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A salience map is a topographic map that has inputs at each x,y location from many different feature maps and summarizes the combined salience of all those inputs as a real number, salience, which is represented in the map. Of the more than 1 million Google references to salience maps, nearly all use the map for computing the relative priority of visual image components for subsequent processing. We observe that salience processing is an instance of substance-invariant processing, analogous to household measuring cups, weight scales, and measuring tapes, all of which make single-number substance-invariant measurements. Like these devices, the brain also collects material for substance-invariant measurements but by a different mechanism: salience maps that collect visual substances for subsequent measurement. Each salience map can be used by many different measurements. The instruction to attend is implemented by increasing the salience of the to-be-attended items so they can be collected in a salience map and then further processed. Here we show that, beyond processing priority, the following measurement tasks are substance invariant and therefore use salience maps: computing distance in the frontal plane, computing centroids (center of a cluster of items), computing the numerosity of a collection of items, and identifying alphabetic letters. We painstakingly demonstrate that defining items exclusively by color or texture not only is sufficient for these tasks, but that light-dark luminance information significantly improves performance only for letter recognition. Obviously, visual features are represented in the brain but their salience alone is sufficient for these four judgments.

PurposeTo construct a comprehensive reference database (RDB) for a novel binocular automated perimeter.DesignA four-site prospective randomized clinical trial.Subjects and controlsThree hundred fifty-six healthy subjects without ocular conditions that might affect visual function were categorized into 7 age groups.MethodsSubjects underwent comprehensive ocular examination of both eyes before enrollment. Using the TEMPO/IMOvifa automated perimeter (Topcon Healthcare/CREWT Medical Systems), each subject completed 4 binocular threshold visual field (VF) tests during a single visit: First, practice 24-2 and 10-2 tests were obtained from both eyes. Next, study 24-2 and 10-2 tests were obtained from both eyes. Test order of each sequence was randomized, and the tests were conducted under standard automated perimetry testing conditions: Goldmann stimulus size III, 3183 cd/m2 maximum stimulus intensity, and background intensity of 10 cd/m2, using AIZE-Rapid test strategy. Standard VF reliability indices were assessed. For each subject, 24-2 and 10-2 test results from 1 randomly selected eye were analyzed.Main outcome measuresPerimetric threshold sensitivity and reference limits for each test analysis parameter.ResultsThe ages of the study cohort were widely distributed, with a mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of 52.3 (18.5) years. Sex assignment was 44.0% male and 56.0% female. The majority of subjects self-identified as White (67.4%), followed by Black or African American (13.5%) and Asian (8.7%), with 14.6% self-identified as Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Mean sensitivity (SD) was 29.1 (1.3) decibels (dB) for the 24-2 and 32.4 (1.0) dB for the 10-2 test. For the 24-2 and 10-2, mean sensitivity (SD) age-related changes averaged -0.06 (0.01) dB and -0.05 (0.01) dB per year, respectively. The normal range of pointwise threshold sensitivity increased with eccentricity and showed asymmetry around the mean, particularly notable in the 24-2 test. Mean (SD) binocular test duration was 3.18 (0.38) minutes (1 minute 35 seconds per eye) for the 24-2 test and 3.58 (0.43) minutes (1 minute 47 seconds per eye) for the 10-2 test.ConclusionsAn RDB for the TEMPO/IMOvifa perimeter was established, highlighting the significance of considering both age and stimulus eccentricity in interpreting threshold VF test results.Financial disclosuresProprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

People are often presented with large amounts of information to remember, and in many cases, the font size of information may be indicative of its importance (such as headlines or warnings). In the present study, we examined how learners perceive the importance of information in different font sizes and how beliefs about font size influence selective memory. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with to-be-remembered words that were either unrelated or related to a goal (e.g., items for a camping trip) in either small or large font. Participants rated words in large font as more important to remember than words in small font when the words in a list were unrelated but not when the words were schematically related to a goal. In Experiments 2 and 3, we were interested in how learners belief that font size is indicative of importance translates to their ability to selectively encode and recall valuable information. Specifically, we presented participants with words in various font sizes, and larger fonts either corresponded to greater point values or smaller point values (values counted towards participants scores if recalled). When larger fonts corresponded with greater point values, participants were better able to selectively remember high-value words relative to low-value words. Thus, when to-be-remembered information varies in value, font size may be less diagnostic of an items importance (the items importance drives memory), and when the value of information is consistent with a learners belief, learners can better engage in selective memory.

