Augmented Reality HUDs: Warning Signs and Drivers’ Situation Awareness

Drivers must search dynamic and complex visual environments to perceive relevant environmental elements such as warning signs, pedestrians and other vehicles to select the appropriate driving maneuver. The objective of this research was to examine how an Augmented Reality Head Up Display (AR HUD) for warning signs affects driver Situation Awareness (SA) and attention. Participants viewed videos of real driving scenes with an AR HUDs or no display and were asked to report what elements in the driving scene attracted their attention. At the completion of the first driving video participants were given a warning sign recognition test. Participants then watched a second video and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), a measure of global SA was administered. Participants eye movements were recorded when watching the videos to investigate how drivers interacting with an AR HUD attend to the environment compared to drivers with no AR HUD. AR HUDs for warning signs are effective in making warning signs more attentionally conspicuous to drivers in both low and high clutter driving environments. The HUD did not lead to increased fixation duration or frequency to warning signs in many situations. However when two driving items were in sight (sign and car) and participants needed to decide where to attend, they experienced attentional tunneling. In complex driving situations participants spent a significantly longer proportion of time looking at warning signs in the HUD. In simple driving situations, AR HUDs appear to make warning signs more salient and conspicuous. However, in complex situations in high clutter driving environments AR HUDs may lead to attentional tunneling

Exploring the Feasibility of the Expansion of Social Prescribing in the United States: A Policy Analysis

Consideration of patients’ social needs is a chief element of comprehensive primary care, as articulated by multiple American professional societies. A new model of community referral from the primary care setting, known as social prescribing, originated in the United Kingdom and seeks to standardize and expand the availability of this longstanding practice. I interviewed three key stakeholders to determine the series of conditions under which an expansion of social prescribing schemes in the United States would be most feasible and for which populations it could be most advantageous. Preliminary results of these interviews confirm the presence of a diverse set of social needs intervention models in the United States. Interestingly, the term social prescribing has not been widely adopted to refer to American programs that share its core features, as the moniker has not gained wide traction in this country to date. My findings indicate that community health centers (CHCs) are best positioned to serve as sites of future pilot projects utilizing the social prescribing model in the United States. CHCs are more likely to serve socioeconomically disadvantaged clients and have pre-existing, sophisticated relationships with the community sector required for such schemes. My recommendations include increased international efforts to develop American experts in this area and the identification of American physician advocates for the implementation of social prescribing in well-resourced communities to lead explorations of its feasibility within their local contexts.Master of Public Healt

Patterns of Maturity, Seasonal Migration, and Spawning of Atlantic Croaker in the Western Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) are one of the more common finfishes in the Gulf of Mexico. They are a significant component of Gulf bait fisheries and an important midtrophic component of nearshore food webs. In this study, life-history parameters associated with growth, maturity, and seasonal migration were estimated for Atlantic croaker in Texas and integrated into previously described data throughout the rest of the species range. The major findings of this work were the following: (1) a majority (\u3e76%) of age-1 female Atlantic croaker were sexually mature; (2) egress of adults from inshore habitats took place in late fall (Oct./Nov.) in consecutive years (2002 and 2003); (3) egress of adults was predictably coincident with declining growth after age-1 and the onset of sexual maturity; and (4) ingress of juvenile Atlantic croaker into inshore nursery grounds began in early winter and progressed through early summer, but a majority of recruits appeared in a short span between Feb. and April. Seasonal patterns of migration of both adult and juvenile Atlantic croaker are consistent with those described in other parts of the species’ range and imply offshore spawning in the fall and winter followed by year-round inshore development of postlarvae and juveniles. Given the importance of inshore residency of juvenile Atlantic croaker, abundance estimates from fishery-independent sampling were scaled up to system-wide estimates of juvenile abundance in two prominent Texas estuaries and used to qualitatively assess the potential impacts of the commercial fishery on the inshore segment of the population

Semicontinuous Bioreactor Production of Recombinant Butyrylcholinesterase in Transgenic Rice Cell Suspension Cultures.

An active and tetrameric form of recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a large and complex human enzyme, was produced via semicontinuous operation in a transgenic rice cell suspension culture. After transformation of rice callus and screening of transformants, the cultures were scaled up from culture flask to a lab scale bioreactor. The bioreactor was operated through two phases each of growth and expression. The cells were able to produce BChE during both expression phases, with a maximum yield of 1.6 mg BChE/L of culture during the second expression phase. Cells successfully regrew during a 5-day growth phase. A combination of activity assays and Western blot analysis indicated production of an active and fully assembled tetramer of BChE

