Expressiveness of real-time motion captured avatars influences perceived animation realism and perceived quality of social interaction in virtual reality

Using motion capture to enhance the realism of social interaction in virtual reality (VR) is growing in popularity. However, the impact of different levels of avatar expressiveness on the user experience is not well understood. In the present study we manipulated levels of face and body expressiveness of avatars while investigating participant perceptions of animation realism and interaction quality when disclosing positive and negative experiences in VR. Moderate positive associations were observed between perceptions of animation realism and interaction quality. Post-experiment questions revealed that many of our participants (approximately 40 %) indicated the avatar with the highest face and body expressiveness as having the most realistic face and body expressions. The same proportion also indicated the avatar with the highest face and body expressiveness as being the most comforting and enjoyable avatar to interact with. Our results suggest that higher levels of face and body expressiveness are important for enhancing perceptions of realism and interaction quality within a social interaction in VR using motion capture

Exploring Relationships between the Endorsement of Stalking Attitudes and Executive Functioning, Impulsiveness, and Perfectionism

Planning and problem-solving, impulsivity, and perfectionism were examined to determine their influence on the development/maintenance of gender-specific stalking-related attitudes. Other-orientated perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism significantly correlated with, and predicted the endorsement of stalking-related attitudes for women only. Motor impulsivity significantly correlated with, and predicted the endorsement of stalking-related attitudes for men only. The results suggests that perfectionism, and impulsivity may be unique predictors in endorsing stalking-related attitudes for females, and males, respectively

Study 3

This is the raw data for the article: Comparing mock-suspects’ self-reported experience with a narrative-rich mock crime compared to a narrative-sparse mock crime in virtual reality</p

Design of β-Amyloid Aggregation Inhibitors from a Predicted Structural Motif

Drug design studies targeting one of the primary toxic agents in Alzheimer’s disease, soluble oligomers of amyloid β-protein (Aβ), have been complicated by the rapid, heterogeneous aggregation of Aβ and the resulting difficulty to structurally characterize the peptide. To address this, we have developed [Nle³⁵, d-Pro³⁷]­Aβ₄₂, a substituted peptide inspired from molecular dynamics simulations which forms structures stable enough to be analyzed by NMR. We report herein that [Nle³⁵, d-Pro³⁷]­Aβ₄₂ stabilizes the trimer and prevents mature fibril and β-sheet formation. Further, [Nle³⁵, d-Pro³⁷]­Aβ₄₂ interacts with WT Aβ₄₂ and reduces aggregation levels and fibril formation in mixtures. Using ligand-based drug design based on [Nle³⁵, d-Pro³⁷]­Aβ₄₂, a lead compound was identified with effects on inhibition similar to the peptide. The ability of [Nle³⁵, d-Pro³⁷]­Aβ₄₂ and the compound to inhibit the aggregation of Aβ₄₂ provides a novel tool to study the structure of Aβ oligomers. More broadly, our data demonstrate how molecular dynamics simulation can guide experiment for further research into AD