Visual working memory (WM) is a central cognitive ability but is capacity-limited due to competition between remembered items. Understanding whether inter-item competition depends on the similarity of the features being remembered has important implications for determining if competition occurs in sensory or post-sensory stages of processing. Experiment 1 compared the precision of WM across homogeneous displays, where items belonged to the same feature type (e.g., colorful circles), and heterogeneous displays (e.g., colorful circles and oriented bars). Performance was better for heterogeneous displays, suggesting a feature-specific component of interference. However, Experiment 2 used a retro-cueing task to isolate encoding from online maintenance and revealed that inter-item competition during storage was not feature-specific. The data support recent models of WM in which inter-item interference - and hence capacity limits in WM - occurs in higher-order structures that receive convergent input from a diverse array of feature-specific representations.

Hypothesis-driven research rests on clearly articulated scientific theories. The building blocks for communicating these theories are scientific terms. Obviously, communication - and thus, scientific progress - is hampered if the meaning of these terms varies idiosyncratically across (sub)fields and even across individual researchers within the same subfield. We have formed an international group of experts representing various theoretical stances with the goal to homogenize the use of the terms that are most relevant to fundamental research on visual distraction in visual search. Our discussions revealed striking heterogeneity and we had to invest much time and effort to increase our mutual understanding of each others use of central terms, which turned out to be strongly related to our respective theoretical positions. We present the outcomes of these discussions in a glossary and provide some context in several essays. Specifically, we explicate how central terms are used in the distraction literature and consensually sharpen their definitions in order to enable communication across theoretical standpoints. Where applicable, we also explain how the respective constructs can be measured. We believe that this novel type of adversarial collaboration can serve as a model for other fields of psychological research that strive to build a solid groundwork for theorizing and communicating by establishing a common language. For the field of visual distraction, the present paper should facilitate communication across theoretical standpoints and may serve as an introduction and reference text for newcomers.

Objective To determine the prevalence and predictive factors of visual manifestations in a large registry of patients with GCA. Methods ARTESER is a large Spanish multicentre registry supported by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology. It includes patients with GCA from across the entire country diagnosed between June 2013 and March 2019. The variables collected at diagnosis were demographics, clinical manifestations (including all visual manifestations), laboratory, temporal artery biopsy, and imaging findings (ultrasound, FDG-PET/CT, MRI angiography, CT angiography). Patients with and without visual involvement were compared in a bivariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine potential predictive factors of visual manifestations. Results The study population comprised 1636 GCA patients, of whom 599 (36.6%) presented visual manifestations. Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy was the most frequent (n  = 274 of 599; 45.7%) ocular complication. The independent predictors that increased the risk (OR; 95% confidence interval) of visual involvement were older age (1.027; 1.009–1.045) and jaw claudication (1.724; 1.325–2.243). The variables associated with a reduced risk were polymyalgia rheumatica (0.541; 0.414–0.708), fever (0.373; 0.264–0.527), longer symptom duration (0.946; 0.909–0.985) and higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (0.992; 0.988–0.997), common features of patients with large vessel GCA. Conclusion One-third of GCA patients present visual manifestations at diagnosis. Older age and jaw claudication are independent predictors of visual manifestations, whereas polymyalgia rheumatica, fever, longer symptom duration and high ESR reduce the risk of visual involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual hallucinations are a common non-motor feature of Parkinson's disease and have been associated with accelerated cognitive decline, increased mortality and early institutionalization. Despite their prevalence and negative impact on patient outcomes, the repertoire of treatments aimed at addressing this troubling symptom is limited. Over the past two decades, significant contributions have been made in uncovering the pathological and functional mechanisms of visual hallucinations, bringing us closer to the development of a comprehensive neurobiological framework. Convergent evidence now suggests that degeneration within the central cholinergic system may play a significant role in the genesis and progression of visual hallucinations. Here, we outline how cholinergic dysfunction may serve as a potential unifying neurobiological substrate underlying the multifactorial and dynamic nature of visual hallucinations. Drawing upon previous theoretical models, we explore the impact that alterations in cholinergic neurotransmission has on the core cognitive processes pertinent to abnormal perceptual experiences. We conclude by highlighting that a deeper understanding of cholinergic neurobiology and individual pathophysiology may help to improve established and emerging treatment strategies for the management of visual hallucinations and psychotic symptoms in Parkinson's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to conclude the influence of eBooks in the learning process throughout the world. The meta-analysis design taken was a group contrast between control and experimental groups with a random effect size model. The criteria used are time "data published 2018-2023," published in English, type of publication is a quantitative research article, the research design is a difference between control and experimental groups, containing complete data "mean, sample size, and