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In the current investigation, we modified the high Go, low No-Go Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Some researchers argue a commission error, an inappropriate response to a No-Go stimulus, in the SART is due to the participant being inattentive, or perceptually decoupled, during stimulus onset. Response delays in the SART reduce commission errors. A response delay may therefore enable a participant who is initially inattentive to recouple their attention in time to appropriately perceive the stimulus and withhold a response to a No-Go stimulus. However, shortening stimulus display duration in the SART should limit the possibility of the participant identifying the stimulus later, if they are initially not attending the stimulus. A response delay should not reduce commission errors if stimulus duration is kept to the minimum duration enabling stimulus recognition. In two experiments, we shortened stimulus onset to offset duration and added response delays of varying lengths. In both experiments, even when stimulus duration was shortened, response delays notably reduced commission errors if the delay was greater than 250 ms. In addition, using the Signal Detection Theory perspective in which errors of commission in the SART are due to a lenient response bias–trigger happiness, we predicted that response delays would result in a shift to a more conservative response bias in both experiments. These predictions were verified. The errors of commission in the SART may not be a measures of conscious awareness per se, but instead indicative of the level of participant trigger happiness—a lenient response bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current investigation, we modified the high Go, low No-Go Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) by replacing the single response on Go trials with a dual response to increase response uncertainty. In three experiments, a total of 80 participants completed either the original SART with no response uncertainty regarding the Go stimuli, or versions of the dual response SART in which response probabilities for the two possible responses to the Go stimuli varied from 0.9–0.1, 0.7–0.3, to 0.5–0.5. This resulted in a scale of increasing response uncertainty based on information theory to the Go stimuli. The probability of No-Go withhold stimuli was kept.11 in all experiments. Using the Signal Detection Theory perspective proposed by Bedi et al. (Psychological Research: 1–10, 2022), we predicted that increasing response uncertainty would result in a conservative response bias shift, noted by decreased errors of commission and slower response times to both Go and No-Go stimuli. These predictions were verified. The errors of commission in the SART may not be a measures of conscious awareness per se, but instead indicative of the level of participant trigger happiness—the willingness to respond quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jenn Ashworth's Fell (2016) is written as a response to the legend of Baucis and Philemon, an elderly couple who take in a mysterious stranger. Ashworth's novel shifts between 1963, when Netty and Jack take in a lodger who appears to have messianic powers over life and death, and the present day when their daughter, Annette, is attempting to come to terms with the legacy of those events. Both time periods are seen from the perspective of Netty and Jack who haunt their decaying home in Grange-upon-Sands located near to Morecambe Bay. Ashworth's novel is no simple rewrite but uses the legend as a platform for analysing themes of borders, boundaries, power, and control as well as the motifs of time, history, geography, and alienation. This article argues that, although the novel makes no explicit reference to the Anthropocene (the geological period proposed to describe man-induced phenomena such as climate change), its meditation upon the idea of hospitality and the navigation of liminal borders reflect upon the extent to which anthropogenic climate change entails new relationships between humans and the non-human world. To that end, the article pays particular attention to the shifting and dangerous sands of Morecambe Bay itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustained attention to response task (SART) is a popular measure in the psychology and neuroscience of attention. The underlying psychological cause for errors, in particular errors of commission, in the SART is actively disputed. Some researchers have suggested task-disengagement due to mind-wandering or mindlessness, and others have proposed strategic choices. In this study we explored an alternative perspective based on Signal Detection Theory, in which the high rate of commission errors in the SART reflects simply a shift in response bias (criterion) due to the high prevalence of Go-stimuli. We randomly assigned 406 participants to one of ten Go-stimuli prevalence rates (50%, 64%, 74%, 78%, 82%, 86%, 90%, 94%, 98% and 100%). As Go-stimuli prevalence increased reaction times to both Go and No–Go stimuli decreased, omission errors decreased and commission errors increased. These all were predicted from a hypothesized bias shift, but the findings were not compatible with some alternative theories of SART performance. These findings may have implications for similar tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On March 4, 2018, two casualties collapsed on a park bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK. They were later discovered to have been the victims of an attempted murder using the Soviet-era Novichok class of nerve agent. The casualties, along with three further critically ill patients, were cared for in Salisbury District Hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Salisbury and Amesbury incidents were the longest-running major incidents in the history of the UK National Health Service. This narrative review seeks to reflect on the lessons learned from these chemical incidents, with a particular focus on hospital and local organisational responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers review of the "Freedom and Resentment," by P. F. Strawson as a contribution to modern moral philosophy. It states that the principal aim of the book is refute or discredit the claim, as "pessimist." The thesis of determinism is true and the attitudes and practices associated with moral responsibility is unjustified.

The author responds to criticisms from authors Christopher Bennett, Angela Smith and Robert Wallace to his book of essays "The Limits of Free Will". He addresses issues discussed by the three authors, including the tension between the two core components of critical compatibilism, the relation of free will pessimism to critical compatibilism, and desert conceptions of moral responsibility rejected by incompatibilism and critical compatibilism.

