No evidence of attentional prioritization for threatening targets in visual search.

Throughout human evolutionary history, snakes have been associated with danger and threat. Research has shown that snakes are prioritized by our attentional system, despite many of us rarely encountering them in our daily lives. We conducted two high-powered, pre-registered experiments (total N = 224) manipulating target prevalence to understand this heightened prioritization of threatening targets. Target prevalence refers to the proportion of trials wherein a target is presented; reductions in prevalence consistently reduce the likelihood that targets will be found. We reasoned that snake targets in visual search should experience weaker effects of low target prevalence compared to non-threatening targets (rabbits) because they should be prioritized by searchers despite appearing rarely. In both experiments, we found evidence of classic prevalence effects but (contrasting prior work) we also found that search for threatening targets was slower and less accurate than for nonthreatening targets. This surprising result is possibly due to methodological issues common in prior studies, including comparatively smaller sample sizes, fewer trials, and a tendency to exclusively examine conditions of relatively high prevalence. Our findings call into question accounts of threat prioritization and suggest that prior attention findings may be constrained to a narrow range of circumstances.

Individual differences and the transposed letter effect during reading.

When a preview contains substituted letters (SL; markey) word identification is more disrupted for a target word (monkey), compared to when the preview contains transposed letters (TL; mnokey). The transposed letter effect demonstrates that letter positions are encoded more flexibly than letter identities, and is a robust finding in adults. However, letter position encoding has been shown to gradually become more flexible as reading skills develop. It is unclear whether letter position encoding flexibility reaches maturation in skilled adult readers, or whether some differences in the magnitude of the TL effect remain in relation to individual differences in cognitive skills. We examined 100 skilled adult readers who read sentences containing a correct, TL or SL preview. Previews were replaced by the correct target word when the reader's gaze triggered an invisible boundary. Cognitive skills were assessed and grouped based on overlapping variance via Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and subsequently used to predict eye movement measures for each condition. Consistent with previous literature, adult readers were found to generally encode letter position more flexibly than letter identity. Very few differences were found in the magnitude of TL effects between adults based on individual differences in cognitive skills. The flexibility of letter position encoding appears to reach maturation (or near maturation) in skilled adult readers.

Just say 'I don't know': Understanding information stagnation during a highly ambiguous visual search task.

Visual search experiments typically involve participants searching simple displays with two potential response options: 'present' or 'absent'. Here we examined search behavior and decision-making when participants were tasked with searching ambiguous displays whilst also being given a third response option: 'I don't know'. Participants searched for a simple target (the letter 'o') amongst other letters in the displays. We made the target difficult to detect by increasing the degree to which letters overlapped in the displays. The results showed that as overlap increased, participants were more likely to respond 'I don't know', as expected. RT analyses demonstrated that 'I don't know' responses occurred at a later time than 'present' responses (but before 'absent' responses) when the overlap was low. By contrast, when the overlap was high, 'I don't know' responses occurred very rapidly. We discuss the implications of our findings for current models and theories in terms of what we refer to as 'information stagnation' during visual search.

Non-theatre emergency airway management: a multicentre prospective observational study.

Emergency airway management events are common, unpredictable and associated with high complication rates. This multicentre prospective observational study across eight acute NHS hospitals in southeast England reports the incidence and nature of non-theatre emergency airway management events. Data were collected from non-theatre emergency airway management, including adverse events, over a continuous 28-day window, and recorded on an electronic case report form. Events were classified according to type (advanced airway; simple airway; and cardiac arrest). A total of 166 events were recorded, with 111 advanced airway events involving tracheal intubation or tracheostomy management. Senior personnel with three or more years of airway management experience were present for 105/111 (95%) advanced airway management episodes. There was a significant reduction in consultant or equivalent presence out-of-hours (21/64, 33%) vs. in-hours (34/47, 72%) (p < 0.001). We found high utilisation of videolaryngoscopy (95/106, 90%) and universal use of capnography for all advanced airway management events. This was lower during cardiac arrest when videolaryngoscopy was used in 11/16 (69%) of tracheal intubations and capnography in 21/32 (66%) of all cardiac arrest episodes. Adverse outcomes during advanced airway management (excluding during cardiac arrest) occurred in 53/111 (48%) episodes, including hypoxia (desaturation to Sp O2 < 80% in 14/111, 13%) and hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 80 mmHg in 27/111, 25%). Adverse outcomes were not associated with time of day or experience level of airway practitioners. We conclude that there is a disparity between consultant presence for advanced airway interventions in- and out-of-hours; high utilisation of videolaryngoscopy and capnography, especially for advanced airway interventions; and a high incidence of hypotension and hypoxaemia, including critical values, during non-theatre airway management.

