Modeling Electromagnetic Scattering From Complex Inhomogeneous Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deshpande, Manohar; Reddy, C. J.

2011-01-01

This software innovation is designed to develop a mathematical formulation to estimate the electromagnetic scattering characteristics of complex, inhomogeneous objects using the finite-element-method (FEM) and method-of-moments (MoM) concepts, as well as to develop a FORTRAN code called FEMOM3DS (Finite Element Method and Method of Moments for 3-Dimensional Scattering), which will implement the steps that are described in the mathematical formulation. Very complex objects can be easily modeled, and the operator of the code is not required to know the details of electromagnetic theory to study electromagnetic scattering.

Development of Three-Dimensional Completion of Complex Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soska, Kasey C.; Johnson, Scott P.

2013-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) object completion, the ability to perceive the backs of objects seen from a single viewpoint, emerges at around 6 months of age. Yet, only relatively simple 3D objects have been used in assessing its development. This study examined infants' 3D object completion when presented with more complex stimuli. Infants…

Recognition Of Complex Three Dimensional Objects Using Three Dimensional Moment Invariants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadjadi, Firooz A.

1985-01-01

A technique for the recognition of complex three dimensional objects is presented. The complex 3-D objects are represented in terms of their 3-D moment invariants, algebraic expressions that remain invariant independent of the 3-D objects' orientations and locations in the field of view. The technique of 3-D moment invariants has been used successfully for simple 3-D object recognition in the past. In this work we have extended this method for the representation of more complex objects. Two complex objects are represented digitally; their 3-D moment invariants have been calculated, and then the invariancy of these 3-D invariant moment expressions is verified by changing the orientation and the location of the objects in the field of view. The results of this study have significant impact on 3-D robotic vision, 3-D target recognition, scene analysis and artificial intelligence.

Network modulation during complex syntactic processing

PubMed Central

den Ouden, Dirk-Bart; Saur, Dorothee; Mader, Wolfgang; Schelter, Björn; Lukic, Sladjana; Wali, Eisha; Timmer, Jens; Thompson, Cynthia K.

2011-01-01

Complex sentence processing is supported by a left-lateralized neural network including inferior frontal cortex and posterior superior temporal cortex. This study investigates the pattern of connectivity and information flow within this network. We used fMRI BOLD data derived from 12 healthy participants reported in an earlier study (Thompson, C. K., Den Ouden, D. B., Bonakdarpour, B., Garibaldi, K., & Parrish, T. B. (2010b). Neural plasticity and treatment-induced recovery of sentence processing in agrammatism. Neuropsychologia, 48(11), 3211-3227) to identify activation peaks associated with object-cleft over syntactically less complex subject-cleft processing. Directed Partial Correlation Analysis was conducted on time series extracted from participant-specific activation peaks and showed evidence of functional connectivity between four regions, linearly between premotor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, posterior superior temporal sulcus and anterior middle temporal gyrus. This pattern served as the basis for Dynamic Causal Modeling of networks with a driving input to posterior superior temporal cortex, which likely supports thematic role assignment, and networks with a driving input to inferior frontal cortex, a core region associated with syntactic computation. The optimal model was determined through both frequentist and Bayesian model selection and turned out to reflect a network with a primary drive from inferior frontal cortex and modulation of the connection between inferior frontal and posterior superior temporal cortex by complex sentence processing. The winning model also showed a substantive role for a feedback mechanism from posterior superior temporal cortex back to inferior frontal cortex. We suggest that complex syntactic processing is driven by word-order analysis, supported by inferior frontal cortex, in an interactive relation with posterior superior temporal cortex, which supports verb argument structure processing. PMID:21820518

Optical apparatus for laser scattering by objects having complex shapes

DOEpatents

Ellingson, William A.; Visher, Robert J.

2006-11-14

Apparatus for observing and measuring in realtime surface and subsurface characteristics of objects having complex shapes includes an optical fiber bundle having first and second opposed ends. The first end includes a linear array of fibers, where the ends of adjacent fibers are in contact and are aligned perpendicular to the surface of the object being studied. The second ends of some of the fibers are in the form of a polished ferrule forming a multi-fiber optical waveguide for receiving laser light. The second ends of the remaining fibers are formed into a linear array suitable for direct connection to a detector, such as a linear CMOS-based optical detector. The output data is analyzed using digital signal processing for the detection of anomalies such as cracks, voids, inclusions and other defects.

Stereo vision tracking of multiple objects in complex indoor environments.

PubMed

Marrón-Romera, Marta; García, Juan C; Sotelo, Miguel A; Pizarro, Daniel; Mazo, Manuel; Cañas, José M; Losada, Cristina; Marcos, Alvaro

2010-01-01

This paper presents a novel system capable of solving the problem of tracking multiple targets in a crowded, complex and dynamic indoor environment, like those typical of mobile robot applications. The proposed solution is based on a stereo vision set in the acquisition step and a probabilistic algorithm in the obstacles position estimation process. The system obtains 3D position and speed information related to each object in the robot's environment; then it achieves a classification between building elements (ceiling, walls, columns and so on) and the rest of items in robot surroundings. All objects in robot surroundings, both dynamic and static, are considered to be obstacles but the structure of the environment itself. A combination of a Bayesian algorithm and a deterministic clustering process is used in order to obtain a multimodal representation of speed and position of detected obstacles. Performance of the final system has been tested against state of the art proposals; test results validate the authors' proposal. The designed algorithms and procedures provide a solution to those applications where similar multimodal data structures are found.

Predictability, Force and (Anti-)Resonance in Complex Object Control.

PubMed

Maurice, Pauline; Hogan, Neville; Sternad, Dagmar

2018-04-18

Manipulation of complex objects as in tool use is ubiquitous and has given humans an evolutionary advantage. This study examined the strategies humans choose when manipulating an object with underactuated internal dynamics, such as a cup of coffee. The object's dynamics renders the temporal evolution complex, possibly even chaotic, and difficult to predict. A cart-and-pendulum model, loosely mimicking coffee sloshing in a cup, was implemented in a virtual environment with a haptic interface. Participants rhythmically manipulated the virtual cup containing a rolling ball; they could choose the oscillation frequency, while the amplitude was prescribed. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) humans decrease interaction forces between hand and object; 2) humans increase the predictability of the object dynamics; 3) humans exploit the resonances of the coupled object-hand system. Analysis revealed that humans chose either a high-frequency strategy with anti-phase cup-and-ball movements or a low-frequency strategy with in-phase cup-and-ball movements. Counter Hypothesis 1, they did not decrease interaction force; instead, they increased the predictability of the interaction dynamics, quantified by mutual information, supporting Hypothesis 2. To address Hypothesis 3, frequency analysis of the coupled hand-object system revealed two resonance frequencies separated by an anti-resonance frequency. The low-frequency strategy exploited one resonance, while the high-frequency strategy afforded more choice, consistent with the frequency response of the coupled system; both strategies avoided the anti-resonance. Hence, humans did not prioritize interaction force, but rather strategies that rendered interactions predictable. These findings highlight that physical interactions with complex objects pose control challenges not present in unconstrained movements.

A Survey of Complex Object Technologies for Digital Libraries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Michael L.; Argue, Brad; Efron, Miles; Denn, Sheila; Pattuelli, Maria Cristina

2001-01-01

Many early web-based digital libraries (DLs) had implicit assumptions reflected in their architecture that the unit of focus in the DL (frequently "reports" or "e-prints") would only be manifested in a single, or at most a few, common file formats such as PDF or PostScript. DLs have now matured to the point where their contents are commonly no longer simple files. Complex objects in DLs have emerged from in response to various requirements, including: simple aggregation of formats and supporting files, bundling additional information to aid digital preservation, creating opaque digital objects for e-commerce applications, and the incorporation of dynamic services with the traditional data files. We examine a representative (but not necessarily exhaustive) number of current and recent historical web-based complex object technologies and projects that are applicable to DLs: Aurora, Buckets, ComMentor, Cryptolopes, Digibox, Document Management Alliance, FEDORA, Kahn-Wilensky Framework Digital Objects, Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard, Multivalent Documents, Open eBooks, VERS Encapsulated Objects, and the Warwick Framework.

Atmospheric processes over complex terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banta, Robert M.; Berri, G.; Blumen, William; Carruthers, David J.; Dalu, G. A.; Durran, Dale R.; Egger, Joseph; Garratt, J. R.; Hanna, Steven R.; Hunt, J. C. R.

1990-06-01

A workshop on atmospheric processes over complex terrain, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, was convened in Park City, Utah from 24 vto 28 October 1988. The overall objective of the workshop was one of interaction and synthesis--interaction among atmospheric scientists carrying out research on a variety of orographic flow problems, and a synthesis of their results and points of view into an assessment of the current status of topical research problems. The final day of the workshop was devoted to an open discussion on the research directions that could be anticipated in the next decade because of new and planned instrumentation and observational networks, the recent emphasis on development of mesoscale numerical models, and continual theoretical investigations of thermally forced flows, orographic waves, and stratified turbulence. This monograph represents an outgrowth of the Park City Workshop. The authors have contributed chapters based on their lecture material. Workshop discussions indicated interest in both the remote sensing and predictability of orographic flows. These chapters were solicited following the workshop in order to provide a more balanced view of current progress and future directions in research on atmospheric processes over complex terrain.

Object-oriented models of cognitive processing.

PubMed

Mather, G

2001-05-01

Information-processing models of vision and cognition are inspired by procedural programming languages. Models that emphasize object-based representations are closely related to object-oriented programming languages. The concepts underlying object-oriented languages provide a theoretical framework for cognitive processing that differs markedly from that offered by procedural languages. This framework is well-suited to a system designed to deal flexibly with discrete objects and unpredictable events in the world.

ERPs Differentially Reflect Automatic and Deliberate Processing of the Functional Manipulability of Objects

PubMed Central

Madan, Christopher R.; Chen, Yvonne Y.; Singhal, Anthony

2016-01-01

It is known that the functional properties of an object can interact with perceptual, cognitive, and motor processes. Previously we have found that a between-subjects manipulation of judgment instructions resulted in different manipulability-related memory biases in an incidental memory test. To better understand this effect we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) while participants made judgments about images of objects that were either high or low in functional manipulability (e.g., hammer vs. ladder). Using a between-subjects design, participants judged whether they had seen the object recently (Personal Experience), or could manipulate the object using their hand (Functionality). We focused on the P300 and slow-wave event-related potentials (ERPs) as reflections of attentional allocation. In both groups, we observed higher P300 and slow wave amplitudes for high-manipulability objects at electrodes Pz and C3. As P300 is thought to reflect bottom-up attentional processes, this may suggest that the processing of high-manipulability objects recruited more attentional resources. Additionally, the P300 effect was greater in the Functionality group. A more complex pattern was observed at electrode C3 during slow wave: processing the high-manipulability objects in the Functionality instruction evoked a more positive slow wave than in the other three conditions, likely related to motor simulation processes. These data provide neural evidence that effects of manipulability on stimulus processing are further mediated by automatic vs. deliberate motor-related processing. PMID:27536224

Distinct cognitive mechanisms involved in the processing of single objects and object ensembles

PubMed Central

Cant, Jonathan S.; Sun, Sol Z.; Xu, Yaoda

2015-01-01

Behavioral research has demonstrated that the shape and texture of single objects can be processed independently. Similarly, neuroimaging results have shown that an object's shape and texture are processed in distinct brain regions with shape in the lateral occipital area and texture in parahippocampal cortex. Meanwhile, objects are not always seen in isolation and are often grouped together as an ensemble. We recently showed that the processing of ensembles also involves parahippocampal cortex and that the shape and texture of ensemble elements are processed together within this region. These neural data suggest that the independence seen between shape and texture in single-object perception would not be observed in object-ensemble perception. Here we tested this prediction by examining whether observers could attend to the shape of ensemble elements while ignoring changes in an unattended texture feature and vice versa. Across six behavioral experiments, we replicated previous findings of independence between shape and texture in single-object perception. In contrast, we observed that changes in an unattended ensemble feature negatively impacted the processing of an attended ensemble feature only when ensemble features were attended globally. When they were attended locally, thereby making ensemble processing similar to single-object processing, interference was abolished. Overall, these findings confirm previous neuroimaging results and suggest that distinct cognitive mechanisms may be involved in single-object and object-ensemble perception. Additionally, they show that the scope of visual attention plays a critical role in determining which type of object processing (ensemble or single object) is engaged by the visual system. PMID:26360156

A flexible object-oriented software framework for developing complex multimedia simulations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sydelko, P. J.; Dolph, J. E.; Christiansen, J. H.

Decision makers involved in brownfields redevelopment and long-term stewardship must consider environmental conditions, future-use potential, site ownership, area infrastructure, funding resources, cost recovery, regulations, risk and liability management, community relations, and expected return on investment in a comprehensive and integrated fashion to achieve desired results. Successful brownfields redevelopment requires the ability to assess the impacts of redevelopment options on multiple interrelated aspects of the ecosystem, both natural and societal. Computer-based tools, such as simulation models, databases, and geographical information systems (GISs) can be used to address brownfields planning and project execution. The transparent integration of these tools into a comprehensivemore » and dynamic decision support system would greatly enhance the brownfields assessment process. Such a system needs to be able to adapt to shifting and expanding analytical requirements and contexts. The Dynamic Information Architecture System (DIAS) is a flexible, extensible, object-oriented framework for developing and maintaining complex multidisciplinary simulations of a wide variety of application domains. The modeling domain of a specific DIAS-based simulation is determined by (1) software objects that represent the real-world entities that comprise the problem space (atmosphere, watershed, human), and (2) simulation models and other data processing applications that express the dynamic behaviors of the domain entities. Models and applications used to express dynamic behaviors can be either internal or external to DIAS, including existing legacy models written in various languages (FORTRAN, C, etc.). The flexible design framework of DIAS makes the objects adjustable to the context of the problem without a great deal of recoding. The DIAS Spatial Data Set facility allows parameters to vary spatially depending on the simulation context according to any of a number of 1-D

Inertial objects in complex flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syed, Rayhan; Ho, George; Cavas, Samuel; Bao, Jialun; Yecko, Philip

2017-11-01

Chaotic Advection and Finite Time Lyapunov Exponents both describe stirring and transport in complex and time-dependent flows, but FTLE analysis has been largely limited to either purely kinematic flow models or high Reynolds number flow field data. The neglect of dynamic effects in FTLE and Lagrangian Coherent Structure studies has stymied detailed information about the role of pressure, Coriolis effects and object inertia. We present results of laboratory and numerical experiments on time-dependent and multi-gyre Stokes flows. In the lab, a time-dependent effectively two-dimensional low Re flow is used to distinguish transport properties of passive tracer from those of small paramagnetic spheres. Companion results of FTLE calculations for inertial particles in a time-dependent multi-gyre flow are presented, illustrating the critical roles of density, Stokes number and Coriolis forces on their transport. Results of Direct Numerical Simulations of fully resolved inertial objects (spheroids) immersed in a three dimensional (ABC) flow show the role of shape and finite size in inertial transport at small finite Re. We acknowledge support of NSF DMS-1418956.

Controllability of Complex Dynamic Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalach, G. G.; Kazachek, N. A.; Morozov, A. A.

2017-01-01

Quality requirements for mobile robots intended for both specialized and everyday use are increasing in step with the complexity of the technological tasks assigned to the robots. Whether a mobile robot is for ground, aerial, or underwater use, the relevant quality characteristics can be summarized under the common concept of agility. This term denotes the object’s (the robot)’s ability to react quickly to control actions (change speed and direction), turn in a limited area, etc. When using this approach in integrated assessment of the quality characteristics of an object with the control system, it seems more constructive to use the term “degree of control”. This paper assesses the degree of control by an example of a mobile robot with the variable-geometry drive wheel axle. We show changes in the degree of control depending on the robot’s configuration, and results illustrated by calculation data, computer and practical experiments. We describe the prospects of using intelligent technology for efficient control of objects with a high degree of controllability.

Object-based neglect in number processing

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that neglect patients seem to have particular problems representing relatively smaller numbers corresponding to the left part of the mental number line. However, while this indicates space-based neglect for representational number space little is known about whether and - if so - how object-based neglect influences number processing. To evaluate influences of object-based neglect in numerical cognition, a group of neglect patients and two control groups had to compare two-digit numbers to an internally represented standard. Conceptualizing two-digit numbers as objects of which the left part (i.e., the tens digit should be specifically neglected) we were able to evaluate object-based neglect for number magnitude processing. Object-based neglect was indicated by a larger unit-decade compatibility effect actually reflecting impaired processing of the leftward tens digits. Additionally, faster processing of within- as compared to between-decade items provided further evidence suggesting particular difficulties in integrating tens and units into the place-value structure of the Arabic number system. In summary, the present study indicates that, in addition to the spatial representation of number magnitude, also the processing of place-value information of multi-digit numbers seems specifically impaired in neglect patients. PMID:23343126

A case of complex regional pain syndrome with agnosia for object orientation.

PubMed

Robinson, Gail; Cohen, Helen; Goebel, Andreas

2011-07-01

This systematic investigation of the neurocognitive correlates of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in a single case also reports agnosia for object orientation in the context of persistent CRPS. We report a patient (JW) with severe long-standing CRPS who had no difficulty identifying and naming line drawings of objects presented in 1 of 4 cardinal orientations. In contrast, he was extremely poor at reorienting these objects into the correct upright orientation and in judging whether an object was upright or not. Moreover, JW made orientation errors when copying drawings of objects, and he also showed features of mirror reversal in writing single words and reading single letters. The findings are discussed in relation to accounts of visual processing. Agnosia for object orientation is the term for impaired knowledge of an object's orientation despite good recognition and naming of the same misoriented object. This defect has previously only been reported in patients with major structural brain lesions. The neuroanatomical correlates are discussed. The patient had no structural brain lesion, raising the possibility that nonstructural reorganisation of cortical networks may be responsible for his deficits. Other patients with CRPS may have related neurocognitive defects. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Broad attention to multiple individual objects may facilitate change detection with complex auditory scenes.

PubMed

Irsik, Vanessa C; Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden, Christina M; Snyder, Joel S

2016-11-01

Attention and other processing constraints limit the perception of objects in complex scenes, which has been studied extensively in the visual sense. We used a change deafness paradigm to examine how attention to particular objects helps and hurts the ability to notice changes within complex auditory scenes. In a counterbalanced design, we examined how cueing attention to particular objects affected performance in an auditory change-detection task through the use of valid or invalid cues and trials without cues (Experiment 1). We further examined how successful encoding predicted change-detection performance using an object-encoding task and we addressed whether performing the object-encoding task along with the change-detection task affected performance overall (Experiment 2). Participants had more error for invalid compared to valid and uncued trials, but this effect was reduced in Experiment 2 compared to Experiment 1. When the object-encoding task was present, listeners who completed the uncued condition first had less overall error than those who completed the cued condition first. All participants showed less change deafness when they successfully encoded change-relevant compared to irrelevant objects during valid and uncued trials. However, only participants who completed the uncued condition first also showed this effect during invalid cue trials, suggesting a broader scope of attention. These findings provide converging evidence that attention to change-relevant objects is crucial for successful detection of acoustic changes and that encouraging broad attention to multiple objects is the best way to reduce change deafness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Imaging complex objects using learning tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, JooWon; Goy, Alexandre; Shoreh, Morteza Hasani; Unser, Michael; Psaltis, Demetri

2018-02-01

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) can be described using the scattering process through an inhomogeneous media. An inherent nonlinearity exists relating the scattering medium and the scattered field due to multiple scattering. Multiple scattering is often assumed to be negligible in weakly scattering media. This assumption becomes invalid as the sample gets more complex resulting in distorted image reconstructions. This issue becomes very critical when we image a complex sample. Multiple scattering can be simulated using the beam propagation method (BPM) as the forward model of ODT combined with an iterative reconstruction scheme. The iterative error reduction scheme and the multi-layer structure of BPM are similar to neural networks. Therefore we refer to our imaging method as learning tomography (LT). To fairly assess the performance of LT in imaging complex samples, we compared LT with the conventional iterative linear scheme using Mie theory which provides the ground truth. We also demonstrate the capacity of LT to image complex samples using experimental data of a biological cell.

Make It Short and Easy: Username Complexity Determines Trustworthiness Above and Beyond Objective Reputation

PubMed Central

Silva, Rita R.; Chrobot, Nina; Newman, Eryn; Schwarz, Norbert; Topolinski, Sascha

2017-01-01

Can the mere name of a seller determine his trustworthiness in the eye of the consumer? In 10 studies (total N = 608) we explored username complexity and trustworthiness of eBay seller profiles. Name complexity was manipulated through variations in username pronounceability and length. These dimensions had strong, independent effects on trustworthiness, with sellers with easy-to-pronounce or short usernames being rated as more trustworthy than sellers with difficult-to-pronounce or long usernames, respectively. Both effects were repeatedly found even when objective information about seller reputation was available. We hypothesized the effect of name complexity on trustworthiness to be based on the experience of high vs. low processing fluency, with little awareness of the underlying process. Supporting this, participants could not correct for the impact of username complexity when explicitly asked to do so. Three alternative explanations based on attributions of the variations in name complexity to seller origin (ingroup vs. outgroup), username generation method (seller personal choice vs. computer algorithm) and age of the eBay profiles (10 years vs. 1 year) were tested and ruled out. Finally, we show that manipulating the ease of reading product descriptions instead of the sellers’ names also impacts the trust ascribed to the sellers. PMID:29312062

An object-oriented description method of EPMM process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Zuo; Yang, Fan

2017-06-01

In order to use the object-oriented mature tools and language in software process model, make the software process model more accord with the industrial standard, it’s necessary to study the object-oriented modelling of software process. Based on the formal process definition in EPMM, considering the characteristics that Petri net is mainly formal modelling tool and combining the Petri net modelling with the object-oriented modelling idea, this paper provides this implementation method to convert EPMM based on Petri net into object models based on object-oriented description.

Topicality and Complexity in the Acquisition of Norwegian Object Shift

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderssen, Merete; Bentzen, Kristine; Rodina, Yulia

2012-01-01

This article investigates the acquisition of object shift in Norwegian child language. We show that object shift is complex derivationally, distributionally, and referentially, and propose a new analysis in terms of IP-internal topicalization. The results of an elicited production study with 27 monolingual Norwegian-speaking children (ages…

Dissociating verbal and nonverbal audiovisual object processing.

PubMed

Hocking, Julia; Price, Cathy J

2009-02-01

This fMRI study investigates how audiovisual integration differs for verbal stimuli that can be matched at a phonological level and nonverbal stimuli that can be matched at a semantic level. Subjects were presented simultaneously with one visual and one auditory stimulus and were instructed to decide whether these stimuli referred to the same object or not. Verbal stimuli were simultaneously presented spoken and written object names, and nonverbal stimuli were photographs of objects simultaneously presented with naturally occurring object sounds. Stimulus differences were controlled by including two further conditions that paired photographs of objects with spoken words and object sounds with written words. Verbal matching, relative to all other conditions, increased activation in a region of the left superior temporal sulcus that has previously been associated with phonological processing. Nonverbal matching, relative to all other conditions, increased activation in a right fusiform region that has previously been associated with structural and conceptual object processing. Thus, we demonstrate how brain activation for audiovisual integration depends on the verbal content of the stimuli, even when stimulus and task processing differences are controlled.

The neural basis of precise visual short-term memory for complex recognisable objects.

PubMed

Veldsman, Michele; Mitchell, Daniel J; Cusack, Rhodri

2017-10-01

Recent evidence suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity estimated using simple objects, such as colours and oriented bars, may not generalise well to more naturalistic stimuli. More visual detail can be stored in VSTM when complex, recognisable objects are maintained compared to simple objects. It is not yet known if it is recognisability that enhances memory precision, nor whether maintenance of recognisable objects is achieved with the same network of brain regions supporting maintenance of simple objects. We used a novel stimulus generation method to parametrically warp photographic images along a continuum, allowing separate estimation of the precision of memory representations and the number of items retained. The stimulus generation method was also designed to create unrecognisable, though perceptually matched, stimuli, to investigate the impact of recognisability on VSTM. We adapted the widely-used change detection and continuous report paradigms for use with complex, photographic images. Across three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments, we demonstrated greater precision for recognisable objects in VSTM compared to unrecognisable objects. This clear behavioural advantage was not the result of recruitment of additional brain regions, or of stronger mean activity within the core network. Representational similarity analysis revealed greater variability across item repetitions in the representations of recognisable, compared to unrecognisable complex objects. We therefore propose that a richer range of neural representations support VSTM for complex recognisable objects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improved multi-objective ant colony optimization algorithm and its application in complex reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xinqing; Zhao, Yang; Wang, Dong; Zhu, Huijie; Zhang, Qing

2013-09-01

The problem of fault reasoning has aroused great concern in scientific and engineering fields. However, fault investigation and reasoning of complex system is not a simple reasoning decision-making problem. It has become a typical multi-constraint and multi-objective reticulate optimization decision-making problem under many influencing factors and constraints. So far, little research has been carried out in this field. This paper transforms the fault reasoning problem of complex system into a paths-searching problem starting from known symptoms to fault causes. Three optimization objectives are considered simultaneously: maximum probability of average fault, maximum average importance, and minimum average complexity of test. Under the constraints of both known symptoms and the causal relationship among different components, a multi-objective optimization mathematical model is set up, taking minimizing cost of fault reasoning as the target function. Since the problem is non-deterministic polynomial-hard(NP-hard), a modified multi-objective ant colony algorithm is proposed, in which a reachability matrix is set up to constrain the feasible search nodes of the ants and a new pseudo-random-proportional rule and a pheromone adjustment mechinism are constructed to balance conflicts between the optimization objectives. At last, a Pareto optimal set is acquired. Evaluation functions based on validity and tendency of reasoning paths are defined to optimize noninferior set, through which the final fault causes can be identified according to decision-making demands, thus realize fault reasoning of the multi-constraint and multi-objective complex system. Reasoning results demonstrate that the improved multi-objective ant colony optimization(IMACO) can realize reasoning and locating fault positions precisely by solving the multi-objective fault diagnosis model, which provides a new method to solve the problem of multi-constraint and multi-objective fault diagnosis and

Design and Use of a Learning Object for Finding Complex Polynomial Roots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benitez, Julio; Gimenez, Marcos H.; Hueso, Jose L.; Martinez, Eulalia; Riera, Jaime

2013-01-01

Complex numbers are essential in many fields of engineering, but students often fail to have a natural insight of them. We present a learning object for the study of complex polynomials that graphically shows that any complex polynomials has a root and, furthermore, is useful to find the approximate roots of a complex polynomial. Moreover, we…

Fast processing of microscopic images using object-based extended depth of field.

PubMed

Intarapanich, Apichart; Kaewkamnerd, Saowaluck; Pannarut, Montri; Shaw, Philip J; Tongsima, Sissades

2016-12-22

Microscopic analysis requires that foreground objects of interest, e.g. cells, are in focus. In a typical microscopic specimen, the foreground objects may lie on different depths of field necessitating capture of multiple images taken at different focal planes. The extended depth of field (EDoF) technique is a computational method for merging images from different depths of field into a composite image with all foreground objects in focus. Composite images generated by EDoF can be applied in automated image processing and pattern recognition systems. However, current algorithms for EDoF are computationally intensive and impractical, especially for applications such as medical diagnosis where rapid sample turnaround is important. Since foreground objects typically constitute a minor part of an image, the EDoF technique could be made to work much faster if only foreground regions are processed to make the composite image. We propose a novel algorithm called object-based extended depths of field (OEDoF) to address this issue. The OEDoF algorithm consists of four major modules: 1) color conversion, 2) object region identification, 3) good contrast pixel identification and 4) detail merging. First, the algorithm employs color conversion to enhance contrast followed by identification of foreground pixels. A composite image is constructed using only these foreground pixels, which dramatically reduces the computational time. We used 250 images obtained from 45 specimens of confirmed malaria infections to test our proposed algorithm. The resulting composite images with all in-focus objects were produced using the proposed OEDoF algorithm. We measured the performance of OEDoF in terms of image clarity (quality) and processing time. The features of interest selected by the OEDoF algorithm are comparable in quality with equivalent regions in images processed by the state-of-the-art complex wavelet EDoF algorithm; however, OEDoF required four times less processing time. This

Exploration of complex visual feature spaces for object perception

PubMed Central

Leeds, Daniel D.; Pyles, John A.; Tarr, Michael J.

2014-01-01

The mid- and high-level visual properties supporting object perception in the ventral visual pathway are poorly understood. In the absence of well-specified theory, many groups have adopted a data-driven approach in which they progressively interrogate neural units to establish each unit's selectivity. Such methods are challenging in that they require search through a wide space of feature models and stimuli using a limited number of samples. To more rapidly identify higher-level features underlying human cortical object perception, we implemented a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging method in which visual stimuli are selected in real-time based on BOLD responses to recently shown stimuli. This work was inspired by earlier primate physiology work, in which neural selectivity for mid-level features in IT was characterized using a simple parametric approach (Hung et al., 2012). To extend such work to human neuroimaging, we used natural and synthetic object stimuli embedded in feature spaces constructed on the basis of the complex visual properties of the objects themselves. During fMRI scanning, we employed a real-time search method to control continuous stimulus selection within each image space. This search was designed to maximize neural responses across a pre-determined 1 cm3 brain region within ventral cortex. To assess the value of this method for understanding object encoding, we examined both the behavior of the method itself and the complex visual properties the method identified as reliably activating selected brain regions. We observed: (1) Regions selective for both holistic and component object features and for a variety of surface properties; (2) Object stimulus pairs near one another in feature space that produce responses at the opposite extremes of the measured activity range. Together, these results suggest that real-time fMRI methods may yield more widely informative measures of selectivity within the broad classes of visual features

Corporate objectives and the planning process.

PubMed

White, S

1990-02-01

The embodiment of corporate objectives in a workable planning process enables all employees to develop an identity larger than themselves. This results in a more cohesive body and makes it easier to implement the organization's strategy and mission. The senior executives at University Hospital have a long history with the organization and therefore know it well. Whether the new process makes planning more coordinated and comprehensive will be measured by both the subjective and the objective assessment of these executives.

Emotion and Object Processing in Parkinson's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Henri; Gagne, Marie-Helene; Hess, Ursula; Pourcher, Emmanuelle

2010-01-01

The neuropsychological literature on the processing of emotions in Parkinson's disease (PD) reveals conflicting evidence about the role of the basal ganglia in the recognition of facial emotions. Hence, the present study had two objectives. One was to determine the extent to which the visual processing of emotions and objects differs in PD. The…

Meshing complex macro-scale objects into self-assembling bricks

PubMed Central

Hacohen, Adar; Hanniel, Iddo; Nikulshin, Yasha; Wolfus, Shuki; Abu-Horowitz, Almogit; Bachelet, Ido

2015-01-01

Self-assembly provides an information-economical route to the fabrication of objects at virtually all scales. However, there is no known algorithm to program self-assembly in macro-scale, solid, complex 3D objects. Here such an algorithm is described, which is inspired by the molecular assembly of DNA, and based on bricks designed by tetrahedral meshing of arbitrary objects. Assembly rules are encoded by topographic cues imprinted on brick faces while attraction between bricks is provided by embedded magnets. The bricks can then be mixed in a container and agitated, leading to properly assembled objects at high yields and zero errors. The system and its assembly dynamics were characterized by video and audio analysis, enabling the precise time- and space-resolved characterization of its performance and accuracy. Improved designs inspired by our system could lead to successful implementation of self-assembly at the macro-scale, allowing rapid, on-demand fabrication of objects without the need for assembly lines. PMID:26226488

The perception of odor objects in everyday life: a review on the processing of odor mixtures

PubMed Central

Thomas-Danguin, Thierry; Sinding, Charlotte; Romagny, Sébastien; El Mountassir, Fouzia; Atanasova, Boriana; Le Berre, Elodie; Le Bon, Anne-Marie; Coureaud, Gérard

2014-01-01

Smelling monomolecular odors hardly ever occurs in everyday life, and the daily functioning of the sense of smell relies primarily on the processing of complex mixtures of volatiles that are present in the environment (e.g., emanating from food or conspecifics). Such processing allows for the instantaneous recognition and categorization of smells and also for the discrimination of odors among others to extract relevant information and to adapt efficiently in different contexts. The neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning this highly efficient analysis of complex mixtures of odorants is beginning to be unraveled and support the idea that olfaction, as vision and audition, relies on odor-objects encoding. This configural processing of odor mixtures, which is empirically subject to important applications in our societies (e.g., the art of perfumers, flavorists, and wine makers), has been scientifically studied only during the last decades. This processing depends on many individual factors, among which are the developmental stage, lifestyle, physiological and mood state, and cognitive skills; this processing also presents striking similarities between species. The present review gathers the recent findings, as observed in animals, healthy subjects, and/or individuals with affective disorders, supporting the perception of complex odor stimuli as odor objects. It also discusses peripheral to central processing, and cognitive and behavioral significance. Finally, this review highlights that the study of odor mixtures is an original window allowing for the investigation of daily olfaction and emphasizes the need for knowledge about the underlying biological processes, which appear to be crucial for our representation and adaptation to the chemical environment. PMID:24917831

Processing of spatial and non-spatial information in rats with lesions of the medial and lateral entorhinal cortex: Environmental complexity matters.

PubMed

Rodo, Christophe; Sargolini, Francesca; Save, Etienne

2017-03-01

The entorhinal-hippocampal circuitry has been suggested to play an important role in episodic memory but the contribution of the entorhinal cortex remains elusive. Predominant theories propose that the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) processes spatial information whereas the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) processes non spatial information. A recent study using an object exploration task has suggested that the involvement of the MEC and LEC spatial and non-spatial information processing could be modulated by the amount of information to be processed, i.e. environmental complexity. To address this hypothesis we used an object exploration task in which rats with excitotoxic lesions of the MEC and LEC had to detect spatial and non-spatial novelty among a set of objects and we varied environmental complexity by decreasing the number of objects or amount of object diversity. Reducing diversity resulted in restored ability to process spatial and non-spatial information in MEC and LEC groups, respectively. Reducing the number of objects yielded restored ability to process non-spatial information in the LEC group but not the ability to process spatial information in the MEC group. The findings indicate that the MEC and LEC are not strictly necessary for spatial and non-spatial processing but that their involvement depends on the complexity of the information to be processed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The probability of object-scene co-occurrence influences object identification processes.

PubMed

Sauvé, Geneviève; Harmand, Mariane; Vanni, Léa; Brodeur, Mathieu B

2017-07-01

Contextual information allows the human brain to make predictions about the identity of objects that might be seen and irregularities between an object and its background slow down perception and identification processes. Bar and colleagues modeled the mechanisms underlying this beneficial effect suggesting that the brain stocks information about the statistical regularities of object and scene co-occurrence. Their model suggests that these recurring regularities could be conceptualized along a continuum in which the probability of seeing an object within a given scene can be high (probable condition), moderate (improbable condition) or null (impossible condition). In the present experiment, we propose to disentangle the electrophysiological correlates of these context effects by directly comparing object-scene pairs found along this continuum. We recorded the event-related potentials of 30 healthy participants (18-34 years old) and analyzed their brain activity in three time windows associated with context effects. We observed anterior negativities between 250 and 500 ms after object onset for the improbable and impossible conditions (improbable more negative than impossible) compared to the probable condition as well as a parieto-occipital positivity (improbable more positive than impossible). The brain may use different processing pathways to identify objects depending on whether the probability of co-occurrence with the scene is moderate (rely more on top-down effects) or null (rely more on bottom-up influences). The posterior positivity could index error monitoring aimed to ensure that no false information is integrated into mental representations of the world.

Image processing strategies based on saliency segmentation for object recognition under simulated prosthetic vision.

PubMed

Li, Heng; Su, Xiaofan; Wang, Jing; Kan, Han; Han, Tingting; Zeng, Yajie; Chai, Xinyu

2018-01-01

Current retinal prostheses can only generate low-resolution visual percepts constituted of limited phosphenes which are elicited by an electrode array and with uncontrollable color and restricted grayscale. Under this visual perception, prosthetic recipients can just complete some simple visual tasks, but more complex tasks like face identification/object recognition are extremely difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate and apply image processing strategies for optimizing the visual perception of the recipients. This study focuses on recognition of the object of interest employing simulated prosthetic vision. We used a saliency segmentation method based on a biologically plausible graph-based visual saliency model and a grabCut-based self-adaptive-iterative optimization framework to automatically extract foreground objects. Based on this, two image processing strategies, Addition of Separate Pixelization and Background Pixel Shrink, were further utilized to enhance the extracted foreground objects. i) The results showed by verification of psychophysical experiments that under simulated prosthetic vision, both strategies had marked advantages over Direct Pixelization in terms of recognition accuracy and efficiency. ii) We also found that recognition performance under two strategies was tied to the segmentation results and was affected positively by the paired-interrelated objects in the scene. The use of the saliency segmentation method and image processing strategies can automatically extract and enhance foreground objects, and significantly improve object recognition performance towards recipients implanted a high-density implant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Process consistency in models: The importance of system signatures, expert knowledge, and process complexity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hrachowitz, M.; Fovet, O.; Ruiz, L.; Euser, T.; Gharari, S.; Nijzink, R.; Freer, J.; Savenije, H. H. G.; Gascuel-Odoux, C.

2014-09-01

Hydrological models frequently suffer from limited predictive power despite adequate calibration performances. This can indicate insufficient representations of the underlying processes. Thus, ways are sought to increase model consistency while satisfying the contrasting priorities of increased model complexity and limited equifinality. In this study, the value of a systematic use of hydrological signatures and expert knowledge for increasing model consistency was tested. It was found that a simple conceptual model, constrained by four calibration objective functions, was able to adequately reproduce the hydrograph in the calibration period. The model, however, could not reproduce a suite of hydrological signatures, indicating a lack of model consistency. Subsequently, testing 11 models, model complexity was increased in a stepwise way and counter-balanced by "prior constraints," inferred from expert knowledge to ensure a model which behaves well with respect to the modeler's perception of the system. We showed that, in spite of unchanged calibration performance, the most complex model setup exhibited increased performance in the independent test period and skill to better reproduce all tested signatures, indicating a better system representation. The results suggest that a model may be inadequate despite good performance with respect to multiple calibration objectives and that increasing model complexity, if counter-balanced by prior constraints, can significantly increase predictive performance of a model and its skill to reproduce hydrological signatures. The results strongly illustrate the need to balance automated model calibration with a more expert-knowledge-driven strategy of constraining models.

Parallel Processing of Objects in a Naming Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Antje S.; Ouellet, Marc; Hacker, Christine

2008-01-01

The authors investigated whether speakers who named several objects processed them sequentially or in parallel. Speakers named object triplets, arranged in a triangle, in the order left, right, and bottom object. The left object was easy or difficult to identify and name. During the saccade from the left to the right object, the right object shown…

Predictability and Robustness in the Manipulation of Dynamically Complex Objects

PubMed Central

Hasson, Christopher J.

2017-01-01

Manipulation of complex objects and tools is a hallmark of many activities of daily living, but how the human neuromotor control system interacts with such objects is not well understood. Even the seemingly simple task of transporting a cup of coffee without spilling creates complex interaction forces that humans need to compensate for. Predicting the behavior of an underactuated object with nonlinear fluid dynamics based on an internal model appears daunting. Hence, this research tests the hypothesis that humans learn strategies that make interactions predictable and robust to inaccuracies in neural representations of object dynamics. The task of moving a cup of coffee is modeled with a cart-and-pendulum system that is rendered in a virtual environment, where subjects interact with a virtual cup with a rolling ball inside using a robotic manipulandum. To gain insight into human control strategies, we operationalize predictability and robustness to permit quantitative theory-based assessment. Predictability is quantified by the mutual information between the applied force and the object dynamics; robustness is quantified by the energy margin away from failure. Three studies are reviewed that show how with practice subjects develop movement strategies that are predictable and robust. Alternative criteria, common for free movement, such as maximization of smoothness and minimization of force, do not account for the observed data. As manual dexterity is compromised in many individuals with neurological disorders, the experimental paradigm and its analyses are a promising platform to gain insights into neurological diseases, such as dystonia and multiple sclerosis, as well as healthy aging. PMID:28035560

Teacher Trainees as Learning Object Designers: Problems and Issues in Learning Object Development Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guler, Cetin; Altun, Arif

2010-01-01

Learning objects (LOs) can be defined as resources that are reusable, digital with the aim of fulfilling learning objectives (or expectations). Educators, both at the individual and institutional levels, are cautioned about the fact that LOs are to be processed through a proper development process. Who should be involved in the LO development…

On the existence of near-Earth-object meteoroid complexes producing meteorites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trigo-Rodriguez, J.; Madiedo, J.; Williams, I.

2014-07-01

It is generally thought that meteorites are formed as a result of collisions within the main belt of asteroids [1]. They are delivered onto Earth-crossing orbits because of the effects of orbital resonances, primarily with Jupiter. About 15 meteorites are known where their passage through the atmosphere was observed and recorded, allowing the parameters of the pre-encounter orbit to be derived [2]. The cosmic-ray-exposure ages (CREAs) are suggesting that most meteorites have been exposed to cosmic rays for tens of millions of years (Myrs) [3], re-enforcing the belief that the process of modifying the orbit from being near-circular in the main belt to highly elliptical as an Earth-crossing orbit was a gradual process like the effects of resonance. However, there is growing evidence that some meteorite could originate directly from the near-Earth-object (NEO) population. A good example of this is the recent discovery of rare primitive groups in the Antarctic, an example being Elephant Moraine (EET) 96026: a C4/5 carbonaceous chondrite with a measured cosmic ray exposure age of only 0.28 Ma [4]. Here, we focus on recent dynamic links that have been established between meteorite-dropping bolides and NEOs that support the idea of short-life meteoroid streams that can generate meteoroids on Earth. The fact that such streams can exist allows rocky material from potentially-hazardous asteroids (PHA) to be sampled and investigated in the laboratory. The existence of meteoroid streams capable of producing meteorites has been proposed following the determination of accurate meteoroid orbits of fireballs obtained by the Canadian Meteorite Observation and Recovery Project (MORP) [5]. Some asteroids in the Earth's vicinity are undergoing both dynamical and collisional evolution on very short timescales [6]. Many of these objects are crumbly bodies that originated from the collisions between main-belt asteroids during their life-time. An obvious method of forming these complexes

The highs and lows of object impossibility: effects of spatial frequency on holistic processing of impossible objects.

PubMed

Freud, Erez; Avidan, Galia; Ganel, Tzvi

2015-02-01

Holistic processing, the decoding of a stimulus as a unified whole, is a basic characteristic of object perception. Recent research using Garner's speeded classification task has shown that this processing style is utilized even for impossible objects that contain an inherent spatial ambiguity. In particular, similar Garner interference effects were found for possible and impossible objects, indicating similar holistic processing styles for the two object categories. In the present study, we further investigated the perceptual mechanisms that mediate such holistic representation of impossible objects. We relied on the notion that, whereas information embedded in the high-spatial-frequency (HSF) content supports fine-detailed processing of object features, the information conveyed by low spatial frequencies (LSF) is more crucial for the emergence of a holistic shape representation. To test the effects of image frequency on the holistic processing of impossible objects, participants performed the Garner speeded classification task on images of possible and impossible cubes filtered for their LSF and HSF information. For images containing only LSF, similar interference effects were observed for possible and impossible objects, indicating that the two object categories were processed in a holistic manner. In contrast, for the HSF images, Garner interference was obtained only for possible, but not for impossible objects. Importantly, we provided evidence to show that this effect could not be attributed to a lack of sensitivity to object possibility in the LSF images. Particularly, even for full-spectrum images, Garner interference was still observed for both possible and impossible objects. Additionally, performance in an object classification task revealed high sensitivity to object possibility, even for LSF images. Taken together, these findings suggest that the visual system can tolerate the spatial ambiguity typical to impossible objects by relying on information

No Evidence for a Fixed Object Limit in Working Memory: Spatial Ensemble Representations Inflate Estimates of Working Memory Capacity for Complex Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brady, Timothy F.; Alvarez, George A.

2015-01-01

A central question for models of visual working memory is whether the number of objects people can remember depends on object complexity. Some influential "slot" models of working memory capacity suggest that people always represent 3-4 objects and that only the fidelity with which these objects are represented is affected by object…

-The Influence of Scene Context on Parafoveal Processing of Objects.

PubMed

Castelhano, Monica S; Pereira, Effie J

2017-04-21

Many studies in reading have shown the enhancing effect of context on the processing of a word before it is directly fixated (parafoveal processing of words; Balota et al., 1985; Balota & Rayner, 1983; Ehrlich & Rayner, 1981). Here, we examined whether scene context influences the parafoveal processing of objects and enhances the extraction of object information. Using a modified boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975), the Dot-Boundary paradigm, participants fixated on a suddenly-onsetting cue before the preview object would onset 4° away. The preview object could be identical to the target, visually similar, visually dissimilar, or a control (black rectangle). The preview changed to the target object once a saccade toward the object was made. Critically, the objects were presented on either a consistent or an inconsistent scene background. Results revealed that there was a greater processing benefit for consistent than inconsistent scene backgrounds and that identical and visually similar previews produced greater processing benefits than other previews. In the second experiment, we added an additional context condition in which the target location was inconsistent, but the scene semantics remained consistent. We found that changing the location of the target object disrupted the processing benefit derived from the consistent context. Most importantly, across both experiments, the effect of preview was not enhanced by scene context. Thus, preview information and scene context appear to independently boost the parafoveal processing of objects without any interaction from object-scene congruency.

Web mapping system for complex processing and visualization of environmental geospatial datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titov, Alexander; Gordov, Evgeny; Okladnikov, Igor

2016-04-01

Environmental geospatial datasets (meteorological observations, modeling and reanalysis results, etc.) are used in numerous research applications. Due to a number of objective reasons such as inherent heterogeneity of environmental datasets, big dataset volume, complexity of data models used, syntactic and semantic differences that complicate creation and use of unified terminology, the development of environmental geodata access, processing and visualization services as well as client applications turns out to be quite a sophisticated task. According to general INSPIRE requirements to data visualization geoportal web applications have to provide such standard functionality as data overview, image navigation, scrolling, scaling and graphical overlay, displaying map legends and corresponding metadata information. It should be noted that modern web mapping systems as integrated geoportal applications are developed based on the SOA and might be considered as complexes of interconnected software tools for working with geospatial data. In the report a complex web mapping system including GIS web client and corresponding OGC services for working with geospatial (NetCDF, PostGIS) dataset archive is presented. There are three basic tiers of the GIS web client in it: 1. Tier of geospatial metadata retrieved from central MySQL repository and represented in JSON format 2. Tier of JavaScript objects implementing methods handling: --- NetCDF metadata --- Task XML object for configuring user calculations, input and output formats --- OGC WMS/WFS cartographical services 3. Graphical user interface (GUI) tier representing JavaScript objects realizing web application business logic Metadata tier consists of a number of JSON objects containing technical information describing geospatial datasets (such as spatio-temporal resolution, meteorological parameters, valid processing methods, etc). The middleware tier of JavaScript objects implementing methods for handling geospatial

Minimized state complexity of quantum-encoded cryptic processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riechers, Paul M.; Mahoney, John R.; Aghamohammadi, Cina; Crutchfield, James P.

2016-05-01

The predictive information required for proper trajectory sampling of a stochastic process can be more efficiently transmitted via a quantum channel than a classical one. This recent discovery allows quantum information processing to drastically reduce the memory necessary to simulate complex classical stochastic processes. It also points to a new perspective on the intrinsic complexity that nature must employ in generating the processes we observe. The quantum advantage increases with codeword length: the length of process sequences used in constructing the quantum communication scheme. In analogy with the classical complexity measure, statistical complexity, we use this reduced communication cost as an entropic measure of state complexity in the quantum representation. Previously difficult to compute, the quantum advantage is expressed here in closed form using spectral decomposition. This allows for efficient numerical computation of the quantum-reduced state complexity at all encoding lengths, including infinite. Additionally, it makes clear how finite-codeword reduction in state complexity is controlled by the classical process's cryptic order, and it allows asymptotic analysis of infinite-cryptic-order processes.

Complexity of line-seru conversion for different scheduling rules and two improved exact algorithms for the multi-objective optimization.