We show that there is a rational vector space V such that, whenever V is finitely coloured, there is an infinite set X whose sumset X + X is monochromatic. Our example is the rational vector space of dimension sup{..., ...). This complements a result of Hindman, Leader and Strauss, who showed that the result does not hold for dimension below ...w. So our result is best possible under GCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The predictive factors of parent mediated, Early Intervention (EI) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have not been studied in India; we document the structural therapeutic factors, which predict the EI outcome. Methods: Data of 77 children with an ICD 10 diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (ASD in DSM 5), and completed a 12-week EI with proven effectiveness was collected from the database of a teaching hospital. We studied the structural therapeutic factors associated with EI outcome, as measured by Psycho-Educational Profile-Revised (PEP-R), while controlling the confounders with multiple linear regression analyses. Results: The Fine-motor skills improved in residential patients (t = 2.54, P = 0.02; 15 units). As the duration of intervention decreased at home per day, there was a significant decrease in Gross-motor skills (t = -2.67, P = 0.02; -15 units). With increase in duration of intervention in hospital per day, there was a significant increase (t = 2.86, P = 0.01; 30 units) in the Eye-hand integration. Cognitive-verbal skills acquisition decreased (t = -2.90, P = 0.01; 33 units) as the duration of intervention decreased at hospital. The use of medication did not predict any of the outcome factors. Conclusion: The above mentioned predictive factors should be monitored and titrated in the family context when children with ASD undergo parent mediated, EI programme. It is important to that the multidisciplinary family medicine teams reinforce these parents, who are the main column of support in primary-care settings for children with neuro-developmental disabilities in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain size and sorting represent two key parameters when characterizing sediments or modelling beach morphology and sediment transport. Traditionally, an average value for grain size or sorting is often assumed for the entire area, determined from only a few sediment samples, ignoring any spatial (or temporal) variability in sediment characteristics. This contribution uses a data set of physical surface sediment samples from 53 beach locations around the south-west peninsula of the United Kingdom, in addition to bi-monthly, high spatial resolution (mean 240 samples) digital grain-size surveys from a high-energy, oceanic, sandy beach (Perranporth, North Cornwall). Systematic spatial variations in grain size and sorting were consistently observed in the seaward direction across the intertidal zone of sandy beaches, with grain-sizes coarsening and sorting improving by up to 51·7% and 64·3%, respectively. This variability was deterministically related to the time-averaged, antecedent-adjusted energy dissipated by breaking waves, with the observed maximum grain-size and sorting values correlating with the location of peak wave energy dissipation ( r2 = 0·998, P < 0·01). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on illness falsification by caregivers is in abundance. There remains an invisible group, where the symptoms can be intentionally feigned by child and adolescent patients. Recognizing this group is essential and a high index of suspicion is necessary to arrive at a diagnosis. In this group, it is not only difficult to identify the mechanism of symptom production but also to delineate if it is feigned by the adolescent or they participate in the fabrication of symptoms along with their perpetrator. Motivation remains another challenging area of debate in this group. As in other pediatric somatic symptom disorders, pediatric factitious disorder also has a better prognosis with a nonconfrontational approach, the focus being symptom reduction, uncovering the conflict area, assessing family dynamics and behavioral approaches as and when necessary. Here we present two adolescent patients diagnosed with factitious disorder based on their symptom presentation and family psychopathology. Management principles employed for both the patients are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We examined the impact task interruptions of differing qualitative and quantitative load have on visuospatial vigilance sensitivity.Background: The vigilance decrement and attempts to develop countermeasures to the decrement is one of the most important human factors issues. There is an ongoing debate between those who interpret the increase in the rate of failures to detect signals over time as being due to objective task monotony or task underload and those who interpret this increased failure proneness as being predominately due to cognitive-resource depletion and task overload.Method: Participants were assigned at random to one of six interruptions: Participants were given a complete rest (rest); participants completed a 1-back verbal working-memory (WM) task, a 3-back verbal WM task, a 1-back spatial WM task, or a 3-back spatial WM task; or participants performed the primary vigilance task (continuous).Results: Postinterruption performance was best for rest and worst for continuous. A resource theory perspective led us to make two possible predictions of relative interruption effect orders of the six conditions out of 720 possible orderings. We found one of the two orders.Conclusion: Overall, the vigilance sensitivity decrement appears to be due to the recurring use of particular cognitive resources, and resource theorists should explore this more extensively in the future.Application: Countermeasures for the vigilance decrement should be based on clear cognitive-resource considerations. Rest is the best countermeasure. Intervening tasks should be chosen that minimize resource-demand overlap with the vigilance task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Available occupational therapy assessment scales focus on specific areas of functioning. There is a need for comprehensive evaluation of diverse aspects of functioning in people with mental illness. Aim: To develop a comprehensive assessment scale to evaluate diverse aspects of functioning among people with mental illness and to assess its validity and reliability. Methods: Available instruments, which evaluate diverse aspects of functioning in people with mental illness, were retrieved. Relevant items, which evaluate specific functions, were selected by a committee of mental health experts and combined to form a comprehensive instrument. Face and content validity and feasibility were assessed and the new instrument was piloted among 60 patients with mental illness. The final version of the instrument was employed in 151 consecutive clients, between 18 and 60 years of age, who were also assessed using Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Occupational Therapy Task Observation Scale (OTTOS), Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ), Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) and Pai and Kapur Family Burden Interview Schedule (FBIS) by two therapists. The inter-rater reliability and test–retest reliability of the new instrument (Vellore Occupational Therapy Evaluation Scale (VOTES)) were also evaluated. Results: The new scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .817), inter-rater reliability .928 (.877–.958) and test–retest reliability .928 (.868–.961). The correlation between the general behaviour domain (Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient [PCC] = −.763, p = .000), task behaviour (PCC = −.829, p = .000), social skills (PCC = −.351, p = .000), intrapersonal skills (PCC = −.208, p = .010), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (PCC = −.329, p = .038) and leisure activities (PCC = −.433, p = .005) scores of VOTES with the corresponding domains in the scales used for comparison was statistically significant. The correlation between the total score of VOTES and the total scores of OTTOS, SFQ and RSES was also statistically significant suggesting convergent validity. The correlation between the total score of VOTES with the total score of FBI is not statistically significant, implying good divergent validity. Conclusion: VOTES seems to be a promising tool to assess overall functioning of people with mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite representing a key parameter when modelling morphology or sediment transport, surface sediments are often assumed homogenous, with grain size temporally constant. This contribution uses a 6-year data set of monthly sediment samples to quantify the observed variability in intertidal beach sands at four energetic, macrotidal locations (North Cornwall, UK). Changes in grain size and sorting were related to periods of high-steepness storm waves promoting a relatively rapid coarsening and an improvement in sorting and low-steepness swell waves, a fining and a reduction in sorting. These temporal changes in intertidal grain size were coherently linked to the disequilibrium in wave steepness, with peak coarsening occurring when the instantaneous wave steepness conditions vastly exceeded a temporally evolving antecedent time series. Using this concept, a simple model is proposed that provides skilful predictions of the unseen variability in sediment grain size (average r 2 = 0.86, p < 0.01) and sorting (average r 2 = 0.75, p < 0.05), at all four sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abbreviated vigilance task can quickly generate vigilance decrements, which has been argued is due to depletion of cognitive resources needed to sustain performance. Researchers suggest inclusion of rest breaks within vigilance tasks improve overall performance (Helton & Russell, 2015; Ross, Russell, & Helton, 2014), while different types of breaks demonstrate different effects. Some literature suggests exposure to natural movements/stimuli helps restore attention (Herzog, Black, Fountaine, & Knotts, 1997; Kaplan, 1995). Participants were randomly assigned to one experimental condition: dog video breaks, robot video breaks, countdown breaks or continuous vigilance. We assessed task performance and subjective reports of stress/workload. The continuous group displayed worst performance, suggesting breaks help restore attention. The dog videos did not affect performance, however, decreased reports of distress. These results support the importance of rest breaks and acknowledge the benefit of natural stimuli for promoting wellbeing/stress relief, overall suggesting performance and wellbeing may be independent, which warrants future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prodger, S.; Russell, P.; Davidson, M., and Miles, J., 2016. Beach Morphological Predictions: The Impact of a Temporally Varying Sediment Fall Velocity In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 447-451. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This paper introduces new field measurements that allow quantification of the relative importance of temporal variations in grain size to beach morphology classification. A dataset of 7 years of daily remotely sensed beach morphological measurements and monthly intertidal topographic surveys with surface sediment sampling were used to assess how observed temporal variations in sediment size (or fall velocity) influence morphological predictions at two energetic, sandy macro-tidal beach sites. Beach morphological predictions were obtained via the widely used sequential classification scheme of Masselink and Short (1993), where time varying wave height and wave period are usually used to drive changes in beach state. Beach state was found to be highly seasonal, with an evolution from more dissipative states in the winter to lower intermediate states in the summer. Beach state predictions were made using both a constant and time-varying sediment fall velocity and then compared to visual observations of morphological state. Predictions using a constant fall velocity correlated poorly ( r2 = 0.32) with observations, whereas predictions made using a time-varying fall velocity, correlated better ( r2 = 0.79). A feedback loop was also evident in the system, with energetic waves promoting a migration towards a dissipative state, and a coarsening shoreface grain size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stokes, C.; Russell, P., and Davidson, M., 2016. Subtidal and Intertidal Three-Dimensionality at a High Energy Macrotidal Beach. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 472-476. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Three-dimensional beach features such as crescentic sandbars and rip channels influence a beach's response to storm waves, as well as significantly affecting the safety and amenity provided by the surf-zone for beach water-users. A dataset of 5.5 years of quasi-weekly bar measurements, and quasi-monthly intertidal surveys from Perranporth beach (Cornwall, UK) were used to quantify seasonal to inter-annual changes in three-dimensionality. These changes were seen to be dictated by the cumulative effects of antecedent wave and tide conditions. Although tide range was seen to be important, particularly at the outer bar, a disequilibrium stress term was well correlated with three-dimensionality at the inner and outer bars and lower intertidal beach. This term examines the disparity between the instantaneous dimensionless fall velocity parameter (Ω), and the overall mean dimensionless fall velocity (Ω̄), and is moderated by the instantaneous wave power (P). Low values of disequilibrium stress correspond to Ω that are cumulatively smaller than previous values, indicating the waves have moved from high steepness to low steepness, as normally occurs in the months following winter. It is under such circumstances, as the beach begins to recover, that maximum values of beach three-dimensionality and associated rip channel development were seen to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive resource theory is a common explanation for both the performance decline in vigilance tasks, known as the vigilance decrement, and the limited ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. The limited supply of cognitive resources may be utilized faster than they are replenished resulting in a performance decrement, or may need to be allocated among multiple tasks with some performance cost. Researchers have proposed both domain-specific, for example spatial versus verbal processing resources, and domain general cognitive resources. One challenge in testing the domain specificity of cognitive resources in vigilance is the current lack of difficult semantic vigilance tasks which reliably produce a decrement. In the present research, we investigated whether the vigilance decrement was found in a new abbreviated semantic discrimination vigilance task, and whether there was a performance decrement in said vigilance task when paired with a word recall task, as opposed to performed individually. As hypothesized, a vigilance decrement in the semantic vigilance task was found in both the single-task and dual-task conditions, along with reduced vigilance performance in the dual-task condition and reduced word recall in the dual-task condition. This is consistent with cognitive resource theory. The abbreviated semantic vigilance task will be a useful tool for researchers interested in