Factors that contribute to faecal cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression in subjects with colorectal cancer

浜松医科大学学位論文　医博第600号（平成23年3月16日

Evaluating Accessibility and Usability of an Experimental Situational Awareness Room

New advanced emergency management facilities such as a control room which is equipped with advanced ICT technologies should consider universal design principles and ensure the accessibility and usability of some important technical functions available in the room. This paper aims at evaluating the accessibility and usability of an experimental control room. This room has a flexible architecture, i.e., the information displays are interchangeable through drag-drop system on a control-panel. We used a complementary heuristic and user testing approach. A video analysis, open questionnaire and discussion with testers were applied to detect technology usage barriers. The results show that the proprietary control tablet and its setup has some room for improvement. Our approach can examine the sources of difficulties of our testers, especially on linking the information sources, machines and wall or desk displays. Several recommendations are outlined to be a basis for developing guidelines for future usage of this room

Development of a Quantitative Evaluation Tool of Cognitive Workload in Field Studies Through Eye Tracking.

Eye tracking is mainly employed as mean of tracking visual attention of an observer/operator. Still, eye tracking is also capable of recording a wider variety of data such as traces of mental workload. Pupil diameter have been validated as such measure. Most of the studies that have validated this are in laboratory conditions, where the perceived luminance (measured in candela per square meter) can be controlled. Luminance affects the pupil diameter as well; this means if the pupil diameter varies for an operator/observer in field conditions it cannot be accurately determined if the change in the pupil diameter is due to mental workload alone. Although there are some studies, which have attempted to simultaneously account for the contribution of the change in pupil diameter due to luminance and mental workload, not many have attempted to account for this in field conditions for safety-critical systems such as a helicopter or a maritime ship bridge. In this study as a first step, we define a method to measure luminance while tracking the gaze point. We will record eye-tracking data simultaneously recording the video feed of the field of view of the operator/observer. We will use the video feed to estimate the luminous flux from the point of view of the subject. We will be collecting this data from a helicopter pilot and his co-pilot during an actual operation (e.g. transportation of personnel and carrying a payload for an electrical power provider company in Norway or Sweden). We will also be collecting data from a navigator and his first officer in a high-speed marine craft of the Norwegian navy. We will also be collecting subjective data using paper-based tools such as NASA-TLX in addition to a conventional video recording of the scene of activity and handwritten notes of observation for validation purposes. We will also capture mental workload data from a few other objective sources such as heart rate variability (ECG). We expect to clearly define an approach to separately account for the effect of mental workload independent of the impact of changing light conditions in field situations for safety-critical systems. This includes a mathematical model that we innovate based on other mathematical models that are already available in the literature

Exploring the positive involvement of primary motor cortex in observing motor sequences with music: a pilot study with tDCS

Introduction: The present study aims at exploring the effects of the depolarization of the primary motor cortex (M1), which is supposed to be associated to the mirror neuron system (MNS), via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and of synchronous music on individuals' responses to observed actions/non actions in a sample of individuals with low sports expertise. The two main theories behind this study are linked to the role of the MNS in the human brain and the embodied cognition theory, which suggests an interdependent relationship between action, perception and cognition. Method: Nineteen college students attending to BA in motor science watched five videos (one presenting a target motor action performed by a basketball player and the other four presenting human vs. non-human performed actions as a control), with or without background music and with or without anodal tDCS of the primary motor cortex. Results and Conclusions: Data highlighted that observation promoted the activation of MNS, which led to a more deep and probably adequate processing of the stimulus. Music enhanced this effect, even when the MNS is affected by anodal stimulation, and should hence be considered as a valid support when both physical and psychological complications occur in rehabilitation