Driver performance under simulated and actual driving conditions: validity and orthogonality

This study contrasted the performance of drivers under actual and simulated driving conditions, in order to assess the validity of the simulators and test the hypothesis that driving is composed of largely orthogonal sub-tasks. Thirty experienced drivers completed an on-road driving test and drove two different simulators, each simulator drive comprising seven difficulty-moderated driving scenarios. Between-simulator contrasts revealed largely absolute validity, the anticipated effects of increased difficulty within driving scenarios, but weak relationships between performance of different driving scenarios. On-road driving was reliably assessed by a nationally-recognised expert driving assessor, as reflected by standard statistical measures of reliability and consistency. However, on-road driving revealed relatively little cross-category correlation of on-road driving errors, or between on-road and simulator driving. Thus, despite the compelling evidence of absolute and relative validity within and between simulators, there is little evidence of criterion validity (i.e. relationship to on road driving, as assessed by the expert assessor). Moreover, the study provides strong evidence for orthogonality in the driving task- driving comprises large numbers of relatively separate tasks

The color of smiling: computational synaesthesia of facial expressions

This note gives a preliminary account of the transcoding or rechanneling problem between different stimuli as it is of interest for the natural interaction or affective computing fields. By the consideration of a simple example, namely the color response of an affective lamp to a sensed facial expression, we frame the problem within an information- theoretic perspective. A full justification in terms of the Information Bottleneck principle promotes a latent affective space, hitherto surmised as an appealing and intuitive solution, as a suitable mediator between the different stimuli.Comment: Submitted to: 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing (ICIAP 2015), 7-11 September 2015, Genova, Ital

Mantle evolution in the Variscides of SW England: geochemical and isotopic constraints from mafic rocks

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The geology of SW England has long been interpreted to reflect Variscan collisional processes associated with the closure of the Rhenohercynian Ocean and the formation of Pangea. The Cornish peninsula is composed largely of Early Devonian to Late Carboniferous volcanosedimentary successions that were deposited in pre- and syncollisional basins and were subsequently metamorphosed and deformed during the Variscan orogeny. Voluminous Early Permian granitic magmatism (Cornubian Batholith) is broadly coeval with the emplacement of ca. 280-295 Ma lamprophyric dykes and flows. Although these lamprophyres are well mapped and documented, the processes responsible for their genesis and their relationship with regional Variscan tectonic events are less understood. Pre- to syn-collisional basalts have intra-continental alkalic affinities, and have REE profiles consistent with derivation from the spinel-garnet lherzolite boundary. εNd values for the basalts range from +0.37 to +5.2 and TDM ages from 595 Ma to 705 Ma. The lamprophyres are extremely enriched in light rare earth elements, large iron lithophile, and depleted in heavy rare earth elements suggesting a deep, garnet lherzolite source that was previously metasomatised. They display εNd values ranging from -1.4 to +1.4, initial Sr values of ca. 0.706, and TDM ages from 671 Ma to 1031 Ma, suggesting that metasomatism occurred in the Neoproterozoic. Lamprophyres and coeval granite batholiths of similar chemistry to those in Cornwall occur in other regions of the Variscan orogen, including Iberia and Bohemia. By using new geochemical and isotopic data to constrain the evolution of the mantle beneath SW England and the processes associated with the formation of these post-collisional rocks, we may be able to gain a more complete understanding of mantle processes during the waning stages of supercontinent formation

Factors contributing to the distress, concerns, and needs of UK Neuroscience health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID‐19 research from China suggests health care workers are at risk of distress, have specific concerns, and need support. It remains unknown whether findings are applicable to UK health care staff and whether psychological support based on generic approaches is effective. We administered an online survey at a leading neuroscience hospital in the UK to examine how individual staff characteristics contribute to distress, concerns, and interventions most valued during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We found a high incidence of distress, particularly in females and staff with previous mental health history. Concerns fell into three factors: ‘risk of infection’, ‘work challenges’, and ‘social change’, and were affected by professional role and contact with COVID‐19 patients. These three factors predicted distress. Psychological support and clear updates were deemed most useful, with specific needs affected by age, professional role, and contact with COVID‐19 patients. This is the first documentation of a high incidence of psychological distress predicted by three types of concerns in health care workers of a neuroscience hospital. Distress, concerns, and interventions most valued were all affected by individual staff characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of providing stratified, one to one support interventions, tailored to professional group, and background, rather than more generic approaches

RPA2 (replication protein A2, 32kDa)

Review on RPA2 (replication protein A2, 32kDa), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated