Pavlovian fear learning engages the hippocampus when the conditioned stimuli are multimodal or temporally isolated from the unconditioned stimuli. By subjecting CA3-NR1 KO mice to conditioning protocols that incorporate time-dependent components, we found that the loss of plasticity at recurrent CA3 synapses resulted in a deficits in contextual conditioning specifically when the exposure to the context was brief or when the unconditioned stimulus was signaled with a competing, predictive unimodal stimulus. Our results suggest CA3 contributes both speed and salience to contextual processing and support the theory of competition between multimodal and unimodal conditioned stimuli for associative learning
Disruption of Ripple-Associated Hippocampal Activity During Rest Impairs Spatial Learning in the Rat

The hippocampus plays a key role in the acquisition of new memories for places and events. Evidence suggests that the consolidation of these memories is enhanced during sleep. At the neuronal level, reactivation of awake experience in the hippocampus during sharp-wave ripple events, characteristic of slow-wave sleep, has been proposed as a neural mechanism for sleep-dependent memory consolidation. However, a causal relation between sleep reactivation and memory consolidation has not been established. Here we show that disrupting neuronal activity during ripple events impairs spatial learning. We trained rats daily in two identical spatial navigation tasks followed each by a 1-hour rest period. After one of the tasks, stimulation of hippocampal afferents selectively disrupted neuronal activity associated with ripple events without changing the sleep-wake structure. Rats learned the control task significantly faster than the task followed by rest stimulation, indicating that interfering with hippocampal processing during sleep led to decreased learning.Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Japan)National Institutes of Health (U.S.)Human Frontier Science Program  (Grant Number: RO1 MH061976
Activity-dependent intracellular chloride accumulation and diffusion controls GABAA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission

In the CNS, prolonged activation of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) has been shown to evoke biphasic postsynaptic responses, consisting of an initial hyperpolarization followed by a depolarization. A potential mechanism underlying the depolarization is an acute chloride (Cl−) accumulation resulting in a shift of the GABAA reversal potential (EGABA). The amount of GABA-evoked Cl− accumulation and accompanying depolarization depends on presynaptic and postsynaptic properties of GABAergic transmission, as well as on cellular morphology and regulation of Cl− intracellular concentration ([Cl−]i). To analyze the influence of these factors on the Cl− and voltage behavior, we studied spatiotemporal dynamics of activity-dependent [Cl−]i changes in multicompartmental models of hippocampal cells based on realistic morphological data. Simulated Cl− influx through GABAARs was able to exceed physiological Cl− extrusion rates thereby evoking HCO3− -dependent EGABA shift and depolarizing responses. Depolarizations were observed in spite of GABAA receptor desensitization. The amplitude of the depolarization was frequency-dependent and determined by intracellular Cl− accumulation. Changes in the dendritic diameter and in the speed of GABA clearance in the synaptic cleft were significant sources of depolarization variability. In morphologically reconstructed granule cells subjected to an intense GABAergic background activity, dendritic inhibition was more affected by accumulation of intracellular Cl− than somatic inhibition. Interestingly, EGABA changes induced by activation of a single dendritic synapse propagated beyond the site of Cl− influx and affected neighboring synapses. The simulations suggest that EGABA may differ even along a single dendrite supporting the idea that it is necessary to assign EGABA to a given GABAergic input and not to a given neuron. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc
Amygdala gene expression of NMDA and GABAA receptors in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of partial epilepsy and affects 40% of the patients. Seizures arising from the mesial temporal lobe structures (i.e., amygdala and hippocampus) are common, whereas neocortical seizures are rare. In recent years, many studies aimed to identify the pattern of gene expression of neurotransmitters involved in molecular mechanisms of epilepsy. We used real-time PCR to quantify the expression of GABAA (subunits a1, beta 1, beta 2) and NMDA (subunits NR1, NR2A, and NR2B) receptor genes in amygdalae of 27 patients with TLE and 14 amygdalae from autopsy controls. The NR1 subunit was increased in patients with epilepsy when compared with controls. No differences were found in expression of NMDA subunits NR2A and NR2B or in a1, beta 1, and beta 2 subunits of GABAA receptors. Our results suggest that the NR1 subunit of NMDA receptors is involved in the amygdala hyperexcitability in some of the patients with TLE. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc.FAPESP/CINAPCE [04/14004-9]CNP
Hippocampal gene profiling: Toward a systems biology of the hippocampus

Transcriptomics and proteomics approaches give a unique perspective for understanding brain and hippocampal functions but also pose unique challenges because of the singular complexity of the nervous system. The proliferation of genome-wide expression studies during the last decade has provided important insight into the molecular underpinnings of brain anatomy, neural plasticity, and neurological diseases. Microarray technology has dominated transcriptomics research, but this situation is rapidly changing with the recent technological advances in high-throughput sequencing. The full potential of transcriptomics in the neurosciences will be achieved as a result of its integration with other >-omics> disciplines as well as the development of novel analytical bioinformatics and systems biology tools for meta-analysis. Here, we review some of the most relevant advances in the gene profiling of the hippocampus, its relationship with proteomics approaches, and the promising perspectives for the future. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Grant sponsor: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Grants; Grant number: BFU2008–00611, SAF2008–03194-E, and CSD2007–00023; Grant sponsor: Fundación Ramón Areces and Fundació la Marató de TV3Peer Reviewe
DAG-sensitive and Ca(2+) permeable TRPC6 channels are expressed in dentate granule cells and interneurons in the hippocampal formation

Members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel family play important roles in several neuronal functions. To understand the precise role of these channels in information processing, their presence on neuronal elements must be revealed. In this study, we investigated the localization of TRPC6 channels in the adult hippocampal formation. Immunostainings with a specific antibody, which was validated in Trpc6 knockout mice, showed that in the dentate gyrus, TRPC6 channels are strongly expressed in granule cells. Immunogold staining revealing the subcellular localization of TRPC6 channels clarified that these proteins were predominantly present on the membrane surface of the dendritic shafts of dentate granule cells, and also in their axons, often associated with intracellular membrane cisternae. In addition, TRPC6 channels could be observed in the dendrites of some interneurons. Double immunofluorescent staining showed that TRPC6 channels were present in the dendrites of hilar interneurons and hippocampal interneurons with horizontal dendrites in the stratum oriens expressing mGlu1a receptors, whereas parvalbumin immunoreactivity was revealed in TRPC6-expressing dendrites with radial appearance in the stratum radiatum. Electron microscopy showed that the immunogold particles depicting TRPC6 channels were located on the surface membranes of the interneuron dendrites. Our results suggest that TRPC6 channels are in a key position to alter the information entry into the trisynaptic loop of the hippocampal formation from the entorhinal cortex, and to control the function of both feed-forward and feed-back inhibitory circuits in this brain region