What's that on Your Phone? Effects of Mobile Device Task Type on Pedestrian Performance.

Background: The number of accidents due to distracted pedestrian is on the rise and many governments and institutions are enacting public policies which restrict texting while walking. However, pedestrians do more than just texting when they use their mobile devices on the go.

Objective: Exploring pedestrian multitasking, this paper aims to examine the effects of mobile device task type on pedestrian performance outcomes.

Is there collaboration specific neurophysiological activation during collaborative task activity? An analysis of brain responses using electroencephalography and hyperscanning.

Collaboration between two individuals is thought to be associated with the synchrony of two different brain activities. Indeed, prefrontal cortical activation and alpha frequency band modulation has been widely reported, but little is known about interbrain synchrony (IBS) changes occurring during social interaction such as collaboration or competition. In this study, we assess the dynamic of IBS variation in order to provide novel insights into the frequency band modulation underlying collaboration.

Measuring the Switch Cost of Smartphone Use While Walking.

This paper presents a study protocol to measure the task-switching cost of using a smartphone while walking. This method involves having participants walk on a treadmill under two experimental conditions: a control condition (i.e.

Using a smartphone while walking: The cost of smartphone-addiction proneness.

Distracted walking is an ever-increasing problem. Studies have already shown that using a smartphone while walking impairs attention and increases the risk of accidents. This study seeks to determine if smartphone-addiction proneness magnifies the risks of using a smartphone while walking.

Toward a Hybrid Passive BCI for the Modulation of Sustained Attention Using EEG and fNIRS.

We report results of a study that utilizes a BCI to drive an interactive interface countermeasure that allows users to self-regulate sustained attention while performing an ecologically valid, long-duration business logistics task. An engagement index derived from EEG signals was used to drive the BCI while fNIRS measured hemodynamic activity for the duration of the task. Participants ( = 30) were split into three groups (1) no countermeasures (NOCM), (2) continuous countermeasures (CCM), and (3) event synchronized, level-dependent countermeasures (ECM).

Random forests for homogeneous and non-homogeneous Poisson processes with excess zeros.

We propose a general hurdle methodology to model a response from a homogeneous or a non-homogeneous Poisson process with excess zeros, based on two forests. The first forest in the two parts model is used to estimate the probability of having a zero. The second forest is used to estimate the Poisson parameter(s), using only the observations with at least one event.

Does Reducing Sedentarity With Standing Desks Hinder Cognitive Performance?

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine if using a standing desk would affect the productivity of workers, based on the type of work they perform.

Background: Standing desks are a promising new health intervention in the workplace, but users and employers often require more specific recommendations related to productivity, such as the type of work that is more suited for the standing desk.

Method: Thirty-seven young and healthy adults performed eight cognitive tasks in a 2 × 2 × 2 within-subject design of the following independent variables: posture (sitting/standing), task difficulty (easy/hard), and input device (computer mouse/tactile screen) in a counterbalanced order.

Texting while walking: An expensive switch cost.

Texting while walking has been highlighted as a dangerous behavior that leads to impaired judgment and accidents. This impairment could be due to task switching which involves activation of the present task and the inhibition of the previous task. However, the relative contributions of these processes and their brain activity have not yet been studied.

Dynamic Threshold Selection for a Biocybernetic Loop in an Adaptive Video Game Context.

Passive Brain-Computer interfaces (pBCIs) are a human-computer communication tool where the computer can detect from neurophysiological signals the current mental or emotional state of the user. The system can then adjust itself to guide the user toward a desired state. One challenge facing developers of pBCIs is that the system's parameters are generally set at the onset of the interaction and remain stable throughout, not adapting to potential changes over time such as fatigue.

A cluster randomized controlled Trial to Evaluate an Ambulatory primary care Management program for patients with dyslipidemia: the TEAM study.

Background: Few studies have reported the efficacy of collaborative care involving family physicians and community pharmacists for patients with dyslipidemia.

Methods: We randomly assigned clusters consisting of at least two physicians and at least four pharmacists to provide collaborative care or usual care. Under the collaborative care model, pharmacists counselled patients about their medications, requested laboratory tests, monitored the effectiveness and safety of medications and patients' adherence to therapy, and adjusted medication dosages.

Safety impacts due to the incompatibility of SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks in two-vehicle collisions.

This research sets out to estimate the effects of vehicle incompatibility on the risk of death or major injury to drivers involved in two-vehicle collisions. Based on data for 2,999,395 drivers, logistic regression was used to model the risk of driver death or major injury (defined has being hospitalized). Our analyses show that pickup trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are more aggressive than cars for the driver of the other vehicle and more protective for their own drivers.