Mind your step: the effects of mobile phone use on gaze behavior in stair climbing

Stair walking is a hazardous activity and a common cause of fatal and non-fatal falls. Previous studies have assessed the role of eye movements in stair walking by asking people to repeatedly go up and down stairs in quiet and controlled conditions, while the role of peripheral vision was examined by giving participants specific fixation instructions or working memory tasks. We here extend this research to stair walking in a natural environment with other people present on the stairs and a now common secondary task: Using one's mobile phone. Results show that using the mobile phone strongly draws one's attention away from the stairs, but that the distribution of gaze locations away from the phone is little influenced by using one's phone. Phone use also increased the time needed to walk the stairs, but handrail use remained low. These results indicate that limited foveal vision suffices for adequate stair walking in normal environments, but that mobile phone use has a strong influence on attention, which may pose problems when unexpected obstacles are encountered

Difficult at dusk? Illuminating the debate on cricket ball visibility

Objectives: Investigate the visibility of new and old red, white and pink cricket balls under lighting and background conditions experienced during a day–night cricket match. Design: We modelled the luminance contrast signals available for a typical observer for a ball against backgrounds in a professional cricket ground, at different times of day. Methods: Spectral reflectance (light reflected as a function of wavelength) was derived from laboratory measurements of new and old red, white and pink balls. We also gathered spectral measurements from backgrounds (pitch, grass, sightscreens, crowd, sky) and spectral illuminance during a day–night match (natural afternoon light, through dusk to night under floodlights) from Lord's Cricket Ground (London, UK). The luminance contrast of the ball relative to the background was calculated for each combination of ball, time of day, and background surface. Results: Old red and old pink balls may offer little or no contrast against the grass, pitch and crowd. New pink balls can also be of low contrast against the crowd at dusk, as can pink and white balls (of any age) against the sky at dusk. Conclusions: Reports of difficulties with visibility of the pink ball are supported by our data. However, our modelling also shows that difficulties with visibility may also be expected under certain circumstances for red and white balls. The variable conditions in a cricket ground and the changing colour of an ageing ball make maintaining good visibility of the ball a challenge when playing day–night matches

A low-cost 2-D video system can accurately and reliably assess adaptive gait kinematics in healthy and low vision subjects

3-D gait analysis is the gold standard but many healthcare clinics and research institutes would benefit from a system that is inexpensive and simple but just as accurate. The present study examines whether a low-cost 2-D motion capture system can accurately and reliably assess adaptive gait kinematics in subjects with central vision loss, older controls, and younger controls. Subjects were requested to walk up and step over a 10 cm high obstacle that was positioned in the middle of a 4.5 m walkway. Four trials were simultaneously recorded with the Vicon motion capture system (3-D system) and a video camera that was positioned perpendicular to the obstacle (2-D system). The kinematic parameters (crossing height, crossing velocity, foot placement, single support time) were calculated offline. Strong Pearson's correlations were found between the two systems for all parameters (average r = 0.944, all p < 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis showed that the agreement between the two systems was good in all three groups after correcting for systematic biases related to the 2-D marker positions. The test-retest reliability for both systems was high (average ICC = 0.959). These results show that a low-cost 2-D video system can reliably and accurately assess adaptive gait kinematics in healthy and low vision subjects

Update on chloroplast research

Chloroplasts, the green differentiation form of plastids, are the sites of photosynthesis and other important plant functions. Genetic and genomic technologies have greatly boosted the rate of discovery and functional characterization of chloroplast proteins during the past decade. Indeed, data obtained using high-throughput methodologies, in particular proteomics and transcriptomics, are now routinely used to assign functions to chloroplast proteins. Our knowledge of many chloroplast processes, notably photosynthesis and photorespiration, has reached such an advanced state that biotechnological approaches to crop improvement now seem feasible. Meanwhile, efforts to identify the entire complement of chloroplast proteins and their interactions are progressing rapidly, making the organelle a prime target for systems biology research in plants

Online collaboration and cooperation : the recurring importance of evidence, rationale and viability

This paper investigates collaboration in teaching and learning and draws out implications for the promotion of collaboration within online environments. It is divided into four sections. First the case for collaboration, including specifically cooperative approaches, is explored. This case revolves around the impact of collaboration on the quality of learning and on learning outcomes. Collaboration is seen as constrained by context but, if structured and rewarded, it will bring important motivational and cognitive benefits. Next, the case for online collaboration is examined. This is based on longstanding arguments about the benefits of working together albeit in an environment which offers greater reach; a mix of media; and archives of interaction. The third section of the paper compares perspectives on online collaboration with a longer tradition of research into collaboration in general; it critiques the idea that online mediation offers a paradigm change in teaching and learning. The fourth section of the paper considers future directions for promoting online collaboration

Expert consensus document: A 'diamond' approach to personalized treatment of angina.