PubMed

Yu, Yang; Wang, Sihan; Tang, Jiafu; Kaku, Ikou; Sun, Wei

2016-01-01

Productivity can be greatly improved by converting the traditional assembly line to a seru system, especially in the business environment with short product life cycles, uncertain product types and fluctuating production volumes. Line-seru conversion includes two decision processes, i.e., seru formation and seru load. For simplicity, however, previous studies focus on the seru formation with a given scheduling rule in seru load. We select ten scheduling rules usually used in seru load to investigate the influence of different scheduling rules on the performance of line-seru conversion. Moreover, we clarify the complexities of line-seru conversion for ten different scheduling rules from the theoretical perspective. In addition, multi-objective decisions are often used in line-seru conversion. To obtain Pareto-optimal solutions of multi-objective line-seru conversion, we develop two improved exact algorithms based on reducing time complexity and space complexity respectively. Compared with the enumeration based on non-dominated sorting to solve multi-objective problem, the two improved exact algorithms saves computation time greatly. Several numerical simulation experiments are performed to show the performance improvement brought by the two proposed exact algorithms.

Optimization of multi-objective integrated process planning and scheduling problem using a priority based optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ausaf, Muhammad Farhan; Gao, Liang; Li, Xinyu

2015-12-01

For increasing the overall performance of modern manufacturing systems, effective integration of process planning and scheduling functions has been an important area of consideration among researchers. Owing to the complexity of handling process planning and scheduling simultaneously, most of the research work has been limited to solving the integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) problem for a single objective function. As there are many conflicting objectives when dealing with process planning and scheduling, real world problems cannot be fully captured considering only a single objective for optimization. Therefore considering multi-objective IPPS (MOIPPS) problem is inevitable. Unfortunately, only a handful of research papers are available on solving MOIPPS problem. In this paper, an optimization algorithm for solving MOIPPS problem is presented. The proposed algorithm uses a set of dispatching rules coupled with priority assignment to optimize the IPPS problem for various objectives like makespan, total machine load, total tardiness, etc. A fixed sized external archive coupled with a crowding distance mechanism is used to store and maintain the non-dominated solutions. To compare the results with other algorithms, a C-matric based method has been used. Instances from four recent papers have been solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed method is an efficient approach for solving the MOIPPS problem.

Interaction of compass sensing and object-motion detection in the locust central complex.

PubMed

Bockhorst, Tobias; Homberg, Uwe

2017-07-01

Goal-directed behavior is often complicated by unpredictable events, such as the appearance of a predator during directed locomotion. This situation requires adaptive responses like evasive maneuvers followed by subsequent reorientation and course correction. Here we study the possible neural underpinnings of such a situation in an insect, the desert locust. As in other insects, its sense of spatial orientation strongly relies on the central complex, a group of midline brain neuropils. The central complex houses sky compass cells that signal the polarization plane of skylight and thus indicate the animal's steering direction relative to the sun. Most of these cells additionally respond to small moving objects that drive fast sensory-motor circuits for escape. Here we investigate how the presentation of a moving object influences activity of the neurons during compass signaling. Cells responded in one of two ways: in some neurons, responses to the moving object were simply added to the compass response that had adapted during continuous stimulation by stationary polarized light. By contrast, other neurons disadapted, i.e., regained their full compass response to polarized light, when a moving object was presented. We propose that the latter case could help to prepare for reorientation of the animal after escape. A neuronal network based on central-complex architecture can explain both responses by slight changes in the dynamics and amplitudes of adaptation to polarized light in CL columnar input neurons of the system. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Neurons of the central complex in several insects signal compass directions through sensitivity to the sky polarization pattern. In locusts, these neurons also respond to moving objects. We show here that during polarized-light presentation, responses to moving objects override their compass signaling or restore adapted inhibitory as well as excitatory compass responses. A network model is presented to explain the variations of these

Improvement of the F-Perceptory Approach Through Management of Fuzzy Complex Geographic Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalfi, B.; de Runz, C.; Faiz, S.; Akdag, H.

2015-08-01

In the real world, data is imperfect and in various ways such as imprecision, vagueness, uncertainty, ambiguity and inconsistency. For geographic data, the fuzzy aspect is mainly manifested in time, space and the function of objects and is due to a lack of precision. Therefore, the researchers in the domain emphasize the importance of modeling data structures in GIS but also their lack of adaptation to fuzzy data. The F-Perceptory approachh manages the modeling of imperfect geographic information with UML. This management is essential to maintain faithfulness to reality and to better guide the user in his decision-making. However, this approach does not manage fuzzy complex geographic objects. The latter presents a multiple object with similar or different geographic shapes. So, in this paper, we propose to improve the F-Perceptory approach by proposing to handle fuzzy complex geographic objects modeling. In a second step, we propose its transformation to the UML modeling.

Process Consistency in Models: the Importance of System Signatures, Expert Knowledge and Process Complexity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hrachowitz, Markus; Fovet, Ophelie; Ruiz, Laurent; Gascuel-Odoux, Chantal; Savenije, Hubert

2014-05-01

Hydrological models are frequently characterized by what is often considered to be adequate calibration performances. In many cases, however, these models experience a substantial uncertainty and performance decrease in validation periods, thus resulting in poor predictive power. Besides the likely presence of data errors, this observation can point towards wrong or insufficient representations of the underlying processes and their heterogeneity. In other words, right results are generated for the wrong reasons. Thus ways are sought to increase model consistency and to thereby satisfy the contrasting priorities of the need a) to increase model complexity and b) to limit model equifinality. In this study a stepwise model development approach is chosen to test the value of an exhaustive and systematic combined use of hydrological signatures, expert knowledge and readily available, yet anecdotal and rarely exploited, hydrological information for increasing model consistency towards generating the right answer for the right reasons. A simple 3-box, 7 parameter, conceptual HBV-type model, constrained by 4 calibration objective functions was able to adequately reproduce the hydrograph with comparatively high values for the 4 objective functions in the 5-year calibration period. However, closer inspection of the results showed a dramatic decrease of model performance in the 5-year validation period. In addition, assessing the model's skill to reproduce a range of 20 hydrological signatures including, amongst others, the flow duration curve, the autocorrelation function and the rising limb density, showed that it could not adequately reproduce the vast majority of these signatures, indicating a lack of model consistency. Subsequently model complexity was increased in a stepwise way to allow for more process heterogeneity. To limit model equifinality, increase in complexity was counter-balanced by a stepwise application of "realism constraints", inferred from expert

36 CFR 218.10 - Objection time periods and process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Objection time periods and... Objection time periods and process. (a) Time to file an objection. Written objections, including any... of objectors to ensure that their objection is received in a timely manner. (b) Computation of time...

36 CFR 218.10 - Objection time periods and process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... calendar day (11:59 p.m. in the time zone of the receiving office) for objections filed by electronic means... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Objection time periods and... Objection time periods and process. (a) Time to file an objection. Written objections, including any...

Data Quality Objectives Process for Designation of K Basins Debris

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

WESTCOTT, J.L.

2000-05-22

The U.S. Department of Energy has developed a schedule and approach for the removal of spent fuels, sludge, and debris from the K East (KE) and K West (KW) Basins, located in the 100 Area at the Hanford Site. The project that is the subject of this data quality objective (DQO) process is focused on the removal of debris from the K Basins and onsite disposal of the debris at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF). This material previously has been dispositioned at the Hanford Low-Level Burial Grounds (LLBGs) or Central Waste Complex (CWC). The goal of this DQO processmore » and the resulting Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) is to provide the strategy for characterizing and designating the K-Basin debris to determine if it meets the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC), Revision 3 (BHI 1998). A critical part of the DQO process is to agree on regulatory and WAC interpretation, to support preparation of the DQO workbook and SAP.« less

Dynamic information processing states revealed through neurocognitive models of object semantics

PubMed Central

Clarke, Alex

2015-01-01

Recognising objects relies on highly dynamic, interactive brain networks to process multiple aspects of object information. To fully understand how different forms of information about objects are represented and processed in the brain requires a neurocognitive account of visual object recognition that combines a detailed cognitive model of semantic knowledge with a neurobiological model of visual object processing. Here we ask how specific cognitive factors are instantiated in our mental processes and how they dynamically evolve over time. We suggest that coarse semantic information, based on generic shared semantic knowledge, is rapidly extracted from visual inputs and is sufficient to drive rapid category decisions. Subsequent recurrent neural activity between the anterior temporal lobe and posterior fusiform supports the formation of object-specific semantic representations – a conjunctive process primarily driven by the perirhinal cortex. These object-specific representations require the integration of shared and distinguishing object properties and support the unique recognition of objects. We conclude that a valuable way of understanding the cognitive activity of the brain is though testing the relationship between specific cognitive measures and dynamic neural activity. This kind of approach allows us to move towards uncovering the information processing states of the brain and how they evolve over time. PMID:25745632

Color Image Processing and Object Tracking System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimek, Robert B.; Wright, Ted W.; Sielken, Robert S.

1996-01-01

This report describes a personal computer based system for automatic and semiautomatic tracking of objects on film or video tape, developed to meet the needs of the Microgravity Combustion and Fluids Science Research Programs at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The system consists of individual hardware components working under computer control to achieve a high degree of automation. The most important hardware components include 16-mm and 35-mm film transports, a high resolution digital camera mounted on a x-y-z micro-positioning stage, an S-VHS tapedeck, an Hi8 tapedeck, video laserdisk, and a framegrabber. All of the image input devices are remotely controlled by a computer. Software was developed to integrate the overall operation of the system including device frame incrementation, grabbing of image frames, image processing of the object's neighborhood, locating the position of the object being tracked, and storing the coordinates in a file. This process is performed repeatedly until the last frame is reached. Several different tracking methods are supported. To illustrate the process, two representative applications of the system are described. These applications represent typical uses of the system and include tracking the propagation of a flame front and tracking the movement of a liquid-gas interface with extremely poor visibility.

Sorting of Streptomyces Cell Pellets Using a Complex Object Parametric Analyzer and Sorter

PubMed Central

Petrus, Marloes L. C.; van Veluw, G. Jerre; Wösten, Han A. B.; Claessen, Dennis

2014-01-01

Streptomycetes are filamentous soil bacteria that are used in industry for the production of enzymes and antibiotics. When grown in bioreactors, these organisms form networks of interconnected hyphae, known as pellets, which are heterogeneous in size. Here we describe a method to analyze and sort mycelial pellets using a Complex Object Parametric Analyzer and Sorter (COPAS). Detailed instructions are given for the use of the instrument and the basic statistical analysis of the data. We furthermore describe how pellets can be sorted according to user-defined settings, which enables downstream processing such as the analysis of the RNA or protein content. Using this methodology the mechanism underlying heterogeneous growth can be tackled. This will be instrumental for improving streptomycetes as a cell factory, considering the fact that productivity correlates with pellet size. PMID:24561666

Curcumin complexation with cyclodextrins by the autoclave process: Method development and characterization of complex formation.

PubMed

Hagbani, Turki Al; Nazzal, Sami

2017-03-30

One approach to enhance curcumin (CUR) aqueous solubility is to use cyclodextrins (CDs) to form inclusion complexes where CUR is encapsulated as a guest molecule within the internal cavity of the water-soluble CD. Several methods have been reported for the complexation of CUR with CDs. Limited information, however, is available on the use of the autoclave process (AU) in complex formation. The aims of this work were therefore to (1) investigate and evaluate the AU cycle as a complex formation method to enhance CUR solubility; (2) compare the efficacy of the AU process with the freeze-drying (FD) and evaporation (EV) processes in complex formation; and (3) confirm CUR stability by characterizing CUR:CD complexes by NMR, Raman spectroscopy, DSC, and XRD. Significant differences were found in the saturation solubility of CUR from its complexes with CD when prepared by the three complexation methods. The AU yielded a complex with expected chemical and physical fingerprints for a CUR:CD inclusion complex that maintained the chemical integrity and stability of CUR and provided the highest solubility of CUR in water. Physical and chemical characterizations of the AU complexes confirmed the encapsulated of CUR inside the CD cavity and the transformation of the crystalline CUR:CD inclusion complex to an amorphous form. It was concluded that the autoclave process with its short processing time could be used as an alternate and efficient methods for drug:CD complexation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Epidemic processes in complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastor-Satorras, Romualdo; Castellano, Claudio; Van Mieghem, Piet; Vespignani, Alessandro

2015-07-01

In recent years the research community has accumulated overwhelming evidence for the emergence of complex and heterogeneous connectivity patterns in a wide range of biological and sociotechnical systems. The complex properties of real-world networks have a profound impact on the behavior of equilibrium and nonequilibrium phenomena occurring in various systems, and the study of epidemic spreading is central to our understanding of the unfolding of dynamical processes in complex networks. The theoretical analysis of epidemic spreading in heterogeneous networks requires the development of novel analytical frameworks, and it has produced results of conceptual and practical relevance. A coherent and comprehensive review of the vast research activity concerning epidemic processes is presented, detailing the successful theoretical approaches as well as making their limits and assumptions clear. Physicists, mathematicians, epidemiologists, computer, and social scientists share a common interest in studying epidemic spreading and rely on similar models for the description of the diffusion of pathogens, knowledge, and innovation. For this reason, while focusing on the main results and the paradigmatic models in infectious disease modeling, the major results concerning generalized social contagion processes are also presented. Finally, the research activity at the forefront in the study of epidemic spreading in coevolving, coupled, and time-varying networks is reported.

Emotional Picture and Word Processing: An fMRI Study on Effects of Stimulus Complexity

PubMed Central

Schlochtermeier, Lorna H.; Kuchinke, Lars; Pehrs, Corinna; Urton, Karolina; Kappelhoff, Hermann; Jacobs, Arthur M.

2013-01-01

Neuroscientific investigations regarding aspects of emotional experiences usually focus on one stimulus modality (e.g., pictorial or verbal). Similarities and differences in the processing between the different modalities have rarely been studied directly. The comparison of verbal and pictorial emotional stimuli often reveals a processing advantage of emotional pictures in terms of larger or more pronounced emotion effects evoked by pictorial stimuli. In this study, we examined whether this picture advantage refers to general processing differences or whether it might partly be attributed to differences in visual complexity between pictures and words. We first developed a new stimulus database comprising valence and arousal ratings for more than 200 concrete objects representable in different modalities including different levels of complexity: words, phrases, pictograms, and photographs. Using fMRI we then studied the neural correlates of the processing of these emotional stimuli in a valence judgment task, in which the stimulus material was controlled for differences in emotional arousal. No superiority for the pictorial stimuli was found in terms of emotional information processing with differences between modalities being revealed mainly in perceptual processing regions. While visual complexity might partly account for previously found differences in emotional stimulus processing, the main existing processing differences are probably due to enhanced processing in modality specific perceptual regions. We would suggest that both pictures and words elicit emotional responses with no general superiority for either stimulus modality, while emotional responses to pictures are modulated by perceptual stimulus features, such as picture complexity. PMID:23409009

Fast and accurate edge orientation processing during object manipulation

PubMed Central

Flanagan, J Randall; Johansson, Roland S

2018-01-01

Quickly and accurately extracting information about a touched object’s orientation is a critical aspect of dexterous object manipulation. However, the speed and acuity of tactile edge orientation processing with respect to the fingertips as reported in previous perceptual studies appear inadequate in these respects. Here we directly establish the tactile system’s capacity to process edge-orientation information during dexterous manipulation. Participants extracted tactile information about edge orientation very quickly, using it within 200 ms of first touching the object. Participants were also strikingly accurate. With edges spanning the entire fingertip, edge-orientation resolution was better than 3° in our object manipulation task, which is several times better than reported in previous perceptual studies. Performance remained impressive even with edges as short as 2 mm, consistent with our ability to precisely manipulate very small objects. Taken together, our results radically redefine the spatial processing capacity of the tactile system. PMID:29611804

Distinct brain activity in processing negative pictures of animals and objects --- the role of human contexts

PubMed Central

Cao, Zhijun; Zhao, Yanbing; Tan, Tengteng; Chen, Gang; Ning, Xueling; Zhan, Lexia; Yang, Jiongjiong

2013-01-01

Previous studies have shown that the amygdala is important in processing not only animate entities but also social information. It remains to be determined to what extent the factors of category and social context interact to modulate the activities of the amygdala and cortical regions. In this study, pictures depicting animals and inanimate objects in negative and neutral levels were presented. The contexts of the pictures differed in whether they included human/human parts. The factors of valence, arousal, familiarity and complexity of pictures were controlled across categories. The results showed that the amygdala activity was modulated by category and contextual information. Under the nonhuman context condition, the amygdala responded more to animals than objects for both negative and neutral pictures. In contrast, under the human context condition, the amygdala showed stronger activity for negative objects than animals. In addition to cortical regions related to object action, functional and effective connectivity analyses showed that the anterior prefrontal cortex interacted with the amygdala more for negative objects (vs. animals) in the human context condition, by a top-down modulation of the anterior prefrontal cortex to the amygdala. These results highlighted the effects of category and human contexts on modulating brain activity in emotional processing. PMID:24099847

EPR Characterization of Dinitrosyl Iron Complexes with Thiol-Containing Ligands as an Approach to Their Identification in Biological Objects: An Overview.

PubMed

Vanin, Anatoly F

2018-06-01

The overview demonstrates how the use of only one physico-chemical approach, viz., the electron paramagnetic resonance method, allowed detection and identification of dinitrosyl iron complexes with thiol-containing ligands in various animal and bacterial cells. These complexes are formed in biological objects in the paramagnetic (electron paramagnetic resonance-active) mononuclear and diamagnetic (electron paramagnetic resonance-silent) binuclear forms and control the activity of nitrogen monoxide, one of the most universal regulators of metabolic processes in the organism. The analysis of electronic and spatial structures of dinitrosyl iron complex sheds additional light on the mechanism whereby dinitrosyl iron complex with thiol-containing ligands function in human and animal cells as donors of nitrogen monoxide and its ionized form, viz., nitrosonium ions (NO + ).

Holistic processing of impossible objects: evidence from Garner's speeded-classification task.

PubMed

Freud, Erez; Avidan, Galia; Ganel, Tzvi

2013-12-18

Holistic processing, the decoding of the global structure of a stimulus while the local parts are not explicitly represented, is a basic characteristic of object perception. The current study was aimed to test whether such a representation could be created even for objects that violate fundamental principles of spatial organization, namely impossible objects. Previous studies argued that these objects cannot be represented holistically in long-term memory because they lack coherent 3D structure. Here, we utilized Garner's speeded classification task to test whether the perception of possible and impossible objects is mediated by similar holistic processing mechanisms. To this end, participants were asked to make speeded classifications of one object dimension while an irrelevant dimension was kept constant (baseline condition) or when this dimension varied (filtering condition). It is well accepted that ignoring the irrelevant dimension is impossible when holistic perception is mandatory, thus the extent of Garner interference in performance between the baseline and filtering conditions serves as an index of holistic processing. Critically, in Experiment 1, similar levels of Garner interference were found for possible and impossible objects implying holistic perception of both object types. Experiment 2 extended these results and demonstrated that even when depth information was explicitly processed, participants were still unable to process one dimension (width/depth) while ignoring the irrelevant dimension (depth/width, respectively). The results of Experiment 3 replicated the basic pattern found in Experiments 1 and 2 using a novel set of object exemplars. In Experiment 4, we used possible and impossible versions of the Penrose triangles in which information about impossibility is embedded in the internal elements of the objects which participant were explicitly asked to judge. As in Experiments 1-3, similar Garner interference was found for possible and

Top-down modulation of visual processing and knowledge after 250 ms supports object constancy of category decisions

PubMed Central

Schendan, Haline E.; Ganis, Giorgio

2015-01-01

People categorize objects more slowly when visual input is highly impoverished instead of optimal. While bottom-up models may explain a decision with optimal input, perceptual hypothesis testing (PHT) theories implicate top-down processes with impoverished input. Brain mechanisms and the time course of PHT are largely unknown. This event-related potential study used a neuroimaging paradigm that implicated prefrontal cortex in top-down modulation of occipitotemporal cortex. Subjects categorized more impoverished and less impoverished real and pseudo objects. PHT theories predict larger impoverishment effects for real than pseudo objects because top-down processes modulate knowledge only for real objects, but different PHT variants predict different timing. Consistent with parietal-prefrontal PHT variants, around 250 ms, the earliest impoverished real object interaction started on an N3 complex, which reflects interactive cortical activity for object cognition. N3 impoverishment effects localized to both prefrontal and occipitotemporal cortex for real objects only. The N3 also showed knowledge effects by 230 ms that localized to occipitotemporal cortex. Later effects reflected (a) word meaning in temporal cortex during the N400, (b) internal evaluation of prior decision and memory processes and secondary higher-order memory involving anterotemporal parts of a default mode network during posterior positivity (P600), and (c) response related activity in posterior cingulate during an anterior slow wave (SW) after 700 ms. Finally, response activity in supplementary motor area during a posterior SW after 900 ms showed impoverishment effects that correlated with RTs. Convergent evidence from studies of vision, memory, and mental imagery which reflects purely top-down inputs, indicates that the N3 reflects the critical top-down processes of PHT. A hybrid multiple-state interactive, PHT and decision theory best explains the visual constancy of object cognition. PMID:26441701

Verbal Labels Modulate Perceptual Object Processing in 1-Year-Old Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gliga, Teodora; Volein, Agnes; Csibra, Gergely

2010-01-01

Whether verbal labels help infants visually process and categorize objects is a contentious issue. Using electroencephalography, we investigated whether possessing familiar or novel labels for objects directly enhances 1-year-old children's neural processes underlying the perception of those objects. We found enhanced gamma-band (20-60 Hz)…

A Visual Short-Term Memory Advantage for Objects of Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curby, Kim M.; Glazek, Kuba; Gauthier, Isabel

2009-01-01

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is limited, especially for complex objects. Its capacity, however, is greater for faces than for other objects; this advantage may stem from the holistic nature of face processing. If the holistic processing explains this advantage, object expertise--which also relies on holistic processing--should endow experts…

Figure-ground organization and object recognition processes: an interactive account.

PubMed

Vecera, S P; O'Reilly, R C

1998-04-01

Traditional bottom-up models of visual processing assume that figure-ground organization precedes object recognition. This assumption seems logically necessary: How can object recognition occur before a region is labeled as figure? However, some behavioral studies find that familiar regions are more likely to be labeled figure than less familiar regions, a problematic finding for bottom-up models. An interactive account is proposed in which figure-ground processes receive top-down input from object representations in a hierarchical system. A graded, interactive computational model is presented that accounts for behavioral results in which familiarity effects are found. The interactive model offers an alternative conception of visual processing to bottom-up models.

On improved understanding of plasma-chemical processes in complex low-temperature plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Röpcke, Jürgen; Loffhagen, Detlef; von Wahl, Eric; Nave, Andy S. C.; Hamann, Stephan; van Helden, Jean-Piere H.; Lang, Norbert; Kersten, Holger

2018-05-01

Over the last years, chemical sensing using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) in the visible spectral range has been combined with methods of mid infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (MIR-LAS) in the molecular fingerprint region from 3 to 20 μm, which contains strong rotational-vibrational absorption bands of a large variety of gaseous species. This optical approach established powerful in situ diagnostic tools to study plasma-chemical processes of complex low-temperature plasmas. The methods of MIR-LAS enable to detect stable and transient molecular species in ground and excited states and to measure the concentrations and temperatures of reactive species in plasmas. Since kinetic processes are inherent to discharges ignited in molecular gases, high time resolution on sub-second timescales is frequently desired for fundamental studies as well as for process monitoring in applied research and industry. In addition to high sensitivity and good temporal resolution, the capacity for broad spectral coverage enabling multicomponent detection is further expanding the use of OES and MIR-LAS techniques. Based on selected examples, this paper reports on recent achievements in the understanding of complex low-temperature plasmas. Recently, a link with chemical modeling of the plasma has been provided, which is the ultimate objective for a better understanding of the chemical and reaction kinetic processes occurring in the plasma. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Fundamentals of Complex Plasmas", edited by Jürgen Meichsner, Michael Bonitz, Holger Fehske, Alexander Piel.

Temperature and heat flux datasets of a complex object in a fire plume for the validation of fire and thermal response codes.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jernigan, Dann A.; Blanchat, Thomas K.

It is necessary to improve understanding and develop temporally- and spatially-resolved integral scale validation data of the heat flux incident to a complex object in addition to measuring the thermal response of said object located within the fire plume for the validation of the SIERRA/FUEGO/SYRINX fire and SIERRA/CALORE codes. To meet this objective, a complex calorimeter with sufficient instrumentation to allow validation of the coupling between FUEGO/SYRINX/CALORE has been designed, fabricated, and tested in the Fire Laboratory for Accreditation of Models and Experiments (FLAME) facility. Validation experiments are specifically designed for direct comparison with the computational predictions. Making meaningful comparisonmore » between the computational and experimental results requires careful characterization and control of the experimental features or parameters used as inputs into the computational model. Validation experiments must be designed to capture the essential physical phenomena, including all relevant initial and boundary conditions. This report presents the data validation steps and processes, the results of the penlight radiant heat experiments (for the purpose of validating the CALORE heat transfer modeling of the complex calorimeter), and the results of the fire tests in FLAME.« less

Using simple manipulatives to improve student comprehension of a complex biological process: protein synthesis.

PubMed

Guzman, Karen; Bartlett, John

2012-01-01

Biological systems and living processes involve a complex interplay of biochemicals and macromolecular structures that can be challenging for undergraduate students to comprehend and, thus, misconceptions abound. Protein synthesis, or translation, is an example of a biological process for which students often hold many misconceptions. This article describes an exercise that was developed to illustrate the process of translation using simple objects to represent complex molecules. Animations, 3D physical models, computer simulations, laboratory experiments and classroom lectures are also used to reinforce the students' understanding of translation, but by focusing on the simple manipulatives in this exercise, students are better able to visualize concepts that can elude them when using the other methods. The translation exercise is described along with suggestions for background material, questions used to evaluate student comprehension and tips for using the manipulatives to identify common misconceptions. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tracking of Maneuvering Complex Extended Object with Coupled Motion Kinematics and Extension Dynamics Using Range Extent Measurements

PubMed Central

Sun, Lifan; Ji, Baofeng; Lan, Jian; He, Zishu; Pu, Jiexin

2017-01-01

The key to successful maneuvering complex extended object tracking (MCEOT) using range extent measurements provided by high resolution sensors lies in accurate and effective modeling of both the extension dynamics and the centroid kinematics. During object maneuvers, the extension dynamics of an object with a complex shape is highly coupled with the centroid kinematics. However, this difficult but important problem is rarely considered and solved explicitly. In view of this, this paper proposes a general approach to modeling a maneuvering complex extended object based on Minkowski sum, so that the coupled turn maneuvers in both the centroid states and extensions can be described accurately. The new model has a concise and unified form, in which the complex extension dynamics can be simply and jointly characterized by multiple simple sub-objects’ extension dynamics based on Minkowski sum. The proposed maneuvering model fits range extent measurements very well due to its favorable properties. Based on this model, an MCEOT algorithm dealing with motion and extension maneuvers is also derived. Two different cases of the turn maneuvers with known/unknown turn rates are specifically considered. The proposed algorithm which jointly estimates the kinematic state and the object extension can also be easily implemented. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling and tracking approaches. PMID:28937629

Discourse accessibility constraints in children’s processing of object relative clauses

PubMed Central

Haendler, Yair; Kliegl, Reinhold; Adani, Flavia

2015-01-01

Children’s poor performance on object relative clauses has been explained in terms of intervention locality. This approach predicts that object relatives with a full DP head and an embedded pronominal subject are easier than object relatives in which both the head noun and the embedded subject are full DPs. This prediction is shared by other accounts formulated to explain processing mechanisms. We conducted a visual-world study designed to test the off-line comprehension and on-line processing of object relatives in German-speaking 5-year-olds. Children were tested on three types of object relatives, all having a full DP head noun and differing with respect to the type of nominal phrase that appeared in the embedded subject position: another full DP, a 1st- or a 3rd-person pronoun. Grammatical skills and memory capacity were also assessed in order to see whether and how they affect children’s performance. Most accurately processed were object relatives with 1st-person pronoun, independently of children’s language and memory skills. Performance on object relatives with two full DPs was overall more accurate than on object relatives with 3rd-person pronoun. In the former condition, children with stronger grammatical skills accurately processed the structure and their memory abilities determined how fast they were; in the latter condition, children only processed accurately the structure if they were strong both in their grammatical skills and in their memory capacity. The results are discussed in the light of accounts that predict different pronoun effects like the ones we find, which depend on the referential properties of the pronouns. We then discuss which role language and memory abilities might have in processing object relatives with various embedded nominal phrases. PMID:26157410

Atypical Brain Activation during Simple & Complex Levels of Processing in Adult ADHD: An fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, T. Sigi; Bookheimer, Susan; McGough, James J.; Phillips, Joseph M.; McCracken, James T.

2007-01-01

Objective: Executive dysfunction in ADHD is well supported. However, recent studies suggest that more fundamental impairments may be contributing. We assessed brain function in adults with ADHD during simple and complex forms of processing. Method: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging with forward and backward digit spans to investigate…

Real-time monitoring of clinical processes using complex event processing and transition systems.

PubMed

Meinecke, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Dependencies between tasks in clinical processes are often complex and error-prone. Our aim is to describe a new approach for the automatic derivation of clinical events identified via the behaviour of IT systems using Complex Event Processing. Furthermore we map these events on transition systems to monitor crucial clinical processes in real-time for preventing and detecting erroneous situations.

Learning objects and training complex machines.

PubMed

Martins, Edgard

2012-01-01

There are situations in the operation of complex machinery which is significant pressure. In need of capturing, interpreting and processing information from instruments, often in seconds. This occurs in the middle where it operates the pilot and the aircraft will be established a set of operations that will culminate with a maneuver, consisting of a substantial and binding set of procedures performed for this driver. This has little time to evaluate and act, supported by aircraft instruments and external environmental signals captured by the senses, which will stimulate conditioned actions that, if executed without due accuracy, is reflected in a deadly mistake. These situations cause a state of tension and unpredictability, especially when there is bad weather and / or no visibility and bad wind conditions occur and are not supportive or even shrinkage, or even partial or total ability to operate the airplane happen..

Is complex signal processing for bone conduction hearing aids useful?

PubMed

Kompis, Martin; Kurz, Anja; Pfiffner, Flurin; Senn, Pascal; Arnold, Andreas; Caversaccio, Marco

2014-05-01

To establish whether complex signal processing is beneficial for users of bone anchored hearing aids. Review and analysis of two studies from our own group, each comparing a speech processor with basic digital signal processing (either Baha Divino or Baha Intenso) and a processor with complex digital signal processing (either Baha BP100 or Baha BP110 power). The main differences between basic and complex signal processing are the number of audiologist accessible frequency channels and the availability and complexity of the directional multi-microphone noise reduction and loudness compression systems. Both studies show a small, statistically non-significant improvement of speech understanding in quiet with the complex digital signal processing. The average improvement for speech in noise is +0.9 dB, if speech and noise are emitted both from the front of the listener. If noise is emitted from the rear and speech from the front of the listener, the advantage of the devices with complex digital signal processing as opposed to those with basic signal processing increases, on average, to +3.2 dB (range +2.3 … +5.1 dB, p ≤ 0.0032). Complex digital signal processing does indeed improve speech understanding, especially in noise coming from the rear. This finding has been supported by another study, which has been published recently by a different research group. When compared to basic digital signal processing, complex digital signal processing can increase speech understanding of users of bone anchored hearing aids. The benefit is most significant for speech understanding in noise.

The Lateral Occipital Complex shows no net response to object familiarity.

PubMed

Margalit, Eshed; Shah, Manan P; Tjan, Bosco S; Biederman, Irving; Keller, Brenton; Brenner, Rorry

2016-09-01

In 1995, Malach et al. discovered an area whose fMRI BOLD response was greater when viewing intact, familiar objects than when viewing their scrambled versions (resembling texture). Since then hundreds of studies have explored this late visual region termed the Lateral Occipital Complex (LOC), which is now known to be critical for shape perception (James, Culham, Humphrey, Milner, & Goodale, 2003). Malach et al. (1995) discounted a role of familiarity by showing that "abstract" Henry Moore sculptures, unfamiliar to the subjects, also activated this region. This characterization of LOC as a region that responds to shape independently of familiarity has been accepted but never tested with control of the same low-level features. We assessed LOC's response to objects that had identical parts in two different arrangements, one familiar and the other novel. Malach was correct: There is no net effect of familiarity in LOC. However, a multivoxel correlation analysis showed that LOC does distinguish familiar from novel objects.

Babinet’s principle for scalar complex objects in the far field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez-Zurita, G.; Rickenstorff, C.; Pastrana-Sánchez, R.; Vázquez-Castillo, J. F.; Robledo-Sanchez, C.; Meneses-Fabian, C.; Toto-Arellano, N. I.

2014-10-01

Babinet’s principle is briefly reviewed, especially regarding the zeroth diffraction order of the far field diffraction pattern associated with a given aperture. The pattern is basically described by the squared modulus of the Fourier transform of its amplitude distribution (scalar case). In this paper, complementary objects are defined with respect to complex values and not only with respect to unity in order to include phase objects and phase modulation. It is shown that the difference in complementary patterns can be sometimes a bright spot at the zero order location as is widely known, but also, it can be a gray spot or even a dark one. Conditions of occurrence for each case are given as well as some numerical and experimental examples.

Support system, excavation arrangement, and process of supporting an object

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arnold, Bill W.

2017-08-01

A support system, an excavation arrangement, and a process of supporting an object are disclosed. The support system includes a weight-bearing device and a camming mechanism positioned below the weight-bearing device. A downward force on the weight-bearing device at least partially secures the camming mechanism to opposing surfaces. The excavation arrangement includes a borehole, a support system positioned within and secured to the borehole, and an object positioned on and supported by the support system. The process includes positioning and securing the support system and positioning the object on the weight-bearing device.

The Perception of Concurrent Sound Objects in Harmonic Complexes Impairs Gap Detection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Ada W. S.; Jolicoeur, Pierre; Vachon, Francois; Alain, Claude

2011-01-01

Since the introduction of the concept of auditory scene analysis, there has been a paucity of work focusing on the theoretical explanation of how attention is allocated within a complex auditory scene. Here we examined signal detection in situations that promote either the fusion of tonal elements into a single sound object or the segregation of a…

A neuroanatomical model of space-based and object-centered processing in spatial neglect.

PubMed

Pedrazzini, Elena; Schnider, Armin; Ptak, Radek

2017-11-01

Visual attention can be deployed in space-based or object-centered reference frames. Right-hemisphere damage may lead to distinct deficits of space- or object-based processing, and such dissociations are thought to underlie the heterogeneous nature of spatial neglect. Previous studies have suggested that object-centered processing deficits (such as in copying, reading or line bisection) result from damage to retro-rolandic regions while impaired spatial exploration reflects damage to more anterior regions. However, this evidence is based on small samples and heterogeneous tasks. Here, we tested a theoretical model of neglect that takes in account the space- and object-based processing and relates them to neuroanatomical predictors. One hundred and one right-hemisphere-damaged patients were examined with classic neuropsychological tests and structural brain imaging. Relations between neglect measures and damage to the temporal-parietal junction, intraparietal cortex, insula and middle frontal gyrus were examined with two structural equation models by assuming that object-centered processing (involved in line bisection and single-word reading) and space-based processing (involved in cancelation tasks) either represented a unique latent variable or two distinct variables. Of these two models the latter had better explanatory power. Damage to the intraparietal sulcus was a significant predictor of object-centered, but not space-based processing, while damage to the temporal-parietal junction predicted space-based, but not object-centered processing. Space-based processing and object-centered processing were strongly intercorrelated, indicating that they rely on similar, albeit partly dissociated processes. These findings indicate that object-centered and space-based deficits in neglect are partly independent and result from superior parietal and inferior parietal damage, respectively.

SEPARATION PROCESS USING COMPLEXING AND ADSORPTION

DOEpatents

Spedding, J.H.; Ayers, J.A.

1958-06-01

An adsorption process is described for separating plutonium from a solution of neutron-irradiated uranium containing ions of a compound of plutonium and other cations. The method consists of forming a chelate complex compound with plutoniunn ions in the solution by adding a derivative of 8- hydroxyquinoline, which derivative contains a sulfonic acid group, and adsorbing the remaining cations from the solution on a cation exchange resin, while the complexed plutonium remains in the solution.

Experimental Evaluation of Processing Time for the Synchronization of XML-Based Business Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ameling, Michael; Wolf, Bernhard; Springer, Thomas; Schill, Alexander

Business objects (BOs) are data containers for complex data structures used in business applications such as Supply Chain Management and Customer Relationship Management. Due to the replication of application logic, multiple copies of BOs are created which have to be synchronized and updated. This is a complex and time consuming task because BOs rigorously vary in their structure according to the distribution, number and size of elements. Since BOs are internally represented as XML documents, the parsing of XML is one major cost factor which has to be considered for minimizing the processing time during synchronization. The prediction of the parsing time for BOs is an significant property for the selection of an efficient synchronization mechanism. In this paper, we present a method to evaluate the influence of the structure of BOs on their parsing time. The results of our experimental evaluation incorporating four different XML parsers examine the dependencies between the distribution of elements and the parsing time. Finally, a general cost model will be validated and simplified according to the results of the experimental setup.

Task and spatial frequency modulations of object processing: an EEG study.

PubMed

Craddock, Matt; Martinovic, Jasna; Müller, Matthias M

2013-01-01

Visual object processing may follow a coarse-to-fine sequence imposed by fast processing of low spatial frequencies (LSF) and slow processing of high spatial frequencies (HSF). Objects can be categorized at varying levels of specificity: the superordinate (e.g. animal), the basic (e.g. dog), or the subordinate (e.g. Border Collie). We tested whether superordinate and more specific categorization depend on different spatial frequency ranges, and whether any such dependencies might be revealed by or influence signals recorded using EEG. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) and time-frequency (TF) analysis to examine the time course of object processing while participants performed either a grammatical gender-classification task (which generally forces basic-level categorization) or a living/non-living judgement (superordinate categorization) on everyday, real-life objects. Objects were filtered to contain only HSF or LSF. We found a greater positivity and greater negativity for HSF than for LSF pictures in the P1 and N1 respectively, but no effects of task on either component. A later, fronto-central negativity (N350) was more negative in the gender-classification task than the superordinate categorization task, which may indicate that this component relates to semantic or syntactic processing. We found no significant effects of task or spatial frequency on evoked or total gamma band responses. Our results demonstrate early differences in processing of HSF and LSF content that were not modulated by categorization task, with later responses reflecting such higher-level cognitive factors.

The COGs (context, object, and goals) in multisensory processing.

PubMed

ten Oever, Sanne; Romei, Vincenzo; van Atteveldt, Nienke; Soto-Faraco, Salvador; Murray, Micah M; Matusz, Pawel J

2016-05-01

Our understanding of how perception operates in real-world environments has been substantially advanced by studying both multisensory processes and "top-down" control processes influencing sensory processing via activity from higher-order brain areas, such as attention, memory, and expectations. As the two topics have been traditionally studied separately, the mechanisms orchestrating real-world multisensory processing remain unclear. Past work has revealed that the observer's goals gate the influence of many multisensory processes on brain and behavioural responses, whereas some other multisensory processes might occur independently of these goals. Consequently, other forms of top-down control beyond goal dependence are necessary to explain the full range of multisensory effects currently reported at the brain and the cognitive level. These forms of control include sensitivity to stimulus context as well as the detection of matches (or lack thereof) between a multisensory stimulus and categorical attributes of naturalistic objects (e.g. tools, animals). In this review we discuss and integrate the existing findings that demonstrate the importance of such goal-, object- and context-based top-down control over multisensory processing. We then put forward a few principles emerging from this literature review with respect to the mechanisms underlying multisensory processing and discuss their possible broader implications.

Robotic system for non-destructive testing of complex shaped objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavalerov, B. V.; Fayzrakhmanov, R. A.; Murzakaev, R. T.; Polyakov, A. N.; Artemev, V. V.

2018-03-01

This article describes the positioning system of defectoscopic equipment for nondestructive examination of complex shaped parts made of polymer composite materials. The purpose of the system and features of the investigated objects are described. The rationale for the development of the system and the range of problems it solves are presented. The solution of the kinematics problem for a 5-DOF manipulator is considered. The original algorithms for solving the kinematics problem are demonstrated. Methods for resolving collisions for a manipulator system are described. The results obtained in the course of experiments and studies are presented.

Feature binding, attention and object perception.

PubMed Central

Treisman, A

1998-01-01

The seemingly effortless ability to perceive meaningful objects in an integrated scene actually depends on complex visual processes. The 'binding problem' concerns the way in which we select and integrate the separate features of objects in the correct combinations. Experiments suggest that attention plays a central role in solving this problem. Some neurological patients show a dramatic breakdown in the ability to see several objects; their deficits suggest a role for the parietal cortex in the binding process. However, indirect measures of priming and interference suggest that more information may be implicitly available than we can consciously access. PMID:9770223

Auditory-visual object recognition time suggests specific processing for animal sounds.

PubMed

Suied, Clara; Viaud-Delmon, Isabelle

2009-01-01

Recognizing an object requires binding together several cues, which may be distributed across different sensory modalities, and ignoring competing information originating from other objects. In addition, knowledge of the semantic category of an object is fundamental to determine how we should react to it. Here we investigate the role of semantic categories in the processing of auditory-visual objects. We used an auditory-visual object-recognition task (go/no-go paradigm). We compared recognition times for two categories: a biologically relevant one (animals) and a non-biologically relevant one (means of transport). Participants were asked to react as fast as possible to target objects, presented in the visual and/or the auditory modality, and to withhold their response for distractor objects. A first main finding was that, when participants were presented with unimodal or bimodal congruent stimuli (an image and a sound from the same object), similar reaction times were observed for all object categories. Thus, there was no advantage in the speed of recognition for biologically relevant compared to non-biologically relevant objects. A second finding was that, in the presence of a biologically relevant auditory distractor, the processing of a target object was slowed down, whether or not it was itself biologically relevant. It seems impossible to effectively ignore an animal sound, even when it is irrelevant to the task. These results suggest a specific and mandatory processing of animal sounds, possibly due to phylogenetic memory and consistent with the idea that hearing is particularly efficient as an alerting sense. They also highlight the importance of taking into account the auditory modality when investigating the way object concepts of biologically relevant categories are stored and retrieved.

Action and object processing in brain-injured speakers of Chinese.

PubMed

Arévalo, Analia L; Lu, Ching-Ching; Huang, Lydia B-Y; Bates, Elizabeth A; Dronkers, Nina F

2011-11-01

To see whether action and object processing across different tasks and modalities differs in brain-injured speakers of Chinese with varying fluency and lesion locations within the left hemisphere. Words and pictures representing actions and objects were presented to a group of 33 participants whose native and/or dominant language was Mandarin Chinese: 23 patients with left-hemisphere lesions due to stroke and 10 language-, age- and education-matched healthy control participants. A set of 120 stimulus items was presented to each participant in three different forms: as black and white line drawings (for picture-naming), as written words (for reading) and as aurally presented words (for word repetition). Patients were divided into groups for two separate analyses: Analysis 1 divided and compared patients based on fluency (Fluent vs. Nonfluent) and Analysis 2 compared patients based on lesion location (Anterior vs. Posterior). Both analyses yielded similar results: Fluent, Nonfluent, Anterior, and Posterior patients all produced significantly more errors when processing action (M = 0.73, SD = 0.45) relative to object (M = 0.79, SD = 0.41) stimuli, and this effect was strongest in the picture-naming task. As in our previous study with English-speaking participants using the same experimental design (Arévalo et al., 2007, Arévalo, Moineau, Saygin, Ludy, & Bates, 2005), we did not find evidence for a double-dissociation in action and object processing between groups with different lesion and fluency profiles. These combined data bring us closer to a more informed view of action/object processing in the brain in both healthy and brain-injured individuals.

Auditory Processing of Complex Sounds Across Frequency Channels.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-26

towards gaining an understanding how the auditory system processes complex sounds. "The results of binaural psychophysical experiments in human subjects...suggest (1) that spectrally synthetic binaural processing is the rule when the number of components in the tone complex are relatively few (less than...10) and there are no dynamic binaural cues to aid segregation of the target from the background, and (2) that waveforms having large effective

Neural correlates of the object-recall process in semantic memory.

PubMed

Assaf, Michal; Calhoun, Vince D; Kuzu, Cheedem H; Kraut, Michael A; Rivkin, Paul R; Hart, John; Pearlson, Godfrey D

2006-10-30

The recall of an object from features is a specific operation in semantic memory in which the thalamus and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) are integrally involved. Other higher-order semantic cortices are also likely to be involved. We used the object-recall-from-features paradigm, with more sensitive scanning techniques and larger sample size, to replicate and extend our previous results. Eighteen right-handed healthy participants performed an object-recall task and an association semantic task, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. During object-recall, subjects determined whether words pairs describing object features combined to recall an object; during the association task they decided if two words were related. Of brain areas specifically involved in object recall, in addition to the thalamus and pre-SMA, other regions included the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and middle temporal gyrus, and bilateral rostral anterior cingulate and inferior frontal gyri. These regions are involved in semantic processing, verbal working memory and response-conflict detection and monitoring. The thalamus likely helps to coordinate activity of these different brain areas. Understanding the circuit that normally mediates this process is relevant for schizophrenia, where many regions in this circuit are functionally abnormal and semantic memory is impaired.

An analysis of packaging formats for complex digtal objects: review of principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bekaert, Jeroen L.; Hochstenbach, Patrick; De Kooning, Emiel; Van de Walle, Rik

2003-11-01

During recent years, the number of organizations making digital information available has massively increased. This evolution encouraged the development of standards for packaging and encoding digital representations of complex objects (such as a digital music albums or digitized books and photograph albums). The primary goal of this article is to offer a method to compare these packaging standards and best practices tailored to the needs of the digital library community and the rising digital preservation programs. The contribution of this paper is the definition of an integrated reference model, based on both the OAIS framework and some additional significant properties that affect the quality, usability, encoding and behavior of the digital objects.

Color image processing and object tracking workstation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimek, Robert B.; Paulick, Michael J.

1992-01-01

A system is described for automatic and semiautomatic tracking of objects on film or video tape which was developed to meet the needs of the microgravity combustion and fluid science experiments at NASA Lewis. The system consists of individual hardware parts working under computer control to achieve a high degree of automation. The most important hardware parts include 16 mm film projector, a lens system, a video camera, an S-VHS tapedeck, a frame grabber, and some storage and output devices. Both the projector and tapedeck have a computer interface enabling remote control. Tracking software was developed to control the overall operation. In the automatic mode, the main tracking program controls the projector or the tapedeck frame incrementation, grabs a frame, processes it, locates the edge of the objects being tracked, and stores the coordinates in a file. This process is performed repeatedly until the last frame is reached. Three representative applications are described. These applications represent typical uses and include tracking the propagation of a flame front, tracking the movement of a liquid-gas interface with extremely poor visibility, and characterizing a diffusion flame according to color and shape.

Hierarchical Processing of Auditory Objects in Humans

PubMed Central

Kumar, Sukhbinder; Stephan, Klaas E; Warren, Jason D; Friston, Karl J; Griffiths, Timothy D

2007-01-01

This work examines the computational architecture used by the brain during the analysis of the spectral envelope of sounds, an important acoustic feature for defining auditory objects. Dynamic causal modelling and Bayesian model selection were used to evaluate a family of 16 network models explaining functional magnetic resonance imaging responses in the right temporal lobe during spectral envelope analysis. The models encode different hypotheses about the effective connectivity between Heschl's Gyrus (HG), containing the primary auditory cortex, planum temporale (PT), and superior temporal sulcus (STS), and the modulation of that coupling during spectral envelope analysis. In particular, we aimed to determine whether information processing during spectral envelope analysis takes place in a serial or parallel fashion. The analysis provides strong support for a serial architecture with connections from HG to PT and from PT to STS and an increase of the HG to PT connection during spectral envelope analysis. The work supports a computational model of auditory object processing, based on the abstraction of spectro-temporal “templates” in the PT before further analysis of the abstracted form in anterior temporal lobe areas. PMID:17542641

Process for coating an object with silicon carbide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levin, Harry (Inventor)

1989-01-01

A process for coating a carbon or graphite object with silicon carbide by contacting it with silicon liquid and vapor over various lengths of contact time. In the process, a stream of silicon-containing precursor material in gaseous phase below the decomposition temperature of said gas and a co-reactant, carrier or diluent gas such as hydrogen is passed through a hole within a high emissivity, thin, insulating septum into a reaction chamber above the melting point of silicon. The thin septum has one face below the decomposition temperature of the gas and an opposite face exposed to the reaction chamber. The precursor gas is decomposed directly to silicon in the reaction chamber. A stream of any decomposition gas and any unreacted precursor gas from said reaction chamber is removed. The object within the reaction chamber is then contacted with silicon, and recovered after it has been coated with silicon carbide.