standard deviation," and recorded in the Scopus database. Data collection was guided by the PRISMA method. The results of the analysis showed that the data were heterogeneous and free from publication bias. The results of the analysis showed that there was a large "positive" effect as indicated by a p-value <0.001<5% "95% confidence interval" and a total effect size=0.86 [0.61; 1.11]. It can be concluded based on the latest findings that eBooks have an equally good effect on all conditions which are influenced by the type of competency developed, the eBook information base, the type of eBook, and class size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the fundamental functions of humor is establishing the boundaries between groups. While it is very easy to trace this function in private settings, it often becomes more challenging in the online public sphere, where different groups of humor audiences overlap; there, using audience-restricting references can be counterproductive by establishing boundaries and preventing the efficient spread of jokes. Using the database on humor and conflicts in the public sphere, we look at how humor producers use both in-group specific and widely known humorous references (that we call universal) to create jokes and memes. Based on a corpus of Belarusian and Polish public humor, we outline the most common specific categories of references, analyze how the prevalence of certain categories and types of references depends on the nature of the controversies, and explore the connections between the types of references (verbal or visual) and their nature (in-group and universal). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time perception varies across different sensory modalities, with previous research indicating that visual flicker can dilate perceived duration while auditory flutter can sometimes compress it. This study aimed to explore duration perception in the relatively understudied tactile modality and compare it with the visual modality. In Experiment 1A, we investigated the effect of temporal modulation on perceived duration using 1-s tactile flutter and visual flicker stimuli, either stationary or modulated at 6.5 Hz, 12.5 Hz, or 24.5 Hz. Participants reported which of two sequentially presented stimuli appeared longer in duration. Results demonstrated that both tactile flutter and visual flicker induced significant time distortions, with higher frequencies leading to greater duration dilation. Notably, the magnitudes of time distortion were significantly correlated between the two modalities. Experiment 1B assessed the roles of sensitivity and subjective saliency in these time distortions. Contrary to previous findings, saliency did not correlate with the observed time distortions in either modality, and sensitivity did not correlate with time distortions in the visual modality. These results suggest that, while tactile duration perception exhibits similarities to visual duration perception, the lack of correlation with saliency challenges the idea that time distortion is driven by subjective saliency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the generation of 133 images using artificial intelligence (AI) to represent Cultural Interest Festivals (FIC) of Castilla y León through the Playground AI platform. The images were created based on real photographs of the festivals. The results were evaluated through comparative surveys, focusing on two aspects: the familiarity and comfort they evoke, and their resemblance to reality. While the original photographs are more similar to reality, the images generated by Playground AI excel in better representing the festivals and are considered more appealing by the respondents. We conclude that these digital tools adapt both the symbolic and literal dimensions while preserving the essence of the original source. Furthermore, they standardize the aesthetics through artistic filters with chromatic harmony, achieving a visually more pleasant appearance that effectively highlights the representative aspects of these cultural celebrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore everyday life experiences of migration and disability from an intersectional perspective drawing on issues such as gender, class, and ethnicity. This is relevant because when focus is on either migration or disability, unique challenges faced by disabled migrants are neglected, leading to fragmented support and a lack of accurate knowledge. The analysis is based on retrospective data from photovoice sessions conducted within the context of a community-based project, Disabled Refugees Welcome (DRW). A secondary analysis has involved eight of the members from the original photovoice sessions as well as academics. The results are presented in a narrative thematic analysis. The findings show how the combined effects of liminality, structural violence (lack of accessible and adapted housing, lack of access to knowledge about societal resources), and multiple discrimination risks can result in permanent exclusion. Points of interest: Exploring the implications in everyday life about issues related to migration, gender and disability is necessary to raise awareness of assumptions and stereotypes, which can improve health and living conditions for disabled migrants. Current guidelines and laws insufficiently provide guidance and support for disabled persons who are also migrants. Education, work, housing, and healthcare are critical parts for inclusion in northern. European societies, yet too often inaccessible for disabled migrants. Experiences of disability and migration can amplify feelings of loneliness, inadequacy and isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracy of satellite positioning results depends on the number of available satellites in the sky. In complex environments such as urban canyons, the effectiveness of satellite positioning is often compromised. To enhance the positioning accuracy of low-cost sensors, this paper combines the visual odometer data output by Xtion with the GNSS/IMU integrated positioning data output by the satellite receiver and MEMS IMU both in the mobile phone through adaptive Kalman filtering to improve positioning accuracy. Studies conducted in different experimental scenarios have found that in unobstructed environments, the RMSE of GNSS/IMU/visual fusion positioning