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Biomedical subjects

Simon Bennett

Publications and source records attributed to Simon Bennett.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Integration of intermittent visual samples over time and between the eyes.

The authors investigated the integration of alternate disparate monocular inputs for binocular perception in 1-handed catching experiments (N = 14, 32, 22, and 15 participants, respectively in Experiments 1-4). They varied the no-vision interval between alternate monocular samples to measure catching performance, and they compared the alternating monocular conditions with binocular and monocular conditions with equal no-vision intervals. They found no evidence of a binocular advantage for one-handed catching in the alternating monocular conditions. Performance in monocular and alternating monocular conditions did not differ across no-vision intervals ranging from 0-80 ms and was particularly worse than performance in binocular viewing conditions when the no-vision interval was 40 ms or more. The authors argue that the dissimilarity between disparate monocular inputs created by the approaching object limited the integration of those inputs and subsequent binocular perception.

Adult↗

Solexa Ltd.

Solexa Ltd is developing an integrated system, based on a breakthrough single molecule sequencing technology, to address a US$2 billion market that is expected to grow exponentially alongside and as a consequence of further technological enhancements. The system, software and consumables will initially be sold to research organizations, pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic companies that will sequence large regions of genomic DNA, including whole genomes, at costs several orders of magnitude below current levels. Solexa expects to launch its first product in 2006, and as it continues to make time and cost efficiencies, additional products will be launched into the expanding markets that will have broad applications in basic research through to healthcare management.

Biotechnology↗

Intermittent vision and one-handed catching: the effect of general and specific task experience.

In Experiment 1, 15 skilled and 15 less skilled participants performed 1-handed catching in 4 conditions. For both groups, catching performance deteriorated significantly when no visual information was available for 40 ms between 20-ms visual samples (20/40) and continued to decline with subsequent increases in the duration between visual samples (i.e., 20/80 and 20/120). In Experiment 2, 50 participants performed a pretest and a posttest in a 20/80 condition, separated by 4 blocks of practice (N=80). Participants who practiced with intermittent vision (20/40, 20/80, and 20/120) exhibited a significant improvement between pretest and posttest. Although general practice with intermittent vision enabled some adaptation, posttest performance did not equal performance in the 1st block of continuous vision.

Adult↗

Joint torques and dynamic joint stiffness in elderly and young men during stepping down.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the joint torque pattern and dynamic joint stiffness at the knee and ankle in elderly and young men during stepping down. BACKGROUND: Adequate joint stiffness is critical during the single support phase to control forward and downward body momentum. DESIGN: Six active elderly men (mean 67.7) and six young men (mean 23.6) of similar body mass and height, were filmed stepping down from one force platform to another. Repeated trials were undertaken at three different step heights (200, 250, and 300 mm). METHOD: Joint torques were determined for the ankle and knee of the support limb throughout the single support phase. The gradient of the joint torque-angle graph was calculated to define dynamic joint stiffness of the ankle and knee in two phases; (I) from initiation of movement until heel-off of the supporting limb, and (II) from heel-off of the supporting limb to contra-limb touch down. RESULTS: Maximum ankle torque values were lower in the elderly and occurred at a larger dorsiflexion angle (P<0.05). Knee torque patterns were similar in both groups. Phase I ankle stiffness was significantly less in the elderly (4.0-5.2 Nm/ degrees ) at all step heights compared to the young (7.6 - 8.7 Nm/ degrees ). In both groups ankle stiffness in Phase II increased with step height, while knee joint stiffness decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The different torque pattern and lower dynamic ankle stiffness in the elderly, particularly for Phase I, suggested an altered control strategy. These findings highlight the importance of dynamic ankle joint stiffness in stepping down. RELEVANCE: Understanding how the elderly step down may be important in developing strategies to prevent falls.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

A genome-wide search for genes involved in type 2 diabetes in a recently genetically isolated population from the Netherlands.

Multiple genes, interacting with the environment, contribute to the susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. We performed a genome-wide search to localize type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes in a recently genetically isolated population in the Netherlands. We identified 79 nuclear families with type 2 diabetes who were related within 13 generations and performed a 770-marker genome-wide scan search for shared founder alleles. Twenty-six markers yielded a logarithm of odds (LOD) score >0.59 (nominal P < 0.05), of which 7 reached LOD scores >1.17 (nominal P < 0.01). The strongest evidence for a type 2 diabetes locus was at marker D18S63 on chromosome 18p (LOD 2.3, P = 0.0006). This region was investigated further using additional markers. For one of these markers (D18S1105), we found a significant association with type 2 diabetes (odds ratio 6.7 [95% CI 1.5-30.7], P = 0.005 for the 97-bp allele, assuming a dominant model), which increased when limiting the analysis to patients with high BMI (12.25 [2.1-71], P = 0.003). A locus on chromosome 18p in patients with high BMI was suggested earlier by Parker et al. Our study is the first to confirm this locus.

Alleles↗

Intermittent vision and one-handed catching: the temporal limits of binocular and monocular integration.

The aim of this research was to examine the temporal limits of binocular and monocular integration useful for one-handed catching. Participants performed 20 one-handed catching trials in 12 conditions (N = 240) defined according to the type of viewing (binocular, monocular) and the manipulation of the visual sample (continuous, intermittent). Catching performance deteriorated significantly when there was no visual information available for 80 ms between 20-ms visual samples provided simultaneously to each eye. However, there was no change in catching performance when continuous monocular vision was available for 80 ms between the binocular samples. Performance under monocular viewing decreased significantly when intermittent samples were separated by less than 20 ms. These results confirm that the equivocality in previously reported temporal limits of binocular integration is due to the different arrangement of the intermittent vision conditions and hence the information available between intermittent samples.

Adult↗

Structural Organization of Practice: Effects of Practicing Under Different Informational Constraints on the Acquisition of One-Handed Catching Skill.

The question addressed in this study was the effects of the manipulation of the informational constraints of practice conditions on the acquisition of one-handed catching skill. Three groups of poor catchers (8 participants per group) practiced in either a normal-light, ball-only, or interspersed ball-only and normal-light condition (N = 450 trials). All groups exhibited a significant improvement in the number of catches and catching score and a reduction in the number of misses by the end of practice. The structural organization of the practice conditions had a significant effect on catching performance. Practicing in the interspersed condition had a positive residual effect on subjects' performance in normal light. Similarly, there was a positive residual effect of practicing in the ball-only and the interspersed conditions on subjects' normal-light, posttest performance. The findings are interpreted as support for the argument that practicing under varying informational constraints can benefit skill acquisition by directing the subjects' search toward relevant sources of information.

Journal Article↗