Mental visualization of objects from cross-sectional images

PubMed Central

Wu, Bing; Klatzky, Roberta L.; Stetten, George D.

2011-01-01

We extended the classic anorthoscopic viewing procedure to test a model of visualization of 3D structures from 2D cross-sections. Four experiments were conducted to examine key processes described in the model, localizing cross-sections within a common frame of reference and spatiotemporal integration of cross sections into a hierarchical object representation. Participants used a hand-held device to reveal a hidden object as a sequence of cross-sectional images. The process of localization was manipulated by contrasting two displays, in-situ vs. ex-situ, which differed in whether cross sections were presented at their source locations or displaced to a remote screen. The process of integration was manipulated by varying the structural complexity of target objects and their components. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated visualization of 2D and 3D line-segment objects and verified predictions about display and complexity effects. In Experiments 3 and 4, the visualized forms were familiar letters and numbers. Errors and orientation effects showed that displacing cross-sectional images to a remote display (ex-situ viewing) impeded the ability to determine spatial relationships among pattern components, a failure of integration at the object level. PMID:22217386

Invariant visual object recognition and shape processing in rats

PubMed Central

Zoccolan, Davide

2015-01-01

Invariant visual object recognition is the ability to recognize visual objects despite the vastly different images that each object can project onto the retina during natural vision, depending on its position and size within the visual field, its orientation relative to the viewer, etc. Achieving invariant recognition represents such a formidable computational challenge that is often assumed to be a unique hallmark of primate vision. Historically, this has limited the invasive investigation of its neuronal underpinnings to monkey studies, in spite of the narrow range of experimental approaches that these animal models allow. Meanwhile, rodents have been largely neglected as models of object vision, because of the widespread belief that they are incapable of advanced visual processing. However, the powerful array of experimental tools that have been developed to dissect neuronal circuits in rodents has made these species very attractive to vision scientists too, promoting a new tide of studies that have started to systematically explore visual functions in rats and mice. Rats, in particular, have been the subjects of several behavioral studies, aimed at assessing how advanced object recognition and shape processing is in this species. Here, I review these recent investigations, as well as earlier studies of rat pattern vision, to provide an historical overview and a critical summary of the status of the knowledge about rat object vision. The picture emerging from this survey is very encouraging with regard to the possibility of using rats as complementary models to monkeys in the study of higher-level vision. PMID:25561421

[Electrophysiological bases of semantic processing of objects].

PubMed

Kahlaoui, Karima; Baccino, Thierry; Joanette, Yves; Magnié, Marie-Noële

2007-02-01

How pictures and words are stored and processed in the human brain constitute a long-standing question in cognitive psychology. Behavioral studies have yielded a large amount of data addressing this issue. Generally speaking, these data show that there are some interactions between the semantic processing of pictures and words. However, behavioral methods can provide only limited insight into certain findings. Fortunately, Event-Related Potential (ERP) provides on-line cues about the temporal nature of cognitive processes and contributes to the exploration of their neural substrates. ERPs have been used in order to better understand semantic processing of words and pictures. The main objective of this article is to offer an overview of the electrophysiologic bases of semantic processing of words and pictures. Studies presented in this article showed that the processing of words is associated with an N 400 component, whereas pictures elicited both N 300 and N 400 components. Topographical analysis of the N 400 distribution over the scalp is compatible with the idea that both image-mediated concrete words and pictures access an amodal semantic system. However, given the distinctive N 300 patterns, observed only during picture processing, it appears that picture and word processing rely upon distinct neuronal networks, even if they end up activating more or less similar semantic representations.

Objective measurement of subjective tinnitus using the acoustic change complex.

PubMed

Han, Ji-Hye; Won, Joong Yeon; Hong, Sung Kwang; Kim, Ja Hee; Kim, Eun Soo; Kim, Hyung-Jong; Lee, Hyo-Jeong

2017-01-01

At present, there is no objective method for diagnosing subjective sensorineural tinnitus. Recently, the acoustic change complex (ACC) has been used to evaluate neural detection of sounds. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether the ACC can reflect cortical detection and discrimination of sounds matched with tinnitus frequencies. We hypothesized that the ACC to change stimuli matched with tinnitus frequencies would be decreased in tinnitus patients because the tinnitus interferes with the perception of acoustic changes. To test the hypothesis, 96 ears of normal-hearing (NH) tinnitus patients and controls were tested. Among the tinnitus patients, 33 ears with a tinnitus frequency of 8 kHz constituted the tinnitus group, and the remaining 63 ears with no experience of tinnitus were allocated to the control group. For the 4 kHz non-tinnitus matched frequency, a subset of tinnitus (n = 17) and NH (n = 47) subjects was tested. The acoustic stimuli were pure tones with a total duration of 500 ms consisting of a 1 kHz tone in the first 250 ms and a second tone of either 8 kHz or 4 kHz in the latter 250 ms. The normalized amplitude of the ACC (naACC) was calculated separately for the amplitude of the N1'-P2' complex evoked by an 8 kHz or 4 kHz change stimulus and for the amplitude of the N1-P2 complex elicited by the initial 1 kHz background stimulus. Our results showed that the naACC to an 8 kHz stimulus in the tinnitus group was significantly smaller than those to 4 kHz and 8 kHz in normal controls. Additionally, in the tinnitus group, the naACC to 4 kHz was greater compared to 8 kHz. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis conducted for naACC to 8 kHz at UCL revealed a fair degree of diagnostic efficacy. Overall, our results indicated that the ACC to a change stimulus matched with the tinnitus frequency can provide an objective measure of frequency-specific tinnitus.

Objective measurement of subjective tinnitus using the acoustic change complex

PubMed Central

Han, Ji-Hye; Won, Joong Yeon; Hong, Sung Kwang; Kim, Ja Hee; Kim, Eun Soo; Kim, Hyung-Jong

2017-01-01

At present, there is no objective method for diagnosing subjective sensorineural tinnitus. Recently, the acoustic change complex (ACC) has been used to evaluate neural detection of sounds. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether the ACC can reflect cortical detection and discrimination of sounds matched with tinnitus frequencies. We hypothesized that the ACC to change stimuli matched with tinnitus frequencies would be decreased in tinnitus patients because the tinnitus interferes with the perception of acoustic changes. To test the hypothesis, 96 ears of normal-hearing (NH) tinnitus patients and controls were tested. Among the tinnitus patients, 33 ears with a tinnitus frequency of 8 kHz constituted the tinnitus group, and the remaining 63 ears with no experience of tinnitus were allocated to the control group. For the 4 kHz non-tinnitus matched frequency, a subset of tinnitus (n = 17) and NH (n = 47) subjects was tested. The acoustic stimuli were pure tones with a total duration of 500 ms consisting of a 1 kHz tone in the first 250 ms and a second tone of either 8 kHz or 4 kHz in the latter 250 ms. The normalized amplitude of the ACC (naACC) was calculated separately for the amplitude of the N1’-P2’ complex evoked by an 8 kHz or 4 kHz change stimulus and for the amplitude of the N1-P2 complex elicited by the initial 1 kHz background stimulus. Our results showed that the naACC to an 8 kHz stimulus in the tinnitus group was significantly smaller than those to 4 kHz and 8 kHz in normal controls. Additionally, in the tinnitus group, the naACC to 4 kHz was greater compared to 8 kHz. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis conducted for naACC to 8 kHz at UCL revealed a fair degree of diagnostic efficacy. Overall, our results indicated that the ACC to a change stimulus matched with the tinnitus frequency can provide an objective measure of frequency-specific tinnitus. PMID:29176873

Fault-tolerant wait-free shared objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jayanti, Prasad; Chandra, Tushar D.; Toueg, Sam

1992-01-01

A concurrent system consists of processes communicating via shared objects, such as shared variables, queues, etc. The concept of wait-freedom was introduced to cope with process failures: each process that accesses a wait-free object is guaranteed to get a response even if all the other processes crash. However, if a wait-free object 'crashes,' all the processes that access that object are prevented from making progress. In this paper, we introduce the concept of fault-tolerant wait-free objects, and study the problem of implementing them. We give a universal method to construct fault-tolerant wait-free objects, for all types of 'responsive' failures (including one in which faulty objects may 'lie'). In sharp contrast, we prove that many common and interesting types (such as queues, sets, and test&set) have no fault-tolerant wait-free implementations even under the most benign of the 'non-responsive' types of failure. We also introduce several concepts and techniques that are central to the design of fault-tolerant concurrent systems: the concepts of self-implementation and graceful degradation, and techniques to automatically increase the fault-tolerance of implementations. We prove matching lower bounds on the resource complexity of most of our algorithms.

Low-complexity object detection with deep convolutional neural network for embedded systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, Subarna; Kang, Byeongkeun; Dane, Gokce; Nguyen, Truong

2017-09-01

We investigate low-complexity convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for object detection for embedded vision applications. It is well-known that consolidation of an embedded system for CNN-based object detection is more challenging due to computation and memory requirement comparing with problems like image classification. To achieve these requirements, we design and develop an end-to-end TensorFlow (TF)-based fully-convolutional deep neural network for generic object detection task inspired by one of the fastest framework, YOLO.1 The proposed network predicts the localization of every object by regressing the coordinates of the corresponding bounding box as in YOLO. Hence, the network is able to detect any objects without any limitations in the size of the objects. However, unlike YOLO, all the layers in the proposed network is fully-convolutional. Thus, it is able to take input images of any size. We pick face detection as an use case. We evaluate the proposed model for face detection on FDDB dataset and Widerface dataset. As another use case of generic object detection, we evaluate its performance on PASCAL VOC dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed network can predict object instances of different sizes and poses in a single frame. Moreover, the results show that the proposed method achieves comparative accuracy comparing with the state-of-the-art CNN-based object detection methods while reducing the model size by 3× and memory-BW by 3 - 4× comparing with one of the best real-time CNN-based object detectors, YOLO. Our 8-bit fixed-point TF-model provides additional 4× memory reduction while keeping the accuracy nearly as good as the floating-point model. Moreover, the fixed- point model is capable of achieving 20× faster inference speed comparing with the floating-point model. Thus, the proposed method is promising for embedded implementations.

Nonturbulent dispersion processes in complex terrain

Treesearch

Michael A. Fosberg; Douglas G. Fox; E.A. Howard; Jack D. Cohen

1976-01-01

Mass divergence influences on plume dispersion modify classic Gaussian calculations by as much as a factor of two in complex terrain. The Gaussian plume was derived in flux form to include this process.Authors' response to comments and criticism received following this publication:

Object-oriented Persistent Homology

PubMed Central

Wang, Bao; Wei, Guo-Wei

2015-01-01

Persistent homology provides a new approach for the topological simplification of big data via measuring the life time of intrinsic topological features in a filtration process and has found its success in scientific and engineering applications. However, such a success is essentially limited to qualitative data classification and analysis. Indeed, persistent homology has rarely been employed for quantitative modeling and prediction. Additionally, the present persistent homology is a passive tool, rather than a proactive technique, for classification and analysis. In this work, we outline a general protocol to construct object-oriented persistent homology methods. By means of differential geometry theory of surfaces, we construct an objective functional, namely, a surface free energy defined on the data of interest. The minimization of the objective functional leads to a Laplace-Beltrami operator which generates a multiscale representation of the initial data and offers an objective oriented filtration process. The resulting differential geometry based object-oriented persistent homology is able to preserve desirable geometric features in the evolutionary filtration and enhances the corresponding topological persistence. The cubical complex based homology algorithm is employed in the present work to be compatible with the Cartesian representation of the Laplace-Beltrami flow. The proposed Laplace-Beltrami flow based persistent homology method is extensively validated. The consistence between Laplace-Beltrami flow based filtration and Euclidean distance based filtration is confirmed on the Vietoris-Rips complex for a large amount of numerical tests. The convergence and reliability of the present Laplace-Beltrami flow based cubical complex filtration approach are analyzed over various spatial and temporal mesh sizes. The Laplace-Beltrami flow based persistent homology approach is utilized to study the intrinsic topology of proteins and fullerene molecules. Based on a

Switching industrial production processes from complex to defined media: method development and case study using the example of Penicillium chrysogenum

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Filamentous fungi are versatile cell factories and widely used for the production of antibiotics, organic acids, enzymes and other industrially relevant compounds at large scale. As a fact, industrial production processes employing filamentous fungi are commonly based on complex raw materials. However, considerable lot-to-lot variability of complex media ingredients not only demands for exhaustive incoming components inspection and quality control, but unavoidably affects process stability and performance. Thus, switching bioprocesses from complex to defined media is highly desirable. Results This study presents a strategy for strain characterization of filamentous fungi on partly complex media using redundant mass balancing techniques. Applying the suggested method, interdependencies between specific biomass and side-product formation rates, production of fructooligosaccharides, specific complex media component uptake rates and fungal strains were revealed. A 2-fold increase of the overall penicillin space time yield and a 3-fold increase in the maximum specific penicillin formation rate were reached in defined media compared to complex media. Conclusions The newly developed methodology enabled fast characterization of two different industrial Penicillium chrysogenum candidate strains on complex media based on specific complex media component uptake kinetics and identification of the most promising strain for switching the process from complex to defined conditions. Characterization at different complex/defined media ratios using only a limited number of analytical methods allowed maximizing the overall industrial objectives of increasing both, method throughput and the generation of scientific process understanding. PMID:22727013

Switching industrial production processes from complex to defined media: method development and case study using the example of Penicillium chrysogenum.

PubMed

Posch, Andreas E; Spadiut, Oliver; Herwig, Christoph

2012-06-22

Filamentous fungi are versatile cell factories and widely used for the production of antibiotics, organic acids, enzymes and other industrially relevant compounds at large scale. As a fact, industrial production processes employing filamentous fungi are commonly based on complex raw materials. However, considerable lot-to-lot variability of complex media ingredients not only demands for exhaustive incoming components inspection and quality control, but unavoidably affects process stability and performance. Thus, switching bioprocesses from complex to defined media is highly desirable. This study presents a strategy for strain characterization of filamentous fungi on partly complex media using redundant mass balancing techniques. Applying the suggested method, interdependencies between specific biomass and side-product formation rates, production of fructooligosaccharides, specific complex media component uptake rates and fungal strains were revealed. A 2-fold increase of the overall penicillin space time yield and a 3-fold increase in the maximum specific penicillin formation rate were reached in defined media compared to complex media. The newly developed methodology enabled fast characterization of two different industrial Penicillium chrysogenum candidate strains on complex media based on specific complex media component uptake kinetics and identification of the most promising strain for switching the process from complex to defined conditions. Characterization at different complex/defined media ratios using only a limited number of analytical methods allowed maximizing the overall industrial objectives of increasing both, method throughput and the generation of scientific process understanding.

Tracks detection from high-orbit space objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumilov, Yu. P.; Vygon, V. G.; Grishin, E. A.; Konoplev, A. O.; Semichev, O. P.; Shargorodskii, V. D.

2017-05-01

The paper presents studies results of a complex algorithm for the detection of highly orbital space objects. Before the implementation of the algorithm, a series of frames with weak tracks of space objects, which can be discrete, is recorded. The algorithm includes pre-processing, classical for astronomy, consistent filtering of each frame and its threshold processing, shear transformation, median filtering of the transformed series of frames, repeated threshold processing and detection decision making. Modeling of space objects weak tracks on of the night starry sky real frames obtained in the regime of a stationary telescope was carried out. It is shown that the permeability of an optoelectronic device has increased by almost 2m.

Intraoperative angiography provides objective assessment of skin perfusion in complex knee reconstruction.

PubMed

Wyles, Cody C; Taunton, Michael J; Jacobson, Steven R; Tran, Nho V; Sierra, Rafael J; Trousdale, Robert T

2015-01-01

Wound necrosis is a potentially devastating complication of complex knee reconstruction. Laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography (LA-ICGA) is a technology that has been described in the plastic surgery literature to provide an objective assessment of skin perfusion in the operating room. This novel technology uses a plasma protein bound dye (ICG) and a camera unit that is calibrated to view the frequency emitted by the dye. The intention of this technology is to offer real-time visualization of blood flow to skin and soft tissue in a way that might help surgeons make decisions about closure or coverage of a surgical site based on blood flow, potentially avoiding soft tissue reconstruction while preventing skin necrosis or wound breakdown after primary closures, but its efficacy is untested in the setting of complex TKA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate perfusion borders and tension ischemia in a series of complex knee reconstructions to guide optimal wound management. Beginning in mid-2011, an LA-ICGA system was used to evaluate soft tissue viability in knee reconstruction procedures that were considered high risk for wound complications. Seven patients undergoing complex primary or revision TKA from 2011 to 2013 were included. These patients were chosen as a convenience sample of knee reconstruction procedures for which we obtained consultation with the plastic surgery service. The perfusion of skin and soft tissue coverage was evaluated intraoperatively for all patients with the LA-ICGA system, and the information was used to guide wound management. Followup was at a mean of 9 months (range, 6-17 months), no patients were lost to followup, and the main study endpoint was uneventful healing of the surgical incision. All seven closures went on to heal without necrosis. One patient, however, was subsequently revised for a deep periprosthetic infection 4 months after their knee reconstruction and underwent flap coverage at the time of that revision

Auditory memory can be object based.

PubMed

Dyson, Benjamin J; Ishfaq, Feraz

2008-04-01

Identifying how memories are organized remains a fundamental issue in psychology. Previous work has shown that visual short-term memory is organized according to the object of origin, with participants being better at retrieving multiple pieces of information from the same object than from different objects. However, it is not yet clear whether similar memory structures are employed for other modalities, such as audition. Under analogous conditions in the auditory domain, we found that short-term memories for sound can also be organized according to object, with a same-object advantage being demonstrated for the retrieval of information in an auditory scene defined by two complex sounds overlapping in both space and time. Our results provide support for the notion of an auditory object, in addition to the continued identification of similar processing constraints across visual and auditory domains. The identification of modality-independent organizational principles of memory, such as object-based coding, suggests possible mechanisms by which the human processing system remembers multimodal experiences.

Integrating complex business processes for knowledge-driven clinical decision support systems.

PubMed

Kamaleswaran, Rishikesan; McGregor, Carolyn

2012-01-01

This paper presents in detail the component of the Complex Business Process for Stream Processing framework that is responsible for integrating complex business processes to enable knowledge-driven Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) recommendations. CDSSs aid the clinician in supporting the care of patients by providing accurate data analysis and evidence-based recommendations. However, the incorporation of a dynamic knowledge-management system that supports the definition and enactment of complex business processes and real-time data streams has not been researched. In this paper we discuss the process web service as an innovative method of providing contextual information to a real-time data stream processing CDSS.

Sensory Processing Relates to Attachment to Childhood Comfort Objects of College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalpidou, Maria

2012-01-01

The author tested the hypothesis that attachment to comfort objects is based on the sensory processing characteristics of the individual. Fifty-two undergraduate students with and without a childhood comfort object reported sensory responses and performed a tactile threshold task. Those with a comfort object described their object and rated their…

A Case for Inhibition: Visual Attention Suppresses the Processing of Irrelevant Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wuhr, Peter; Frings, Christian

2008-01-01

The present study investigated the ability to inhibit the processing of an irrelevant visual object while processing a relevant one. Participants were presented with 2 overlapping shapes (e.g., circle and square) in different colors. The task was to name the color of the relevant object designated by shape. Congruent or incongruent color words…

A comparison of moving object detection methods for real-time moving object detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roshan, Aditya; Zhang, Yun

2014-06-01

Moving object detection has a wide variety of applications from traffic monitoring, site monitoring, automatic theft identification, face detection to military surveillance. Many methods have been developed across the globe for moving object detection, but it is very difficult to find one which can work globally in all situations and with different types of videos. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing moving object detection methods which can be implemented in software on a desktop or laptop, for real time object detection. There are several moving object detection methods noted in the literature, but few of them are suitable for real time moving object detection. Most of the methods which provide for real time movement are further limited by the number of objects and the scene complexity. This paper evaluates the four most commonly used moving object detection methods as background subtraction technique, Gaussian mixture model, wavelet based and optical flow based methods. The work is based on evaluation of these four moving object detection methods using two (2) different sets of cameras and two (2) different scenes. The moving object detection methods have been implemented using MatLab and results are compared based on completeness of detected objects, noise, light change sensitivity, processing time etc. After comparison, it is observed that optical flow based method took least processing time and successfully detected boundary of moving objects which also implies that it can be implemented for real-time moving object detection.

Analyse of socket-prosthesis-blunt complex for lower limb amputee using objective measure of patient's gait cycle.

PubMed

Rotariu, Mariana; Filep, R; Turnea, M; Ilea, M; Arotăriţei, D; Popescu, Marilena

2015-01-01

The prosthetic application is a highly complex process. Modeling and simulation of biomechanics processes in orthopedics is a certainly field of interest in current medical research. Optimization of socket in order to improve the quality of patient's life is a major objective in prosthetic rehabilitation. A variety of numerical methods for prosthetic application have been developed and studied. An objective method is proposed to evaluate the performance of a prosthetic patient according to surface pressure map over the residual limb. The friction coefficient due to various liners used in transtibial and transfemoral prosthesis is taken into account also. Creation of a bio-based modeling and mathematical simulation allows the design, construction and optimization of contact between the prosthesis cup and lack of functionality of the patient amputated considering the data collected and processed in real time and non-invasively. The von Mises stress distribution in muscle flap tissue at the bone ends shows a larger region subjected to elevated von Mises stresses in the muscle tissue underlying longer truncated bones. Finite element method was used to conduct a stress analysis and show the force distribution along the device. The results contribute to a better understanding the design of an optimized prosthesis that increase the patient's performance along with a god choice of liner, made by an appropriate material that fit better to a particular blunt. The study of prosthetic application is an exciting and important topic in research and will profit considerably from theoretical input. Interpret these results to be a permanent collaboration between math's and medical orthopedics.

Object shape and orientation do not routinely influence performance during language processing.

PubMed

Rommers, Joost; Meyer, Antje S; Huettig, Falk

2013-11-01

The role of visual representations during language processing remains unclear: They could be activated as a necessary part of the comprehension process, or they could be less crucial and influence performance in a task-dependent manner. In the present experiments, participants read sentences about an object. The sentences implied that the object had a specific shape or orientation. They then either named a picture of that object (Experiments 1 and 3) or decided whether the object had been mentioned in the sentence (Experiment 2). Orientation information did not reliably influence performance in any of the experiments. Shape representations influenced performance most strongly when participants were asked to compare a sentence with a picture or when they were explicitly asked to use mental imagery while reading the sentences. Thus, in contrast to previous claims, implied visual information often does not contribute substantially to the comprehension process during normal reading.

The Process of Solving Complex Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Andreas; Greiff, Samuel; Funke, Joachim

2012-01-01

This article is about Complex Problem Solving (CPS), its history in a variety of research domains (e.g., human problem solving, expertise, decision making, and intelligence), a formal definition and a process theory of CPS applicable to the interdisciplinary field. CPS is portrayed as (a) knowledge acquisition and (b) knowledge application…

Effect of tDCS on task relevant and irrelevant perceptual learning of complex objects.

PubMed

Van Meel, Chayenne; Daniels, Nicky; de Beeck, Hans Op; Baeck, Annelies

2016-01-01

During perceptual learning the visual representations in the brain are altered, but these changes' causal role has not yet been fully characterized. We used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to investigate the role of higher visual regions in lateral occipital cortex (LO) in perceptual learning with complex objects. We also investigated whether object learning is dependent on the relevance of the objects for the learning task. Participants were trained in two tasks: object recognition using a backward masking paradigm and an orientation judgment task. During both tasks, an object with a red line on top of it were presented in each trial. The crucial difference between both tasks was the relevance of the object: the object was relevant for the object recognition task, but not for the orientation judgment task. During training, half of the participants received anodal tDCS stimulation targeted at the lateral occipital cortex (LO). Afterwards, participants were tested on how well they recognized the trained objects, the irrelevant objects presented during the orientation judgment task and a set of completely new objects. Participants stimulated with tDCS during training showed larger improvements of performance compared to participants in the sham condition. No learning effect was found for the objects presented during the orientation judgment task. To conclude, this study suggests a causal role of LO in relevant object learning, but given the rather low spatial resolution of tDCS, more research on the specificity of this effect is needed. Further, mere exposure is not sufficient to train object recognition in our paradigm.

Object individuation is invariant to attentional diffusion: Changes in the size of the attended region do not interact with object-substitution masking.

PubMed

Goodhew, Stephanie C; Edwards, Mark

2016-12-01

When the human brain is confronted with complex and dynamic visual scenes, two pivotal processes are at play: visual attention (the process of selecting certain aspects of the scene for privileged processing) and object individuation (determining what information belongs to a continuing object over time versus what represents two or more distinct objects). Here we examined whether these processes are independent or whether they interact. Object-substitution masking (OSM) has been used as a tool to examine such questions, however, there is controversy surrounding whether OSM reflects object individuation versus substitution processes. The object-individuation account is agnostic regarding the role of attention, whereas object-substitution theory stipulates a pivotal role for attention. There have been attempts to investigate the role of attention in OSM, but they have been subject to alternative explanations. Here, therefore, we manipulated the size of the attended region, a pure and uncontaminated attentional manipulation, and examined the impact on OSM. Across three experiments, there was no interaction. This refutes the object-substitution theory of OSM. This, in turn, tell us that object-individuation is invariant the distribution of attention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Object Metaphor and Synecdoche in Mathematics Classroom Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Font, Vicenc; Godino, Juan D.; Planas, Nuria; Acevedo, Jorge I.

2010-01-01

This article describes aspects of classroom discourse, illustrated through vignettes, that reveal the complex relationship between the forms in which mathematical objects exist and their ostensive representations. We illustrate various aspects of the process through which students come to consider the reality of mathematical objects that are…

Information Processing by Schizophrenics When Task Complexity Increases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirt, Michael; And Others

1977-01-01

The performance of hospitalized paranoid schizophrenics, nonparanoids, and hospitalized controls was compared on motor, perceptual, and cognitive tasks of increasing complexity. The data were examined within the context of comparing differential predictions made by input and central processing theories of information-processing deficit. (Editor)

Ecologically and economically conscious design of the injected pultrusion process via multi-objective optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasagupta, Deepak; Kardos, John L.

2004-05-01

Injected pultrusion (IP) is an environmentally benign continuous process for low-cost manufacture of prismatic polymer composites. IP has been of recent regulatory interest as an option to achieve significant vapour emissions reduction. This work describes the design of the IP process with multiple design objectives. In our previous work (Srinivasagupta D et al 2003 J. Compos. Mater. at press), an algorithm for economic design using a validated three-dimensional physical model of the IP process was developed, subject to controllability considerations. In this work, this algorithm was used in a multi-objective optimization approach to simultaneously meet economic, quality related, and environmental objectives. The retrofit design of a bench-scale set-up was considered, and the concept of exergy loss in the process, as well as in vapour emission, was introduced. The multi-objective approach was able to determine the optimal values of the processing parameters such as heating zone temperatures and resin injection pressure, as well as the equipment specifications (die dimensions, heater, puller and pump ratings) that satisfy the various objectives in a weighted sense, and result in enhanced throughput rates. The economic objective did not coincide with the environmental objective, and a compromise became necessary. It was seen that most of the exergy loss is in the conversion of electric power into process heating. Vapour exergy loss was observed to be negligible for the most part.

Software Process Assurance for Complex Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plastow, Richard A.

2007-01-01

Complex Electronics (CE) now perform tasks that were previously handled in software, such as communication protocols. Many methods used to develop software bare a close resemblance to CE development. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can have over a million logic gates while system-on-chip (SOC) devices can combine a microprocessor, input and output channels, and sometimes an FPGA for programmability. With this increased intricacy, the possibility of software-like bugs such as incorrect design, logic, and unexpected interactions within the logic is great. With CE devices obscuring the hardware/software boundary, we propose that mature software methodologies may be utilized with slight modifications in the development of these devices. Software Process Assurance for Complex Electronics (SPACE) is a research project that used standardized S/W Assurance/Engineering practices to provide an assurance framework for development activities. Tools such as checklists, best practices and techniques were used to detect missing requirements and bugs earlier in the development cycle creating a development process for CE that was more easily maintained, consistent and configurable based on the device used.

Tracker: Image-Processing and Object-Tracking System Developed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimek, Robert B.; Wright, Theodore W.

1999-01-01

Tracker is an object-tracking and image-processing program designed and developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center to help with the analysis of images generated by microgravity combustion and fluid physics experiments. Experiments are often recorded on film or videotape for analysis later. Tracker automates the process of examining each frame of the recorded experiment, performing image-processing operations to bring out the desired detail, and recording the positions of the objects of interest. It can load sequences of images from disk files or acquire images (via a frame grabber) from film transports, videotape, laser disks, or a live camera. Tracker controls the image source to automatically advance to the next frame. It can employ a large array of image-processing operations to enhance the detail of the acquired images and can analyze an arbitrarily large number of objects simultaneously. Several different tracking algorithms are available, including conventional threshold and correlation-based techniques, and more esoteric procedures such as "snake" tracking and automated recognition of character data in the image. The Tracker software was written to be operated by researchers, thus every attempt was made to make the software as user friendly and self-explanatory as possible. Tracker is used by most of the microgravity combustion and fluid physics experiments performed by Lewis, and by visiting researchers. This includes experiments performed on the space shuttles, Mir, sounding rockets, zero-g research airplanes, drop towers, and ground-based laboratories. This software automates the analysis of the flame or liquid s physical parameters such as position, velocity, acceleration, size, shape, intensity characteristics, color, and centroid, as well as a number of other measurements. It can perform these operations on multiple objects simultaneously. Another key feature of Tracker is that it performs optical character recognition (OCR). This feature is useful in

Abnormalities of Object Visual Processing in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

PubMed Central

Feusner, Jamie D.; Hembacher, Emily; Moller, Hayley; Moody, Teena D.

2013-01-01

Background Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder may have perceptual distortions for their appearance. Previous studies suggest imbalances in detailed relative to configural/holistic visual processing when viewing faces. No study has investigated the neural correlates of processing non-symptom-related stimuli. The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have abnormal patterns of brain activation when viewing non-face/non-body object stimuli. Methods Fourteen medication-free participants with DSM-IV body dysmorphic disorder and 14 healthy controls participated. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants matched photographs of houses that were unaltered, contained only high spatial frequency (high detail) information, or only low spatial frequency (low detail) information. The primary outcome was group differences in blood oxygen level-dependent signal changes. Results The body dysmorphic disorder group showed lesser activity in the parahippocampal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and precuneus for low spatial frequency images. There were greater activations in medial prefrontal regions for high spatial frequency images, although no significant differences when compared to a low-level baseline. Greater symptom severity was associated with lesser activity in dorsal occipital cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for normal and high spatial frequency images. Conclusions Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have abnormal brain activation patterns when viewing objects. Hypoactivity in visual association areas for configural and holistic (low detail) elements and abnormal allocation of prefrontal systems for details is consistent with a model of imbalances in global vs. local processing. This may occur not only for appearance but also for general stimuli unrelated to their symptoms. PMID:21557897

HIV-1 Tat protein promotes formation of more-processive elongation complexes.

PubMed Central

Marciniak, R A; Sharp, P A

1991-01-01

The Tat protein of HIV-1 trans-activates transcription in vitro in a cell-free extract of HeLa nuclei. Quantitative analysis of the efficiency of elongation revealed that a majority of the elongation complexes generated by the HIV-1 promoter were not highly processive and terminated within the first 500 nucleotides. Tat trans-activation of transcription from the HIV-1 promoter resulted from an increase in processive character of the elongation complexes. More specifically, the analysis suggests that there exist two classes of elongation complexes initiating from the HIV promoter: a less-processive form and a more-processive form. Addition of purified Tat protein was found to increase the abundance of the more-processive class of elongation complex. The purine nucleoside analog, 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) inhibits transcription in this reaction by decreasing the efficiency of elongation. Surprisingly, stimulation of transcription elongation by Tat was preferentially inhibited by the addition of DRB. Images PMID:1756726

Beyond Faces and Expertise: Facelike Holistic Processing of Nonface Objects in the Absence of Expertise.

PubMed

Zhao, Mintao; Bülthoff, Heinrich H; Bülthoff, Isabelle

2016-02-01

Holistic processing-the tendency to perceive objects as indecomposable wholes-has long been viewed as a process specific to faces or objects of expertise. Although current theories differ in what causes holistic processing, they share a fundamental constraint for its generalization: Nonface objects cannot elicit facelike holistic processing in the absence of expertise. Contrary to this prevailing view, here we show that line patterns with salient Gestalt information (i.e., connectedness, closure, and continuity between parts) can be processed as holistically as faces without any training. Moreover, weakening the saliency of Gestalt information in these patterns reduced holistic processing of them, which indicates that Gestalt information plays a crucial role in holistic processing. Therefore, holistic processing can be achieved not only via a top-down route based on expertise, but also via a bottom-up route relying merely on object-based information. The finding that facelike holistic processing can extend beyond the domains of faces and objects of expertise poses a challenge to current dominant theories. © The Author(s) 2015.

Mirror-Image Confusions: Implications for Representation and Processing of Object Orientation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregory, Emma; McCloskey, Michael

2010-01-01

Perceiving the orientation of objects is important for interacting with the world, yet little is known about the mental representation or processing of object orientation information. The tendency of humans and other species to confuse mirror images provides a potential clue. However, the appropriate characterization of this phenomenon is not…

The Effects of Directional Processing on Objective and Subjective Listening Effort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Picou, Erin M.; Moore, Travis M.; Ricketts, Todd A.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purposes of this investigation were (a) to evaluate the effects of hearing aid directional processing on subjective and objective listening effort and (b) to investigate the potential relationships between subjective and objective measures of effort. Method: Sixteen adults with mild to severe hearing loss were tested with study…

[Complex automatic data processing in multi-profile hospitals].

PubMed

Dovzhenko, Iu M; Panov, G D

1990-01-01

The computerization of data processing in multi-disciplinary hospitals is the key factor in raising the quality of medical care provided to the population, intensifying the work of the personnel, improving the curative and diagnostic process and the use of resources. Even a small experience in complex computerization at the Botkin Hospital indicates that due to the use of the automated system the quality of data processing in being improved, a high level of patients' examination is being provided, a speedy training of young specialists is being achieved, conditions are being created for continuing education of physicians through the analysis of their own activity. At big hospitals a complex solution of administrative and curative diagnostic tasks on the basis of general hospital network of display connection and general hospital data bank is the most prospective form of computerization.

More than a feeling: The bidirectional convergence of semantic visual object and somatosensory processing.

PubMed

Ekstrand, Chelsea; Neudorf, Josh; Lorentz, Eric; Gould, Layla; Mickleborough, Marla; Borowsky, Ron

2017-11-01

Prevalent theories of semantic processing assert that the sensorimotor system plays a functional role in the semantic processing of manipulable objects. While motor execution has been shown to impact object processing, involvement of the somatosensory system has remained relatively unexplored. Therefore, we developed two novel priming paradigms. In Experiment 1, participants received a vibratory hand prime (on half the trials) prior to viewing a picture of either an object interacted primarily with the hand (e.g., a cup) or the foot (e.g., a soccer ball) and reported how they would interact with it. In Experiment 2, the same objects became the prime and participants were required to identify whether the vibratory stimulation occurred to their hand or foot. In both experiments, somatosensory priming effects arose for the hand objects, while foot objects showed no priming benefits. These results suggest that object semantic knowledge bidirectionally converges with the somatosensory system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the mapping associated with the complex representation of functions and processes.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harger, R. O.

1972-01-01

The mapping between function spaces that is implied by the representation of a real 'bandpass' function by a complex 'low-pass' function is explicitly accepted. The discussion is extended to the representation of stationary random processes where the mapping is between spaces of random processes. This approach clarifies the nature of the complex representation, especially in the case of random processes and, in addition, derives the properties of the complex representation.-

Murine Ia-associated invariant chain's processing to complex oligosaccharide forms and its dissociation from the I-Ak complex.

PubMed

Holt, G D; Swiedler, S J; Freed, J H; Hart, G W

1985-07-01

The processing of murine invariant chain (Ii) to a cell surface form bearing complex N-linked oligosaccharides has been demonstrated in the B cell lymphoma, AKTB-1b. In addition, the rate of processing of pulse-labeled Ii has been determined relative to its rate of dissociation from the alpha/beta complex of I-Ak. Ii, alpha-, and beta-chains were immunoprecipitated with anti-I-Ak or anti-Ii monoclonal antibodies. The heretofore uncharacterized complex oligosaccharide form of Ii (Ii-c) was identified in gel-purified immunoprecipitates by peptide mapping with reverse-phase HPLC. Ii-c is resistant to deglycosylation by Endo H, which is specific for high-mannose N-linkages, but can be digested with Endo F, a glycosidase capable of cleaving both complex and high-mannose N-linked oligosaccharides. Immunoprecipitation of surface iodinated cells indicates that Ii-c is expressed on the plasma membrane. Pulse-chase metabolic labeling data show that the processing of Ii to Ii-c occurs with a t1/2 of about 120 min. In contrast, the processing of both alpha- and beta-chains of I-Ak to complex forms occurs with a t1/2 of 15 to 20 min. Our data show that Ii-hm begins to dissociate rapidly from the I-Ak complex after 100 to 120 min of chase. Only a small amount (less than 5% on a per mole basis) of Ii-c was found associated with the I-Ak complexes after 300 min of continuous metabolic labeling. These results are consistent with Ii serving as a carrier for Ia antigens as they are transported to the cell surface. In addition, they suggest that the processing of Ii to Ii-c, or a late processing event of the alpha- and beta-chains, such as their sialylation, may be a possible mechanism for inducing the dissociation of Ii from the I-Ak complex.

Complexity analysis of dual-channel game model with different managers' business objectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ting; Ma, Junhai

2015-01-01

This paper considers dual-channel game model with bounded rationality, using the theory of bifurcations of dynamical system. The business objectives of retailers are assumed to be different, which is closer to reality than previous studies. We study the local stable region of Nash equilibrium point and find that business objectives can expand the stable region and play an important role in price strategy. One interesting finding is that a fiercer competition tends to stabilize the Nash equilibrium. Simulation shows the complex behavior of two dimensional dynamic system, we find period doubling bifurcation and chaos phenomenon. We measure performances of the model in different period by using the index of average profit. The results show that unstable behavior in economic system is often an unfavorable outcome. So this paper discusses the application of adaptive adjustment mechanism when the model exhibits chaotic behavior and then allows the retailers to eliminate the negative effects.

A modeling process to understand complex system architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Santiago Balestrini

2009-12-01

In recent decades, several tools have been developed by the armed forces, and their contractors, to test the capability of a force. These campaign level analysis tools, often times characterized as constructive simulations are generally expensive to create and execute, and at best they are extremely difficult to verify and validate. This central observation, that the analysts are relying more and more on constructive simulations to predict the performance of future networks of systems, leads to the two central objectives of this thesis: (1) to enable the quantitative comparison of architectures in terms of their ability to satisfy a capability without resorting to constructive simulations, and (2) when constructive simulations must be created, to quantitatively determine how to spend the modeling effort amongst the different system classes. The first objective led to Hypothesis A, the first main hypotheses, which states that by studying the relationships between the entities that compose an architecture, one can infer how well it will perform a given capability. The method used to test the hypothesis is based on two assumptions: (1) the capability can be defined as a cycle of functions, and that it (2) must be possible to estimate the probability that a function-based relationship occurs between any two types of entities. If these two requirements are met, then by creating random functional networks, different architectures can be compared in terms of their ability to satisfy a capability. In order to test this hypothesis, a novel process for creating representative functional networks of large-scale system architectures was developed. The process, named the Digraph Modeling for Architectures (DiMA), was tested by comparing its results to those of complex constructive simulations. Results indicate that if the inputs assigned to DiMA are correct (in the tests they were based on time-averaged data obtained from the ABM), DiMA is able to identify which of any two

Cochlear Implant: the complexity involved in the decision making process by the family1

PubMed Central

Vieira, Sheila de Souza; Bevilacqua, Maria Cecília; Ferreira, Noeli Marchioro Liston Andrade; Dupas, Giselle

2014-01-01

Objective to understand the meanings the family attributes to the phases of the decision-making process on a cochlear implant for their child. Method qualitative research, using Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. Data collection instrument: semistructured interview. Nine families participated in the study (32 participants). Results knowledge deficit, difficulties to contextualize benefits and risks and fear are some factors that make this process difficult. Experiences deriving from interactions with health professionals, other cochlear implant users and their relatives strengthen decision making in favor of the implant. Conclusion deciding on whether or not to have the implant involves a complex process, in which the family needs to weigh gains and losses, experience feelings of accountability and guilt, besides overcoming the risk aversion. Hence, this demands cautious preparation and knowledge from the professionals involved in this intervention. PMID:25029052

Distinct Visual Processing of Real Objects and Pictures of Those Objects in 7- to 9-month-old Infants

PubMed Central

Gerhard, Theresa M.; Culham, Jody C.; Schwarzer, Gudrun

2016-01-01

The present study examined 7- and 9-month-old infants’ visual habituation to real objects and pictures of the same objects and their preferences between real and pictorial versions of the same objects following habituation. Different hypotheses would predict that infants may habituate faster to pictures than real objects (based on proposed theoretical links between behavioral habituation in infants and neuroimaging adaptation in adults) or to real objects vs. pictures (based on past infant electrophysiology data). Sixty-one 7-month-old infants and fifty-nine 9-month-old infants were habituated to either a real object or a picture of the same object and afterward preference tested with the habituation object paired with either the novel real object or its picture counterpart. Infants of both age groups showed basic information-processing advantages for real objects. Specifically, during the initial presentations, 9-month-old infants looked longer at stimuli in both formats than the 7-month olds but more importantly both age groups looked longer at real objects than pictures, though with repeated presentations, they habituated faster for real objects such that at the end of habituation, they looked equally at both types of stimuli. Surprisingly, even after habituation, infants preferred to look at the real objects, regardless of whether they had habituated to photos or real objects. Our findings suggest that from as early as 7-months of age, infants show strong preferences for real objects, perhaps because real objects are visually richer and/or enable the potential for genuine interactions. PMID:27378962

Visual object agnosia is associated with a breakdown of object-selective responses in the lateral occipital cortex.

PubMed

Ptak, Radek; Lazeyras, François; Di Pietro, Marie; Schnider, Armin; Simon, Stéphane R

2014-07-01

Patients with visual object agnosia fail to recognize the identity of visually presented objects despite preserved semantic knowledge. Object agnosia may result from damage to visual cortex lying close to or overlapping with the lateral occipital complex (LOC), a brain region that exhibits selectivity to the shape of visually presented objects. Despite this anatomical overlap the relationship between shape processing in the LOC and shape representations in object agnosia is unknown. We studied a patient with object agnosia following isolated damage to the left occipito-temporal cortex overlapping with the LOC. The patient showed intact processing of object structure, yet often made identification errors that were mainly based on the global visual similarity between objects. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) we found that the damaged as well as the contralateral, structurally intact right LOC failed to show any object-selective fMRI activity, though the latter retained selectivity for faces. Thus, unilateral damage to the left LOC led to a bilateral breakdown of neural responses to a specific stimulus class (objects and artefacts) while preserving the response to a different stimulus class (faces). These findings indicate that representations of structure necessary for the identification of objects crucially rely on bilateral, distributed coding of shape features. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short temporal asynchrony disrupts visual object recognition

PubMed Central

Singer, Jedediah M.; Kreiman, Gabriel

2014-01-01

Humans can recognize objects and scenes in a small fraction of a second. The cascade of signals underlying rapid recognition might be disrupted by temporally jittering different parts of complex objects. Here we investigated the time course over which shape information can be integrated to allow for recognition of complex objects. We presented fragments of object images in an asynchronous fashion and behaviorally evaluated categorization performance. We observed that visual recognition was significantly disrupted by asynchronies of approximately 30 ms, suggesting that spatiotemporal integration begins to break down with even small deviations from simultaneity. However, moderate temporal asynchrony did not completely obliterate recognition; in fact, integration of visual shape information persisted even with an asynchrony of 100 ms. We describe the data with a concise model based on the dynamic reduction of uncertainty about what image was presented. These results emphasize the importance of timing in visual processing and provide strong constraints for the development of dynamical models of visual shape recognition. PMID:24819738

Understanding the Complexity of Social Issues through Process Drama.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Mara, Joanne

2002-01-01

Attempts to capture the process of understanding and questioning deforestation through process drama (in which students and teacher work both in and out of role to explore a problem, situation, or theme). Notes that moving topics such as the destruction of a rainforest into process drama introduces complexity into social issues. Considers how…

The IRMIS object model and services API.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saunders, C.; Dohan, D. A.; Arnold, N. D.

2005-01-01

The relational model developed for the Integrated Relational Model of Installed Systems (IRMIS) toolkit has been successfully used to capture the Advanced Photon Source (APS) control system software (EPICS process variables and their definitions). The relational tables are populated by a crawler script that parses each Input/Output Controller (IOC) start-up file when an IOC reboot is detected. User interaction is provided by a Java Swing application that acts as a desktop for viewing the process variable information. Mapping between the display objects and the relational tables was carried out with the Hibernate Object Relational Modeling (ORM) framework. Work is wellmore » underway at the APS to extend the relational modeling to include control system hardware. For this work, due in part to the complex user interaction required, the primary application development environment has shifted from the relational database view to the object oriented (Java) perspective. With this approach, the business logic is executed in Java rather than in SQL stored procedures. This paper describes the object model used to represent control system software, hardware, and interconnects in IRMIS. We also describe the services API used to encapsulate the required behaviors for creating and maintaining the complex data. In addition to the core schema and object model, many important concepts in IRMIS are captured by the services API. IRMIS is an ambitious collaborative effort for defining and developing a relational database and associated applications to comprehensively document the large and complex EPICS-based control systems of today's accelerators. The documentation effort includes process variables, control system hardware, and interconnections. The approach could also be used to document all components of the accelerator, including mechanical, vacuum, power supplies, etc. One key aspect of IRMIS is that it is a documentation framework, not a design and development tool. We do

Stuck on semantics: Processing of irrelevant object-scene inconsistencies modulates ongoing gaze behavior.

PubMed

Cornelissen, Tim H W; Võ, Melissa L-H

2017-01-01

People have an amazing ability to identify objects and scenes with only a glimpse. How automatic is this scene and object identification? Are scene and object semantics-let alone their semantic congruity-processed to a degree that modulates ongoing gaze behavior even if they are irrelevant to the task at hand? Objects that do not fit the semantics of the scene (e.g., a toothbrush in an office) are typically fixated longer and more often than objects that are congruent with the scene context. In this study, we overlaid a letter T onto photographs of indoor scenes and instructed participants to search for it. Some of these background images contained scene-incongruent objects. Despite their lack of relevance to the search, we found that participants spent more time in total looking at semantically incongruent compared to congruent objects in the same position of the scene. Subsequent tests of explicit and implicit memory showed that participants did not remember many of the inconsistent objects and no more of the consistent objects. We argue that when we view natural environments, scene and object relationships are processed obligatorily, such that irrelevant semantic mismatches between scene and object identity can modulate ongoing eye-movement behavior.

Ketoprofen-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes formation by supercritical process technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumarno, Rahim, Rizki; Trisanti, Prida Novarita

2017-05-01

Ketoprofen was a poorly soluble which anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic drug, solubility of which can be enchanced by form complexation with β-cyclodextrin. Besides that, the inclusion complex reduces the incidence of gastrointestinal side effect of drug. The aims of this research are to study the effect of H2O concentration in the supercritical carbondioxide and operation condition in the formation of ketoprofen-β-Cyclodextrin inclusion complex. This research was began by dissolved H2O in supercritical CO2 at 40°C and various saturation pressures. Then, dissolved H2O contacted with (1:5 w/w) ketoprofen-β-Cyclodextrin mixture at 50°C and various operation pressures. It called saturation process. Saturation was done for ±2 hours with agitation process and continued by decompression process. The products were characterized by drug Release, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DCS) dan Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses. The percentage from this work were 76,82%-89,99% for inclusion complexes. The percentage drug release of ketoprofen were 82,83%-88,36% on various inclusion pressure and various inclusion period.