Patient-reported health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2-tested patients presenting to emergency departments: a propensity score-matched prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the long-term physical and mental health outcomes of matched severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive and SARS-CoV-2-negative patients controlling for seasonal effects. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study. METHODS: This study enrolled patients presenting to emergency departments participating in the Canadian COVID-19 Emergency Department Rapid Response Network. We enrolled consecutive eligible consenting patients who presented between March 1, 2020, and July 14, 2021, and were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Research assistants randomly selected four site and date-matched SARS-CoV-2-negative controls for every SARS-CoV-2-positive patient and interviewed them at least 30 days after discharge. We used propensity scores to match patients by baseline characteristics and used linear regression to compare Veterans RAND 12-item physical health component score (PCS) and mental health component scores (MCS), with higher scores indicating better self-reported health. RESULTS: We included 1170 SARS-CoV-2-positive patients and 3716 test-negative controls. The adjusted mean difference for PCS was 0.50 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.36, 1.36) and -1.01 (95% CI: -1.91, -0.11) for MCS. Severe disease was strongly associated with worse PCS (ß = -7.4; 95% CI: -9.8, -5.1), whereas prior mental health illness was strongly associated with worse MCS (ß = -5.4; 95% CI: -6.3, -4.5). CONCLUSION: Physical health, assessed by PCS, was similar between matched SARS-CoV-2-positive and SARS-CoV-2-negative patients, whereas mental health, assessed by MCS, was worse during a time when the public experienced barriers to care. These results may inform the development and prioritization of support programs for patients.

Predictors of longer-term depression trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study in four UK cohorts.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increase in mental ill health compared with prepandemic levels. Longer-term trajectories of depression in adults during the pandemic remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: We used latent growth curve modelling to examine individual trajectories of depression symptoms, and their predictors, beyond the early stage of the pandemic. METHODS: Data were collected in three waves in May 2020, September/October 2020 and February/March 2021 in four UK cohorts (Millennium Cohort Study, Next Steps cohort, British Cohort and National Child Development Study). We included n=16 978 participants (mean age at baseline: 20, 30, 50 and 62, respectively). Self-reported depressive symptoms were the study outcome. FINDINGS: Symptoms of depression were higher in younger compared with older age groups (d=0.7) across all waves. While depressive symptoms remained stable from May 2020 to Autumn 2020 overall (standardized mean difference (SMD)=0.03, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.04), they increased in all age groups from May 2020 to Spring 2021 (SMD=0.12, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.13). Feelings of loneliness were the strongest predictor and concurrent correlate of increasing depressive symptoms across all cohorts, prepandemic mental health problems and having a long-term illness were also significantly associated with an increase in depression symptoms across all ages. By contrast, compliance with social distancing measures did not predict an increase in depression symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Feeling lonely and isolated had a large effect on depression trajectories across all generations, while social distancing measures did not. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the importance of fostering the feeling of connectedness during COVID-19-related distancing measures.

Examining the effects of passive and active strategy use during interactive search for LEGO® bricks.

In many important search tasks, observers must find what they are looking for using only visual information (e.g., X-ray baggage screening/medical screening). However, numerous other search tasks can only be effectively completed when the searcher uses their hands to find what they are looking for (e.g., "rummage" search). Unfortunately, it is not currently well understood how observers conduct such "interactive" searches nor what the best strategies might be for doing so. Here, we first review the limited literature on interactive search. We then present a novel methodology for the study of interactive search that involves having observers seek out LEGO® targets in a cluttered tray of assorted bricks. In our validation task, we confirm the validity of this approach by demonstrating that it produces sensible patterns of diminishing returns in response time as targets are removed from the set as well as hastened search times for larger targets. In our experiment, we modify the approach, refining its systematicity and experimental control. We also build on prior work exploring strategy use in visual search by investigating the extent to which active and passive strategy use impacts performance in interactive search. In contrast to our prior findings in hybrid visual search (Madrid & Hout, 2019), our current findings suggest that in interactive search, an active search strategy can be superior to a passive one. We close by offering a conceptual model (the Interactive Multiple Decision Model [i-MDM]) that explicates the steps involved in a search task of this nature, and we then provide suggestions for how to further refine the task to achieve higher internal validity and to delve deeper into questions of theoretical importance in the field of interactive search. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Deafness in Australian Cattle Dogs associated to QTL on chromosome 20 in genome-wide association study analyses.

