Advanced helmet vision system (AHVS) integrated night vision helmet mounted display (HMD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashcraft, Todd W.; Atac, Robert

2012-06-01

Gentex Corporation, under contract to Naval Air Systems Command (AIR 4.0T), designed the Advanced Helmet Vision System to provide aircrew with 24-hour, visor-projected binocular night vision and HMD capability. AHVS integrates numerous key technologies, including high brightness Light Emitting Diode (LED)-based digital light engines, advanced lightweight optical materials and manufacturing processes, and innovations in graphics processing software. This paper reviews the current status of miniaturization and integration with the latest two-part Gentex modular helmet, highlights the lessons learned from previous AHVS phases, and discusses plans for qualification and flight testing.

Night Vision Laboratory Static Performance Model for Thermal Viewing Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-04-01

Research and Development Technical Report f ECOM-� • i’.__1’=• =•NIGHT VISION LABORATORY STATIC PERFORMANCE MODEL 1 S1=• : FOR THERMAL VIEWING...resolvable temperature Infrared imaging Minimum detectable temperature1.Detection and recognition performance Night visi,-)n Noise equivalent temperature...modulation transfer function (MTF). The noise charactcristics are specified by the noise equivalent temper- ature difference (NE AT), The next sections

Portable real-time color night vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toet, Alexander; Hogervorst, Maarten A.

2008-03-01

We developed a simple and fast lookup-table based method to derive and apply natural daylight colors to multi-band night-time images. The method deploys an optimal color transformation derived from a set of samples taken from a daytime color reference image. The colors in the resulting colorized multiband night-time images closely resemble the colors in the daytime color reference image. Also, object colors remain invariant under panning operations and are independent of the scene content. Here we describe the implementation of this method in two prototype portable dual band realtime night vision systems. One system provides co-aligned visual and near-infrared bands of two image intensifiers, the other provides co-aligned images from a digital image intensifier and an uncooled longwave infrared microbolometer. The co-aligned images from both systems are further processed by a notebook computer. The color mapping is implemented as a realtime lookup table transform. The resulting colorised video streams can be displayed in realtime on head mounted displays and stored on the hard disk of the notebook computer. Preliminary field trials demonstrate the potential of these systems for applications like surveillance, navigation and target detection.

Development of an Automatic Testing Platform for Aviator's Night Vision Goggle Honeycomb Defect Inspection.

PubMed

Jian, Bo-Lin; Peng, Chao-Chung

2017-06-15

Due to the direct influence of night vision equipment availability on the safety of night-time aerial reconnaissance, maintenance needs to be carried out regularly. Unfortunately, some defects are not easy to observe or are not even detectable by human eyes. As a consequence, this study proposed a novel automatic defect detection system for aviator's night vision imaging systems AN/AVS-6(V)1 and AN/AVS-6(V)2. An auto-focusing process consisting of a sharpness calculation and a gradient-based variable step search method is applied to achieve an automatic detection system for honeycomb defects. This work also developed a test platform for sharpness measurement. It demonstrates that the honeycomb defects can be precisely recognized and the number of the defects can also be determined automatically during the inspection. Most importantly, the proposed approach significantly reduces the time consumption, as well as human assessment error during the night vision goggle inspection procedures.

Effects of Extended Hypoxia on Night Vision

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-01

Continue on reverse aide it necessary and identify by block number) hypoxia, anoxia , night vision, dark adaptation, extended hypoxia /y虦 SABDST’RACT M=t...and his colleagues, who not only quantified significant aspects of the dark adaptation function due to anoxia (hypoxia) (12,13,14,16), but also...and his co-workers (7) conducted related and very significant research on bright- ness discrimination, and concluded that anoxia acts mainly on the

Night Vision Manual for the Flight Surgeon.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-01

by optic nerve and pathways to Brodmann’s occipital areas 17 and 18). Perception occurs - vision Sensitive material ( retinal pigment) must be...clearly may be defined as glare. Glare becomes a problem in patients with opacities of the ocular media or with retinal diseases. 3 FME tN [I.I Sl IN FM...reduction of pupillary area caused by the drug. 3. Retinal causes of abnormal dark adaptation. a. Congenital stationary night blindness. b. etinitis

Assessing contextual factors that influence acceptance of pedestrian alerts by a night vision system.

PubMed

Källhammer, Jan-Erik; Smith, Kip

2012-08-01

We investigated five contextual variables that we hypothesized would influence driver acceptance of alerts to pedestrians issued by a night vision active safety system to inform the specification of the system's alerting strategies. Driver acceptance of automotive active safety systems is a key factor to promote their use and implies a need to assess factors influencing driver acceptance. In a field operational test, 10 drivers drove instrumented vehicles equipped with a preproduction night vision system with pedestrian detection software. In a follow-up experiment, the 10 drivers and 25 additional volunteers without experience with the system watched 57 clips with pedestrian encounters gathered during the field operational test. They rated the acceptance of an alert to each pedestrian encounter. Levels of rating concordance were significant between drivers who experienced the encounters and participants who did not. Two contextual variables, pedestrian location and motion, were found to influence ratings. Alerts were more accepted when pedestrians were close to or moving toward the vehicle's path. The study demonstrates the utility of using subjective driver acceptance ratings to inform the design of active safety systems and to leverage expensive field operational test data within the confines of the laboratory. The design of alerting strategies for active safety systems needs to heed the driver's contextual sensitivity to issued alerts.

Airborne Use of Night Vision Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mepham, S.

1990-04-01

Mission Management Department of the Royal Aerospace Establishment has won a Queen's Award for Technology, jointly with GEC Sensors, in recognition of innovation and success in the development and application of night vision technology for fixed wing aircraft. This work has been carried out to satisfy the operational needs of the Royal Air Force. These are seen to be: - Operations in the NATO Central Region - To have a night as well as a day capability - To carry out low level, high speed penetration - To attack battlefield targets, especially groups of tanks - To meet these objectives at minimum cost The most effective way to penetrate enemy defences is at low level and survivability would be greatly enhanced with a first pass attack. It is therefore most important that not only must the pilot be able to fly at low level to the target but also he must be able to detect it in sufficient time to complete a successful attack. An analysis of the average operating conditions in Central Europe during winter clearly shows that high speed low level attacks can only be made for about 20 per cent of the 24 hours. Extending this into good night conditions raises the figure to 60 per cent. Whilst it is true that this is for winter conditions and in summer the situation is better, the overall advantage to be gained is clear. If our aircraft do not have this capability the potential for the enemy to advance his troops and armour without hinderance for considerable periods is all too obvious. There are several solutions to providing such a capability. The one chosen for Tornado GR1 is to use Terrain Following Radar (TFR). This system is a complete 24 hour capability. However it has two main disadvantages, it is an active system which means it can be jammed or homed into, and is useful in attacking pre-planned targets. Second it is an expensive system which precludes fitting to other than a small number of aircraft.

Night vision imaging systems design, integration, and verification in military fighter aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabatini, Roberto; Richardson, Mark A.; Cantiello, Maurizio; Toscano, Mario; Fiorini, Pietro; Jia, Huamin; Zammit-Mangion, David

2012-04-01

This paper describes the developmental and testing activities conducted by the Italian Air Force Official Test Centre (RSV) in collaboration with Alenia Aerospace, Litton Precision Products and Cranfiled University, in order to confer the Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVIS) capability to the Italian TORNADO IDS (Interdiction and Strike) and ECR (Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance) aircraft. The activities consisted of various Design, Development, Test and Evaluation (DDT&E) activities, including Night Vision Goggles (NVG) integration, cockpit instruments and external lighting modifications, as well as various ground test sessions and a total of eighteen flight test sorties. RSV and Litton Precision Products were responsible of coordinating and conducting the installation activities of the internal and external lights. Particularly, an iterative process was established, allowing an in-site rapid correction of the major deficiencies encountered during the ground and flight test sessions. Both single-ship (day/night) and formation (night) flights were performed, shared between the Test Crews involved in the activities, allowing for a redundant examination of the various test items by all participants. An innovative test matrix was developed and implemented by RSV for assessing the operational suitability and effectiveness of the various modifications implemented. Also important was definition of test criteria for Pilot and Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) workload assessment during the accomplishment of various operational tasks during NVG missions. Furthermore, the specific technical and operational elements required for evaluating the modified helmets were identified, allowing an exhaustive comparative evaluation of the two proposed solutions (i.e., HGU-55P and HGU-55G modified helmets). The results of the activities were very satisfactory. The initial compatibility problems encountered were progressively mitigated by incorporating modifications both in the front and

All-CMOS night vision viewer with integrated microdisplay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goosen, Marius E.; Venter, Petrus J.; du Plessis, Monuko; Faure, Nicolaas M.; Janse van Rensburg, Christo; Rademeyer, Pieter

2014-02-01

The unrivalled integration potential of CMOS has made it the dominant technology for digital integrated circuits. With the advent of visible light emission from silicon through hot carrier electroluminescence, several applications arose, all of which rely upon the advantages of mature CMOS technologies for a competitive edge in a very active and attractive market. In this paper we present a low-cost night vision viewer which employs only standard CMOS technologies. A commercial CMOS imager is utilized for near infrared image capturing with a 128x96 pixel all-CMOS microdisplay implemented to convey the image to the user. The display is implemented in a standard 0.35 μm CMOS process, with no process alterations or post processing. The display features a 25 μm pixel pitch and a 3.2 mm x 2.4 mm active area, which through magnification presents the virtual image to the user equivalent of a 19-inch display viewed from a distance of 3 meters. This work represents the first application of a CMOS microdisplay in a low-cost consumer product.

Peripheral vision horizon display on the single seat night attack A-10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nims, D. F.

1984-01-01

The concept of the peripheral vision horizon display (PVHD) held promise for significant reduction in workload for the single seat night attack pilot. For this reason it was incorporated in the single seat night attack (SSNA) A-10. The implementation and results of the PVHD on the SSNA A-10 are discussed as well as the SSNA program. The part the PVHD played in the test and the results and conclusions of that effort are also considered.

Color vision abnormality as an initial presentation of the complete type of congenital stationary night blindness.

PubMed

Tan, Xue; Aoki, Aya; Yanagi, Yasuo

2013-01-01

Patients with the complete form of congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) often have reduced visual acuity, myopia, impaired night vision, and sometimes nystagmus and strabismus, however, they seldom complain of color vision abnormality. A 17-year-old male who was at technical school showed abnormalities in the color perception test for employment, and was referred to our hospital for a detailed examination. He had no family history of color vision deficiency and no other symptoms. During the initial examination, his best-corrected visual acuity was 1.2 in both eyes. His fundus showed no abnormalities except for somewhat yellowish reflex in the fovea of both eyes. Electroretinogram (ERG) showed a good response in cone ERG and 30 Hz flicker ERG, however, the bright flash, mixed rod and cone ERG showed a negative type with a reduced b-wave (positive deflection). There was no response in the rod ERG, either. From the findings of the typical ERG, the patient was diagnosed with complete congenital stationary night blindness. This case underscores the importance of ERG in order to diagnose the cause of a color vision anomaly.

Salient contour extraction from complex natural scene in night vision image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jing; Yue, Jiang; Zhang, Yi; Bai, Lian-fa

2014-03-01

The theory of center-surround interaction in non-classical receptive field can be applied in night vision information processing. In this work, an optimized compound receptive field modulation method is proposed to extract salient contour from complex natural scene in low-light-level (LLL) and infrared images. The kernel idea is that multi-feature analysis can recognize the inhomogeneity in modulatory coverage more accurately and that center and surround with the grouping structure satisfying Gestalt rule deserves high connection-probability. Computationally, a multi-feature contrast weighted inhibition model is presented to suppress background and lower mutual inhibition among contour elements; a fuzzy connection facilitation model is proposed to achieve the enhancement of contour response, the connection of discontinuous contour and the further elimination of randomly distributed noise and texture; a multi-scale iterative attention method is designed to accomplish dynamic modulation process and extract contours of targets in multi-size. This work provides a series of biologically motivated computational visual models with high-performance for contour detection from cluttered scene in night vision images.

Visual function at altitude under night vision assisted conditions.

PubMed

Vecchi, Diego; Morgagni, Fabio; Guadagno, Anton G; Lucertini, Marco

2014-01-01

Hypoxia, even mild, is known to produce negative effects on visual function, including decreased visual acuity and sensitivity to contrast, mostly in low light. This is of special concern when night vision devices (NVDs) are used during flight because they also provide poor images in terms of resolution and contrast. While wearing NVDs in low light conditions, 16 healthy male aviators were exposed to a simulated altitude of 12,500 ft in a hypobaric chamber. Snellen visual acuity decreased in normal light from 28.5 +/- 4.2/20 (normoxia) to 37.2 +/- 7.4/20 (hypoxia) and, in low light, from 33.8 +/- 6.1/20 (normoxia) to 42.2 +/- 8.4/20 (hypoxia), both at a significant level. An association was found between blood oxygen saturation and visual acuity without significance. No changes occurred in terms of sensitivity to contrast. Our data demonstrate that mild hypoxia is capable of affecting visual acuity and the photopic/high mesopic range of NVD-aided vision. This may be due to several reasons, including the sensitivity to hypoxia of photoreceptors and other retinal cells. Contrast sensitivity is possibly preserved under NVD-aided vision due to its dependency on the goggles' gain.

Airborne laser-diode-array illuminator assessment for the night vision's airborne mine-detection arid test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetson, Suzanne; Weber, Hadley; Crosby, Frank J.; Tinsley, Kenneth; Kloess, Edmund; Nevis, Andrew J.; Holloway, John H., Jr.; Witherspoon, Ned H.

2004-09-01

The Airborne Littoral Reconnaissance Technologies (ALRT) project has developed and tested a nighttime operational minefield detection capability using commercial off-the-shelf high-power Laser Diode Arrays (LDAs). The Coastal System Station"s ALRT project, under funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), has been designing, developing, integrating, and testing commercial arrays using a Cessna airborne platform over the last several years. This has led to the development of the Airborne Laser Diode Array Illuminator wide field-of-view (ALDAI-W) imaging test bed system. The ALRT project tested ALDAI-W at the Army"s Night Vision Lab"s Airborne Mine Detection Arid Test. By participating in Night Vision"s test, ALRT was able to collect initial prototype nighttime operational data using ALDAI-W, showing impressive results and pioneering the way for final test bed demonstration conducted in September 2003. This paper describes the ALDAI-W Arid Test and results, along with processing steps used to generate imagery.

Detection of Special Operations Forces Using Night Vision Devices

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

Smith, C.M.

2001-10-22

Night vision devices, such image intensifiers and infrared imagers, are readily available to a host of nations, organizations, and individuals through international commerce. Once the trademark of special operations units, these devices are widely advertised to ''turn night into day''. In truth, they cannot accomplish this formidable task, but they do offer impressive enhancement of vision in limited light scenarios through electronically generated images. Image intensifiers and infrared imagers are both electronic devices for enhancing vision in the dark. However, each is based upon a totally different physical phenomenon. Image intensifiers amplify the available light energy whereas infrared imagers detectmore » the thermal energy radiated from all objects. Because of this, each device operates from energy which is present in a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This leads to differences in the ability of each device to detect and/or identify objects. This report is a compilation of the available information on both state-of-the-art image intensifiers and infrared imagers. Image intensifiers developed in the United States, as well as some foreign made image intensifiers, are discussed. Image intensifiers are categorized according to their spectral response and sensitivity using the nomenclature of GEN I, GEN II, and GEN III. As the first generation of image intensifiers, GEN I, were large and of limited performance, this report will deal with only GEN II and GEN III equipment. Infrared imagers are generally categorized according to their spectral response, sensor materials, and related sensor operating temperature using the nomenclature Medium Wavelength Infrared (MWIR) Cooled and Long Wavelength Infrared (LWIR) Uncooled. MWIR Cooled refers to infrared imagers which operate in the 3 to 5 {micro}m wavelength electromagnetic spectral region and require either mechanical or thermoelectric coolers to keep the sensors operating at 77 K. LWIR Uncooled

Perception-based synthetic cueing for night vision device rotorcraft hover operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachelder, Edward N.; McRuer, Duane

2002-08-01

Helicopter flight using night-vision devices (NVDs) is difficult to perform, as evidenced by the high accident rate associated with NVD flight compared to day operation. The approach proposed in this paper is to augment the NVD image with synthetic cueing, whereby the cues would emulate position and motion and appear to be actually occurring in physical space on which they are overlaid. Synthetic cues allow for selective enhancement of perceptual state gains to match the task requirements. A hover cue set was developed based on an analogue of a physical target used in a flight handling qualities tracking task, a perceptual task analysis for hover, and fundamentals of human spatial perception. The display was implemented on a simulation environment, constructed using a virtual reality device, an ultrasound head-tracker, and a fixed-base helicopter simulator. Seven highly trained helicopter pilots were used as experimental subjects and tasked to maintain hover in the presence of aircraft positional disturbances while viewing a synthesized NVD environment and the experimental hover cues. Significant performance improvements were observed when using synthetic cue augmentation. This paper demonstrates that artificial magnification of perceptual states through synthetic cueing can be an effective method of improving night-vision helicopter hover operations.

Civil use of night vision goggles within the National Airspace System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winkel, James G.; Faber, Lorelei

2001-08-01

When properly employed, Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) improve a pilot's ability to see during periods of darkness. The resultant enhancement in situational awareness achieved when using NVGs, increases light safety during night VFR operations. FAA is constrained with a lack of requisite regulatory and guidance infrastructure to adequately facilitate the civil request for use in NVGs within the National Airspace System (NAS) Appliances and Equipment, is formed and tasked to develop: operational concept and operational requirements for NVG implementation into the NAS, minimum operational performance standards for NVGs, and training guidelines and considerations for NVG operations. This paper provides a historical perspective on use of NVGs within the NAS, the status of SC-196 work in progress, FAA integration of SC-196 committee products and the harmonization effort between EUROCAEs NVG committee and SC- 196.

A Comparison of the AVS-9 and the Panoramic Night Vision Goggles During Rotorcraft Hover and Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szoboszlay, Zoltan; Haworth, Loran; Simpson, Carol

2000-01-01

A flight test was conducted to assess any differences in pilot-vehicle performance and pilot opinion between the use of a current generation night vision goggle (the AVS-9) and one variant of the prototype panoramic night vision goggle (the PNVGII). The panoramic goggle has more than double the horizontal field-of-view of the AVS-9, but reduced image quality. Overall the panoramic goggles compared well to the AVS-9 goggles. However, pilot comment and data are consistent with the assertion that some of the benefits of additional field-of-view with the panoramic goggles were negated by the reduced image quality of the particular variant of the panoramic goggles tested.

Lens Systems Incorporating A Zero Power Corrector Objectives And Magnifiers For Night Vision Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDowell, M. W.; Klee, H. W.

1986-02-01

The use of the zero power corrector concept has been extended to the design of objective lenses and magnifiers suitable for use in night vision goggles. A novel design which can be used as either an f/1.2 objective or an f/2 magnifier is also described.

Night vision goggle stimulation using LCoS and DLP projection technology, which is better?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Masoud H.; Lyon, Paul; De Meerleer, Peter

2014-06-01

High fidelity night-vision training has become important for many of the simulation systems being procured today. The end-users of these simulation-training systems prefer using their actual night-vision goggle (NVG) headsets. This requires that the visual display system stimulate the NVGs in a realistic way. Historically NVG stimulation was done with cathode-ray tube (CRT) projectors. However, this technology became obsolete and in recent years training simulators do NVG stimulation with laser, LCoS and DLP projectors. The LCoS and DLP projection technologies have emerged as the preferred approach for the stimulation of NVGs. Both LCoS and DLP technologies have advantages and disadvantages for stimulating NVGs. LCoS projectors can have more than 5-10 times the contrast capability of DLP projectors. The larger the difference between the projected black level and the brightest object in a scene, the better the NVG stimulation effects can be. This is an advantage of LCoS technology, especially when the proper NVG wavelengths are used. Single-chip DLP projectors, even though they have much reduced contrast compared to LCoS projectors, can use LED illuminators in a sequential red-green-blue fashion to create a projected image. It is straightforward to add an extra infrared (NVG wavelength) LED into this sequential chain of LED illumination. The content of this NVG channel can be independent of the visible scene, which allows effects to be added that can compensate for the lack of contrast inherent in a DLP device. This paper will expand on the differences between LCoS and DLP projectors for stimulating NVGs and summarize the benefits of both in night-vision simulation training systems.

Rotary-wing flight test methods used for the evaluation of night vision devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haworth, Loran A.; Blanken, Christopher J.; Szoboszlay, Zoltan P.