accuracy improves by 50.4% compared to satellite positioning and by 24.4% compared to GNSS/IMU integrated positioning. In obstructed environments, the RMSE of GNSS/IMU/visual fusion positioning accuracy improves by 57.8% compared to satellite positioning and by 36.8% compared to GNSS/IMU integrated positioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) is a condition characterised by visual hallucinations of varying complexity on a background of vision loss. CBS research has gained popularity only in recent decades, despite evidence dating back to 1760. Knowledge of CBS among both the patient and professional populations unfortunately remains poor, and little is known of its underlying pathophysiology. CBS parallels two other better-known conditions that occur as a result of sensory loss: phantom limb syndrome (PLS) (aberrant sensation of the presence of a missing limb) and tinnitus (aberrant sensation of sound). As 'phantom' conditions, CBS, PLS and tinnitus share sensory loss as a precipitating factor, and, as subjective perceptual phenomena, face similar challenges to investigations. Thus far, these conditions have been studied separately from each other. This review aims to bridge the conceptual gap between CBS, PLS and tinnitus and seek common lessons between them. It considers the current knowledge base of CBS and explores the extent to which an understanding of PLS and tinnitus could provide valuable insights into the pathology of CBS (including the roles of cortical reorganisation, emotional and cognitive factors), and towards identifying effective potential management for CBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals use an array of visual cues to gauge distance, and their underlying neural mechanisms remain largely unknown. Zebrafish larvae execute different hunting behaviors depending on distance to the prey, providing a simple model system in which to study this process. To identify distance cues, we presented equivalent prey stimuli at increasing distance and recorded hunting behaviors. We found that the initial convergence angle was lower for more distant prey, suggesting that they are able to gauge distance to the prey via monocular cues. We investigated blur as a possible monocular cue, and found that by artificially blurring the stimulus, we were able to reduce initial convergence and strike probability. This implicates blur as a distance cue in zebrafish prey capture, adds to our knowledge of how larvae are able to visually target and accurately capture prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding a reliable and objective measure of individual differences in mental imagery across sensory modalities is difficult, with measures relying on self-report scales or focusing on one modality alone. Based on the idea that mental imagery involves multimodal sensorimotor simulations, a mental comparison task (MCT) was developed across three studies and tested on adults (n = 96, 345, and 448). Analyses examined: (a) the internal consistency of the MCT, (b) whether lexical features of the MCT stimuli (word length and frequency) predicted performance, (c) whether the MCT related to two widely used self-report scales, (d) response latencies and accuracies across the visual, auditory, and tactile modalities, and (e) whether MCT performance was independent of processing speed. The MCT showed evidence of reliability and validity. Responses were fastest and most accurate for the visual modality, followed by the auditory and tactile. However, consistent with the idea that self-report questionnaires index a different aspect of mental imagery, the MCT showed minimal correlations with self-report imagery. Finally, relations between MCT scales remained strong after controlling for processing speed. Findings are discussed in relation to current understanding and measurement of mental imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a case of Occult Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA), a rare variant of GCA that primarily affects the eyes. The patient, an 82-year-old Scandinavian woman, presented with visual disturbances and was initially diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NA-AION). However, further evaluation revealed bilateral optic disc swelling and halo-signs in the temporal arteries, confirming the diagnosis of GCA. Treatment with corticosteroids led to stabilization of the patient's vision. The article emphasizes the importance of ultrasound examinations in detecting Occult GCA, especially in asymptomatic patients or those at risk due to age or demographic factors. [Extracted from the article]

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are one of the most common causes of mental disability in the world. Despite efforts to increase public awareness of the risks of drinking during pregnancy, epidemiological studies indicate a prevalence of 1–6% in all births. There is growing evidence that deficits in sensory processing may contribute to social problems observed in FASD. Multisensory (MS) integration occurs when a combination of inputs from two sensory modalities leads to enhancement or suppression of neuronal firing. MS enhancement is usually linked to processes that facilitate cognition and reaction time, whereas MS suppression has been linked to filtering unwanted sensory information. The rostral portion of the posterior parietal cortex (PPr) of the ferret is an area that shows robust visual-tactile integration and displays both MS enhancement and suppression. Recently, our lab demonstrated that ferrets exposed to alcohol during the "third trimester equivalent" of human gestation show less MS enhancement and more MS suppression in PPr than controls. Here we complement these findings by comparing in vivo electrophysiological recordings from channels located in shallow and deep cortical layers. We observed that while the effects of alcohol (less MS enhancement and more MS suppression) were found in all layers, the magnitude of these effects was more pronounced in putative layers V-VI. These findings extend our knowledge of the sensory deficits of FASD. • Multisensory integration lead to enhancement or suppression of neuronal firing. • A ferret model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders shows less enhancement and more suppression of multisensory responses. • While these effects can be seen in both shallow and deeper layers, they were more pronounced in the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual content is everywhere—whether in advertisements, social media, art or educational materials— images shape how we communicate, learn and interpret the world. The skill of understanding and interpreting these visuals, known as visual literacy, is crucial for navigating modern society and will only become more important in the future. Despite its significance, visual literacy remains underrepresented in education, largely because art education has been side-lined for other core subjects, such as English and maths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus cereus is a common contaminating bacteria and conditioned pathogens in food. Immunological methods or molecular biology assays that are currently available cannot distinguish between live and dead bacterial cells, which may overestimate the number of bacteria and lead to false-positive results. To solve this problem, we introduced propidium monoazide (PMA) and calcein in this study and established a real-time visual loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) detection method to detect viable B. cereus. In addition, the results can be detected visually with calcein dye or quantitatively by monitoring the amplification curve of the fluorescence signal. In this study, the results showed that the visual PMA-LAMP method had high specificity, strong anti-interference ability, a sensitivity of 1.16 × 102 CFU/mL, and that the whole reaction could be completed within 80 min. This method not only has high sensitivity, but also has a shorter reaction time and is faster. In the detection of artificially contaminated food samples, the lowest detection limit reached 6 CFU/mL after 3 or 4 h of enrichment. Therefore, the visual PMA-LAMP technology can provide an efficient and rapid method for the detection of live B. cereus bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Language Academy: IJLA is the property of Rota Kariyer and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article interrogates how TikTok has become a voice of authority in the self-diagnosis of ADHD and builds on theories of social, cultural, and algorithmic authority, to offer a theoretical framework of "techno-cultural authority". Through a digital ethnography and analysis of ADHD TikToks and the technological infrastructures and assemblages surrounding the TikTok app, I demonstrate how ADHD TikTok content creators adopt visual and discursive norms from other trending TikTok content and traditional visual media content to generate authority, and to ensure their videos are deemed viewable and relevant by viewers and the algorithm. Contrary to traditional understandings of medical authority, I find that authority on TikTok is not produced by individuals or institutions, but rather by content creators who engage, en masse, with the supporting technologies of the TikTok app to reproduce familiar trends and visual norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual aids have been validated as effective tools for educating patients in a variety of medical settings. However, research exploring the efficacy and potential benefit of genetic counseling visual aids is lacking. To begin to address this gap, this study assessed participant knowledge of genetic counseling concepts after viewing either visual or non‐visual educational content. Participants were recruited from the general population using the crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk. Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests were carried out to evaluate differences in knowledge survey scores between the visual and non‐visual groups, and Poisson regression models were fitted to evaluate these differences across a variety of demographic backgrounds. The visual group had equal or higher scores than the non‐visual group across all analyses. The difference in group scores was statistically significant for autosomal recessive inheritance knowledge scores (p < 0.05). In addition, this difference was approaching significance for higher‐level knowledge scores (p = 0.05) and total knowledge scores in individuals who have not completed post‐secondary education (p = 0.05). These results indicate that visual aids improve knowledge of specific genetic counseling concepts such as inheritance patterns; the education of which is often integral to genetic counseling. These results also indicate that visual aids may facilitate a deeper understanding of genetic counseling concepts and may be particularly valuable for individuals with lower educational backgrounds. Together, the results of this study support the inclusion of visual aids in genetic counseling education to help improve patient understanding and the accessibility of genetic healthcare information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is considered necessary because it is in line with the current digital era where many of the students certainly take advantage of the digital media around them. With a sufficient understanding of digital media literacy, it is hoped that it will help them in choosing and evaluating information wisely, thereby reducing the risk of exposure to inaccurate or dangerous information because it is seen from the rapidly increasing digital development. This study aims to find out the extent of students' digital media literacy and also the various learning styles of students and the analysis of students' digital media literacy according to their respective learning styles (visual, auditory and kinesthetic). The method used descriptive qualitative research with 48 respondents. The data collection technique uses questionnaires (multiple choice digital media literacy questionnaire and learning style questionnaire to determine the types of students' learning styles including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and mixed) and analysis using the help of SPSS version 25. The results of this study show that the learning style that has a higher understanding of digital media literacy than other learning styles is the auditory learning style with an average of 19.80, the second is the visual learning style with an average of 19.75, the third is the mixed learning style with an average of 19.57, and the last is the kinesthetic learning style with an average of 19.17.