Pigment-associated deafness is a common hereditary condition in a range of dog breeds. The aim of this study was to perform a genome-wide association analysis to investigate the genetic architecture of deafness in Australian Cattle Dogs. Genotypes for 104 757 polymorphisms in 216 dogs were available for analyses after quality control. A genomic relationship matrix was used in the mixed model analyses to account for polygenic effects, as we tested each polymorphism for its association with deafness, in a case/control experimental design. Three approaches were used to code the genotypes and test for additive, recessive and dominant SNP effects. The genome-wide association study analyses identified a clear association peak on CFA20, with the most significant SNPs on this chromosome (1.29 × 10-4 ) in the vicinity of MITF. Variants in MITF have been associated with white pigmentation in dogs and with deafness in humans and other species, supporting the premise that canine deafness is associated with variants in or near this gene. A recessive inheritance for the peak in CFA20 is possible given the significant results in the recessive model; however, the estimated heritability was low (4.54 × 10-5 ). Further validation, identification of variants and testing in other dog breeds are needed.

Avoiding potential pitfalls in visual search and eye-movement experiments: A tutorial review.

Examining eye-movement behavior during visual search is an increasingly popular approach for gaining insights into the moment-to-moment processing that takes place when we look for targets in our environment. In this tutorial review, we describe a set of pitfalls and considerations that are important for researchers - both experienced and new to the field - when engaging in eye-movement and visual search experiments. We walk the reader through the research cycle of a visual search and eye-movement experiment, from choosing the right predictions, through to data collection, reporting of methodology, analytic approaches, the different dependent variables to analyze, and drawing conclusions from patterns of results. Overall, our hope is that this review can serve as a guide, a talking point, a reflection on the practices and potential problems with the current literature on this topic, and ultimately a first step towards standardizing research practices in the field.

Experience with searching in displays containing depth improves search performance by training participants to search more exhaustively.

In a typical visual search task, participants search for single targets amongst displays containing non-overlapping objects that are presented on a single depth plane. Recent work has begun to examine displays containing overlapping objects that are presented on different depth planes to one another. It has been found that searching displays containing depth improves response accuracy by making participants more likely to fixate targets and to identify targets after fixating them. Here we extended this previous research by seeking first of all to replicate the previous pattern of results, and then to determine whether extensive training using depth in search transfers to two-dimensional displays. We provided participants with sixteen sessions of training with displays containing transparent overlapping objects presented in depth, and found a similar pattern of results to our previous study. We also found evidence that some performance improvements from the depth training transferred to search of two-dimensional displays that did not contain depth. Further examinations revealed that participants learn to search more exhaustively (i.e., search for longer) in displays containing depth. We conclude that depth does influence search performance but the influences depend very much on the stimuli and the degree of overlap within them.

What is the relationship between fear of self, self-ambivalence, and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology? A systematic literature review.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most debilitating health conditions in the world. There has been a vast amount of research into factors that increase the likelihood of developing OCD, and there are several explanatory models. Current cognitive models of OCD can be split into appraisal-based and self-doubt models. To date, cognitive-behavioural therapy for OCD (grounded in appraisal-based models) is the recommended treatment approach, and research into the importance of self-doubt beliefs has been somewhat neglected. This paper therefore aims to consolidate current research, utilizing a systematic review approach, to establish the relationship between fear of self, self-ambivalence, and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. A systematic search was conducted based on inclusion criteria identified for this review. Papers were then individually appraised for quality and key data extracted from each paper. A total of 11 studies were included in the final sample. Fear of self and self-ambivalence were both consistently found to be significant predictors of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. In particular, research suggests that there is a strong link between self-doubt beliefs and obsessions and obsessional beliefs related to OCD. Limitations of the review and suggestions for future research are made and applications to clinical practice discussed.

How genomic information is accessed in clinical practice: an electronic survey of UK general practitioners.

Genomic technologies are having an increasing impact across medicine, including primary care. To enable their wider adoption and realize their potential, education of primary health-care practitioners will be required. To enable the development of such resources, understanding where GPs currently access genomic information is needed. One-hundred fifty-nine UK GPs completed the survey in response to an open invitation, between September 2017 and September 2018. Questions were in response to 4 clinical genomic scenarios, with further questions exploring resources used for rare disease patients, direct-to-consumer genetic testing and collecting a family history. Respondents were most commonly GP principals (independent GPs who own their clinic) (64.8%), aged 35-49 years (54%), worked as a GP for more than 15 years (44%) and practiced within suburban locations (typically wealthier) (50.3%). The most popular 'just in time' education source for all clinical genomic scenarios were online primary care focussed resources with general Internet search engines also popular. For genomic continuous medical education, over 70% of respondents preferred online learning. Considering specific scenarios, local guidelines were a popular resource for the familial breast cancer scenario. A large proportion (41%) had not heard of Genomics England's 100,000 genome project. Few respondents (4%) would access rare disease specific Internet resources (Orphanet, OMIM). Twenty-five percent of respondents were unsure how to respond to a direct-to-consumer commercial genetic test query, with 41% forwarding such queries to local genetic services. GPs require concise, relevant, primary care focussed resources in trusted and familiar online repositories of information. Inadequate genetic education of GPs could increase burden on local genetic services.