2001-08-01

The U.S. Army Aviation mission includes flying helicopters at low altitude, at night, and in adverse weather. Night Vision Devices (NVDs) are used to supplement the pilot's visual cues for night flying. As the military requirement to conduct night helicopter operations has increased, the impact of helicopter flight operations with NVD technology in the Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) became increasingly important to quantify. Aeronautical Design Standard-33 (ADS- 33) was introduced to update rotorcraft handling qualities requirements and to quantify the impact of the NVDs in the DVE. As reported in this paper, flight test methodology in ADS-33 has been used by the handling qualities community to measure the impact of NVDs on task performance in the DVE. This paper provides the background and rationale behind the development of ADS-33 flight test methodology for handling qualities in the DVE, as well as the test methodology developed for human factor assessment of NVDs in the DVE. Lessons learned, shortcomings and recommendations for NVD flight test methodology are provided in this paper.

Broad Band Antireflection Coating on Zinc Sulphide Window for Shortwave infrared cum Night Vision System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upadhyaya, A. S.; Bandyopadhyay, P. K.

2012-11-01

In state of art technology, integrated devices are widely used or their potential advantages. Common system reduces weight as well as total space covered by its various parts. In the state of art surveillance system integrated SWIR and night vision system used for more accurate identification of object. In this system a common optical window is used, which passes the radiation of both the regions, further both the spectral regions are separated in two channels. ZnS is a good choice for a common window, as it transmit both the region of interest, night vision (650 - 850 nm) as well as SWIR (0.9 - 1.7 μm). In this work a broad band anti reflection coating is developed on ZnS window to enhance the transmission. This seven layer coating is designed using flip flop design method. After getting the final design, some minor refinement is done, using simplex method. SiO2 and TiO2 coating material combination is used for this work. The coating is fabricated by physical vapour deposition process and the materials were evaporated by electron beam gun. Average transmission of both side coated substrate from 660 to 1700 nm is 95%. This coating also acts as contrast enhancement filter for night vision devices, as it reflect the region of 590 - 660 nm. Several trials have been conducted to check the coating repeatability, and it is observed that transmission variation in different trials is not very much and it is under the tolerance limit. The coating also passes environmental test for stability.

A Comparison of the AVS-9 and the Panoramic Night Vision Goggle During Rotorcraft Hover and Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szoboszlay, Zoltan; Haworth, Loran; Simpson, Carol; Rutkowski, Michael (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The purpose of this flight test was to measure any differences in pilot-vehicle performance and pilot opinion between the use of the current generation AVS-9 Night Vision Goggle and one variant of the prototype Panoramic Night Vision Goggle (the PNV.GII). The PNVGII has more than double the horizontal field-of-view of the AVS-9, but reduced image quality. The flight path of the AH-1S helicopter was used as a measure of pilot-vehicle performance. Also recorded were subjective measures of flying qualities, physical reserves of the pilot, situational awareness, and display usability. Pilot comment and data indicate that the benefits of additional FOV with the PNVGIIs are to some extent negated by the reduced image quality of the PNVGIIs.

Aviator's night vision system (ANVIS) in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF): user acceptability survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiatt, Keith L.; Trollman, Christopher J.; Rash, Clarence E.

2010-04-01

In 1973, the U.S. Army adopted night vision devices for use in the aviation environment. These devices are based on the principle of image intensification (I2) and have become the mainstay for the aviator's capability to operate during periods of low illumination, i.e., at night. In the nearly four decades that have followed, a number of engineering advancements have significantly improved the performance of these devices. The current version, using 3rd generation I2 technology is known as the Aviator's Night Vision Imaging System (ANVIS). While considerable experience with performance has been gained during training and peacetime operations, no previous studies have looked at user acceptability and performance issues in a combat environment. This study was designed to compare Army Aircrew experiences in a combat environment to currently available information in the published literature (all peacetime laboratory and field training studies) and to determine if the latter is valid. The purpose of this study was to identify and assess aircrew satisfaction with the ANVIS and any visual performance issues or problems relating to its use in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The study consisted of an anonymous survey (based on previous validated surveys used in the laboratory and training environments) of 86 Aircrew members (64% Rated and 36% Non-rated) of an Aviation Task Force approximately 6 months into their OEF deployment. This group represents an aggregate of >94,000 flight hours of which ~22,000 are ANVIS and ~16,000 during this deployment. Overall user acceptability of ANVIS in a combat environment will be discussed.

Acoustic Measurement and Model Predictions for the Aural Nondetectability of Two Night-Vision Goggles

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

Acoustic Measurement and Model Predictions for the Aural Nondetectability of Two Night-Vision Goggles by Jeremy Gaston, Tim Mermagen, and...Goggles Jeremy Gaston, Tim Mermagen, and Kelly Dickerson Human Research and Engineering Directorate, ARL...5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Jeremy Gaston, Tim Mermagen, and Kelly Dickerson 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 74A 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK

Night-time neuronal activation of Cluster N in a day- and night-migrating songbird.

PubMed

Zapka, Manuela; Heyers, Dominik; Liedvogel, Miriam; Jarvis, Erich D; Mouritsen, Henrik

2010-08-01

Magnetic compass orientation in a night-migratory songbird requires that Cluster N, a cluster of forebrain regions, is functional. Cluster N, which receives input from the eyes via the thalamofugal pathway, shows high neuronal activity in night-migrants performing magnetic compass-guided behaviour at night, whereas no activation is observed during the day, and covering up the birds' eyes strongly reduces neuronal activation. These findings suggest that Cluster N processes light-dependent magnetic compass information in night-migrating songbirds. The aim of this study was to test if Cluster N is active during daytime migration. We used behavioural molecular mapping based on ZENK activation to investigate if Cluster N is active in the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis), a day- and night-migratory species. We found that Cluster N of meadow pipits shows high neuronal activity under dim-light at night, but not under full room-light conditions during the day. These data suggest that, in day- and night-migratory meadow pipits, the light-dependent magnetic compass, which requires an active Cluster N, may only be used during night-time, whereas another magnetosensory mechanism and/or other reference system(s), like the sun or polarized light, may be used as primary orientation cues during the day.

Analysis of Risk Compensation Behavior on Night Vision Enhancement System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiraoka, Toshihiro; Masui, Junya; Nishikawa, Seimei

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as a forward obstacle collision warning system (FOCWS) and a night vision enhancement system (NVES) aim to decrease driver's mental workload and enhance vehicle safety by provision of useful information to support driver's perception process and judgment process. On the other hand, the risk homeostasis theory (RHT) cautions that an enhanced safety and a reduced risk would cause a risk compensation behavior such as increasing the vehicle velocity. Therefore, the present paper performed the driving simulator experiments to discuss dependence on the NVES and emergence of the risk compensation behavior. Moreover, we verified the side-effects of spontaneous behavioral adaptation derived from the presentation of the fuel-consumption meter on the risk compensation behavior.

Advanced electro-mechanical micro-shutters for thermal infrared night vision imaging and targeting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durfee, David; Johnson, Walter; McLeod, Scott

2007-04-01

Un-cooled microbolometer sensors used in modern infrared night vision systems such as driver vehicle enhancement (DVE) or thermal weapons sights (TWS) require a mechanical shutter. Although much consideration is given to the performance requirements of the sensor, supporting electronic components and imaging optics, the shutter technology required to survive in combat is typically the last consideration in the system design. Electro-mechanical shutters used in military IR applications must be reliable in temperature extremes from a low temperature of -40°C to a high temperature of +70°C. They must be extremely light weight while having the ability to withstand the high vibration and shock forces associated with systems mounted in military combat vehicles, weapon telescopic sights, or downed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Electro-mechanical shutters must have minimal power consumption and contain circuitry integrated into the shutter to manage battery power while simultaneously adapting to changes in electrical component operating parameters caused by extreme temperature variations. The technology required to produce a miniature electro-mechanical shutter capable of fitting into a rifle scope with these capabilities requires innovations in mechanical design, material science, and electronics. This paper describes a new, miniature electro-mechanical shutter technology with integrated power management electronics designed for extreme service infra-red night vision systems.

Is More Better? - Night Vision Enhancement System's Pedestrian Warning Modes and Older Drivers.

PubMed

Brown, Timothy; He, Yefei; Roe, Cheryl; Schnell, Thomas

2010-01-01

Pedestrian fatalities as a result of vehicle collisions are much more likely to happen at night than during day time. Poor visibility due to darkness is believed to be one of the causes for the higher vehicle collision rate at night. Existing studies have shown that night vision enhancement systems (NVES) may improve recognition distance, but may increase drivers' workload. The use of automatic warnings (AW) may help minimize workload, improve performance, and increase safety. In this study, we used a driving simulator to examine performance differences of a NVES with six different configurations of warning cues, including: visual, auditory, tactile, auditory and visual, tactile and visual, and no warning. Older drivers between the ages of 65 and 74 participated in the study. An analysis based on the distance to pedestrian threat at the onset of braking response revealed that tactile and auditory warnings performed the best, while visual warnings performed the worst. When tactile or auditory warnings were presented in combination with visual warning, their effectiveness decreased. This result demonstrated that, contrary to general sense regarding warning systems, multi-modal warnings involving visual cues degraded the effectiveness of NVES for older drivers.

Helmet-mounted pilot night vision systems: Human factors issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, Sandra G.; Brickner, Michael S.

1989-01-01

Helmet-mounted displays of infrared imagery (forward-looking infrared (FLIR)) allow helicopter pilots to perform low level missions at night and in low visibility. However, pilots experience high visual and cognitive workload during these missions, and their performance capabilities may be reduced. Human factors problems inherent in existing systems stem from three primary sources: the nature of thermal imagery; the characteristics of specific FLIR systems; and the difficulty of using FLIR system for flying and/or visually acquiring and tracking objects in the environment. The pilot night vision system (PNVS) in the Apache AH-64 provides a monochrome, 30 by 40 deg helmet-mounted display of infrared imagery. Thermal imagery is inferior to television imagery in both resolution and contrast ratio. Gray shades represent temperatures differences rather than brightness variability, and images undergo significant changes over time. The limited field of view, displacement of the sensor from the pilot's eye position, and monocular presentation of a bright FLIR image (while the other eye remains dark-adapted) are all potential sources of disorientation, limitations in depth and distance estimation, sensations of apparent motion, and difficulties in target and obstacle detection. Insufficient information about human perceptual and performance limitations restrains the ability of human factors specialists to provide significantly improved specifications, training programs, or alternative designs. Additional research is required to determine the most critical problem areas and to propose solutions that consider the human as well as the development of technology.

Sensor fusion to enable next generation low cost Night Vision systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweiger, R.; Franz, S.; Löhlein, O.; Ritter, W.; Källhammer, J.-E.; Franks, J.; Krekels, T.

2010-04-01

The next generation of automotive Night Vision Enhancement systems offers automatic pedestrian recognition with a performance beyond current Night Vision systems at a lower cost. This will allow high market penetration, covering the luxury as well as compact car segments. Improved performance can be achieved by fusing a Far Infrared (FIR) sensor with a Near Infrared (NIR) sensor. However, fusing with today's FIR systems will be too costly to get a high market penetration. The main cost drivers of the FIR system are its resolution and its sensitivity. Sensor cost is largely determined by sensor die size. Fewer and smaller pixels will reduce die size but also resolution and sensitivity. Sensitivity limits are mainly determined by inclement weather performance. Sensitivity requirements should be matched to the possibilities of low cost FIR optics, especially implications of molding of highly complex optical surfaces. As a FIR sensor specified for fusion can have lower resolution as well as lower sensitivity, fusing FIR and NIR can solve performance and cost problems. To allow compensation of FIR-sensor degradation on the pedestrian detection capabilities, a fusion approach called MultiSensorBoosting is presented that produces a classifier holding highly discriminative sub-pixel features from both sensors at once. The algorithm is applied on data with different resolution and on data obtained from cameras with varying optics to incorporate various sensor sensitivities. As it is not feasible to record representative data with all different sensor configurations, transformation routines on existing high resolution data recorded with high sensitivity cameras are investigated in order to determine the effects of lower resolution and lower sensitivity to the overall detection performance. This paper also gives an overview of the first results showing that a reduction of FIR sensor resolution can be compensated using fusion techniques and a reduction of sensitivity can be

Collaboration between human and nonhuman players in Night Vision Tactical Trainer-Shadow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berglie, Stephen T.; Gallogly, James J.

2016-05-01

The Night Vision Tactical Trainer - Shadow (NVTT-S) is a U.S. Army-developed training tool designed to improve critical Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUMT) communication skills for payload operators in Unmanned Aerial Sensor (UAS) crews. The trainer is composed of several Government Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) simulation components and takes the trainee through a series of escalating engagements using tactically relevant, realistically complex, scenarios involving a variety of manned, unmanned, aerial, and ground-based assets. The trainee is the only human player in the game and he must collaborate, from his web-based mock operating station, with various non-human players via spoken natural language over simulated radio in order to execute the training missions successfully. Non-human players are modeled in two complementary layers - OneSAF provides basic background behaviors for entities while NVTT provides higher level models that control entity actions based on intent extracted from the trainee's spoken natural dialog with game entities. Dialog structure is modeled based on Army standards for communication and verbal protocols. This paper presents an architecture that integrates the U.S. Army's Night Vision Image Generator (NVIG), One Semi- Automated Forces (OneSAF), a flight dynamics model, as well as Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) speech recognition and text to speech products to effect an environment with sufficient entity counts and fidelity to enable meaningful teaching and reinforcement of critical communication skills. It further demonstrates the model dynamics and synchronization mechanisms employed to execute purpose-built training scenarios, and to achieve ad-hoc collaboration on-the-fly between human and non-human players in the simulated environment.

Old Night Vision Meets New

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image acquired November 11-12, 2012. On November 12, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured the top nighttime image of city, village, and highway lights near Delhi, India. For comparison, the lower image shows the same area one night earlier, as observed by the Operational Line Scan (OLS) system on a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft. Since the 1960s, the U.S. Air Force has operated DMSP in order to observe clouds and other weather variables in key wavelengths of infrared and visible light. Since 1972, the DMSP satellites have included the Operational Linescan System (OLS), which gives weather forecasters some ability to see in the dark. It has been a highly successful sensor, but it is dependent on older technology with lower resolution than most scientists would like. And for many years, DMSP data were classified. Through improved optics and “smart” sensing technology, the VIIRS “day-night band,” is ten to fifteen times better than the OLS system at resolving the relatively dim lights of human settlements and reflected moonlight. Each VIIRS pixel shows roughly 740 meters (0.46 miles) across, compared to the 3-kilometer footprint (1.86 miles) of DMSP. Beyond the resolution, the new sensor can detect dimmer light sources. And since the VIIRS measurements are fully calibrated (unlike DMSP), scientists now have the precision required to make quantitative measurements of clouds and other features. “In contrast to the Operational Line Scan system, the imagery from the new day-night band is almost like a nearsighted person putting on glasses for the first time and looking at the Earth anew,” says Steve Miller, an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University. “VIIRS has allowed us to bring this coarse, blurry view of night lights into clearer focus. Now we can see things in such great detail and at such high precision that we’re really talking about a new kind of

The hazard of spatial disorientation during helicopter flight using night vision devices.

PubMed

Braithwaite, M G; Douglass, P K; Durnford, S J; Lucas, G

1998-11-01

Night Vision Devices (NVDs) provide an enormous advantage to the operational effectiveness of military helicopter flying by permitting flight throughout the night. However, compared with daytime flight, many of the depth perception and orientational cues are severely degraded. These degraded cues predispose aviators to spatial disorientation (SD), which is a serious drawback of these devices. As part of an overall analysis of Army helicopter accidents to assess the impact of SD on military flying, we scrutinized the class A-C mishap reports involving night-aided flight from 1987 to 1995. The accidents were classified according to the role of SD by three independent assessors, with the SD group further analyzed to determine associated factors and possible countermeasures. Almost 43% of all SD-related accidents in this series occurred during flight using NVDs, whereas only 13% of non-SD accidents involved NVDs. An examination of the SD accident rates per 100,000 flying hours revealed a significant difference between the rate for day flying and the rate for flight using NVDs (mean rate for daytime flight = 1.66, mean rate for NVD flight = 9.00, p < 0.001). The most important factors associated with these accidents were related to equipment limitations, distraction from the task, and training or procedural inadequacies. SD remains an important source of attrition of Army aircraft. The more than fivefold increase in risk associated with NVD flight is of serious concern. The associated factors and suggested countermeasures should be urgently addressed.

Night vision imaging system design, integration and verification in spacecraft vacuum thermal test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, Yonghong; Wang, Jing; Gong, Zhe; Li, Xiyuan; Pei, Yifei; Bai, Tingzhu; Zhen, Haijing

2015-08-01

The purposes of spacecraft vacuum thermal test are to characterize the thermal control systems of the spacecraft and its component in its cruise configuration and to allow for early retirement of risks associated with mission-specific and novel thermal designs. The orbit heat flux is simulating by infrared lamp, infrared cage or electric heater. As infrared cage and electric heater do not emit visible light, or infrared lamp just emits limited visible light test, ordinary camera could not operate due to low luminous density in test. Moreover, some special instruments such as satellite-borne infrared sensors are sensitive to visible light and it couldn't compensate light during test. For improving the ability of fine monitoring on spacecraft and exhibition of test progress in condition of ultra-low luminous density, night vision imaging system is designed and integrated by BISEE. System is consist of high-gain image intensifier ICCD camera, assistant luminance system, glare protect system, thermal control system and computer control system. The multi-frame accumulation target detect technology is adopted for high quality image recognition in captive test. Optical system, mechanical system and electrical system are designed and integrated highly adaptable to vacuum environment. Molybdenum/Polyimide thin film electrical heater controls the temperature of ICCD camera. The results of performance validation test shown that system could operate under vacuum thermal environment of 1.33×10-3Pa vacuum degree and 100K shroud temperature in the space environment simulator, and its working temperature is maintains at 5° during two-day test. The night vision imaging system could obtain video quality of 60lp/mm resolving power.

USE OF NIGHT-VISION GOGGLES, LIGHT-TAGS, AND FLUORESCENT POWDER FOR MEASURING MICROHABITAT USE OF NOCTURNAL SMALL MAMMALS

Treesearch

WILLIAM F. LAUDENSLAYER; ROBERTA J. FARGO

1997-01-01

In 1993 to 1996, dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes) were tracked using night-vision goggles, hght-tags (LED with battery), and fluorescent powder to better understand their microhabitat use. Traclung was conducted in 3 oak woodland study sites in the southern Sierra Nevada, 16 m northeast of Fresno, California. Nightvision goggles were not very useful for direct...

Improving Night Time Driving Safety Using Vision-Based Classification Techniques.

PubMed

Chien, Jong-Chih; Chen, Yong-Sheng; Lee, Jiann-Der

2017-09-24

The risks involved in nighttime driving include drowsy drivers and dangerous vehicles. Prominent among the more dangerous vehicles around at night are the larger vehicles which are usually moving faster at night on a highway. In addition, the risk level of driving around larger vehicles rises significantly when the driver's attention becomes distracted, even for a short period of time. For the purpose of alerting the driver and elevating his or her safety, in this paper we propose two components for any modern vision-based Advanced Drivers Assistance System (ADAS). These two components work separately for the single purpose of alerting the driver in dangerous situations. The purpose of the first component is to ascertain that the driver would be in a sufficiently wakeful state to receive and process warnings; this is the driver drowsiness detection component. The driver drowsiness detection component uses infrared images of the driver to analyze his eyes' movements using a MSR plus a simple heuristic. This component issues alerts to the driver when the driver's eyes show distraction and are closed for a longer than usual duration. Experimental results show that this component can detect closed eyes with an accuracy of 94.26% on average, which is comparable to previous results using more sophisticated methods. The purpose of the second component is to alert the driver when the driver's vehicle is moving around larger vehicles at dusk or night time. The large vehicle detection component accepts images from a regular video driving recorder as input. A bi-level system of classifiers, which included a novel MSR-enhanced KAZE-base Bag-of-Features classifier, is proposed to avoid false negatives. In both components, we propose an improved version of the Multi-Scale Retinex (MSR) algorithm to augment the contrast of the input. Several experiments were performed to test the effects of the MSR and each classifier, and the results are presented in experimental results section

Improving Night Time Driving Safety Using Vision-Based Classification Techniques

PubMed Central

Chien, Jong-Chih; Chen, Yong-Sheng; Lee, Jiann-Der

2017-01-01

The risks involved in nighttime driving include drowsy drivers and dangerous vehicles. Prominent among the more dangerous vehicles around at night are the larger vehicles which are usually moving faster at night on a highway. In addition, the risk level of driving around larger vehicles rises significantly when the driver’s attention becomes distracted, even for a short period of time. For the purpose of alerting the driver and elevating his or her safety, in this paper we propose two components for any modern vision-based Advanced Drivers Assistance System (ADAS). These two components work separately for the single purpose of alerting the driver in dangerous situations. The purpose of the first component is to ascertain that the driver would be in a sufficiently wakeful state to receive and process warnings; this is the driver drowsiness detection component. The driver drowsiness detection component uses infrared images of the driver to analyze his eyes’ movements using a MSR plus a simple heuristic. This component issues alerts to the driver when the driver’s eyes show distraction and are closed for a longer than usual duration. Experimental results show that this component can detect closed eyes with an accuracy of 94.26% on average, which is comparable to previous results using more sophisticated methods. The purpose of the second component is to alert the driver when the driver’s vehicle is moving around larger vehicles at dusk or night time. The large vehicle detection component accepts images from a regular video driving recorder as input. A bi-level system of classifiers, which included a novel MSR-enhanced KAZE-base Bag-of-Features classifier, is proposed to avoid false negatives. In both components, we propose an improved version of the Multi-Scale Retinex (MSR) algorithm to augment the contrast of the input. Several experiments were performed to test the effects of the MSR and each classifier, and the results are presented in experimental results

Is More Better? — Night Vision Enhancement System’s Pedestrian Warning Modes and Older Drivers

PubMed Central

Brown, Timothy; He, Yefei; Roe, Cheryl; Schnell, Thomas

2010-01-01

Pedestrian fatalities as a result of vehicle collisions are much more likely to happen at night than during day time. Poor visibility due to darkness is believed to be one of the causes for the higher vehicle collision rate at night. Existing studies have shown that night vision enhancement systems (NVES) may improve recognition distance, but may increase drivers’ workload. The use of automatic warnings (AW) may help minimize workload, improve performance, and increase safety. In this study, we used a driving simulator to examine performance differences of a NVES with six different configurations of warning cues, including: visual, auditory, tactile, auditory and visual, tactile and visual, and no warning. Older drivers between the ages of 65 and 74 participated in the study. An analysis based on the distance to pedestrian threat at the onset of braking response revealed that tactile and auditory warnings performed the best, while visual warnings performed the worst. When tactile or auditory warnings were presented in combination with visual warning, their effectiveness decreased. This result demonstrated that, contrary to general sense regarding warning systems, multi-modal warnings involving visual cues degraded the effectiveness of NVES for older drivers. PMID:21050616

Low dark current InGaAs detector arrays for night vision and astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDougal, Michael; Geske, Jon; Wang, Chad; Liao, Shirong; Getty, Jonathan; Holmes, Alan

2009-05-01

Aerius Photonics has developed large InGaAs arrays (1K x 1K and greater) with low dark currents for use in night vision applications in the SWIR regime. Aerius will present results of experiments to reduce the dark current density of their InGaAs detector arrays. By varying device designs and passivations, Aerius has achieved a dark current density below 1.0 nA/cm2 at 280K on small-pixel, detector arrays. Data is shown for both test structures and focal plane arrays. In addition, data from cryogenically cooled InGaAs arrays will be shown for astronomy applications.