Active control of complex, multicomponent self-assembly processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulman, Rebecca

The kinetics of many complex biological self-assembly processes such as cytoskeletal assembly are precisely controlled by cells. Spatiotemporal control over rates of filament nucleation, growth and disassembly determine how self-assembly occurs and how the assembled form changes over time. These reaction rates can be manipulated by changing the concentrations of the components needed for assembly by activating or deactivating them. I will describe how we can use these principles to design driven self-assembly processes in which we assemble and disassemble multiple types of components to create micron-scale networks of semiflexible filaments assembled from DNA. The same set of primitive components can be assembled into many different, structures depending on the concentrations of different components and how designed, DNA-based chemical reaction networks manipulate these concentrations over time. These chemical reaction networks can in turn interpret environmental stimuli to direct complex, multistage response. Such a system is a laboratory for understanding complex active material behaviors, such as metamorphosis, self-healing or adaptation to the environment that are ubiquitous in biological systems but difficult to quantitatively characterize or engineer.

The Effects of Visual Degradation on Attended Objects and the Ability to Process Unattended Objects within the Visual Array

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

field at once (e.g., Biederman , Blickle, Teitelbaum, & Klatsky, 1988), and objects of interest typically receive the attention required to recognize them...field ( Biederman & Cooper, 1991) and image size changes ( Biederman & Cooper, 1992). Yet, only attended objects are recognized when mirror images...left-right reversals) occur ( Biederman & Cooper, 1991). Due to these results, Hummel (2001) proposed that attended images are processed by both

Processing graspable object images and their nouns is impaired in Parkinson's disease patients.

PubMed

Buccino, Giovanni; Dalla Volta, Riccardo; Arabia, Gennarina; Morelli, Maurizio; Chiriaco, Carmelina; Lupo, Angela; Silipo, Franco; Quattrone, Aldo

2018-03-01

According to embodiment, the recruitment of the motor system is necessary to process language material expressing a motor content. Coherently, an impairment of the motor system should affect the capacity to process language items with a motor content. The aim of the present study was to assess the capacity to process graspable objects and their nouns in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy controls. Participants saw photos and nouns depicting graspable and non-graspable objects. Scrambled images and pseudo-words served as control stimuli. At 150 msec after stimulus presentation, they had to respond when the stimulus referred to a real object, and refrain from responding when it was meaningless (go-no go paradigm). In the control group, participants gave slower motor responses for stimuli (both photos and nouns) related to graspable objects as compared to non-graspable ones. This in keeping with data obtained in a previous study with young healthy participants. In the PD group, motor responses were similar for both graspable and non-graspable items. Moreover, error number was significantly greater than in controls. These findings support the notion that when the motor circuits are lesioned, like in PD, patients do not show the typical modulation of motor responses and have troubles in processing graspable objects and their nouns. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Separate channels for processing form, texture, and color: evidence from FMRI adaptation and visual object agnosia.

PubMed

Cavina-Pratesi, C; Kentridge, R W; Heywood, C A; Milner, A D

2010-10-01

Previous neuroimaging research suggests that although object shape is analyzed in the lateral occipital cortex, surface properties of objects, such as color and texture, are dealt with in more medial areas, close to the collateral sulcus (CoS). The present study sought to determine whether there is a single medial region concerned with surface properties in general or whether instead there are multiple foci independently extracting different surface properties. We used stimuli varying in their shape, texture, or color, and tested healthy participants and 2 object-agnosic patients, in both a discrimination task and a functional MR adaptation paradigm. We found a double dissociation between medial and lateral occipitotemporal cortices in processing surface (texture or color) versus geometric (shape) properties, respectively. In Experiment 2, we found that the medial occipitotemporal cortex houses separate foci for color (within anterior CoS and lingual gyrus) and texture (caudally within posterior CoS). In addition, we found that areas selective for shape, texture, and color individually were quite distinct from those that respond to all of these features together (shape and texture and color). These latter areas appear to correspond to those associated with the perception of complex stimuli such as faces and places.

When a Dog Has a Pen for a Tail: The Time Course of Creative Object Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Botao; Duan, Haijun; Qi, Senqing; Hu, Weiping; Zhang, Huan

2017-01-01

Creative objects differ from ordinary objects in that they are created by human beings to contain novel, creative information. Previous research has demonstrated that ordinary object processing involves both a perceptual process for analyzing different features of the visual input and a higher-order process for evaluating the relevance of this…

Robust phase retrieval of complex-valued object in phase modulation by hybrid Wirtinger flow method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Zhun; Chen, Wen; Yin, Tiantian; Chen, Xudong

2017-09-01

This paper presents a robust iterative algorithm, known as hybrid Wirtinger flow (HWF), for phase retrieval (PR) of complex objects from noisy diffraction intensities. Numerical simulations indicate that the HWF method consistently outperforms conventional PR methods in terms of both accuracy and convergence rate in multiple phase modulations. The proposed algorithm is also more robust to low oversampling ratios, loose constraints, and noisy environments. Furthermore, compared with traditional Wirtinger flow, sample complexity is largely reduced. It is expected that the proposed HWF method will find applications in the rapidly growing coherent diffractive imaging field for high-quality image reconstruction with multiple modulations, as well as other disciplines where PR is needed.

Decoding the time-course of object recognition in the human brain: From visual features to categorical decisions.

PubMed

Contini, Erika W; Wardle, Susan G; Carlson, Thomas A

2017-10-01

Visual object recognition is a complex, dynamic process. Multivariate pattern analysis methods, such as decoding, have begun to reveal how the brain processes complex visual information. Recently, temporal decoding methods for EEG and MEG have offered the potential to evaluate the temporal dynamics of object recognition. Here we review the contribution of M/EEG time-series decoding methods to understanding visual object recognition in the human brain. Consistent with the current understanding of the visual processing hierarchy, low-level visual features dominate decodable object representations early in the time-course, with more abstract representations related to object category emerging later. A key finding is that the time-course of object processing is highly dynamic and rapidly evolving, with limited temporal generalisation of decodable information. Several studies have examined the emergence of object category structure, and we consider to what degree category decoding can be explained by sensitivity to low-level visual features. Finally, we evaluate recent work attempting to link human behaviour to the neural time-course of object processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bim Automation: Advanced Modeling Generative Process for Complex Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banfi, F.; Fai, S.; Brumana, R.

2017-08-01

The new paradigm of the complexity of modern and historic structures, which are characterised by complex forms, morphological and typological variables, is one of the greatest challenges for building information modelling (BIM). Generation of complex parametric models needs new scientific knowledge concerning new digital technologies. These elements are helpful to store a vast quantity of information during the life cycle of buildings (LCB). The latest developments of parametric applications do not provide advanced tools, resulting in time-consuming work for the generation of models. This paper presents a method capable of processing and creating complex parametric Building Information Models (BIM) with Non-Uniform to NURBS) with multiple levels of details (Mixed and ReverseLoD) based on accurate 3D photogrammetric and laser scanning surveys. Complex 3D elements are converted into parametric BIM software and finite element applications (BIM to FEA) using specific exchange formats and new modelling tools. The proposed approach has been applied to different case studies: the BIM of modern structure for the courtyard of West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (Ontario) and the BIM of Masegra Castel in Sondrio (Italy), encouraging the dissemination and interaction of scientific results without losing information during the generative process.

Process for the displacement of cyanide ions from metal-cyanide complexes

DOEpatents

Smith, Barbara F.; Robinson, Thomas W.

1997-01-01

The present invention relates to water-soluble polymers and the use of such water-soluble polymers in a process for the displacement of the cyanide ions from the metal ions within metal-cyanide complexes. The process waste streams can include metal-cyanide containing electroplating waste streams, mining leach waste streams, mineral processing waste streams, and related metal-cyanide containing waste streams. The metal ions of interest are metals that give very strong complexes with cyanide, mostly iron, nickel, and copper. The physical separation of the water-soluble polymer-metal complex from the cyanide ions can be accomplished through the use of ultrafiltration. Once the metal-cyanide complex is disrupted, the freed cyanide ions can be recovered for reuse or destroyed using available oxidative processes rendering the cyanide nonhazardous. The metal ions are released from the polymer, using dilute acid, metal ion oxidation state adjustment, or competing chelating agents, and collected and recovered or disposed of by appropriate waste management techniques. The water-soluble polymer can then be recycled. Preferred water-soluble polymers include polyethyleneimine and polyethyleneimine having a catechol or hydroxamate group.

Habitat Complexity in Aquatic Microcosms Affects Processes Driven by Detritivores

PubMed Central

Flores, Lorea; Bailey, R. A.; Elosegi, Arturo; Larrañaga, Aitor; Reiss, Julia

2016-01-01

Habitat complexity can influence predation rates (e.g. by providing refuge) but other ecosystem processes and species interactions might also be modulated by the properties of habitat structure. Here, we focussed on how complexity of artificial habitat (plastic plants), in microcosms, influenced short-term processes driven by three aquatic detritivores. The effects of habitat complexity on leaf decomposition, production of fine organic matter and pH levels were explored by measuring complexity in three ways: 1. as the presence vs. absence of habitat structure; 2. as the amount of structure (3 or 4.5 g of plastic plants); and 3. as the spatial configuration of structures (measured as fractal dimension). The experiment also addressed potential interactions among the consumers by running all possible species combinations. In the experimental microcosms, habitat complexity influenced how species performed, especially when comparing structure present vs. structure absent. Treatments with structure showed higher fine particulate matter production and lower pH compared to treatments without structures and this was probably due to higher digestion and respiration when structures were present. When we explored the effects of the different complexity levels, we found that the amount of structure added explained more than the fractal dimension of the structures. We give a detailed overview of the experimental design, statistical models and R codes, because our statistical analysis can be applied to other study systems (and disciplines such as restoration ecology). We further make suggestions of how to optimise statistical power when artificially assembling, and analysing, ‘habitat complexity’ by not confounding complexity with the amount of structure added. In summary, this study highlights the importance of habitat complexity for energy flow and the maintenance of ecosystem processes in aquatic ecosystems. PMID:27802267

Close interpersonal proximity modulates visuomotor processing of object affordances in shared, social space.

PubMed

Saccone, Elizabeth J; Szpak, Ancret; Churches, Owen; Nicholls, Michael E R

2018-01-01

Research suggests that the human brain codes manipulable objects as possibilities for action, or affordances, particularly objects close to the body. Near-body space is not only a zone for body-environment interaction but also is socially relevant, as we are driven to preserve our near-body, personal space from others. The current, novel study investigated how close proximity of a stranger modulates visuomotor processing of object affordances in shared, social space. Participants performed a behavioural object recognition task both alone and with a human confederate. All object images were in participants' reachable space but appeared relatively closer to the participant or the confederate. Results revealed when participants were alone, objects in both locations produced an affordance congruency effect but when the confederate was present, only objects nearer the participant elicited the effect. Findings suggest space is divided between strangers to preserve independent near-body space boundaries, and in turn this process influences motor coding for stimuli within that social space. To demonstrate that this visuomotor modulation represents a social phenomenon, rather than a general, attentional effect, two subsequent experiments employed nonhuman joint conditions. Neither a small, Japanese, waving cat statue (Experiment 2) nor a metronome (Experiment 3) modulated the affordance effect as in Experiment 1. These findings suggest a truly social explanation of the key interaction from Experiment 1. This study represents an important step toward understanding object affordance processing in real-world, social contexts and has implications broadly across fields of social action and cognition, and body space representation.

Exploration of dynamics in a complex person-centred intervention process based on health professionals' perspectives.

PubMed

Friberg, Febe; Wallengren, Catarina; Håkanson, Cecilia; Carlsson, Eva; Smith, Frida; Pettersson, Monica; Kenne Sarenmalm, Elisabeth; Sawatzky, Richard; Öhlén, Joakim

2018-06-13

The assessment and evaluation of practical and sustainable development of health care has become a major focus of investigation in health services research. A key challenge for researchers as well as decision-makers in health care is to understand mechanisms influencing how complex interventions work and become embedded in practice, which is significant for both evaluation and later implementation. In this study, we explored nurses' and surgeons' perspectives on performing and participating in a complex multi-centre person-centred intervention process that aimed to support patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer to feel prepared for surgery, discharge and recovery. Data consisted of retrospective interviews with 20 professionals after the intervention, supplemented with prospective conversational data and field notes from workshops and follow-up meetings (n = 51). The data were analysed to construct patterns in line with interpretive description. Although the participants highly valued components of the intervention, the results reveal influencing mechanisms underlying the functioning of the intervention, including multiple objectives, unclear mandates and competing professional logics. The results also reveal variations in processing the intervention focused on differences in using and talking about intervention components. The study indicates there are significant areas of ambiguity in understanding how theory-based complex clinical interventions work and in how interventions are socially constructed and co-created by professionals' experiences, assumptions about own professional practice, contextual conditions and the researchers' intentions. This process evaluation reveals insights into reasons for success or failure and contextual aspects associated with variations in outcomes. Thus, there is a need for further interpretive inquiry, and not only descriptive studies, of the multifaceted characters of complex clinical interventions and how the intervention

Evaluation of various processes for simultaneous complexation and granulation to incorporate drug-cyclodextrin complexes into solid dosage forms.

PubMed

Gyanani, Vijay; Siddalingappa, Basavaraj; Betageri, Guru V

2015-01-01

Insoluble drugs often formulated with various excipients to enhance the dissolution. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are widely used excipients to improve dissolution profile of poorly soluble drugs. Drug-CD complexation process is complex and often requires multiple processes to produce solid dosage form. Hence, this study explored commonly used granulation processes for simultaneous complexation and granulation. Poorly soluble drugs ibuprofen and glyburide were selected as experimental drugs. Co-evaporation of drug:CD mixture from a solvent followed by wet granulation with water was considered as standard process for comparison. Spray granulation and fluid bed processing (FBP) using drug:CD solution in ethanol were evaluated as an alternative processes. The dissolution data of glyburide tablets indicated that tablets produced by spray granulation, FBP and co-evaporation-granulation have almost identical dissolution profile in water and 0.1% SLS (>70% in water and >60% in SLS versus 30 and 34%, respectively for plain tablet, in 120 min). Similarly, ibuprofen:CD tablets produced by co-evaporation-granulation and FBP displayed similar dissolution profile in 0.01 M HCl (pH 2.0) and buffer pH 5.5 (>90 and 100% versus 44 and 80% respectively for plain tablets, 120 min). Results of this study demonstrated that spray granulation is simple and cost effective process for low dose poorly soluble drugs to incorporate drug:CD complex into solid dosage form, whereas FBP is suitable for poorly soluble drugs with moderate dose.

Process Architecture for Managing Digital Object Identifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wanchoo, L.; James, N.; Stolte, E.

2014-12-01

In 2010, NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project implemented a process for registering Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for data products distributed by Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). For the first 3 years, ESDIS evolved the process involving the data provider community in the development of processes for creating and assigning DOIs, and guidelines for the landing page. To accomplish this, ESDIS established two DOI User Working Groups: one for reviewing the DOI process whose recommendations were submitted to ESDIS in February 2014; and the other recently tasked to review and further develop DOI landing page guidelines for ESDIS approval by end of 2014. ESDIS has recently upgraded the DOI system from a manually-driven system to one that largely automates the DOI process. The new automated feature include: a) reviewing the DOI metadata, b) assigning of opaque DOI name if data provider chooses, and c) reserving, registering, and updating the DOIs. The flexibility of reserving the DOI allows data providers to embed and test the DOI in the data product metadata before formally registering with EZID. The DOI update process allows the changing of any DOI metadata except the DOI name unless the name has not been registered. Currently, ESDIS has processed a total of 557 DOIs of which 379 DOIs are registered with EZID and 178 are reserved with ESDIS. The DOI incorporates several metadata elements that effectively identify the data product and the source of availability. Of these elements, the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) attribute has the very important function of identifying the landing page which describes the data product. ESDIS in consultation with data providers in the Earth Science community is currently developing landing page guidelines that specify the key data product descriptive elements to be included on each data product's landing page. This poster will describe in detail the unique automated process and

Development of a numerical methodology for flowforming process simulation of complex geometry tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varela, Sonia; Santos, Maite; Arroyo, Amaia; Pérez, Iñaki; Puigjaner, Joan Francesc; Puigjaner, Blanca

2017-10-01

Nowadays, the incremental flowforming process is widely explored because of the usage of complex tubular products is increasing due to the light-weighting trend and the use of expensive materials. The enhanced mechanical properties of finished parts combined with the process efficiency in terms of raw material and energy consumption are the key factors for its competitiveness and sustainability, which is consistent with EU industry policy. As a promising technology, additional steps for extending the existing flowforming limits in the production of tubular products are required. The objective of the present research is to further expand the current state of the art regarding limitations on tube thickness and diameter, exploring the feasibility to flowform complex geometries as tubes of elevated thickness of up to 60 mm. In this study, the analysis of the backward flowforming process of 7075 aluminum tubular preform is carried out to define the optimum process parameters, machine requirements and tooling geometry as demonstration case. Numerical simulation studies on flowforming of thin walled tubular components have been considered to increase the knowledge of the technology. The calculation of the rotational movement of the mesh preform, the high ratio thickness/length and the thermomechanical condition increase significantly the computation time of the numerical simulation model. This means that efficient and reliable tools able to predict the forming loads and the quality of flowformed thick tubes are not available. This paper aims to overcome this situation by developing a simulation methodology based on FEM simulation code including new strategies. Material characterization has also been performed through tensile test to able to design the process. Finally, to check the reliability of the model, flowforming tests at industrial environment have been developed.

Simulating Complex, Cold-region Process Interactions Using a Multi-scale, Variable-complexity Hydrological Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marsh, C.; Pomeroy, J. W.; Wheater, H. S.

2017-12-01

Accurate management of water resources is necessary for social, economic, and environmental sustainability worldwide. In locations with seasonal snowcovers, the accurate prediction of these water resources is further complicated due to frozen soils, solid-phase precipitation, blowing snow transport, and snowcover-vegetation-atmosphere interactions. Complex process interactions and feedbacks are a key feature of hydrological systems and may result in emergent phenomena, i.e., the arising of novel and unexpected properties within a complex system. One example is the feedback associated with blowing snow redistribution, which can lead to drifts that cause locally-increased soil moisture, thus increasing plant growth that in turn subsequently impacts snow redistribution, creating larger drifts. Attempting to simulate these emergent behaviours is a significant challenge, however, and there is concern that process conceptualizations within current models are too incomplete to represent the needed interactions. An improved understanding of the role of emergence in hydrological systems often requires high resolution distributed numerical hydrological models that incorporate the relevant process dynamics. The Canadian Hydrological Model (CHM) provides a novel tool for examining cold region hydrological systems. Key features include efficient terrain representation, allowing simulations at various spatial scales, reduced computational overhead, and a modular process representation allowing for an alternative-hypothesis framework. Using both physics-based and conceptual process representations sourced from long term process studies and the current cold regions literature allows for comparison of process representations and importantly, their ability to produce emergent behaviours. Examining the system in a holistic, process-based manner can hopefully derive important insights and aid in development of improved process representations.

How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands

PubMed Central

Allon, Ayala S.; Balaban, Halely; Luria, Roy

2014-01-01

In three experiments we manipulated the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory (WM) by changing task demands. Previous studies that investigated the trade-off between quantity and resolution in visual WM yielded mixed results for simple familiar stimuli. We used the contralateral delay activity as an electrophysiological marker to directly track the deployment of visual WM resources while participants preformed a change-detection task. Across three experiments we presented the same novel complex items but changed the task demands. In Experiment 1 we induced a medium resolution task by using change trials in which a random polygon changed to a different type of polygon and replicated previous findings showing that novel complex objects are represented with higher resolution relative to simple familiar objects. In Experiment 2 we induced a low resolution task that required distinguishing between polygons and other types of stimulus categories, but we failed in finding a corresponding decrease in the resolution of the represented item. Finally, in Experiment 3 we induced a high resolution task that required discriminating between highly similar polygons with somewhat different contours. This time, we observed an increase in the item’s resolution. Our findings indicate that the resolution for novel complex objects can be increased but not decreased according to task demands, suggesting that minimal resolution is required in order to maintain these items in visual WM. These findings support studies claiming that capacity and resolution in visual WM reflect different mechanisms. PMID:24734026

Functional Dissociations within the Ventral Object Processing Pathway: Cognitive Modules or a Hierarchical Continuum?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowell, Rosemary A.; Bussey, Timothy J.; Saksida, Lisa M.

2010-01-01

We examined the organization and function of the ventral object processing pathway. The prevailing theoretical approach in this field holds that the ventral object processing stream has a modular organization, in which visual perception is carried out in posterior regions and visual memory is carried out, independently, in the anterior temporal…

Optimization of formulation and processing of Moringa oleifera and spirulina complex tablets.

PubMed

Zheng, Yi; Zhu, Fan; Lin, Dan; Wu, Jun; Zhou, Yichao; Mark, Bohn

2017-01-01

Objective: To prepare a more comprehensive nutrition, more balanced proportion of natural nutritional supplement tablets with Moringa oleifera leaves and spirulina the two nutrients which have complementary natural food ingredients. Method: On the basis of research M. oleifera leaves with spirulina nutrient composition was determined on M. oleifera leaves and spirulina ratio of raw materials, and the choice of microcrystalline cellulose, sodium salt of caboxy methyl cellulose(CMC),magnesium stearate excipient, through single factor and orthogonal experiment, selecting the best formula tablets prepared by powder direct compression technology, for preparation of M. oleifera and spirulina complex tablets. Results: The best ratio of raw material for the M. oleifera leaves powder: spirulina powder was 7:3, the best raw materials for the tablet formulation was 88.5%, 8.0% microcrystalline cellulose, CMC 2.0%, stearin magnesium 1.5%, the optimum parameters for the raw material crushing 200-300 mesh particle size, moisture content of 7%, tableting pressure 40 kN. Conclusion: Through formulation and process optimization, we can prepare more comprehensive and balanced nutrition M. oleifera and spirulina complex tablets, its sheet-shaped appearance, piece weight variation, hardness, friability, disintegration and other indicators have reached the appropriate quality requirements.

Objective high Resolution Analysis over Complex Terrain with VERA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, D.; Steinacker, R.; Steiner, A.

2012-04-01

VERA (Vienna Enhanced Resolution Analysis) is a model independent, high resolution objective analysis of meteorological fields over complex terrain. This system consists of a special developed quality control procedure and a combination of an interpolation and a downscaling technique. Whereas the so called VERA-QC is presented at this conference in the contribution titled "VERA-QC, an approved Data Quality Control based on Self-Consistency" by Andrea Steiner, this presentation will focus on the method and the characteristics of the VERA interpolation scheme which enables one to compute grid point values of a meteorological field based on irregularly distributed observations and topography related aprior knowledge. Over a complex topography meteorological fields are not smooth in general. The roughness which is induced by the topography can be explained physically. The knowledge about this behavior is used to define the so called Fingerprints (e.g. a thermal Fingerprint reproducing heating or cooling over mountainous terrain or a dynamical Fingerprint reproducing positive pressure perturbation on the windward side of a ridge) under idealized conditions. If the VERA algorithm recognizes patterns of one or more Fingerprints at a few observation points, the corresponding patterns are used to downscale the meteorological information in a greater surrounding. This technique allows to achieve an analysis with a resolution much higher than the one of the observational network. The interpolation of irregularly distributed stations to a regular grid (in space and time) is based on a variational principle applied to first and second order spatial and temporal derivatives. Mathematically, this can be formulated as a cost function that is equivalent to the penalty function of a thin plate smoothing spline. After the analysis field has been divided into the Fingerprint components and the unexplained part respectively, the requirement of a smooth distribution is applied to the

Uncertainty Reduction for Stochastic Processes on Complex Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radicchi, Filippo; Castellano, Claudio

2018-05-01

Many real-world systems are characterized by stochastic dynamical rules where a complex network of interactions among individual elements probabilistically determines their state. Even with full knowledge of the network structure and of the stochastic rules, the ability to predict system configurations is generally characterized by a large uncertainty. Selecting a fraction of the nodes and observing their state may help to reduce the uncertainty about the unobserved nodes. However, choosing these points of observation in an optimal way is a highly nontrivial task, depending on the nature of the stochastic process and on the structure of the underlying interaction pattern. In this paper, we introduce a computationally efficient algorithm to determine quasioptimal solutions to the problem. The method leverages network sparsity to reduce computational complexity from exponential to almost quadratic, thus allowing the straightforward application of the method to mid-to-large-size systems. Although the method is exact only for equilibrium stochastic processes defined on trees, it turns out to be effective also for out-of-equilibrium processes on sparse loopy networks.

Complex Event Processing for Content-Based Text, Image, and Video Retrieval

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

NY): Wiley- Interscience; 2000. Feldman R, Sanger J. The text mining handbook: advanced approaches in analyzing unstructured data. New York (NY...ARL-TR-7705 ● JUNE 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Complex Event Processing for Content-Based Text , Image, and Video Retrieval...ARL-TR-7705 ● JUNE 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Complex Event Processing for Content-Based Text , Image, and Video Retrieval

Foundations for Streaming Model Transformations by Complex Event Processing.

PubMed

Dávid, István; Ráth, István; Varró, Dániel

2018-01-01

Streaming model transformations represent a novel class of transformations to manipulate models whose elements are continuously produced or modified in high volume and with rapid rate of change. Executing streaming transformations requires efficient techniques to recognize activated transformation rules over a live model and a potentially infinite stream of events. In this paper, we propose foundations of streaming model transformations by innovatively integrating incremental model query, complex event processing (CEP) and reactive (event-driven) transformation techniques. Complex event processing allows to identify relevant patterns and sequences of events over an event stream. Our approach enables event streams to include model change events which are automatically and continuously populated by incremental model queries. Furthermore, a reactive rule engine carries out transformations on identified complex event patterns. We provide an integrated domain-specific language with precise semantics for capturing complex event patterns and streaming transformations together with an execution engine, all of which is now part of the Viatra reactive transformation framework. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach with two case studies: one in an advanced model engineering workflow; and one in the context of on-the-fly gesture recognition.

Thematic Roles, Markedness Alignment and Processing Complexity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Yoonhyoung; Kwon, Youan; Gordon, Peter C.

2015-01-01

Two experiments used eye-tracking during reading to investigate the role of the consistency of the relative markedness alignment of noun phrases (NPs) in the processing of complex sentences in Korean. To do so, the animacy of the first NP was varied in both experiments to manipulate the relative markedness of NPs. In addition, case markings of the…

On numerical model of time-dependent processes in three-dimensional porous heat-releasing objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lutsenko, Nickolay A.

2016-10-01

The gas flows in the gravity field through porous objects with heat-releasing sources are investigated when the self-regulation of the flow rate of the gas passing through the porous object takes place. Such objects can appear after various natural or man-made disasters (like the exploded unit of the Chernobyl NPP). The mathematical model and the original numerical method, based on a combination of explicit and implicit finite difference schemes, are developed for investigating the time-dependent processes in 3D porous energy-releasing objects. The advantage of the numerical model is its ability to describe unsteady processes under both natural convection and forced filtration. The gas cooling of 3D porous objects with different distribution of heat sources is studied using computational experiment.

A Subjective and Objective Process for Athletic Training Student Selection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Jeremy R.; McLoda, Todd A.; Stanek, Justin M.

2015-01-01

Context: Admission decisions are made annually concerning whom to accept into athletic training programs. Objective: To present an approach used to make admissions decisions at an undergraduate athletic training program and to corroborate this information by comparing each aspect to nursing program admission processes. Background: Annually,…

A search for embedded young stellar objects in and near the IC 1396 complex

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, Richard D.; Wilking, Bruce A.; Giulbudagian, Armen L.

1991-01-01

The IRAS data base is used to locate young stellar object candidates in and near the IC 1396 complex located in the Cepheus OB2 association. Co-added survey data are used to identify all sources with a flux density Snu(100) greater than 10 Jy and with Snu(100) greater than Snu(60). The 15 sources located at the positions of globules and dark clouds are further analyzed using the inscan slices to assess the source profiles.

The Complexity of Developmental Predictions from Dual Process Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanovich, Keith E.; West, Richard F.; Toplak, Maggie E.

2011-01-01

Drawing developmental predictions from dual-process theories is more complex than is commonly realized. Overly simplified predictions drawn from such models may lead to premature rejection of the dual process approach as one of many tools for understanding cognitive development. Misleading predictions can be avoided by paying attention to several…

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

PubMed

Ingram, James N; Howard, Ian S; Flanagan, J Randall; Wolpert, Daniel M

2011-09-01

Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field) perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar object dynamics

What Is Actually Affected by the Scrambling of Objects When Localizing the Lateral Occipital Complex?

PubMed

Margalit, Eshed; Biederman, Irving; Tjan, Bosco S; Shah, Manan P

2017-09-01

The lateral occipital complex (LOC), the cortical region critical for shape perception, is localized with fMRI by its greater BOLD activity when viewing intact objects compared with their scrambled versions (resembling texture). Despite hundreds of studies investigating LOC, what the LOC localizer accomplishes-beyond distinguishing shape from texture-has never been resolved. By independently scattering the intact parts of objects, the axis structure defining the relations between parts was no longer defined. This led to a diminished BOLD response, despite the increase in the number of independent entities (the parts) produced by the scattering, thus indicating that LOC specifies interpart relations, in addition to specifying the shape of the parts themselves. LOC's sensitivity to relations is not confined to those between parts but is also readily apparent between objects, rendering it-and not subsequent "place" areas-as the critical region for the representation of scenes. Moreover, that these effects are witnessed with novel as well as familiar intact objects and scenes suggests that the relations are computed on the fly, rather than being retrieved from memory.

Energetic Processing of Interstellar Ices: A Route to Complexity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Marla H.; Hudson, Reggie L.

2009-01-01

More than 140 gas-phase molecules have been detected in the interstellar (IS) medium or in circumstellar environments including inorganics, organics, ions, and radicals. The significant abundance of large, complex organic molecules, and families of isomers in these regions makes the origin and formation history of these species the subject of debate. Observationally determined condensed-phase species are H2O, CO, CO2, NH3 and CH30H, with CH4, HCOOH, OCS, OCN-, H2CO and NH4(+) present at trace levels. These ices can undergo energetic processing with cosmic rays or far-UV photons to form larger complex organics with abundance levels that make them undetectable in icy mantles. Once warmed, however, it is likely that these complex species would enter the gas-phase where they might be detected by Herschel or Alma. Understanding the role of radiation chemistry and thermal processing of ices and identifying new products are the goals of our laboratory research. In the Cosmic lee Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Plight Center, we can study both the photo-and radiation chemistries of ices from 8 -- 300 K. Using dear- and mid-IR spectroscopy we can follow the destruction of primary molecules and the formation of radicals and secondary products as a function of energetic processing. During warming we can monitor the trapping of species and the results of any thermal chemistry. An overview of recent and past work will focus on complex secondary radiation products from small condensed-phase IS species. Likely reactions include dimerization, isomerization, H-addition and H-elimination. Another focus of our work is the development of reaction schemes for the formation of complex molecules and the use of such schemes to predict new molecules awaiting detection by Herschel and Alma.

Analysis and Recognition of Curve Type as The Basis of Object Recognition in Image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nugraha, Nurma; Madenda, Sarifuddin; Indarti, Dina; Dewi Agushinta, R.; Ernastuti

2016-06-01

An object in an image when analyzed further will show the characteristics that distinguish one object with another object in an image. Characteristics that are used in object recognition in an image can be a color, shape, pattern, texture and spatial information that can be used to represent objects in the digital image. The method has recently been developed for image feature extraction on objects that share characteristics curve analysis (simple curve) and use the search feature of chain code object. This study will develop an algorithm analysis and the recognition of the type of curve as the basis for object recognition in images, with proposing addition of complex curve characteristics with maximum four branches that will be used for the process of object recognition in images. Definition of complex curve is the curve that has a point of intersection. By using some of the image of the edge detection, the algorithm was able to do the analysis and recognition of complex curve shape well.

Complexity, Methodology and Method: Crafting a Critical Process of Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alhadeff-Jones, Michel

2013-01-01

This paper defines a theoretical framework aiming to support the actions and reflections of researchers looking for a "method" in order to critically conceive the complexity of a scientific process of research. First, it starts with a brief overview of the core assumptions framing Morin's "paradigm of complexity" and Le…

Complex Problem Solving in Teams: The Impact of Collective Orientation on Team Process Demands.

PubMed

Hagemann, Vera; Kluge, Annette

2017-01-01

Complex problem solving is challenging and a high-level cognitive process for individuals. When analyzing complex problem solving in teams, an additional, new dimension has to be considered, as teamwork processes increase the requirements already put on individual team members. After introducing an idealized teamwork process model, that complex problem solving teams pass through, and integrating the relevant teamwork skills for interdependently working teams into the model and combining it with the four kinds of team processes (transition, action, interpersonal, and learning processes), the paper demonstrates the importance of fulfilling team process demands for successful complex problem solving within teams. Therefore, results from a controlled team study within complex situations are presented. The study focused on factors that influence action processes, like coordination, such as emergent states like collective orientation, cohesion, and trust and that dynamically enable effective teamwork in complex situations. Before conducting the experiments, participants were divided by median split into two-person teams with either high ( n = 58) or low ( n = 58) collective orientation values. The study was conducted with the microworld C3Fire, simulating dynamic decision making, and acting in complex situations within a teamwork context. The microworld includes interdependent tasks such as extinguishing forest fires or protecting houses. Two firefighting scenarios had been developed, which takes a maximum of 15 min each. All teams worked on these two scenarios. Coordination within the team and the resulting team performance were calculated based on a log-file analysis. The results show that no relationships between trust and action processes and team performance exist. Likewise, no relationships were found for cohesion. Only collective orientation of team members positively influences team performance in complex environments mediated by action processes such as

Apollo Experiment Report: Lunar-Sample Processing in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory High-Vacuum Complex

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, D. R.

1976-01-01

A high-vacuum complex composed of an atmospheric decontamination system, sample-processing chambers, storage chambers, and a transfer system was built to process and examine lunar material while maintaining quarantine status. Problems identified, equipment modifications, and procedure changes made for Apollo 11 and 12 sample processing are presented. The sample processing experiences indicate that only a few operating personnel are required to process the sample efficiently, safely, and rapidly in the high-vacuum complex. The high-vacuum complex was designed to handle the many contingencies, both quarantine and scientific, associated with handling an unknown entity such as the lunar sample. Lunar sample handling necessitated a complex system that could not respond rapidly to changing scientific requirements as the characteristics of the lunar sample were better defined. Although the complex successfully handled the processing of Apollo 11 and 12 lunar samples, the scientific requirement for vacuum samples was deleted after the Apollo 12 mission just as the vacuum system was reaching its full potential.

The neural correlates of morphological complexity processing: Detecting structure in pseudowords.

PubMed

Schuster, Swetlana; Scharinger, Mathias; Brooks, Colin; Lahiri, Aditi; Hartwigsen, Gesa

2018-06-01

Morphological complexity is a highly debated issue in visual word recognition. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that speakers are sensitive to degrees of morphological complexity. Two-step derived complex words (bridging through bridge N  > bridge V  > bridging) led to more enhanced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus than their 1-step derived counterparts (running through run V  > running). However, it remains unclear whether sensitivity to degrees of morphological complexity extends to pseudowords. If this were the case, it would indicate that abstract knowledge of morphological structure is independent of lexicality. We addressed this question by investigating the processing of two sets of pseudowords in German. Both sets contained morphologically viable two-step derived pseudowords differing in the number of derivational steps required to access an existing lexical representation and therefore the degree of structural analysis expected during processing. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we found lexicality effects to be distinct from processing signatures relating to structural analysis in pseudowords. Semantically-driven processes such as lexical search showed a more frontal distribution while combinatorial processes related to structural analysis engaged more parietal parts of the network. Specifically, more complex pseudowords showed increased activation in parietal regions (right superior parietal lobe and left precuneus) relative to pseudowords that required less structural analysis to arrive at an existing lexical representation. As the two sets were matched on cohort size and surface form, these results highlight the role of internal levels of morphological structure even in forms that do not possess a lexical representation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Large-Particle Monte Carlo Code for Simulating Non-Linear High-Energy Processes Near Compact Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, Boris E.; Svensson, Roland; Begelman, Mitchell C.; Sikora, Marek

1995-01-01

High-energy radiation processes in compact cosmic objects are often expected to have a strongly non-linear behavior. Such behavior is shown, for example, by electron-positron pair cascades and the time evolution of relativistic proton distributions in dense radiation fields. Three independent techniques have been developed to simulate these non-linear problems: the kinetic equation approach; the phase-space density (PSD) Monte Carlo method; and the large-particle (LP) Monte Carlo method. In this paper, we present the latest version of the LP method and compare it with the other methods. The efficiency of the method in treating geometrically complex problems is illustrated by showing results of simulations of 1D, 2D and 3D systems. The method is shown to be powerful enough to treat non-spherical geometries, including such effects as bulk motion of the background plasma, reflection of radiation from cold matter, and anisotropic distributions of radiating particles. It can therefore be applied to simulate high-energy processes in such astrophysical systems as accretion discs with coronae, relativistic jets, pulsar magnetospheres and gamma-ray bursts.

Software Process Assurance for Complex Electronics (SPACE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plastow, Richard A.

2007-01-01

Complex Electronics (CE) are now programmed to perform tasks that were previously handled in software, such as communication protocols. Many of the methods used to develop software bare a close resemblance to CE development. For instance, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can have over a million logic gates while system-on-chip (SOC) devices can combine a microprocessor, input and output channels, and sometimes an FPGA for programmability. With this increased intricacy, the possibility of software-like bugs such as incorrect design, logic, and unexpected interactions within the logic is great. Since CE devices are obscuring the hardware/software boundary, we propose that mature software methodologies may be utilized with slight modifications in the development of these devices. Software Process Assurance for Complex Electronics (SPACE) is a research project that looks at using standardized S/W Assurance/Engineering practices to provide an assurance framework for development activities. Tools such as checklists, best practices and techniques can be used to detect missing requirements and bugs earlier in the development cycle creating a development process for CE that will be more easily maintained, consistent and configurable based on the device used.

Frame sequences analysis technique of linear objects movement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oshchepkova, V. Y.; Berg, I. A.; Shchepkin, D. V.; Kopylova, G. V.

2017-12-01

Obtaining data by noninvasive methods are often needed in many fields of science and engineering. This is achieved through video recording in various frame rate and light spectra. In doing so quantitative analysis of movement of the objects being studied becomes an important component of the research. This work discusses analysis of motion of linear objects on the two-dimensional plane. The complexity of this problem increases when the frame contains numerous objects whose images may overlap. This study uses a sequence containing 30 frames at the resolution of 62 × 62 pixels and frame rate of 2 Hz. It was required to determine the average velocity of objects motion. This velocity was found as an average velocity for 8-12 objects with the error of 15%. After processing dependencies of the average velocity vs. control parameters were found. The processing was performed in the software environment GMimPro with the subsequent approximation of the data obtained using the Hill equation.

Computational issues in complex water-energy optimization problems: Time scales, parameterizations, objectives and algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efstratiadis, Andreas; Tsoukalas, Ioannis; Kossieris, Panayiotis; Karavokiros, George; Christofides, Antonis; Siskos, Alexandros; Mamassis, Nikos; Koutsoyiannis, Demetris

2015-04-01

Modelling of large-scale hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) is a challenging task, for which several open computational issues exist. HRES comprise typical components of hydrosystems (reservoirs, boreholes, conveyance networks, hydropower stations, pumps, water demand nodes, etc.), which are dynamically linked with renewables (e.g., wind turbines, solar parks) and energy demand nodes. In such systems, apart from the well-known shortcomings of water resources modelling (nonlinear dynamics, unknown future inflows, large number of variables and constraints, conflicting criteria, etc.), additional complexities and uncertainties arise due to the introduction of energy components and associated fluxes. A major difficulty is the need for coupling two different temporal scales, given that in hydrosystem modeling, monthly simulation steps are typically adopted, yet for a faithful representation of the energy balance (i.e. energy production vs. demand) a much finer resolution (e.g. hourly) is required. Another drawback is the increase of control variables, constraints and objectives, due to the simultaneous modelling of the two parallel fluxes (i.e. water and energy) and their interactions. Finally, since the driving hydrometeorological processes of the integrated system are inherently uncertain, it is often essential to use synthetically generated input time series of large length, in order to assess the system performance in terms of reliability and risk, with satisfactory accuracy. To address these issues, we propose an effective and efficient modeling framework, key objectives of which are: (a) the substantial reduction of control variables, through parsimonious yet consistent parameterizations; (b) the substantial decrease of computational burden of simulation, by linearizing the combined water and energy allocation problem of each individual time step, and solve each local sub-problem through very fast linear network programming algorithms, and (c) the substantial

Examining Complexity across Domains: Relating Subjective and Objective Measures of Affective Environmental Scenes, Paintings and Music

PubMed Central

Marin, Manuela M.; Leder, Helmut

2013-01-01

Subjective complexity has been found to be related to hedonic measures of preference, pleasantness and beauty, but there is no consensus about the nature of this relationship in the visual and musical domains. Moreover, the affective content of stimuli has been largely neglected so far in the study of complexity but is crucial in many everyday contexts and in aesthetic experiences. We thus propose a cross-domain approach that acknowledges the multidimensional nature of complexity and that uses a wide range of objective complexity measures combined with subjective ratings. In four experiments, we employed pictures of affective environmental scenes, representational paintings, and Romantic solo and chamber music excerpts. Stimuli were pre-selected to vary in emotional content (pleasantness and arousal) and complexity (low versus high number of elements). For each set of stimuli, in a between-subjects design, ratings of familiarity, complexity, pleasantness and arousal were obtained for a presentation time of 25 s from 152 participants. In line with Berlyne’s collative-motivation model, statistical analyses controlling for familiarity revealed a positive relationship between subjective complexity and arousal, and the highest correlations were observed for musical stimuli. Evidence for a mediating role of arousal in the complexity-pleasantness relationship was demonstrated in all experiments, but was only significant for females with regard to music. The direction and strength of the linear relationship between complexity and pleasantness depended on the stimulus type and gender. For environmental scenes, the root mean square contrast measures and measures of compressed file size correlated best with subjective complexity, whereas only edge detection based on phase congruency yielded equivalent results for representational paintings. Measures of compressed file size and event density also showed positive correlations with complexity and arousal in music, which is

Examining complexity across domains: relating subjective and objective measures of affective environmental scenes, paintings and music.

PubMed

Marin, Manuela M; Leder, Helmut

2013-01-01

Subjective complexity has been found to be related to hedonic measures of preference, pleasantness and beauty, but there is no consensus about the nature of this relationship in the visual and musical domains. Moreover, the affective content of stimuli has been largely neglected so far in the study of complexity but is crucial in many everyday contexts and in aesthetic experiences. We thus propose a cross-domain approach that acknowledges the multidimensional nature of complexity and that uses a wide range of objective complexity measures combined with subjective ratings. In four experiments, we employed pictures of affective environmental scenes, representational paintings, and Romantic solo and chamber music excerpts. Stimuli were pre-selected to vary in emotional content (pleasantness and arousal) and complexity (low versus high number of elements). For each set of stimuli, in a between-subjects design, ratings of familiarity, complexity, pleasantness and arousal were obtained for a presentation time of 25 s from 152 participants. In line with Berlyne's collative-motivation model, statistical analyses controlling for familiarity revealed a positive relationship between subjective complexity and arousal, and the highest correlations were observed for musical stimuli. Evidence for a mediating role of arousal in the complexity-pleasantness relationship was demonstrated in all experiments, but was only significant for females with regard to music. The direction and strength of the linear relationship between complexity and pleasantness depended on the stimulus type and gender. For environmental scenes, the root mean square contrast measures and measures of compressed file size correlated best with subjective complexity, whereas only edge detection based on phase congruency yielded equivalent results for representational paintings. Measures of compressed file size and event density also showed positive correlations with complexity and arousal in music, which is

Impaired recognition of faces and objects in dyslexia: Evidence for ventral stream dysfunction?

PubMed

Sigurdardottir, Heida Maria; Ívarsson, Eysteinn; Kristinsdóttir, Kristjana; Kristjánsson, Árni

2015-09-01

The objective of this study was to establish whether or not dyslexics are impaired at the recognition of faces and other complex nonword visual objects. This would be expected based on a meta-analysis revealing that children and adult dyslexics show functional abnormalities within the left fusiform gyrus, a brain region high up in the ventral visual stream, which is thought to support the recognition of words, faces, and other objects. 20 adult dyslexics (M = 29 years) and 20 matched typical readers (M = 29 years) participated in the study. One dyslexic-typical reader pair was excluded based on Adult Reading History Questionnaire scores and IS-FORM reading scores. Performance was measured on 3 high-level visual processing tasks: the Cambridge Face Memory Test, the Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Test, and the Vanderbilt Expertise Test. People with dyslexia are impaired in their recognition of faces and other visually complex objects. Their holistic processing of faces appears to be intact, suggesting that dyslexics may instead be specifically impaired at part-based processing of visual objects. The difficulty that people with dyslexia experience with reading might be the most salient manifestation of a more general high-level visual deficit. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

[Influence of mental rotation of objects on psychophysiological functions of women].

PubMed

Chikina, L V; Fedorchuk, S V; Trushina, V A; Ianchuk, P I; Makarchuk, M Iu

2012-01-01

An integral part of activity of modern human beings is an involvement to work with the computer systems which, in turn, produces a nervous - emotional tension. Hence, a problem of control of the psychophysiological state of workmen with the purpose of health preservation and success of their activity and the problem of application of rehabilitational actions are actual. At present it is known that the efficiency of rehabilitational procedures rises following application of the complex of regenerative programs. Previously performed by us investigation showed that mental rotation is capable to compensate the consequences of a nervous - emotional tension. Therefore, in the present work we investigated how the complex of spatial tasks developed by us influences psychophysiological performances of tested women for which the psycho-emotional tension with the usage of computer technologies is more essential, and the procedure of mental rotation is more complex task for them, than for men. The complex of spatial tasks applied in the given work included: mental rotation of simple objects (letters and digits), mental rotation of complex objects (geometrical figures) and mental rotation of complex objects with the usage of a short-term memory. Execution of the complex of spatial tasks reduces the time of simple and complex sensomotor response, raises parameters of a short-term memory, brain work capacity and improves nervous processes. Collectively, mental rotation of objects can be recommended as a rehabilitational resource for compensation of consequences of any psycho-emotional strain, both for men, and for women.

Multi-objective engineering design using preferences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchis, J.; Martinez, M.; Blasco, X.

2008-03-01

System design is a complex task when design parameters have to satisy a number of specifications and objectives which often conflict with those of others. This challenging problem is called multi-objective optimization (MOO). The most common approximation consists in optimizing a single cost index with a weighted sum of objectives. However, once weights are chosen the solution does not guarantee the best compromise among specifications, because there is an infinite number of solutions. A new approach can be stated, based on the designer's experience regarding the required specifications and the associated problems. This valuable information can be translated into preferences for design objectives, and will lead the search process to the best solution in terms of these preferences. This article presents a new method, which enumerates these a priori objective preferences. As a result, a single objective is built automatically and no weight selection need be performed. Problems occuring because of the multimodal nature of the generated single cost index are managed with genetic algorithms (GAs).

Inclusive Education as Complex Process and Challenge for School System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Khamisy, Danuta

2015-01-01

Education may be considered as a number of processes, actions and effects affecting human being, as the state or level of the results of these processes or as the modification of the functions, institutions and social practices roles, which in the result of inclusion become new, integrated system. Thus this is very complex process. Nowadays the…

[Global immunization policies and recommendations: objectives and process].

PubMed

Duclos, Philippe; Okwo-Bele, Jean-Marie

2007-04-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a dual mandate of providing global policies, standards and norms as well as support for member countries in applying such policies and standards to national programmes with the aim to improve health. The vaccine world is changing and with it the demands and expectations of the global and national policy makers, donors, and other interested parties. Changes pertain to : new vaccines and technologies developments, vaccine safety issues, regulation and approval of vaccines, and increased funding flowing through new financing mechanisms. This places a special responsibility on WHO to respond effectively. WHO has recently reviewed and optimized its policy making structure for vaccines and immunization and adjusted it to the new Global Immunization Vision and Strategy, which broadens the scope of immunization efforts to all age groups and vaccines with emphasis on integration of immunization delivery with other health interventions. This includes an extended consultation process to promptly generate evidence base recommendations, ensuring transparency of the decision making process and added communication efforts. This article presents the objectives and impact of the process set to develop global immunization policies, norms, standards and recommendations. The key advisory committees landscape contributing to this process is described. This includes the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety and the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. The elaboration of WHO vaccine position papers is also described.

Automatic Adviser on Mobile Objects Status Identification and Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shabelnikov, A. N.; Liabakh, N. N.; Gibner, Ya M.; Saryan, A. S.

2018-05-01

A mobile object status identification task is defined within the image discrimination theory. It is proposed to classify objects into three classes: object operation status; its maintenance is required and object should be removed from the production process. Two methods were developed to construct the separating boundaries between the designated classes: a) using statistical information on the research objects executed movement, b) basing on regulatory documents and expert commentary. Automatic Adviser operation simulation and the operation results analysis complex were synthesized. Research results are commented using a specific example of cuts rolling from the hump yard. The work was supported by Russian Fundamental Research Fund, project No. 17-20-01040.

On-line object feature extraction for multispectral scene representation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghassemian, Hassan; Landgrebe, David

1988-01-01

A new on-line unsupervised object-feature extraction method is presented that reduces the complexity and costs associated with the analysis of the multispectral image data and data transmission, storage, archival and distribution. The ambiguity in the object detection process can be reduced if the spatial dependencies, which exist among the adjacent pixels, are intelligently incorporated into the decision making process. The unity relation was defined that must exist among the pixels of an object. Automatic Multispectral Image Compaction Algorithm (AMICA) uses the within object pixel-feature gradient vector as a valuable contextual information to construct the object's features, which preserve the class separability information within the data. For on-line object extraction the path-hypothesis and the basic mathematical tools for its realization are introduced in terms of a specific similarity measure and adjacency relation. AMICA is applied to several sets of real image data, and the performance and reliability of features is evaluated.

Complex Processes from Dynamical Architectures with Time-Scale Hierarchy

PubMed Central

Perdikis, Dionysios; Huys, Raoul; Jirsa, Viktor

2011-01-01

The idea that complex motor, perceptual, and cognitive behaviors are composed of smaller units, which are somehow brought into a meaningful relation, permeates the biological and life sciences. However, no principled framework defining the constituent elementary processes has been developed to this date. Consequently, functional configurations (or architectures) relating elementary processes and external influences are mostly piecemeal formulations suitable to particular instances only. Here, we develop a general dynamical framework for distinct functional architectures characterized by the time-scale separation of their constituents and evaluate their efficiency. Thereto, we build on the (phase) flow of a system, which prescribes the temporal evolution of its state variables. The phase flow topology allows for the unambiguous classification of qualitatively distinct processes, which we consider to represent the functional units or modes within the dynamical architecture. Using the example of a composite movement we illustrate how different architectures can be characterized by their degree of time scale separation between the internal elements of the architecture (i.e. the functional modes) and external interventions. We reveal a tradeoff of the interactions between internal and external influences, which offers a theoretical justification for the efficient composition of complex processes out of non-trivial elementary processes or functional modes. PMID:21347363

Combination of optically measured coordinates and displacements for quantitative investigation of complex objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrae, Peter; Beeck, Manfred-Andreas; Jueptner, Werner P. O.; Nadeborn, Werner; Osten, Wolfgang

1996-09-01

Holographic interferometry makes it possible to measure high precision displacement data in the range of the wavelength of the used laser light. However, the determination of 3D- displacement vectors of objects with complex surfaces requires the measurement of 3D-object coordinates not only to consider local sensitivities but to distinguish between in-plane deformation, i.e. strains, and out-of-plane components, i.e. shears, too. To this purpose both the surface displacement and coordinates have to be combined and it is advantageous to make the data available for CAE- systems. The object surface has to be approximated analytically from the measured point cloud to generate a surface mesh. The displacement vectors can be assigned to the nodes of this surface mesh for visualization of the deformation of the object under test. They also can be compared to the results of FEM-calculations or can be used as boundary conditions for further numerical investigations. Here the 3D-object coordinates are measured in a separate topometric set-up using a modified fringe projection technique to acquire absolute phase values and a sophisticated geometrical model to map these phase data onto coordinates precisely. The determination of 3D-displacement vectors requires the measurement of several interference phase distributions for at least three independent sensitivity directions depending on the observation and illumination directions as well as the 3D-position of each measuring point. These geometric quantities have to be transformed into a reference coordinate system of the interferometric set-up in order to calculate the geometric matrix. The necessary transformation can be realized by means of a detection of object features in both data sets and a subsequent determination of the external camera orientation. This paper presents a consistent solution for the measurement and combination of shape and displacement data including their transformation into simulation systems. The

Complex Problem Solving in Teams: The Impact of Collective Orientation on Team Process Demands

PubMed Central

Hagemann, Vera; Kluge, Annette

2017-01-01

Complex problem solving is challenging and a high-level cognitive process for individuals. When analyzing complex problem solving in teams, an additional, new dimension has to be considered, as teamwork processes increase the requirements already put on individual team members. After introducing an idealized teamwork process model, that complex problem solving teams pass through, and integrating the relevant teamwork skills for interdependently working teams into the model and combining it with the four kinds of team processes (transition, action, interpersonal, and learning processes), the paper demonstrates the importance of fulfilling team process demands for successful complex problem solving within teams. Therefore, results from a controlled team study within complex situations are presented. The study focused on factors that influence action processes, like coordination, such as emergent states like collective orientation, cohesion, and trust and that dynamically enable effective teamwork in complex situations. Before conducting the experiments, participants were divided by median split into two-person teams with either high (n = 58) or low (n = 58) collective orientation values. The study was conducted with the microworld C3Fire, simulating dynamic decision making, and acting in complex situations within a teamwork context. The microworld includes interdependent tasks such as extinguishing forest fires or protecting houses. Two firefighting scenarios had been developed, which takes a maximum of 15 min each. All teams worked on these two scenarios. Coordination within the team and the resulting team performance were calculated based on a log-file analysis. The results show that no relationships between trust and action processes and team performance exist. Likewise, no relationships were found for cohesion. Only collective orientation of team members positively influences team performance in complex environments mediated by action processes such as

Ethnographic methods for process evaluations of complex health behaviour interventions.

PubMed

Morgan-Trimmer, Sarah; Wood, Fiona

2016-05-04

This article outlines the contribution that ethnography could make to process evaluations for trials of complex health-behaviour interventions. Process evaluations are increasingly used to examine how health-behaviour interventions operate to produce outcomes and often employ qualitative methods to do this. Ethnography shares commonalities with the qualitative methods currently used in health-behaviour evaluations but has a distinctive approach over and above these methods. It is an overlooked methodology in trials of complex health-behaviour interventions that has much to contribute to the understanding of how interventions work. These benefits are discussed here with respect to three strengths of ethnographic methodology: (1) producing valid data, (2) understanding data within social contexts, and (3) building theory productively. The limitations of ethnography within the context of process evaluations are also discussed.

Modeling Cognitive Strategies during Complex Task Performing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazman, Sacide Guzin; Altun, Arif

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine individuals' computer based complex task performing processes and strategies in order to determine the reasons of failure by cognitive task analysis method and cued retrospective think aloud with eye movement data. Study group was five senior students from Computer Education and Instructional Technologies…

Integrating technology into complex intervention trial processes: a case study.

PubMed

Drew, Cheney J G; Poile, Vincent; Trubey, Rob; Watson, Gareth; Kelson, Mark; Townson, Julia; Rosser, Anne; Hood, Kerenza; Quinn, Lori; Busse, Monica

2016-11-17

Trials of complex interventions are associated with high costs and burdens in terms of paperwork, management, data collection, validation, and intervention fidelity assessment occurring across multiple sites. Traditional data collection methods rely on paper-based forms, where processing can be time-consuming and error rates high. Electronic source data collection can potentially address many of these inefficiencies, but has not routinely been used in complex intervention trials. Here we present the use of an on-line system for managing all aspects of data handling and for the monitoring of trial processes in a multicentre trial of a complex intervention. We custom built a web-accessible software application for the delivery of ENGAGE-HD, a multicentre trial of a complex physical therapy intervention. The software incorporated functionality for participant randomisation, data collection and assessment of intervention fidelity. It was accessible to multiple users with differing levels of access depending on required usage or to maintain blinding. Each site was supplied with a 4G-enabled iPad for accessing the system. The impact of this system was quantified through review of data quality and collation of feedback from site coordinators and assessors through structured process interviews. The custom-built system was an efficient tool for collecting data and managing trial processes. Although the set-up time required was significant, using the system resulted in an overall data completion rate of 98.5% with a data query rate of 0.1%, the majority of which were resolved in under a week. Feedback from research staff indicated that the system was highly acceptable for use in a research environment. This was a reflection of the portability and accessibility of the system when using the iPad and its usefulness in aiding accurate data collection, intervention fidelity and general administration. A combination of commercially available hardware and a bespoke online database

Imaging-based optical caliper for objects in hot manufacturing processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Howard

OG Technologies, Inc. (OGT), in conjunction with its industrial and academic partners, proposes to develop an Imaging-Based Optical Caliper (hereafter referred to as OC) for Objects in Hot Manufacturing Processes. The goal is to develop and demonstrate the OC with the synergy of OGT's current technological pool and other innovations to provide a light weight, robust, safe and accurate portable dimensional measurement device for hot objects with integrated wireless communication capacity to enable real time process control. The technical areas of interest in this project are the combination of advanced imaging, Sensor Fusion, and process control. OGT believes that themore » synergistic interactions between its current set of technologies and other innovations could deliver products that are viable and have high impact in the hot manufacture processes, such as steel making, steel rolling, open die forging, and glass industries, resulting in a new energy efficient control paradigm in the operations through improved yield, prolonged tool life and improved quality. In-line dimension measurement and control is of interest to the steel makers, yet current industry focus is on the final product dimension only instead of whole process due to the limit of man power, system cost and operator safety concerns. As sensor technologies advances, the industry started to see the need to enforce better dimensional control throughout the process, but lack the proper tools to do so. OGT along with its industrial partners represent the indigenous effort of technological development to serve the US steel industry. The immediate market that can use and get benefited from the proposed OC is the Steel Industry. The deployment of the OC has the potential to provide benefits in reduction of energy waste, CO2 emission, waste water amount, toxic waste, and so forth. The potential market after further expended function includes Hot Forging and Freight Industries. The OC prototypes were

Haptically Guided Grasping. fMRI Shows Right-Hemisphere Parietal Stimulus Encoding, and Bilateral Dorso-Ventral Parietal Gradients of Object- and Action-Related Processing during Grasp Execution

PubMed Central

Marangon, Mattia; Kubiak, Agnieszka; Króliczak, Gregory

2016-01-01

The neural bases of haptically-guided grasp planning and execution are largely unknown, especially for stimuli having no visual representations. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity during haptic exploration of novel 3D complex objects, subsequent grasp planning, and the execution of the pre-planned grasps. Haptic object exploration, involving extraction of shape, orientation, and length of the to-be-grasped targets, was associated with the fronto-parietal, temporo-occipital, and insular cortex activity. Yet, only the anterior divisions of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of the right hemisphere were significantly more engaged in exploration of complex objects (vs. simple control disks). None of these regions were re-recruited during the planning phase. Even more surprisingly, the left-hemisphere intraparietal, temporal, and occipital areas that were significantly invoked for grasp planning did not show sensitivity to object features. Finally, grasp execution, involving the re-recruitment of the critical right-hemisphere PPC clusters, was also significantly associated with two kinds of bilateral parieto-frontal processes. The first represents transformations of grasp-relevant target features and is linked to the dorso-dorsal (lateral and medial) parieto-frontal networks. The second monitors grasp kinematics and belongs to the ventro-dorsal networks. Indeed, signal modulations associated with these distinct functions follow dorso-ventral gradients, with left aIPS showing significant sensitivity to both target features and the characteristics of the required grasp. Thus, our results from the haptic domain are consistent with the notion that the parietal processing for action guidance reflects primarily transformations from object-related to effector-related coding, and these mechanisms are rather independent of sensory input modality. PMID:26779002

Haptically Guided Grasping. fMRI Shows Right-Hemisphere Parietal Stimulus Encoding, and Bilateral Dorso-Ventral Parietal Gradients of Object- and Action-Related Processing during Grasp Execution.

PubMed

Marangon, Mattia; Kubiak, Agnieszka; Króliczak, Gregory

2015-01-01

The neural bases of haptically-guided grasp planning and execution are largely unknown, especially for stimuli having no visual representations. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity during haptic exploration of novel 3D complex objects, subsequent grasp planning, and the execution of the pre-planned grasps. Haptic object exploration, involving extraction of shape, orientation, and length of the to-be-grasped targets, was associated with the fronto-parietal, temporo-occipital, and insular cortex activity. Yet, only the anterior divisions of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of the right hemisphere were significantly more engaged in exploration of complex objects (vs. simple control disks). None of these regions were re-recruited during the planning phase. Even more surprisingly, the left-hemisphere intraparietal, temporal, and occipital areas that were significantly invoked for grasp planning did not show sensitivity to object features. Finally, grasp execution, involving the re-recruitment of the critical right-hemisphere PPC clusters, was also significantly associated with two kinds of bilateral parieto-frontal processes. The first represents transformations of grasp-relevant target features and is linked to the dorso-dorsal (lateral and medial) parieto-frontal networks. The second monitors grasp kinematics and belongs to the ventro-dorsal networks. Indeed, signal modulations associated with these distinct functions follow dorso-ventral gradients, with left aIPS showing significant sensitivity to both target features and the characteristics of the required grasp. Thus, our results from the haptic domain are consistent with the notion that the parietal processing for action guidance reflects primarily transformations from object-related to effector-related coding, and these mechanisms are rather independent of sensory input modality.

Segregation and persistence of form in the lateral occipital complex.

PubMed

Ferber, Susanne; Humphrey, G Keith; Vilis, Tutis

2005-01-01

While the lateral occipital complex (LOC) has been shown to be implicated in object recognition, it is unclear whether this brain area is responsive to low-level stimulus-driven features or high-level representational processes. We used scrambled shape-from-motion displays to disambiguate the presence of contours from figure-ground segregation and to measure the strength of the binding process for shapes without contours. We found persisting brain activation in the LOC for scrambled displays after the motion stopped indicating that this brain area subserves and maintains figure-ground segregation processes, a low-level function in the object processing hierarchy. In our second experiment, we found that the figure-ground segregation process has some form of spatial constancy indicating top-down influences. The persisting activation after the motion stops suggests an intermediate role in object recognition processes for this brain area and might provide further evidence for the idea that the lateral occipital complex subserves mnemonic functions mediating between iconic and short-term memory.

Complex collaborative problem-solving processes in mission control.

PubMed

Fiore, Stephen M; Wiltshire, Travis J; Oglesby, James M; O'Keefe, William S; Salas, Eduardo

2014-04-01

NASA's Mission Control Center (MCC) is responsible for control of the International Space Station (ISS), which includes responding to problems that obstruct the functioning of the ISS and that may pose a threat to the health and well-being of the flight crew. These problems are often complex, requiring individuals, teams, and multiteam systems, to work collaboratively. Research is warranted to examine individual and collaborative problem-solving processes in this context. Specifically, focus is placed on how Mission Control personnel-each with their own skills and responsibilities-exchange information to gain a shared understanding of the problem. The Macrocognition in Teams Model describes the processes that individuals and teams undertake in order to solve problems and may be applicable to Mission Control teams. Semistructured interviews centering on a recent complex problem were conducted with seven MCC professionals. In order to assess collaborative problem-solving processes in MCC with those predicted by the Macrocognition in Teams Model, a coding scheme was developed to analyze the interview transcriptions. Findings are supported with excerpts from participant transcriptions and suggest that team knowledge-building processes accounted for approximately 50% of all coded data and are essential for successful collaborative problem solving in mission control. Support for the internalized and externalized team knowledge was also found (19% and 20%, respectively). The Macrocognition in Teams Model was shown to be a useful depiction of collaborative problem solving in mission control and further research with this as a guiding framework is warranted.

Formation of complex organic molecules in cold objects: the role of gas-phase reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balucani, Nadia; Ceccarelli, Cecilia; Taquet, Vianney

2015-04-01

While astrochemical models are successful in reproducing many of the observed interstellar species, they have been struggling to explain the observed abundances of complex organic molecules. Current models tend to privilege grain surface over gas-phase chemistry in their formation. One key assumption of those models is that radicals trapped in the grain mantles gain mobility and react on lukewarm ( ≳ 30 K) dust grains. Thus, the recent detections of methyl formate (MF) and dimethyl ether (DME) in cold objects represent a challenge and may clarify the respective role of grain-surface and gas-phase chemistry. We propose here a new model to form DME and MF with gas-phase reactions in cold environments, where DME is the precursor of MF via an efficient reaction overlooked by previous models. Furthermore, methoxy, a precursor of DME, is also synthesized in the gas phase from methanol, which is desorbed by a non-thermal process from the ices. Our new model reproduces fairly well the observations towards L1544. It also explains, in a natural way, the observed correlation between DME and MF. We conclude that gas-phase reactions are major actors in the formation of MF, DME and methoxy in cold gas. This challenges the exclusive role of grain-surface chemistry and favours a combined grain-gas chemistry.

Visual Complexity Attenuates Emotional Processing in Psychopathy: Implications for Fear-Potentiated Startle Deficits

PubMed Central

Sadeh, Naomi; Verona, Edelyn

2012-01-01

A long-standing debate is the extent to which psychopathy is characterized by a fundamental deficit in attention or emotion. We tested the hypothesis that the interplay of emotional and attentional systems is critical for understanding processing deficits in psychopathy. Sixty-three offenders were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and fear-potentiated startle (FPS) were collected while participants viewed pictures selected to disentangle an existing confound between perceptual complexity and emotional content in the pictures typically used to study fear deficits in psychopathy. As predicted, picture complexity moderated emotional processing deficits. Specifically, the affective-interpersonal features of psychopathy were associated with greater allocation of attentional resources to processing emotional stimuli at initial perception (visual N1) but only when picture stimuli were visually-complex. Despite this, results for the late positive potential indicated that emotional pictures were less attentionally engaging and held less motivational significance for individuals high in affective-interpersonal traits. This deficient negative emotional processing was observed later in their reduced defensive fear reactivity (FPS) to high-complexity unpleasant pictures. In contrast, the impulsive-antisocial features of psychopathy were associated with decreased sensitivity to picture complexity (visual N1) and unrelated to emotional processing as assessed by ERP and FPS. These findings are the first to demonstrate that picture complexity moderates FPS deficits and implicate the interplay of attention and emotional systems as deficient in psychopathy. PMID:22187225

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the hydrolysis complexes of cisplatin: implications for the hydrolysis process of platinum complexes.

PubMed

Feifan, Xie; Pieter, Colin; Jan, Van Bocxlaer

2017-07-01

Non-enzyme-dependent hydrolysis of the drug cisplatin is important for its mode of action and toxicity. However, up until today, the hydrolysis process of cisplatin is still not completely understood. In the present study, the hydrolysis of cisplatin in an aqueous solution was systematically investigated by using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography. A variety of previously unreported hydrolysis complexes corresponding to monomeric, dimeric and trimeric species were detected and identified. The characteristics of the Pt-containing complexes were investigated by using collision-induced dissociation (CID). The hydrolysis complexes demonstrate distinctive and correlative CID characteristics, which provides tools for an informative identification. The most frequently observed dissociation mechanism was sequential loss of NH 3 , H 2 O and HCl. Loss of the Pt atom was observed as the final step during the CID process. The formation mechanisms of the observed complexes were explored and experimentally examined. The strongly bound dimeric species, which existed in solution, are assumed to be formed from the clustering of the parent compound and its monohydrated or dihydrated complexes. The role of the electrospray process in the formation of some of the observed ions was also evaluated, and the electrospray ionization-related cold clusters were identified. The previously reported hydrolysis equilibria were tested and subsequently refined via a hydrolysis study resulting in a renewed mechanistic equilibrium system of cisplatin as proposed from our results. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Object-oriented Bayesian networks for paternity cases with allelic dependencies

PubMed Central

Hepler, Amanda B.; Weir, Bruce S.

2008-01-01

This study extends the current use of Bayesian networks by incorporating the effects of allelic dependencies in paternity calculations. The use of object-oriented networks greatly simplify the process of building and interpreting forensic identification models, allowing researchers to solve new, more complex problems. We explore two paternity examples: the most common scenario where DNA evidence is available from the alleged father, the mother and the child; a more complex casewhere DNA is not available from the alleged father, but is available from the alleged father’s brother. Object-oriented networks are built, using HUGIN, for each example which incorporate the effects of allelic dependence caused by evolutionary relatedness. PMID:19079769

Cultural differences in the lateral occipital complex while viewing incongruent scenes

PubMed Central

Yang, Yung-Jui; Goh, Joshua; Hong, Ying-Yi; Park, Denise C.

2010-01-01

Converging behavioral and neuroimaging evidence indicates that culture influences the processing of complex visual scenes. Whereas Westerners focus on central objects and tend to ignore context, East Asians process scenes more holistically, attending to the context in which objects are embedded. We investigated cultural differences in contextual processing by manipulating the congruence of visual scenes presented in an fMR-adaptation paradigm. We hypothesized that East Asians would show greater adaptation to incongruent scenes, consistent with their tendency to process contextual relationships more extensively than Westerners. Sixteen Americans and 16 native Chinese were scanned while viewing sets of pictures consisting of a focal object superimposed upon a background scene. In half of the pictures objects were paired with congruent backgrounds, and in the other half objects were paired with incongruent backgrounds. We found that within both the right and left lateral occipital complexes, Chinese participants showed significantly greater adaptation to incongruent scenes than to congruent scenes relative to American participants. These results suggest that Chinese were more sensitive to contextual incongruity than were Americans and that they reacted to incongruent object/background pairings by focusing greater attention on the object. PMID:20083532

The Effects of Syntactic Complexity on Processing Sentences in Noise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Rebecca; Ruigendijk, Esther

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the influence of stationary (non-fluctuating) noise on processing and understanding of sentences, which vary in their syntactic complexity (with the factors canonicity, embedding, ambiguity). It presents data from two RT-studies with 44 participants testing processing of German sentences in silence and in noise. Results show a…

Unaware Processing of Tools in the Neural System for Object-Directed Action Representation.

PubMed

Tettamanti, Marco; Conca, Francesca; Falini, Andrea; Perani, Daniela

2017-11-01

The hypothesis that the brain constitutively encodes observed manipulable objects for the actions they afford is still debated. Yet, crucial evidence demonstrating that, even in the absence of perceptual awareness, the mere visual appearance of a manipulable object triggers a visuomotor coding in the action representation system including the premotor cortex, has hitherto not been provided. In this fMRI study, we instantiated reliable unaware visual perception conditions by means of continuous flash suppression, and we tested in 24 healthy human participants (13 females) whether the visuomotor object-directed action representation system that includes left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices is activated even under subliminal perceptual conditions. We found consistent activation in the target visuomotor cortices, both with and without perceptual awareness, specifically for pictures of manipulable versus non-manipulable objects. By means of a multivariate searchlight analysis, we also found that the brain activation patterns in this visuomotor network enabled the decoding of manipulable versus non-manipulable object picture processing, both with and without awareness. These findings demonstrate the intimate neural coupling between visual perception and motor representation that underlies manipulable object processing: manipulable object stimuli specifically engage the visuomotor object-directed action representation system, in a constitutive manner that is independent from perceptual awareness. This perceptuo-motor coupling endows the brain with an efficient mechanism for monitoring and planning reactions to external stimuli in the absence of awareness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our brain constantly encodes the visual information that hits the retina, leading to a stimulus-specific activation of sensory and semantic representations, even for objects that we do not consciously perceive. Do these unconscious representations encompass the motor

Ethnographic process evaluation in primary care: explaining the complexity of implementation.

PubMed

Bunce, Arwen E; Gold, Rachel; Davis, James V; McMullen, Carmit K; Jaworski, Victoria; Mercer, MaryBeth; Nelson, Christine

2014-12-05

The recent growth of implementation research in care delivery systems has led to a renewed interest in methodological approaches that deliver not only intervention outcome data but also deep understanding of the complex dynamics underlying the implementation process. We suggest that an ethnographic approach to process evaluation, when informed by and integrated with quantitative data, can provide this nuanced insight into intervention outcomes. The specific methods used in such ethnographic process evaluations are rarely presented in detail; our objective is to stimulate a conversation around the successes and challenges of specific data collection methods in health care settings. We use the example of a translational clinical trial among 11 community clinics in Portland, OR that are implementing an evidence-based, health-information technology (HIT)-based intervention focused on patients with diabetes. Our ethnographic process evaluation employed weekly diaries by clinic-based study employees, observation, informal and formal interviews, document review, surveys, and group discussions to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation success, provide insight into the quantitative study outcomes, and uncover lessons potentially transferable to other implementation projects. These methods captured the depth and breadth of factors contributing to intervention uptake, while minimizing disruption to clinic work and supporting mid-stream shifts in implementation strategies. A major challenge is the amount of dedicated researcher time required. The deep understanding of the 'how' and 'why' behind intervention outcomes that can be gained through an ethnographic approach improves the credibility and transferability of study findings. We encourage others to share their own experiences with ethnography in implementation evaluation and health services research, and to consider adapting the methods and tools described here for their own research.

Design of a Model Execution Framework: Repetitive Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (ROSE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Justin S.; Briggs, Jeffery L.

2008-01-01

The ROSE framework was designed to facilitate complex system analyses. It completely divorces the model execution process from the model itself. By doing so ROSE frees the modeler to develop a library of standard modeling processes such as Design of Experiments, optimizers, parameter studies, and sensitivity studies which can then be applied to any of their available models. The ROSE framework accomplishes this by means of a well defined API and object structure. Both the API and object structure are presented here with enough detail to implement ROSE in any object-oriented language or modeling tool.

Objective assessment of MPEG-2 video quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gastaldo, Paolo; Zunino, Rodolfo; Rovetta, Stefano

2002-07-01

The increasing use of video compression standards in broadcasting television systems has required, in recent years, the development of video quality measurements that take into account artifacts specifically caused by digital compression techniques. In this paper we present a methodology for the objective quality assessment of MPEG video streams by using circular back-propagation feedforward neural networks. Mapping neural networks can render nonlinear relationships between objective features and subjective judgments, thus avoiding any simplifying assumption on the complexity of the model. The neural network processes an instantaneous set of input values, and yields an associated estimate of perceived quality. Therefore, the neural-network approach turns objective quality assessment into adaptive modeling of subjective perception. The objective features used for the estimate are chosen according to the assessed relevance to perceived quality and are continuously extracted in real time from compressed video streams. The overall system mimics perception but does not require any analytical model of the underlying physical phenomenon. The capability to process compressed video streams represents an important advantage over existing approaches, like avoiding the stream-decoding process greatly enhances real-time performance. Experimental results confirm that the system provides satisfactory, continuous-time approximations for actual scoring curves concerning real test videos.

Development of Tool Representations in the Dorsal and Ventral Visual Object Processing Pathways

PubMed Central

Kersey, Alyssa J.; Clark, Tyia S.; Lussier, Courtney A.; Mahon, Bradford Z.; Cantlon, Jessica F.

2016-01-01

Tools represent a special class of objects, because they are processed across both the dorsal and ventral visual object processing pathways. Three core regions are known to be involved in tool processing: the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, the medial fusiform gyrus (bilaterally), and the left inferior parietal lobule. A critical and relatively unexplored issue concerns whether, in development, tool preferences emerge at the same time and to a similar degree across all regions of the tool-processing network. To test this issue, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure the neural amplitude, peak location, and the dispersion of tool-related neural responses in the youngest sample of children tested to date in this domain (ages 4–8 years). We show that children recruit overlapping regions of the adult tool-processing network and also exhibit similar patterns of co-activation across the network to adults. The amplitude and co-activation data show that the core components of the tool-processing network are established by age 4. Our findings on the distributions of peak location and dispersion of activation indicate that the tool network undergoes refinement between ages 4 and 8 years. PMID:26108614

Object and technologies in the working process of an itinerant team in mental health.

PubMed

Eslabão, Adriane Domingues; Pinho, Leandro Barbosa de; Coimbra, Valéria Cristina Christello; Lima, Maria Alice Dias da Silva; Camatta, Marcio Wagner; Santos, Elitiele Ortiz Dos

2017-01-01

Objective To analyze the work object and the technologies in the working process of a Mental Health Itinerant Team in the attention to drug users. Methods Qualitative case study, carried out in a municipality in the South of Brazil. The theoretical framework was the Healthcare Labor Process. The data was collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with the professionals of an itinerant team in the year of 2015. For data analysis we used the Thematic Content Analysis. Results In the first empirical category - work object - the user is considered as a focus, bringing new challenges in the team's relationship with the network. In the second category - technologies of the work process - potentialities and contradictions of the team work tools are highlighted. Conclusions As an innovation in the mental health context, the itinerant team brings real possibilities to reinvent the care for the drug user as well as new institutional challenges.

Reliability Standards of Complex Engineering Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galperin, E. M.; Zayko, V. A.; Gorshkalev, P. A.

2017-11-01

Production and manufacture play an important role in today’s modern society. Industrial production is nowadays characterized by increased and complex communications between its parts. The problem of preventing accidents in a large industrial enterprise becomes especially relevant. In these circumstances, the reliability of enterprise functioning is of particular importance. Potential damage caused by an accident at such enterprise may lead to substantial material losses and, in some cases, can even cause a loss of human lives. That is why industrial enterprise functioning reliability is immensely important. In terms of their reliability, industrial facilities (objects) are divided into simple and complex. Simple objects are characterized by only two conditions: operable and non-operable. A complex object exists in more than two conditions. The main characteristic here is the stability of its operation. This paper develops the reliability indicator combining the set theory methodology and a state space method. Both are widely used to analyze dynamically developing probability processes. The research also introduces a set of reliability indicators for complex technical systems.

Electrophysiological evidence for separation between human face and non-face object processing only in the right hemisphere.

PubMed

Niina, Megumi; Okamura, Jun-ya; Wang, Gang

2015-10-01

Scalp event-related potential (ERP) studies have demonstrated larger N170 amplitudes when subjects view faces compared to items from object categories. Extensive attempts have been made to clarify face selectivity and hemispheric dominance for face processing. The purpose of this study was to investigate hemispheric differences in N170s activated by human faces and non-face objects, as well as the extent of overlap of their sources. ERP was recorded from 20 subjects while they viewed human face and non-face images. N170s obtained during the presentation of human faces appeared earlier and with larger amplitude than for other category images. Further source analysis with a two-dipole model revealed that the locations of face and object processing largely overlapped in the left hemisphere. Conversely, the source for face processing in the right hemisphere located more anterior than the source for object processing. The results suggest that the neuronal circuits for face and object processing are largely shared in the left hemisphere, with more distinct circuits in the right hemisphere. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dissociable intrinsic functional networks support noun-object and verb-action processing.

PubMed

Yang, Huichao; Lin, Qixiang; Han, Zaizhu; Li, Hongyu; Song, Luping; Chen, Lingjuan; He, Yong; Bi, Yanchao

2017-12-01

The processing mechanism of verbs-actions and nouns-objects is a central topic of language research, with robust evidence for behavioral dissociation. The neural basis for these two major word and/or conceptual classes, however, remains controversial. Two experiments were conducted to study this question from the network perspective. Experiment 1 found that nodes of the same class, obtained through task-evoked brain imaging meta-analyses, were more strongly connected with each other than nodes of different classes during resting-state, forming segregated network modules. Experiment 2 examined the behavioral relevance of these intrinsic networks using data from 88 brain-damaged patients, finding that across patients the relative strength of functional connectivity of the two networks significantly correlated with the noun-object vs. verb-action relative behavioral performances. In summary, we found that verbs-actions and nouns-objects are supported by separable intrinsic functional networks and that the integrity of such networks accounts for the relative noun-object- and verb-action-selective deficits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Behavior analysis of video object in complicated background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Wenting; Wang, Shigang; Liang, Chao; Wu, Wei; Lu, Yang

2016-10-01

This paper aims to achieve robust behavior recognition of video object in complicated background. Features of the video object are described and modeled according to the depth information of three-dimensional video. Multi-dimensional eigen vector are constructed and used to process high-dimensional data. Stable object tracing in complex scenes can be achieved with multi-feature based behavior analysis, so as to obtain the motion trail. Subsequently, effective behavior recognition of video object is obtained according to the decision criteria. What's more, the real-time of algorithms and accuracy of analysis are both improved greatly. The theory and method on the behavior analysis of video object in reality scenes put forward by this project have broad application prospect and important practical significance in the security, terrorism, military and many other fields.

Extension of RCC Topological Relations for 3d Complex Objects Components Extracted from 3d LIDAR Point Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Xu-Feng; Abolfazl Mostafavia, Mir; Wang, Chen

2016-06-01

Topological relations are fundamental for qualitative description, querying and analysis of a 3D scene. Although topological relations for 2D objects have been extensively studied and implemented in GIS applications, their direct extension to 3D is very challenging and they cannot be directly applied to represent relations between components of complex 3D objects represented by 3D B-Rep models in R3. Herein we present an extended Region Connection Calculus (RCC) model to express and formalize topological relations between planar regions for creating 3D model represented by Boundary Representation model in R3. We proposed a new dimension extended 9-Intersection model to represent the basic relations among components of a complex object, including disjoint, meet and intersect. The last element in 3*3 matrix records the details of connection through the common parts of two regions and the intersecting line of two planes. Additionally, this model can deal with the case of planar regions with holes. Finally, the geometric information is transformed into a list of strings consisting of topological relations between two planar regions and detailed connection information. The experiments show that the proposed approach helps to identify topological relations of planar segments of point cloud automatically.

Small target detection using objectness and saliency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Naiwen; Xiao, Yang; Fang, Zhiwen; Yang, Jian; Wang, Li; Li, Tao

2017-10-01

We are motived by the need for generic object detection algorithm which achieves high recall for small targets in complex scenes with acceptable computational efficiency. We propose a novel object detection algorithm, which has high localization quality with acceptable computational cost. Firstly, we obtain the objectness map as in BING[1] and use NMS to get the top N points. Then, k-means algorithm is used to cluster them into K classes according to their location. We set the center points of the K classes as seed points. For each seed point, an object potential region is extracted. Finally, a fast salient object detection algorithm[2] is applied to the object potential regions to highlight objectlike pixels, and a series of efficient post-processing operations are proposed to locate the targets. Our method runs at 5 FPS on 1000*1000 images, and significantly outperforms previous methods on small targets in cluttered background.

Performance bounds for matched field processing in subsurface object detection applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahin, Adnan; Miller, Eric L.

1998-09-01

In recent years there has been considerable interest in the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for the non-invasive detection and localization of buried objects. In a previous work, we have considered the use of high resolution array processing methods for solving these problems for measurement geometries in which an array of electromagnetic receivers observes the fields scattered by the subsurface targets in response to a plane wave illumination. Our approach uses the MUSIC algorithm in a matched field processing (MFP) scheme to determine both the range and the bearing of the objects. In this paper we derive the Cramer-Rao bounds (CRB) for this MUSIC-based approach analytically. Analysis of the theoretical CRB has shown that there exists an optimum inter-element spacing of array elements for which the CRB is minimum. Furthermore, the optimum inter-element spacing minimizing CRB is smaller than the conventional half wavelength criterion. The theoretical bounds are then verified for two estimators using Monte-Carlo simulations. The first estimator is the MUSIC-based MFP and the second one is the maximum likelihood based MFP. The two approaches differ in the cost functions they optimize. We observe that Monte-Carlo simulated error variances always lie above the values established by CRB. Finally, we evaluate the performance of our MUSIC-based algorithm in the presence of model mismatches. Since the detection algorithm strongly depends on the model used, we have tested the performance of the algorithm when the object radius used in the model is different from the true radius. This analysis reveals that the algorithm is still capable of localizing the objects with a bias depending on the degree of mismatch.

Processing ser and estar to locate objects and events

PubMed Central

Dussias, Paola E.; Contemori, Carla; Román, Patricia

2016-01-01

In Spanish locative constructions, a different form of the copula is selected in relation to the semantic properties of the grammatical subject: sentences that locate objects require estar while those that locate events require ser (both translated in English as ‘to be’). In an ERP study, we examined whether second language (L2) speakers of Spanish are sensitive to the selectional restrictions that the different types of subjects impose on the choice of the two copulas. Twenty-four native speakers of Spanish and two groups of L2 Spanish speakers (24 beginners and 18 advanced speakers) were recruited to investigate the processing of ‘object/event + estar/ser’ permutations. Participants provided grammaticality judgments on correct (object + estar; event + ser) and incorrect (object + ser; event + estar) sentences while their brain activity was recorded. In line with previous studies (Leone-Fernández, Molinaro, Carreiras, & Barber, 2012; Sera, Gathje, & Pintado, 1999), the results of the grammaticality judgment for the native speakers showed that participants correctly accepted object + estar and event + ser constructions. In addition, while ‘object + ser’ constructions were considered grossly ungrammatical, ‘event + estar’ combinations were perceived as unacceptable to a lesser degree. For these same participants, ERP recording time-locked to the onset of the critical word ‘en’ showed a larger P600 for the ser predicates when the subject was an object than when it was an event (*La silla es en la cocina vs. La fiesta es en la cocina). This P600 effect is consistent with syntactic repair of the defining predicate when it does not fit with the adequate semantic properties of the subject. For estar predicates (La silla está en la cocina vs. *La fiesta está en la cocina), the findings showed a central-frontal negativity between 500–700 ms. Grammaticality judgment data for the L2 speakers of Spanish showed that beginners were significantly less

Modeling Stochastic Complexity in Complex Adaptive Systems: Non-Kolmogorov Probability and the Process Algebra Approach.

PubMed

Sulis, William H

2017-10-01

Walter Freeman III pioneered the application of nonlinear dynamical systems theories and methodologies in his work on mesoscopic brain dynamics.Sadly, mainstream psychology and psychiatry still cling to linear correlation based data analysis techniques, which threaten to subvert the process of experimentation and theory building. In order to progress, it is necessary to develop tools capable of managing the stochastic complexity of complex biopsychosocial systems, which includes multilevel feedback relationships, nonlinear interactions, chaotic dynamics and adaptability. In addition, however, these systems exhibit intrinsic randomness, non-Gaussian probability distributions, non-stationarity, contextuality, and non-Kolmogorov probabilities, as well as the absence of mean and/or variance and conditional probabilities. These properties and their implications for statistical analysis are discussed. An alternative approach, the Process Algebra approach, is described. It is a generative model, capable of generating non-Kolmogorov probabilities. It has proven useful in addressing fundamental problems in quantum mechanics and in the modeling of developing psychosocial systems.

Interactions between visual and semantic processing during object recognition revealed by modulatory effects of age of acquisition.

PubMed

Urooj, Uzma; Cornelissen, Piers L; Simpson, Michael I G; Wheat, Katherine L; Woods, Will; Barca, Laura; Ellis, Andrew W

2014-02-15

The age of acquisition (AoA) of objects and their names is a powerful determinant of processing speed in adulthood, with early-acquired objects being recognized and named faster than late-acquired objects. Previous research using fMRI (Ellis et al., 2006. Traces of vocabulary acquisition in the brain: evidence from covert object naming. NeuroImage 33, 958-968) found that AoA modulated the strength of BOLD responses in both occipital and left anterior temporal cortex during object naming. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to explore in more detail the nature of the influence of AoA on activity in those two regions. Covert object naming recruited a network within the left hemisphere that is familiar from previous research, including visual, left occipito-temporal, anterior temporal and inferior frontal regions. Region of interest (ROI) analyses found that occipital cortex generated a rapid evoked response (~75-200 ms at 0-40 Hz) that peaked at 95 ms but was not modulated by AoA. That response was followed by a complex of later occipital responses that extended from ~300 to 850 ms and were stronger to early- than late-acquired items from ~325 to 675 ms at 10-20 Hz in the induced rather than the evoked component. Left anterior temporal cortex showed an evoked response that occurred significantly later than the first occipital response (~100-400 ms at 0-10 Hz with a peak at 191 ms) and was stronger to early- than late-acquired items from ~100 to 300 ms at 2-12 Hz. A later anterior temporal response from ~550 to 1050 ms at 5-20 Hz was not modulated by AoA. The results indicate that the initial analysis of object forms in visual cortex is not influenced by AoA. A fastforward sweep of activation from occipital and left anterior temporal cortex then results in stronger activation of semantic representations for early- than late-acquired objects. Top-down re-activation of occipital cortex by semantic representations is then greater for early than late acquired objects

A probabilistic framework for identifying biosignatures using Pathway Complexity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Stuart M.; Murray, Alastair R. G.; Cronin, Leroy

2017-11-01

One thing that discriminates living things from inanimate matter is their ability to generate similarly complex or non-random structures in a large abundance. From DNA sequences to folded protein structures, living cells, microbial communities and multicellular structures, the material configurations in biology can easily be distinguished from non-living material assemblies. Many complex artefacts, from ordinary bioproducts to human tools, though they are not living things, are ultimately produced by biological processes-whether those processes occur at the scale of cells or societies, they are the consequences of living systems. While these objects are not living, they cannot randomly form, as they are the product of a biological organism and hence are either technological or cultural biosignatures. A generalized approach that aims to evaluate complex objects as possible biosignatures could be useful to explore the cosmos for new life forms. However, it is not obvious how it might be possible to create such a self-contained approach. This would require us to prove rigorously that a given artefact is too complex to have formed by chance. In this paper, we present a new type of complexity measure, which we call `Pathway Complexity', that allows us not only to threshold the abiotic-biotic divide, but also to demonstrate a probabilistic approach based on object abundance and complexity which can be used to unambiguously assign complex objects as biosignatures. We hope that this approach will not only open up the search for biosignatures beyond the Earth, but also allow us to explore the Earth for new types of biology, and to determine when a complex chemical system discovered in the laboratory could be considered alive. This article is part of the themed issue 'Reconceptualizing the origins of life'.

Bio-objects and the media: the role of communication in bio-objectification processes.

PubMed

Maeseele, Pieter; Allgaier, Joachim; Martinelli, Lucia

2013-06-01

The representation of biological innovations in and through communication and media practices is vital for understanding the nature of "bio-objects" and the process we call "bio-objectification." This paper discusses two ideal-typical analytical approaches based on different underlying communication models, ie, the traditional (science- and media-centered) and media sociological (a multi-layered process involving various social actors in defining the meanings of scientific and technological developments) approach. In this analysis, the latter is not only found to be the most promising approach for understanding the circulation, (re)production, and (re)configuration of meanings of bio-objects, but also to interpret the relationship between media and science. On the basis of a few selected examples, this paper highlights how media function as a primary arena for the (re)production and (re)configuration of scientific and biomedical information with regards to bio-objects in the public sphere in general, and toward decision-makers, interest groups, and the public in specific.

Extracting Spatiotemporal Objects from Raster Data to Represent Physical Features and Analyze Related Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zollweg, J. A.

2017-10-01

Numerous ground-based, airborne, and orbiting platforms provide remotely-sensed data of remarkable spatial resolution at short time intervals. However, this spatiotemporal data is most valuable if it can be processed into information, thereby creating meaning. We live in a world of objects: cars, buildings, farms, etc. On a stormy day, we don't see millions of cubes of atmosphere; we see a thunderstorm `object'. Temporally, we don't see the properties of those individual cubes changing, we see the thunderstorm as a whole evolving and moving. There is a need to represent the bulky, raw spatiotemporal data from remote sensors as a small number of relevant spatiotemporal objects, thereby matching the human brain's perception of the world. This presentation reveals an efficient algorithm and system to extract the objects/features from raster-formatted remotely-sensed data. The system makes use of the Python object-oriented programming language, SciPy/NumPy for matrix manipulation and scientific computation, and export/import to the GeoJSON standard geographic object data format. The example presented will show how thunderstorms can be identified and characterized in a spatiotemporal continuum using a Python program to process raster data from NOAA's High-Resolution Rapid Refresh v2 (HRRRv2) data stream.

Microfluidic-SANS: flow processing of complex fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, Carlos G.; Watanabe, Takaichi; Martel, Anne; Porcar, Lionel; Cabral, João T.

2015-01-01

Understanding and engineering the flow-response of complex and non-Newtonian fluids at a molecular level is a key challenge for their practical utilisation. Here we demonstrate the coupling of microfluidics with small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Microdevices with high neutron transmission (up to 98%), low scattering background (), broad solvent compatibility and high pressure tolerance (~3-15 bar) are rapidly prototyped via frontal photo polymerisation. Scattering from single microchannels of widths down to 60 μm, with beam footprint of 500 μm diameter, was successfully obtained in the scattering vector range 0.01-0.3 Å-1, corresponding to real space dimensions of . We demonstrate our approach by investigating the molecular re-orientation and alignment underpinning the flow response of two model complex fluids, namely cetyl trimethylammonium chloride/pentanol/D2O and sodium lauryl sulfate/octanol/brine lamellar systems. Finally, we assess the applicability and outlook of microfluidic-SANS for high-throughput and flow processing studies, with emphasis of soft matter.

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

PubMed Central

Hauffen, Karin; Bart, Eugene; Brady, Mark; Kersten, Daniel; Hegdé, Jay

2012-01-01

In order to quantitatively study object perception, be it perception by biological systems or by machines, one needs to create objects and object categories with precisely definable, preferably naturalistic, properties1. Furthermore, for studies on perceptual learning, it is useful to create novel objects and object categories (or object classes) with such properties2. Many innovative and useful methods currently exist for creating novel objects and object categories3-6 (also see refs. 7,8). However, generally speaking, the existing methods have three broad types of shortcomings. First, shape variations are generally imposed by the experimenter5,9,10, and may therefore be different from the variability in natural categories, and optimized for a particular recognition algorithm. It would be desirable to have the variations arise independently of the externally imposed constraints. Second, the existing methods have difficulty capturing the shape complexity of natural objects11-13. If the goal is to study natural object perception, it is desirable for objects and object categories to be naturalistic, so as to avoid possible confounds and special cases. Third, it is generally hard to quantitatively measure the available information in the stimuli created by conventional methods. It would be desirable to create objects and object categories where the available information can be precisely measured and, where necessary, systematically manipulated (or 'tuned'). This allows one to formulate the underlying object recognition tasks in quantitative terms. Here we describe a set of algorithms, or methods, that meet all three of the above criteria. Virtual morphogenesis (VM) creates novel, naturalistic virtual 3-D objects called 'digital embryos' by simulating the biological process of embryogenesis14. Virtual phylogenesis (VP) creates novel, naturalistic object categories by simulating the evolutionary process of natural selection9,12,13. Objects and object categories created

Creating objects and object categories for studying perception and perceptual learning.

PubMed

Hauffen, Karin; Bart, Eugene; Brady, Mark; Kersten, Daniel; Hegdé, Jay

2012-11-02

In order to quantitatively study object perception, be it perception by biological systems or by machines, one needs to create objects and object categories with precisely definable, preferably naturalistic, properties. Furthermore, for studies on perceptual learning, it is useful to create novel objects and object categories (or object classes) with such properties. Many innovative and useful methods currently exist for creating novel objects and object categories (also see refs. 7,8). However, generally speaking, the existing methods have three broad types of shortcomings. First, shape variations are generally imposed by the experimenter, and may therefore be different from the variability in natural categories, and optimized for a particular recognition algorithm. It would be desirable to have the variations arise independently of the externally imposed constraints. Second, the existing methods have difficulty capturing the shape complexity of natural objects. If the goal is to study natural object perception, it is desirable for objects and object categories to be naturalistic, so as to avoid possible confounds and special cases. Third, it is generally hard to quantitatively measure the available information in the stimuli created by conventional methods. It would be desirable to create objects and object categories where the available information can be precisely measured and, where necessary, systematically manipulated (or 'tuned'). This allows one to formulate the underlying object recognition tasks in quantitative terms. Here we describe a set of algorithms, or methods, that meet all three of the above criteria. Virtual morphogenesis (VM) creates novel, naturalistic virtual 3-D objects called 'digital embryos' by simulating the biological process of embryogenesis. Virtual phylogenesis (VP) creates novel, naturalistic object categories by simulating the evolutionary process of natural selection. Objects and object categories created by these simulations can

Integration of the Gene Ontology into an object-oriented architecture.

