Self-awareness of driving impairment in patients with cataract or glaucoma

This study compared the driving performance of individuals with the eye diseases cataracts or glaucoma with age-matched controls, as well as the individual’s own perceptions of driving. Participants included drivers over the age of 50 years who had been diagnosed with glaucoma (n=29) or cataracts (n=33) and a control group with no ocular pathology (n=13). Driving performance was measured on a closed road circuit using a range of standardised measures of vehicle control and hazard recognition and avoidance, while visual performance was measured with a battery of tests including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and visual fields. Perceptions of vision and driving were assessed using the Activities of Daily Vision Scale, Driver Behaviour Questionnaire and a driving exposure questionnaire. Driving performance was significantly poorer (p<0.05) for each of the ocular disease groups compared to the control group. Impaired contrast sensitivity and the higher disease severity scores (for the glaucoma group only) correlated most strongly with poorer driving performance. While participants with cataracts rated their vision significantly more poorly than those in the glaucoma and control groups, there were no significant differences between the participant groups rating of their own driving performance. These findings suggest that there is no direct relationship between self-rated driving ability and actual vision and driving performance. This has serious road safety implications

Editorial: Exploring the Technological Needs of Older Adults: Advances in Design, Functionality, User Experience, and Age-Related Cognitive and Sensory Aids to Facilitate Adoption

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, communication, and automation have been the catalyst for the development of a host of new technologies that allow older users to monitor their own health (via wearables), maintain their independence (semi-autonomous driving), social connections (smart home devices), and compensate for a range of age-related sensory changes (hearing aids, smart glasses, augmented displays, etc.). Less well understood is how older users get acquainted with these innovations, how their design and functionality need to be adapted to improve older users’ performance and experience, and which factors and interventions help or hinder technology adoption and use by older users. This Research Topic aims at providing some further insights into these issues

Editorial: Exploring the technological needs of older adults: Advances in design, functionality, user experience, and age-related cognitive and sensory aids to facilitate adoption

Editorial on the Research Topic Exploring the technological needs of older adults: Advances in design, functionality, user experience, and age-related cognitive and sensory aids to facilitate adoptio

Useful Field of View Predicts Driving in the Presence of Distracters

Purpose. The Useful Field of View (UFOV®) test has been shown to be highly effective in predicting crash risk among older adults. An important question which we examined in this study is whether this association is due to the ability of the UFOV to predict difficulties in attention-demanding driving situations that involve either visual or auditory distracters. Methods. Participants included 92 community-living adults (mean age 73.6 +- 5.4 years; range 65– 88 years) who completed all three subtests of the UFOV involving assessment of visual processing speed (subtest 1), divided attention (subtest 2), and selective attention (subtest 3); driving safety risk was also classified using the UFOV scoring system. Driving performance was assessed separately on a closed-road circuit while driving under three conditions: no distracters, visual distracters, and auditory distracters. Driving outcome measures included road sign recognition, hazard detection, gap perception, time to complete the course, and performance on the distracter tasks. Results. Those rated as safe on the UFOV (safety rating categories 1 and 2), as well as those responding faster than the recommended cut-off on the selective attention subtest (350 msec), performed significantly better in terms of overall driving performance and also experienced less interference from distracters. Of the three UFOV subtests, the selective attention subtest best predicted overall driving performance in the presence of distracters. Conclusions. Older adults who were rated as higher risk on the UFOV, particularly on the selective attention subtest, demonstrated poorest driving performance in the presence of distracters. This finding suggests that the selective attention subtest of the UFOV may be differentially more effective in predicting driving difficulties in situations of divided attention which are commonly associated with crashes

Application of mathematical and machine learning techniques to analyse eye tracking data enabling better understanding of children’s visual cognitive behaviours

In this research, we aimed to investigate the visual-cognitive behaviours of a sample of 106 children in Year 3 (8.8 ± 0.3 years) while completing a mathematics bar-graph task. Eye movements were recorded while children completed the task and the patterns of eye movements were explored using machine learning approaches. Two different techniques of machine-learning were used (Bayesian and K-Means) to obtain separate model sequences or average scanpaths for those children who responded either correctly or incorrectly to the graph task. Application of these machine-learning approaches indicated distinct differences in the resulting scanpaths for children who completed the graph task correctly or incorrectly: children who responded correctly accessed information that was mostly categorised as critical, whereas children responding incorrectly did not. There was also evidence that the children who were correct accessed the graph information in a different, more logical order, compared to the children who were incorrect. The visual behaviours aligned with different aspects of graph comprehension, such as initial understanding and orienting to the graph, and later interpretation and use of relevant information on the graph. The findings are discussed in terms of the implications for early mathematics teaching and learning, particularly in the development of graph comprehension, as well as the application of machine learning techniques to investigations of other visual-cognitive behaviours.Peer reviewe

Quantifying changes in ultrasound tongue-shape pre- and post-intervention in speakers with submucous cleft palate: An illustrative case study