Cellular phone use while driving at night.

PubMed

Vivoda, Jonathon M; Eby, David W; St Louis, Renée M; Kostyniuk, Lidia P

2008-03-01

Use of a cellular phone has been shown to negatively affect one's attention to the driving task, leading to an increase in crash risk. At any given daylight hour, about 6% of US drivers are actively talking on a hand-held cell phone. However, previous surveys have focused only on cell phone use during the day. Driving at night has been shown to be a riskier activity than driving during the day. The purpose of the current study was to assess the rate of hand-held cellular phone use while driving at night, using specialized night vision equipment. In 2006, two statewide direct observation survey waves of nighttime cellular phone use were conducted in Indiana utilizing specialized night vision equipment. Combined results of driver hand-held cellular phone use from both waves are presented in this manuscript. The rates of nighttime cell phone use were similar to results found in previous daytime studies. The overall rate of nighttime hand-held cellular phone use was 5.8 +/- 0.6%. Cellular phone use was highest for females and for younger drivers. In fact, the highest rate observed during the study (of 11.9%) was for 16-to 29-year-old females. The high level of cellular phone use found within the young age group, coupled with the increased crash risk associated with cellular phone use, nighttime driving, and for young drivers in general, suggests that this issue may become an important transportation-related concern.

The effects of moon illumination, moon angle, cloud cover, and sky glow on night vision goggle flight performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loro, Stephen Lee

This study was designed to examine moon illumination, moon angle, cloud cover, sky glow, and Night Vision Goggle (NVG) flight performance to determine possible effects. The research was a causal-comparative design. The sample consisted of 194 Fort Rucker Initial Entry Rotary Wing NVG flight students being observed by 69 NVG Instructor Pilots. The students participated in NVG flight training from September 1992 through January 1993. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Observations were analyzed using a Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and a Wilcox matched pairs signed-ranks test for difference. Correlations were analyzed using Pearson's r. The analyses results indicated that performance at high moon illumination levels is superior to zero moon illumination, and in most task maneuvers, superior to >0%--50% moon illumination. No differences were found in performance at moon illumination levels above 50%. Moon angle had no effect on night vision goggle flight performance. Cloud cover and sky glow have selective effects on different maneuvers. For most task maneuvers, cloud cover does not affect performance. Overcast cloud cover had a significant effect on seven of the 14 task maneuvers. Sky glow did not affect eight out of 14 task maneuvers at any level of sky glow.

Hyperstereopsis in night vision devices: basic mechanisms and impact for training requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priot, Anne-Emmanuelle; Hourlier, Sylvain; Giraudet, Guillaume; Leger, Alain; Roumes, Corinne

2006-05-01

Including night vision capabilities in Helmet Mounted Displays has been a serious challenge for many years. The use of "see through" head mounted image intensifiers systems is particularly challenging as it introduces some peculiar visual characteristics usually referred as "hyperstereopsis". Flight testing of such systems has started in the early nineties, both in US and Europe. While the trials conducted in US yielded quite controversial results, convergent positive ones were obtained from European testing, mainly in UK, Germany and France. Subsequently, work on integrating optically coupled I2 tubes on HMD was discontinued in the US, while European manufacturers developed such HMDs for various rotary wings platforms like the TIGER. Coping with hyperstereopsis raises physiological and cognitive human factors issues. Starting in the sixties, effects of increased interocular separation and adaptation to such unusual vision conditions has been quite extensively studied by a number of authors as Wallach, Schor, Judge and Miles, Fisher and Ciuffreda. A synthetic review of literature on this subject will be presented. According to users' reports, three successive phases will be described for habituation to such devices: initial exposure, building compensation phase and behavioral adjustments phase. An habituation model will be suggested to account for HMSD users' reports and literature data bearing on hyperstereopsis, cue weighting for depth perception, adaptation and learning processes, task cognitive control. Finally, some preliminary results on hyperstereopsis spatial and temporal adaptation coming from the survey of training of TIGER pilots, currently conducted at the French-German Army Aviation Training Center, will be unveiled.

A self-report critical incident assessment tool for army night vision goggle helicopter operations.

PubMed

Renshaw, Peter F; Wiggins, Mark W

2007-04-01

The present study sought to examine the utility of a self-report tool that was designed as a partial substitute for a face-to-face cognitive interview for critical incidents involving night vision goggles (NVGs). The use of NVGs remains problematic within the military environment, as these devices have been identified as a factor in a significant proportion of aircraft accidents and incidents. The self-report tool was structured to identify some of the cognitive features of human performance that were associated with critical incidents involving NVGs. The tool incorporated a number of different levels of analysis, ranging from specific behavioral responses to broader cognitive constructs. Reports were received from 30 active pilots within the Australian Army using the NVG Critical Incident Assessment Tool (NVGCIAT). The results revealed a correspondence between specific types of NVG-related errors and elements of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). In addition, uncertainty emerged as a significant factor associated with the critical incidents that were recalled by operators. These results were broadly consistent with previous research and provide some support for the utility of subjective assessment tools as a means of extracting critical incident-related data when face-to-face cognitive interviews are not possible. In some circumstances, the NVGCIAT might be regarded as a substitute cognitive interview protocol with some level of diagnosticity.

Automated spot defect characterization in a field portable night vision goggle test set

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scopatz, Stephen; Ozten, Metehan; Aubry, Gilles; Arquetoux, Guillaume

2018-05-01

This paper discusses a new capability developed for and results from a field portable test set for Gen 2 and Gen 3 Image Intensifier (I2) tube-based Night Vision Goggles (NVG). A previous paper described the test set and the automated and semi-automated tests supported for NVGs including a Knife Edge MTF test to replace the operator's interpretation of the USAF 1951 resolution chart. The major improvement and innovation detailed in this paper is the use of image analysis algorithms to automate the characterization of spot defects of I² tubes with the same test set hardware previously presented. The original and still common Spot Defect Test requires the operator to look through the NVGs at target of concentric rings; compare the size of the defects to a chart and manually enter the results into a table based on the size and location of each defect; this is tedious and subjective. The prior semi-automated improvement captures and displays an image of the defects and the rings; allowing the operator determine the defects with less eyestrain; while electronically storing the image and the resulting table. The advanced Automated Spot Defect Test utilizes machine vision algorithms to determine the size and location of the defects, generates the result table automatically and then records the image and the results in a computer-generated report easily usable for verification. This is inherently a more repeatable process that ensures consistent spot detection independent of the operator. Results of across several NVGs will be presented.

Vision restoration after brain and retina damage: the "residual vision activation theory".

PubMed

Sabel, Bernhard A; Henrich-Noack, Petra; Fedorov, Anton; Gall, Carolin

2011-01-01

Vision loss after retinal or cerebral visual injury (CVI) was long considered to be irreversible. However, there is considerable potential for vision restoration and recovery even in adulthood. Here, we propose the "residual vision activation theory" of how visual functions can be reactivated and restored. CVI is usually not complete, but some structures are typically spared by the damage. They include (i) areas of partial damage at the visual field border, (ii) "islands" of surviving tissue inside the blind field, (iii) extrastriate pathways unaffected by the damage, and (iv) downstream, higher-level neuronal networks. However, residual structures have a triple handicap to be fully functional: (i) fewer neurons, (ii) lack of sufficient attentional resources because of the dominant intact hemisphere caused by excitation/inhibition dysbalance, and (iii) disturbance in their temporal processing. Because of this resulting activation loss, residual structures are unable to contribute much to everyday vision, and their "non-use" further impairs synaptic strength. However, residual structures can be reactivated by engaging them in repetitive stimulation by different means: (i) visual experience, (ii) visual training, or (iii) noninvasive electrical brain current stimulation. These methods lead to strengthening of synaptic transmission and synchronization of partially damaged structures (within-systems plasticity) and downstream neuronal networks (network plasticity). Just as in normal perceptual learning, synaptic plasticity can improve vision and lead to vision restoration. This can be induced at any time after the lesion, at all ages and in all types of visual field impairments after retinal or brain damage (stroke, neurotrauma, glaucoma, amblyopia, age-related macular degeneration). If and to what extent vision restoration can be achieved is a function of the amount of residual tissue and its activation state. However, sustained improvements require repetitive

Development of Air Force aerial spray night operations: High altitude swath characterization

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Multiple trials were conducted from 2006 to 2014 in an attempt to validate aerial spray efficacy at altitudes conducive to night spray operations using night vision goggles (NVG). Higher altitude application of pesticide (>400 feet above ground level [AGL]) suggested that effective vector control mi...

Vision-based aircraft guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menon, P. K.

1993-01-01

Early research on the development of machine vision algorithms to serve as pilot aids in aircraft flight operations is discussed. The research is useful for synthesizing new cockpit instrumentation that can enhance flight safety and efficiency. With the present work as the basis, future research will produce low-cost instrument by integrating a conventional TV camera together with off-the=shelf digitizing hardware for flight test verification. Initial focus of the research will be on developing pilot aids for clear-night operations. Latter part of the research will examine synthetic vision issues for poor visibility flight operations. Both research efforts will contribute towards the high-speed civil transport aircraft program. It is anticipated that the research reported here will also produce pilot aids for conducting helicopter flight operations during emergency search and rescue. The primary emphasis of the present research effort is on near-term, flight demonstrable technologies. This report discusses pilot aids for night landing and takeoff and synthetic vision as an aid to low visibility landing.

Ultraviolet vision may be widespread in bats

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gorresen, P. Marcos; Cryan, Paul; Dalton, David C.; Wolf, Sandy; Bonaccorso, Frank

2015-01-01

Insectivorous bats are well known for their abilities to find and pursue flying insect prey at close range using echolocation, but they also rely heavily on vision. For example, at night bats use vision to orient across landscapes, avoid large obstacles, and locate roosts. Although lacking sharp visual acuity, the eyes of bats evolved to function at very low levels of illumination. Recent evidence based on genetics, immunohistochemistry, and laboratory behavioral trials indicated that many bats can see ultraviolet light (UV), at least at illumination levels similar to or brighter than those before twilight. Despite this growing evidence for potentially widespread UV vision in bats, the prevalence of UV vision among bats remains unknown and has not been studied outside of the laboratory. We used a Y-maze to test whether wild-caught bats could see reflected UV light and whether such UV vision functions at the dim lighting conditions typically experienced by night-flying bats. Seven insectivorous species of bats, representing five genera and three families, showed a statistically significant ‘escape-toward-the-light’ behavior when placed in the Y-maze. Our results provide compelling evidence of widespread dim-light UV vision in bats.

New weather depiction technology for night vision goggle (NVG) training: 3D virtual/augmented reality scene-weather-atmosphere-target simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folaron, Michelle; Deacutis, Martin; Hegarty, Jennifer; Vollmerhausen, Richard; Schroeder, John; Colby, Frank P.

2007-04-01

US Navy and Marine Corps pilots receive Night Vision Goggle (NVG) training as part of their overall training to maintain the superiority of our forces. This training must incorporate realistic targets; backgrounds; and representative atmospheric and weather effects they may encounter under operational conditions. An approach for pilot NVG training is to use the Night Imaging and Threat Evaluation Laboratory (NITE Lab) concept. The NITE Labs utilize a 10' by 10' static terrain model equipped with both natural and cultural lighting that are used to demonstrate various illumination conditions, and visual phenomena which might be experienced when utilizing night vision goggles. With this technology, the military can safely, systematically, and reliably expose pilots to the large number of potentially dangerous environmental conditions that will be experienced in their NVG training flights. A previous SPIE presentation described our work for NAVAIR to add realistic atmospheric and weather effects to the NVG NITE Lab training facility using the NVG - WDT(Weather Depiction Technology) system (Colby, et al.). NVG -WDT consist of a high end multiprocessor server with weather simulation software, and several fixed and goggle mounted Heads Up Displays (HUDs). Atmospheric and weather effects are simulated using state-of-the-art computer codes such as the WRF (Weather Research μ Forecasting) model; and the US Air Force Research Laboratory MODTRAN radiative transport model. Imagery for a variety of natural and man-made obscurations (e.g. rain, clouds, snow, dust, smoke, chemical releases) are being calculated and injected into the scene observed through the NVG via the fixed and goggle mounted HUDs. This paper expands on the work described in the previous presentation and will describe the 3D Virtual/Augmented Reality Scene - Weather - Atmosphere - Target Simulation part of the NVG - WDT. The 3D virtual reality software is a complete simulation system to generate realistic

Helicopter cockpit seat side and trapezius muscle metabolism with night vision goggles.

PubMed

Harrison, Michael F; Neary, J Patrick; Albert, Wayne J; Veillette, Dan W; McKenzie, Neil P; Croll, James C

2007-10-01

Documented neck strain among military helicopter aircrew is becoming more frequent and many militaries use helicopters that provide pilots with the option of sitting in the left or right cockpit seat during missions. The purpose of this study was to use near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to investigate the physiological changes in trapezius muscle oxygenation and blood volume during night vision goggle (NVG) flights as a function of left and right cockpit seating. There were 25 pilots who were monitored during NVG flight simulator missions (97.7 +/- 16.1 min). Bilateral NIRS probes attached to the trapezius muscles at C7 level recorded total oxygenation index (TOI, %), total hemoglobin (tHb), oxyhemoglobin (Hbo2), and deoxyhemo-globin (HHb). No significant differences existed between variables for pilots seated in the right cockpit seat as compared with the pilots seated in the left cockpit seat in either trapezius muscle (pTOI = 0.72; ptHb = 0.72; pHbo2 = 0.57; pHHb = 0.21). Alternating cockpit seats on successive missions is not a means to decrease metabolic stress for helicopter pilots using NVG. This suggests that cockpit layout and location of essential instruments with respect to the horizontal and the increased head supported mass of the NVG may be important factors influencing metabolic stress of the trapezius muscle.

Physiological effects of night vision goggle counterweights on neck musculature of military helicopter pilots.

PubMed

Harrison, Michael F; Neary, J Patrick; Albert, Wayne J; Veillette, Major Dan W; Forcest, Canadian; McKenzie, Neil P; Croll, James C

2007-08-01

Increased helmet-mounted mass and specific neck postures have been found to be a cause of increased muscular activity and stress. However, pilots who use night vision goggles (NVG) frequently use counterweight (CW) equipment such as a lead mass that is attached to the back of the flight helmet to provide balance to counter the weight of the NVG equipment mounted to the front of the flight helmet. It is proposed that this alleviates this stress. However, no study has yet investigated the physiological effects of CW during an extended period of time during which the pilots performed normal operational tasks. Thirty-one Canadian Forces pilots were monitored on consecutive days during a day and a NVG mission in a CH-146 flight simulator. Near infrared spectroscopy probes were attached bilaterally to the trapezius muscles and hemodynamics, i.e., total oxygenation index, total hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, and deoxyhemoglobin, were monitored for the duration of the mission. Pilots either wore CW (n = 25) or did not wear counterweights (nCW, n = 6) as per their usual operational practice. Levene's statistical tests were conducted to test for homogeneity and only total oxygenation index returned a significant result (p < or = 0.05). For the near infrared spectroscopy variables, significant differences were found to exist between CW and nCW pilots for total hemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and oxyhemoglobin during NVG flights. The CW pilots displayed less metabolic and hemodynamic stress during simulated missions as compared to the nCW pilots. The results of this study would suggest that the use of CW equipment during NVG missions in military helicopter pilots does minimize the metabolic and hemodynamic responses of the trapezius muscles.

Night duty and decreased brain activity of medical residents: a wearable optical topography study

PubMed Central

Nishida, Masaki; Kikuchi, Senichiro; Miwakeichi, Fumikazu; Suda, Shiro

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Overwork, fatigue, and sleep deprivation due to night duty are likely to be detrimental to the performance of medical residents and can consequently affect patient safety. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of deterioration of cerebral function of sleep-deprived, fatigued residents using neuroimaging techniques. Design: Six medical residents were instructed to draw blood from artificial vessels installed on the arm of a normal cooperator. Blood was drawn at a similar time of the day, before and after night duty. To assess sleep conditions during night duty, the participants wore actigraphy units throughout the period of night duty. Changes in cerebral hemodynamics, during the course of drawing blood, were measured using a wearable optical topography system. Results: The visual analogue scale scores after night duty correlated negatively with sleep efficiency during the night duty (ρ = −0.812, p = 0.050). The right prefrontal cortex activity was significantly decreased in the second trial after night duty compared with the first (p = 0.028). The extent of [oxy-Hb] decrease, indicating decreased activity, in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex correlated negatively with the Epworth sleepiness score after night duty (ρ = −0.841, p = 0.036). Conclusions: Sleep deprivation and fatigue after night duty, caused a decrease in the activity of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the residents, even with a relatively easy routine. This result implies that the brain activity of medical residents exposed to stress on night duty, although not substantially sleep-deprived, was impaired after the night duty, even though they apparently performed a simple medical technique appropriately. Reconsideration of the shift assignments of medical residents is strongly advised. Abbreviations: DLPFC: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; ESS: Epworth sleepiness scale; PSQI: Pittsburgh sleep quality index; ROI: Regions

Effects of age and illumination on night driving: a road test.

PubMed

Owens, D Alfred; Wood, Joanne M; Owens, Justin M

2007-12-01

This study investigated the effects of drivers' age and low light on speed, lane keeping, and visual recognition of typical roadway stimuli. Poor visibility, which is exacerbated by age-related changes in vision, is a leading contributor to fatal nighttime crashes. There is little evidence, however, concerning the extent to which drivers recognize and compensate for their visual limitations at night. Young, middle-aged, and elder participants drove on a closed road course in day and night conditions at a "comfortable" speed without speedometer information. During night tests, headlight intensity was varied over a range of 1.5 log units using neutral density filters. Average speed and recognition of road signs decreased significantly as functions of increased age and reduced illumination. Recognition of pedestrians at night was significantly enhanced by retroreflective markings of limb joints as compared with markings of the torso, and this benefit was greater for middle-aged and elder drivers. Lane keeping showed nonlinear effects of lighting, which interacted with task conditions and drivers' lateral bias, indicating that older drivers drove more cautiously in low light. Consistent with the hypothesis that drivers misjudge their visual abilities at night, participants of all age groups failed to compensate fully for diminished visual recognition abilities in low light, although older drivers behaved more cautiously than the younger groups. These findings highlight the importance of educating all road users about the limitations of night vision and provide new evidence that retroreflective markings of the limbs can be of great benefit to pedestrians' safety at night.

Night-to-night arousal variability and interscorer reliability of arousal measurements.

