A proposed psychological model of driving automation

This paper considers psychological variables pertinent to driver automation. It is anticipated that driving with automated systems is likely to have a major impact on the drivers and a multiplicity of factors needs to be taken into account. A systems analysis of the driver, vehicle and automation served as the basis for eliciting psychological factors. The main variables to be considered were: feed-back, locus of control, mental workload, driver stress, situational awareness and mental representations. It is expected that anticipating the effects on the driver brought about by vehicle automation could lead to improved design strategies. Based on research evidence in the literature, the psychological factors were assembled into a model for further investigation

Simulating Dispersion in the Evening-Transition Boundary Layer

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this recordWe investigate dispersion in the evening-transition boundary layer using large-eddy simulation (LES). In the LES, a particle model traces pollutant paths using a combination of the resolved flow velocities and a random displacement model to represent subgrid-scale motions. The LES is forced with both a sudden switch-off of the surface heat flux and also a more gradual observed evolution. The LES shows ‘lofting’ of plumes from near-surface releases in the pre-transition convective boundary layer; it also shows the subsequent ‘trapping’ of releases in the post-transition near-surface stable boundary layer and residual layer above. Given the paucity of observations for pollution dispersion in evening transitions, the LES proves a useful reference. We then use the LES to test and improve a one-dimensional Lagrangian Stochastic Model (LSM) such as is often used in practical dispersion studies. The LSM used here includes both time-varying and skewed turbulence statistics. It is forced with the vertical velocity variance, skewness and dissipation from the LES for particle releases at various heights and times in the evening transition. The LSM plume spreads are significantly larger than those from the LES in the post-transition stable boundary-layer trapping regime. The forcing from the LES was thus insufficient to constrain the plume evolution, and inclusion of the significant stratification effects was required. In the so-called modified LSM, a correction to the vertical velocity variance was included to represent the effect of stable stratification and the consequent presence of wave-like motions. The modified LSM shows improved trapping of particles in the post-transition stable boundary layer

Learning to Extract Motion from Videos in Convolutional Neural Networks

This paper shows how to extract dense optical flow from videos with a convolutional neural network (CNN). The proposed model constitutes a potential building block for deeper architectures to allow using motion without resorting to an external algorithm, \eg for recognition in videos. We derive our network architecture from signal processing principles to provide desired invariances to image contrast, phase and texture. We constrain weights within the network to enforce strict rotation invariance and substantially reduce the number of parameters to learn. We demonstrate end-to-end training on only 8 sequences of the Middlebury dataset, orders of magnitude less than competing CNN-based motion estimation methods, and obtain comparable performance to classical methods on the Middlebury benchmark. Importantly, our method outputs a distributed representation of motion that allows representing multiple, transparent motions, and dynamic textures. Our contributions on network design and rotation invariance offer insights nonspecific to motion estimation

Kinetic Analysis of Discrete Path Sampling Stationary Point Databases

Analysing stationary point databases to extract phenomenological rate constants can become time-consuming for systems with large potential energy barriers. In the present contribution we analyse several different approaches to this problem. First, we show how the original rate constant prescription within the discrete path sampling approach can be rewritten in terms of committor probabilities. Two alternative formulations are then derived in which the steady-state assumption for intervening minima is removed, providing both a more accurate kinetic analysis, and a measure of whether a two-state description is appropriate. The first approach involves running additional short kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) trajectories, which are used to calculate waiting times. Here we introduce `leapfrog' moves to second-neighbour minima, which prevent the KMC trajectory oscillating between structures separated by low barriers. In the second approach we successively remove minima from the intervening set, renormalising the branching probabilities and waiting times to preserve the mean first-passage times of interest. Regrouping the local minima appropriately is also shown to speed up the kinetic analysis dramatically at low temperatures. Applications are described where rates are extracted for databases containing tens of thousands of stationary points, with effective barriers that are several hundred times kT.Comment: 28 pages, 1 figure, 4 table

Outer zone electrons

Spatial and temporal behavior of high energy trapped electrons in outer zone of magnetospher

A new method for spike extraction using velocity selective recording demonstrated with physiological ENG in Rat