determining the specificity of cognitive resources utilized in vigilance tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety can have positive effects on some aspects of cognition and negative effects on others. The current study investigated whether task-relevant anxiety could improve people’s ability to withhold responses in a response inhibition task. Sixty-seven university students completed a modified and an unmodified version of the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddeley, & Yiend, 1997) and provided subjective measures of arousal and thoughts. Anxiety appeared to improve participants’ ability to withhold responses. Further, participants’ performance was consistent with a motor response inhibition perspective rather than a mind-wandering perspective of SART commission error performance. Errors of commission were associated with response times (speed-accuracy trade-off) as opposed to task-unrelated thoughts. Task-related thoughts were associated with the speed-accuracy trade-off. Conversely task-unrelated thoughts showed an association with errors of omission, suggesting this SART metric could be an indicator of sustained attention. Further investigation of the role of thoughts in the SART is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA replication errors are a major source of genome instability in all organisms. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the DNA damage response protein Brc1 binds phospho-histone H2A (γH2A)-marked chromatin during S-phase, but how Brc1 protects genome integrity remains unclear. Here we report that the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) protein Ku becomes critical for survival of replication stress in brc1∆ cells. Ku’s protective activity in brc1∆ cells does not involve its canonical NHEJ function or its roles in protecting telomeres or shielding DNA ends from Exo1 exonuclease. In brc1∆ pku80∆ cells, nuclear foci of Rad52 homologous recombination (HR) protein increase and Mus81-Eme1 Holliday junction resolvase becomes critical, indicating increased replication fork instability. Ku’s localization at a ribosomal DNA replication fork barrier associated with frequent replisome-transcriptosome collisions increases in brc1∆ cells and increased collisions correlate with an enhanced requirement for Brc1. These data indicate that Ku stabilizes replication forks in the absence of Brc1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the impact task interruptions have on visuospatial vigilance in two experiments. In the first experiment participants were randomly assigned to one of three interruptions: participants were given a complete rest (rest), participants completed an alphanumeric vigilance task (letter), or participants performed the primary vigilance task (continuous). In the second experiment participants were randomly assigned to one of the conditions from the first experiment or to two further conditions, in which participants (spatial memory) performed a spatial match to sample task, or participants (verbal memory) performed a letter match to sample task. Vigilance performance post-interruption was best for rest, worst for continuous, and varied for the other interruption tasks. Overall, the results suggest the vigilance decrement is due to the repeated use of particular executive resources, but there may, in addition be domain specific interference when the primary task and activities during a break make use of the same resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, we examined the impact of rest breaks and goal switches on the vigilance decrement-the change in performance with time-on-task-and subjective stress and workload. In study 1, we examined the decrement in a visual line-length discrimination task employed in previous research. The task had a linear decrement in perceptual sensitivity with time-on-task based on the results of a trend analysis (orthogonal polynomial contrasts). In addition, the task had a profile of self-reported stress and workload similar to other moderately demanding vigilance tasks. In study 2, we examined the decrement in the same task with the factorial inclusion of rest breaks and goal switches late in the task. The inclusion of rest breaks resulted in a significant cubic trend in perceptual sensitivity. After the first rest break, there was a reversal of the linear downward decrement in perceptual sensitivity, but the second rest break did not elicit this change. The inclusion of goal switches did not cause any significant deviation from the linear trend and did not attenuate the decrement. In addition, the inclusion of rest breaks resulted in reduced self-reported effort and temporal demand. The results of the present study cohere with the expectations of a resource depletion account of the vigilance decrement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pet assisted therapy (PAT) is a form of complementary psychosocial intervention used in the field of mental health and disability. The form of therapy has the potential to augment the other forms of psychotherapies and pharmacotherapy. This article is an overview of history and clinical origins of PAT, classification and therapy models, scientific basis, the current use in specific disorders, preventive and diagnostic role as well as the potential risks among children and adolescents with mental health needs with a special focus on the Indian needs. A systematic electronic search strategy was undertaken to identify the intervention effectiveness of PAT in MedLine (PubMed), cochrane database of systematic reviews, high-wire press and Google Scholar. We augmented our electronic search with a search of additional articles in reference lists of retrieved articles, as well as a hand search available journals that were not indexed in any electronic database in consultation with colleagues and experts. To qualify for inclusion, studies were required to meet predetermined criteria regarding study design, study population, interventions evaluated and outcome measured to reduce the publication bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Similarity analyses of herbal fingerprints are reviewed. [•] Different (dis)similarity approaches are discussed. [•] (Dis)similarity-metrics and exploratory-analysis approaches are illustrated. [•] Correlation and distance-based measures are overviewed. [•] Similarity analyses illustrated by several case studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Perceptual learning is critical in many settings. In the present study, we investigated the role of individual differences in attention effort in perceptual learning by having participants learn to detect rare cryptic figures. We employed both functional near-infrared spectroscopy measures of frontal cortical activity and self-reports of pre-task motivation in order to assess individual differences in attention effort. We also manipulated performance feedback and the amount of background information provided to the participants regarding the task. Twelve men and 28 women participated in the experiment. Performance metrics were indicative of perceptual learning occurring. Overall performance on the task was correlated significantly with pre-task levels of self-reported motivation and the rate of learning was correlated with initial oxygen response in the frontal cortex. The initial spike in frontal oxygen response declined with time on task, perhaps due to shifts towards automaticity. The results suggest perceptual learning is influenced by individual differences in attention effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the competition open for post-graduate research students and career researchers and mentions submission of unpublished article on any topic within field of science fiction and academic study.

Stokes, C.H., Russell, P., Conley, D., Beaumont, E., Greaves, D., 2013. Exploring Monthly To Seasonal Beach Morphodynamics Using Empirical Orthogonal Functions. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis is a statistical method that can separate out the dominant modes of change in beach topographic data. Here the method is applied to four years of monthly intertidal survey data from Perranporth beach (Cornwall, UK), a predominantly dissipative site, which exhibits episodic low tide bar-rip morphology. The aim is to understand the main morphodynamic changes by studying only the dominant EOF patterns. Gridded data from 48 surveys was analysed and two statistically significant EOF modes were identified. The primary EOF (EOF1) has been interpreted as a seasonal 'beach volume function' and shows that alongshore-uniform gains and losses of sediment, predominantly from the mid intertidal region, account for almost 50% of all the variability that occurs in the data set. This occurs with an annual periodicity, and the increasing trend in the temporal signal has been associated with the long term (∼years) increase in volume that the beach is experiencing. The second EOF (EOF2), has been interpreted as the 'dominant rip function' and indicates that the second most dominant mode of change (∼11% of the total variability) involves the development of a recurring low-tide rip channel accompanied by a steepening of the beach and an increase in 3D structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examined whether the sustained attention to response task is a better measure of response inhibition or sustained attention. Participants performed a number detection task for 37.3min using either a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; high Go low No-Go) or a more traditionally formatted vigilance task (TFT; high No-Go low Go) response format. Participants performed these tasks using either a regular fixed ordered stimuli set (1–9, sequentially repeated), in which the target number appeared predictably, or a random order (1–9, random presentation), in which the target number appeared at random. We utilized functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure cerebral oxygenation levels in the right and left frontal areas. We also used post-task participant reports of arousal, and conscious thoughts occurring during the tasks. Performance differed for the both response format and target predictability. Greater right than left frontal hemisphere activation occurred in the TFT than the SART with time-on-task. In addition, the SART response format resulted in elevated self-reports of task-related thoughts than the TFT response format. The results suggest the SART, random or fixed ordered, places high response inhibition, not necessarily sustained attention, demands on participants. Elevated levels of task-related thoughts during the SART format condition in comparison to the TFT condition does not appear to be in accord with the claim that the SART induces mindlessness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite a long history of vigilance research, the role of global and local feature discrimination in vigilance tasks has been relatively neglected. In this experiment participants performed a sustained attention task requiring either global or local shape stimuli discrimination. Reaction time to local feature discriminations was characterized by a quadratic trend over time-on-task with performance levels returning to initial levels late in the task. This trend did not occur in the global shape discrimination task. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was utilized in this study as an index of cerebral activation. In both tasks there was increased right hemisphere relative to left hemisphere oxygenation and right hemisphere oxygenation increased with time-on-task. Left hemisphere oxygenation, however, decreased slightly in the global task, but increased significantly in the local task as task duration increased. Indeed, total oxygenation, averaging both right and left, increased more with time-on-task in the local discrimination task. Both the performance and physiological results of this study indicate increased utilization of bilateral cerebral resources with time-on-task in the local, but not the global discrimination vigil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To develop and validate a concise, parent-completed Brief Intellectual Disability Scale (BIDS) for children in low--disability resource and high--disability care burden countries. Study Design and Setting: In this prospective cross-sectional study of 124 children recruited from a facility for intellectual disability (ID), the newly developed BIDS as the measure for validation as well as for the gold standard and convergent and divergent validities was administered by independent raters. Tests for diagnostic accuracy, reproducibility, and validity were conducted at the item and scale levels. Results: The BIDS scores of ≥5 (sensitivity [Sn]71.43%, specificity [Sp]580.95%) and ≥11 (Sn=4.29%, Sp=100%), with area under the curve of 0.79, are suggested, respectively, for screening and diagnostic use in Indian populations. The inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.96) and test--retest reliability at 4 weeks (ICC=0.95) for BIDS are strong. Besides the adequate face and content validities, BIDS demonstrates good internal consistency (Cronbach a50.80) and item-total correlation. There is moderate convergent validity with BineteKamat Test of Intelligence or Gesell's Developmental Schedule (r50.66, P50.001) as well as with adaptive behavior measure of Vineland Social Maturity Scale (r5 0.52, P50.001) and low divergent validity with the subscales of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity: Comprehensive Teacher Rating Scale (r50.11, P50.7; r50.18, P50.5; r50.13, P50.6; r50.08, P50.7). An exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a three-factor structure, explaining 60% of variance. Conclusion: The BIDS shows promise as a psychometrically adequate, yet brief measure for identifying ID in countries with low disability care resources and high disability-related burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant theory amongst vigilance researchers is resource theory. From this theoretical perspective the increase in lapses with time on task, the vigilance decrement, is due to the depletion of the cognitive resources necessary for the maintenance of performance. Alternative under-load theories have recently been suggested: mindlessness and goal habituation. Advocates of mindlessness theory suggest the vigilance decrement results from conscious disengagement due to task monotony. From this theoretical perspective, the inclusion of content unrelated cues should draw the participants out of their mindless state. An alternative proposal is that vigilance decrements are a result of goal habituation. From this perspective a momentary deactivation and reactivation of task goal by inserting a brief task switch in a vigilance task should eliminate the vigilance decrement. In order to examine these alternative theories, we had 498 participants perform a visual vigilance task with either the inclusion of brief task switches, content-free cues, or in comparative control conditions during the vigilance task. All experimental groups had an equivalent robust vigilance decrement measured by both a decline in perceptual sensitivity over time and an increase in response latency over time. There was, moreover, no difference in self-reported mental workload or task-unrelated thoughts across the experimental groups. Bayesian analyses resulted in substantial evidence in favour of the null hypothesis, in agreement with the expectations based on resource theory and contrary to the expectations based on either the mindlessness or goal-habituation theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A finite set X in some Euclidean space is called Ramsey if for any k there is a d such that whenever is k-coloured it contains a monochromatic set congruent to X. This notion was introduced by Erdős, Graham, Montgomery, Rothschild, Spencer and Straus, who asked if a set is Ramsey if and only if it is spherical, meaning that it lies on the surface of a sphere. This question (made into a conjecture by Graham) has dominated subsequent work in Euclidean Ramsey theory. In this paper we introduce a new conjecture regarding which sets are Ramsey; this is the first ever ‘rival’ conjecture to the conjecture above. Calling a finite set transitive if its symmetry group acts transitively—in other words, if all points of the set look the same—our conjecture is that the Ramsey sets are precisely the transitive sets, together with their subsets. One appealing feature of this conjecture is that it reduces (in one direction) to a purely combinatorial statement. We give this statement as well as several other related conjectures. We also prove the first non-trivial cases of the statement. Curiously, it is far from obvious that our new conjecture is genuinely different from the old. We show that they are indeed different by proving that not every spherical set embeds in a transitive set. This result may be of independent interest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examined performance in a sustained attention to response task (SART) (Experiment 1) and a more traditionally formatted vigilance task (Experiment 2) using novel word stimuli (text-speak) and normally spelt words. This enabled us to address whether the SART is a better measure of sustained attention or of response strategy, and to investigate the cognitive demands of text-speak processing. In Experiment 1, 72 participants completed a subset (text-speak) and a word SART, as well as a self-reported text experience questionnaire. Those who reported more proficiency and experience with text-speak made more errors on the subset SART, but this appeared to be due to their increase in response speed. This did not occur in the word SART. In Experiment 2, 14 participants completed high No-Go, low-Go (more traditional response format) versions of these tasks to further investigate the cognitive demands of text-speak processing. Response latency increased over periods of watch only for the text-speak task, not for the word task. The results of Experiment 1 support the perspective that the SART is highly sensitive to response strategy, and the results of both experiments together indicate target detection tasks may be a novel way of investigating the cognitive demands of text-speak processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-strand breaks (DSBs), arising from exposure to exogenous clastogens or as a by-product of endogenous cellular metabolism, pose grave threats to genome integrity. DSBs can sever whole chromosomes, leading to chromosomal instability, a hallmark of cancer. Healing broken DNA takes time, and it is therefore essential to temporarily halt cell division while DSB repair is underway. The seminal discovery of cyclin-dependent kinases as master regulators of the cell cycle unleashed a series of studies aimed at defining how the DNA damage response network delays cell division. These efforts culminated with the identification of Cdc25, the protein phosphatase that activates Cdc2/Cdk1, as a critical target of the checkpoint kinase Chk1. However, regulation works both ways, as recent studies have revealed that Cdc2 activity and cell cycle position determine whether DSBs are repaired by non-homologous end-joining or homologous recombination (HR). Central to this regulation are the proteins that initiate the processing of DNA ends for HR repair, Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 protein complex and Ctp1/Sae2/CtIP, and the checkpoint kinases Tel1/ATM and Rad3/ATR. Here, we review recent findings and provide insight on how proteins that regulate cell cycle progression affect DSB repair, and, conversely how proteins that repair DSBs affect cell cycle progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the present experiment, we used search asymmetry to test whether the sustained attention to response task is a better measure of response inhibition or sustained attention. Participants performed feature present and feature absent target detection tasks using either a sustained attention to response task (SART; high Go low No-Go) or a traditionally formatted task (TFT; high No-Go low Go) response format. In addition to performance, we employed functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure lateral cerebral oxygenation levels and self-reports of Tense Arousal, Energetic Arousal, task related and unrelated thoughts occurring during the tasks. Detections were lower and reaction times longer in the feature absent search than the feature present search regardless of response format. Detections were lower, but reaction times shorter in the SART than the TFT regardless of feature search. Greater right than left frontal hemisphere activation occurred in the SART than the TFT. In addition, the SART was more fatiguing based on self-reports than the TFT, but there were no differences in Task-Unrelated Thoughts across task conditions. Overall, the results suggest the SART places high response inhibition, not necessarily sustained attention, demands on participants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We conducted two experiments using search asymmetry to test two theories of sustained attention lapses currently debated in the literature: the mindlessness theory and the resource theory. In the first experiment, participants performed a feature present and a feature absent sustained attention to response task (SART). The mindlessness theory predicts more commission errors in a feature present SART than a feature absent SART, while resource theory predicts the reverse, i.e. more commission errors in a feature absent SART than feature present SART. The latter occurred. In the second study, participants performed a naturalistic scene vigilance task with targets more analogous to a feature present search or more analogous to a feature absent search. The vigilance decrement occurred, with an increase in reaction time to targets over the course of the vigil. The decrement was more pronounced with the targets more analogous to a feature absent search. Overall, the results of both studies support a resource theory of sustained attention lapses, not the mindlessness theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the impact of concurrent verbal and spatial working memory demands on performance on an alpha-numeric successive target detection task. Seven hundred and forty-five participants performed a target detection task while simultaneously performing either a spatial or a verbal working memory task or they performed matched no-memory control tasks. The vigilance decrement, both an increase in target detection response times and a decrease in perceptual sensitivity A′ to target stimuli over time, was exacerbated by concurrent working memory load. The spatial and verbal working memory loads both impacted vigilance performance suggesting utilization of common executive resources. Overall, these results support the view that the vigilance decrement results from high cognitive resource demands (e.g., hard work), not from cognitive under-load (e.g., boredom or mindlessness). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss various reports within the issue on topics including language contact and multilingualism in Great Britain, the influence of the Latin language on Brittonic morphology, and how loanwords reflect the technological transfer at different periods.

Contact between Latin and British, the Brittonic Celtic language, in Roman and post-Roman Britain has received considerable attention in the last few years as part of a more general discussion of linguistic contact phenomena in early Britain. Much of the discussion has focused on phonological aspects, although morphological features have sometimes been invoked without discussion. The aim of this paper is to consider some of the morphological features which have been claimed to reflect Latin influence on Brittonic Celtic languages, such as loss of a case system, loss of the neuter gender, the development of compound prepositions, and the acquisition of a pluperfect tense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study was designed to explore whether target detection in a vigilance task is influenced by task-irrelevant negative emotional and neutral picture stimuli and to test predictions derived from the boredom-mindlessness versus resource depletion accounts of vigilance performance.Background: Previous research indicates that emotional stimuli can capture spatial attention. Research on the effect of negative emotional and neutral visual stimuli on temporal aspects of attention has not, however, been researched in detail.Method: For this study, 51 participants (15 men and 36 women) were assigned at random to one of three vigilance conditions: a visual vigil with task-irrelevant negative-arousing pictures, a visual vigil with task-irrelevant neutral pictures, or a no-picture visual vigil control. Vigilance performance was assessed in all conditions.Results: Overall performance efficiency was negatively influenced by the negative-arousing pictures and was interpreted to favor resource depletion to boredom-mindlessness accounts of vigilance performance.Conclusion: Task-unrelated negative emotional stimuli appear to impair absolute levels of target detections in a vigilance task.Application: In monitoring settings where negative emotional stimuli are present, the intrusion of negative emotional stimuli should be mitigated via alterations in the system design, or if this is implausible, the monitors may need additional stress coping and emotional resilience training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: State-of-the-art morphodynamic field data were collected from Slapton Sands (UK), a fine-gravel beach (D 50 =2–10mm), over a 10-day period under a range of wave–tide conditions, comprising a mixture of southerly swell and easterly wind waves (H s =0.5–1m; T s =4–8s; tide range=3–4m). Over the field period, the upper beach experienced accretion and berm formation during tides with low steepness, swell-dominated wave conditions (H/L <0.01), and underwent erosion during tides dominated by high steepness wind waves (H/L >0.01). Surprisingly, the intertidal beach showed an opposite trend with sediment losses under swell conditions and an increase in sediment volume due to wind waves, and suggests that upper beach morphological change can be decoupled from the overall sediment budget. A submerged accretionary feature (the beach step) grew and migrated onshore on the rising tide, typically reaching a maximum relief of around 0.5m, then gradually decreased in prominence while migrating offshore as the tide fell, resulting in little net morphological change. The step was better developed during the falling tide than the rising tide and, through its control on the swash hydro- and sediment dynamics, the step had a significant effect on the development of the berm. Swash flow velocities under the conditions measured were often in excess of 2ms−1 for both the uprush and the backwash. Onshore mean flows occurred in the upper swash region (<40% inundation), while the lower swash region (>40% inundation) was characterised by offshore mean flows. Swash infiltration losses in the swash zone increased from 40% in the lower swash region to 100% in the upper swash region. The most energetic swash flows and the strongest offshore mean flows occurred at the transition between swash zone and surf zone (90–100% inundation). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A field experiment was conducted on a high energy sandy beach (Truc Vert, France) to examine swash zone processes and shoreline erosion–accretion in response to changing wave and tide conditions. Beachface morphological changes were measured at the swash-by-swash timescale using an array of ultrasonic bed-level sensors and at the tidal timescale through total station surveys. Hydrodynamic and sediment dynamic data were collected using arrays of pressure transducers, electromagnetic current meters, optical backscatter sensors and total load sediment traps. Data were collected for 16 consecutive days (33 tides) over a spring–neap–spring tidal cycle with offshore significant wave heights of 1–4m and periods of 5–12s. The swash motion was predominantly at infragravity wave frequencies. Over the measurement period, the upper beach experienced phases of accretion, erosion and stability. Trapped sediment loads for the uprush and backwash were predicted reasonably well by cross-shore velocity skewness, but the prediction of net transport over individual swash events by velocity-based models was more problematic, particularly lower in the swash zone where swash interactions were more prevalent. Net sediment fluxes over individual swash events often exceeded 100kg per unit meter beach width and such rates were only one order of magnitude less than the net transport typically experienced across the high tide swash zone over complete tidal cycles. Upper beach erosion–accretion at the tidal timescale was reasonably well predicted by the Dean criterion based on offshore wave steepness and dimensionless fall velocity, but the beach gradient also played a significant role in controlling the occurrence of erosion and accretion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper replies to TE Baldock''s discussion [Coastal Eng. 56 (2009) 380–381] of ‘Measurement of wave-by-wave bed-levels in the swash zone’ by Turner et al. [Coastal Eng. 55 (2008) 1237–1242]. We address and extend the comparison and discussion of ultrasonic bed-level sensors and buried pressure transducers to obtain estimates of the beach face elevation within the swash zone. We demonstrate the use of the former method to obtain many and continuous (every time the beach face is exposed) in-situ estimates of net sediment flux per swash. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We shall be interested in the following Erdős–Ko–Rado-type question. Fix some set . How large a subfamily of the power set can we find such that the intersection of any two sets in contains a cyclic translate (modulo ) of ? Chung, Graham, Frankl and Shearer have proved that, in the case where is a block of length , we can do no better than taking to consist of all supersets of . We give an alternative proof of this result, which is in a certain sense more ‘direct’. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The molecular and physiological mechanisms that lead to the progression of glaucoma are poorly understood. Despite the fact that glaucoma afflicts millions of people worldwide, research on the disease is limited by the current animal models that do not translate well to human forms of the disease. However, recent advances in culturing and manipulating human trabecular meshwork cells may provide a means to elucidate some of the mechanisms that cause glaucoma. This review focuses on the properties of trabecular meshwork cells, from their characteristic expression profile in vivo to their responsiveness to biochemical and biophysical signals in vitro. Hopefully the study of cultured trabecular meshwork cells will provide a better understanding of glaucoma and lead to new, much needed therapies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A technique is described to observe and quantify wave-by-wave bed-level changes in the swash zone. The ultrasonic instrument system is non-contact with the beach face surface being measured and the sensors remain outside of the fluid flows causing sediment movement. Sensor resolution combined with the electronic noise inherent within a digital network data-logging system results in a (conservative) measurement accuracy of ±1 mm, equating to a couple of sand grain diameters in height. Illustrative field results demonstrate the practical use of the instrumentation, and a simple data pre-processing method to separate swashes and intervening bed-level ‘events’ is discussed. These example data reveal rather complex fluctuations of the bed observed over time periods of minutes to hours. Rather strikingly, gross bed-level changes per wave are revealed to be up to many orders of magnitude larger than the observed net rate of beach face evolution. It is outlined how observations of successive bed-level changes at multiple locations within a dense grid, combined with a consideration of sediment continuity, will now enable the total net sediment transported per uprush–backwash to be quantified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The discussion in this paper begins with some observations regarding a number of structural similarities between art and morality as it involves human agency. On the basis of these observations we may ask whether or not incompatibilist worries about free will are relevant to both art and morality. One approach is to claim that libertarian free will is essential to our evaluations of merit and desert in both spheres. An alternative approach, is to claim that free will is required only in the sphere of morality—and that to this extent the art/morality analogy breaks down. I argue that both these incompatibilist approaches encounter significant problems and difficulties—and that incompatibilist have paid insufficient attention to these issues. However, although the analogy between art and morality may be welcomed by compatibilists, it does not pave the way for an easy or facile optimism on this subject. On the contrary, while the art/morality analogy may lend support to compatibilism it also serves to show that some worries of incompatibilism relating to the role of luck in human life cannot be easily set aside, which denies compatibilism any basis for complacent optimism on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The faithful replication of the genome, coupled with the accurate repair of DNA damage, is essential for the maintenance of chromosomal integrity. The MMS22 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays an important but poorly understood role in preservation of genorne integrity. Here we describe a novel gene in Schizosaccharornyces pombe that we propose is a highly diverged ortholog of MMS22. Fission yeast Mms22 functions in the recovery from replication-associated DNA damage. Loss of Mms22 results in the accumulation of spontaneous DNA damage in the S- and G2-phases of the cell cycle and elevated genomic instability. There are severe synthetic interactions involving mnrs22 and most of the homologous recombination proteins but not the structure-specific endonuclease Mus81-Emel, which is required for survival of broken replication forks. Mms22 forms spontaneous nuclear foci and colocalizes with Rad22 in cells treated with camptothecin, suggesting that it has a direct role in repair of broken replication forks. Moreover, genetic interactions with components of the DNA replication fork suggest that Mms2 functions in the coordination of DNA synthesis following damage. We propose that Mms22 functions directly at the replication fork to maintain genomic integrity in a pathway involving Mus81-Emel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]