PubMed

Loredo, J S; Clausen, J L; Ancoli-Israel, S; Dimsdale, J E

1999-11-01

Measurement of arousals from sleep is clinically important, however, their definition is not well standardized, and little data exist on reliability. The purpose of this study is to determine factors that affect arousal scoring reliability and night-to-night arousal variability. The night-to-night arousal variability and interscorer reliability was assessed in 20 subjects with and without obstructive sleep apnea undergoing attended polysomnography during two consecutive nights. Five definitions of arousal were studied, assessing duration of electroencephalographic (EEG) frequency changes, increases in electromyographic (EMG) activity and leg movement, association with respiratory events, as well as the American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) definition of arousals. NA. NA. NA. Interscorer reliability varied with the definition of arousal and ranged from an Intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.19 to 0.92. Arousals that included increases in EMG activity or leg movement had the greatest reliability, especially when associated with respiratory events (ICC 0.76 to 0.92). The ASDA arousal definition had high interscorer reliability (ICC 0.84). Reliability was lowest for arousals consisting of EEG changes lasting <3 seconds (ICC 0.19 to 0.37). The within subjects night-to-night arousal variability was low for all arousal definitions In a heterogeneous population, interscorer arousal reliability is enhanced by increases in EMG activity, leg movements, and respiratory events and decreased by short duration EEG arousals. The arousal index night-to-night variability was low for all definitions.

A Summary of Proceedings for the Advanced Deployable Day/Night Simulation Symposium

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-01

initiated to design , develop, and deliver transportable visual simulations that jointly provide night-vision and high-resolution daylight capability. The...Deployable Day/Night Simulation (ADDNS) Technology Demonstration Project was initiated to design , develop, and deliver transportable visual...was Dr. Richard Wildes (York University); Mr. Vitaly Zholudev (Department of Computer Science, York University), Mr. X. Zhu (Neptec Design Group), and

Blueberry effects on dark vision and recovery after photobleaching: placebo-controlled crossover studies.

PubMed

Kalt, Wilhelmina; McDonald, Jane E; Fillmore, Sherry A E; Tremblay, Francois

2014-11-19

Clinical evidence for anthocyanin benefits in night vision is controversial. This paper presents two human trials investigating blueberry anthocyanin effects on dark adaptation, functional night vision, and vision recovery after retinal photobleaching. One trial, S2 (n = 72), employed a 3 week intervention and a 3 week washout, two anthocyanin doses (271 and 7.11 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents (C3g eq)), and placebo. The other trial, L1 (n = 59), employed a 12 week intervention and an 8 week washout and tested one dose (346 mg C3g eq) and placebo. In both S2 and L1 neither dark adaptation nor night vision was improved by anthocyanin intake. However, in both trials anthocyanin consumption hastened the recovery of visual acuity after photobleaching. In S2 both anthocyanin doses were effective (P = 0.014), and in L1 recovery was improved at 8 weeks (P = 0.027) and 12 weeks (P = 0.030). Although photobleaching recovery was hastened by anthocyanins, it is not known whether this improvement would have an impact on everyday vision.

Leisure Activity Participation of Elderly Individuals with Low Vision.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heinemann, Allen W.

1988-01-01

Studied low vision elderly clinic patients (N=63) who reported participation in six categories of leisure activities currently and at onset of vision loss. Found subjects reported significant declines in five of six activity categories. Found prior activity participation was related to current participation only for active crafts, participatory…

A Most Rare Vision: Improvisations on "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakaim, Charles J., Jr.

1993-01-01

Describes one teacher's methods for introducing to secondary English students the concepts of improvisation, experimentation, and innovation. Discusses numerous techniques for fostering such skills when working with William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (HB)

Pleiades Visions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitehouse, M.

2016-01-01

Pleiades Visions (2012) is my new musical composition for organ that takes inspiration from traditional lore and music associated with the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster from Australian Aboriginal, Native American, and Native Hawaiian cultures. It is based on my doctoral dissertation research incorporating techniques from the fields of ethnomusicology and cultural astronomy; this research likely represents a new area of inquiry for both fields. This large-scale work employs the organ's vast sonic resources to evoke the majesty of the night sky and the expansive landscapes of the homelands of the above-mentioned peoples. Other important themes in Pleiades Visions are those of place, origins, cosmology, and the creation of the world.

Vision Restoration in Glaucoma by Activating Residual Vision with a Holistic, Clinical Approach: A Review.

PubMed

Sabel, Bernhard A; Cárdenas-Morales, Lizbeth; Gao, Ying

2018-01-01

How to cite this article: Sabel BA, Cárdenas-Morales L, Gao Y. Vision Restoration in Glaucoma by activating Residual Vision with a Holistic, Clinical Approach: A Review. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2018;12(1):1-9.

Qualitative evaluations and comparisons of six night-vision colorization methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yufeng; Reese, Kristopher; Blasch, Erik; McManamon, Paul

2013-05-01

Current multispectral night vision (NV) colorization techniques can manipulate images to produce colorized images that closely resemble natural scenes. The colorized NV images can enhance human perception by improving observer object classification and reaction times especially for low light conditions. This paper focuses on the qualitative (subjective) evaluations and comparisons of six NV colorization methods. The multispectral images include visible (Red-Green- Blue), near infrared (NIR), and long wave infrared (LWIR) images. The six colorization methods are channel-based color fusion (CBCF), statistic matching (SM), histogram matching (HM), joint-histogram matching (JHM), statistic matching then joint-histogram matching (SM-JHM), and the lookup table (LUT). Four categries of quality measurements are used for the qualitative evaluations, which are contrast, detail, colorfulness, and overall quality. The score of each measurement is rated from 1 to 3 scale to represent low, average, and high quality, respectively. Specifically, high contrast (of rated score 3) means an adequate level of brightness and contrast. The high detail represents high clarity of detailed contents while maintaining low artifacts. The high colorfulness preserves more natural colors (i.e., closely resembles the daylight image). Overall quality is determined from the NV image compared to the reference image. Nine sets of multispectral NV images were used in our experiments. For each set, the six colorized NV images (produced from NIR and LWIR images) are concurrently presented to users along with the reference color (RGB) image (taken at daytime). A total of 67 subjects passed a screening test ("Ishihara Color Blindness Test") and were asked to evaluate the 9-set colorized images. The experimental results showed the quality order of colorization methods from the best to the worst: CBCF < SM < SM-JHM < LUT < JHM < HM. It is anticipated that this work will provide a benchmark for NV

Vision Drives Correlated Activity without Patterned Spontaneous Activity in Developing Xenopus Retina

PubMed Central

Demas, James A.; Payne, Hannah; Cline, Hollis T.

2011-01-01

Developing amphibians need vision to avoid predators and locate food before visual system circuits fully mature. Xenopus tadpoles can respond to visual stimuli as soon as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) innervate the brain, however, in mammals, chicks and turtles, RGCs reach their central targets many days, or even weeks, before their retinas are capable of vision. In the absence of vision, activity-dependent refinement in these amniote species is mediated by waves of spontaneous activity that periodically spread across the retina, correlating the firing of action potentials in neighboring RGCs. Theory suggests that retinorecipient neurons in the brain use patterned RGC activity to sharpen the retinotopy first established by genetic cues. We find that in both wild type and albino Xenopus tadpoles, RGCs are spontaneously active at all stages of tadpole development studied, but their population activity never coalesces into waves. Even at the earliest stages recorded, visual stimulation dominates over spontaneous activity and can generate patterns of RGC activity similar to the locally correlated spontaneous activity observed in amniotes. In addition, we show that blocking AMPA and NMDA type glutamate receptors significantly decreases spontaneous activity in young Xenopus retina, but that blocking GABAA receptor blockers does not. Our findings indicate that vision drives correlated activity required for topographic map formation. They further suggest that developing retinal circuits in the two major subdivisions of tetrapods, amphibians and amniotes, evolved different strategies to supply appropriately patterned RGC activity to drive visual circuit refinement. PMID:21312343

Late night activity regarding stroke codes: LuNAR strokes.

PubMed

Tafreshi, Gilda; Raman, Rema; Ernstrom, Karin; Rapp, Karen; Meyer, Brett C

2012-08-01

There is diurnal variation for cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. Stroke may show a similar pattern. We assessed whether strokes presenting during a particular time of day or night are more likely of vascular etiology. To compare emergency department stroke codes arriving between 22:00 and 8:00 hours (LuNAR strokes) vs. others (n-LuNAR strokes). The purpose was to determine if late night strokes are more likely to be true strokes or warrant acute tissue plasminogen activator evaluations. We reviewed prospectively collected cases in the University of California, San Diego Stroke Team database gathered over a four-year period. Stroke codes at six emergency departments were classified based on arrival time. Those arriving between 22:00 and 8:00 hours were classified as LuNAR stroke codes, the remainder were classified as 'n-LuNAR'. Patients were further classified as intracerebral hemorrhage, acute ischemic stroke not receiving tissue plasminogen activator, acute ischemic stroke receiving tissue plasminogen activator, transient ischemic attack, and nonstroke. Categorical outcomes were compared using Fisher's Exact test. Continuous outcomes were compared using Wilcoxon's Rank-sum test. A total of 1607 patients were included in our study, of which, 299 (19%) were LuNAR code strokes. The overall median NIHSS was five, higher in the LuNAR group (n-LuNAR 5, LuNAR 7; P=0·022). There was no overall differences in patient diagnoses between LuNAR and n-LuNAR strokes (P=0·169) or diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke receiving tissue plasminogen activator (n-LuNAR 191 (14·6%), LuNAR 42 (14·0%); P=0·86). Mean arrival to computed tomography scan time was longer during LuNAR hours (n-LuNAR 54·9±76·3 min, LuNAR 62·5±87·7 min; P=0·027). There was no significant difference in 90-day mortality (n-LuNAR 15·0%, LuNAR 13·2%; P=0·45). Our stroke center experience showed no difference in diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke between day and night stroke codes. This

Definition of display/control requirements for assault transport night/adverse weather capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milelli, R. J.; Mowery, G. W.; Pontelandolfo, C.

1982-01-01

A Helicopter Night Vision System was developed to improve low-altitude night and/or adverse weather assult transport capabilities. Man-in-the-loop simulation experiments were performed to define the minimum display and control requirements for the assult transport mission and investigate forward looking infrared sensor requirements, along with alternative displays such as panel mounted displays (PMD) helmet mounted displays (HMD), and integrated control display units. Also explored were navigation requirements, pilot/copilot interaction, and overall cockpit arrangement. Pilot use of an HMD and copilot use of a PMD appear as both the preferred and most effective night navigation combination.

Night Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowan-Robinson, Michael

2013-05-01

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. William Herschel opens up the invisible universe; 3. 1800-1950: slow progress - the moon, planets, bright stars, and the discovery of interstellar dust; 4. Dying stars shrouded in dust and stars being born: the emergence of infrared astronomy in the 60s and 70s; 5. Birth of far infrared and submillimetre astronomy: clouds of dust and molecules in our Galaxy; 6. The cosmic microwave background, echo of the Big Bang; 7. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite and the opening up of extragalactic infrared astronomy: starbursts and active galactic nuclei; 8. The Cosmic Background Explorer and the ripples, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Explorer, and dark energy; 9. Giant ground-based infrared and submillimetre telescopes; 10. The Infrared Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope: the star-formation history of the universe and infrared galaxy populations; 11. Our dusty Solar System, debris disks and the search for exoplanets; 12. The future: pioneering space missions and giant ground-based telescopes; Notes; Credits for illustrations; Further reading; Bibliography; Glossary; Index of names; Index.

A Unified Taxonomic Approach to the Laboratory Assessment of Visionic Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

the ratification stage with member nations. Marasco and Task 4 presented a large array of tests applicable to image intensification-based visionic...aircraft.” In print. 4. Marasco , P. L., and Task, H. L. 1999. “Optical characterization of wide field-of-view night vision devices,” in

Perceptual adaptation in the use of night vision goggles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Durgin, Frank H.; Proffitt, Dennis R.

1992-01-01

The image intensification (I sup 2) systems studied for this report were the biocular AN/PVS-7(NVG) and the binocular AN/AVS-6(ANVIS). Both are quite impressive for purposes of revealing the structure of the environment in a fairly straightforward way in extremely low-light conditions. But these systems represent an unusual viewing medium. The perceptual information available through I sup 2 systems is different in a variety of ways from the typical input of everyday vision, and extensive training and practice is required for optimal use. Using this sort of system involves a kind of perceptual skill learning, but is may also involve visual adaptations that are not simply an extension of normal vision. For example, the visual noise evident in the goggles in very low-light conditions results in unusual statistical properties in visual input. Because we had recently discovered a strong and enduring aftereffect of perceived texture density which seemed to be sensitive to precisely the sorts of statistical distortions introduced by I sup 2 systems, it occurred to use that visual noise of this sort might be a very adapting stimulus for texture density and produce an aftereffect that extended into normal vision once the goggles were removed. We have not found any experimental evidence that I sup 2 systems produce texture density aftereffects. The nature of the texture density aftereffect is briefly explained, followed by an accounting of our studies of I sup 2 systems and our most recent work on the texture density aftereffect. A test for spatial frequency adaptation after exposure to NVG's is also reported, as is a study of perceived depth from motion (motion parallax) while wearing the biocular goggles. We conclude with a summary of our findings.

Effectiveness of portable electronic and optical magnifiers for near vision activities in low vision: a randomised crossover trial.

PubMed

Taylor, John J; Bambrick, Rachel; Brand, Andrew; Bray, Nathan; Dutton, Michelle; Harper, Robert A; Hoare, Zoe; Ryan, Barbara; Edwards, Rhiannon T; Waterman, Heather; Dickinson, Christine

2017-07-01

To compare the performance of near vision activities using additional portable electronic vision enhancement systems (p-EVES), to using optical magnifiers alone, by individuals with visual impairment. A total of 100 experienced optical aid users were recruited from low vision clinics at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester, UK, to a prospective two-arm cross-over randomised controlled trial. Reading, performance of near vision activities, and device usage were evaluated at baseline; and at the end of each study arm (Intervention A: existing optical aids plus p-EVES; Intervention B: optical aids only) which was after 2 and 4 months. A total of 82 participants completed the study. Overall, maximum reading speed for high contrast sentences was not statistically significantly different for optical aids and p-EVES, although the critical print size and threshold print size which could be accessed with p-EVES were statistically significantly smaller (p < 0.001 in both cases). The optical aids were used for a larger number of tasks (p < 0.001), and used more frequently (p < 0.001). However p-EVES were preferred for leisure reading by 70% of participants, and allowed longer duration of reading (p < 0.001). During the study arm when they had a p-EVES device, participants were able to carry out more tasks independently (p < 0.001), and reported less difficulty with a range of near vision activities (p < 0.001). The study provides evidence that p-EVES devices can play a useful role in supplementing the range of low vision aids used to reduce activity limitation for near vision tasks. © 2017 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2017 The College of Optometrists.

A new perspective on life-saving procedures in a battlefield setting: Emergency cricothyroidotomy, needle thoracostomy, and chest tube thoracostomy with night vision goggles.

PubMed

Bilge, Sedat; Aydın, Attila; Bilge, Meltem; Aydın, Cemile; Çevik, Erdem; Eryılmaz, Mehmet

2017-11-01

In the patients with multiple and serious trauma, early applications of life-saving procedures are related to improved survival. We tried to experimentally determine the feasibility of life-saving interventions that are performed with the aid of night vision goggles (NVG) in nighttime combat scenario. Chest tube thoracostomy (CTT), emergency cricothyroidotomy (EC), and needle thoracostomy (NT) interventions were performed by 10 combatant medical staff. The success and duration of interventions were explored in the study. Procedures were performed on the formerly prepared manikins/models in a bright room and in a dark room with the aid of NVG. Operators graded the ease of interventions. All interventions were found successful. Operators stated that both CTT and EC interventions were more difficult in dark than in daytime (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed in the difficulty in the NT interventions. No significant difference was observed in terms of completion times of interventions between in daytime and in dark scenario. The operators who use NVGs have to be aware of that they can perform their tactic and medical activities without taking off the NVGs and without the requirement of an extra light source.

Physical workload, trapezius muscle activity, and neck pain in nurses' night and day shifts: a physiological evaluation.

PubMed

Nicoletti, Corinne; Spengler, Christina M; Läubli, Thomas

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to compare physical workload, electromyography (EMG) of the trapezius muscle, neck pain and mental well-being at work between night and day shifts in twenty Swiss nurses. Work pulse (average increase of heart rate over resting heart rate) was lower during night (27 bpm) compared to day shifts (34 bpm; p < 0.01). Relative arm acceleration also indicated less physical activity during night (82% of average) compared to day shifts (110%; p < 0.01). Rest periods were significantly longer during night shifts. Trapezius muscle rest time was longer during night (13% of shift duration) than day shifts (7%; p < 0.01) and the 50th percentile of EMG activity was smaller (p = 0.02), indicating more opportunities for muscle relaxation during night shifts. Neck pain and mental well-being at work were similar between shifts. Subjective perception of burden was similar between shifts despite less physical burden at night, suggesting there are other contributing factors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Limits of colour vision in dim light.

PubMed

Kelber, Almut; Lind, Olle

2010-09-01

Humans and most vertebrates have duplex retinae with multiple cone types for colour vision in bright light, and one single rod type for achromatic vision in dim light. Instead of comparing signals from multiple spectral types of photoreceptors, such species use one highly sensitive receptor type thus improving the signal-to-noise ratio at night. However, the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor, the nocturnal bee Xylocopa tranquebarica and the nocturnal gecko Tarentola chazaliae can discriminate colours at extremely dim light intensities. To be able to do so, they sacrifice spatial and temporal resolution in favour of colour vision. We review what is known about colour vision in dim light, and compare colour vision thresholds with the optical sensitivity of the photoreceptors in selected animal species with lens and compound eyes. © 2010 The Authors, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics © 2010 The College of Optometrists.

Flight Testing of Night Vision Systems in Rotorcraft (Test en vol de systemes de vision nocturne a bord des aeronefs a voilure tournante)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

SAS System Analysis and Studies Panel • SCI Systems Concepts and Integration Panel • SET Sensors and Electronics Technology Panel These...Daylight Readability 4-2 4.1.4 Night-Time Readability 4-2 4.1.5 NVIS Radiance 4-2 4.1.6 Human Factors Analysis 4-3 4.1.7 Flight Tests 4-3 4.1.7.1...position is shadowing. Moonlight creates shadows during night-time just as sunlight does during the day. Understanding what cannot be seen in night-time

Dense range map reconstruction from a versatile robotic sensor system with an active trinocular vision and a passive binocular vision.

PubMed

Kim, Min Young; Lee, Hyunkee; Cho, Hyungsuck

2008-04-10

One major research issue associated with 3D perception by robotic systems is the creation of efficient sensor systems that can generate dense range maps reliably. A visual sensor system for robotic applications is developed that is inherently equipped with two types of sensor, an active trinocular vision and a passive stereo vision. Unlike in conventional active vision systems that use a large number of images with variations of projected patterns for dense range map acquisition or from conventional passive vision systems that work well on specific environments with sufficient feature information, a cooperative bidirectional sensor fusion method for this visual sensor system enables us to acquire a reliable dense range map using active and passive information simultaneously. The fusion algorithms are composed of two parts, one in which the passive stereo vision helps active vision and the other in which the active trinocular vision helps the passive one. The first part matches the laser patterns in stereo laser images with the help of intensity images; the second part utilizes an information fusion technique using the dynamic programming method in which image regions between laser patterns are matched pixel-by-pixel with help of the fusion results obtained in the first part. To determine how the proposed sensor system and fusion algorithms can work in real applications, the sensor system is implemented on a robotic system, and the proposed algorithms are applied. A series of experimental tests is performed for a variety of configurations of robot and environments. The performance of the sensor system is discussed in detail.

The Accuracy, Night-to-Night Variability, and Stability of Frontopolar Sleep Electroencephalography Biomarkers

PubMed Central

Levendowski, Daniel J.; Ferini-Strambi, Luigi; Gamaldo, Charlene; Cetel, Mindy; Rosenberg, Robert; Westbrook, Philip R.