In clinical guidelines, drugs for symptomatic angina are classified as being first choice (β-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, short-acting nitrates) or second choice (ivabradine, nicorandil, ranolazine, trimetazidine), with the recommendation to reserve second-choice medications for patients who have contraindications to first-choice agents, do not tolerate them, or remain symptomatic. No direct comparisons between first-choice and second-choice treatments have demonstrated the superiority of one group of drugs over the other. Meta-analyses show that all antianginal drugs have similar efficacy in reducing symptoms, but provide no evidence for improvement in survival. The newer, second-choice drugs have more evidence-based clinical data that are more contemporary than is available for traditional first-choice drugs. Considering some drugs, but not others, to be first choice is, therefore, difficult. Moreover, double or triple therapy is often needed to control angina. Patients with angina can have several comorbidities, and symptoms can result from various underlying pathophysiologies. Some agents, in addition to having antianginal effects, have properties that could be useful depending on the comorbidities present and the mechanisms of angina, but the guidelines do not provide recommendations on the optimal combinations of drugs. In this Consensus Statement, we propose an individualized approach to angina treatment, which takes into consideration the patient, their comorbidities, and the underlying mechanism of disease

Varieties of living things: Life at the intersection of lineage and metabolism

publication-status: Publishedtypes: Articl

The Use of Novel Oral Anti-Coagulant's (NOAC) compared to Vitamin K Antagonists (Warfarin) in patients with Left Ventricular thrombus after Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI).

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy following peer review. The version of record: Daniel A Jones, Paul Wright, Momin A Alizadeh, Sadeer Fhadil, Krishnaraj S Rathod, Oliver Guttmann, Charles Knight, Adam Timmis, Andreas Baumbach, Andrew Wragg, Anthony Mathur, Sotiris Antoniou, The Use of Novel Oral Anti-Coagulant’s (NOAC) compared to Vitamin K Antagonists (Warfarin) in patients with Left Ventricular thrombus after Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy, pvaa096, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjcvp/pvaa096AIM: Current guidelines recommend the use of Vitamin K Antagonist (VKA) for up to 3 - 6 months for treatment of LV thrombus post-acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, based on evidence supporting non-inferiority of Novel Oral Anti-Coagulant's (NOAC) compared to VKA for other indications such as DVT, PE and thrombo-embolic prevention in atrial fibrillation, NOACs are being increasingly used off licence for the treatment of LV thrombus post AMI. In this study we investigated the safety and effect of NOACs compared to VKA on LV thrombus resolution in patients presenting with AMI. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was an observational study of 2,328 consecutive patients undergoing Coronary Angiography +/- Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) for AMI between May 2015- December 2018, at a UK cardiac centre. Patients' details were collected from the hospital electronic database. The primary end-point was rate of LV thrombus resolution with bleeding rates a secondary outcome.Left ventricular (LV) thrombus was diagnosed in 101 (4.3%) patients. Sixty patients (59.4%) were started on VKA and 41 patients (40.6%) on NOAC therapy (rivaroxaban: 58.5%, apixaban, 36.5% and edoxaban: 5.0%). Both groups were well matched in terms of baseline characteristics including age, previous cardiac history (Previous MI, PCI, CABG), and cardiovascular risk factors (Hypertension, Diabetes, Hypercholesterolaemia).Over the follow up period (median 2.2 years), overall rates of LV thrombus resolution were 86.1%. There was greater and earlier LV thrombus resolution in the NOAC group compared to patients treated with warfarin (82% vs 64.4%, p = 0.0018, at 1 year), which persisted after adjusting for baseline variables (OR 1.8 95% CI 1.2-2.9). Major bleeding events during the f/u period were lower in the NOAC group, compared with VKA group (0% vs 6.7%, p = 0.030) with no difference in rates of systemic thromboembolism (5% vs 2.4%, p = 0.388). CONCLUSION: This data suggests improved thrombus resolution in post ACS LV thrombosis in patients treated with NOACs compared to vitamin K antagonists. This improvement in thrombus resolution was accompanied with a better safety profile for NOAC patients' vs VKA treated patients. Thus, provides data to support a randomised trial to answer this question

When Is Visual Information Used to Control Locomotion When Descending a Kerb?

YesBackground: Descending kerbs during locomotion involves the regulation of appropriate foot placement before the kerb-edge and foot clearance over it. It also involves the modulation of gait output to ensure the body-mass is safely and smoothly lowered to the new level. Previous research has shown that vision is used in such adaptive gait tasks for feedforward planning, with vision from the lower visual field (lvf) used for online updating. The present study determined when lvf information is used to control/update locomotion when stepping from a kerb. Methodology/Principal Findings: 12 young adults stepped down a kerb during ongoing gait. Force sensitive resistors (attached to participants' feet) interfaced with an high-speed PDLC 'smart glass' sheet, allowed the lvf to be unpredictably occluded at either heel-contact of the penultimate or final step before the kerb-edge up to contact with the lower level. Analysis focussed on determining changes in foot placement distance before the kerb-edge, clearance over it, and in kinematic measures of the step down. Lvf occlusion from the instant of final step contact had no significant effect on any dependant variable (p>0.09). Occlusion of the lvf from the instant of penultimate step contact had a significant effect on foot clearance and on several kinematic measures, with findings consistent with participants becoming uncertain regarding relative horizontal location of the kerb-edge. Conclusion/Significance: These findings suggest concurrent feedback of the lower limb, kerb-edge, and/or floor area immediately in front/below the kerb is not used when stepping from a kerb during ongoing gait. Instead heel-clearance and pre-landing-kinematic parameters are determined/planned using lvf information acquired in the penultimate step during the approach to the kerb-edge, with information related to foot placement before the kerb-edge being the most salient