James M. Scobbie - ORCID: 0000-0003-4509-6782 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4509-6782Ultrasound Tongue Imaging is increasingly used during assessment and treatment of speech sound disorders. Recent literature has shown that ultrasound is also useful for the quantitative analysis of a wide range of speech errors. So far, the compensatory articulations of speakers with cleft palate have only been analysed qualitatively. This study provides a pilot quantitative ultrasound analysis, drawing on longitudinal intervention data from a child with submucous cleft palate. Two key ultrasound metrics were used: 1. articulatory t-tests were used to compare tongue-shapes for perceptually collapsed phonemes on a radial measurement grid and 2. the Mean Radial Difference was reported to quantify the extent to which the two tongue shapes differ, overall. This articulatory analysis supplemented impressionistic phonetic transcriptions and identified covert contrasts. Articulatory errors identified in this study using ultrasound were in line with errors identified in the speech of children with cleft palate in previous literature. While compensatory error patterns commonly found in speakers with cleft palate have been argued to facilitate functional phonological development, the nature of our findings suggest that the compensatory articulations uncovered are articulatory in nature.This work was supported by a QMU PhD Bursary.https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2021.197356636pubpub2-

Dark Matter in the Coming Decade: Complementary Paths to Discovery and Beyond

In this report we summarize the many dark matter searches currently being pursued through four complementary approaches: direct detection, indirect detection, collider experiments, and astrophysical probes. The essential features of broad classes of experiments are described, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The complementarity of the different dark matter searches is discussed qualitatively and illustrated quantitatively in two simple theoretical frameworks. Our primary conclusion is that the diversity of possible dark matter candidates requires a balanced program drawing from all four approaches.Comment: Report prepared for the Community Summer Study (Snowmass) 2013, on behalf of Cosmic Frontier Working Groups 1-4 (CF1: WIMP Dark Matter Direct Detection, CF2: WIMP Dark Matter Indirect Detection, CF3: Non-WIMP Dark Matter, and CF4: Dark Matter Complementarity); published versio

Visual demands in primary school classrooms

Purpose To quantify the visual function requirements to perform in a primary school classroom setting. Methods 33 classrooms of Years 5 and 6 (children aged 10-12 years) from 8 schools were included. The classroom activities undertaken for a full day (9am-3pm) were observed and a range of measurements recorded; text size and contrast of learning materials, habitual working distances (distance and near) and time spent performing various classroom tasks. These measures were used to calculate demands for distance and near visual acuity, contrast and sustained use of accommodation and vergence. Results The minimum resolution requirements for distance and near were 0.3±0.1 and 0.7±0.1 logMAR (using maximum viewing distances and smallest target sizes). Mean contrast levels of learning materials at distance and near were >70% (an average contrast reserve of 25:1). Near tasks (47%) dominated the academic tasks performed in the classroom followed by distance (29%), distance to near (15%) and computer-based (9%). On average, children maintained continuous near fixation for 23.2±4.7 minutes at a time and during distance-near tasks performed fixation changes 10±0.9 times per minute. The mean habitual near working distance was 22.9±1.3 cm, which corresponds to a 4.4±0.2 D accommodative demand and the vergence demand was 0.9±0.1Δ at distance and 21.9±1.1 Δ at near assuming an average pupillary distance of 56 mm. Conclusions The visual demands placed on children in modern classrooms were greater than those reported for traditional classrooms, likely due to inclusion of modern technologies. Relatively high levels of visual acuity, contrast processing and sustained accommodative-convergence are required to perform optimally in the classroom environment. These findings are important for determining evidence-based prescribing guidelines and developing paediatric vision screening protocols and referral criterion

Increasing awareness of distracted pedestrians at railway level crossings with illuminated in-ground lights

Pedestrian distraction is a growing problem. Current signage at railway level crossings may not be effective for pedestrians distracted by mobile devices, as it is designed for users looking ahead when walking rather than looking downwards as when using a mobile. Illuminated in-ground lights are an innovative solution to address this issue but have not been evaluated for use with distracted pedestrians. We conducted a 2 (in-ground lights yes/no) x 3 (distraction task none/auditory/visual) repeated measures field study (N=34) at a railway level crossing to assess whether distracted pedestrians could detect illuminated in-ground lights and how this impacted on visual scanning behaviour. Pedestrians detected the lights as accurately when distracted (visually or auditorily) compared to when not distracted, and eye scanning behaviour of the rail tracks with the in-ground lights was the same as for non-distracted levels. This is the first study to suggest that illuminated in-ground lights could be effective in attracting the attention of distracted pedestrians at railway level crossings

Tropical understory herbaceous community responds more strongly to hurricane disturbance than to experimental warming

Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The effects of climate change on tropical forests may have global consequences due to the forests’ high biodiversity and major role in the global carbon cycle. In this study, we document the effects of experimental warming on the abundance and composition of a tropical forest floor herbaceous plant community in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. This study was conducted within Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) plots, which use infrared heaters under free-air, open-field conditions, to warm understory vegetation and soils + 4°C above nearby control plots. Hurricanes Irma and María damaged the heating infrastructure in the second year of warming, therefore, the study included one pretreatment year, one year of warming, and one year of hurricane response with no warming. We measured percent leaf cover of individual herbaceous species, fern population dynamics, and species richness and diversity within three warmed and three control plots. Results showed that one year of experimental warming did not significantly affect the cover of individual herbaceous species, fern population dynamics, species richness, or species diversity. In contrast, herbaceous cover increased from 20% to 70%, bare ground decreased from 70% to 6%, and species composition shifted pre to posthurricane. The negligible effects of warming may have been due to the short duration of the warming treatment or an understory that is somewhat resistant to higher temperatures. Our results suggest that climate extremes that are predicted to increase with climate change, such as hurricanes and droughts, may cause more abrupt changes in tropical forest understories than longer-term sustained warming