Plant cell culture platforms for production of bioscavengers for biodefense

There is a critical need for flexible, rapid, cost effective biomanufacturing platforms for medical countermeasures. Our team has developed plant cell culture-based manufacturing platforms for production of recombinant protein bioscavengers against organophosphate (OP) nerve agents and anthrax toxins using both stable transgenic cell cultures for known chemical and biological threats, as well as transient production for rapid response to new and/or unanticipated threats. Plant cells offer several advantages over other hosts for production of medical countermeasures, particularly their ability to produce complex biologics and perform post-translational modification, inherent biosafety since they don\u27t harbor or propagate mammalian viruses thereby simplifying and/or eliminating viral clearance steps required for mammalian production systems. Plant cells are robust, have minimal nutrient requirements (grow in simple, chemically defined media containing sucrose, salts and plant hormones), and are relatively insensitive to changes in environmental conditions. These characteristics, robustness of upstream cultivation/use and reduced downstream purification requirements, make plant cells an ideal choice for field-deployable production of medical countermeasures. Here we present results for the production of functional recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), an OP nerve agent bioscavenger, in transgenic rice cell suspension cultures in different bioreactor configurations, and transient production of a bioscavenger against an anthrax toxin in N. benthamiana cell cultures. Techno-economic models for scaled-up versions of these plant cell culture production systems will also be presented

Trace amounts of 8-oxo-dGTP in mitochondrial dNTP pools reduce DNA polymerase γ replication fidelity

Replication of the mitochondrial genome by DNA polymerase γ requires dNTP precursors that are subject to oxidation by reactive oxygen species generated by the mitochondrial respiratory chain. One such oxidation product is 8-oxo-dGTP, which can compete with dTTP for incorporation opposite template adenine to yield A-T to C-G transversions. Recent reports indicate that the ratio of undamaged dGTP to dTTP in mitochondrial dNTP pools from rodent tissues varies from ∼1:1 to >100:1. Within this wide range, we report here the proportion of 8-oxo-dGTP in the dNTP pool that would be needed to reduce the replication fidelity of human DNA polymerase γ. When various in vivo mitochondrial dNTP pools reported previously were used here in reactions performed in vitro, 8-oxo-dGTP was readily incorporated opposite template A and the resulting 8-oxo-G-A mismatch was not proofread efficiently by the intrinsic 3′ exonuclease activity of pol γ. At the dNTP ratios reported in rodent tissues, whether highly imbalanced or relatively balanced, the amount of 8-oxo-dGTP needed to reduce fidelity was <1% of dGTP. Moreover, direct measurements reveal that 8-oxo-dGTP is present at such concentrations in the mitochondrial dNTP pools of several rat tissues. The results suggest that oxidized dNTP precursors may contribute to mitochondrial mutagenesis in vivo, which could contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and disease

Comparison of Season-Long Diffusivity Measures in a Cohort of Non-Concussed Contact and Non-Contact Athletes

Introduction: Concern surrounding short- and long-term consequences of participation in contact sports has become a significant public health topic. Previous literature utilizing diffusion tensor imaging in sports-related concussion has exhibited notable variety of analysis methods and analyzed regions of interest, and largely focuses on acute effects of concussion. The current study aimed to compare diffusivity metrics across a single season within athlete cohorts with no history of concussion. Methods: A prospective cohort of 75 contact and 79 non-contact division I athletes were compared across diffusion tensor imaging metrics (i.e. TRACULA); examinations were also performed assessing the relationship between neuroimaging metrics, head impact exposure metrics (in-helmet accelerometer), and neurocognitive variables. Assessment occurred at pre-and post-season time points. Results: Seasonal changes in fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity values did not differ between athlete cohorts, nor did they differ within cohort groups, across pre- and post-season scans. Specific to contact athletes, positive associations were found between uncinate fasciculus mean diffusivity values and season linear acceleration (p =.018), season rotational acceleration (p =.017), and season hit severity (p =.021). Conclusions: Results suggest an influence of impact frequency, type, and severity on white matter integrity in select brain regions in contact athletes. Current findings expand our knowledge of anatomical changes over the course of a single season, and underscore the importance of considering methodology when interpreting findings in this population, as differing image analysis techniques may lead to different conclusions regarding significant effects

Drift Macroalgal Distribution In Northern Gulf of Mexico Seagrass Meadows

Drift macroalgae, often found in clumps or mats adjacent to or within seagrass beds, can increase the value of seagrass beds as habitat for nekton via added food resources and structural complexity. But, as algal biomass increases, it can also decrease light availability, inhibit faunal movements, smother benthic communities, and contribute to hypoxia, all of which can reduce nekton abundance. We quantified the abundance and distribution of drift macroalgae within seagrass meadows dominated by turtle grass Thalassia testudinum across the northern Gulf of Mexico and compared seagrass characteristics to macroalgal biomass and distribution. Drift macroalgae were most abundant in areas with higher seagrass shoot densities and intermediate canopy heights. We did not find significant relationships between algal biomass and point measures of salinity, temperature, or depth. The macroalgal genera Laurencia and Gracilaria were present across the study region, Agardhiella and Digenia were collected in the western Gulf of Mexico, and Acanthophora was collected in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Our survey revealed drift algae to be abundant and widespread throughout seagrass meadows in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which likely influences the habitat value of seagrass ecosystems