Understanding the neural underpinning of human gait and balance is one of the most pertinent challenges for 21st-century translational neuroscience due to the profound impact that falls and mobility disturbances have on our aging population. Posture and gait control does not happen automatically, as previously believed, but rather requires continuous involvement of central nervous mechanisms. To effectively exert control over the body, the brain must integrate multiple streams of sensory information, including visual, vestibular, and somatosensory signals. The mechanisms which underpin the integration of these multisensory signals are the principal topic of the present work. Existing multisensory integration theories focus on how failure of cognitive processes thought to be involved in multisensory integration leads to falls in older adults. Insufficient emphasis, however, has been placed on specific contributions of individual sensory modalities to multisensory integration processes and cross-modal interactions that occur between the sensory modalities in relation to gait and balance. In the present work, we review the contributions of somatosensory, visual, and vestibular modalities, along with their multisensory intersections to gait and balance in older adults and patients with Parkinson’s disease. We also review evidence of vestibular contributions to multisensory temporal binding windows, previously shown to be highly pertinent to fall risk in older adults. Lastly, we relate multisensory vestibular mechanisms to potential neural substrates, both at the level of neurobiology (concerning positron emission tomography imaging) and at the level of electrophysiology (concerning electroencephalography). We hope that this integrative review, drawing influence across multiple subdisciplines of neuroscience, paves the way for novel research directions and therapeutic neuromodulatory approaches, to improve the lives of older adults and patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

The local field potential (LFP), the low-frequency part of the extracellular potential, reflects transmembrane currents in the vicinity of the recording electrode. Thought mainly to stem from currents caused by synaptic input, it provides information about neural activity complementary to that of spikes, the output of neurons. However, the many neural sources contributing to the LFP, and likewise the derived current source density (CSD), can often make it challenging to interpret. Efforts to improve its interpretability have included the application of statistical decomposition tools like principal component analysis (PCA) and independent component analysis (ICA) to disentangle the contributions from different neural sources. However, their underlying assumptions of, respectively, orthogonality and statistical independence are not always valid for the various processes or pathways generating LFP. Here, we expand upon and validate a decomposition algorithm named Laminar Population Analysis (LPA), which is based on physiological rather than statistical assumptions. LPA utilizes the multiunit activity (MUA) and LFP jointly to uncover the contributions of different populations to the LFP. To perform the validation of LPA, we used data simulated with the large-scale, biophysically detailed model of mouse V1 developed by the Allen Institute. We find that LPA can identify laminar positions within V1 and the temporal profiles of laminar population firing rates from the MUA. We also find that LPA can estimate the salient current sinks and sources generated by feedforward input from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), recurrent activity in V1, and feedback input from the lateromedial (LM) area of visual cortex. LPA identifies and distinguishes these contributions with a greater accuracy than the alternative statistical decomposition methods, PCA and ICA. The contributions from different cortical layers within V1 could however not be robustly separated and identified with LPA. This is likely due to substantial synchrony in population firing rates across layers, which may be reduced with other stimulus protocols in the future. Lastly, we also demonstrate the application of LPA on experimentally recorded MUA and LFP from 24 animals in the publicly available Visual Coding dataset. Our results suggest that LPA can be used both as a method to estimate positions of laminar populations and to uncover salient features in LFP/CSD contributions from different populations.

Memory decision-making in 26- to 32-month-olds was investigated using visual-paired comparison paradigms, requiring toddlers to select familiar stimuli (Active condition) or view familiar and novel stimuli (Passive condition). In Experiment 1 (N = 108, 54.6% female, 62% White; replication N = 98), toddlers with higher accuracy in the Active condition showed reduced novelty preference in that condition, but not in the Passive condition (d = -.11). In Experiment 2 (N = 78; 52.6% female; 70.5% White), a brief 5% increase in target size boosted gaze transitions across conditions (d = .50) and accuracy in the Active condition (d = .53). Overall, evidence suggests that better attentional distribution can support decision-making. Research was conducted between 2014 and 2020 in Northern California.

Student achievement is an indicator of learning success that indicates the extent to which a student has acquired the skills and knowledge set forth by their educational program. Understanding students' learning styles plays a significant role in determining learning success. One of the efforts to optimize student achievement is facilitating learning activities that align with students' learning styles. Students are no longer preoccupied with understanding their learning styles but are focused on deepening the material. This study aims to describe the learning style profiles of students, and students and lecturers in the learning process can follow up on the results. This study uses a survey research method with a questionnaire instrument containing 54 statements. A learning styles questionnaire prepared based on the opinion of De Poter & Hernacki is used as a data collection tool. Learning styles are identified as visual learning style, auditorial learning style, and kinesthetic learning style. The questionnaire was distributed to students in semesters 2, 4, 6, and 8, totaling 51 students. The data analysis technique used is a descriptive analysis of the questionnaire results. The questionnaire results show that 36% of students have visual and kinesthetic learning styles, 14% have auditory, and 14% are inconsistent. This inconsistency may suggest a balanced learning style, where students do not rely heavily on one learning mode but rather integrate multiple styles depending on the context. Therefore, the Science Education Study Program lecturers should implement a learning model that can facilitate visual and kinesthetic styles, even though the subjects taught are theoretical. Incorporating a variety of teaching methods, such as visual aids, hands-on activities, and auditory discussions, can accommodate the diverse learning preferences of students, leading to a more inclusive and effective learning environment.

Yew Ern Au,1 Cheuk Ying Li,1 Nishaanth Dalavaye,1 Aarij Elahi,1 Rohan Vyas,2 Ravanth Baskaran,1 Stephen Mark Rutherford3 1School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; 2Bart’s and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK; 3School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UKCorrespondence: Ravanth Baskaran, Email ravanthb97@gmail.comBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in medical students’ education being disrupted and a new direction of learning towards the online classroom, with students frequently learning to identify clinical signs via online conferencing platforms. Given this shift in student study techniques in the pandemic and post-pandemic era, we set out to analyse the confidence levels of students recognizing clinical signs in patients and the opinions and patterns of resources students would use to build up the knowledge and confidence for their future clinical practice.Methods: OSCEazy, a student-led medical education organisation, delivered an online teaching session and disseminated a questionnaire containing ten-point Likert scales, multiple-choice questions and free text options.Results: The majority (over 75%) of respondents reported using digital resources to learn physical examinations. Most respondents were somewhat confident with recognising clinical signs during physical examinations (Median 7, IQR 6– 8). Kruskal–Wallis H-test on students’ impression of the quality of current OSCE materials showed a statistically significant difference between cohorts (X2(2) = 14.209, p = 0.014). A large proportion of students (98.41%) agreed that an online resources bank would be beneficial for their learning. Wilcoxon rank test showed a statistically significant preference for learning physical examinations using clinical images rather than videos (p = 0.014). A 29% of respondents mentioned the use of physical textbooks as a resource, while online platforms such as OSCE revision websites, YouTube and Google Images had become the mainstream platforms.Conclusion: The findings reported here suggest that there needs to be a greater emphasis on providing online image-based resources to support medical students in learning clinical signs. A resource containing these clinical signs would prove to be of benefit for students to access high-quality self-directed learning to identify and verify clinical signs.Keywords: medical education, visual, multi-media, clinical, online, teaching

Obtaining informed consent can be challenging during peer research when the boundaries between researcher and participant are blurred. We developed a novel visual consent method with illiterate artists in Nepal who conducted peer interviews in their communities. Artists discussed and sketched images related to ethical principles to create a visual consent form. This improved comprehension about research ethics and developed the confidence of artists to conduct peer-interviews, but we found that artists memorised the form; they did not engage participants in looking at the pictures with them; and they did not use the pictures that they disagreed with. In future research, the visuals should be developed in consultation with participants and be used to explain the study to participants. The tool development process can be used to establish a joint understanding about the research, its harms, and benefits, and to develop relational and iterative consent processes in participatory action research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In recent years, the increasing use of drones for both commercial and recreational purposes has led to heightened concerns regarding airspace safety. To address these issues, machine learning (ML) based drone detection and classification have emerged. This study explores the potential of ML-based drone classification, utilizing technologies like radar, visual, acoustic, and radiofrequency sensing systems. It undertakes a comprehensive examination of the existing literature in this domain, with a focus on various sensing modalities and their respective technological implementations. The study indicates that MLbased drone classification is promising, with numerous successful individual contributions. It is crucial to note, however, that much of the research in this field is experimental, making it difficult to compare results from various articles. There is also a noteworthy lack of reference datasets to help in the evaluation of different solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that trait anxiety relates to cognitive processing and behavior. However, the relationships between trait anxiety and sensory processing, goal‐directed performance and sensorimotor function are unclear, particularly in a multimodal context. This study used electroencephalography to evaluate whether trait anxiety influenced visual and tactile event‐related potentials (ERPs), as well as behavioral distractor cost, in a bimodal sensorimotor task. Twenty‐nine healthy young adults completed the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Participants were directed to focus on either tactile or visual stimuli while disregarding the other modality, responding to target stimulus amplitude with a proportional grip. Previous research suggests that somatosensory N70 and visual P2 ERPs serve as markers of attentional relevance, with attention also impacting the visual P3 ERP. It was hypothesized that trait anxiety would modulate the ERPs susceptible to attentional modulation (tactile N70, visual P2 and P3) and not affect behavioral performance. Trait anxiety showed a large, significant interaction with attention for visual P3 latency in response to unimodal visual stimuli, with a positive relationship between P3 latencies and trait anxiety when attending toward the stimulus and negative when attending away. A large, positive main effect of trait anxiety on visual N1 amplitude for bimodal stimuli was also detected. As predicted, trait anxiety related to ERPs but not behavioral distractor cost. These findings suggest that trait anxiety modulates visual but not somatosensory processing correlates based on attention. The absence of overt behavioral performance effects suggests compensatory mechanisms may offset underlying differences in sensory processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in audiovisual creation is redefining the boundaries between human creativity and technological potential. Its use is widespread in social networks. This research will review the technical background and aims to analyse the application of AI in the different stages of visual production. It will study whether communication professionals can take advantage of their knowledge to get more out of these tools. The conclusions determine that AI is involved in the emergence of new forms of artistic and communicative expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing presence of everyday visual materials, such as social media images and videos, raises new questions around the ways in which identities are made visible in contemporary contexts. 