PubMed

Shegogue, Daniel; Zheng, W Jim

2005-05-10

To standardize gene product descriptions, a formal vocabulary defined as the Gene Ontology (GO) has been developed. GO terms have been categorized into biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components. However, there is no single representation that integrates all the terms into one cohesive model. Furthermore, GO definitions have little information explaining the underlying architecture that forms these terms, such as the dynamic and static events occurring in a process. In contrast, object-oriented models have been developed to show dynamic and static events. A portion of the TGF-beta signaling pathway, which is involved in numerous cellular events including cancer, differentiation and development, was used to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating the Gene Ontology into an object-oriented model. Using object-oriented models we have captured the static and dynamic events that occur during a representative GO process, "transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) receptor complex assembly" (GO:0007181). We demonstrate that the utility of GO terms can be enhanced by object-oriented technology, and that the GO terms can be integrated into an object-oriented model by serving as a basis for the generation of object functions and attributes.

Integration of the Gene Ontology into an object-oriented architecture

PubMed Central

Shegogue, Daniel; Zheng, W Jim

2005-01-01

Background To standardize gene product descriptions, a formal vocabulary defined as the Gene Ontology (GO) has been developed. GO terms have been categorized into biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components. However, there is no single representation that integrates all the terms into one cohesive model. Furthermore, GO definitions have little information explaining the underlying architecture that forms these terms, such as the dynamic and static events occurring in a process. In contrast, object-oriented models have been developed to show dynamic and static events. A portion of the TGF-beta signaling pathway, which is involved in numerous cellular events including cancer, differentiation and development, was used to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating the Gene Ontology into an object-oriented model. Results Using object-oriented models we have captured the static and dynamic events that occur during a representative GO process, "transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) receptor complex assembly" (GO:0007181). Conclusion We demonstrate that the utility of GO terms can be enhanced by object-oriented technology, and that the GO terms can be integrated into an object-oriented model by serving as a basis for the generation of object functions and attributes. PMID:15885145

Supercritical separation process for complex organic mixtures

DOEpatents

Chum, Helena L.; Filardo, Giuseppe

1990-01-01

A process is disclosed for separating low molecular weight components from complex aqueous organic mixtures. The process includes preparing a separation solution of supercritical carbon dioxide with an effective amount of an entrainer to modify the solvation power of the supercritical carbon dioxide and extract preselected low molecular weight components. The separation solution is maintained at a temperature of at least about 70.degree. C. and a pressure of at least about 1,500 psi. The separation solution is then contacted with the organic mixtures while maintaining the temperature and pressure as above until the mixtures and solution reach equilibrium to extract the preselected low molecular weight components from the organic mixtures. Finally, the entrainer/extracted components portion of the equilibrium mixture is isolated from the separation solution.

Supercritical separation process for complex organic mixtures

DOEpatents

Chum, H.L.; Filardo, G.

1990-10-23

A process is disclosed for separating low molecular weight components from complex aqueous organic mixtures. The process includes preparing a separation solution of supercritical carbon dioxide with an effective amount of an entrainer to modify the solvation power of the supercritical carbon dioxide and extract preselected low molecular weight components. The separation solution is maintained at a temperature of at least about 70 C and a pressure of at least about 1,500 psi. The separation solution is then contacted with the organic mixtures while maintaining the temperature and pressure as above until the mixtures and solution reach equilibrium to extract the preselected low molecular weight components from the organic mixtures. Finally, the entrainer/extracted components portion of the equilibrium mixture is isolated from the separation solution. 1 fig.

The Benefits of Sensorimotor Knowledge: Body-Object Interaction Facilitates Semantic Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siakaluk, Paul D.; Pexman, Penny M.; Sears, Christopher R.; Wilson, Kim; Locheed, Keri; Owen, William J.

2008-01-01

This article examined the effects of body-object interaction (BOI) on semantic processing. BOI measures perceptions of the ease with which a human body can physically interact with a word's referent. In Experiment 1, BOI effects were examined in 2 semantic categorization tasks (SCT) in which participants decided if words are easily imageable.…

Enhanced and diminished visuo-spatial information processing in autism depends on stimulus complexity.

PubMed

Bertone, Armando; Mottron, Laurent; Jelenic, Patricia; Faubert, Jocelyn

2005-10-01

Visuo-perceptual processing in autism is characterized by intact or enhanced performance on static spatial tasks and inferior performance on dynamic tasks, suggesting a deficit of dorsal visual stream processing in autism. However, previous findings by Bertone et al. indicate that neuro-integrative mechanisms used to detect complex motion, rather than motion perception per se, may be impaired in autism. We present here the first demonstration of concurrent enhanced and decreased performance in autism on the same visuo-spatial static task, wherein the only factor dichotomizing performance was the neural complexity required to discriminate grating orientation. The ability of persons with autism was found to be superior for identifying the orientation of simple, luminance-defined (or first-order) gratings but inferior for complex, texture-defined (or second-order) gratings. Using a flicker contrast sensitivity task, we demonstrated that this finding is probably not due to abnormal information processing at a sub-cortical level (magnocellular and parvocellular functioning). Together, these findings are interpreted as a clear indication of altered low-level perceptual information processing in autism, and confirm that the deficits and assets observed in autistic visual perception are contingent on the complexity of the neural network required to process a given type of visual stimulus. We suggest that atypical neural connectivity, resulting in enhanced lateral inhibition, may account for both enhanced and decreased low-level information processing in autism.

Information Network Model Query Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Xiaopu

Information Networking Model (INM) [31] is a novel database model for real world objects and relationships management. It naturally and directly supports various kinds of static and dynamic relationships between objects. In INM, objects are networked through various natural and complex relationships. INM Query Language (INM-QL) [30] is designed to explore such information network, retrieve information about schema, instance, their attributes, relationships, and context-dependent information, and process query results in the user specified form. INM database management system has been implemented using Berkeley DB, and it supports INM-QL. This thesis is mainly focused on the implementation of the subsystem that is able to effectively and efficiently process INM-QL. The subsystem provides a lexical and syntactical analyzer of INM-QL, and it is able to choose appropriate evaluation strategies and index mechanism to process queries in INM-QL without the user's intervention. It also uses intermediate result structure to hold intermediate query result and other helping structures to reduce complexity of query processing.

Multisensory object perception in infancy: 4-month-olds perceive a mistuned harmonic as a separate auditory and visual object

PubMed Central

A. Smith, Nicholas; A. Folland, Nicholas; Martinez, Diana M.; Trainor, Laurel J.

2017-01-01

Infants learn to use auditory and visual information to organize the sensory world into identifiable objects with particular locations. Here we use a behavioural method to examine infants' use of harmonicity cues to auditory object perception in a multisensory context. Sounds emitted by different objects sum in the air and the auditory system must figure out which parts of the complex waveform belong to different sources (auditory objects). One important cue to this source separation is that complex tones with pitch typically contain a fundamental frequency and harmonics at integer multiples of the fundamental. Consequently, adults hear a mistuned harmonic in a complex sound as a distinct auditory object (Alain et al., 2003). Previous work by our group demonstrated that 4-month-old infants are also sensitive to this cue. They behaviourally discriminate a complex tone with a mistuned harmonic from the same complex with in-tune harmonics, and show an object-related event-related potential (ERP) electrophysiological (EEG) response to the stimulus with mistuned harmonics. In the present study we use an audiovisual procedure to investigate whether infants perceive a complex tone with an 8% mistuned harmonic as emanating from two objects, rather than merely detecting the mistuned cue. We paired in-tune and mistuned complex tones with visual displays that contained either one or two bouncing balls. Four-month-old infants showed surprise at the incongruous pairings, looking longer at the display of two balls when paired with the in-tune complex and at the display of one ball when paired with the mistuned harmonic complex. We conclude that infants use harmonicity as a cue for source separation when integrating auditory and visual information in object perception. PMID:28346869

A versatile petri net based architecture for modeling and simulation of complex biological processes.

PubMed

Nagasaki, Masao; Doi, Atsushi; Matsuno, Hiroshi; Miyano, Satoru

2004-01-01

The research on modeling and simulation of complex biological systems is getting more important in Systems Biology. In this respect, we have developed Hybrid Function Petri net (HFPN) that was newly developed from existing Petri net because of their intuitive graphical representation and their capabilities for mathematical analyses. However, in the process of modeling metabolic, gene regulatory or signal transduction pathways with the architecture, we have realized three extensions of HFPN, (i) an entity should be extended to contain more than one value, (ii) an entity should be extended to handle other primitive types, e.g. boolean, string, (iii) an entity should be extended to handle more advanced type called object that consists of variables and methods, are necessary for modeling biological systems with Petri net based architecture. To deal with it, we define a new enhanced Petri net called hybrid functional Petri net with extension (HFPNe). To demonstrate the effectiveness of the enhancements, we model and simulate with HFPNe four biological processes that are diffcult to represent with the previous architecture HFPN.

Multi-objective optimization in spatial planning: Improving the effectiveness of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karakostas, Spiros

2015-05-01

The multi-objective nature of most spatial planning initiatives and the numerous constraints that are introduced in the planning process by decision makers, stakeholders, etc., synthesize a complex spatial planning context in which the concept of solid and meaningful optimization is a unique challenge. This article investigates new approaches to enhance the effectiveness of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) via the adoption of a well-known metaheuristic: the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). In particular, the contribution of a sophisticated crossover operator coupled with an enhanced initialization heuristic is evaluated against a series of metrics measuring the effectiveness of MOEAs. Encouraging results emerge for both the convergence rate of the evolutionary optimization process and the occupation of valuable regions of the objective space by non-dominated solutions, facilitating the work of spatial planners and decision makers. Based on the promising behaviour of both heuristics, topics for further research are proposed to improve their effectiveness.

Development of Tool Representations in the Dorsal and Ventral Visual Object Processing Pathways.

PubMed

Kersey, Alyssa J; Clark, Tyia S; Lussier, Courtney A; Mahon, Bradford Z; Cantlon, Jessica F

2016-07-01

Tools represent a special class of objects, because they are processed across both the dorsal and ventral visual object processing pathways. Three core regions are known to be involved in tool processing: the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, the medial fusiform gyrus (bilaterally), and the left inferior parietal lobule. A critical and relatively unexplored issue concerns whether, in development, tool preferences emerge at the same time and to a similar degree across all regions of the tool-processing network. To test this issue, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure the neural amplitude, peak location, and the dispersion of tool-related neural responses in the youngest sample of children tested to date in this domain (ages 4-8 years). We show that children recruit overlapping regions of the adult tool-processing network and also exhibit similar patterns of co-activation across the network to adults. The amplitude and co-activation data show that the core components of the tool-processing network are established by age 4. Our findings on the distributions of peak location and dispersion of activation indicate that the tool network undergoes refinement between ages 4 and 8 years. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Simplifying the complexity surrounding ICU work processes--identifying the scope for information management in ICU settings.

PubMed

Munir, Samina K; Kay, Stephen

2005-08-01

A multi-site study, conducted in two English and two Danish intensive care units, investigates the complexity of work processes in intensive care, and the implications of this complexity for information management with regards to clinical information systems. Data were collected via observations, shadowing of clinical staff, interviews and questionnaires. The construction of role activity diagrams enabled the capture of critical care work processes. Upon analysing these diagrams, it was found that intensive care work processes consist of 'simplified-complexity', these processes are changed with the introduction of information systems for the everyday use and management of all clinical information. The prevailing notion of complexity surrounding critical care clinical work processes was refuted and found to be misleading; in reality, it is not the work processes that cause the complexity, the complexity is rooted in the way in which clinical information is used and managed. This study emphasises that the potential for clinical information systems that consider integrating all clinical information requirements is not only immense but also very plausible.

Feature integration and object representations along the dorsal stream visual hierarchy

PubMed Central

Perry, Carolyn Jeane; Fallah, Mazyar

2014-01-01

The visual system is split into two processing streams: a ventral stream that receives color and form information and a dorsal stream that receives motion information. Each stream processes that information hierarchically, with each stage building upon the previous. In the ventral stream this leads to the formation of object representations that ultimately allow for object recognition regardless of changes in the surrounding environment. In the dorsal stream, this hierarchical processing has classically been thought to lead to the computation of complex motion in three dimensions. However, there is evidence to suggest that there is integration of both dorsal and ventral stream information into motion computation processes, giving rise to intermediate object representations, which facilitate object selection and decision making mechanisms in the dorsal stream. First we review the hierarchical processing of motion along the dorsal stream and the building up of object representations along the ventral stream. Then we discuss recent work on the integration of ventral and dorsal stream features that lead to intermediate object representations in the dorsal stream. Finally we propose a framework describing how and at what stage different features are integrated into dorsal visual stream object representations. Determining the integration of features along the dorsal stream is necessary to understand not only how the dorsal stream builds up an object representation but also which computations are performed on object representations instead of local features. PMID:25140147

3-D Object Pose Determination Using Complex EGI

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-10-01

the length of edges of the polyhedron from the EGI. Dane and Bajcsy [4] make use of the Gaussian Image to spatially segment a group of range points...involving real range data of two smooth objects were conducted. The two smooth objects are the torus and ellipsoid, whose databases have been created...in the simulations earlier. 5.0.1 Implementational Issues The torus and ellipsoid were crafted out of clay to resemble the models whose databases were

Feedforward object-vision models only tolerate small image variations compared to human

PubMed Central

Ghodrati, Masoud; Farzmahdi, Amirhossein; Rajaei, Karim; Ebrahimpour, Reza; Khaligh-Razavi, Seyed-Mahdi

2014-01-01

Invariant object recognition is a remarkable ability of primates' visual system that its underlying mechanism has constantly been under intense investigations. Computational modeling is a valuable tool toward understanding the processes involved in invariant object recognition. Although recent computational models have shown outstanding performances on challenging image databases, they fail to perform well in image categorization under more complex image variations. Studies have shown that making sparse representation of objects by extracting more informative visual features through a feedforward sweep can lead to higher recognition performances. Here, however, we show that when the complexity of image variations is high, even this approach results in poor performance compared to humans. To assess the performance of models and humans in invariant object recognition tasks, we built a parametrically controlled image database consisting of several object categories varied in different dimensions and levels, rendered from 3D planes. Comparing the performance of several object recognition models with human observers shows that only in low-level image variations the models perform similar to humans in categorization tasks. Furthermore, the results of our behavioral experiments demonstrate that, even under difficult experimental conditions (i.e., briefly presented masked stimuli with complex image variations), human observers performed outstandingly well, suggesting that the models are still far from resembling humans in invariant object recognition. Taken together, we suggest that learning sparse informative visual features, although desirable, is not a complete solution for future progresses in object-vision modeling. We show that this approach is not of significant help in solving the computational crux of object recognition (i.e., invariant object recognition) when the identity-preserving image variations become more complex. PMID:25100986

Electromagnetic Scattering by a Morphologically Complex Object: Fundamental Concepts and Common Misconceptions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mischenko, Michael I.; Travis, Larry D.; Cairns, Brian; Tishkovets, Victor P.; Dlugach, Janna M.; Rosenbush, Vera K.; Kiselev, Nikolai N.

2011-01-01

Following Keller(Proc Symp Appl Math 1962;13:227:46), we classify all theoretical treatments of electromagnetic scattering by a morphologically complex object into first- principle (or "honest" in Keller s terminology) and phenomenological (or "dishonest") categories. This helps us identify, analyze, and dispel several profound misconceptions widespread in the discipline of electromagnetic scattering by solitary particles and discrete random media. Our goal is not to call for a complete renunciation of phenomenological approaches but rather to encourage a critical and careful evaluation of their actual origin, virtues, and limitations. In other words, we do not intend to deter creative thinking in terms of phenomenological short-cuts, but we do want to raise awareness when we stray (often for practical reasons) from the fundamentals. The main results and conclusions are illustrated by numerically-exact data based on direct numerical solutions of the macroscopic Maxwell equations.

Object-oriented fault tree evaluation program for quantitative analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson-Hine, F. A.; Koen, B. V.

1988-01-01

Object-oriented programming can be combined with fault free techniques to give a significantly improved environment for evaluating the safety and reliability of large complex systems for space missions. Deep knowledge about system components and interactions, available from reliability studies and other sources, can be described using objects that make up a knowledge base. This knowledge base can be interrogated throughout the design process, during system testing, and during operation, and can be easily modified to reflect design changes in order to maintain a consistent information source. An object-oriented environment for reliability assessment has been developed on a Texas Instrument (TI) Explorer LISP workstation. The program, which directly evaluates system fault trees, utilizes the object-oriented extension to LISP called Flavors that is available on the Explorer. The object representation of a fault tree facilitates the storage and retrieval of information associated with each event in the tree, including tree structural information and intermediate results obtained during the tree reduction process. Reliability data associated with each basic event are stored in the fault tree objects. The object-oriented environment on the Explorer also includes a graphical tree editor which was modified to display and edit the fault trees.

Clinical Complexity in Medicine: A Measurement Model of Task and Patient Complexity.

PubMed

Islam, R; Weir, C; Del Fiol, G

2016-01-01

Complexity in medicine needs to be reduced to simple components in a way that is comprehensible to researchers and clinicians. Few studies in the current literature propose a measurement model that addresses both task and patient complexity in medicine. The objective of this paper is to develop an integrated approach to understand and measure clinical complexity by incorporating both task and patient complexity components focusing on the infectious disease domain. The measurement model was adapted and modified for the healthcare domain. Three clinical infectious disease teams were observed, audio-recorded and transcribed. Each team included an infectious diseases expert, one infectious diseases fellow, one physician assistant and one pharmacy resident fellow. The transcripts were parsed and the authors independently coded complexity attributes. This baseline measurement model of clinical complexity was modified in an initial set of coding processes and further validated in a consensus-based iterative process that included several meetings and email discussions by three clinical experts from diverse backgrounds from the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Utah. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using Cohen's kappa. The proposed clinical complexity model consists of two separate components. The first is a clinical task complexity model with 13 clinical complexity-contributing factors and 7 dimensions. The second is the patient complexity model with 11 complexity-contributing factors and 5 dimensions. The measurement model for complexity encompassing both task and patient complexity will be a valuable resource for future researchers and industry to measure and understand complexity in healthcare.

Simulation and fitting of complex reaction network TPR: The key is the objective function

DOE PAGES

Savara, Aditya Ashi

2016-07-07

In this research, a method has been developed for finding improved fits during simulation and fitting of data from complex reaction network temperature programmed reactions (CRN-TPR). It was found that simulation and fitting of CRN-TPR presents additional challenges relative to simulation and fitting of simpler TPR systems. The method used here can enable checking the plausibility of proposed chemical mechanisms and kinetic models. The most important finding was that when choosing an objective function, use of an objective function that is based on integrated production provides more utility in finding improved fits when compared to an objective function based onmore » the rate of production. The response surface produced by using the integrated production is monotonic, suppresses effects from experimental noise, requires fewer points to capture the response behavior, and can be simulated numerically with smaller errors. For CRN-TPR, there is increased importance (relative to simple reaction network TPR) in resolving of peaks prior to fitting, as well as from weighting of experimental data points. Using an implicit ordinary differential equation solver was found to be inadequate for simulating CRN-TPR. Lastly, the method employed here was capable of attaining improved fits in simulation and fitting of CRN-TPR when starting with a postulated mechanism and physically realistic initial guesses for the kinetic parameters.« less

A visual short-term memory advantage for objects of expertise

PubMed Central

Curby, Kim M.; Glazek, Kuba; Gauthier, Isabel

2014-01-01

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is limited, especially for complex objects. Its capacity, however, is greater for faces than for other objects, an advantage that may stem from the holistic nature of face processing. If the holistic processing explains this advantage, then object expertise—which also relies on holistic processing—should endow experts with a VSTM advantage. We compared VSTM for cars among car experts to that among car novices. Car experts, but not car novices, demonstrated a VSTM advantage similar to that for faces; this advantage was orientation-specific and was correlated with an individual's level of car expertise. Control experiments ruled out accounts based solely on verbal- or long-term memory representations. These findings suggest that the processing advantages afforded by visual expertise result in domain-specific increases in VSTM capacity, perhaps by allowing experts to maximize the use of an inherently limited VSTM system. PMID:19170473

Fast neuromimetic object recognition using FPGA outperforms GPU implementations.

PubMed

Orchard, Garrick; Martin, Jacob G; Vogelstein, R Jacob; Etienne-Cummings, Ralph

2013-08-01

Recognition of objects in still images has traditionally been regarded as a difficult computational problem. Although modern automated methods for visual object recognition have achieved steadily increasing recognition accuracy, even the most advanced computational vision approaches are unable to obtain performance equal to that of humans. This has led to the creation of many biologically inspired models of visual object recognition, among them the hierarchical model and X (HMAX) model. HMAX is traditionally known to achieve high accuracy in visual object recognition tasks at the expense of significant computational complexity. Increasing complexity, in turn, increases computation time, reducing the number of images that can be processed per unit time. In this paper we describe how the computationally intensive and biologically inspired HMAX model for visual object recognition can be modified for implementation on a commercial field-programmable aate Array, specifically the Xilinx Virtex 6 ML605 evaluation board with XC6VLX240T FPGA. We show that with minor modifications to the traditional HMAX model we can perform recognition on images of size 128 × 128 pixels at a rate of 190 images per second with a less than 1% loss in recognition accuracy in both binary and multiclass visual object recognition tasks.

Managing complexity in simulations of land surface and near-surface processes

DOE PAGES

Coon, Ethan T.; Moulton, J. David; Painter, Scott L.

2016-01-12

Increasing computing power and the growing role of simulation in Earth systems science have led to an increase in the number and complexity of processes in modern simulators. We present a multiphysics framework that specifies interfaces for coupled processes and automates weak and strong coupling strategies to manage this complexity. Process management is enabled by viewing the system of equations as a tree, where individual equations are associated with leaf nodes and coupling strategies with internal nodes. A dynamically generated dependency graph connects a variable to its dependencies, streamlining and automating model evaluation, easing model development, and ensuring models aremore » modular and flexible. Additionally, the dependency graph is used to ensure that data requirements are consistent between all processes in a given simulation. Here we discuss the design and implementation of these concepts within the Arcos framework, and demonstrate their use for verification testing and hypothesis evaluation in numerical experiments.« less

Heuristics in Managing Complex Clinical Decision Tasks in Experts’ Decision Making

PubMed Central

Islam, Roosan; Weir, Charlene; Del Fiol, Guilherme

2016-01-01

Background Clinical decision support is a tool to help experts make optimal and efficient decisions. However, little is known about the high level of abstractions in the thinking process for the experts. Objective The objective of the study is to understand how clinicians manage complexity while dealing with complex clinical decision tasks. Method After approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), three clinical experts were interviewed the transcripts from these interviews were analyzed. Results We found five broad categories of strategies by experts for managing complex clinical decision tasks: decision conflict, mental projection, decision trade-offs, managing uncertainty and generating rule of thumb. Conclusion Complexity is created by decision conflicts, mental projection, limited options and treatment uncertainty. Experts cope with complexity in a variety of ways, including using efficient and fast decision strategies to simplify complex decision tasks, mentally simulating outcomes and focusing on only the most relevant information. Application Understanding complex decision making processes can help design allocation based on the complexity of task for clinical decision support design. PMID:27275019

Object width modulates object-based attentional selection.

PubMed

Nah, Joseph C; Neppi-Modona, Marco; Strother, Lars; Behrmann, Marlene; Shomstein, Sarah

2018-04-24

Visual input typically includes a myriad of objects, some of which are selected for further processing. While these objects vary in shape and size, most evidence supporting object-based guidance of attention is drawn from paradigms employing two identical objects. Importantly, object size is a readily perceived stimulus dimension, and whether it modulates the distribution of attention remains an open question. Across four experiments, the size of the objects in the display was manipulated in a modified version of the two-rectangle paradigm. In Experiment 1, two identical parallel rectangles of two sizes (thin or thick) were presented. Experiments 2-4 employed identical trapezoids (each having a thin and thick end), inverted in orientation. In the experiments, one end of an object was cued and participants performed either a T/L discrimination or a simple target-detection task. Combined results show that, in addition to the standard object-based attentional advantage, there was a further attentional benefit for processing information contained in the thick versus thin end of objects. Additionally, eye-tracking measures demonstrated increased saccade precision towards thick object ends, suggesting that Fitts's Law may play a role in object-based attentional shifts. Taken together, these results suggest that object-based attentional selection is modulated by object width.

A cultural side effect: learning to read interferes with identity processing of familiar objects

PubMed Central

Kolinsky, Régine; Fernandes, Tânia

2014-01-01

Based on the neuronal recycling hypothesis (Dehaene and Cohen, 2007), we examined whether reading acquisition has a cost for the recognition of non-linguistic visual materials. More specifically, we checked whether the ability to discriminate between mirror images, which develops through literacy acquisition, interferes with object identity judgments, and whether interference strength varies as a function of the nature of the non-linguistic material. To these aims we presented illiterate, late literate (who learned to read at adult age), and early literate adults with an orientation-independent, identity-based same-different comparison task in which they had to respond “same” to both physically identical and mirrored or plane-rotated images of pictures of familiar objects (Experiment 1) or of geometric shapes (Experiment 2). Interference from irrelevant orientation variations was stronger with plane rotations than with mirror images, and stronger with geometric shapes than with objects. Illiterates were the only participants almost immune to mirror variations, but only for familiar objects. Thus, the process of unlearning mirror-image generalization, necessary to acquire literacy in the Latin alphabet, has a cost for a basic function of the visual ventral object recognition stream, i.e., identification of familiar objects. This demonstrates that neural recycling is not just an adaptation to multi-use but a process of at least partial exaptation. PMID:25400605

Multi-Scale and Object-Oriented Analysis for Mountain Terrain Segmentation and Geomorphological Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marston, B. K.; Bishop, M. P.; Shroder, J. F.

2009-12-01

Digital terrain analysis of mountain topography is widely utilized for mapping landforms, assessing the role of surface processes in landscape evolution, and estimating the spatial variation of erosion. Numerous geomorphometry techniques exist to characterize terrain surface parameters, although their utility to characterize the spatial hierarchical structure of the topography and permit an assessment of the erosion/tectonic impact on the landscape is very limited due to scale and data integration issues. To address this problem, we apply scale-dependent geomorphometric and object-oriented analyses to characterize the hierarchical spatial structure of mountain topography. Specifically, we utilized a high resolution digital elevation model to characterize complex topography in the Shimshal Valley in the Western Himalaya of Pakistan. To accomplish this, we generate terrain objects (geomorphological features and landform) including valley floors and walls, drainage basins, drainage network, ridge network, slope facets, and elemental forms based upon curvature. Object-oriented analysis was used to characterize object properties accounting for object size, shape, and morphometry. The spatial overlay and integration of terrain objects at various scales defines the nature of the hierarchical organization. Our results indicate that variations in the spatial complexity of the terrain hierarchical organization is related to the spatio-temporal influence of surface processes and landscape evolution dynamics. Terrain segmentation and the integration of multi-scale terrain information permits further assessment of process domains and erosion, tectonic impact potential, and natural hazard potential. We demonstrate this with landform mapping and geomorphological assessment examples.

Object Processing in Visual Perception and Action in Children and Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schum, Nina; Franz, Volker H.; Jovanovic, Bianca; Schwarzer, Gudrun

2012-01-01

We investigated whether 6- and 7-year-olds and 9- and 10-year-olds, as well as adults, process object dimensions independent of or in interaction with one another in a perception and action task by adapting Ganel and Goodale's method for testing adults ("Nature", 2003, Vol. 426, pp. 664-667). In addition, we aimed to confirm Ganel and Goodale's…

Object Management Group object transaction service based on an X/Open and International Organization for Standardization open systems interconnection transaction processing kernel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, J.; Sédillot, S.; Traverson, B.

1997-09-01

This paper addresses federation of a transactional object standard - Object Management Group (OMG) object transaction service (OTS) - with the X/Open distributed transaction processing (DTP) model and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) open systems interconnection (OSI) transaction processing (TP) communication protocol. The two-phase commit propagation rules within a distributed transaction tree are similar in the X/Open, ISO and OMG models. Building an OTS on an OSI TP protocol machine is possible because the two specifications are somewhat complementary. OTS defines a set of external interfaces without specific internal protocol machine, while OSI TP specifies an internal protocol machine without any application programming interface. Given these observations, and having already implemented an X/Open two-phase commit transaction toolkit based on an OSI TP protocol machine, we analyse the feasibility of using this implementation as a transaction service provider for OMG interfaces. Based on the favourable result of this feasibility study, we are implementing an OTS compliant system, which, by initiating the extensibility and openness strengths of OSI TP, is able to provide interoperability between X/Open DTP and OMG OTS models.

Contributions of Low and High Spatial Frequency Processing to Impaired Object Recognition Circuitry in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Calderone, Daniel J.; Hoptman, Matthew J.; Martínez, Antígona; Nair-Collins, Sangeeta; Mauro, Cristina J.; Bar, Moshe; Javitt, Daniel C.; Butler, Pamela D.

2013-01-01

Patients with schizophrenia exhibit cognitive and sensory impairment, and object recognition deficits have been linked to sensory deficits. The “frame and fill” model of object recognition posits that low spatial frequency (LSF) information rapidly reaches the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and creates a general shape of an object that feeds back to the ventral temporal cortex to assist object recognition. Visual dysfunction findings in schizophrenia suggest a preferential loss of LSF information. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) to investigate the contribution of visual deficits to impaired object “framing” circuitry in schizophrenia. Participants were shown object stimuli that were intact or contained only LSF or high spatial frequency (HSF) information. For controls, fMRI revealed preferential activation to LSF information in precuneus, superior temporal, and medial and dorsolateral PFC areas, whereas patients showed a preference for HSF information or no preference. RSFC revealed a lack of connectivity between early visual areas and PFC for patients. These results demonstrate impaired processing of LSF information during object recognition in schizophrenia, with patients instead displaying increased processing of HSF information. This is consistent with findings of a preference for local over global visual information in schizophrenia. PMID:22735157

Forest, Trees, Dynamics: Results from a Novel Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Variant Protocol for Studying Global-Local Attention and Complex Cognitive Processes

PubMed Central

Cowley, Benjamin; Lukander, Kristian

2016-01-01

Background: Recognition of objects and their context relies heavily on the integrated functioning of global and local visual processing. In a realistic setting such as work, this processing becomes a sustained activity, implying a consequent interaction with executive functions. Motivation: There have been many studies of either global-local attention or executive functions; however it is relatively novel to combine these processes to study a more ecological form of attention. We aim to explore the phenomenon of global-local processing during a task requiring sustained attention and working memory. Methods: We develop and test a novel protocol for global-local dissociation, with task structure including phases of divided (“rule search”) and selective (“rule found”) attention, based on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). We test it in a laboratory study with 25 participants, and report on behavior measures (physiological data was also gathered, but not reported here). We develop novel stimuli with more naturalistic levels of information and noise, based primarily on face photographs, with consequently more ecological validity. Results: We report behavioral results indicating that sustained difficulty when participants test their hypotheses impacts matching-task performance, and diminishes the global precedence effect. Results also show a dissociation between subjectively experienced difficulty and objective dimension of performance, and establish the internal validity of the protocol. Contribution: We contribute an advance in the state of the art for testing global-local attention processes in concert with complex cognition. With three results we establish a connection between global-local dissociation and aspects of complex cognition. Our protocol also improves ecological validity and opens options for testing additional interactions in future work. PMID:26941689

Using Risk Assessment Methodologies to Meet Management Objectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeMott, D. L.

2015-01-01

Corporate and program objectives focus on desired performance and results. ?Management decisions that affect how to meet these objectives now involve a complex mix of: technology, safety issues, operations, process considerations, employee considerations, regulatory requirements, financial concerns and legal issues. ?Risk Assessments are a tool for decision makers to understand potential consequences and be in a position to reduce, mitigate or eliminate costly mistakes or catastrophic failures. Using a risk assessment methodology is only a starting point. ?A risk assessment program provides management with important input in the decision making process. ?A pro-active organization looks to the future to avoid problems, a reactive organization can be blindsided by risks that could have been avoided. ?You get out what you put in, how useful your program is will be up to the individual organization.

The evolution of meaning: spatio-temporal dynamics of visual object recognition.

PubMed

Clarke, Alex; Taylor, Kirsten I; Tyler, Lorraine K

2011-08-01

Research on the spatio-temporal dynamics of visual object recognition suggests a recurrent, interactive model whereby an initial feedforward sweep through the ventral stream to prefrontal cortex is followed by recurrent interactions. However, critical questions remain regarding the factors that mediate the degree of recurrent interactions necessary for meaningful object recognition. The novel prediction we test here is that recurrent interactivity is driven by increasing semantic integration demands as defined by the complexity of semantic information required by the task and driven by the stimuli. To test this prediction, we recorded magnetoencephalography data while participants named living and nonliving objects during two naming tasks. We found that the spatio-temporal dynamics of neural activity were modulated by the level of semantic integration required. Specifically, source reconstructed time courses and phase synchronization measures showed increased recurrent interactions as a function of semantic integration demands. These findings demonstrate that the cortical dynamics of object processing are modulated by the complexity of semantic information required from the visual input.

Petri net model for analysis of concurrently processed complex algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoughton, John W.; Mielke, Roland R.

1986-01-01

This paper presents a Petri-net model suitable for analyzing the concurrent processing of computationally complex algorithms. The decomposed operations are to be processed in a multiple processor, data driven architecture. Of particular interest is the application of the model to both the description of the data/control flow of a particular algorithm, and to the general specification of the data driven architecture. A candidate architecture is also presented.

MTR AND ETR COMPLEXES. CAMERA FACING EASTERLY TOWARD CHEMICAL PROCESSING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

MTR AND ETR COMPLEXES. CAMERA FACING EASTERLY TOWARD CHEMICAL PROCESSING PLANT. MTR AND ITS ATTACHMENTS IN FOREGROUND. ETR BEYOND TO RIGHT. INL NEGATIVE NO. 56-4100. - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Test Reactor Area, Materials & Engineering Test Reactors, Scoville, Butte County, ID

New process for preparing complex-shaped dielectric film similar to Mylar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagasse, R. R.; Kraynik, A. M.

1982-02-01

A new thermoforming/heat-treatment process yields complex-shaped dielectric film having electrical and shrinkage properties similar to those of flat Mylar film. This similarity should extend to other physical properties because the new process is directly analogous to the process used to prepare Mylar. Commercially available poly(ethylene terephthalate) film is formed into a cavity at approx. 110 C and then heat treated at approx. 180 C. A laboratory-scale forming apparatus has produced cylindrically shaped films having depth/diameter ratio approx. 1, a tapered wall-section, and variation in wall thickness of 3X. Evaluation of other forming methods suggest that the production rate and thickness uniformity can be improved with existing technology. Thermal shrinkage at 150 C, 1 kHz dielectric constant from -55 to +70 C, leakage current at 1 kV, and breakdown voltage have been measured for both the complex-shaped film and Mylar.

Operation room tool handling and miscommunication scenarios: an object-process methodology conceptual model.

PubMed

Wachs, Juan P; Frenkel, Boaz; Dori, Dov

2014-11-01

Errors in the delivery of medical care are the principal cause of inpatient mortality and morbidity, accounting for around 98,000 deaths in the United States of America (USA) annually. Ineffective team communication, especially in the operation room (OR), is a major root of these errors. This miscommunication can be reduced by analyzing and constructing a conceptual model of communication and miscommunication in the OR. We introduce the principles underlying Object-Process Methodology (OPM)-based modeling of the intricate interactions between the surgeon and the surgical technician while handling surgical instruments in the OR. This model is a software- and hardware-independent description of the agents engaged in communication events, their physical activities, and their interactions. The model enables assessing whether the task-related objectives of the surgical procedure were achieved and completed successfully and what errors can occur during the communication. The facts used to construct the model were gathered from observations of various types of operations miscommunications in the operating room and its outcomes. The model takes advantage of the compact ontology of OPM, which is comprised of stateful objects - things that exist physically or informatically, and processes - things that transform objects by creating them, consuming them or changing their state. The modeled communication modalities are verbal and non-verbal, and errors are modeled as processes that deviate from the "sunny day" scenario. Using OPM refinement mechanism of in-zooming, key processes are drilled into and elaborated, along with the objects that are required as agents or instruments, or objects that these processes transform. The model was developed through an iterative process of observation, modeling, group discussions, and simplification. The model faithfully represents the processes related to tool handling that take place in an OR during an operation. The specification is at

Complex organic matter in space: about the chemical composition of carriers of the Unidentified Infrared Bands (UIBs) and protoplanetary emission spectra recorded from certain astrophysical objects.

PubMed

Cataldo, Franco; Keheyan, Yeghis; Heymann, Dieter

2004-02-01

In this communication we present the basic concept that the pure PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) can be considered only the ideal carriers of the UIBs (Unidentified Infrared Bands), the emission spectra coming from a large variety of astronomical objects. Instead we have proposed that the carriers of UIBs and of protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe) emission spectra are much more complex molecular mixtures possessing also complex chemical structures comparable to certain petroleum fractions obtained from the petroleum refining processes. The demonstration of our proposal is based on the comparison between the emission spectra recorded from the protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe) IRAS 22272+ 5435 and the infrared absorption spectra of certain 'heavy' petroleum fractions. It is shown that the best match with the reference spectrum is achieved by highly aromatic petroleum fractions. It is shown that the selected petroleum fractions used in the present study are able to match the band pattern of anthracite coal. Coal has been proposed previously as a model for the PPNe and UIBs but presents some drawbacks which could be overcome by adopting the petroleum fractions as model for PPNe and UIBs in place of coal. A brief discussion on the formation of the petroleum-like fractions in PPNe objects is included.

Multiple-Objective Stepwise Calibration Using Luca

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hay, Lauren E.; Umemoto, Makiko

2007-01-01

This report documents Luca (Let us calibrate), a multiple-objective, stepwise, automated procedure for hydrologic model calibration and the associated graphical user interface (GUI). Luca is a wizard-style user-friendly GUI that provides an easy systematic way of building and executing a calibration procedure. The calibration procedure uses the Shuffled Complex Evolution global search algorithm to calibrate any model compiled with the U.S. Geological Survey's Modular Modeling System. This process assures that intermediate and final states of the model are simulated consistently with measured values.

Crystallization process of a three-dimensional complex plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinmüller, Benjamin; Dietz, Christopher; Kretschmer, Michael; Thoma, Markus H.

2018-05-01

Characteristic timescales and length scales for phase transitions of real materials are in ranges where a direct visualization is unfeasible. Therefore, model systems can be useful. Here, the crystallization process of a three-dimensional complex plasma under gravity conditions is considered where the system ranges up to a large extent into the bulk plasma. Time-resolved measurements exhibit the process down to a single-particle level. Primary clusters, consisting of particles in the solid state, grow vertically and, secondarily, horizontally. The box-counting method shows a fractal dimension of df≈2.72 for the clusters. This value gives a hint that the formation process is a combination of local epitaxial and diffusion-limited growth. The particle density and the interparticle distance to the nearest neighbor remain constant within the clusters during crystallization. All results are in good agreement with former observations of a single-particle layer.

Activation of response force by self-splitting objects: where are the limits of feedforward Gestalt processing?

PubMed

Schmidt, Filipp; Weber, Andreas; Schmidt, Thomas

2014-08-21

Most objects can be recognized easily even when they are partly occluded. This also holds when several overlapping objects share the same surface features (self-splitting objects) which is an illustration of the grouping principle of Good Gestalt. We employed outline and filled contour stimuli in a primed flanker task to test whether the processing of self-splitting objects is in accordance with a simple feedforward model. We obtained priming effects in response time and response force for both types of stimuli, even when increasing the number of occluders up to three. The results for outline contours were in full accordance with a feedforward account. This was not the case for the results for filled contours (i.e., for self-splitting objects), especially under conditions of strong occlusion. We conclude that the implementation of the Good Gestalt principle is fast but still based on recurrent processing. © 2014 ARVO.

A foundational methodology for determining system static complexity using notional lunar oxygen production processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Nicholas James

This thesis serves to develop a preliminary foundational methodology for evaluating the static complexity of future lunar oxygen production systems when extensive information is not yet available about the various systems under consideration. Evaluating static complexity, as part of a overall system complexity analysis, is an important consideration in ultimately selecting a process to be used in a lunar base. When system complexity is higher, there is generally an overall increase in risk which could impact the safety of astronauts and the economic performance of the mission. To evaluate static complexity in lunar oxygen production, static complexity is simplified and defined into its essential components. First, three essential dimensions of static complexity are investigated, including interconnective complexity, strength of connections, and complexity in variety. Then a set of methods is developed upon which to separately evaluate each dimension. Q-connectivity analysis is proposed as a means to evaluate interconnective complexity and strength of connections. The law of requisite variety originating from cybernetic theory is suggested to interpret complexity in variety. Secondly, a means to aggregate the results of each analysis is proposed to create holistic measurement for static complexity using the Single Multi-Attribute Ranking Technique (SMART). Each method of static complexity analysis and the aggregation technique is demonstrated using notional data for four lunar oxygen production processes.

Improving CNN Performance Accuracies With Min-Max Objective.

PubMed

Shi, Weiwei; Gong, Yihong; Tao, Xiaoyu; Wang, Jinjun; Zheng, Nanning

2017-06-09

We propose a novel method for improving performance accuracies of convolutional neural network (CNN) without the need to increase the network complexity. We accomplish the goal by applying the proposed Min-Max objective to a layer below the output layer of a CNN model in the course of training. The Min-Max objective explicitly ensures that the feature maps learned by a CNN model have the minimum within-manifold distance for each object manifold and the maximum between-manifold distances among different object manifolds. The Min-Max objective is general and able to be applied to different CNNs with insignificant increases in computation cost. Moreover, an incremental minibatch training procedure is also proposed in conjunction with the Min-Max objective to enable the handling of large-scale training data. Comprehensive experimental evaluations on several benchmark data sets with both the image classification and face verification tasks reveal that employing the proposed Min-Max objective in the training process can remarkably improve performance accuracies of a CNN model in comparison with the same model trained without using this objective.

Visual Complexity and Affect: Ratings Reflect More Than Meets the Eye.

PubMed

Madan, Christopher R; Bayer, Janine; Gamer, Matthias; Lonsdorf, Tina B; Sommer, Tobias

2017-01-01

Pictorial stimuli can vary on many dimensions, several aspects of which are captured by the term 'visual complexity.' Visual complexity can be described as, "a picture of a few objects, colors, or structures would be less complex than a very colorful picture of many objects that is composed of several components." Prior studies have reported a relationship between affect and visual complexity, where complex pictures are rated as more pleasant and arousing. However, a relationship in the opposite direction, an effect of affect on visual complexity, is also possible; emotional arousal and valence are known to influence selective attention and visual processing. In a series of experiments, we found that ratings of visual complexity correlated with affective ratings, and independently also with computational measures of visual complexity. These computational measures did not correlate with affect, suggesting that complexity ratings are separately related to distinct factors. We investigated the relationship between affect and ratings of visual complexity, finding an 'arousal-complexity bias' to be a robust phenomenon. Moreover, we found this bias could be attenuated when explicitly indicated but did not correlate with inter-individual difference measures of affective processing, and was largely unrelated to cognitive and eyetracking measures. Taken together, the arousal-complexity bias seems to be caused by a relationship between arousal and visual processing as it has been described for the greater vividness of arousing pictures. The described arousal-complexity bias is also of relevance from an experimental perspective because visual complexity is often considered a variable to control for when using pictorial stimuli.

Visual Complexity and Affect: Ratings Reflect More Than Meets the Eye

PubMed Central

Madan, Christopher R.; Bayer, Janine; Gamer, Matthias; Lonsdorf, Tina B.; Sommer, Tobias

2018-01-01

Pictorial stimuli can vary on many dimensions, several aspects of which are captured by the term ‘visual complexity.’ Visual complexity can be described as, “a picture of a few objects, colors, or structures would be less complex than a very colorful picture of many objects that is composed of several components.” Prior studies have reported a relationship between affect and visual complexity, where complex pictures are rated as more pleasant and arousing. However, a relationship in the opposite direction, an effect of affect on visual complexity, is also possible; emotional arousal and valence are known to influence selective attention and visual processing. In a series of experiments, we found that ratings of visual complexity correlated with affective ratings, and independently also with computational measures of visual complexity. These computational measures did not correlate with affect, suggesting that complexity ratings are separately related to distinct factors. We investigated the relationship between affect and ratings of visual complexity, finding an ‘arousal-complexity bias’ to be a robust phenomenon. Moreover, we found this bias could be attenuated when explicitly indicated but did not correlate with inter-individual difference measures of affective processing, and was largely unrelated to cognitive and eyetracking measures. Taken together, the arousal-complexity bias seems to be caused by a relationship between arousal and visual processing as it has been described for the greater vividness of arousing pictures. The described arousal-complexity bias is also of relevance from an experimental perspective because visual complexity is often considered a variable to control for when using pictorial stimuli. PMID:29403412

An eye-tracking paradigm for analyzing the processing time of sentences with different linguistic complexities.

PubMed

Wendt, Dorothea; Brand, Thomas; Kollmeier, Birger

2014-01-01

An eye-tracking paradigm was developed for use in audiology in order to enable online analysis of the speech comprehension process. This paradigm should be useful in assessing impediments in speech processing. In this paradigm, two scenes, a target picture and a competitor picture, were presented simultaneously with an aurally presented sentence that corresponded to the target picture. At the same time, eye fixations were recorded using an eye-tracking device. The effect of linguistic complexity on language processing time was assessed from eye fixation information by systematically varying linguistic complexity. This was achieved with a sentence corpus containing seven German sentence structures. A novel data analysis method computed the average tendency to fixate the target picture as a function of time during sentence processing. This allowed identification of the point in time at which the participant understood the sentence, referred to as the decision moment. Systematic differences in processing time were observed as a function of linguistic complexity. These differences in processing time may be used to assess the efficiency of cognitive processes involved in resolving linguistic complexity. Thus, the proposed method enables a temporal analysis of the speech comprehension process and has potential applications in speech audiology and psychoacoustics.

An Eye-Tracking Paradigm for Analyzing the Processing Time of Sentences with Different Linguistic Complexities

PubMed Central

Wendt, Dorothea; Brand, Thomas; Kollmeier, Birger

2014-01-01

An eye-tracking paradigm was developed for use in audiology in order to enable online analysis of the speech comprehension process. This paradigm should be useful in assessing impediments in speech processing. In this paradigm, two scenes, a target picture and a competitor picture, were presented simultaneously with an aurally presented sentence that corresponded to the target picture. At the same time, eye fixations were recorded using an eye-tracking device. The effect of linguistic complexity on language processing time was assessed from eye fixation information by systematically varying linguistic complexity. This was achieved with a sentence corpus containing seven German sentence structures. A novel data analysis method computed the average tendency to fixate the target picture as a function of time during sentence processing. This allowed identification of the point in time at which the participant understood the sentence, referred to as the decision moment. Systematic differences in processing time were observed as a function of linguistic complexity. These differences in processing time may be used to assess the efficiency of cognitive processes involved in resolving linguistic complexity. Thus, the proposed method enables a temporal analysis of the speech comprehension process and has potential applications in speech audiology and psychoacoustics. PMID:24950184

Insights into dynamic processes of cations in pyrochlores and other complex oxides

DOE PAGES

Uberuaga, Blas Pedro; Perriot, Romain

2015-08-26

Complex oxides are critical components of many key technologies, from solid oxide fuel cells and superionics to inert matrix fuels and nuclear waste forms. In many cases, understanding mass transport is important for predicting performance and, thus, extensive effort has been devoted to understanding mass transport in these materials. However, most work has focused on the behavior of oxygen while cation transport has received relatively little attention, even though cation diffusion is responsible for many phenomena, including sintering, radiation damage evolution, and deformation processes. Here, we use accelerated molecular dynamics simulations to examine the kinetics of cation defects in onemore » class of complex oxides, A₂B₂O₇ pyrochlore. In some pyrochlore chemistries, B cation defects are kinetically unstable, transforming to A cation defects and antisites at rates faster than they can diffuse. When this occurs, transport of B cations occurs through defect processes on the A sublattice. Further, these A cation defects, either interstitials or vacancies, can interact with antisite disorder, reordering the material locally, though this process is much more efficient for interstitials than vacancies. Whether this behavior occurs in a given pyrochlore depends on the A and B chemistry. Pyrochlores with a smaller ratio of cation radii exhibit this complex behavior, while those with larger ratios exhibit direct migration of B interstitials. Similar behavior has been reported in other complex oxides such as spinels and perovskites, suggesting that this coupling of transport between the A and B cation sublattices, while not universal, occurs in many complex oxide.« less

Complexity in relational processing predicts changes in functional brain network dynamics.