2017-01-01

Study Objectives: To assess the validity of sleep architecture and sleep continuity biomarkers obtained from a portable, multichannel forehead electroencephalography (EEG) recorder. Methods: Forty-seven subjects simultaneously underwent polysomnography (PSG) while wearing a multichannel frontopolar EEG recording device (Sleep Profiler). The PSG recordings independently staged by 5 registered polysomnographic technologists were compared for agreement with the autoscored sleep EEG before and after expert review. To assess the night-to-night variability and first night bias, 2 nights of self-applied, in-home EEG recordings obtained from a clinical cohort of 63 patients were used (41% with a diagnosis of insomnia/depression, 35% with insomnia/obstructive sleep apnea, and 17.5% with all three). The between-night stability of abnormal sleep biomarkers was determined by comparing each night's data to normative reference values. Results: The mean overall interscorer agreements between the 5 technologists were 75.9%, and the mean kappa score was 0.70. After visual review, the mean kappa score between the autostaging and five raters was 0.67, and staging agreed with a majority of scorers in at least 80% of the epochs for all stages except stage N1. Sleep spindles, autonomic activation, and stage N3 exhibited the least between-night variability (P < .0001) and strongest between-night stability. Antihypertensive medications were found to have a significant effect on sleep quality biomarkers (P < .02). Conclusions: A strong agreement was observed between the automated sleep staging and human-scored PSG. One night's recording appeared sufficient to characterize abnormal slow wave sleep, sleep spindle activity, and heart rate variability in patients, but a 2-night average improved the assessment of all other sleep biomarkers. Commentary: Two commentaries on this article appear in this issue on pages 771 and 773. Citation: Levendowski DJ, Ferini-Strambi L, Gamaldo C, Cetel M

Lateralized activation of Cluster N in the brains of migratory songbirds

PubMed Central

Liedvogel, Miriam; Feenders, Gesa; Wada, Kazuhiro; Troje, Nikolaus F.; Jarvis, Erich D.; Mouritsen, Henrik

2008-01-01

Cluster N is a cluster of forebrain regions found in night-migratory songbirds that shows high activation of activity-dependent gene expression during night-time vision. We have suggested that Cluster N may function as a specialized night-vision area in night-migratory birds and that it may be involved in processing light-mediated magnetic compass information. Here, we investigated these ideas. We found a significant lateralized dominance of Cluster N activation in the right hemisphere of European robins (Erithacus rubecula). Activation predominantly originated from the contralateral (left) eye. Garden warblers (Sylvia borin) tested under different magnetic field conditions and under monochromatic red light did not show significant differences in Cluster N activation. In the fairly sedentary Sardinian warbler (Sylvia melanocephala), which belongs to the same phyolgenetic clade, Cluster N showed prominent activation levels, similar to that observed in garden warblers and European robins. Thus, it seems that Cluster N activation occurs at night in all species within predominantly migratory groups of birds, probably because such birds have the capability of switching between migratory and sedentary life styles. The activation studies suggest that although Cluster N is lateralized, as is the dependence on magnetic compass orientation, either Cluster N is not involved in magnetic processing or the magnetic modulations of the primary visual signal, forming the basis for the currently supported light-dependent magnetic compass mechanism, are relatively small such that activity-dependent gene expression changes are not sensitive enough to pick them up. PMID:17331212

Training for Night Operations - Research Challenges and Opportunities

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-08

Training and Simulation Conference Exhibits and Visuals by Type ……………..……... 1 Figure 2: Radiant Sensitivity of Intensifiers Currently Used in Night Vision...wavelengths across Figure 2. Radiant Sensitivity of Intensifiers the entire radiant sensitivity band. In either case, in order to be Currently...the projector/display technology and NVGs used. NVGs are very sensitive to any light within their band of radiant sensitivity . The intensifier

Evaluation of oxidative stress parameters and metabolic activities of nurses working day and night shifts.

PubMed

Ulas, Turgay; Buyukhatipoglu, Hakan; Kirhan, Idris; Dal, Mehmet Sinan; Ulas, Sevilay; Demir, Mehmet Emin; Eren, Mehmet Ali; Ucar, Mehmet; Hazar, Abdussamet; Kurkcuoglu, Ibrahim Can; Aksoy, Nurten

2013-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the oxidative stress and metabolic activities of nurses working day and night shifts. Intensive care unit (ICU) (n=70) and ordinary service (OS) nurses (n=70) were enrolled in the study. Just before and the end of the shifts, blood samples were obtained to measure the participants' oxidative stress parameters. Metabolic activities were analyzed using the SenseWear Armband. Oxidative stress parameters were increased at the end of the shifts for all OS and ICU nurses compared to the beginning of the shifts. Compared to the OS nurses, the ICU nurses' TAS, TOS, and OSI levels were not significantly different at the end of the day and night shifts. The metabolic activities of the OS and ICU nurses were found to be similar. As a result, the OS and ICU nurses' oxidative stress parameters and metabolic activities were not different, and all of the nurses experienced similar effects from both the day and night shifts.

Night-Vision Goggle Visual Performance During 12 Hours at 10,000 ft Altitude at Night Conditions

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

relative ta the use .of head-phanes (OR= 1.74, CI= 0.64-4.71), attendance ta cancerts (OR= 2.20, CI= 0.62-7.82), .or matar sparts (OR= 1.02, CI= 0.21-4.77...performance of low-grade hypaxia exposu re at 10,000 ft duri~g 12 haurs night condltlans. Methods: Hypabaric expasures in a dark environment simulating a...visian gaggle at an altitude .of 10,000 ft In a dark envlranment are described. [418] ROLL, PITCH, AND YAW OFTHE HEAD AS IT TRACKS VISUAL AND

Differential contribution of Ca2+ sources to day and night BK current activation in the circadian clock

PubMed Central

McNally, Beth A.

2018-01-01

Large conductance K+ (BK) channels are expressed widely in neurons, where their activation is regulated by membrane depolarization and intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i). To enable this regulation, BK channels functionally couple to both voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs) and channels mediating Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. However, the relationship between BK channels and their specific Ca2+ source for particular patterns of excitability is not well understood. In neurons within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)—the brain’s circadian clock—BK current, VGCC current, and Ca2+i are diurnally regulated, but paradoxically, BK current is greatest at night when VGCC current and Ca2+i are reduced. Here, to determine whether diurnal regulation of Ca2+ is relevant for BK channel activation, we combine pharmacology with day and night patch-clamp recordings in acute slices of SCN. We find that activation of BK current depends primarily on three types of channels but that the relative contribution changes between day and night. BK current can be abrogated with nimodipine during the day but not at night, establishing that L-type Ca2+ channels (LTCCs) are the primary daytime Ca2+ source for BK activation. In contrast, dantrolene causes a significant decrease in BK current at night, suggesting that nighttime BK activation is driven by ryanodine receptor (RyR)–mediated Ca2+i release. The N- and P/Q-type Ca2+ channel blocker ω-conotoxin MVIIC causes a smaller reduction of BK current that does not differ between day and night. Finally, inhibition of LTCCs, but not RyRs, eliminates BK inactivation, but the BK β2 subunit was not required for activation of BK current by LTCCs. These data reveal a dynamic coupling strategy between BK channels and their Ca2+ sources in the SCN, contributing to diurnal regulation of SCN excitability. PMID:29237755

Differential contribution of Ca2+ sources to day and night BK current activation in the circadian clock.

PubMed

Whitt, Joshua P; McNally, Beth A; Meredith, Andrea L

2018-02-05

Large conductance K + (BK) channels are expressed widely in neurons, where their activation is regulated by membrane depolarization and intracellular Ca 2+ (Ca 2+ i ). To enable this regulation, BK channels functionally couple to both voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels (VGCCs) and channels mediating Ca 2+ release from intracellular stores. However, the relationship between BK channels and their specific Ca 2+ source for particular patterns of excitability is not well understood. In neurons within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)-the brain's circadian clock-BK current, VGCC current, and Ca 2+ i are diurnally regulated, but paradoxically, BK current is greatest at night when VGCC current and Ca 2+ i are reduced. Here, to determine whether diurnal regulation of Ca 2+ is relevant for BK channel activation, we combine pharmacology with day and night patch-clamp recordings in acute slices of SCN. We find that activation of BK current depends primarily on three types of channels but that the relative contribution changes between day and night. BK current can be abrogated with nimodipine during the day but not at night, establishing that L-type Ca 2+ channels (LTCCs) are the primary daytime Ca 2+ source for BK activation. In contrast, dantrolene causes a significant decrease in BK current at night, suggesting that nighttime BK activation is driven by ryanodine receptor (RyR)-mediated Ca 2+ i release. The N- and P/Q-type Ca 2+ channel blocker ω-conotoxin MVIIC causes a smaller reduction of BK current that does not differ between day and night. Finally, inhibition of LTCCs, but not RyRs, eliminates BK inactivation, but the BK β2 subunit was not required for activation of BK current by LTCCs. These data reveal a dynamic coupling strategy between BK channels and their Ca 2+ sources in the SCN, contributing to diurnal regulation of SCN excitability. © 2018 Whitt et al.

Day, night and all-weather security surveillance automation synergy from combining two powerful technologies

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

Morellas, Vassilios; Johnson, Andrew; Johnston, Chris

2006-07-01

Thermal imaging is rightfully a real-world technology proven to bring confidence to daytime, night-time and all weather security surveillance. Automatic image processing intrusion detection algorithms are also a real world technology proven to bring confidence to system surveillance security solutions. Together, day, night and all weather video imagery sensors and automated intrusion detection software systems create the real power to protect early against crime, providing real-time global homeland protection, rather than simply being able to monitor and record activities for post event analysis. These solutions, whether providing automatic security system surveillance at airports (to automatically detect unauthorized aircraft takeoff andmore » landing activities) or at high risk private, public or government facilities (to automatically detect unauthorized people or vehicle intrusion activities) are on the move to provide end users the power to protect people, capital equipment and intellectual property against acts of vandalism and terrorism. As with any technology, infrared sensors and automatic image intrusion detection systems for global homeland security protection have clear technological strengths and limitations compared to other more common day and night vision technologies or more traditional manual man-in-the-loop intrusion detection security systems. This paper addresses these strength and limitation capabilities. False Alarm (FAR) and False Positive Rate (FPR) is an example of some of the key customer system acceptability metrics and Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) and Minimum Resolvable Temperature are examples of some of the sensor level performance acceptability metrics. (authors)« less

Time-dependent effects of dim light at night on re-entrainment and masking of hamster activity rhythms.

PubMed

Frank, David W; Evans, Jennifer A; Gorman, Michael R

2010-04-01

Bright light has been established as the most ubiquitous environmental cue that entrains circadian timing systems under natural conditions. Light equivalent in intensity to moonlight (<1 lux), however, also strongly modulates circadian function in a number of entrainment paradigms. For example, compared to completely dark nights, dim nighttime illumination accelerated re-entrainment of hamster activity rhythms to 4-hour phase advances and delays of an otherwise standard laboratory photocycle. The purpose of this study was to determine if a sensitive period existed in the night during which dim illumination had a robust influence on speed of re-entrainment. Male Siberian hamsters were either exposed to dim light throughout the night, for half of the night, or not at all. Compared to dark nights, dim illumination throughout the entire night decreased by 29% the time for the midpoint of the active phase to re-entrain to a 4-hour phase advance and by 26% for a 4-hour delay. Acceleration of advances and delays were also achieved with 5 hours of dim light per night, but effects depended on whether dim light was present in the first half, second half, or first and last quarters of the night. Both during phase shifting and steady-state entrainment, partially lit nights also produced strong positive and negative masking effects, as well as entrainment aftereffects in constant darkness. Thus, even in the presence of a strong zeitgeber, light that might be encountered under a natural nighttime sky potently modulates the circadian timing system of hamsters.

Visual summation in night-flying sweat bees: a theoretical study.

PubMed

Theobald, Jamie Carroll; Greiner, Birgit; Wcislo, William T; Warrant, Eric J

2006-07-01

Bees are predominantly diurnal; only a few groups fly at night. An evolutionary limitation that bees must overcome to inhabit dim environments is their eye type: bees possess apposition compound eyes, which are poorly suited to vision in dim light. Here, we theoretically examine how nocturnal bees Megalopta genalis fly at light levels usually reserved for insects bearing more sensitive superposition eyes. We find that neural summation should greatly increase M. genalis's visual reliability. Predicted spatial summation closely matches the morphology of laminal neurons believed to mediate such summation. Improved reliability costs acuity, but dark adapted bees already suffer optical blurring, and summation further degrades vision only slightly.

Müller cells separate between wavelengths to improve day vision with minimal effect upon night vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labin, Amichai M.; Safuri, Shadi K.; Ribak, Erez N.; Perlman, Ido

2014-07-01

Vision starts with the absorption of light by the retinal photoreceptors—cones and rods. However, due to the ‘inverted’ structure of the retina, the incident light must propagate through reflecting and scattering cellular layers before reaching the photoreceptors. It has been recently suggested that Müller cells function as optical fibres in the retina, transferring light illuminating the retinal surface onto the cone photoreceptors. Here we show that Müller cells are wavelength-dependent wave-guides, concentrating the green-red part of the visible spectrum onto cones and allowing the blue-purple part to leak onto nearby rods. This phenomenon is observed in the isolated retina and explained by a computational model, for the guinea pig and the human parafoveal retina. Therefore, light propagation by Müller cells through the retina can be considered as an integral part of the first step in the visual process, increasing photon absorption by cones while minimally affecting rod-mediated vision.

What's crucial in night vision goggle simulation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kooi, Frank L.; Toet, Alexander

2005-05-01

Training is required to correctly interpret NVG imagery. Training night operations with simulated intensified imagery has great potential. Compared to direct viewing with the naked eye, intensified imagery is relatively easy to simulate and the cost of real NVG training is high (logistics, risk, civilian sleep deprivation, pollution). On the surface NVG imagery appears to have a structure similar to daylight imagery. However, in actuality its characteristics differ significantly from those of daylight imagery. As a result, NVG imagery frequently induces visual illusions. To achieve realistic training, simulated NVG imagery should at least reproduce the essential visual limitations of real NVG imagery caused by reduced resolution, reduced contrast, limited field-of-view, the absence of color, and the systems sensitivity to nearby infrared radiation. It is particularly important that simulated NVG imagery represents essential NVG visual characteristics, such as the high reflection of chlorophyll and halos. Current real-time simulation software falls short for training purposes because of an incorrect representation of shadow effects. We argue that the development of shading and shadowing merits priority to close the gap between real and simulated NVG flight conditions. Visual conspicuity can be deployed as an efficient metric to measure the 'perceptual distance' between the real NVG and the simulated NVG image.

Photographic Assessment of Dark Spots in Night Vision Device Images

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

Ronchi, V., (1957), Optics, the science of vision, New York: New York University Press. BIOGRAPHY Peter L. Marasco came to the U.S. Air Force in 1991 as a...optical test methods. Mr. Marasco received a BS degree from the University of Rochester in 1991 and an MS degree from the University of Arizona in 1993

Night shift work and modifiable lifestyle factors.

PubMed

Pepłońska, Beata; Burdelak, Weronika; Krysicka, Jolanta; Bukowska, Agnieszka; Marcinkiewicz, Andrzej; Sobala, Wojciech; Klimecka-Muszyńska, Dorota; Rybacki, Marcin

2014-10-01

Night shift work has been linked to some chronic diseases. Modification of lifestyle by night work may partially contribute to the development of these diseases, nevertheless, so far epidemiological evidence is limited. The aim of the study was to explore association between night shift work and lifestyle factors using data from a cross-sectional study among blue-collar workers employed in industrial plants in Łódź, Poland. The anonymous questionnaire was self-administered among 605 employees (236 women and 369 men, aged 35 or more) - 434 individuals currently working night shifts. Distribution of the selected lifestyle related factors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), number of main meals and the hour of the last meal was compared between current, former, and never night shift workers. Adjusted ORs or predicted means were calculated, as a measure of the associations between night shift work and lifestyle factors, with age, marital status and education included in the models as covariates. Recreational inactivity (defined here as less than one hour per week of recreational physical activity) was associated with current night shift work when compared to never night shift workers (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.13-5.22) among men. Alcohol abstinence and later time of the last meal was associated with night shift work among women. Statistically significant positive relationship between night shift work duration and BMI was observed among men (p = 0.029). This study confirms previous studies reporting lower exercising among night shift workers and tendency to increase body weight. This finding provides important public health implication for the prevention of chronic diseases among night shift workers. Initiatives promoting physical activity addressed in particular to the night shift workers are recommended.

A real-time monitoring system for night glare protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jun; Ni, Xuxiang

2010-11-01

When capturing a dark scene with a high bright object, the monitoring camera will be saturated in some regions and the details will be lost in and near these saturated regions because of the glare vision. This work aims at developing a real-time night monitoring system. The system can decrease the influence of the glare vision and gain more details from the ordinary camera when exposing a high-contrast scene like a car with its headlight on during night. The system is made up of spatial light modulator (The liquid crystal on silicon: LCoS), image sensor (CCD), imaging lens and DSP. LCoS, a reflective liquid crystal, can modular the intensity of reflective light at every pixel as a digital device. Through modulation function of LCoS, CCD is exposed with sub-region. With the control of DSP, the light intensity is decreased to minimum in the glare regions, and the light intensity is negative feedback modulated based on PID theory in other regions. So that more details of the object will be imaging on CCD and the glare protection of monitoring system is achieved. In experiments, the feedback is controlled by the embedded system based on TI DM642. Experiments shows: this feedback modulation method not only reduces the glare vision to improve image quality, but also enhances the dynamic range of image. The high-quality and high dynamic range image is real-time captured at 30hz. The modulation depth of LCoS determines how strong the glare can be removed.

Rotating night shift work and physical activity of nurses and midwives in the cross-sectional study in Łódź, Poland.

PubMed

Peplonska, Beata; Bukowska, Agnieszka; Sobala, Wojciech

2014-12-01

Shift work have been thought to restrict participation in leisure time activities, but the knowledge about physical activity in rotating night shift nurses has been limited so far. We investigated the associations between the rotating night shift work and physical activity using data from a cross-sectional study among nurses and midwives. This study included 354 nurses and midwives (aged 40-60) currently working rotating night shifts and 371 ones working days only. The information on the work characteristics and potential covariates was collected via a personal interview. Weight and height were measured and BMI was calculated. Physical activity was assessed according to the international questionnaire on physical activity - IPAQ, and four domains: leisure time, occupational, transport related and household were analyzed. Women who reported none leisure time activity were defined as recreationally "inactive". The associations were examined with multiple linear or logistic regression models adjusted for age, season of the year, number of full term births, marital status and BMI. Total and occupational physical activity was significantly higher among nurses working rotating night shifts. However, leisure time activity was significantly affected among rotating night shift nurses and midwives, compared to women working during the days only, with increased odds ratio for recreational "inactivity" (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.11-2.20). Rotating night shift work among nurses and midwives is associated with higher occupational physical activity but lower leisure time activity. Initiatives supporting exercising among night shift workers are recommended.

Establishing Mobility Measures to Assess the Effectiveness of Night Vision Devices: Results of a Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zebehazy, Kim T.; Zimmerman, George J.; Bowers, Alex R.; Luo, Gang; Peli, Eli

2005-01-01

In addition to their restricted peripheral fields, persons with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) report significant problems seeing in low levels of illumination, which causes difficulty with night travel. Several devices have been developed to support the visual needs of persons who have night blindness. These devices include wide-angle flashlights,…

Day/Night Variability in Blood Pressure: Influence of Posture and Physical Activity

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND Blood pressure (BP) is highest during the day and lowest at night. Absence of this rhythm is a predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Contributions of changes in posture and physical activity to the 24-hour day/night rhythm in BP are not well understood. We hypothesized that postural changes and physical activity contribute substantially to the day/night rhythm in BP. METHODS Fourteen healthy, sedentary, nonobese, normotensive men (aged 19–50 years) each completed an ambulatory and a bed rest condition during which BP was measured every 30–60 minutes for 24 hours. When ambulatory, subjects followed their usual routines without restrictions to capture the “normal” condition. During bed rest, subjects were constantly confined to bed in a 6-degree head-down position; therefore posture was constant, and physical activity was minimized. Two subjects were excluded from analysis because of irregular sleep timing. RESULTS The systolic and diastolic BP reduction during the sleep period was similar in ambulatory (−11±2mmHg/−8±1mmHg) and bed rest conditions (−8±3mmHg/−4±2mmHg; P = 0.38/P = 0.12). The morning surge in diastolic BP was attenuated during bed rest (P = 0.001), and there was a statistical trend for the same effect in systolic BP (P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS A substantial proportion of the 24-hour BP rhythm remained during bed rest, indicating that typical daily changes in posture and/or physical activity do not entirely explain 24-hour BP variation under normal ambulatory conditions. However, the morning BP increase was attenuated during bed rest, suggesting that the adoption of an upright posture and/or physical activity in the morning contributes to the morning BP surge. PMID:23535155

Internal desynchronization in a model of night-work by forced activity in rats.

