Rendering visual events as sounds: spatial attention capture by auditory augmented reality

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution LicenseMany salient visual events tend to coincide with auditory events, such as seeing and hearing a car pass by. Information from the visual and auditory senses can be used to create a stable percept of the stimulus. Having access to related coincident visual and auditory information can help for spatial tasks such as localization. However not all visual information has analogous auditory percepts, such as viewing a computer monitor. Here, we describe a system capable of detecting and augmenting visual salient events into localizable auditory events. The system uses a neuromorphic camera (DAVIS 240B) to detect logarithmic changes of brightness intensity in the scene, which can be interpreted as salient visual events. Participants were blindfolded and asked to use the device to detect new objects in the scene, as well as determine direction of motion for a moving visual object. Results suggest the system is robust enough to allow for the simple detection of new salient stimuli, as well accurately encoding direction of visual motion. Future successes are probable as neuromorphic devices are likely to become faster and smaller in the future, making this system much more feasibleYe

Measuring SUSY Parameters at LEP II Using Chargino Production and Decay

Previously, in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (without {\em a priori} assumptions of parameter unification), we studied the constraints on weak-scale SUSY parameters from chargino production at LEP II, using as observables \mch, \mLSP, the cross section and the leptonic branching fraction. Here, exploiting the high degree of polarization in chargino production, we add to our earlier work the forward-backward asymmetries of the visible hadrons and leptons in chargino decays. For a chargino that is mostly gaugino, the parameter space can now be restricted to a small region; \tanb is constrained, the soft electroweak gaugino and electron sneutrino masses are determined to about 10\%, and the sign of $\mu$ may be determined. Constraints for a chargino that is mostly Higgsino are much weaker, but still disfavor the hypothesis that the chargino is mostly gaugino. For a chargino which is a roughly equal mixture of Higgsino and gaugino, we find intermediate results.Comment: 36 pp., ReVTeX, 15 uuencoded figure

Determination of Fundamental Supersymmetry Parameters from Chargino Production at Lepii

If accessible at LEP II, chargino production is likely to be one of the few available supersymmetric signals for many years. We consider the prospects for the determination of fundamental supersymmetry parameters in such a scenario. The study is complicated by the dependence of observables on a large number of these parameters. We propose a straightforward procedure for disentangling these dependences and demonstrate its effectiveness by presenting a number of case studies at representative points in parameter space. Working in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, we find that chargino production by itself is a fairly sensitive probe of the supersymmetry-breaking sector. For significant regions of parameter space, it is possible to test the gaugino mass unification hypothesis and to measure the gaugino contents of the charginos and neutralinos, thereby testing the predictions of grand unification and the viability of the lightest supersymmetric particle as a dark matter candidate. For much of the parameter space, it is also possible to set limits on the mass of the electron sneutrino, which provide a valuable guide for future particle searches.Comment: 52pp, Revtex, 30 figures available upon request, SLAC-PUB-6497, RU-94-67 (text and figures available in ps form by anonymous ftp from preprint.slac.stanford.edu, directory pub/preprints/hep-ph/9408

Post-release reforms for short prison sentences: re-legitimising and widening the net of punishment

Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) promised a ‘revolution’ in the way offenders are managed, providing a renewed focus on short sentence prisoners. The TR reforms extends mandatory post-release supervision and tailored through-the-gate resettlement provisions to a group that has predominately faced a ‘history of neglect’ yet often present with the most acute needs within the criminal justice system. However, existing literature underlines that serving short sentences lack ‘utility’ and can be counter-productive to facilitating effective rehabilitation. This article explores the purposes of providing post release supervision for short sentences, firstly exploring a previous attempt to reform short sentences; (the now defunct) ‘Custody Plus’ within the 2003 Criminal Justice Act and then the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 within the TR reforms. This article contends that both post release reforms have sought to re-affirm and re-legitimise prison as the dominant form of punishment in society- or what Carlen refers to as ‘carceral clawback’. This article will also use Cohen’s analysis on social control to establish that post release supervision will serve to ‘widen the net’ extend the period of punishment and oversight and will only reinforce a form of enforced ‘state obligated rehabilitation’ that will undermine efforts made to resettle short sentence prisoners

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Searching for the Standard Model in the String Landscape : SUSY GUTs

The goal of the present review article is to describe the ingredients necessary to find the Standard Model in the string landscape.Comment: 70 pages, 20 figures, this review article will be published in Reports on Progress in Physic

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Electrophysiological correlates and consequence of selective auditory attention

The sensory and perceptual mechanisms of the human brain can be reconfigured so as to optimize the processing of a selected type or class of information (i.e. frequency, location, etc.). A foundational goal of cognitive neuroscience is to pursue an understanding of the neural processes that underlie this reconfiguration. Auditory selective attention has been the topic of considerable investigation, principally by the use of event-related potential (ERP) techniques to record certain electrophysiological correlates of attentional selection. The large majority of this work has focused on a single paradigm, known as the sustained-attention paradigm, in which listeners continuously focus their attention at a particular location or on a particular frequency of sound. Only a very few previous studies have investigated the more realistic situation in which listeners continuously reorient their attention on a moment-by-moment basis. This thesis reports the systematic investigation of transient auditory attention. The ERP technique was used to address questions regarding the neural correlates and functional anatomy of auditory selective attention in a variety of situations in which attention was continuously reoriented in space. Following a brief introduction and review in Chapter One, Chapter Two reports the result of the first high-density (64-electrode) study of the ERP correlates of transient spatial auditory attention. This chapter concludes with the speculation that transient attention modulates neurons within a dedicated spatial processing or "where" pathway that projects posteriorly and dorsally from auditory cortex. Chapter Three checks the assumptions of this hypothesis by identifying an ERP correlate of spatial processing and localizing the generator of this correlate to a region of cortex believed to constitute part of this "where" pathway. Finally, Chapter Four reports the results of several experiments that localized certain attention-related modulations of the ERP to this putative "where" pathway. These experiments also demonstrated that transient auditory attention involves a complex interaction between stimulus-driven and goal-driven (bottom-up and top-down) processes that lead to distinctly different patterns of ERP activity. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the advancements made, relative to the state of previous knowledge, as a result of the work presented here.Medicine, Faculty ofGraduat

Selective attention in object substitution masking

Backward masking in visual perception occurs when the visibility of a brief target stimulus is decreased by interference from another visual object appearing at the same location. Of particular interest is a type of backward masking known as object substitution, which has been shown by Di Lollo, Enns, and Rensink (1999) to be modulated by factors that also influence visual attention. The results of three experiments are presented here that corroborate their findings. It is shown that object substitution increases with the number of distractor items in the display, decreases when the target location is validly pre-cued, and is eliminated when the target can be located rapidly in the display. A theory accounting for this phenomenon has been proposed by Di Lollo and colleagues. Implicit in the theory is the notion that the mask becomes the focus of object perception mechanisms in the brain. Recent advances in the understanding of the neural mechanisms mediating attentional selection of visual objects are consistent with this theory. It is argued on theoretical grounds that attentional selection of the mask is likely to be involved in object substitution. Finally, the results of three experiments are presented that lend support to this claim. It is shown that object substitution is eliminated by the presence of distractors that divert attention from the mask at the target location. Furthermore, a mask that precedes the target in the display sequence is shown to be ineffective unless its contours are hidden in the background during the preview period. This is consistent with the findings of recent investigations into the attentional capture phenomenon and suggests that the mask may capture attention during visual search for the target.Medicine, Faculty ofGraduat