BACKGROUND: This paper describes a series of experiments designed to verify a new method of electroneurogram (ENG) recording that enables the rate of neural firing within prescribed bands of propagation velocity to be determined in real time. Velocity selective recording (VSR) has been proposed as a solution to the problem of increasing the information available from an implantable neural interface (typically with electrodes in circumferential nerve cuffs) and has been successful in transforming compound action potentials into the velocity domain. NEW METHOD: The new method extends VSR to naturally-evoked (physiological) ENG in which the rate of neural firing at particular velocities is required in addition to a knowledge of the velocities present in the recording. RESULTS: The experiments, carried out in rats required individual spikes to be distinct and non-overlapping, which could be achieved by a microchannel or small-bore cuff. In these experiments, strands of rat nerve were laid on ten hook electrodes in oil to demonstrate the principle. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD: The new method generates a detailed overview of the firing rates of neurons based on their conduction velocity and direction of propagation. In addition it allows real time working in contrast to existing spike sorting methods using statistical pattern processing techniques. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that by isolating neural activity based purely on conduction velocity it was possible to determine the onset of direct cutaneous stimulation of the L5 dermatome

Disruption of SorCS2 reveals differences in the regulation of stereociliary bundle formation between hair cell types in the inner ear

Behavioural anomalies suggesting an inner ear disorder were observed in a colony of transgenic mice. Affected animals were profoundly deaf. Severe hair bundle defects were identified in all outer and inner hair cells (OHC, IHC) in the cochlea and in hair cells of vestibular macular organs, but hair cells in cristae were essentially unaffected. Evidence suggested the disorder was likely due to gene disruption by a randomly inserted transgene construct. Whole-genome sequencing identified interruption of the SorCS2 (Sortilin-related VPS-10 domain containing protein) locus. Real-time-qPCR demonstrated disrupted expression of SorCS2 RNA in cochlear tissue from affected mice and this was confirmed bySorCS2 immuno-labelling. In all affected hair cells, stereocilia were shorter than normal, but abnormalities of bundle morphology and organisation differed between hair cell types. Bundles on OHC were grossly misshapen with significantly fewer stereocilia than normal. However, stereocilia were organised in rows of increasing height. Bundles on IHC contained significantly more stereocilia than normal with some longer stereocilia towards the centre, or with minimal height differentials. In early postnatal mice, kinocilia (primary cilia) of IHC and of OHC were initially located towards the lateral edge of the hair cell surface but often became surrounded by stereocilia as bundle shape and apical surface contour changed. In macular organs the kinocilium was positioned in the centre of the cell surface throughout maturation. There was disruption of the signalling pathway controlling intrinsic hair cell apical asymmetry. LGN and Gαi3 were largely absent, and atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKC) lost its asymmetric distribution. The results suggest that SorCS2 plays a role upstream of the intrinsic polarity pathway and that there are differences between hair cell types in the deployment of the machinery that generates a precisely organised hair bundle

The Interpersonal Style and Complementarity Between Crisis Negotiators and Forensic Inpatients

Previous negotiation research has explored the interaction and communication between crisis negotiators and perpetrators. A crisis negotiator attempts to resolve a critical incident through negotiation with an individual, or group of persons in crisis. The purpose of this study was to establish the interpersonal style of crisis negotiators and complementarity of the interpersonal interaction between them and forensic inpatients. Crisis negotiators, clinical workers and students (n = 90) used the Check List of Interpersonal Transactions-Revised (CLOIT-R) to identify interpersonal style, along with eight vignettes detailing interpersonal styles. Crisis negotiators were most likely to have a friendly interpersonal style compared to the other non-trained groups. Complementarity theory was not exclusively supported as submissive individuals did not show optimistic judgments in working with dominant forensic inpatients and vice versa. Exploratory analysis revealed that dominant crisis negotiators were optimistic in working with forensic inpatients with a dominant interpersonal style. This study provides insight into the area of interpersonal complementarity of crisis negotiators and forensic inpatients. Whilst further research is required, a potential new finding was established, with significant ‘similarity’ found when dominant crisis negotiators are asked to work with dominant forensic inpatients

The importance of modeling epileptic seizure dynamics as spatio-temporal patterns.

Published onlineJournal ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this record.The occurrence of seizures is the common feature across the spectrum of epileptic disorders. We describe how the use of mechanistic neural population models leads to novel insight into the dynamic mechanisms underlying two important types of epileptic seizures. We specifically stress the need for a spatio-temporal description of the rhythms to deal with the complexity of the pathophenotype. Adapted to functional and structural patient data, the macroscopic models may allow a patient-specific description of seizures and prediction of treatment outcome.We thank British research councils EPSRC and BBSRC and the University of Manchester for financial support. We thank Kaspar Schindler, Ulrich Stephani, Hiltrud Muhle, Rainer Boor, Michael Siniatchkin, Fernando Lopes da Silva, and Gilles van Luijtelaar for discussions. EEG data are from the University Hospital Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland