Multi-Parameter Physiological State Monitoring in Target Detection Under Real-World Settings

Mental state changes induced by stimuli under experimental settings or by daily events in real life affect task performance and are entwined with physical and mental health. In this study, we developed a physiological state indicator with five parameters that reflect the subject’s real-time physiological states based on online EEG signal processing. These five parameters are attention, fatigue, stress, and the brain activity shifts of the left and right hemispheres. We designed a target detection experiment modified by a cognitive attention network test for validating the effectiveness of the proposed indicator, as such conditions would better approximate a real chaotic environment. Results demonstrated that attention levels while performing the target detection task were significantly higher than during rest periods, but also exhibited a decay over time. In contrast, the fatigue level increased gradually and plateaued by the third rest period. Similar to attention levels, the stress level decreased as the experiment proceeded. These parameters are therefore shown to be highly correlated to different stages of the experiment, suggesting their usage as primary factors in passive brain-computer interfaces (BCI). In addition, the left and right brain activity indexes reveal the EEG neural modulations of the corresponding hemispheres, which set a feasible reference of activation for an active BCI control system, such as one executing motor imagery tasks. The proposed indicator is applicable to potential passive and active BCI applications for monitoring the subject’s physiological state change in real-time, along with providing a means of evaluating the associated signal quality to enhance the BCI performance.

Syndrome of the trephined: clinical spectrum, risk factors, and impact of cranioplasty on neurologic recovery in a prospective cohort

Syndrome of the trephined (SoT) is an underrecognized complication after decompressive craniectomy. We aimed to investigate SoT incidence, clinical spectrum, risk factors, and the impact of the cranioplasty on neurologic recovery. Patients undergoing a large craniectomy (> 80 cm2) and cranioplasty were prospectively evaluated using modified Rankin score (mRS), cognitive (attention/processing speed, executive function, language, visuospatial), motor (Motricity Index, Jamar dynamometer, postural score, gait assessment), and radiologic evaluation within four days before and after a cranioplasty. The primary outcome was SoT, diagnosed when a neurologic improvement was observed after the cranioplasty. The secondary outcome was a good neurologic outcome (mRS 0–3) 4 days and 90 days after the cranioplasty. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the risk factors for SoT and the impact of cranioplasty timing on neurologic recovery. We enrolled 40 patients with a large craniectomy; 26 (65%) developed SoT and improved after the cranioplasty. Brain trauma, hemorrhagic lesions, and shifting of brain structures were associated with SoT. After cranioplasty, a shift towards a good outcome was observed within 4 days (p = 0.025) and persisted at 90 days (p = 0.005). Increasing delay to cranioplasty was associated with decreased odds of improvement when adjusting for age and baseline disability (odds ratio 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93–0.99, p = 0.012). In conclusion, SoT is frequent after craniectomy and interferes with neurologic recovery. High suspicion of SoT should be exercised in patients who fail to progress or have a previous trauma, hemorrhage, or shifting of brain structures. Performing the cranioplasty earlier was associated with improved and quantifiable neurologic recovery.

Assessing business process complexity based on textual data: Evidence from ITIL IT ticket processing

PurposeThis study aims to draw the attention of business process management (BPM) research and practice to the textual data generated in the processes and the potential of meaningful insights extraction. The authors apply standard natural language processing (NLP) approaches to gain valuable knowledge in the form of business process (BP) complexity concept suggested in the study. It is built on the objective, subjective and meta-knowledge extracted from the BP textual data and encompassing semantics, syntax and stylistics. As a result, the authors aim to create awareness about cognitive, attention and reading efforts forming the textual data-based BP complexity. The concept serves as a basis for the development of various decision-support solutions for BP workers.Design/methodology/approachThe starting point is an investigation of the complexity concept in the BPM literature to develop an understanding of the related complexity research and to put the textual data-based BP complexity in its context. Afterward, utilizing the linguistic foundations and the theory of situation awareness (SA), the concept is empirically developed and evaluated in a real-world application case using qualitative interview-based and quantitative data-based methods.FindingsIn the practical, real-world application, the authors confirmed that BP textual data could be used to predict BP complexity from the semantic, syntactic and stylistic viewpoints. The authors were able to prove the value of this knowledge about the BP complexity formed based on the (1) professional contextual experience of the BP worker enriched by the awareness of cognitive efforts required for BP execution (objective knowledge), (2) business emotions enriched by attention efforts (subjective knowledge) and (3) quality of the text, i.e. professionalism, expertise and stress level of the text author, enriched by reading efforts (meta-knowledge). In particular, the BP complexity concept has been applied to an industrial example of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) change management (CHM) Information Technology (IT) ticket processing. The authors used IT ticket texts from two samples of 28,157 and 4,625 tickets as the basis for the analysis. The authors evaluated the concept with the help of manually labeled tickets and a rule-based approach using historical ticket execution data. Having a recommendation character, the results showed to be useful in creating awareness regarding cognitive, attention and reading efforts for ITIL CHM BP workers coordinating the IT ticket processing.Originality/valueWhile aiming to draw attention to those valuable insights inherent in BP textual data, the authors propose an unconventional approach to BP complexity definition through the lens of textual data. Hereby, the authors address the challenges specified by BPM researchers, i.e. focus on semantics in the development of vocabularies and organization- and sector-specific adaptation of standard NLP techniques.

Exploring predictors at toddler age of distinct profiles of attentional functioning in 6-year-old children born moderate-to-late preterm and full term

Objective Examining relationships of toddler abilities in attention, cognitive, motor, and language development, and behavioral problems, with distinct attention profiles at 6 years of age in children born moderate-to-late preterm and full term. Method Longitudinal study with a cohort of 88 moderate-to-late preterm and 83 full term born children. At 18 months attention abilities were assessed. At 24 months cognitive, motor, and language development was examined and behavioral problems were screened. At 6 years ten measures of attention were administered, which were used to classify children in one of four attentional functioning profiles (normal attention, overall poorer attention, poorer cognitive attention, and behavioral attention problems). Performance at 18 and 24 months was examined in relation to these four distinct attention profiles, as well as in relation to normal (first profile) versus subaverage attention (second, third, and fourth profiles) using multinomial logistic regressions. Results Orienting and alerting attention, and receptive language were related to distinct attention profiles. Specifically, children with an overall poorer attention profile at 6 years were differentiated by lower orienting attention and receptive language scores at toddler age, while those with a poorer cognitive attention profile showed lower early alerting attention at 18 months. Children with a behavioral attention problems profile at 6 years were differentiated by lower orienting attention but higher alerting attention scores at toddler age. Orienting attention and receptive language, but not alerting attention, at toddler age were related to normal versus subaverage attention, with lower scores predicting subaverage attention. Conclusions Children at risk of poorer attentional functioning at school-age, expressed in distinct attention profiles, already showed differentiated functioning in attention abilities and in language comprehension as toddlers. Distinguishing distinct attention profiles could be important for future research and clinical practice, as is early monitoring of attention and language abilities in children at risk.

To what extent do erotic images elicit visuospatial versus cognitive attentional processes? Consistent support for a (non-spatial) Sexual Content-Induced Delay

It is almost a cultural truism that erotic images attract our attention, presumably because paying attention to erotic stimuli provided our ancestors with mating benefits. Attention, however, can be narrowly defined as visuospatial attention (keeping such stimuli in view) or more broadly as cognitive attention (such stimuli taking up one’s thoughts). We present four independent studies aiming to test the extent to which erotic images have priority in capturing visuospatial versus cognitive attention. Whereas the former would show in quicker reactions to stimuli presented in locations where erotic images appeared previously, the latter causes delayed responding after erotic images, independent of their location). To this end, we specifically modified spatial cueing tasks to disentangle visuospatial attention capture from general sexual content-induced delay (SCID) effects—a major drawback in the previous literature. Consistently across all studies (total N = 399), we found no evidence in support of visuospatial attention capture but reliably observed an unspecific delay of responding for trials in which erotic images appeared (irrespective of cue location). This SCID is equally large for heterosexual men and women and reliably associated with their self-reported sexual excitability.

Entrepreneurial Opportunity: Bedrock in Entrepreneurship Research

Entrepreneurial opportunity represents individuals taking action to introduce new products, services, or ways of organizing. The opportunity concept has interdisciplinary appeal and in the field of entrepreneurship it has been elevated to a defining feature, representing bedrock in entrepreneurship research. Hence, researchers have investigated the emergence and pursuit of opportunity and it has become a topic of lively debate, stemming from competing theoretical approaches designed to represent the phenomenon. Insights gleaned from these discussions and related empirical studies highlight the opportunity concept as a valuable umbrella construct that meaningfully integrates key elements of the entrepreneurial journey. It coherently ties, for example, cognitive attention and belief formation to entrepreneurial action in ways that account for the various elements that influence entrepreneurs’ contemplations of bringing forward something new. This is a generative process that encapsulates entrepreneurs initially coming up with opportunity ideas and then evaluating those ideas for viability. The beliefs generated in the evaluation of opportunity ideas drive entrepreneurial action. There are a host of elements that influence this process and by capturing them, researchers have codified entrepreneurial opportunity as a phenomenon that involves the integration of entrepreneurs’ motivations and goals with the ideas and concepts they generate, and the actions they deploy to bring their concepts to fruition. This understanding presents intriguing arenas for future research, such as work that takes an adaptive and multiple opportunity perspective along with studies that address time and timing as embedded in entrepreneurial opportunity.

Introducing CatchU TM : A Novel Multisensory Tool for Assessing Patients’ Risk of Falling †

To date, only a few studies have investigated the clinical translational value of multisensory integration. Our previous research has linked the magnitude of visual-somatosensory integration (measured behaviorally using simple reaction time tasks) to important cognitive (attention) and motor (balance, gait, and falls) outcomes in healthy older adults. While multisensory integration effects have been measured across a wide array of populations using various sensory combinations and different neuroscience research approaches, multisensory integration tests have not been systematically implemented in clinical settings. We recently developed a step-by-step protocol for administering and calculating multisensory integration effects to facilitate innovative and novel translational research across diverse clinical populations and age-ranges. In recognizing that patients with severe medical conditions and/or mobility limitations often experience difficulty traveling to research facilities or joining time-demanding research protocols, we deemed it necessary for patients to be able to benefit from multisensory testing. Using an established protocol and methodology, we developed a multisensory falls-screening tool called CatchU TM (an iPhone app) to quantify multisensory integration performance in clinical practice that is currently undergoing validation studies. Our goal is to facilitate the identification of patients who are at increased risk of falls and promote physician-initiated falls counseling during clinical visits (e.g., annual wellness, sick, or follow-up visits). This will thereby raise falls-awareness and foster physician efforts to alleviate disability, promote independence, and increase quality of life for our older adults. This conceptual overview highlights the potential of multisensory integration in predicting clinical outcomes from a research perspective, while also showcasing the practical application of a multisensory screening tool in routine clinical practice.