PubMed

Salgado-Delgado, R; Angeles-Castellanos, M; Buijs, M R; Escobar, C

2008-06-26

Individuals engaged in shift- or night-work show disturbed diurnal rhythms, out of phase with temporal signals associated to the light/dark (LD) cycle, resulting in internal desynchronization. The mechanisms underlying internal desynchrony have been mainly investigated in experimental animals with protocols that induce phase shifts of the LD cycle and thus modify the activity of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). In this study we developed an animal model of night-work in which the light-day cycle remained stable and rats were required to be active in a rotating wheel for 8 h daily during their sleeping phase (W-SP). This group was compared with rats that were working in the wheel during their activity phase (W-AP) and with undisturbed rats (C). We provide evidence that forced activity during the sleeping phase (W-SP group) alters not only activity, but also the temporal pattern of food intake. In consequence W-SP rats showed a loss of glucose rhythmicity and a reversed rhythm of triacylglycerols. In contrast W-AP rats did not show such changes and exhibited metabolic rhythms similar to those of the controls. The three groups exhibited the nocturnal corticosterone increase, in addition the W-SP and W-AP groups showed increase of plasma corticosterone associated with the start of the working session. Forced activity during the sleep phase did not modify SCN activity characterized by the temporal patterns of PER1 and PER2 proteins, which remained in phase with the LD cycle. These observations indicate that a working regimen during the sleeping period elicits internal desynchronization in which activity combined with feeding uncouples metabolic functions from the biological clock which remains fixed to the LD cycle. The present data suggest that in the night worker the combination of work and eating during working hours may be the cause of internal desynchronization.

Outdoor-sleeping and other night-time activities in northern Ghana: implications for residual transmission and malaria prevention.

PubMed

Monroe, April; Asamoah, Obed; Lam, Yukyan; Koenker, Hannah; Psychas, Paul; Lynch, Matthew; Ricotta, Emily; Hornston, Sureyya; Berman, Amanda; Harvey, Steven A

2015-01-28

Despite targeted indoor residual spraying (IRS) over a six-year period and free mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), malaria rates in northern Ghana remain high. Outdoor sleeping and other night-time social, cultural and economic activities that increase exposure to infective mosquito bites are possible contributors. This study was designed to document these phenomena through direct observation, and to explore the context in which they occur. During the late dry season months of February and March 2014, study team members carried out continuous household observations from dusk to dawn in one village in Ghana's Northern Region and one in Upper West Region. In-depth interviews with health workers and community residents helped supplement observational findings. Study team members completed observations of 182 individuals across 24 households, 12 households per site. Between the two sites, they interviewed 14 health workers, six community health volunteers and 28 community residents. In early evening, nearly all study participants were observed to be outdoors and active. From 18.00-23.00 hours, socializing, night school, household chores, and small-scale economic activities were common. All-night funerals, held outdoors and attended by large numbers of community members, were commonly reported and observed. Outdoor sleeping was frequently documented at both study sites, with 42% of the study population sleeping outdoors at some time during the night. While interviewees mentioned bed net use as important to malaria prevention, observed use was low for both indoor and outdoor sleeping. Net access within households was 65%, but only 17% of those with access used a net at any time during the night. Participants cited heat as the primary barrier and reported higher net use during the rainy season. Outdoor sleeping and other night-time activities were extensive, and could significantly increase malaria risk. These findings suggest that indoor

Frequency of College Students' Night-Sky Watching Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, William E.; Kelly, Kathryn E.; Batey, Jason

2006-01-01

College students (N = 112) completed the Noctcaelador Inventory, a measure of psychological attachment to the night-sky, and estimated various night-sky watching related activities: frequency and duration of night-sky watching, astro-tourism, ownership of night-sky viewing equipment, and attendance of observatories or planetariums. The results…

Night-to-Night Variability of Muscle Tone, Movements, and Vocalizations in Patients with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

PubMed Central

Cygan, Fanny; Oudiette, Delphine; Leclair-Visonneau, Laurène; Leu-Semenescu, Smaranda; Arnulf, Isabelle

2010-01-01

Objectives: The video-polysomnographic criteria of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have not been well described. We evaluated the between-night reproducibility of phasic and tonic enhanced muscle activity during REM sleep as well as the associated behaviors and vocalizations of the patients. Methods: Fifteen patients with clinical RBD underwent two consecutive video-polysomnographies. The amount of excessive phasic and tonic chin muscle activity during REM sleep was measured in 15 patients in 3-sec mini-epochs. The time spent with motor (minor, major, complex, and scenic) or vocal (sounds, mumblings, and comprehensible speeches) events was measured in 7 patients during REM sleep. Results: There was a good between-night agreement for tonic (Spearman rho = 0.55, p = 0.03; Kendall tau = 0.48, p = 0.01) but not for phasic (rho = 0.47, p = 0.1; tau = 0.31, p = 0.1) excessive chin muscle activity. On the video and audio recordings, the minor RBD behaviors tended to occur more frequently during the second night than the first, whereas the patients spoke longer during the first than the second night. Conclusion: The excessive tonic activity during REM sleep is a reliable marker of RBD. It could represent the extent of dysfunction in the permissive atonia systems. In contrast, the more variable phasic activity and motor/vocal events could be more dependent on dream content (executive systems). Citation: Cygan F; Oudiette D; Leclair-Visonneau L; Leu-Semenescu S; Arnulf I. Night-to-night variability of muscle tone, movements, and vocalizations in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder. J Clin Sleep Med 2010;6(6):551-555. PMID:21206543

Global Night-Time Lights for Observing Human Activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hipskind, Stephen R.; Elvidge, Chris; Gurney, K.; Imhoff, Mark; Bounoua, Lahouari; Sheffner, Edwin; Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Pettit, Donald R.; Fischer, Marc

2011-01-01

We present a concept for a small satellite mission to make systematic, global observations of night-time lights with spatial resolution suitable for discerning the extent, type and density of human settlements. The observations will also allow better understanding of fine scale fossil fuel CO2 emission distribution. The NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey recommends more focus on direct observations of human influence on the Earth system. The most dramatic and compelling observations of human presence on the Earth are the night light observations taken by the Defence Meteorological System Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS). Beyond delineating the footprint of human presence, night light data, when assembled and evaluated with complementary data sets, can determine the fine scale spatial distribution of global fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Understanding fossil fuel carbon emissions is critical to understanding the entire carbon cycle, and especially the carbon exchange between terrestrial and oceanic systems.

Late-night exercise affects the autonomic nervous system activity but not the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in the next morning.

PubMed

Uçar, Cihat; Özgöçer, Tuba; Yildiz, Sedat

2018-01-01

Exercise activates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) and generally causes beneficial changes in homeostatic balance. However, the health benefits of late-night exercise programs on the activity of HPA and ANS is not known. The aim of this study was to assess effects of late-night exercise on sleep quality and on the activities of the HPA axis (as cortisol awakening response, CAR) and the ANS (as heart rate variability, HRV) measurements in the following morning. Medical students (N.=20 males, 20-24 years old) filled Karolinska Sleep Diary on the day before exercise program. In the following morning, they provided salivary samples for the assessment of CAR (samples at 0, 15, 30 and 60 min postawakening) and had a 5-min electrocardiogram recording for the determination of HRV. In the next night, an exercise program consisting of a 90-min football match was implemented at 09:30 p.m. and all procedures were repeated. Cortisol concentrations were measured in the salivary samples and time- and frequency-domain parameters of HRV were calculated. Late-night exercise did not affect (P>0.05) sleep parameters (sleep duration, disturbed sleep, awakening problems) and CAR parameters (0, 15, 30, 60 min cortisol concentrations, mean concentration, area under the curve) but influenced HRV parameters (P<0.05). The results suggest that late-night exercise is associated with changed HRV activity rather than changes in CAR and, therefore, it might be suggested that late-night exercise affects ANS activity rather than HPA activity in the next morning.

Final Report for Geometric Observers and Particle Filtering for Controlled Active Vision

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-15

code) 15-12-2016 Final Report 01Sep06 - 09May11 Final Report for Geometric Observers & Particle Filtering for Controlled Active Vision 49414-NS.1Allen...Observers and Particle Filtering for Controlled Active Vision by Allen R. Tannenbaum School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Georgia Institute of...7 2.2.4 Conformal Area Minimizing Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3 Particle Filters

The influence of active vision on the exoskeleton of intelligent agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Patrice; Terry, Theodore B.

2016-04-01

Chameleonization occurs when a self-learning autonomous mobile system's (SLAMR) active vision scans the surface of which it is perched causing the exoskeleton to changes colors exhibiting a chameleon effect. Intelligent agents having the ability to adapt to their environment and exhibit key survivability characteristics of its environments would largely be due in part to the use of active vision. Active vision would allow the intelligent agent to scan its environment and adapt as needed in order to avoid detection. The SLAMR system would have an exoskeleton, which would change, based on the surface it was perched on; this is known as the "chameleon effect." Not in the common sense of the term, but from the techno-bio inspired meaning as addressed in our previous paper. Active vision, utilizing stereoscopic color sensing functionality would enable the intelligent agent to scan an object within its close proximity, determine the color scheme, and match it; allowing the agent to blend with its environment. Through the use of its' optical capabilities, the SLAMR system would be able to further determine its position, taking into account spatial and temporal correlation and spatial frequency content of neighboring structures further ensuring successful background blending. The complex visual tasks of identifying objects, using edge detection, image filtering, and feature extraction are essential for an intelligent agent to gain additional knowledge about its environmental surroundings.

An Inquiry-Based Vision Science Activity for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Research Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putnam, N. M.; Maness, H. L.; Rossi, E. A.; Hunter, J. J.

2010-12-01

The vision science activity was originally designed for the 2007 Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) Summer School. Participants were graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals studying the basics of adaptive optics. The majority were working in fields outside vision science, mainly astronomy and engineering. The primary goal of the activity was to give participants first-hand experience with the use of a wavefront sensor designed for clinical measurement of the aberrations of the human eye and to demonstrate how the resulting wavefront data generated from these measurements can be used to assess optical quality. A secondary goal was to examine the role wavefront measurements play in the investigation of vision-related scientific questions. In 2008, the activity was expanded to include a new section emphasizing defocus and astigmatism and vision testing/correction in a broad sense. As many of the participants were future post-secondary educators, a final goal of the activity was to highlight the inquiry-based approach as a distinct and effective alternative to traditional laboratory exercises. Participants worked in groups throughout the activity and formative assessment by a facilitator (instructor) was used to ensure that participants made progress toward the content goals. At the close of the activity, participants gave short presentations about their work to the whole group, the major points of which were referenced in a facilitator-led synthesis lecture. We discuss highlights and limitations of the vision science activity in its current format (2008 and 2009 summer schools) and make recommendations for its improvement and adaptation to different audiences.

Night firing range performance following photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis.

PubMed

Bower, Kraig S; Burka, Jenna M; Subramanian, Prem S; Stutzman, Richard D; Mines, Michael J; Rabin, Jeff C

2006-06-01

To investigate the effect of laser refractive surgery on night weapons firing. Firing range performance was measured at baseline and postoperatively following photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis. Subjects fired the M-16A2 rifle with night vision goggles (NVG) at starlight, and with iron sight (simulated dusk). Scores, before and after surgery, were compared for both conditions. No subject was able to acquire the target using iron sight without correction before surgery. After surgery, the scores without correction (95.9 +/- 4.7) matched the preoperative scores with correction (94.3 +/- 4.0; p = 0.324). Uncorrected NVG scores after surgery (96.4 +/- 3.1) exceeded the corrected scores before surgery (91.4 +/- 10.2), but this trend was not statistically significant (p = 0.063). Night weapon firing with both the iron sight and the NVG sight improved after surgery. This study supports the operational benefits of refractive surgery in the military.

Enhanced Night Visibility Series, Volume XII : Overview of Phase II and Development of Phase III Experimental Plan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-12-01

This volume provides an overview of the six studies that compose Phase II of the Enhanced Night Visibility project and the experimental plan for its third and final portion, Phase III. The Phase II studies evaluated up to 12 vision enhancement system...

Night-time activity forecast by season and weather in a longitudinal design - natural light effects on three years' rest-activity cycles in nursing home residents with dementia.

PubMed

Wahnschaffe, Amely; Nowozin, Claudia; Rath, Andreas; Floessner, Theresa; Appelhoff, Stefan; Münch, Mirjam; Kunz, Dieter

2017-12-01

Backround: Night-time agitation is a frequent symptom of dementia. It often causes nursing home admission and has been linked to circadian rhythm disturbances. A positive influence of light interventions on night-time agitation was shown in several studies. The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is a long-term association between regional weather data (as indicator for daylight availability) and 24-hour variations of motor activity. Motor activity of 20 elderly nursing home residents living with dementia was analyzed using recordings of continuously worn wrist activity monitors over a three-year period. The average recording duration was 479 ± 206 days per participant (mean ± SD). Regional cloud amount and day length data from the local weather station (latitude: 52°56'N) were included in the analysis to investigate their effects on several activity variables. Nocturnal rest, here defined as the five consecutive hours with the least motor activity during 24 hours (L5), was the most predictable activity variable per participant. There was a significant interaction of night-time activity with day length and cloud amount (F 1,1174 = 4.39; p = 0.036). Night-time activity was higher on cloudy short days than on clear short days (p = 0.007), and it was also higher on cloudy short days than on cloudy long days (p = 0.032). The need for sufficient zeitgeber (time cue) strength during winter time, especially when days are short and skies are cloudy, is crucial for elderly people living with dementia. Activity forecast by season and weather might be a valuable approach to anticipate adequately complementary use of electrical light and thereby foster lower night-time activity.

Color vision deficiencies and the child's willingness for visual activity: preliminary research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geniusz, Malwina; Szmigiel, Marta; Geniusz, Maciej

2017-09-01

After a few weeks a newborn baby can recognize high contrasts in colors like black and white. They reach full color vision at the age of circa six months. Matching colors is the next milestone. Most children can do it at the age of two. Good color vision is one of the factors which indicate proper development of a child. Presented research shows the correlation between color vision and visual activity. The color vision of a group of children aged 3-8 was examined with saturated Farnsworth D-15. Fransworth test was performed twice - in a standard version and in a magnetic version. The time of completing standard and magnetic tests was measured. Furthermore, parents of subjects answered questions checking the children's visual activity in 1 - 10 scale. Parents stated whether the child willingly watched books, colored coloring books, put puzzles or liked to play with blocks etc. The Fransworth D-15 test designed for color vision testing can be used to test younger children from the age of 3 years. These are preliminary studies which may be a useful tool for further, more accurate examination on a larger group of subjects.

Use of a night vision intensifier for direct visualization by eye of far-red and near-infrared fluorescence through an optical microscope.

PubMed

Siddiqi, M A; Kilduff, G M; Gearhart, J D

2003-11-01

We describe the design, construction and testing of a prototype device that allows the direct visualization by eye of far-red and near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence through an optical microscope. The device incorporates a gallium arsenide (GaAs) image intensifier, typically utilized in low-light or 'night vision' applications. The intensifier converts far-red and NIR light into electrons and then into green light, which is visible to the human eye. The prototype makes possible the direct, real-time viewing by eye of normally invisible far-red and NIR fluorescence from a wide variety of fluorophores, using the full field of view of the microscope to which it is applied. The high sensitivity of the image intensifier facilitates the viewing of a wide variety of photosensitive specimens, including live cells and embryos, at vastly reduced illumination levels in both fluorescence and bright-field microscopy. Modifications to the microscope are not required in order to use the prototype, which is fully compatible with all current fluorescence techniques. Refined versions of the prototype device will have broad research and clinical applications.

Oxygenation state and twilight vision at 2438 m.

PubMed

Connolly, Desmond M

2011-01-01

Under twilight viewing conditions, hypoxia, equivalent to breathing air at 3048 m (10,000 ft), compromises low contrast acuity, dynamic contrast sensitivity, and chromatic sensitivity. Selected past experiments have been repeated under milder hypoxia, equivalent to altitude exposure below 2438 m (8000 ft), to further define the influence of oxygenation state on mesopic vision. To assess photopic and mesopic visual function, 12 subjects each undertook three experiments using the Contrast Acuity Assessment test, the Frequency Doubling Perimeter, and the Color Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test. Experiments were conducted near sea level breathing 15.2% oxygen (balance nitrogen) and 100% oxygen, representing mild hypobaric hypoxia at 2438 m (8000 ft) and the benefit of supplementary oxygen, respectively. Oxygenation state was a statistically significant determinant of visual performance on all three visual parameters at mesopic, but not photopic, luminance. Mesopic sensitivity was greater with supplementary oxygen, but the magnitude of each hypoxic decrement was slight. Hypoxia elevated mesopic contrast acuity thresholds by approximately 4%; decreased mesopic dynamic contrast sensitivity by approximately 2 dB; and extended mean color ellipse axis length by approximately one CAD unit at mesopic luminance (that is, hypoxia decreased chromatic sensitivity). The results indicate that twilight vision may be susceptible to conditions of altered oxygenation at upper-to-mid mesopic luminance with relevance to contemporary night flying, including using night vision devices. Supplementary oxygen should be considered when optimal visual performance is mission-critical during flight above 2438 m (8000 ft) in dim light.

Night-to-night variability of muscle tone, movements, and vocalizations in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder.

PubMed

Cygan, Fanny; Oudiette, Delphine; Leclair-Visonneau, Laurène; Leu-Semenescu, Smaranda; Arnulf, Isabelle

2010-12-15

The video-polysomnographic criteria of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have not been well described. We evaluated the between-night reproducibility of phasic and tonic enhanced muscle activity during REM sleep as well as the associated behaviors and vocalizations of the patients. Fifteen patients with clinical RBD underwent two consecutive video-polysomnographies. The amount of excessive phasic and tonic chin muscle activity during REM sleep was measured in 15 patients in 3-sec mini-epochs. The time spent with motor (minor, major, complex, and scenic) or vocal (sounds, mumblings, and comprehensible speeches) events was measured in 7 patients during REM sleep. There was a good between-night agreement for tonic (Spearman rho = 0.55, p = 0.03; Kendall tau = 0.48, p = 0.01) but not for phasic (rho = 0.47, p = 0.1; tau = 0.31, p = 0.1) excessive chin muscle activity. On the video and audio recordings, the minor RBD behaviors tended to occur more frequently during the second night than the first, whereas the patients spoke longer during the first than the second night. The excessive tonic activity during REM sleep is a reliable marker of RBD. It could represent the extent of dysfunction in the permissive atonia systems. In contrast, the more variable phasic activity and motor/vocal events could be more dependent on dream content (executive systems).

Teacher Activism: Enacting a Vision for Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Picower, Bree

2012-01-01

This qualitative study focused on educators who participated in grassroots social justice groups to explore the role teacher activism can play in the struggle for educational justice. Findings show teacher activists made three overarching commitments: to reconcile their vision for justice with the realities of injustice around them; to work within…

Night Sweats

MedlinePlus

Symptoms Night sweats By Mayo Clinic Staff Night sweats are repeated episodes of extreme perspiration that may soak your nightclothes or ... these episodes are usually not labeled as night sweats and typically aren't a sign of a ...

Nocturnal vision and landmark orientation in a tropical halictid bee.

PubMed

Warrant, Eric J; Kelber, Almut; Gislén, Anna; Greiner, Birgit; Ribi, Willi; Wcislo, William T

2004-08-10

Some bees and wasps have evolved nocturnal behavior, presumably to exploit night-flowering plants or avoid predators. Like their day-active relatives, they have apposition compound eyes, a design usually found in diurnal insects. The insensitive optics of apposition eyes are not well suited for nocturnal vision. How well then do nocturnal bees and wasps see? What optical and neural adaptations have they evolved for nocturnal vision? We studied female tropical nocturnal sweat bees (Megalopta genalis) and discovered that they are able to learn landmarks around their nest entrance prior to nocturnal foraging trips and to use them to locate the nest upon return. The morphology and optics of the eye, and the physiological properties of the photoreceptors, have evolved to give Megalopta's eyes almost 30 times greater sensitivity to light than the eyes of diurnal worker honeybees, but this alone does not explain their nocturnal visual behavior. This implies that sensitivity is improved by a strategy of photon summation in time and in space, the latter of which requires the presence of specialized cells that laterally connect ommatidia into groups. First-order interneurons, with significantly wider lateral branching than those found in diurnal bees, have been identified in the first optic ganglion (the lamina ganglionaris) of Megalopta's optic lobe. We believe that these cells have the potential to mediate spatial summation. Despite the scarcity of photons, Megalopta is able to visually orient to landmarks at night in a dark forest understory, an ability permitted by unusually sensitive apposition eyes and neural photon summation.

Endotracheal Intubation With and Without Night Vision Goggles in a Helicopter and Emergency Room Setting: A Manikin Study.

