The effect of transparency on recognition of overlapping objects

Are overlapping objects easier to recognize when the objects are transparent or opaque? It is important to know whether the transparency of X-ray images of luggage contributes to the difficulty in searching those images for targets. Transparency provides extra information about objects that would normally be occluded but creates potentially ambiguous depth relations at the region of overlap. Two experiments investigated the threshold durations at which adult participants could accurately name pairs of overlapping objects that were opaque or transparent. In Experiment 1, the transparent displays included monocular cues to relative depth. Recognition of the back object was possible at shorter durations for transparent displays than for opaque displays. In Experiment 2, the transparent displays had no monocular depth cues. There was no difference in the duration at which the back object was recognized across transparent and opaque displays. The results of the two experiments suggest that transparent displays, even though less familiar than opaque displays, do not make object recognition more difficult, and possibly show a benefit. These findings call into question the importance of edge junctions in object recognitio

Are changes in semantic and structural information sufficient for oculomotor capture?

. The new-object hypothesis proposes that the appearance of something new (new semantic and structural information and/or spatiotemporal newness), not the accompanying low-level perceptual transients, causes an involuntary reorienting of attention (S. . We investigated whether semantic and structural changes alone are sufficient to capture the eyes as strongly as abrupt onsets do. Observers moved their eyes to a target object while another object either onset or smoothly and quickly morphed. If semantic and structural changes are sufficient to capture the eyes, morphs should capture the eyes as strongly as onsets do. Results show that morphs were not fixated first as often as onsets. These findings indicate that new semantic and structural information alone is far less effective at capturing the eyes as onsets

Factors associated with hallux valgus in a population-based study of older women and men: the MOBILIZE Boston Study

OBJECTIVE: To examine potential risk factors for hallux valgus in community-dwelling elders. METHOD: Data from 600 MOBILIZE Boston Study participants (386 women and 214 men) were analyzed. Hallux valgus was defined as \u3e15 degrees angular deviation of the hallux with respect to the first metatarsal bone toward the lesser toes. Associations of hallux valgus with age, body mass index (BMI), race, education, pes planus, foot pain, and in women, history of high heel shoe use, were assessed using sex-specific Poisson regression with robust variance estimation for risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Hallux valgus was present in 58% of women and 25% of men. Higher BMI was inversely associated with presence of hallux valgus in women (P trend=0.001), with the strongest inverse association observed in those with BMI of 30.0 or more compared to those with normal BMI (RR=0.7, 95% CI: 0.5, 0.9). Women, who usually wore high-heeled shoes during ages 20-64 years compared to those who did not, had increased likelihood of hallux valgus (RR=1.2, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.5). Among men, those with BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 had increased likelihood of hallux valgus compared to those with normal BMI (RR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.0, 3.5). Men with pes planus were more likely to have hallux valgus (RR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.3) compared to men without pes planus. CONCLUSION: In women, hallux valgus was associated with lower BMI and high heel use during ages 20-64, while in men, associations were observed with higher BMI and pes planus. Our results suggest that the etiologic mechanisms for hallux valgus may differ between men and women. Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Visual onset expands subjective time

We report a distortion of subjective time perception in which the duration of a first interval is perceived to be longer than the succeeding interval of the same duration. The amount of time expansion depends on the onset type defining the first interval. When a stimulus appears abruptly, its duration is perceived to be longer than when it appears following a stationary array. The difference in the processing time for the stimulus onset and motion onset, measured as reaction times, agrees with the difference in time expansion. Our results suggest that initial transient responses for a visual onset serve as a temporal marker for time estimation, and a systematic change in the processing time for onsets affects perceived time

Movement of the human foot in 100 pain free individuals aged 18–45 : implications for understanding normal foot function

Background: Understanding motion in the normal healthy foot is a prerequisite for understanding the effects of pathology and thereafter setting targets for interventions. Quality foot kinematic data from healthy feet will also assist the development of high quality and research based clinical models of foot biomechanics. To address gaps in the current literature we aimed to describe 3D foot kinematics using a 5 segment foot model in a population of 100 pain free individuals. Methods: Kinematics of the leg, calcaneus, midfoot, medial and lateral forefoot and hallux were measured in 100 self reported healthy and pain free individuals during walking. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise foot movements. Contributions from different foot segments to the total motion in each plane were also derived to explore functional roles of different parts of the foot. Results: Foot segments demonstrated greatest motion in the sagittal plane, but large ranges of movement in all planes. All foot segments demonstrated movement throughout gait, though least motion was observed between the midfoot and calcaneus. There was inconsistent evidence of movement coupling between joints. There were clear differences in motion data compared to foot segment models reported in the literature. Conclusions: The data reveal the foot is a multiarticular structure, movements are complex, show incomplete evidence of coupling, and vary person to person. The data provide a useful reference data set against which future experimental data can be compared and may provide the basis for conceptual models of foot function based on data rather than anecdotal observations

The absence of an auditory-visual attentional blink is not due to echoic memory.

Als binnen een halve seconde twee visuele items in een serieel aangeboden stroom moeten worden geselecteerd, is de prestatie voor het tweede item vaak relatief slecht (er treedt een “attentional blink” op); wanneer het eerste echter item auditief wordt aangeboden, verdwijnt de blink meestal. We hebben aangetoond dat dit laatste niet wordt veroorzaakt doordat proefpersonen hun echoïsch geheugen gebruiken om de verwerking van het auditieve item uit te stellen tot na het einde van de visuele stroom

Big issues for small feet : developmental, biomechanical and clinical narratives on children's footwear

The effects of footwear on the development of children's feet has been debated for many years and recent work from the developmental and biomechanical literature has challenged long-held views about footwear and the impact on foot development. This narrative review draws upon existing studies from developmental, biomechanical and clinical literature to explore the effects of footwear on the development of the foot. The emerging findings from this support the need for progress in [children's] footwear science and advance understanding of the interaction between the foot and shoe. Ensuring clear and credible messages inform practice requires a progressive evidence base but this remains big issue in children's footwear research

Towards a framework for attention cueing in instructional animations: Guidelines for research and design

This paper examines the transferability of successful cueing approaches from text and static visualization research to animations. Theories of visual attention and learning as well as empirical evidence for the instructional effectiveness of attention cueing are reviewed and, based on Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning, a framework was developed for classifying three functions for cueing: (1) selection—cues guide attention to specific locations, (2) organization—cues emphasize structure, and (3) integration—cues explicate relations between and within elements. The framework was used to structure the discussion of studies on cueing in animations. It is concluded that attentional cues may facilitate the selection of information in animations and sometimes improve learning, whereas organizational and relational cueing requires more consideration on how to enhance understanding. Consequently, it is suggested to develop cues that work in animations rather than borrowing effective cues from static representations. Guidelines for future research on attention cueing in animations are presented