EEG and Eye-Tracking Error-Related Responses During Predictive Text Interactions: A BCI Case Study.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) employ various paradigms which afford intuitive, augmented control for users to navigate digital technologies. In this study we explore the application of these BCI concepts to predictive text systems: commonplace interactive and assistive tools with variable usage contexts and user behaviors. We conducted an experiment to analyze user neurophysiological responses under these different usage scenarios and evaluate the feasibility of a closed-loop, adaptive BCI for use with such technologies.

Impact of tumor histology on resectability and neurological outcome in primary intramedullary spinal cord tumors: a single-center experience with 102 patients.

Background: Surgical outcomes for intramedullary spinal cord tumors are affected by many variables including tumor histology and preoperative neurological function.

Objective: To analyze the impact of tumor histology on neurological outcome in primary intramedullary spinal cord tumors.

Methods: A retrospective review of 102 consecutive patients with intramedullary spinal cord tumors treated at a single institution between January 1998 and March 2009.

The "voice" has it: screen reader adoption and switching behavior among vision impaired persons in India.

We present results from a mixed methods study of screen reader use and switching behavior among people with vision impairments in India. We examine loyalty and experimentation with screen readers and find that the main drivers of adoption for early users differ significantly from the factors that drive continued use by advanced users. We discuss the factor that emerges as one of the strongest stated drivers of early adoption, text-to-speech "voice" quality, particularly a "human-sounding voice" as one of the key features differentiating free/open source products from more expensive proprietary products.

Pharmaceutical speakers' bureaus, academic freedom, and the management of promotional speaking at academic medical centers.

Pharmaceutical companies routinely engage physicians, particularly those with prestigious academic credentials, to deliver "educational" talks to groups of physicians in the community to help market the company's brand-name drugs. Although presented as educational, and even though they provide educational content, these events are intended to influence decisions about drug selection in ways that are not based on the suitability and effectiveness of the product, but on the prestige and persuasiveness of the speaker. A number of state legislatures and most academic medical centers have attempted to restrict physician participation in pharmaceutical marketing activities, though most restrictions are not absolute and have proven difficult to enforce.

Impact of tumor histology on resectability and neurological outcome in primary intramedullary spinal cord tumors: a single-center experience with 102 patients.

Background: Surgical outcomes for intramedullary spinal cord tumors are affected by many variables including tumor histology and preoperative neurological function.

Objective: To analyze the impact of tumor histology on neurological outcome in primary intramedullary spinal cord tumors.

Methods: A retrospective review of 102 consecutive patients with intramedullary spinal cord tumors treated at a single institution between January 1998 and March 2009.