PubMed

Gellerfors, Mikael; Svensén, Christer; Linde, Joacim; Lossius, Hans Morten; Gryth, Dan

2015-09-01

Securing the airway by endotracheal intubation (ETI) is a key issue in prehospital critical care. Night vision goggles (NVG) are used by personnel operating in low-light environments. We examined the feasibility of an anesthesiologist performed ETI using NVG in a helicopter setting. Twelve anesthesiologists performed ETI on a manikin in an emergency room (ER) setting and two helicopter settings, with randomization to either rotary wing daylight (RW-D) or rotary wing in total darkness using binocular NVG (RW-NVG). Primary endpoint was intubation time. Secondary endpoints included success rate, Cormack-Lehane (CL) score, and subjective difficulty according to the Visual Analoge Scale (VAS). The median intubation time was shorter for the RW-D compared to the RW-NVG setting (16.5 seconds vs. 30.0 seconds; p = 0,03). We found no difference in median intubation time for the ER and RW-D settings (16.8 seconds vs. 16.5 seconds; p = 0.91). For all scenarios, success rate was 100%. CL and VAS varied between the ER setting (CL 1.8, VAS 2.8), RW-D setting (CL 2.0, VAS 3.0), and RW-NVG setting (CL 3.0, VAS 6.5). This study suggests that anesthesiologists successfully and quickly can perform ETI in a helicopter setting both in daylight and in darkness using binocular NVG, but with shorter intubation times in daylight. Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

ACT-Vision: active collaborative tracking for multiple PTZ cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broaddus, Christopher; Germano, Thomas; Vandervalk, Nicholas; Divakaran, Ajay; Wu, Shunguang; Sawhney, Harpreet

2009-04-01

We describe a novel scalable approach for the management of a large number of Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras deployed outdoors for persistent tracking of humans and vehicles, without resorting to the large fields of view of associated static cameras. Our system, Active Collaborative Tracking - Vision (ACT-Vision), is essentially a real-time operating system that can control hundreds of PTZ cameras to ensure uninterrupted tracking of target objects while maintaining image quality and coverage of all targets using a minimal number of sensors. The system ensures the visibility of targets between PTZ cameras by using criteria such as distance from sensor and occlusion.

PixonVision real-time video processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puetter, R. C.; Hier, R. G.

2007-09-01

PixonImaging LLC and DigiVision, Inc. have developed a real-time video processor, the PixonVision PV-200, based on the patented Pixon method for image deblurring and denoising, and DigiVision's spatially adaptive contrast enhancement processor, the DV1000. The PV-200 can process NTSC and PAL video in real time with a latency of 1 field (1/60 th of a second), remove the effects of aerosol scattering from haze, mist, smoke, and dust, improve spatial resolution by up to 2x, decrease noise by up to 6x, and increase local contrast by up to 8x. A newer version of the processor, the PV-300, is now in prototype form and can handle high definition video. Both the PV-200 and PV-300 are FPGA-based processors, which could be spun into ASICs if desired. Obvious applications of these processors include applications in the DOD (tanks, aircraft, and ships), homeland security, intelligence, surveillance, and law enforcement. If developed into an ASIC, these processors will be suitable for a variety of portable applications, including gun sights, night vision goggles, binoculars, and guided munitions. This paper presents a variety of examples of PV-200 processing, including examples appropriate to border security, battlefield applications, port security, and surveillance from unmanned aerial vehicles.

Exploring Techniques for Vision Based Human Activity Recognition: Methods, Systems, and Evaluation

PubMed Central

Xu, Xin; Tang, Jinshan; Zhang, Xiaolong; Liu, Xiaoming; Zhang, Hong; Qiu, Yimin

2013-01-01

With the wide applications of vision based intelligent systems, image and video analysis technologies have attracted the attention of researchers in the computer vision field. In image and video analysis, human activity recognition is an important research direction. By interpreting and understanding human activities, we can recognize and predict the occurrence of crimes and help the police or other agencies react immediately. In the past, a large number of papers have been published on human activity recognition in video and image sequences. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of the recent development of the techniques, including methods, systems, and quantitative evaluation of the performance of human activity recognition. PMID:23353144

NV-CMOS HD camera for day/night imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogelsong, T.; Tower, J.; Sudol, Thomas; Senko, T.; Chodelka, D.

2014-06-01

SRI International (SRI) has developed a new multi-purpose day/night video camera with low-light imaging performance comparable to an image intensifier, while offering the size, weight, ruggedness, and cost advantages enabled by the use of SRI's NV-CMOS HD digital image sensor chip. The digital video output is ideal for image enhancement, sharing with others through networking, video capture for data analysis, or fusion with thermal cameras. The camera provides Camera Link output with HD/WUXGA resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels operating at 60 Hz. Windowing to smaller sizes enables operation at higher frame rates. High sensitivity is achieved through use of backside illumination, providing high Quantum Efficiency (QE) across the visible and near infrared (NIR) bands (peak QE <90%), as well as projected low noise (<2h+) readout. Power consumption is minimized in the camera, which operates from a single 5V supply. The NVCMOS HD camera provides a substantial reduction in size, weight, and power (SWaP) , ideal for SWaP-constrained day/night imaging platforms such as UAVs, ground vehicles, fixed mount surveillance, and may be reconfigured for mobile soldier operations such as night vision goggles and weapon sights. In addition the camera with the NV-CMOS HD imager is suitable for high performance digital cinematography/broadcast systems, biofluorescence/microscopy imaging, day/night security and surveillance, and other high-end applications which require HD video imaging with high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. The camera comes with an array of lens mounts including C-mount and F-mount. The latest test data from the NV-CMOS HD camera will be presented.

Mice with cancer-induced bone pain show a marked decline in day/night activity.

PubMed

Majuta, Lisa A; Guedon, Jean-Marc G; Mitchell, Stefanie A T; Kuskowski, Michael A; Mantyh, Patrick W

2017-09-01

Cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) is the most common type of pain with cancer. In humans, this pain can be difficult to control and highly disabling. A major problem with CIBP in humans is that it increases on weight-bearing and/or movement of a tumor-bearing bone limiting the activity and functional status of the patient. Currently, there is less data concerning whether similar negative changes in activity occur in rodent models of CIBP. To determine whether there are marked changes in activity in a rodent model of CIBP and compare this to changes in skin hypersensitivity. Osteosarcoma cells were injected and confined to 1 femur of the adult male mouse. Every 7 days, spontaneous horizontal and vertical activities were assessed over a 20-hour day and night period using automated activity boxes. Mechanical hypersensitivity of the hind paw skin was assessed using von Frey testing. As the tumor cells grew within the femur, there was a significant decline in horizontal and vertical activity during the times of the day/night when the mice are normally most active. Mice also developed significant hypersensitivity in the skin of the hind paw in the tumor-bearing limb. Even when the tumor is confined to a single load-bearing bone, CIBP drives a significant loss of activity, which increases with disease progression. Understanding the mechanisms that drive this reduction in activity may allow the development of therapies that allow CIBP patients to better maintain their activity and functional status.

Development of VIPER: a simulator for assessing vision performance of warfighters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Familoni, Jide; Thompson, Roger; Moyer, Steve; Mueller, Gregory; Williams, Tim; Nguyen, Hung-Quang; Espinola, Richard L.; Sia, Rose K.; Ryan, Denise S.; Rivers, Bruce A.

2016-05-01

activities. In the military context, in addition to reading road signs, this includes vision with night sensors and identification of objects of military interest. Once completed and validated, VIPER will be used to evaluate functional performance before and after refractive surgery. Results: This initial study was to prove the principle, and its results at the time of this publication were very preliminary. Nine Soldiers viewed visible-day and IR-day VIPER simulations with civilian and military targets, separately, at 10 and 30 miles/hour. Analyses were performed separately for visible and IR, and also aggregated. Only the civilian targets are discussed in this report. At 10 miles/hour, the population detected civilian road signs at an aggregated average of 90.11 +/- 64.20 m, and identified them at 26.93 +/- 22.27m. At 30 miles/hour, the corresponding distances were 103.03 +/- 58.81 and 26.26 +/- 8.55, respectively. Conclusion: This preliminary report proves the principle and suggests that VIPER could be a useful clinical tool in longitudinal assessment of functional vision in warfighters.

Optical correction and quality of vision of the French soldiers stationed in the Republic of Djibouti in 2009.

PubMed

Vignal, Rodolphe; Ollivier, Lénaïck

2011-03-01

To ensure vision readiness on the battlefield, the French military has been providing its soldiers with eyewear since World War I. A military refractive surgery program was initiated in 2008. A prospective questionnaire-based investigation on optical correction and quality of vision among active duty members with visual deficiencies stationed in Djibouti, Africa, was conducted in 2009. It revealed that 59.3% of the soldiers were wearing spectacles, 21.2% were wearing contact lenses--despite official recommendations--and 8.5% had undergone refractive surgery. Satisfaction rates were high with refractive surgery and contact lenses; 33.6% of eyeglass wearers were planning to have surgery. Eye dryness and night vision disturbances were the most reported symptoms following surgery. Military optical devices were under-prescribed before deployment. This suggests that additional and more effective studies on the use of military optical devices should be performed and policy supporting refractive surgery in military populations should be strengthened.

Level of activity, night and day alternation, and well being measured in a smart hospital suite.

PubMed

Noury, N; Hadidi, T; Laila, M; Fleury, A; Villemazet, C; Rialle, V; Franco, A

2008-01-01

The present paper reports a study on the daily activity of elderly people in a hospital suite, with presence infrared sensors. It is an attempt to produce parameters and indicators for the predictive analysis of the daily activity of fragile persons. A relationship is proposed between well being of the patient and the night and day activities alternation.

Pediatric extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation during nights and weekends.

PubMed

Burke, Christopher R; Chan, Titus; Brogan, Thomas V; McMullan, D Michael

2017-05-01

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a lifesaving rescue therapy for patients with refractory cardiac arrest. Previous studies suggest that maintaining a 24/7 in-house surgical team may reduce ECPR initiation time and improve survival in adult patients. However, an association between cardiac arrest occurring during off-hours and ECPR outcome has not been established in children. This is a single institution, retrospective review of all pediatric patients who received ECPR from December 2008 to August 2015. During the study period, ECPR was performed 54 times in 53 patients (20 weekday, 34 night/weekend). Interval from ECPR activation to initiation of extracorporeal life support was significantly longer during night/weekends (49min night/weekend vs. 33min weekday, p<0.001) as was the interval from ECPR activation to incision for cannulation (26min night/weekend vs. 14min Weekday, p<0.001). Rate of central nervous system (CNS) injury was higher in the night/weekend group (43% night/weekend vs. 15% weekday, p=0.04), with associated 75% mortality prior to hospital discharge. Time of arrest did not impact survival to hospital discharge (44% night/weekend vs. 55% weekday, p=0.57), one-year survival (33% night/weekend vs. 44% weekday, p=0.44), or neurologic outcome (Pediatric Cerebral Performance Score at 1-year post-ECPR, 1.45 weekday vs. 1.50 night/weekend, p=0.82). Cardiac arrest occurring at night or during weekend hours is associated with a longer ECPR initiation time and higher rates of CNS injury. However, prolonged pre-ECPR support associated with off-hours cardiac arrest does not appear to impact survival or functional outcome in pediatric patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Night ventilation control strategies in office buildings

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

Wang, Zhaojun; Yi, Lingli; Gao, Fusheng

2009-10-15

In moderate climates night ventilation is an effective and energy-efficient approach to improve the indoor thermal environment for office buildings during the summer months, especially for heavyweight construction. However, is night ventilation a suitable strategy for office buildings with lightweight construction located in cold climates? In order to answer this question, the whole energy-consumption analysis software EnergyPlus was used to simulate the indoor thermal environment and energy consumption in typical office buildings with night mechanical ventilation in three cities in northern China. The summer outdoor climate data was analyzed, and three typical design days were chosen. The most important factorsmore » influencing night ventilation performance such as ventilation rates, ventilation duration, building mass and climatic conditions were evaluated. When night ventilation operation time is closer to active cooling time, the efficiency of night ventilation is higher. With night ventilation rate of 10 ach, the mean radiant temperature of the indoor surface decreased by up to 3.9 C. The longer the duration of operation, the more efficient the night ventilation strategy becomes. The control strategies for three locations are given in the paper. Based on the optimized strategies, the operation consumption and fees are calculated. The results show that more energy is saved in office buildings cooled by a night ventilation system in northern China than ones that do not employ this strategy. (author)« less

Cultural noise and the night-day asymmetry of the seismic activity recorded at the Bunker-East (BKE) Vesuvian Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scafetta, Nicola; Mazzarella, Adriano

2018-01-01

Mazzarella and Scafetta (2016) showed that the seismic activity recorded at the Bunker-East (BKE) Vesuvian station from 1999 to 2014 suggests a higher nocturnal seismic activity. However, this station is located at about 50 m from the main road to the volcano's crater and since 2009 its seismograms also record a significant diurnal cultural noise due mostly to tourist tours to Mt. Vesuvius. Herein, we investigate whether the different seismic frequency between day and night times could be an artifact of the peculiar cultural noise that affects this station mostly from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm from spring to fall. This time-distributed cultural noise should evidently reduce the possibility to detect low magnitude earthquakes during those hours but not high magnitude events. Using hourly distributions referring to different magnitude thresholds from M = 0.2 to M = 2.0, the Gutenberg-Richter magnitude-frequency diagram applied to the day and night-time sub-catalogs and Montecarlo statistical modeling, we demonstrate that the day-night asymmetry persists despite an evident disruption induced by cultural noise during day-hours. In particular, for the period 1999-2017, and for earthquakes with M ≥ 2 we found a Gutenberg-Richter exponent b = 1.66 ± 0.07 for the night-time events and b = 2.06 ± 0.07 for day-time events. Moreover, we repeat the analysis also for an older BKE catalog covering the period from 1992 to 2000 when cultural noise was not present. The analysis confirms a higher seismic nocturnal activity that is also characterized by a smaller Gutenberg-Richter exponent b for M ≥ 2 earthquakes relative to the day-time activity. Thus, the found night-day seismic asymmetric behavior is likely due to a real physical feature affecting Mt. Vesuvius.

Seasonally different response of photosynthetic activity to daytime and night-time warming in the Northern Hemisphere

DOE PAGES

Tan, Jianguang; Piao, Shilong; Chen, Anping; ...

2014-08-27

Over the last century the Northern Hemisphere has experienced rapid climate warming, but this warming has not been evenly distributed seasonally, as well as diurnally. The implications of such seasonal and diurnal heterogeneous warming on regional and global vegetation photosynthetic activity, however, are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated for different seasons how photosynthetic activity of vegetation correlates with changes in seasonal daytime and night-time temperature across the Northern Hemisphere (>30°N), using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from 1982 to 2011 obtained from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Our analysis revealed some striking seasonal differences in themore » response of NDVI to changes in day- versus night-time temperatures. For instance, while higher daytime temperature (T max) is generally associated with higher NDVI values across the boreal zone, the area exhibiting a statistically significant positive correlation between T max and NDVI is much larger in spring (41% of area in boreal zone – total area 12.6 × 10 6 km 2) than in summer and autumn (14% and 9%, respectively). In contrast to the predominantly positive response of boreal ecosystems to changes in T max, increases in T max tended to negatively influence vegetation growth in temperate dry regions, particularly during summer. Changes in night-time temperature (T min) correlated negatively with autumnal NDVI in most of the Northern Hemisphere, but had a positive effect on spring and summer NDVI in most temperate regions (e.g., Central North America and Central Asia). Such divergent covariance between the photosynthetic activity of Northern Hemispheric vegetation and day- and night-time temperature changes among different seasons and climate zones suggests a changing dominance of ecophysiological processes across time and space. Lastly, understanding the seasonally different responses of vegetation photosynthetic activity to

Mice with cancer-induced bone pain show a marked decline in day/night activity

PubMed Central

Majuta, Lisa A.; Guedon, Jean-Marc G.; Mitchell, Stefanie A.T.; Kuskowski, Michael A.; Mantyh, Patrick W.

2017-01-01

Abstract Introduction: Cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) is the most common type of pain with cancer. In humans, this pain can be difficult to control and highly disabling. A major problem with CIBP in humans is that it increases on weight-bearing and/or movement of a tumor-bearing bone limiting the activity and functional status of the patient. Currently, there is less data concerning whether similar negative changes in activity occur in rodent models of CIBP. Objectives: To determine whether there are marked changes in activity in a rodent model of CIBP and compare this to changes in skin hypersensitivity. Methods: Osteosarcoma cells were injected and confined to 1 femur of the adult male mouse. Every 7 days, spontaneous horizontal and vertical activities were assessed over a 20-hour day and night period using automated activity boxes. Mechanical hypersensitivity of the hind paw skin was assessed using von Frey testing. Results: As the tumor cells grew within the femur, there was a significant decline in horizontal and vertical activity during the times of the day/night when the mice are normally most active. Mice also developed significant hypersensitivity in the skin of the hind paw in the tumor-bearing limb. Conclusion: Even when the tumor is confined to a single load-bearing bone, CIBP drives a significant loss of activity, which increases with disease progression. Understanding the mechanisms that drive this reduction in activity may allow the development of therapies that allow CIBP patients to better maintain their activity and functional status. PMID:29392229

Vector disparity sensor with vergence control for active vision systems.

PubMed

Barranco, Francisco; Diaz, Javier; Gibaldi, Agostino; Sabatini, Silvio P; Ros, Eduardo

2012-01-01

This paper presents an architecture for computing vector disparity for active vision systems as used on robotics applications. The control of the vergence angle of a binocular system allows us to efficiently explore dynamic environments, but requires a generalization of the disparity computation with respect to a static camera setup, where the disparity is strictly 1-D after the image rectification. The interaction between vision and motor control allows us to develop an active sensor that achieves high accuracy of the disparity computation around the fixation point, and fast reaction time for the vergence control. In this contribution, we address the development of a real-time architecture for vector disparity computation using an FPGA device. We implement the disparity unit and the control module for vergence, version, and tilt to determine the fixation point. In addition, two on-chip different alternatives for the vector disparity engines are discussed based on the luminance (gradient-based) and phase information of the binocular images. The multiscale versions of these engines are able to estimate the vector disparity up to 32 fps on VGA resolution images with very good accuracy as shown using benchmark sequences with known ground-truth. The performances in terms of frame-rate, resource utilization, and accuracy of the presented approaches are discussed. On the basis of these results, our study indicates that the gradient-based approach leads to the best trade-off choice for the integration with the active vision system.

Vector Disparity Sensor with Vergence Control for Active Vision Systems

PubMed Central

Barranco, Francisco; Diaz, Javier; Gibaldi, Agostino; Sabatini, Silvio P.; Ros, Eduardo

2012-01-01

This paper presents an architecture for computing vector disparity for active vision systems as used on robotics applications. The control of the vergence angle of a binocular system allows us to efficiently explore dynamic environments, but requires a generalization of the disparity computation with respect to a static camera setup, where the disparity is strictly 1-D after the image rectification. The interaction between vision and motor control allows us to develop an active sensor that achieves high accuracy of the disparity computation around the fixation point, and fast reaction time for the vergence control. In this contribution, we address the development of a real-time architecture for vector disparity computation using an FPGA device. We implement the disparity unit and the control module for vergence, version, and tilt to determine the fixation point. In addition, two on-chip different alternatives for the vector disparity engines are discussed based on the luminance (gradient-based) and phase information of the binocular images. The multiscale versions of these engines are able to estimate the vector disparity up to 32 fps on VGA resolution images with very good accuracy as shown using benchmark sequences with known ground-truth. The performances in terms of frame-rate, resource utilization, and accuracy of the presented approaches are discussed. On the basis of these results, our study indicates that the gradient-based approach leads to the best trade-off choice for the integration with the active vision system. PMID:22438737

Night Vision

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-10

It's hard to see in the dark. Most HiRISE images are are taken when the sun is at least 15 degrees above the horizon. (If you hold your hand at arm's length with fingers together, it's about five degrees wide on average.) However, to see what's going on in winter, we need to look at times and places where the Sun is just barely over the horizon. This image was taken to look at seasonal frost in gullies during southern winter on Mars, with the Sun only about two degrees over the horizon (just before sunset). To make things more difficult, the gullies are on a steep slope facing away from the sun, so they are in deep shadow. Under these conditions, HiRISE takes what are called "bin 4" images. This means that the image shows less detail, but by adding up the light from 16 pixels (a 4x4 square) we can see details in shadows. Even with the reduced resolution, we can see plenty of detail in the gullies, and learn about the seasonal frost. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20480

Nursing care at night: an evaluation using the Night Nursing Care Instrument.

PubMed

Oléni, Magnus; Johansson, Peter; Fridlund, Bengt

2004-07-01

Night nurses carry overall nursing responsibility for approximately half the time that patients spend in hospital. However, there is a paucity of literature that focuses on nursing care provided at night. The aim of this study was to evaluate nursing care provided at night from the perspective of both nurses and patients. The study, which had an evaluative and a comparative design, was carried out using the Night Nursing Care Instrument at a hospital in southern Sweden. Nurses (n = 178) on night duty were consecutively selected, while the patients (n = 356) were selected by convenience sampling. The results showed a statistically significant difference between nurses' assessments and patients' perceptions of the nursing care provided at night in nursing interventions (P < 0.0001). In the areas of medical interventions and evaluation, no statistically significant differences were found between nurses and patients. For eight of 11 items, patients reported that they were satisfied (> or =80%) with the nursing care provided at night. These findings suggest that night nurses need to improve their ability to assess patients' needs for nursing care at night. A first step in this direction is for them to become aware of how patients perceive night nursing. As a second step, nurses need to increase their knowledge of which nursing actions promote patients' rest at night.