PubMed

Cocchi, Luca; Halford, Graeme S; Zalesky, Andrew; Harding, Ian H; Ramm, Brentyn J; Cutmore, Tim; Shum, David H K; Mattingley, Jason B

2014-09-01

The ability to link variables is critical to many high-order cognitive functions, including reasoning. It has been proposed that limits in relating variables depend critically on relational complexity, defined formally as the number of variables to be related in solving a problem. In humans, the prefrontal cortex is known to be important for reasoning, but recent studies have suggested that such processes are likely to involve widespread functional brain networks. To test this hypothesis, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a classic measure of deductive reasoning to examine changes in brain networks as a function of relational complexity. As expected, behavioral performance declined as the number of variables to be related increased. Likewise, increments in relational complexity were associated with proportional enhancements in brain activity and task-based connectivity within and between 2 cognitive control networks: A cingulo-opercular network for maintaining task set, and a fronto-parietal network for implementing trial-by-trial control. Changes in effective connectivity as a function of increased relational complexity suggested a key role for the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in integrating and implementing task set in a trial-by-trial manner. Our findings show that limits in relational processing are manifested in the brain as complexity-dependent modulations of large-scale networks. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Attentional gating models of object substitution masking.

PubMed

Põder, Endel

2013-11-01

Di Lollo, Enns, and Rensink (2000) proposed the computational model of object substitution (CMOS) to explain their experimental results with sparse visual maskers. This model supposedly is based on reentrant hypotheses testing in the visual system, and the modeled experiments are believed to demonstrate these reentrant processes in human vision. In this study, I analyze the main assumptions of this model. I argue that CMOS is a version of the attentional gating model and that its relationship with reentrant processing is rather illusory. The fit of this model to the data indicates that reentrant hypotheses testing is not necessary for the explanation of object substitution masking (OSM). Further, the original CMOS cannot predict some important aspects of the experimental data. I test 2 new models incorporating an unselective processing (divided attention) stage; these models are more consistent with data from OSM experiments. My modeling shows that the apparent complexity of OSM can be reduced to a few simple and well-known mechanisms of perception and memory. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Reentrant processing mediates object substitution masking: comment on Põder (2013).

PubMed

Di Lollo, Vincent

2014-01-01

Object-substitution masking (OSM) occurs when a target stimulus and a surrounding mask are displayed briefly together, and the display then continues with the mask alone. Target identification is accurate when the stimuli co-terminate but is progressively impaired as the duration of the trailing mask is increased. In reentrant accounts, OSM is said to arise from iterative exchanges between brain regions connected by two-way pathways. In an alternative account, OSM is explained on the basis of exclusively feed-forward processes, without recourse to reentry. Here I show that the feed-forward account runs afoul of the extant phenomenological, behavioral, brain-imaging, and electrophysiological evidence. Further, the feed-forward assumption that masking occurs when attention finds a degraded target is shown to be entirely ad hoc. In contrast, the evidence is uniformly consistent with a reentrant-processing account of OSM.

Unrewarded Object Combinations in Captive Parrots

PubMed Central

Auersperg, Alice Marie Isabel; Oswald, Natalie; Domanegg, Markus; Gajdon, Gyula Koppany; Bugnyar, Thomas

2015-01-01

In primates, complex object combinations during play are often regarded as precursors of functional behavior. Here we investigate combinatory behaviors during unrewarded object manipulation in seven parrot species, including kea, African grey parrots and Goffin cockatoos, three species previously used as model species for technical problem solving. We further examine a habitually tool using species, the black palm cockatoo. Moreover, we incorporate three neotropical species, the yellow- and the black-billed Amazon and the burrowing parakeet. Paralleling previous studies on primates and corvids, free object-object combinations and complex object-substrate combinations such as inserting objects into tubes/holes or stacking rings onto poles prevailed in the species previously linked to advanced physical cognition and tool use. In addition, free object-object combinations were intrinsically structured in Goffin cockatoos and in kea. PMID:25984564

Automated object-based classification of topography from SRTM data

PubMed Central

Drăguţ, Lucian; Eisank, Clemens

2012-01-01

We introduce an object-based method to automatically classify topography from SRTM data. The new method relies on the concept of decomposing land-surface complexity into more homogeneous domains. An elevation layer is automatically segmented and classified at three scale levels that represent domains of complexity by using self-adaptive, data-driven techniques. For each domain, scales in the data are detected with the help of local variance and segmentation is performed at these appropriate scales. Objects resulting from segmentation are partitioned into sub-domains based on thresholds given by the mean values of elevation and standard deviation of elevation respectively. Results resemble reasonably patterns of existing global and regional classifications, displaying a level of detail close to manually drawn maps. Statistical evaluation indicates that most of classes satisfy the regionalization requirements of maximizing internal homogeneity while minimizing external homogeneity. Most objects have boundaries matching natural discontinuities at regional level. The method is simple and fully automated. The input data consist of only one layer, which does not need any pre-processing. Both segmentation and classification rely on only two parameters: elevation and standard deviation of elevation. The methodology is implemented as a customized process for the eCognition® software, available as online download. The results are embedded in a web application with functionalities of visualization and download. PMID:22485060

Automated object-based classification of topography from SRTM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drăguţ, Lucian; Eisank, Clemens

2012-03-01

We introduce an object-based method to automatically classify topography from SRTM data. The new method relies on the concept of decomposing land-surface complexity into more homogeneous domains. An elevation layer is automatically segmented and classified at three scale levels that represent domains of complexity by using self-adaptive, data-driven techniques. For each domain, scales in the data are detected with the help of local variance and segmentation is performed at these appropriate scales. Objects resulting from segmentation are partitioned into sub-domains based on thresholds given by the mean values of elevation and standard deviation of elevation respectively. Results resemble reasonably patterns of existing global and regional classifications, displaying a level of detail close to manually drawn maps. Statistical evaluation indicates that most of classes satisfy the regionalization requirements of maximizing internal homogeneity while minimizing external homogeneity. Most objects have boundaries matching natural discontinuities at regional level. The method is simple and fully automated. The input data consist of only one layer, which does not need any pre-processing. Both segmentation and classification rely on only two parameters: elevation and standard deviation of elevation. The methodology is implemented as a customized process for the eCognition® software, available as online download. The results are embedded in a web application with functionalities of visualization and download.

Occipital Alpha Activity during Stimulus Processing Gates the Information Flow to Object-Selective Cortex

PubMed Central

Zumer, Johanna M.; Scheeringa, René; Schoffelen, Jan-Mathijs; Norris, David G.; Jensen, Ole

2014-01-01

Given the limited processing capabilities of the sensory system, it is essential that attended information is gated to downstream areas, whereas unattended information is blocked. While it has been proposed that alpha band (8–13 Hz) activity serves to route information to downstream regions by inhibiting neuronal processing in task-irrelevant regions, this hypothesis remains untested. Here we investigate how neuronal oscillations detected by electroencephalography in visual areas during working memory encoding serve to gate information reflected in the simultaneously recorded blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging in downstream ventral regions. We used a paradigm in which 16 participants were presented with faces and landscapes in the right and left hemifields; one hemifield was attended and the other unattended. We observed that decreased alpha power contralateral to the attended object predicted the BOLD signal representing the attended object in ventral object-selective regions. Furthermore, increased alpha power ipsilateral to the attended object predicted a decrease in the BOLD signal representing the unattended object. We also found that the BOLD signal in the dorsal attention network inversely correlated with visual alpha power. This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that oscillations in the alpha band are implicated in the gating of information from the visual cortex to the ventral stream, as reflected in the representationally specific BOLD signal. This link of sensory alpha to downstream activity provides a neurophysiological substrate for the mechanism of selective attention during stimulus processing, which not only boosts the attended information but also suppresses distraction. Although previous studies have shown a relation between the BOLD signal from the dorsal attention network and the alpha band at rest, we demonstrate such a relation during a visuospatial task, indicating

Efficient Skeletonization of Volumetric Objects.

PubMed

Zhou, Yong; Toga, Arthur W

1999-07-01

Skeletonization promises to become a powerful tool for compact shape description, path planning, and other applications. However, current techniques can seldom efficiently process real, complicated 3D data sets, such as MRI and CT data of human organs. In this paper, we present an efficient voxel-coding based algorithm for Skeletonization of 3D voxelized objects. The skeletons are interpreted as connected centerlines. consisting of sequences of medial points of consecutive clusters. These centerlines are initially extracted as paths of voxels, followed by medial point replacement, refinement, smoothness, and connection operations. The voxel-coding techniques have been proposed for each of these operations in a uniform and systematic fashion. In addition to preserving basic connectivity and centeredness, the algorithm is characterized by straightforward computation, no sensitivity to object boundary complexity, explicit extraction of ready-to-parameterize and branch-controlled skeletons, and efficient object hole detection. These issues are rarely discussed in traditional methods. A range of 3D medical MRI and CT data sets were used for testing the algorithm, demonstrating its utility.

Rethinking infant knowledge: toward an adaptive process account of successes and failures in object permanence tasks.

PubMed

Munakata, Y; McClelland, J L; Johnson, M H; Siegler, R S

1997-10-01

Infants seem sensitive to hidden objects in habituation tasks at 3.5 months but fail to retrieve hidden objects until 8 months. The authors first consider principle-based accounts of these successes and failures, in which early successes imply knowledge of principles and failures are attributed to ancillary deficits. One account is that infants younger than 8 months have the object permanence principle but lack means-ends abilities. To test this, 7-month-olds were trained on means-ends behaviors and were tested on retrieval of visible and occluded toys. Means-ends demands were the same, yet infants made more toy-guided retrievals in the visible case. The authors offer an adaptive process account in which knowledge is graded and embedded in specific behavioral processes. Simulation models that learn gradually to represent occluded objects show how this approach can account for success and failure in object permanence tasks without assuming principles and ancillary deficits.

Ruby-Helix: an implementation of helical image processing based on object-oriented scripting language.

PubMed

Metlagel, Zoltan; Kikkawa, Yayoi S; Kikkawa, Masahide

2007-01-01

Helical image analysis in combination with electron microscopy has been used to study three-dimensional structures of various biological filaments or tubes, such as microtubules, actin filaments, and bacterial flagella. A number of packages have been developed to carry out helical image analysis. Some biological specimens, however, have a symmetry break (seam) in their three-dimensional structure, even though their subunits are mostly arranged in a helical manner. We refer to these objects as "asymmetric helices". All the existing packages are designed for helically symmetric specimens, and do not allow analysis of asymmetric helical objects, such as microtubules with seams. Here, we describe Ruby-Helix, a new set of programs for the analysis of "helical" objects with or without a seam. Ruby-Helix is built on top of the Ruby programming language and is the first implementation of asymmetric helical reconstruction for practical image analysis. It also allows easier and semi-automated analysis, performing iterative unbending and accurate determination of the repeat length. As a result, Ruby-Helix enables us to analyze motor-microtubule complexes with higher throughput to higher resolution.

Causality and complexity: the myth of objectivity in science.

PubMed

Mikulecky, Donald C

2007-10-01

Two distinctly different worldviews dominate today's thinking in science and in the world of ideas outside of science. Using the approach advocated by Robert M. Hutchins, it is possible to see a pattern of interaction between ideas in science and in other spheres such as philosophy, religion, and politics. Instead of compartmentalizing these intellectual activities, it is worthwhile to look for common threads of mutual influence. Robert Rosen has created an approach to scientific epistemology that might seem radical to some. However, it has characteristics that resemble ideas in other fields, in particular in the writings of George Lakoff, Leo Strauss, and George Soros. Historically, the atmosphere at the University of Chicago during Hutchins' presidency gave rise to Rashevsky's relational biology, which Rosen carried forward. Strauss was writing his political philosophy there at the same time. One idea is paramount in all this, and it is Lakoff who gives us the most insight into how the worldviews differ using this idea. The central difference has to do with causality, the fundamental concept that we use to build a worldview. Causal entailment has two distinct forms in Lakoff 's analysis: direct causality and complex causality. Rosen's writings on complexity create a picture of complex causality that is extremely useful in its detail, grounding in the ideas of Aristotle. Strauss asks for a return to the ancients to put philosophy back on track. Lakoff sees the weaknesses in Western philosophy in a similar way, and Rosen provides tools for dealing with the problem. This introduction to the relationships between the thinking of these authors is meant to stimulate further discourse on the role of complex causal entailment in all areas of thought, and how it brings them together in a holistic worldview. The worldview built on complex causality is clearly distinct from that built around simple, direct causality. One important difference is that the impoverished causal

Neural correlates in the processing of phoneme-level complexity in vowel production.

PubMed

Park, Haeil; Iverson, Gregory K; Park, Hae-Jeong

2011-12-01

We investigated how articulatory complexity at the phoneme level is manifested neurobiologically in an overt production task. fMRI images were acquired from young Korean-speaking adults as they pronounced bisyllabic pseudowords in which we manipulated phonological complexity defined in terms of vowel duration and instability (viz., COMPLEX: /tiɯi/ > MID-COMPLEX: /tiye/ > SIMPLE: /tii/). Increased activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (Brodmann Areas (BA) 44 and 47), supplementary motor area and anterior insula was observed for the articulation of COMPLEX sequences relative to MID-COMPLEX; this was the case with the articulation of MID-COMPLEX relative to SIMPLE, except that the pars orbitalis (BA 47) was dominantly identified in the Broca's area. The differentiation indicates that phonological complexity is reflected in the neural processing of distinct phonemic representations, both by recruiting brain regions associated with retrieval of phonological information from memory and via articulatory rehearsal for the production of COMPLEX vowels. In addition, the finding that increased complexity engages greater areas of the brain suggests that brain activation can be a neurobiological measure of articulo-phonological complexity, complementing, if not substituting for, biomechanical measurements of speech motor activity. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thin film DNA-complex-based dye lasers fabricated by immersion and conventional processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawabe, Yutaka; Suzuki, Yuki

2017-08-01

DNA based thin film dye laser is one of promising optical devices for future technology. Laser oscillation and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) were demonstrated by hemicyanine-doped DNA complex films prepared with `immersion method' as well as those made by a conventional way. In the immersion process, DNA-surfactant complex films were stained by immersion into an acetone solution including the dyes. In this study, three types of hemicyanines were incorporated with both methods, and laser oscillation was achieved with optically induced population grating formed in all of the complex films. The laser threshold values for six cases ranged in 0.07 - 0.18 mJ/cm2 , which was close to the best values made in DNA complex matrices. Continual pumping showed that laser oscillation persisted for 4 - 10 minutes. Immersion process gave superior laser capability especially for output efficiency over the conventional counterparts.

Object reasoning for waste remediation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pennock, K.A.; Bohn, S.J.; Franklin, A.L.

1991-08-01

A large number of contaminated waste sites across the United States await size remediation efforts. These sites can be physically complex, composed of multiple, possibly interacting, contaminants distributed throughout one or more media. The Remedial Action Assessment System (RAAS) is being designed and developed to support decisions concerning the selection of remediation alternatives. The goal of this system is to broaden the consideration of remediation alternatives, while reducing the time and cost of making these considerations. The Remedial Action Assessment System is a hybrid system, designed and constructed using object-oriented, knowledge- based systems, and structured programming techniques. RAAS uses amore » combination of quantitative and qualitative reasoning to consider and suggest remediation alternatives. The reasoning process that drives this application is centered around an object-oriented organization of remediation technology information. This paper describes the information structure and organization used to support this reasoning process. In addition, the paper describes the level of detail of the technology related information used in RAAS, discusses required assumptions and procedural implications of these assumptions, and provides rationale for structuring RAAS in this manner. 3 refs., 3 figs.« less

Energy absorption capabilities of complex thin walled structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarlochan, F.; AlKhatib, Sami

2017-10-01

Thin walled structures have been used in the area of energy absorption during an event of a crash. A lot of work has been done on tubular structures. Due to limitation of manufacturing process, complex geometries were dismissed as potential solutions. With the advancement in metal additive manufacturing, complex geometries can be realized. As a motivation, the objective of this study is to investigate computationally the crash performance of complex tubular structures. Five designs were considered. In was found that complex geometries have better crashworthiness performance than standard tubular structures used currently.

In vivo characterization of the Drosophila mRNA 3′ end processing core cleavage complex

PubMed Central

Michalski, Daniel; Steiniger, Mindy

2015-01-01

A core cleavage complex (CCC) consisting of CPSF73, CPSF100, and Symplekin is required for cotranscriptional 3′ end processing of all metazoan pre-mRNAs, yet little is known about the in vivo molecular interactions within this complex. The CCC is a component of two distinct complexes, the cleavage/polyadenylation complex and the complex that processes nonpolyadenylated histone pre-mRNAs. RNAi-depletion of CCC factors in Drosophila culture cells causes reduction of CCC processing activity on histone mRNAs, resulting in read through transcription. In contrast, RNAi-depletion of factors only required for histone mRNA processing allows use of downstream cryptic polyadenylation signals to produce polyadenylated histone mRNAs. We used Dmel-2 tissue culture cells stably expressing tagged CCC components to determine that amino acids 272–1080 of Symplekin and the C-terminal approximately 200 amino acids of both CPSF73 and CPSF100 are required for efficient CCC formation in vivo. Additional experiments reveal that the C-terminal 241 amino acids of CPSF100 are sufficient for histone mRNA processing indicating that the first 524 amino acids of CPSF100 are dispensable for both CCC formation and histone mRNA 3′ end processing. CCCs containing deletions of Symplekin lacking the first 271 amino acids resulted in dramatic increased use of downstream polyadenylation sites for histone mRNA 3′ end processing similar to RNAi-depletion of histone-specific 3′ end processing factors FLASH, SLBP, and U7 snRNA. We propose a model in which CCC formation is mediated by CPSF73, CPSF100, and Symplekin C-termini, and the N-terminal region of Symplekin facilitates cotranscriptional 3′ end processing of histone mRNAs. PMID:26081560

Community College Management by Objectives: Process, Progress, Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deegan, William L.; And Others

The objectives of this book are: (1) to present a theoretical framework for management by objectives in community colleges, (2) to present information about alternative methods for conducting needs assessment and implementing management by objectives, (3) to present a framework for integrating academic and fiscal planning through management by…

Multiple-predators-based capture process on complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramiz Sharafat, Rajput; Pu, Cunlai; Li, Jie; Chen, Rongbin; Xu, Zhongqi

2017-03-01

The predator/prey (capture) problem is a prototype of many network-related applications. We study the capture process on complex networks by considering multiple predators from multiple sources. In our model, some lions start from multiple sources simultaneously to capture the lamb by biased random walks, which are controlled with a free parameter $\\alpha$. We derive the distribution of the lamb's lifetime and the expected lifetime $\\left\\langle T\\right\\rangle $. Through simulation, we find that the expected lifetime drops substantially with the increasing number of lions. We also study how the underlying topological structure affects the capture process, and obtain that locating on small-degree nodes is better than large-degree nodes to prolong the lifetime of the lamb. Moreover, dense or homogeneous network structures are against the survival of the lamb.

Quality data collection and management technology of aerospace complex product assembly process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Gang; Liu, Jianhua; He, Yongxi; Zhuang, Cunbo

2017-04-01

Aiming at solving problems of difficult management and poor traceability for discrete assembly process quality data, a data collection and management method is proposed which take the assembly process and BOM as the core. Data collection method base on workflow technology, data model base on BOM and quality traceability of assembly process is included in the method. Finally, assembly process quality data management system is developed and effective control and management of quality information for complex product assembly process is realized.

Children's Verbal Working Memory: Role of Processing Complexity in Predicting Spoken Sentence Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magimairaj, Beula M.; Montgomery, James W.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated the role of processing complexity of verbal working memory tasks in predicting spoken sentence comprehension in typically developing children. Of interest was whether simple and more complex working memory tasks have similar or different power in predicting sentence comprehension. Method: Sixty-five children (6- to…

Differential Processing of Isolated Object and Multi-item Pop-Out Displays in LIP and PFC.

PubMed

Meyers, Ethan M; Liang, Andy; Katsuki, Fumi; Constantinidis, Christos

2017-10-11

Objects that are highly distinct from their surroundings appear to visually "pop-out." This effect is present for displays in which: (1) a single cue object is shown on a blank background, and (2) a single cue object is highly distinct from surrounding objects; it is generally assumed that these 2 display types are processed in the same way. To directly examine this, we applied a decoding analysis to neural activity recorded from the lateral intraparietal (LIP) area and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Our analyses showed that for the single-object displays, cue location information appeared earlier in LIP than in dlPFC. However, for the display with distractors, location information was substantially delayed in both brain regions, and information first appeared in dlPFC. Additionally, we see that pattern of neural activity is similar for both types of displays and across different color transformations of the stimuli, indicating that location information is being coded in the same way regardless of display type. These results lead us to hypothesize that 2 different pathways are involved processing these 2 types of pop-out displays. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Linking objects in the process of mourning for sons disappeared in war: Croatia 2001.

PubMed

Jurcević, Slavica; Urlić, Ivan

2002-04-01

Mothers use linking object to externalize the complex aspects of their relationship to the loss of their child. We analyzed the linking objects that mothers kept in memory of their sons who disappeared in the 1991-1995 war in Croatia or whose remains were uncovered and identified long time after they had gone missing. The case study of disturbed mourning included 26 mothers of Croatian soldiers from Croatian Osijek-Baranja County who went missing in war or whose remains were recovered and identified long after they had gone missing. The mothers were selected independently by the president of the Association of Families of Missing and Detained Croatian Soldiers and agreed to participate in the study in 2001. They were interviewed in their homes, their testimonies were recorded, and photographs of the linking objects taken. Linking objects were classified according to the Volkan's four-group classification. Out of four Volkan's groups of linking objects, we identified the objects belonging to the first three. Those were 1) objects that had been worn by the deceased (clothes, wrist-watch, ring, or glasses), (6/26); 2) objects that could be viewed in the psychoanalytic sense as an extension of the body of the disappeared or dead person, such as a camera (4/26); and 3) objects with realistic or symbolic resemblance to the deceased, usually a photograph (8/26). None of the examined objects belonged to the fourth Volkan's group (objects at hand when the news of the death came or objects present at the funeral, things that could be considered last-minute objects, ie, related to the moment when the deceased was last seen alive). However, 8/26 objects formed a new hitherto undescribed group. Mothers used such objects to create a memorial shrine to their sons. A photograph of the missing person or person whose remains were identified long after he had gone missing occupied a central place at the shrine, and was surrounded by other symbols of the Catholic iconography (Virgin

Context processing in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: How complex could it be?

PubMed

Ben-Yosef, Dekel; Anaki, David; Golan, Ofer

2017-03-01

The ability of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to process context has long been debated: According to the Weak Central Coherence theory, ASD is characterized by poor global processing, and consequently-poor context processing. In contrast, the Social Cognition theory argues individuals with ASD will present difficulties only in social context processing. The complexity theory of autism suggests context processing in ASD will depend on task complexity. The current study examined this controversy through two priming tasks, one presenting human stimuli (facial expressions) and the other presenting non-human stimuli (animal faces). Both tasks presented visual targets, preceded by congruent, incongruent, or neutral auditory primes. Local and global processing were examined by presenting the visual targets in three spatial frequency conditions: High frequency, low frequency, and broadband. Tasks were administered to 16 adolescents with high functioning ASD and 16 matched typically developing adolescents. Reaction time and accuracy were measured for each task in each condition. Results indicated that individuals with ASD processed context for both human and non-human stimuli, except in one condition, in which human stimuli had to be processed globally (i.e., target presented in low frequency). The task demands presented in this condition, and the performance deficit shown in the ASD group as a result, could be understood in terms of cognitive overload. These findings provide support for the complexity theory of autism and extend it. Our results also demonstrate how associative priming could support intact context processing of human and non-human stimuli in individuals with ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 520-530. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Object as a model of intelligent robot in the virtual workspace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foit, K.; Gwiazda, A.; Banas, W.; Sekala, A.; Hryniewicz, P.

2015-11-01

The contemporary industry requires that every element of a production line will fit into the global schema, which is connected with the global structure of business. There is the need to find the practical and effective ways of the design and management of the production process. The term “effective” should be understood in a manner that there exists a method, which allows building a system of nodes and relations in order to describe the role of the particular machine in the production process. Among all the machines involved in the manufacturing process, industrial robots are the most complex ones. This complexity is reflected in the realization of elaborated tasks, involving handling, transporting or orienting the objects in a work space, and even performing simple machining processes, such as deburring, grinding, painting, applying adhesives and sealants etc. The robot also performs some activities connected with automatic tool changing and operating the equipment mounted on the wrist of the robot. Because of having the programmable control system, the robot also performs additional activities connected with sensors, vision systems, operating the storages of manipulated objects, tools or grippers, measuring stands, etc. For this reason the description of the robot as a part of production system should take into account the specific nature of this machine: the robot is a substitute of a worker, who performs his tasks in a particular environment. In this case, the model should be able to characterize the essence of "employment" in the sufficient way. One of the possible approaches to this problem is to treat the robot as an object, in the sense often used in computer science. This allows both: to describe certain operations performed on the object, as well as describing the operations performed by the object. This paper focuses mainly on the definition of the object as the model of the robot. This model is confronted with the other possible descriptions. The

Evaluation of assigned-value uncertainty for complex calibrator value assignment processes: a prealbumin example.

PubMed

Middleton, John; Vaks, Jeffrey E

2007-04-01

Errors of calibrator-assigned values lead to errors in the testing of patient samples. The ability to estimate the uncertainties of calibrator-assigned values and other variables minimizes errors in testing processes. International Organization of Standardization guidelines provide simple equations for the estimation of calibrator uncertainty with simple value-assignment processes, but other methods are needed to estimate uncertainty in complex processes. We estimated the assigned-value uncertainty with a Monte Carlo computer simulation of a complex value-assignment process, based on a formalized description of the process, with measurement parameters estimated experimentally. This method was applied to study uncertainty of a multilevel calibrator value assignment for a prealbumin immunoassay. The simulation results showed that the component of the uncertainty added by the process of value transfer from the reference material CRM470 to the calibrator is smaller than that of the reference material itself (<0.8% vs 3.7%). Varying the process parameters in the simulation model allowed for optimizing the process, while keeping the added uncertainty small. The patient result uncertainty caused by the calibrator uncertainty was also found to be small. This method of estimating uncertainty is a powerful tool that allows for estimation of calibrator uncertainty for optimization of various value assignment processes, with a reduced number of measurements and reagent costs, while satisfying the requirements to uncertainty. The new method expands and augments existing methods to allow estimation of uncertainty in complex processes.

The Primary Physical Education Curriculum Process: More Complex That You Might Think!!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jess, Mike; Carse, Nicola; Keay, Jeanne

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present the curriculum development process as a complex, iterative and integrated phenomenon. Building on the early work of Stenhouse [1975, "An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development". London: Heinemann Educational], we position the teacher at the heart of this process and extend his ideas by exploring how…

The benefits of sensorimotor knowledge: body-object interaction facilitates semantic processing.

PubMed

Siakaluk, Paul D; Pexman, Penny M; Sears, Christopher R; Wilson, Kim; Locheed, Keri; Owen, William J

2008-04-05

This article examined the effects of body-object interaction (BOI) on semantic processing. BOI measures perceptions of the ease with which a human body can physically interact with a word's referent. In Experiment 1, BOI effects were examined in 2 semantic categorization tasks (SCT) in which participants decided if words are easily imageable. Responses were faster and more accurate for high BOI words (e.g., mask) than for low BOI words (e.g., ship). In Experiment 2, BOI effects were examined in a semantic lexical decision task (SLDT), which taps both semantic feedback and semantic processing. The BOI effect was larger in the SLDT than in the SCT, suggesting that BOI facilitates both semantic feedback and semantic processing. The findings are consistent with the embodied cognition perspective (e.g., Barsalou's, 1999, Perceptual Symbols Theory), which proposes that sensorimotor interactions with the environment are incorporated in semantic knowledge. 2008 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Objective measures of renal mass anatomic complexity predict rates of major complications following partial nephrectomy.

PubMed

Simhan, Jay; Smaldone, Marc C; Tsai, Kevin J; Canter, Daniel J; Li, Tianyu; Kutikov, Alexander; Viterbo, Rosalia; Chen, David Y T; Greenberg, Richard E; Uzzo, Robert G

2011-10-01

externally and integrated into the decision-making process when counseling patients with complex renal tumors. Copyright © 2011 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Generalized Decision Framework Using Multi-objective Optimization for Water Resources Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basdekas, L.; Stewart, N.; Triana, E.

2013-12-01

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is currently engaged in an Integrated Water Resource Plan (IWRP) to address the complex planning scenarios, across multiple time scales, currently faced by CSU. The modeling framework developed for the IWRP uses a flexible data-centered Decision Support System (DSS) with a MODSIM-based modeling system to represent the operation of the current CSU raw water system coupled with a state-of-the-art multi-objective optimization algorithm. Three basic components are required for the framework, which can be implemented for planning horizons ranging from seasonal to interdecadal. First, a water resources system model is required that is capable of reasonable system simulation to resolve performance metrics at the appropriate temporal and spatial scales of interest. The system model should be an existing simulation model, or one developed during the planning process with stakeholders, so that 'buy-in' has already been achieved. Second, a hydrologic scenario tool(s) capable of generating a range of plausible inflows for the planning period of interest is required. This may include paleo informed or climate change informed sequences. Third, a multi-objective optimization model that can be wrapped around the system simulation model is required. The new generation of multi-objective optimization models do not require parameterization which greatly reduces problem complexity. Bridging the gap between research and practice will be evident as we use a case study from CSU's planning process to demonstrate this framework with specific competing water management objectives. Careful formulation of objective functions, choice of decision variables, and system constraints will be discussed. Rather than treating results as theoretically Pareto optimal in a planning process, we use the powerful multi-objective optimization models as tools to more efficiently and effectively move out of the inferior decision space. The use of this framework will help CSU

Object-oriented software design in semiautomatic building extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guelch, Eberhard; Mueller, Hardo

1997-08-01

Developing a system for semiautomatic building acquisition is a complex process, that requires constant integration and updating of software modules and user interfaces. To facilitate these processes we apply an object-oriented design not only for the data but also for the software involved. We use the unified modeling language (UML) to describe the object-oriented modeling of the system in different levels of detail. We can distinguish between use cases from the users point of view, that represent a sequence of actions, yielding in an observable result and the use cases for the programmers, who can use the system as a class library to integrate the acquisition modules in their own software. The structure of the system is based on the model-view-controller (MVC) design pattern. An example from the integration of automated texture extraction for the visualization of results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.

Neuronal encoding of object and distance information: a model simulation study on naturalistic optic flow processing

PubMed Central

Hennig, Patrick; Egelhaaf, Martin

2011-01-01

We developed a model of the input circuitry of the FD1 cell, an identified motion-sensitive interneuron in the blowfly's visual system. The model circuit successfully reproduces the FD1 cell's most conspicuous property: its larger responses to objects than to spatially extended patterns. The model circuit also mimics the time-dependent responses of FD1 to dynamically complex naturalistic stimuli, shaped by the blowfly's saccadic flight and gaze strategy: the FD1 responses are enhanced when, as a consequence of self-motion, a nearby object crosses the receptive field during intersaccadic intervals. Moreover, the model predicts that these object-induced responses are superimposed by pronounced pattern-dependent fluctuations during movements on virtual test flights in a three-dimensional environment with systematic modifications of the environmental patterns. Hence, the FD1 cell is predicted to detect not unambiguously objects defined by the spatial layout of the environment, but to be also sensitive to objects distinguished by textural features. These ambiguous detection abilities suggest an encoding of information about objects—irrespective of the features by which the objects are defined—by a population of cells, with the FD1 cell presumably playing a prominent role in such an ensemble. PMID:22461769

Bio-objects and the media: the role of communication in bio-objectification processes

PubMed Central

Maeseele, Pieter; Allgaier, Joachim; Martinelli, Lucia

2013-01-01

The representation of biological innovations in and through communication and media practices is vital for understanding the nature of “bio-objects” and the process we call “bio-objectification.” This paper discusses two ideal-typical analytical approaches based on different underlying communication models, ie, the traditional (science- and media-centered) and media sociological (a multi-layered process involving various social actors in defining the meanings of scientific and technological developments) approach. In this analysis, the latter is not only found to be the most promising approach for understanding the circulation, (re)production, and (re)configuration of meanings of bio-objects, but also to interpret the relationship between media and science. On the basis of a few selected examples, this paper highlights how media function as a primary arena for the (re)production and (re)configuration of scientific and biomedical information with regards to bio-objects in the public sphere in general, and toward decision-makers, interest groups, and the public in specific. PMID:23771763

Strategies for concurrent processing of complex algorithms in data driven architectures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoughton, John W.; Mielke, Roland R.

1988-01-01

The purpose is to document research to develop strategies for concurrent processing of complex algorithms in data driven architectures. The problem domain consists of decision-free algorithms having large-grained, computationally complex primitive operations. Such are often found in signal processing and control applications. The anticipated multiprocessor environment is a data flow architecture containing between two and twenty computing elements. Each computing element is a processor having local program memory, and which communicates with a common global data memory. A new graph theoretic model called ATAMM which establishes rules for relating a decomposed algorithm to its execution in a data flow architecture is presented. The ATAMM model is used to determine strategies to achieve optimum time performance and to develop a system diagnostic software tool. In addition, preliminary work on a new multiprocessor operating system based on the ATAMM specifications is described.

A matter of tradeoffs: reintroduction as a multiple objective decision

USGS Publications Warehouse

Converse, Sarah J.; Moore, Clinton T.; Folk, Martin J.; Runge, Michael C.

2013-01-01

Decision making in guidance of reintroduction efforts is made challenging by the substantial scientific uncertainty typically involved. However, a less recognized challenge is that the management objectives are often numerous and complex. Decision makers managing reintroduction efforts are often concerned with more than just how to maximize the probability of reintroduction success from a population perspective. Decision makers are also weighing other concerns such as budget limitations, public support and/or opposition, impacts on the ecosystem, and the need to consider not just a single reintroduction effort, but conservation of the entire species. Multiple objective decision analysis is a powerful tool for formal analysis of such complex decisions. We demonstrate the use of multiple objective decision analysis in the case of the Florida non-migratory whooping crane reintroduction effort. In this case, the State of Florida was considering whether to resume releases of captive-reared crane chicks into the non-migratory whooping crane population in that state. Management objectives under consideration included maximizing the probability of successful population establishment, minimizing costs, maximizing public relations benefits, maximizing the number of birds available for alternative reintroduction efforts, and maximizing learning about the demographic patterns of reintroduced whooping cranes. The State of Florida engaged in a collaborative process with their management partners, first, to evaluate and characterize important uncertainties about system behavior, and next, to formally evaluate the tradeoffs between objectives using the Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique (SMART). The recommendation resulting from this process, to continue releases of cranes at a moderate intensity, was adopted by the State of Florida in late 2008. Although continued releases did not receive support from the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team, this approach does provide

Objects of attention, objects of perception.

PubMed

Avrahami, J

1999-11-01

Four experiments were conducted, to explore the notion of objects in perception. Taking as a starting point the effects of display content on rapid attention transfer and manipulating curvature, closure, and processing time, a link between objects of attention and objects of perception is proposed. In Experiment 1, a number of parallel, equally spaced, straight lines facilitated attention transfer along the lines, relative to transfer across the lines. In Experiment 2, with curved, closed-contour shapes, no "same-object" facilitation was observed. However, when a longer time interval was provided, in Experiment 3, a same-object advantage started to emerge. In Experiment 4, using the same curved shapes but in a non-speeded distance estimation task, a strong effect of objects was observed. It is argued that attention transfer is facilitated by line tracing but that line tracing is encouraged by objects.

Bi-Objective Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problem Considering Energy Consumption under Stochastic Processing Times.

PubMed

Yang, Xin; Zeng, Zhenxiang; Wang, Ruidong; Sun, Xueshan

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel method on the optimization of bi-objective Flexible Job-shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) under stochastic processing times. The robust counterpart model and the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) are used to solve the bi-objective FJSP with consideration of the completion time and the total energy consumption under stochastic processing times. The case study on GM Corporation verifies that the NSGA-II used in this paper is effective and has advantages to solve the proposed model comparing with HPSO and PSO+SA. The idea and method of the paper can be generalized widely in the manufacturing industry, because it can reduce the energy consumption of the energy-intensive manufacturing enterprise with less investment when the new approach is applied in existing systems.

Bi-Objective Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problem Considering Energy Consumption under Stochastic Processing Times

PubMed Central

Zeng, Zhenxiang; Wang, Ruidong; Sun, Xueshan

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel method on the optimization of bi-objective Flexible Job-shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) under stochastic processing times. The robust counterpart model and the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) are used to solve the bi-objective FJSP with consideration of the completion time and the total energy consumption under stochastic processing times. The case study on GM Corporation verifies that the NSGA-II used in this paper is effective and has advantages to solve the proposed model comparing with HPSO and PSO+SA. The idea and method of the paper can be generalized widely in the manufacturing industry, because it can reduce the energy consumption of the energy-intensive manufacturing enterprise with less investment when the new approach is applied in existing systems. PMID:27907163

A lexicographic weighted Tchebycheff approach for multi-constrained multi-objective optimization of the surface grinding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalilpourazari, Soheyl; Khalilpourazary, Saman

2017-05-01

In this article a multi-objective mathematical model is developed to minimize total time and cost while maximizing the production rate and surface finish quality in the grinding process. The model aims to determine optimal values of the decision variables considering process constraints. A lexicographic weighted Tchebycheff approach is developed to obtain efficient Pareto-optimal solutions of the problem in both rough and finished conditions. Utilizing a polyhedral branch-and-cut algorithm, the lexicographic weighted Tchebycheff model of the proposed multi-objective model is solved using GAMS software. The Pareto-optimal solutions provide a proper trade-off between conflicting objective functions which helps the decision maker to select the best values for the decision variables. Sensitivity analyses are performed to determine the effect of change in the grain size, grinding ratio, feed rate, labour cost per hour, length of workpiece, wheel diameter and downfeed of grinding parameters on each value of the objective function.

Monaural and binaural processing of complex waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trahiotis, Constantine; Bernstein, Leslie R.

1992-01-01

Our research concerned the manners by which the monaural and binaural auditory systems process information in complex sounds. Substantial progress was made in three areas, consistent with the ojectives outlined in the original proposal. (1) New electronic equipment, including a NeXT computer was purchased, installed and interfaced with the existing laboratory. Software was developed for generating the necessary complex digital stimuli and for running behavioral experiments utilizing those stimuli. (2) Monaural experiments showed that the CMR is not obtained successively and is reduced or non-existent when the flanking bands are pulsed rather than presented continuously. Binaural investigations revealed that the detectability of a tonal target in a masking level difference paradigm could be degraded by the presence of a spectrally remote interfering tone. (3) In collaboration with Dr. Richard Stem, theoretical efforts included the explication and evaluation of a weighted-image model of binaural hearing, attempts to extend the Stern-Colbum position-variable model to account for many crucial lateralization and localization data gathered over the past 50 years, and the continuation of efforts to incorporate into a general model notions that lateralization and localization of spectrally-rich stimuli depend upon the patterns of neural activity within a plane defined by frequency and interaural delay.

Late electrophysiological modulations of feature-based attention to object shapes.

PubMed

Stojanoski, Bobby Boge; Niemeier, Matthias

2014-03-01

Feature-based attention has been shown to aid object perception. Our previous ERP effects revealed temporally late feature-based modulation in response to objects relative to motion. The aim of the current study was to confirm the timing of feature-based influences on object perception while cueing within the feature dimension of shape. Participants were told to expect either "pillow" or "flower" objects embedded among random white and black lines. Participants more accurately reported the object's main color for valid compared to invalid shapes. ERPs revealed modulation from 252-502 ms, from occipital to frontal electrodes. Our results are consistent with previous findings examining the time course for processing similar stimuli (illusory contours). Our results provide novel insights into how attending to features of higher complexity aids object perception presumably via feed-forward and feedback mechanisms along the visual hierarchy. Copyright © 2014 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Cueing Complex Animations: Does Direction of Attention Foster Learning Processes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowe, Richard; Boucheix, Jean-Michel

2011-01-01

The time course of learners' processing of a complex animation was studied using a dynamic diagram of a piano mechanism. Over successive repetitions of the material, two forms of cueing (standard colour cueing and anti-cueing) were administered either before or during the animated segment of the presentation. An uncued group and two other control…

Structure and Randomness of Continuous-Time, Discrete-Event Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marzen, Sarah E.; Crutchfield, James P.

2017-10-01

Loosely speaking, the Shannon entropy rate is used to gauge a stochastic process' intrinsic randomness; the statistical complexity gives the cost of predicting the process. We calculate, for the first time, the entropy rate and statistical complexity of stochastic processes generated by finite unifilar hidden semi-Markov models—memoryful, state-dependent versions of renewal processes. Calculating these quantities requires introducing novel mathematical objects (ɛ -machines of hidden semi-Markov processes) and new information-theoretic methods to stochastic processes.

Dystrophic Cardiomyopathy: Complex Pathobiological Processes to Generate Clinical Phenotype

PubMed Central

Tsuda, Takeshi; Fitzgerald, Kristi K.

2017-01-01

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), and X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy (XL-DCM) consist of a unique clinical entity, the dystrophinopathies, which are due to variable mutations in the dystrophin gene. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common complication of dystrophinopathies, but the onset, progression, and severity of heart disease differ among these subgroups. Extensive molecular genetic studies have been conducted to assess genotype-phenotype correlation in DMD, BMD, and XL-DCM to understand the underlying mechanisms of these diseases, but the results are not always conclusive, suggesting the involvement of complex multi-layers of pathological processes that generate the final clinical phenotype. Dystrophin protein is a part of dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) that is localized in skeletal muscles, myocardium, smooth muscles, and neuronal tissues. Diversity of cardiac phenotype in dystrophinopathies suggests multiple layers of pathogenetic mechanisms in forming dystrophic cardiomyopathy. In this review article, we review the complex molecular interactions involving the pathogenesis of dystrophic cardiomyopathy, including primary gene mutations and loss of structural integrity, secondary cellular responses, and certain epigenetic and other factors that modulate gene expressions. Involvement of epigenetic gene regulation appears to lead to specific cardiac phenotypes in dystrophic hearts. PMID:29367543

Identification of the dominant hydrological process and appropriate model structure of a karst catchment through stepwise simplification of a complex conceptual model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yong; Wu, Jichun; Jiang, Guanghui; Kang, Zhiqiang

2017-05-01

Conceptual models often suffer from the over-parameterization problem due to limited available data for the calibration. This leads to the problem of parameter nonuniqueness and equifinality, which may bring much uncertainty of the simulation result. How to find out the appropriate model structure supported by the available data to simulate the catchment is still a big challenge in the hydrological research. In this paper, we adopt a multi-model framework to identify the dominant hydrological process and appropriate model structure of a karst spring, located in Guilin city, China. For this catchment, the spring discharge is the only available data for the model calibration. This framework starts with a relative complex conceptual model according to the perception of the catchment and then this complex is simplified into several different models by gradually removing the model component. The multi-objective approach is used to compare the performance of these different models and the regional sensitivity analysis (RSA) is used to investigate the parameter identifiability. The results show this karst spring is mainly controlled by two different hydrological processes and one of the processes is threshold-driven which is consistent with the fieldwork investigation. However, the appropriate model structure to simulate the discharge of this spring is much simpler than the actual aquifer structure and hydrological processes understanding from the fieldwork investigation. A simple linear reservoir with two different outlets is enough to simulate this spring discharge. The detail runoff process in the catchment is not needed in the conceptual model to simulate the spring discharge. More complex model should need more other additional data to avoid serious deterioration of model predictions.

Processing of simple and complex acoustic signals in a tonotopically organized ear

PubMed Central

Hummel, Jennifer; Wolf, Konstantin; Kössl, Manfred; Nowotny, Manuela

2014-01-01

Processing of complex signals in the hearing organ remains poorly understood. This paper aims to contribute to this topic by presenting investigations on the mechanical and neuronal response of the hearing organ of the tropical bushcricket species Mecopoda elongata to simple pure tone signals as well as to the conspecific song as a complex acoustic signal. The high-frequency hearing organ of bushcrickets, the crista acustica (CA), is tonotopically tuned to frequencies between about 4 and 70 kHz. Laser Doppler vibrometer measurements revealed a strong and dominant low-frequency-induced motion of the CA when stimulated with either pure tone or complex stimuli. Consequently, the high-frequency distal area of the CA is more strongly deflected by low-frequency-induced waves than by high-frequency-induced waves. This low-frequency dominance will have strong effects on the processing of complex signals. Therefore, we additionally studied the neuronal response of the CA to native and frequency-manipulated chirps. Again, we found a dominant influence of low-frequency components within the conspecific song, indicating that the mechanical vibration pattern highly determines the neuronal response of the sensory cells. Thus, we conclude that the encoding of communication signals is modulated by ear mechanics. PMID:25339727

Optical derotator alignment using image-processing algorithm for tracking laser vibrometer measurements of rotating objects.

PubMed

Khalil, Hossam; Kim, Dongkyu; Jo, Youngjoon; Park, Kyihwan

2017-06-01

An optical component called a Dove prism is used to rotate the laser beam of a laser-scanning vibrometer (LSV). This is called a derotator and is used for measuring the vibration of rotating objects. The main advantage of a derotator is that it works independently from an LSV. However, this device requires very specific alignment, in which the axis of the Dove prism must coincide with the rotational axis of the object. If the derotator is misaligned with the rotating object, the results of the vibration measurement are imprecise, owing to the alteration of the laser beam on the surface of the rotating object. In this study, a method is proposed for aligning a derotator with a rotating object through an image-processing algorithm that obtains the trajectory of a landmark attached to the object. After the trajectory of the landmark is mathematically modeled, the amount of derotator misalignment with respect to the object is calculated. The accuracy of the proposed method for aligning the derotator with the rotating object is experimentally tested.

Role of Conserved Oligomeric Golgi Complex in the Abnormalities of Glycoprotein Processing in Breast Cancer Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

terminal oligosaccharide units serve as highly specific biological recognition molecules implicated in major regulatory processes of the cell...treatment or mock-treated for 9 days. To study the glycosylation process in COG complex depleted cells series of Pulse -Chase experiments have been...DAMD17-03-1-0243 TITLE: Role of the Conserved Oligomeric Golgi Complex in the Abnormalities of Glycoprotein Processing in Breast Cancer

Voting based object boundary reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Qi; Zhang, Like; Ma, Jingsheng

2005-07-01

A voting-based object boundary reconstruction approach is proposed in this paper. Morphological technique was adopted in many applications for video object extraction to reconstruct the missing pixels. However, when the missing areas become large, the morphological processing cannot bring us good results. Recently, Tensor voting has attracted people"s attention, and it can be used for boundary estimation on curves or irregular trajectories. However, the complexity of saliency tensor creation limits its applications in real-time systems. An alternative approach based on tensor voting is introduced in this paper. Rather than creating saliency tensors, we use a "2-pass" method for orientation estimation. For the first pass, Sobel d*etector is applied on a coarse boundary image to get the gradient map. In the second pass, each pixel puts decreasing weights based on its gradient information, and the direction with maximum weights sum is selected as the correct orientation of the pixel. After the orientation map is obtained, pixels begin linking edges or intersections along their direction. The approach is applied to various video surveillance clips under different conditions, and the experimental results demonstrate significant improvement on the final extracted objects accuracy.

Aridity and decomposition processes in complex landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ossola, Alessandro; Nyman, Petter

2015-04-01

Decomposition of organic matter is a key biogeochemical process contributing to nutrient cycles, carbon fluxes and soil development. The activity of decomposers depends on microclimate, with temperature and rainfall being major drivers. In complex terrain the fine-scale variation in microclimate (and hence water availability) as a result of slope orientation is caused by differences in incoming radiation and surface temperature. Aridity, measured as the long-term balance between net radiation and rainfall, is a metric that can be used to represent variations in water availability within the landscape. Since aridity metrics can be obtained at fine spatial scales, they could theoretically be used to investigate how decomposition processes vary across complex landscapes. In this study, four research sites were selected in tall open sclerophyll forest along a aridity gradient (Budyko dryness index ranging from 1.56 -2.22) where microclimate, litter moisture and soil moisture were monitored continuously for one year. Litter bags were packed to estimate decomposition rates (k) using leaves of a tree species not present in the study area (Eucalyptus globulus) in order to avoid home-field advantage effects. Litter mass loss was measured to assess the activity of macro-decomposers (6mm litter bag mesh size), meso-decomposers (1 mm mesh), microbes above-ground (0.2 mm mesh) and microbes below-ground (2 cm depth, 0.2 mm mesh). Four replicates for each set of bags were installed at each site and bags were collected at 1, 2, 4, 7 and 12 months since installation. We first tested whether differences in microclimate due to slope orientation have significant effects on decomposition processes. Then the dryness index was related to decomposition rates to evaluate if small-scale variation in decomposition can be predicted using readily available information on rainfall and radiation. Decomposition rates (k), calculated fitting single pool negative exponential models, generally

Prediction processes during multiple object tracking (MOT): involvement of dorsal and ventral premotor cortices

PubMed Central

Atmaca, Silke; Stadler, Waltraud; Keitel, Anne; Ott, Derek V M; Lepsien, Jöran; Prinz, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Background The multiple object tracking (MOT) paradigm is a cognitive task that requires parallel tracking of several identical, moving objects following nongoal-directed, arbitrary motion trajectories. Aims The current study aimed to investigate the employment of prediction processes during MOT. As an indicator for the involvement of prediction processes, we targeted the human premotor cortex (PM). The PM has been repeatedly implicated to serve the internal modeling of future actions and action effects, as well as purely perceptual events, by means of predictive feedforward functions. Materials and methods Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), BOLD activations recorded during MOT were contrasted with those recorded during the execution of a cognitive control task that used an identical stimulus display and demanded similar attentional load. A particular effort was made to identify and exclude previously found activation in the PM-adjacent frontal eye fields (FEF). Results We replicated prior results, revealing occipitotemporal, parietal, and frontal areas to be engaged in MOT. Discussion The activation in frontal areas is interpreted to originate from dorsal and ventral premotor cortices. The results are discussed in light of our assumption that MOT engages prediction processes. Conclusion We propose that our results provide first clues that MOT does not only involve visuospatial perception and attention processes, but prediction processes as well. PMID:24363971

Landscape community genomics: understanding eco-evolutionary processes in complex environments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hand, Brian K.; Lowe, Winsor H.; Kovach, Ryan P.; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Luikart, Gordon

2015-01-01

Extrinsic factors influencing evolutionary processes are often categorically lumped into interactions that are environmentally (e.g., climate, landscape) or community-driven, with little consideration of the overlap or influence of one on the other. However, genomic variation is strongly influenced by complex and dynamic interactions between environmental and community effects. Failure to consider both effects on evolutionary dynamics simultaneously can lead to incomplete, spurious, or erroneous conclusions about the mechanisms driving genomic variation. We highlight the need for a landscape community genomics (LCG) framework to help to motivate and challenge scientists in diverse fields to consider a more holistic, interdisciplinary perspective on the genomic evolution of multi-species communities in complex environments.

Multi-objective Optimization of Pulsed Gas Metal Arc Welding Process Using Neuro NSGA-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pal, Kamal; Pal, Surjya K.

2018-05-01

Weld quality is a critical issue in fabrication industries where products are custom-designed. Multi-objective optimization results number of solutions in the pareto-optimal front. Mathematical regression model based optimization methods are often found to be inadequate for highly non-linear arc welding processes. Thus, various global evolutionary approaches like artificial neural network, genetic algorithm (GA) have been developed. The present work attempts with elitist non-dominated sorting GA (NSGA-II) for optimization of pulsed gas metal arc welding process using back propagation neural network (BPNN) based weld quality feature models. The primary objective to maintain butt joint weld quality is the maximization of tensile strength with minimum plate distortion. BPNN has been used to compute the fitness of each solution after adequate training, whereas NSGA-II algorithm generates the optimum solutions for two conflicting objectives. Welding experiments have been conducted on low carbon steel using response surface methodology. The pareto-optimal front with three ranked solutions after 20th generations was considered as the best without further improvement. The joint strength as well as transverse shrinkage was found to be drastically improved over the design of experimental results as per validated pareto-optimal solutions obtained.

General and craniofacial development are complex adaptive processes influenced by diversity.

PubMed

Brook, A H; O'Donnell, M Brook; Hone, A; Hart, E; Hughes, T E; Smith, R N; Townsend, G C

2014-06-01

Complex systems are present in such diverse areas as social systems, economies, ecosystems and biology and, therefore, are highly relevant to dental research, education and practice. A Complex Adaptive System in biological development is a dynamic process in which, from interacting components at a lower level, higher level phenomena and structures emerge. Diversity makes substantial contributions to the performance of complex adaptive systems. It enhances the robustness of the process, allowing multiple responses to external stimuli as well as internal changes. From diversity comes variation in outcome and the possibility of major change; outliers in the distribution enhance the tipping points. The development of the dentition is a valuable, accessible model with extensive and reliable databases for investigating the role of complex adaptive systems in craniofacial and general development. The general characteristics of such systems are seen during tooth development: self-organization; bottom-up emergence; multitasking; self-adaptation; variation; tipping points; critical phases; and robustness. Dental findings are compatible with the Random Network Model, the Threshold Model and also with the Scale Free Network Model which has a Power Law distribution. In addition, dental development shows the characteristics of Modularity and Clustering to form Hierarchical Networks. The interactions between the genes (nodes) demonstrate Small World phenomena, Subgraph Motifs and Gene Regulatory Networks. Genetic mechanisms are involved in the creation and evolution of variation during development. The genetic factors interact with epigenetic and environmental factors at the molecular level and form complex networks within the cells. From these interactions emerge the higher level tissues, tooth germs and mineralized teeth. Approaching development in this way allows investigation of why there can be variations in phenotypes from identical genotypes; the phenotype is the outcome

A Bayesian alternative for multi-objective ecohydrological model specification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yating; Marshall, Lucy; Sharma, Ashish; Ajami, Hoori

2018-01-01

Recent studies have identified the importance of vegetation processes in terrestrial hydrologic systems. Process-based ecohydrological models combine hydrological, physical, biochemical and ecological processes of the catchments, and as such are generally more complex and parametric than conceptual hydrological models. Thus, appropriate calibration objectives and model uncertainty analysis are essential for ecohydrological modeling. In recent years, Bayesian inference has become one of the most popular tools for quantifying the uncertainties in hydrological modeling with the development of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. The Bayesian approach offers an appealing alternative to traditional multi-objective hydrologic model calibrations by defining proper prior distributions that can be considered analogous to the ad-hoc weighting often prescribed in multi-objective calibration. Our study aims to develop appropriate prior distributions and likelihood functions that minimize the model uncertainties and bias within a Bayesian ecohydrological modeling framework based on a traditional Pareto-based model calibration technique. In our study, a Pareto-based multi-objective optimization and a formal Bayesian framework are implemented in a conceptual ecohydrological model that combines a hydrological model (HYMOD) and a modified Bucket Grassland Model (BGM). Simulations focused on one objective (streamflow/LAI) and multiple objectives (streamflow and LAI) with different emphasis defined via the prior distribution of the model error parameters. Results show more reliable outputs for both predicted streamflow and LAI using Bayesian multi-objective calibration with specified prior distributions for error parameters based on results from the Pareto front in the ecohydrological modeling. The methodology implemented here provides insight into the usefulness of multiobjective Bayesian calibration for ecohydrologic systems and the importance of appropriate prior

Patterns and processes in the genetic differentiation of the Brachionus calyciflorus complex, a passively dispersing freshwater zooplankton.

PubMed

Xiang, Xian-ling; Xi, Yi-long; Wen, Xin-li; Zhang, Gen; Wang, Jin-xia; Hu, Ke

2011-05-01

Elucidating the evolutionary patterns and processes of extant species is an important objective of any research program that seeks to understand population divergence and, ultimately, speciation. The island-like nature and temporal fluctuation of limnetic habitats create opportunities for genetic differentiation in rotifers through space and time. To gain further understanding of spatio-temporal patterns of genetic differentiation in rotifers other than the well-studied Brachionus plicatilis complex in brackish water, a total of 318 nrDNA ITS sequences from the B. calyciflorus complex in freshwater were analysed using phylogenetic and phylogeographic methods. DNA taxonomy conducted by both the sequence divergence and the GMYC model suggested the occurrence of six potential cryptic species, supported also by reproductive isolation among the tested lineages. The significant genetic differentiation and non-significant correlation between geographic and genetic distances existed in the most abundant cryptic species, BcI-W and Bc-SW. The large proportion of genetic variability for cryptic species Bc-SW was due to differences between sampling localities within seasons, rather than between different seasons. Nested Clade Analysis suggested allopatric or past fragmentation, contiguous range expansion and long-distance colonization possibly coupled with subsequent fragmentation as the probable main forces shaping the present-day phylogeographic structure of the B. calyciflorus species complex. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Processing of Subject-Object Ambiguities in Native and Near-Native Mexican Spanish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jegerski, Jill

2012-01-01

This self-paced reading study first tested the prediction that the garden path effect previously observed during the processing of subject-object ambiguities in native English would not obtain in a null subject language like Spanish. The investigation then further explored whether the effect would be evident among near-native readers of Spanish…

Ultra Rapid Object Categorization: Effects of Level, Animacy and Context

PubMed Central

Praß, Maren; Grimsen, Cathleen; König, Martina; Fahle, Manfred

2013-01-01

It is widely agreed that in object categorization bottom-up and top-down influences interact. How top-down processes affect categorization has been primarily investigated in isolation, with only one higher level process at a time being manipulated. Here, we investigate the combination of different top-down influences (by varying the level of category, the animacy and the background of the object) and their effect on rapid object categorization. Subjects participated in a two-alternative forced choice rapid categorization task, while we measured accuracy and reaction times. Subjects had to categorize objects on the superordinate, basic or subordinate level. Objects belonged to the category animal or vehicle and each object was presented on a gray, congruent (upright) or incongruent (inverted) background. The results show that each top-down manipulation impacts object categorization and that they interact strongly. The best categorization was achieved on the superordinate level, providing no advantage for basic level in rapid categorization. Categorization between vehicles was faster than between animals on the basic level and vice versa on the subordinate level. Objects in homogenous gray background (context) yielded better overall performance than objects embedded in complex scenes, an effect most prominent on the subordinate level. An inverted background had no negative effect on object categorization compared to upright scenes. These results show how different top-down manipulations, such as category level, category type and background information, are related. We discuss the implications of top-down interactions on the interpretation of categorization results. PMID:23840810

Ultra rapid object categorization: effects of level, animacy and context.

PubMed

Praß, Maren; Grimsen, Cathleen; König, Martina; Fahle, Manfred

2013-01-01

It is widely agreed that in object categorization bottom-up and top-down influences interact. How top-down processes affect categorization has been primarily investigated in isolation, with only one higher level process at a time being manipulated. Here, we investigate the combination of different top-down influences (by varying the level of category, the animacy and the background of the object) and their effect on rapid object categorization. Subjects participated in a two-alternative forced choice rapid categorization task, while we measured accuracy and reaction times. Subjects had to categorize objects on the superordinate, basic or subordinate level. Objects belonged to the category animal or vehicle and each object was presented on a gray, congruent (upright) or incongruent (inverted) background. The results show that each top-down manipulation impacts object categorization and that they interact strongly. The best categorization was achieved on the superordinate level, providing no advantage for basic level in rapid categorization. Categorization between vehicles was faster than between animals on the basic level and vice versa on the subordinate level. Objects in homogenous gray background (context) yielded better overall performance than objects embedded in complex scenes, an effect most prominent on the subordinate level. An inverted background had no negative effect on object categorization compared to upright scenes. These results show how different top-down manipulations, such as category level, category type and background information, are related. We discuss the implications of top-down interactions on the interpretation of categorization results.

TRBP recruits the Dicer complex to Ago2 for microRNA processing and gene silencing.

PubMed

Chendrimada, Thimmaiah P; Gregory, Richard I; Kumaraswamy, Easwari; Norman, Jessica; Cooch, Neil; Nishikura, Kazuko; Shiekhattar, Ramin

2005-08-04

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are generated by a two-step processing pathway to yield RNA molecules of approximately 22 nucleotides that negatively regulate target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Primary miRNAs are processed to precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs) by the Microprocessor complex. These pre-miRNAs are cleaved by the RNase III Dicer to generate mature miRNAs that direct the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to messenger RNAs with complementary sequence. Here we show that TRBP (the human immunodeficiency virus transactivating response RNA-binding protein), which contains three double-stranded, RNA-binding domains, is an integral component of a Dicer-containing complex. Biochemical analysis of TRBP-containing complexes revealed the association of Dicer-TRBP with Argonaute 2 (Ago2), the catalytic engine of RISC. The physical association of Dicer-TRBP and Ago2 was confirmed after the isolation of the ternary complex using Flag-tagged Ago2 cell lines. In vitro reconstitution assays demonstrated that TRBP is required for the recruitment of Ago2 to the small interfering RNA (siRNA) bound by Dicer. Knockdown of TRBP results in destabilization of Dicer and a consequent loss of miRNA biogenesis. Finally, depletion of the Dicer-TRBP complex via exogenously introduced siRNAs diminished RISC-mediated reporter gene silencing. These results support a role of the Dicer-TRBP complex not only in miRNA processing but also as a platform for RISC assembly.

Is that a belt or a snake? object attentional selection affects the early stages of visual sensory processing

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background There is at present crescent empirical evidence deriving from different lines of ERPs research that, unlike previously observed, the earliest sensory visual response, known as C1 component or P/N80, generated within the striate cortex, might be modulated by selective attention to visual stimulus features. Up to now, evidence of this modulation has been related to space location, and simple features such as spatial frequency, luminance, and texture. Additionally, neurophysiological conditions, such as emotion, vigilance, the reflexive or voluntary nature of input attentional selection, and workload have also been related to C1 modulations, although at least the workload status has received controversial indications. No information is instead available, at present, for objects attentional selection. Methods In this study object- and space-based attention mechanisms were conjointly investigated by presenting complex, familiar shapes of artefacts and animals, intermixed with distracters, in different tasks requiring the selection of a relevant target-category within a relevant spatial location, while ignoring the other shape categories within this location, and, overall, all the categories at an irrelevant location. EEG was recorded from 30 scalp electrode sites in 21 right-handed participants. Results and Conclusions ERP findings showed that visual processing was modulated by both shape- and location-relevance per se, beginning separately at the latency of the early phase of a precocious negativity (60-80 ms) at mesial scalp sites consistent with the C1 component, and a positivity at more lateral sites. The data also showed that the attentional modulation progressed conjointly at the latency of the subsequent P1 (100-120 ms) and N1 (120-180 ms), as well as later-latency components. These findings support the views that (1) V1 may be precociously modulated by direct top-down influences, and participates to object, besides simple features, attentional

3-D Interpolation in Object Perception: Evidence from an Objective Performance Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellman, Philip J.; Garrigan, Patrick; Shipley, Thomas F.; Yin, Carol; Machado, Liana

2005-01-01

Object perception requires interpolation processes that connect visible regions despite spatial gaps. Some research has suggested that interpolation may be a 3-D process, but objective performance data and evidence about the conditions leading to interpolation are needed. The authors developed an objective performance paradigm for testing 3-D…

Online fully automated three-dimensional surface reconstruction of unknown objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalfaoui, Souhaiel; Aigueperse, Antoine; Fougerolle, Yohan; Seulin, Ralph; Fofi, David

2015-04-01

This paper presents a novel scheme for automatic and intelligent 3D digitization using robotic cells. The advantage of our procedure is that it is generic since it is not performed for a specific scanning technology. Moreover, it is not dependent on the methods used to perform the tasks associated with each elementary process. The comparison of results between manual and automatic scanning of complex objects shows that our digitization strategy is very efficient and faster than trained experts. The 3D models of the different objects are obtained with a strongly reduced number of acquisitions while moving efficiently the ranging device.

Multi-objective optimization of a continuous bio-dissimilation process of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol.

PubMed

Xu, Gongxian; Liu, Ying; Gao, Qunwang

2016-02-10

This paper deals with multi-objective optimization of continuous bio-dissimilation process of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol. In order to maximize the production rate of 1, 3-propanediol, maximize the conversion rate of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol, maximize the conversion rate of glycerol, and minimize the concentration of by-product ethanol, we first propose six new multi-objective optimization models that can simultaneously optimize any two of the four objectives above. Then these multi-objective optimization problems are solved by using the weighted-sum and normal-boundary intersection methods respectively. Both the Pareto filter algorithm and removal criteria are used to remove those non-Pareto optimal points obtained by the normal-boundary intersection method. The results show that the normal-boundary intersection method can successfully obtain the approximate Pareto optimal sets of all the proposed multi-objective optimization problems, while the weighted-sum approach cannot achieve the overall Pareto optimal solutions of some multi-objective problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anthropogenic and technogenic factors of operational risk at hazardous industrial objects of fuel-power complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magid, S. I.; Arkhipova, E. N.; Kulichikhin, V. V.; Zagretdinov, I. Sh.

2016-12-01

Technogenic and anthropogenic accidence at hazardous industrial objects (HIO) in the Russian Federation has been considered. The accidence level at HIO, including power plants and network enterprises, is determined by anthropogenic reasons, so-called "human factor", in 70% of all cases. The analysis of incidents caused by personnel has shown that errors occur most often during accidental situations, launches, holdups, routine switches, and other effects on equipment controls. It has been demonstrated that skills needed to perform type and routine switches can be learned, to certain limits, on real operating equipment, while combating emergency and accidental situations can be learned only with the help of modern training simulators developed based on information technologies. Problems arising during the following processes have been considered: development of mathematical and software support of modern training equipment associated, in one way or another, with adequate power-generating object modeling in accordance with human operator specifics; modeling and/or simulation of the corresponding control and management systems; organization of the education system (functional supply of the instructor, education and methodological resources (EMR)); organization of the program-technical, scalable and adaptable, platform for modeling of the main and secondary functions of the training simulator. It has been concluded that the systemic approach principle on the necessity and sufficiency in the applied methodology allows to reproduce all technological characteristics of the equipment, its topological completeness, as well as to achieve the acceptable counting rate. The initial "rough" models of processes in the equipment are based on the normative techniques and equation coefficients taken from the normative materials as well. Then, the synthesis of "fine" models has been carried out following the global practice in modeling and training simulator building, i

Distinct and overlapping fMRI activation networks for processing of novel identities and locations of objects.

PubMed

Pihlajamäki, Maija; Tanila, Heikki; Könönen, Mervi; Hänninen, Tuomo; Aronen, Hannu J; Soininen, Hilkka

2005-10-01

The ventral visual stream processes information about the identity of objects ('what'), whereas the dorsal stream processes the spatial locations of objects ('where'). There is a corresponding, although disputed, distinction for the ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal areas. Furthermore, there seems to be a distinction between the anterior and posterior medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures in the processing of novel items and new spatial arrangements, respectively. Functional differentiation of the intermediary mid-line cortical and temporal neocortical structures that communicate with the occipitotemporal, occipitoparietal, prefrontal, and MTL structures, however, is unclear. Therefore, in the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we examined whether the distinction among the MTL structures extends to these closely connected cortical areas. The most striking difference in the fMRI responses during visual presentation of changes in either items or their locations was the bilateral activation of the temporal lobe and ventrolateral prefrontal cortical areas for novel object identification in contrast to wide parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal activation for the novel locations of objects. An anterior-posterior distinction of fMRI responses similar to the MTL was observed in the cingulate/retrosplenial, and superior and middle temporal cortices. In addition to the distinct areas of activation, certain frontal, parietal, and temporo-occipital areas responded to both object and spatial novelty, suggesting a common attentional network for both types of changes in the visual environment. These findings offer new insights to the functional roles and intrinsic specialization of the cingulate/retrosplenial, and lateral temporal cortical areas in visuospatial cognition.

Methodology and Results of Mathematical Modelling of Complex Technological Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokrova, Nataliya V.

2018-03-01

The methodology of system analysis allows us to draw a mathematical model of the complex technological process. The mathematical description of the plasma-chemical process was proposed. The importance the quenching rate and initial temperature decrease time was confirmed for producing the maximum amount of the target product. The results of numerical integration of the system of differential equations can be used to describe reagent concentrations, plasma jet rate and temperature in order to achieve optimal mode of hardening. Such models are applicable both for solving control problems and predicting future states of sophisticated technological systems.

Modern Methods of Measuring and Modelling Architectural Objects in the Process of their Valorisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagroba, Marek

2017-10-01

As well as being a cutting-edge technology, laser scanning is still developing rapidly. Laser scanners have an almost unlimited range of use in many disciplines of contemporary engineering, where precision and high quality of tasks performed are of the utmost importance. Among these disciplines, special attention is drawn to architecture and urban space studies that is the fields of science which shape the space and surroundings occupied by people, thus having a direct impact on people’s lives. It is more complicated to take measurements with a laser scanner than with traditional methods, where laser target markers or a measuring tape are used. A specific procedure must be followed when measurements are taken with a laser scanner, and the aim is to obtain three-dimensional data about a building situated in a given space. Accuracy, low time consumption, safety and non-invasiveness are the primary advantages of this technology used in the civil engineering practice, when handling both historic and modern architecture. Using a laser scanner is especially important when taking measurements of vast engineering constructions, where an application of traditional techniques would be much more difficult and would require higher time and labour inputs, for example because of some less easily accessible nooks and crannies or due to the geometrical complexity of individual components of a building structure. In this article, the author undertakes the problem of measuring and modelling architectural objects in the process of their valorisation, i.e. the enhancement of their functional, usable, spatial and aesthetic values. Above all, the laser scanning method, by generating results as a point cloud, enables the user to obtain a very detailed, three-dimensional computer image of measured objects, and to make series of analyses and expert investigations, e.g. of the technical condition (deformation of construction elements) as well as the spatial management of the surrounding

Information processing using a single dynamical node as complex system

PubMed Central

Appeltant, L.; Soriano, M.C.; Van der Sande, G.; Danckaert, J.; Massar, S.; Dambre, J.; Schrauwen, B.; Mirasso, C.R.; Fischer, I.

2011-01-01

Novel methods for information processing are highly desired in our information-driven society. Inspired by the brain's ability to process information, the recently introduced paradigm known as 'reservoir computing' shows that complex networks can efficiently perform computation. Here we introduce a novel architecture that reduces the usually required large number of elements to a single nonlinear node with delayed feedback. Through an electronic implementation, we experimentally and numerically demonstrate excellent performance in a speech recognition benchmark. Complementary numerical studies also show excellent performance for a time series prediction benchmark. These results prove that delay-dynamical systems, even in their simplest manifestation, can perform efficient information processing. This finding paves the way to feasible and resource-efficient technological implementations of reservoir computing. PMID:21915110

A Sensitivity Analysis Method to Study the Behavior of Complex Process-based Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brugnach, M.; Neilson, R.; Bolte, J.

2001-12-01

The use of process-based models as a tool for scientific inquiry is becoming increasingly relevant in ecosystem studies. Process-based models are artificial constructs that simulate the system by mechanistically mimicking the functioning of its component processes. Structurally, a process-based model can be characterized, in terms of its processes and the relationships established among them. Each process comprises a set of functional relationships among several model components (e.g., state variables, parameters and input data). While not encoded explicitly, the dynamics of the model emerge from this set of components and interactions organized in terms of processes. It is the task of the modeler to guarantee that the dynamics generated are appropriate and semantically equivalent to the phenomena being modeled. Despite the availability of techniques to characterize and understand model behavior, they do not suffice to completely and easily understand how a complex process-based model operates. For example, sensitivity analysis studies model behavior by determining the rate of change in model output as parameters or input data are varied. One of the problems with this approach is that it considers the model as a "black box", and it focuses on explaining model behavior by analyzing the relationship input-output. Since, these models have a high degree of non-linearity, understanding how the input affects an output can be an extremely difficult task. Operationally, the application of this technique may constitute a challenging task because complex process-based models are generally characterized by a large parameter space. In order to overcome some of these difficulties, we propose a method of sensitivity analysis to be applicable to complex process-based models. This method focuses sensitivity analysis at the process level, and it aims to determine how sensitive the model output is to variations in the processes. Once the processes that exert the major influence in

A Bayesian Alternative for Multi-objective Ecohydrological Model Specification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Y.; Marshall, L. A.; Sharma, A.; Ajami, H.

2015-12-01

Process-based ecohydrological models combine the study of hydrological, physical, biogeochemical and ecological processes of the catchments, which are usually more complex and parametric than conceptual hydrological models. Thus, appropriate calibration objectives and model uncertainty analysis are essential for ecohydrological modeling. In recent years, Bayesian inference has become one of the most popular tools for quantifying the uncertainties in hydrological modeling with the development of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. Our study aims to develop appropriate prior distributions and likelihood functions that minimize the model uncertainties and bias within a Bayesian ecohydrological framework. In our study, a formal Bayesian approach is implemented in an ecohydrological model which combines a hydrological model (HyMOD) and a dynamic vegetation model (DVM). Simulations focused on one objective likelihood (Streamflow/LAI) and multi-objective likelihoods (Streamflow and LAI) with different weights are compared. Uniform, weakly informative and strongly informative prior distributions are used in different simulations. The Kullback-leibler divergence (KLD) is used to measure the dis(similarity) between different priors and corresponding posterior distributions to examine the parameter sensitivity. Results show that different prior distributions can strongly influence posterior distributions for parameters, especially when the available data is limited or parameters are insensitive to the available data. We demonstrate differences in optimized parameters and uncertainty limits in different cases based on multi-objective likelihoods vs. single objective likelihoods. We also demonstrate the importance of appropriately defining the weights of objectives in multi-objective calibration according to different data types.

Numerical simulation of complex part manufactured by selective laser melting process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Belle, Laurent

2017-10-01

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process belonging to the family of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies, enable to build parts layer by layer, from metallic powder and a CAD model. Physical phenomena that occur in the process have the same issues as conventional welding. Thermal gradients generate significant residual stresses and distortions in the parts. Moreover, the large and complex parts to manufacturing, accentuate the undesirable effects. Therefore, it is essential for manufacturers to offer a better understanding of the process and to ensure production reliability of parts with high added value. This paper focuses on the simulation of manufacturing turbine by SLM process in order to calculate residual stresses and distortions. Numerical results will be presented.

Assessing the Performance of Computationally Simple and Complex Representations of Aerosol Processes using a Testbed Methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fast, J. D.; Ma, P.; Easter, R. C.; Liu, X.; Zaveri, R. A.; Rasch, P.

2012-12-01

Predictions of aerosol radiative forcing in climate models still contain large uncertainties, resulting from a poor understanding of certain aerosol processes, the level of complexity of aerosol processes represented in models, and the ability of models to account for sub-grid scale variability of aerosols and processes affecting them. In addition, comparing the performance and computational efficiency of new aerosol process modules used in various studies is problematic because different studies often employ different grid configurations, meteorology, trace gas chemistry, and emissions that affect the temporal and spatial evolution of aerosols. To address this issue, we have developed an Aerosol Modeling Testbed (AMT) to systematically and objectively evaluate aerosol process modules. The AMT consists of the modular Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, a series of testbed cases for which extensive in situ and remote sensing measurements of meteorological, trace gas, and aerosol properties are available, and a suite of tools to evaluate the performance of meteorological, chemical, aerosol process modules. WRF contains various parameterizations of meteorological, chemical, and aerosol processes and includes interactive aerosol-cloud-radiation treatments similar to those employed by climate models. In addition, the physics suite from a global climate model, Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5), has also been ported to WRF so that these parameterizations can be tested at various spatial scales and compared directly with field campaign data and other parameterizations commonly used by the mesoscale modeling community. In this study, we evaluate simple and complex treatments of the aerosol size distribution and secondary organic aerosols using the AMT and measurements collected during three field campaigns: the Megacities Initiative Local and Global Observations (MILAGRO) campaign conducted in the vicinity of Mexico City during March 2006, the

Water-mediated contacts in the trp-repressor operator complex recognition process.

PubMed

Wibowo, Fajar R; Rauch, Christine; Trieb, Michael; Wellenzohn, Bernd; Liedl, Klaus R

2004-04-15

Water-mediated contacts are known as an important recognition tool in trp-repressor operator systems. One of these contacts involves two conserved base pairs (G(6).C(-6) and A(5). T(-5)) and three amino acids (Lys 72, Ile 79, and Ala 80). To investigate the nature of these contacts, we analyzed the X-ray structure (PDB code: 1TRO) of the trp-repressor operator complex by means of molecular dynamics simulations. This X-ray structure contains two dimers that exhibit structural differences. From these two different starting structures, two 10 ns molecular dynamics simulations have been performed. Both of our simulations show an increase of water molecules in the major groove at one side of the dimer, while the other side remains unchanged compared to the X-ray structure. Though the maximum residence time of the concerned water molecules decreases with an increase of solvent at the interface, these water molecules continue to play an important role in mediating DNA-protein contacts. This is shown by new stable amino acids-DNA distances and a long water residence time compared to free DNA simulation. To maintain stability of the new contacts, the preferential water binding site on O6(G6) is extended. This extension agrees with mutation experiment data on A5 and G6, which shows different relative affinity due to mutation on these bases [A. Joachimiak, T. E. Haran, P. B. Sigler, EMBO Journal 1994, Vol. 13, No. (2) pp. 367-372]. Due to the rearrangements in the system, the phosphate of the base G6 is able to interconvert to the B(II) substate, which is not observed on the other half side of the complex. The decrease of the number of hydrogen bonds between protein and DNA backbone could be the initial step of the dissociation process of the complex, or in other words an intermediate complex conformation of the association process. Thus, we surmise that these features show the importance of water-mediated contacts in the trp-repressor operator recognition process. Copyright

Action and object word writing in a case of bilingual aphasia.

PubMed

Kambanaros, Maria; Messinis, Lambros; Anyfantis, Emmanouil

2012-01-01

We report the spoken and written naming of a bilingual speaker with aphasia in two languages that differ in morphological complexity, orthographic transparency and script Greek and English. AA presented with difficulties in spoken picture naming together with preserved written picture naming for action words in Greek. In English, AA showed similar performance across both tasks for action and object words, i.e. difficulties retrieving action and object names for both spoken and written naming. Our findings support the hypothesis that cognitive processes used for spoken and written naming are independent components of the language system and can be selectively impaired after brain injury. In the case of bilingual speakers, such processes impact on both languages. We conclude grammatical category is an organizing principle in bilingual dysgraphia.

Cortical systems mediating visual attention to both objects and spatial locations

PubMed Central

Shomstein, Sarah; Behrmann, Marlene

2006-01-01

Natural visual scenes consist of many objects occupying a variety of spatial locations. Given that the plethora of information cannot be processed simultaneously, the multiplicity of inputs compete for representation. Using event-related functional MRI, we show that attention, the mechanism by which a subset of the input is selected, is mediated by the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Of particular interest is that PPC activity is differentially sensitive to the object-based properties of the input, with enhanced activation for those locations bound by an attended object. Of great interest too is the ensuing modulation of activation in early cortical regions, reflected as differences in the temporal profile of the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response for within-object versus between-object locations. These findings indicate that object-based selection results from an object-sensitive reorienting signal issued by the PPC. The dynamic circuit between the PPC and earlier sensory regions then enables observers to attend preferentially to objects of interest in complex scenes. PMID:16840559

Road-safety education: spatial decentering and subjective or objective picture processing.

PubMed

Guercin, F

2007-10-01

The current study examined children's ability to analyse pictures of a risky situation, both in relation to the characteristics of the pictures and in relation to the centering/decentering process of cognitive development. Sixty children aged 6, 9 or 11 years were given an objective or subjective version of a story about a risky situation involving road crossing and were asked to reconstruct it by putting six pictures in chronological order. The type of picture series, objective or subjective, had a different effect on the children's understanding and performance, according to the age. The older children were better at ordering the pictures, but on the subjective version only. The picture-version effect on planning time decreased with age; only the younger children took more time to start touching the pictures. On one hand, it is concluded that for the youngest children, objective representations are essential to analysing pictures showing a risk, whereas the oldest children will profit more from a subjective view. On the other hand, subjective representations, which give a more realistic view, provide an excellent tool for testing children's abilities. Subjective representations can be used to detect potentially risky behaviour in virtual situations (static pictures, or multimedia tools), since it permits one to predict at-risk behaviour in the street and to assess the effectiveness of remedial measures.

Material properties from contours: New insights on object perception.

PubMed

Pinna, Baingio; Deiana, Katia

2015-10-01

In this work we explored phenomenologically the visual complexity of the material attributes on the basis of the contours that define the boundaries of a visual object. The starting point is the rich and pioneering work done by Gestalt psychologists and, more in detail, by Rubin, who first demonstrated that contours contain most of the information related to object perception, like the shape, the color and the depth. In fact, by investigating simple conditions like those used by Gestalt psychologists, mostly consisting of contours only, we demonstrated that the phenomenal complexity of the material attributes emerges through appropriate manipulation of the contours. A phenomenological approach, analogous to the one used by Gestalt psychologists, was used to answer the following questions. What are contours? Which attributes can be phenomenally defined by contours? Are material properties determined only by contours? What is the visual syntactic organization of object attributes? The results of this work support the idea of a visual syntactic organization as a new kind of object formation process useful to understand the language of vision that creates well-formed attribute organizations. The syntax of visual attributes can be considered as a new way to investigate the modular coding and, more generally, the binding among attributes, i.e., the issue of how the brain represents the pairing of shape and material properties. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Interaction between Central and Peripheral Processing in Chinese Handwritten Production: Evidence from the Effect of Lexicality and Radical Complexity

PubMed Central

Zhang, Qingfang; Feng, Chen

2017-01-01

The interaction between central and peripheral processing in written word production remains controversial. This study aims to investigate whether the effects of radical complexity and lexicality in central processing cascade into peripheral processing in Chinese written word production. The participants were asked to write characters and non-characters (lexicality) with different radical complexity (few- and many-strokes). The findings indicated that regardless of the lexicality, the writing latencies were longer for characters with higher complexity (the many-strokes condition) than for characters with lower complexity (the few-strokes condition). The participants slowed down their writing execution at the radicals' boundary strokes, which indicated a radical boundary effect in peripheral processing. Interestingly, the lexicality and the radical complexity affected the pattern of shift velocity and writing velocity during the execution of writing. Lexical processing cascades into peripheral processing but only at the beginning of Chinese characters. In contrast, the radical complexity influenced the execution of handwriting movement throughout the entire character, and the pattern of the effect interacted with the character frequency. These results suggest that the processes of the lexicality and the radical complexity function during the execution of handwritten word production, which suggests that central processing cascades over peripheral processing during Chinese characters handwriting. PMID:28348536

Impact of processes of care aimed at complication reduction on the cost of complex cancer surgery

PubMed Central

Ho, Vivian; Aloia, Thomas A.

2015-01-01

Background and Objectives Health care providers add multiple processes to the care of complex cancer patients, believing they prevent and/or ameliorate complications. However, the relationship between these processes, complication remediation, and expenditures is unknown. Methods Data for patients with cancer diagnoses undergoing colectomy, rectal resection, pulmonary lobectomy, pneumonectomy, esophagectomy, and pancreatic resection were obtained from hospital and inpatient physician Medicare claims for the years 2005–2009. Risk‐adjusted regression analyses measured the association between hospitalization costs and processes presumed to prevent and/or remedy complications common to high‐risk procedures. Results After controlling for comorbidities, analysis identified associations between increased costs and use of multiple processes, including arterial lines (4–12% higher; P < 0.001) and pulmonary artery catheters (23–33% higher; P < 0.001). Epidural analgesia was not associated with higher costs. Consultations were associated with 24‐44% (P < 0.001) higher costs, and total parenteral nutrition was associated with 13–31% higher costs (P < 0.001). Conclusions Many frequently utilized processes and services presumed to avoid and/or ameliorate complications are associated with increased surgical oncology costs. This suggests that the patient‐centered value of each process should be measured on a procedure‐specific basis. Likewise, further attention should be focused on defining the efficacy of each of these costly, but frequently unproven, additions to perioperative care. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015;112:610–615. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Surgical Oncology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26391328

Dopamine D1 receptor activation leads to object recognition memory in a coral reef fish.

PubMed

Hamilton, Trevor J; Tresguerres, Martin; Kline, David I

2017-07-01

Object recognition memory is the ability to identify previously seen objects and is an adaptive mechanism that increases survival for many species throughout the animal kingdom. Previously believed to be possessed by only the highest order mammals, it is now becoming clear that fish are also capable of this type of memory formation. Similar to the mammalian hippocampus, the dorsolateral pallium regulates distinct memory processes and is modulated by neurotransmitters such as dopamine. Caribbean bicolour damselfish ( Stegastes partitus ) live in complex environments dominated by coral reef structures and thus likely possess many types of complex memory abilities including object recognition. This study used a novel object recognition test in which fish were first presented two identical objects, then after a retention interval of 10 min with no objects, the fish were presented with a novel object and one of the objects they had previously encountered in the first trial. We demonstrate that the dopamine D 1 -receptor agonist (SKF 38393) induces the formation of object recognition memories in these fish. Thus, our results suggest that dopamine-receptor mediated enhancement of spatial memory formation in fish represents an evolutionarily conserved mechanism in vertebrates. © 2017 The Author(s).

CALIBRATION OF SUBSURFACE BATCH AND REACTIVE-TRANSPORT MODELS INVOLVING COMPLEX BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES

EPA Science Inventory

In this study, the calibration of subsurface batch and reactive-transport models involving complex biogeochemical processes was systematically evaluated. Two hypothetical nitrate biodegradation scenarios were developed and simulated in numerical experiments to evaluate the perfor...

Indicator system for a process plant control complex

DOEpatents

Scarola, Kenneth; Jamison, David S.; Manazir, Richard M.; Rescorl, Robert L.; Harmon, Daryl L.

1993-01-01

An advanced control room complex for a nuclear power plant, including a discrete indicator and alarm system (72) which is nuclear qualified for rapid response to changes in plant parameters and a component control system (64) which together provide a discrete monitoring and control capability at a panel (14-22, 26, 28) in the control room (10). A separate data processing system (70), which need not be nuclear qualified, provides integrated and overview information to the control room and to each panel, through CRTs (84) and a large, overhead integrated process status overview board (24). The discrete indicator and alarm system (72) and the data processing system (70) receive inputs from common plant sensors and validate the sensor outputs to arrive at a representative value of the parameter for use by the operator during both normal and accident conditions, thereby avoiding the need for him to assimilate data from each sensor individually. The integrated process status board (24) is at the apex of an information hierarchy that extends through four levels and provides access at each panel to the full display hierarchy. The control room panels are preferably of a modular construction, permitting the definition of inputs and outputs, the man machine interface, and the plant specific algorithms, to proceed in parallel with the fabrication of the panels, the installation of the equipment and the generic testing thereof.

Possible Overlapping Time Frames of Acquisition and Consolidation Phases in Object Memory Processes: A Pharmacological Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akkerman, Sven; Blokland, Arjan; Prickaerts, Jos

2016-01-01

In previous studies, we have shown that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE-Is) are able to improve object memory by enhancing acquisition processes. On the other hand, only PDE-Is improve consolidation processes. Here we show that the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil also improves memory performance when…

Utilization of Expert Knowledge in a Multi-Objective Hydrologic Model Automatic Calibration Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quebbeman, J.; Park, G. H.; Carney, S.; Day, G. N.; Micheletty, P. D.

2016-12-01

Spatially distributed continuous simulation hydrologic models have a large number of parameters for potential adjustment during the calibration process. Traditional manual calibration approaches of such a modeling system is extremely laborious, which has historically motivated the use of automatic calibration procedures. With a large selection of model parameters, achieving high degrees of objective space fitness - measured with typical metrics such as Nash-Sutcliffe, Kling-Gupta, RMSE, etc. - can easily be achieved using a range of evolutionary algorithms. A concern with this approach is the high degree of compensatory calibration, with many similarly performing solutions, and yet grossly varying parameter set solutions. To help alleviate this concern, and mimic manual calibration processes, expert knowledge is proposed for inclusion within the multi-objective functions, which evaluates the parameter decision space. As a result, Pareto solutions are identified with high degrees of fitness, but also create parameter sets that maintain and utilize available expert knowledge resulting in more realistic and consistent solutions. This process was tested using the joint SNOW-17 and Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting method (SAC-SMA) within the Animas River basin in Colorado. Three different elevation zones, each with a range of parameters, resulted in over 35 model parameters simultaneously calibrated. As a result, high degrees of fitness were achieved, in addition to the development of more realistic and consistent parameter sets such as those typically achieved during manual calibration procedures.

Auditory object salience: human cortical processing of non-biological action sounds and their acoustic signal attributes

PubMed Central

Lewis, James W.; Talkington, William J.; Tallaksen, Katherine C.; Frum, Chris A.

2012-01-01

Whether viewed or heard, an object in action can be segmented as a distinct salient event based on a number of different sensory cues. In the visual system, several low-level attributes of an image are processed along parallel hierarchies, involving intermediate stages wherein gross-level object form and/or motion features are extracted prior to stages that show greater specificity for different object categories (e.g., people, buildings, or tools). In the auditory system, though relying on a rather different set of low-level signal attributes, meaningful real-world acoustic events and “auditory objects” can also be readily distinguished from background scenes. However, the nature of the acoustic signal attributes or gross-level perceptual features that may be explicitly processed along intermediate cortical processing stages remain poorly understood. Examining mechanical and environmental action sounds, representing two distinct non-biological categories of action sources, we had participants assess the degree to which each sound was perceived as object-like versus scene-like. We re-analyzed data from two of our earlier functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task paradigms (Engel et al., 2009) and found that scene-like action sounds preferentially led to activation along several midline cortical structures, but with strong dependence on listening task demands. In contrast, bilateral foci along the superior temporal gyri (STG) showed parametrically increasing activation to action sounds rated as more “object-like,” independent of sound category or task demands. Moreover, these STG regions also showed parametric sensitivity to spectral structure variations (SSVs) of the action sounds—a quantitative measure of change in entropy of the acoustic signals over time—and the right STG additionally showed parametric sensitivity to measures of mean entropy and harmonic content of the environmental sounds. Analogous to the visual system, intermediate stages

New possibilities using additive manufacturing with materials that are difficult to process and with complex structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsson, Anders; Hellsing, Maja S.; Rennie, Adrian R.

2017-05-01

Additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) opens the possibility of creating new designs and manufacturing objects with new materials rapidly and economically. Particularly for use with polymers and polymer composites, simple printers can make high quality products, and these can be produced easily in offices, schools and in workshops and laboratories. This technology has opened a route for many to test ideas or to make custom devices. It is possible to easily manufacture complex geometries that would be difficult or even impossible to create with traditional methods. Naturally this technology has attracted attention in many fields that include the production of medical devices and prostheses, mechanical engineering as well as basic sciences. Materials that are highly problematic to machine can be used. We illustrate process developments with an account of the production of printer parts to cope with polymer fillers that are hard and abrasive; new nozzles with ruby inserts designed for such materials are durable and can be used to print boron carbide composites. As with other materials, complex parts can be printed using boron carbide composites with fine structures, such as screw threads and labels to identify materials. General ideas about design for this new era of manufacturing customised parts are presented.

Parametric identification of the process of preparing ceramic mixture as an object of control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galitskov, Stanislav; Nazarov, Maxim; Galitskov, Konstantin

2017-10-01

Manufacture of ceramic materials and products largely depends on the preparation of clay raw materials. The main process here is the process of mixing, which in industrial production is mostly done in cross-compound clay mixers of continuous operation with steam humidification. The authors identified features of dynamics of this technological stage, which in itself is a non-linear control object with distributed parameters. When solving practical tasks for automation of a certain class of ceramic materials production it is important to make parametric identification of moving clay. In this paper the task is solved with the use of computational models, approximated to a particular section of a clay mixer along its length. The research introduces a methodology of computational experiments as applied to the designed computational model. Parametric identification of dynamic links was carried out according to transient characteristics. The experiments showed that the control object in question is to a great extent a non-stationary one. The obtained results are problematically oriented on synthesizing a multidimensional automatic control system for preparation of ceramic mixture with specified values of humidity and temperature exposed to the technological process of major disturbances.

A single cognitive heuristic process meets the complexity of domain-specific moral heuristics.

PubMed

Dubljević, Veljko; Racine, Eric

2014-10-01

The inherence heuristic (a) offers modest insights into the complex nature of both the is-ought tension in moral reasoning and moral reasoning per se, and (b) does not reflect the complexity of domain-specific moral heuristics. Formal and general in nature, we contextualize the process described as "inherence heuristic" in a web of domain-specific heuristics (e.g., agent specific; action specific; consequences specific).

Memory Indexing: A Novel Method for Tracing Memory Processes in Complex Cognitive Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renkewitz, Frank; Jahn, Georg

2012-01-01

We validate an eye-tracking method applicable for studying memory processes in complex cognitive tasks. The method is tested with a task on probabilistic inferences from memory. It provides valuable data on the time course of processing, thus clarifying previous results on heuristic probabilistic inference. Participants learned cue values of…

Representational Similarity Analysis Reveals Commonalities and Differences in the Semantic Processing of Words and Objects

PubMed Central

Devereux, Barry J.; Clarke, Alex; Marouchos, Andreas; Tyler, Lorraine K.

2013-01-01

Understanding the meanings of words and objects requires the activation of underlying conceptual representations. Semantic representations are often assumed to be coded such that meaning is evoked regardless of the input modality. However, the extent to which meaning is coded in modality-independent or amodal systems remains controversial. We address this issue in a human fMRI study investigating the neural processing of concepts, presented separately as written words and pictures. Activation maps for each individual word and picture were used as input for searchlight-based multivoxel pattern analyses. Representational similarity analysis was used to identify regions correlating with low-level visual models of the words and objects and the semantic category structure common to both. Common semantic category effects for both modalities were found in a left-lateralized network, including left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LpMTG), left angular gyrus, and left intraparietal sulcus (LIPS), in addition to object- and word-specific semantic processing in ventral temporal cortex and more anterior MTG, respectively. To explore differences in representational content across regions and modalities, we developed novel data-driven analyses, based on k-means clustering of searchlight dissimilarity matrices and seeded correlation analysis. These revealed subtle differences in the representations in semantic-sensitive regions, with representations in LIPS being relatively invariant to stimulus modality and representations in LpMTG being uncorrelated across modality. These results suggest that, although both LpMTG and LIPS are involved in semantic processing, only the functional role of LIPS is the same regardless of the visual input, whereas the functional role of LpMTG differs for words and objects. PMID:24285896

Representational similarity analysis reveals commonalities and differences in the semantic processing of words and objects.

PubMed

Devereux, Barry J; Clarke, Alex; Marouchos, Andreas; Tyler, Lorraine K

2013-11-27

Understanding the meanings of words and objects requires the activation of underlying conceptual representations. Semantic representations are often assumed to be coded such that meaning is evoked regardless of the input modality. However, the extent to which meaning is coded in modality-independent or amodal systems remains controversial. We address this issue in a human fMRI study investigating the neural processing of concepts, presented separately as written words and pictures. Activation maps for each individual word and picture were used as input for searchlight-based multivoxel pattern analyses. Representational similarity analysis was used to identify regions correlating with low-level visual models of the words and objects and the semantic category structure common to both. Common semantic category effects for both modalities were found in a left-lateralized network, including left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LpMTG), left angular gyrus, and left intraparietal sulcus (LIPS), in addition to object- and word-specific semantic processing in ventral temporal cortex and more anterior MTG, respectively. To explore differences in representational content across regions and modalities, we developed novel data-driven analyses, based on k-means clustering of searchlight dissimilarity matrices and seeded correlation analysis. These revealed subtle differences in the representations in semantic-sensitive regions, with representations in LIPS being relatively invariant to stimulus modality and representations in LpMTG being uncorrelated across modality. These results suggest that, although both LpMTG and LIPS are involved in semantic processing, only the functional role of LIPS is the same regardless of the visual input, whereas the functional role of LpMTG differs for words and objects.