'Visually informed' critical discursive psychology can be productively leveraged to analyze the diverse intersections of visuality and gender in daily life. To guide future inquiries in this domain, a brief overview of discourse analysis, discursive psychology, and (visually informed) critical discursive psychology is provided. Applying this methodology to the study of gender, an explicit conceptualization of visual gender displays is detailed alongside complementary analytic objectives suitable for future inquiries. Lastly, three categories of visual features are outlined that could be attended to during close examinations of visual data, using extracts from a previous study to illustrate key points. To that end, scholars can visually investigate 'micro' level gender displays as they relate to 'macro' systems of inequality- grounded in a critical discursive psychology framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), as an important chemical intermediate, plays a crucial role in the production of nylon-66 and finds widespread applications in various fields such as synthetic fibers, textile manufacturing, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and polymer materials. Addressing the efficient detection of HMDA pollution in water, this study successfully prepared a photonic crystal sensor sensitive to HMDA by altering the ratio of functional monomers to crosslinker. The sensor, referred to as inverse opal polymeric photonic crystals (IOPPCs), exhibited optimal responsive performance when the functional monomer was acrylic acid (AA) and the ratio of functional monomer to crosslinker was 5:0.5. Research results indicate that as the HMDA concentration increased from 1 mM to 10 mM, the redshift of the reflection of IOPPCs increased from 3 nm to 140 nm, accompanied by a color change from green to red, enabling visual semi-quantitative detection. Additionally, the prepared IOPPCs demonstrated good anti-interference property and reusability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some research has shown that older adults benefit more from multisensory information than do young adults. However, more recent evidence has shown that the multisensory age benefit varies considerably across tasks. In the current study, older (65 – 80) and young (18 – 30) adults (N = 191) completed a speeded perceptual discrimination task either online or face-to-face to assess task response speed. We examined whether presenting stimuli in multiple sensory modalities (audio-visual) instead of one (audio-only or visual-only) benefits older adults more than young adults. Across all three experiments, a consistent speeding of response was found in the multisensory condition compared to the unisensory conditions for both young and older adults. Furthermore, race model analysis showed a significant multisensory benefit across a broad temporal interval. Critically, there were no significant differences between young and older adults. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence in favour of a multisensory benefit that does not differ across age groups, contrasting with prior research. • Multisensory information is responded to faster than unisensory information. • Both young and older adults benefit similarly from multisensory information. • An age-specific multisensory benefit was not replicated from prior research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is usually calculated through a neurological examination with self-reported performance. This may lead to incorrect assessment of Functional System scores (FSs). Aim of our study was to estimate the difference between EDSS obtained during routine visits, or after specific tests. Methods: We enrolled 670 MS patients that underwent a regular neurology consultation, and visual evaluation using optotype tables, ambulation evaluation with a rodometer, and cognitive assessment with the Brief International Cognitive assessment for MS (BICAMS). We calculated a new integrated EDSS (iEDSS) using the refined values of the FS and compared it to the standard EDSS. Results: Visual, cerebral and ambulation FSs were significantly higher compared with the self-reported counterpart [+ 1.169 (95%CI 1.077, 1.262; p < 0.001), + 0.727 (95%CI 0.653, 0.801; p < 0.001) and + 0.822 (95%CI 0.705, 0.939; p < 0.001), respectively]. Mean iEDSS was higher than EDSS (+ 0.642; p < 0.001). Visual acuity tests worsened the EDSS in 31% of cases, cognitive tests in 10%, ambulation measurement in 35%, all three measurements in 59% of cases. Conclusions: Objective measurement of FSs results in a more accurate EDSS score in almost two-thirds of cases. This could lead to a more thorough evaluation of patients in the transition or progressive phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to judge the temporal alignment of visual and auditory information is a prerequisite for multisensory integration and segregation. However, each temporal measurement is subject to error. Thus, when judging whether a visual and auditory stimulus were presented simultaneously, observers must rely on a subjective decision boundary to distinguish between measurement error and truly misaligned audiovisual signals. Here, we tested whether these decision boundaries are relaxed with increasing temporal sensory uncertainty, i.e., whether participants make the same type of adjustment an ideal observer would make. Participants judged the simultaneity of audiovisual stimulus pairs with varying temporal offset, while being immersed in different virtual environments. To obtain estimates of participants' temporal sensory uncertainty and simultaneity criteria in each environment, an independent-channels model was fitted to their simultaneity judgments. In two experiments, participants' simultaneity decision boundaries were predicted by their temporal uncertainty, which varied unsystematically with the environment. Hence, observers used a flexibly updated estimate of their own audiovisual temporal uncertainty to establish subjective criteria of simultaneity. This finding implies that, under typical circumstances, audiovisual simultaneity windows reflect an observer's cross-modal temporal uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]