Bayesian strategy selection identifies optimal solutions to complex problems using an example from GP prescribing.

Complex health problems require multi-strategy, multi-target interventions. We present a method that uses machine learning techniques to choose optimal interventions from a set of possible interventions within a case study aiming to increase General Practitioner (GP) discussions of physical activity (PA) with their patients. Interventions were developed based on a causal loop diagram with 26 GPs across 13 clinics in Geelong, Australia. GPs prioritised eight from more than 80 potential interventions to increase GP discussion of PA with patients. Following a 2-week baseline, a multi-arm bandit algorithm was used to assign optimal strategies to GP clinics with the target outcome being GP PA discussion rates. The algorithm was updated weekly and the process iterated until the more promising strategies emerged (a duration of seven weeks). The top three performing strategies were continued for 3 weeks to improve the power of the hypothesis test of effectiveness for each strategy compared to baseline. GPs recorded a total of 11,176 conversations about PA. GPs identified 15 factors affecting GP PA discussion rates with patients including GP skills and awareness, fragmentation of care and fear of adverse outcomes. The two most effective strategies were correctly identified within seven weeks of the algorithm-based assignment of strategies. These were clinic reception staff providing PA information to patients at check in and PA screening questionnaires completed in the waiting room. This study demonstrates an efficient way to test and identify optimal strategies from multiple possible solutions.

Using Eye Movements to Understand how Security Screeners Search for Threats in X-Ray Baggage.

There has been an increasing drive to understand failures in searches for weapons and explosives in X-ray baggage screening. Tracking eye movements during the search has produced new insights into the guidance of attention during the search, and the identification of targets once they are fixated. Here, we review the eye-movement literature that has emerged on this front over the last fifteen years, including a discussion of the problems that real-world searchers face when trying to detect targets that could do serious harm to people and infrastructure.

Long-term evaluation of the impact of urbanization on chloride levels in lakes in a temperate region.

The application of road salts for winter de-icing of roadways in cold regions has been demonstrated to increase chloride (Cl) concentrations in nearby surface waters and have a negative impact on aquatic organisms and processes. In addition to toxicity to aquatic organisms, high concentrations of Cl in lakes can alter mixing processes, resulting in prolonged anoxic conditions and associated water quality degradation. Elevated concentrations of Cl in freshwater environments in cold regions is a well-documented phenomenon, but few studies have undertaken a long-term evaluation of the impact of urbanization on lakes. In this paper, nine lakes in the Halifax region of Nova Scotia, Canada, were monitored over 35 years to observe Cl concentrations prior to, during, and after urbanizing development. Cl concentrations were observed to increase in most study lakes over the monitoring period and all nine exhibited seasonal trending in response to winter de-icing activities. Six of the lakes achieved a steady-state Cl level after an initial increase in response to development activities, two are potentially still in transition, and one was unaffected by development activities. Watershed land use was found to be a good predictor of the springtime concentration of Cl and can help to inform decision-making surrounding development activities. When the percent of developed land was 25% or more, the Cl concentrations tended to exceed Canadian freshwater quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.

Comparing complex perspectives on obesity drivers: action-driven communities and evidence-oriented experts.

INTRODUCTION: The Foresight obesity map represents an expert-developed systems map describing the complex drivers of obesity. Recently, community-led causal loop diagrams have been developed to support community-based obesity prevention interventions. This paper presents a quantitative comparison between the Foresight obesity systems map and a community-developed map of the drivers of obesity. METHODS: Variables from a community-developed map were coded against the thematic clusters defined in the Foresight map to allow comparison of their sizes and strength of adjoining causal relationships. Central variables were identified using techniques from network analysis. These properties were compared to understand the similarities and differences between the systems as defined by the two groups. RESULTS: The community map focused on environmental influences, such as built physical activity environment (18% of variables) and social psychology (38%). The Foresight map's largest cluster was physiology (23%), a minimal focus in the community map (2%). Network analysis highlighted media and available time within both maps, but variables related to school and sporting club environments were unique to the community map. CONCLUSION: Community stakeholders focus on modifiable social and environmental drivers of obesity. Capturing local perspectives is critical when using systems maps to guide community-based obesity prevention.

Individual differences in search and monitoring for color targets in dynamic visual displays.

