Designing out terrorism: human factors issues in airport baggage inspection

All air passenger baggage is screened at airports by means of 2-D X-ray imaging which results in a computer display of each luggage item that is then visually searched by an operator (screener) for the presence of potential threat items (e.g. knifes, guns, improvised explosive devices [IED]). Despite improvements in screener training and available technology (e.g. image enhancement functions, threat image projection, 3-D X-ray imaging) the performance of screeners is variable which leads to the potential for terrorist threat to aircraft and passengers. A new training scheme to improve performance in baggage screening is under development (EPAULETS: Enhanced Perceptual Anti-terrorism Universal Luggage Examination Training System) and some of the initial human factors issues that underlie variable screener performance are considered

The ergonomics of attention responsive technology

ART (Attention-Responsive Technology) is a new three year UK research project which will enable individuals to access technology efficiently in situations where their mobility is either impaired, as a result of disability or age, or because movement is undesirable due to environmental hazards. The system works by monitoring both the individual and the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) devices (termed here ‘objects’) in his/her environment and then uses knowledge of the individual’s gaze behaviour to determine to which ICT device they are attending. This information is relayed to a user-configurable control panel, which then displays as a graphical user interface (GUI) only those controls that are appropriate, both to the user and to the particular object in question. The user can then choose to operate the object. ART therefore acts as an enabling technology, with the system fully user configurable and able to cater for future developments in technology

Breast screening technologists: does real-life case volume affect performance?

In the UK fewer radiologists are now specialising in breast cancer screening. Consequently, a number of technologists have been specially trained to read mammograms so as to double-read with existing radiologists. Each year the majority of these film-readers examine a set of difficult cases as a means of self-assessing their skills. We investigated whether the technologists performed as well as breast-screening radiologists on this difficult test set. We also investigated technologists’ performance over a number of years to compare the performance of those technologists who have read a greater number of breast screening films and those who have had less experience. Finally, we investigated real-life experience and performance on the scheme by comparing; volume of cases read, experience, and technologists’ performance over time versus radiologists’ performance. Data for approximately 250 breast screening Radiologists and 80 specially trained technologists over three years for six sets of 60 difficult recent screening cases were examined. Overall, those technologists who have not read the same volume of cases as radiologists did not perform as well on this particular task. Although when the group was fractionated by volume of cases read in real-life and the number of years reading cases, then the technologists performed at a level similar to the radiologists

Strong signature of natural selection within an FHIT intron implicated in prostate cancer risk

Previously, a candidate gene linkage approach on brother pairs affected with prostate cancer identified a locus of prostate cancer susceptibility at D3S1234 within the fragile histidine triad gene (FHIT), a tumor suppressor that induces apoptosis. Subsequent association tests on 16 SNPs spanning approximately 381 kb surrounding D3S1234 in Americans of European descent revealed significant evidence of association for a single SNP within intron 5 of FHIT. In the current study, resequencing and genotyping within a 28.5 kb region surrounding this SNP further delineated the association with prostate cancer risk to a 15 kb region. Multiple SNPs in sequences under evolutionary constraint within intron 5 of FHIT defined several related haplotypes with an increased risk of prostate cancer in European-Americans. Strong associations were detected for a risk haplotype defined by SNPs 138543, 142413, and 152494 in all cases (Pearson's χ2 = 12.34, df 1, P = 0.00045) and for the homozygous risk haplotype defined by SNPs 144716, 142413, and 148444 in cases that shared 2 alleles identical by descent with their affected brothers (Pearson's χ2 = 11.50, df 1, P = 0.00070). In addition to highly conserved sequences encompassing SNPs 148444 and 152413, population studies revealed strong signatures of natural selection for a 1 kb window covering the SNP 144716 in two human populations, the European American (π = 0.0072, Tajima's D= 3.31, 14 SNPs) and the Japanese (π = 0.0049, Fay & Wu's H = 8.05, 14 SNPs), as well as in chimpanzees (Fay & Wu's H = 8.62, 12 SNPs). These results strongly support the involvement of the FHIT intronic region in an increased risk of prostate cancer. © 2008 Ding et al

Ancestry of the Iban Is Predominantly Southeast Asian: Genetic Evidence from Autosomal, Mitochondrial, and Y Chromosomes

Humans reached present-day Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) in one of the first major human migrations out of Africa. Population movements in the millennia following this initial settlement are thought to have greatly influenced the genetic makeup of current inhabitants, yet the extent attributed to different events is not clear. Recent studies suggest that south-to-north gene flow largely influenced present-day patterns of genetic variation in Southeast Asian populations and that late Pleistocene and early Holocene migrations from Southeast Asia are responsible for a substantial proportion of ISEA ancestry. Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggests that the ancestors of present-day inhabitants came mainly from north-to-south migrations from Taiwan and throughout ISEA approximately 4,000 years ago. We report a large-scale genetic analysis of human variation in the Iban population from the Malaysian state of Sarawak in northwestern Borneo, located in the center of ISEA. Genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers analyzed here suggest that the Iban exhibit greatest genetic similarity to Indonesian and mainland Southeast Asian populations. The most common non-recombining Y (NRY) and mitochondrial (mt) DNA haplogroups present in the Iban are associated with populations of Southeast Asia. We conclude that migrations from Southeast Asia made a large contribution to Iban ancestry, although evidence of potential gene flow from Taiwan is also seen in uniparentally inherited marker data

Scenes, saliency maps and scanpaths

The aim of this chapter is to review some of the key research investigating how people look at pictures. In particular, my goal is to provide theoretical background for those that are new to the field, while also explaining some of the relevant methods and analyses. I begin by introducing eye movements in the context of natural scene perception. As in other complex tasks, eye movements provide a measure of attention and information processing over time, and they tell us about how the foveated visual system determines what to prioritise. I then describe some of the many measures which have been derived to summarize where people look in complex images. These include global measures, analyses based on regions of interest and comparisons based on heat maps. A particularly popular approach for trying to explain fixation locations is the saliency map approach, and the first half of the chapter is mostly devoted to this topic. A large number of papers and models are built on this approach, but it is also worth spending time on this topic because the methods involved have been used across a wide range of applications. The saliency map approach is based on the fact that the visual system has topographic maps of visual features, that contrast within these features seems to be represented and prioritized, and that a central representation can be used to control attention and eye movements. This approach, and the underlying principles, has led to an increase in the number of researchers using complex natural scenes as stimuli. It is therefore important that those new to the field are familiar with saliency maps, their usage, and their pitfalls. I describe the original implementation of this approach (Itti & Koch, 2000), which uses spatial filtering at different levels of coarseness and combines them in an attempt to identify the regions which stand out from their background. Evaluating this model requires comparing fixation locations to model predictions. Several different experimental and comparison methods have been used, but most recent research shows that bottom-up guidance is rather limited in terms of predicting real eye movements. The second part of the chapter is largely concerned with measuring eye movement scanpaths. Scanpaths are the sequential patterns of fixations and saccades made when looking at something for a period of time. They show regularities which may reflect top-down attention, and some have attempted to link these to memory and an individual’s mental model of what they are looking at. While not all researchers will be testing hypotheses about scanpaths, an understanding of the underlying methods and theory will be of benefit to all. I describe the theories behind analyzing eye movements in this way, and various methods which have been used to represent and compare them. These methods allow one to quantify the similarity between two viewing patterns, and this similarity is linked to both the image and the observer. The last part of the chapter describes some applications of eye movements in image viewing. The methods discussed can be applied to complex images, and therefore these experiments can tell us about perception in art and marketing, as well as about machine vision

Molnupiravir plus usual care versus usual care alone as early treatment for adults with COVID-19 at increased risk of adverse outcomes (PANORAMIC): an open-label, platform-adaptive randomised controlled trial

Background: The safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of molnupiravir, an oral antiviral medication for SARS-CoV-2, has not been established in vaccinated patients in the community at increased risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. We aimed to establish whether the addition of molnupiravir to usual care reduced hospital admissions and deaths associated with COVID-19 in this population. Methods: PANORAMIC was a UK-based, national, multicentre, open-label, multigroup, prospective, platform adaptive randomised controlled trial. Eligible participants were aged 50 years or older—or aged 18 years or older with relevant comorbidities—and had been unwell with confirmed COVID-19 for 5 days or fewer in the community. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 800 mg molnupiravir twice daily for 5 days plus usual care or usual care only. A secure, web-based system (Spinnaker) was used for randomisation, which was stratified by age (<50 years vs ≥50 years) and vaccination status (yes vs no). COVID-19 outcomes were tracked via a self-completed online daily diary for 28 days after randomisation. The primary outcome was all-cause hospitalisation or death within 28 days of randomisation, which was analysed using Bayesian models in all eligible participants who were randomly assigned. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number 30448031. Findings: Between Dec 8, 2021, and April 27, 2022, 26 411 participants were randomly assigned, 12 821 to molnupiravir plus usual care, 12 962 to usual care alone, and 628 to other treatment groups (which will be reported separately). 12 529 participants from the molnupiravir plus usual care group, and 12 525 from the usual care group were included in the primary analysis population. The mean age of the population was 56·6 years (SD 12·6), and 24 290 (94%) of 25 708 participants had had at least three doses of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Hospitalisations or deaths were recorded in 105 (1%) of 12 529 participants in the molnupiravir plus usual care group versus 98 (1%) of 12 525 in the usual care group (adjusted odds ratio 1·06 [95% Bayesian credible interval 0·81–1·41]; probability of superiority 0·33). There was no evidence of treatment interaction between subgroups. Serious adverse events were recorded for 50 (0·4%) of 12 774 participants in the molnupiravir plus usual care group and for 45 (0·3%) of 12 934 in the usual care group. None of these events were judged to be related to molnupiravir. Interpretation: Molnupiravir did not reduce the frequency of COVID-19-associated hospitalisations or death among high-risk vaccinated adults in the community

Molnupiravir plus usual care versus usual care alone as early treatment for adults with COVID-19 at increased risk of adverse outcomes (PANORAMIC): an open-label, platform-adaptive randomised controlled trial

BackgroundThe safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of molnupiravir, an oral antiviral medication for SARS-CoV-2, has not been established in vaccinated patients in the community at increased risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. We aimed to establish whether the addition of molnupiravir to usual care reduced hospital admissions and deaths associated with COVID-19 in this population.MethodsPANORAMIC was a UK-based, national, multicentre, open-label, multigroup, prospective, platform adaptive randomised controlled trial. Eligible participants were aged 50 years or older—or aged 18 years or older with relevant comorbidities—and had been unwell with confirmed COVID-19 for 5 days or fewer in the community. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 800 mg molnupiravir twice daily for 5 days plus usual care or usual care only. A secure, web-based system (Spinnaker) was used for randomisation, which was stratified by age (<50 years vs ≥50 years) and vaccination status (yes vs no). COVID-19 outcomes were tracked via a self-completed online daily diary for 28 days after randomisation. The primary outcome was all-cause hospitalisation or death within 28 days of randomisation, which was analysed using Bayesian models in all eligible participants who were randomly assigned. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number 30448031.FindingsBetween Dec 8, 2021, and April 27, 2022, 26 411 participants were randomly assigned, 12 821 to molnupiravir plus usual care, 12 962 to usual care alone, and 628 to other treatment groups (which will be reported separately). 12 529 participants from the molnupiravir plus usual care group, and 12 525 from the usual care group were included in the primary analysis population. The mean age of the population was 56·6 years (SD 12·6), and 24 290 (94%) of 25 708 participants had had at least three doses of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Hospitalisations or deaths were recorded in 105 (1%) of 12 529 participants in the molnupiravir plus usual care group versus 98 (1%) of 12 525 in the usual care group (adjusted odds ratio 1·06 [95% Bayesian credible interval 0·81–1·41]; probability of superiority 0·33). There was no evidence of treatment interaction between subgroups. Serious adverse events were recorded for 50 (0·4%) of 12 774 participants in the molnupiravir plus usual care group and for 45 (0·3%) of 12 934 in the usual care group. None of these events were judged to be related to molnupiravir.InterpretationMolnupiravir did not reduce the frequency of COVID-19-associated hospitalisations or death among high-risk vaccinated adults in the community