Many real-world tasks now involve monitoring visual representations of data that change dynamically over time. Monitoring dynamically changing displays for the onset of targets can be done in two ways: detecting targets directly, post-onset, or predicting their onset from the prior state of distractors. In the present study, participants' eye movements were measured as they monitored arrays of 108 colored squares whose colors changed systematically over time. Across three experiments, the data show that participants detected the onset of targets both directly and predictively. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that predictive detection was only possible when supported by sequential color changes that followed a scale ordered in color space. Experiment 3 included measures of individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) and anxious affect and a manipulation of target prevalence in the search task. It found that predictive monitoring for targets, and decisions about target onsets, were influenced by interactions between individual differences in verbal and spatial WMC and intolerance of uncertainty, a characteristic that reflects worry about uncertain future events. The results have implications for the selection of individuals tasked with monitoring dynamic visual displays for target onsets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Due to Microtubular Defects is Associated with Worse Lung Clearance Index.

PURPOSE: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is characterised by repeated upper and lower respiratory tract infections, neutrophilic airway inflammation and obstructive airway disease. Different ultrastructural ciliary defects may affect lung function decline to different degrees. Lung clearance index (LCI) is a marker of ventilation inhomogeneity that is raised in some but not all patients with PCD. We hypothesised that PCD patients with microtubular defects would have worse (higher) LCI than other PCD patients. METHODS: Spirometry and LCI were measured in 69 stable patients with PCD. Age at testing, age at diagnosis, ethnicity, ciliary ultrastructure, genetic screening result and any growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was recorded. RESULTS: Lung clearance index was more abnormal in PCD patients with microtubular defects (median 10.24) than those with dynein arm defects (median 8.3, p = 0.004) or normal ultrastructure (median 7.63, p = 0.0004). Age is correlated with LCI, with older patients having worse LCI values (p = 0.03, r = 0.3). CONCLUSION: This study shows that cilia microtubular defects are associated with worse LCI in PCD than dynein arm defects or normal ultrastructure. The patient's age at testing is also associated with a higher LCI. Patients at greater risk of obstructive lung disease should be considered for more aggressive management. Differences between patient groups may potentially open avenues for novel treatments.

Categorical templates are more useful when features are consistent: Evidence from eye movements during search for societally important vehicles.

Unlike in laboratory visual search tasks-wherein participants are typically presented with a pictorial representation of the item they are asked to seek out-in real-world searches, the observer rarely has veridical knowledge of the visual features that define their target. During categorical search, observers look for any instance of a categorically defined target (e.g., helping a family member look for their mobile phone). In these circumstances, people may not have information about noncritical features (e.g., the phone's color), and must instead create a broad mental representation using the features that define (or are typical of) the category of objects they are seeking out (e.g., modern phones are typically rectangular and thin). In the current investigation (Experiment 1), using a categorical visual search task, we add to the body of evidence suggesting that categorical templates are effective enough to conduct efficient visual searches. When color information was available (Experiment 1a), attentional guidance, attention restriction, and object identification were enhanced when participants looked for categories with consistent features (e.g., ambulances) relative to categories with more variable features (e.g., sedans). When color information was removed (Experiment 1b), attention benefits disappeared, but object recognition was still better for feature-consistent target categories. In Experiment 2, we empirically validated the relative homogeneity of our societally important vehicle stimuli. Taken together, our results are in line with a category-consistent view of categorical target templates (Yu, Maxfield, & Zelinsky in, Psychological Science, 2016. doi: 10.1177/0956797616640237 ), and suggest that when features of a category are consistent and predictable, searchers can create mental representations that allow for the efficient guidance and restriction of attention as well as swift object identification.

Neglect Patients Exhibit Egocentric or Allocentric Neglect for the Same Stimulus Contingent upon Task Demands.

Hemispatial Neglect (HN) is a failure to allocate attention to a region of space opposite to where damage has occurred in the brain, usually the left side of space. It is widely documented that there are two types of neglect: egocentric neglect (neglect of information falling on the individual's left side) and allocentric neglect (neglect of the left side of each object, regardless of the position of that object in relation to the individual). We set out to address whether neglect presentation could be modified from egocentric to allocentric through manipulating the task demands whilst keeping the physical stimulus constant by measuring the eye movement behaviour of a single group of neglect patients engaged in two different tasks (copying and tracing). Eye movements and behavioural data demonstrated that patients exhibited symptoms consistent with egocentric neglect in one task (tracing), and allocentric neglect in another task (copying), suggesting that task requirements may influence the nature of the neglect symptoms produced by the same individual. Different task demands may be able to explain differential neglect symptoms in some individuals.