Active vision in satellite scene analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naillon, Martine

1994-01-01

In earth observation or planetary exploration it is necessary to have more and, more autonomous systems, able to adapt to unpredictable situations. This imposes the use, in artificial systems, of new concepts in cognition, based on the fact that perception should not be separated from recognition and decision making levels. This means that low level signal processing (perception level) should interact with symbolic and high level processing (decision level). This paper is going to describe the new concept of active vision, implemented in Distributed Artificial Intelligence by Dassault Aviation following a 'structuralist' principle. An application to spatial image interpretation is given, oriented toward flexible robotics.

Visual Problems in Night Operations (Problemes de Vision dans les Operations de Nuit)

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-01

appeared devices, true night war fighting capability has at in the early 1980s . For the first time, a device last become a reality (as demonstrated in the...gn6gralement us changement do niveau d’aspiration dans ie resultat do Re 4-SYSTMES MULTI-SENSEURS ET Mt:CANIS- tiche. Par exemple Sp6randio ( 1980 ) montro...I1 faut SPERANDIO J.C.( 1980 ) La psychologie en ergonomie, donc cerner ce qui reste effectivement rtalisable de nuit PUF le Psychologue, Paris. clans le

Moon night sky brightness simulation for the Xinglong station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Song; Zhang, Hao-Tong; Yuan, Hai-Long; Zhao, Yong-Heng; Dong, Yi-Qiao; Bai, Zhong-Rui; Deng, Li-Cai; Lei, Ya-Juan

2013-10-01

Using a sky brightness monitor at the Xinglong station of National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, we collected data from 22 dark clear nights and 90 moon nights. We first measured the sky brightness variation with time for dark nights and found a clear correlation between sky brightness and human activity. Then with a modified sky brightness model of moon nights and data from these nights, we derived the typical value for several important parameters in the model. With these results, we calculated the sky brightness distribution under a given moon condition for the Xinglong station. Furthermore, we simulated the sky brightness distribution of a moon night for a telescope with a 5° field of view (such as LAMOST). These simulations will be helpful for determining the limiting magnitude and exposure time, as well as planning the survey for LAMOST during moon nights.

Early Birds by Light at Night: Effects of Light Color and Intensity on Daily Activity Patterns in Blue Tits.

PubMed

de Jong, Maaike; Caro, Samuel P; Gienapp, Phillip; Spoelstra, Kamiel; Visser, Marcel E

2017-08-01

Artificial light at night disturbs the daily rhythms of many organisms. To what extent this disturbance depends on the intensity and spectral composition of light remain obscure. Here, we measured daily activity patterns of captive blue tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus) exposed to similar intensities of green, red, or white light at night. Birds advanced their onset of activity in the morning under all light colors but more under red and white light than under green light. Offset of activity was slightly delayed in all light colors. The total activity over a 24-h period did not change but birds moved a part of their daily activity into the night. Since the effect of red and white lights are comparable, we tested the influence of light intensity in a follow-up experiment, where we compared the activity of the birds under different intensities of green and white light only. While in the higher range of intensities, the effects of white and green light were comparable; at lower intensities, green light had a less disturbing effect as compared with white light on daily rhythms in blue tits. Our results show that the extent of this disturbance can be mitigated by modulating the spectral characteristics and intensity of outdoor lighting, which is now feasible through the use of LED lighting.

Factors influencing self-reported vision-related activity limitation in the visually impaired.

PubMed

Tabrett, Daryl R; Latham, Keziah

2011-07-15

The use of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures to assess self-reported difficulty in visual activities is common in patients with impaired vision. This study determines the visual and psychosocial factors influencing patients' responses to self-report measures, to aid in understanding what is being measured. One hundred visually impaired participants completed the Activity Inventory (AI), which assesses self-reported, vision-related activity limitation (VRAL) in the task domains of reading, mobility, visual information, and visual motor tasks. Participants also completed clinical tests of visual function (distance visual acuity and near reading performance both with and without low vision aids [LVAs], contrast sensitivity, visual fields, and depth discrimination), and questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms, social support, adjustment to visual loss, and personality. Multiple regression analyses identified that an acuity measure (distance or near), and, to a lesser extent, near reading performance without LVAs, visual fields, and contrast sensitivity best explained self-reported VRAL (28%-50% variance explained). Significant psychosocial correlates were depression and adjustment, explaining an additional 6% to 19% unique variance. Dependent on task domain, the parameters assessed explained 59% to 71% of the variance in self-reported VRAL. Visual function, most notably acuity without LVAs, is the best predictor of self-reported VRAL assessed by the AI. Depression and adjustment to visual loss also significantly influence self-reported VRAL, largely independent of the severity of visual loss and most notably in the less vision-specific tasks. The results suggest that rehabilitation strategies addressing depression and adjustment could improve perceived visual disability.

Color defective vision and day and night recognition of aviation color signal light flashes.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-07-01

A previous study reported on the efficiency with which various tests of color defective vision can predict performance during daylight conditions on a practical test of ability to discriminate aviation signal red, white, and green. In the current stu...

Genotype and phenotype of 101 dutch patients with congenital stationary night blindness.

PubMed

Bijveld, Mieke M C; Florijn, Ralph J; Bergen, Arthur A B; van den Born, L Ingeborgh; Kamermans, Maarten; Prick, Liesbeth; Riemslag, Frans C C; van Schooneveld, Mary J; Kappers, Astrid M L; van Genderen, Maria M

2013-10-01

To investigate the relative frequency of the genetic causes of the Schubert-Bornschein type of congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) and to determine the genotype-phenotype correlations in CSNB1 and CSNB2. Clinic-based, longitudinal, multicenter study. A total of 39 patients with CSNB1 from 29 families and 62 patients with CSNB2 from 43 families. Patients underwent full ophthalmologic and electrophysiologic examinations. On the basis of standard electroretinograms (ERGs), patients were diagnosed with CSNB1 or CSNB2. Molecular analysis was performed by direct Sanger sequencing of the entire coding regions in NYX, TRPM1, GRM6, and GPR179 in patients with CSNB1 and CACNA1F and CABP4 in patients with CSNB2. Data included genetic cause of CSNB, refractive error, visual acuity, nystagmus, strabismus, night blindness, photophobia, color vision, dark adaptation (DA) curve, and standard ERGs. A diagnosis of CSNB1 or CSNB2 was based on standard ERGs. The photopic ERG was the most specific criterion to distinguish between CSNB1 and CSNB2 because it showed a "square-wave" appearance in CSNB1 and a decreased b-wave in CSNB2. Mutations causing CSNB1 were found in NYX (20 patients, 13 families), TRPM1 (10 patients, 9 families), GRM6 (4 patients, 3 families), and GPR179 (2 patients, 1 family). Congenital stationary night blindness 2 was primarily caused by mutations in CACNA1F (55 patients, 37 families). Only 3 patients had causative mutations in CABP4 (2 families). Patients with CSNB1 mainly had rod-related problems, and patients with CSNB2 had rod- and cone-related problems. The visual acuity on average was better in CSNB1 (0.30 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]) than in CSNB2 (0.52 logMAR). All patients with CSNB1 and only 54% of the patients with CSNB2 reported night blindness. The dark-adapted threshold was on average more elevated in CSNB1 (3.0 log) than in CSNB2 (1.8 log). The 3 patients with CABP4 had a relative low visual acuity, were hyperopic

Diagnosing night sweats.

PubMed

Viera, Anthon J; Bond, Michael M; Yates, Scott W

2003-03-01

Night sweats are a common outpatient complaint, yet literature on the subject is scarce. Tuberculosis and lymphoma are diseases in which night sweats are a dominant symptom, but these are infrequently found to be the cause of night sweats in modern practice. While these diseases remain important diagnostic considerations in patients with night sweats, other diagnoses to consider include human immunodeficiency virus, gastroesophageal reflux disease, obstructive sleep apnea, hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, and several less common diseases. Antihypertensives, antipyretics, other medications, and drugs of abuse such as alcohol and heroin may cause night sweats. Serious causes of night sweats can be excluded with a thorough history, physical examination, and directed laboratory and radiographic studies. If a history and physical do not reveal a possible diagnosis, physicians should consider a purified protein derivative, complete blood count, human immunodeficiency virus test, thyroid-stimulating hormone test, erythrocyte sedimentation rate evaluation, chest radiograph, and possibly chest and abdominal computed tomographic scans and bone marrow biopsy.

Nocturnal light environments and species ecology: implications for nocturnal color vision in forests.

PubMed

Veilleux, Carrie C; Cummings, Molly E

2012-12-01

Although variation in the color of light in terrestrial diurnal and twilight environments has been well documented, relatively little work has examined the color of light in nocturnal habitats. Understanding the range and sources of variation in nocturnal light environments has important implications for nocturnal vision, particularly following recent discoveries of nocturnal color vision. In this study, we measured nocturnal irradiance in a dry forest/woodland and a rainforest in Madagascar over 34 nights. We found that a simple linear model including the additive effects of lunar altitude, lunar phase and canopy openness successfully predicted total irradiance flux measurements across 242 clear sky measurements (r=0.85, P<0.0001). However, the relationship between these variables and spectral irradiance was more complex, as interactions between lunar altitude, lunar phase and canopy openness were also important predictors of spectral variation. Further, in contrast to diurnal conditions, nocturnal forests and woodlands share a yellow-green-dominant light environment with peak flux at 560 nm. To explore how nocturnal light environments influence nocturnal vision, we compared photoreceptor spectral tuning, habitat preference and diet in 32 nocturnal mammals. In many species, long-wavelength-sensitive cone spectral sensitivity matched the peak flux present in nocturnal forests and woodlands, suggesting a possible adaptation to maximize photon absorption at night. Further, controlling for phylogeny, we found that fruit/flower consumption significantly predicted short-wavelength-sensitive cone spectral tuning in nocturnal mammals (P=0.002). These results suggest that variation in nocturnal light environments and species ecology together influence cone spectral tuning and color vision in nocturnal mammals.

Cholinesterase activity in black-crowned night-herons exposed to fenthion-treated water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, G.J.; Spann, J.W.; Hill, E.F.

1986-01-01

Fenthion, (O,O-Dimethyl O-(3-methyl-4-(methylthio)phenyl) phosphorothioate), a widely used mosquito control agent, has caused wildlife mortality. To simulate a shallow wetland environment, an exposure chamber was used containing water treated with fenthion at 1 and 10 times the field application rate of 112 g active ingredient (AI)/ha. This system permitted an evaluation of exposure routes and the effects of fenthion in a representative species of wading bird, the black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). The results suggested that herons received only a dermal exposure, and that their brain acetylcholinesterase activity was not significantly inhibited. In contrast, however, plasma butyrylcholinesterase activity was inhibited, suggesting the herons were exposed to the insecticide. The application rates and types of exposures were not life-threatening in this species.

The effect of night illumination, red and infrared light, on locomotor activity, behaviour and melatonin of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) broodstock.

PubMed

Carazo, I; Norambuena, F; Oliveira, C; Sánchez-Vázquez, F J; Duncan, N J

2013-06-13

The present study aimed to determine a non-invasive nocturnal lighting system for the behavioural observation of a highly light sensitive species, Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis). Locomotor activity, four types of behaviour and plasma melatonin were analysed in groups of 12 adult Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) reared in captivity and held under four night illumination treatments: total darkness (control), high 50lux intensity red light (group RH), low 5lux intensity red light (group RL) and infrared light (group IR). All groups experienced the same conditions during the day (lights on from 07:00 to 19:00) with white lighting of 125lux. Clarity of video images taken at night for the observation of fish behaviour were ranked as follows: group RH>RL>IR>control. All treatments presented a daily rhythm in locomotor activity with high activity from 14:00 to 18:00 and low activity from 21:00 to 12:00. The sole exposed to the high intensity red light at night appeared to be disturbed as during the low nocturnal locomotor activity period group RH presented higher activity and significantly higher nocturnal behaviour related to escape or fear than was observed in the other groups. The groups control, RL and IR exhibited similar levels of nocturnal locomotor activity and nocturnal behaviour related to escape or fear. Plasma melatonin, at mid-dark was not significantly different between the control and groups RL and IR, while melatonin was significantly lower in group RH compared to the control. The authors recommended low intensity red night illumination for the non-invasive study of nocturnal behaviour of Senegalese sole adults. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Restoration of vision after transplantation of photoreceptors.

PubMed

Pearson, R A; Barber, A C; Rizzi, M; Hippert, C; Xue, T; West, E L; Duran, Y; Smith, A J; Chuang, J Z; Azam, S A; Luhmann, U F O; Benucci, A; Sung, C H; Bainbridge, J W; Carandini, M; Yau, K-W; Sowden, J C; Ali, R R

2012-05-03

Cell transplantation is a potential strategy for treating blindness caused by the loss of photoreceptors. Although transplanted rod-precursor cells are able to migrate into the adult retina and differentiate to acquire the specialized morphological features of mature photoreceptor cells, the fundamental question remains whether transplantation of photoreceptor cells can actually improve vision. Here we provide evidence of functional rod-mediated vision after photoreceptor transplantation in adult Gnat1−/− mice, which lack rod function and are a model of congenital stationary night blindness. We show that transplanted rod precursors form classic triad synaptic connections with second-order bipolar and horizontal cells in the recipient retina. The newly integrated photoreceptor cells are light-responsive with dim-flash kinetics similar to adult wild-type photoreceptors. By using intrinsic imaging under scotopic conditions we demonstrate that visual signals generated by transplanted rods are projected to higher visual areas, including V1. Moreover, these cells are capable of driving optokinetic head tracking and visually guided behaviour in the Gnat1−/− mouse under scotopic conditions. Together, these results demonstrate the feasibility of photoreceptor transplantation as a therapeutic strategy for restoring vision after retinal degeneration.

Seeing in the dark: vision and visual behaviour in nocturnal bees and wasps.

PubMed

Warrant, Eric J

2008-06-01

In response to the pressures of predation, parasitism and competition for limited resources, several groups of (mainly) tropical bees and wasps have independently evolved a nocturnal lifestyle. Like their day-active (diurnal) relatives, these insects possess apposition compound eyes, a relatively light-insensitive eye design that is best suited to vision in bright light. Despite this, nocturnal bees and wasps are able to forage at night, with many species capable of flying through a dark and complex forest between the nest and a foraging site, a behaviour that relies heavily on vision and is limited by light intensity. In the two best-studied species - the Central American sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Halictidae) and the Indian carpenter bee Xylocopa tranquebarica (Apidae) - learned visual landmarks are used to guide foraging and homing. Their apposition eyes, however, have only around 30 times greater optical sensitivity than the eyes of their closest diurnal relatives, a fact that is apparently inconsistent with their remarkable nocturnal visual abilities. Moreover, signals generated in the photoreceptors, even though amplified by a high transduction gain, are too noisy and slow to transmit significant amounts of information in dim light. How have nocturnal bees and wasps resolved these paradoxes? Even though this question remains to be answered conclusively, a mounting body of theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that the slow and noisy visual signals generated by the photoreceptors are spatially summed by second-order monopolar cells in the lamina, a process that could dramatically improve visual reliability for the coarser and slower features of the visual world at night.

Federal regulation of vision enhancement devices for normal and abnormal vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drum, Bruce

2006-09-01

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluates the safety and effectiveness of medical devices and biological products as well as food and drugs. The FDA defines a device as a product that is intended, by physical means, to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease, or to affect the structure or function of the body. All vision enhancement devices fulfill this definition because they are intended to affect a function (vision) of the body. In practice, however, FDA historically has drawn a distinction between devices that are intended to enhance low vision as opposed to normal vision. Most low vision aids are therapeutic devices intended to compensate for visual impairment, and are actively regulated according to their level of risk to the patient. The risk level is usually low (e.g. Class I, exempt from 510(k) submission requirements for magnifiers that do not touch the eye), but can be as high as Class III (requiring a clinical trial and Premarket Approval (PMA) application) for certain implanted and prosthetic devices (e.g. intraocular telescopes and prosthetic retinal implants). In contrast, the FDA usually does not actively enforce its regulations for devices that are intended to enhance normal vision, are low risk, and do not have a medical intended use. However, if an implanted or prosthetic device were developed for enhancing normal vision, the FDA would likely decide to regulate it actively, because its intended use would entail a substantial medical risk to the user. Companies developing such devices should contact the FDA at an early stage to clarify their regulatory status.

How do different definitions of night shift affect the exposure assessment of night work?

PubMed

Garde, Anne Helene; Hansen, Johnni; Kolstad, Henrik A; Larsen, Ann Dyreborg; Hansen, Åse Marie

The aim is to show how different definitions affect the proportion of shifts classified as night shifts. The Danish Working Hour Database was used to calculate number of night shifts according to eight definitions. More than 98% of the total night shifts were night shifts by use of both the reference definition (at least 3 h of work between 24:00 and 05:00) and definitions using a period during the night. The overlap with definitions based on starting and ending time was less pronounced (64-71 %). The proportion of classified night shifts differs little when night shifts are based on definitions including a period during the night. Studies based on other definitions may be less comparable.

Vision, eye disease, and art: 2015 Keeler Lecture

PubMed Central

Marmor, M F

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine normal vision and eye disease in relation to art. Ophthalmology cannot explain art, but vision is a tool for artists and its normal and abnormal characteristics may influence what an artist can do. The retina codes for contrast, and the impact of this is evident throughout art history from Asian brush painting, to Renaissance chiaroscuro, to Op Art. Art exists, and can portray day or night, only because of the way retina adjusts to light. Color processing is complex, but artists have exploited it to create shimmer (Seurat, Op Art), or to disconnect color from form (fauvists, expressionists, Andy Warhol). It is hazardous to diagnose eye disease from an artist's work, because artists have license to create as they wish. El Greco was not astigmatic; Monet was not myopic; Turner did not have cataracts. But when eye disease is documented, the effects can be analyzed. Color-blind artists limit their palette to ambers and blues, and avoid greens. Dense brown cataracts destroy color distinctions, and Monet's late canvases (before surgery) showed strange and intense uses of color. Degas had failing vision for 40 years, and his pastels grew coarser and coarser. He may have continued working because his blurred vision smoothed over the rough work. This paper can barely touch upon the complexity of either vision or art. However, it demonstrates some ways in which understanding vision and eye disease give insight into art, and thereby an appreciation of both art and ophthalmology. PMID:26563659

Vision, eye disease, and art: 2015 Keeler Lecture.

PubMed

Marmor, M F

2016-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine normal vision and eye disease in relation to art. Ophthalmology cannot explain art, but vision is a tool for artists and its normal and abnormal characteristics may influence what an artist can do. The retina codes for contrast, and the impact of this is evident throughout art history from Asian brush painting, to Renaissance chiaroscuro, to Op Art. Art exists, and can portray day or night, only because of the way retina adjusts to light. Color processing is complex, but artists have exploited it to create shimmer (Seurat, Op Art), or to disconnect color from form (fauvists, expressionists, Andy Warhol). It is hazardous to diagnose eye disease from an artist's work, because artists have license to create as they wish. El Greco was not astigmatic; Monet was not myopic; Turner did not have cataracts. But when eye disease is documented, the effects can be analyzed. Color-blind artists limit their palette to ambers and blues, and avoid greens. Dense brown cataracts destroy color distinctions, and Monet's late canvases (before surgery) showed strange and intense uses of color. Degas had failing vision for 40 years, and his pastels grew coarser and coarser. He may have continued working because his blurred vision smoothed over the rough work. This paper can barely touch upon the complexity of either vision or art. However, it demonstrates some ways in which understanding vision and eye disease give insight into art, and thereby an appreciation of both art and ophthalmology.

Measuring exertion time, duty cycle and hand activity level for industrial tasks using computer vision.

PubMed

Akkas, Oguz; Lee, Cheng Hsien; Hu, Yu Hen; Harris Adamson, Carisa; Rempel, David; Radwin, Robert G

2017-12-01

Two computer vision algorithms were developed to automatically estimate exertion time, duty cycle (DC) and hand activity level (HAL) from videos of workers performing 50 industrial tasks. The average DC difference between manual frame-by-frame analysis and the computer vision DC was -5.8% for the Decision Tree (DT) algorithm, and 1.4% for the Feature Vector Training (FVT) algorithm. The average HAL difference was 0.5 for the DT algorithm and 0.3 for the FVT algorithm. A sensitivity analysis, conducted to examine the influence that deviations in DC have on HAL, found it remained unaffected when DC error was less than 5%. Thus, a DC error less than 10% will impact HAL less than 0.5 HAL, which is negligible. Automatic computer vision HAL estimates were therefore comparable to manual frame-by-frame estimates. Practitioner Summary: Computer vision was used to automatically estimate exertion time, duty cycle and hand activity level from videos of workers performing industrial tasks.

Effects of V4c-ICL Implantation on Myopic Patients' Vision-Related Daily Activities

PubMed Central

Linghu, Shaorong; Pan, Le; Shi, Rong

2016-01-01

The new type implantable Collamer lens with a central hole (V4c-ICL) is widely used to treat myopia. However, halos occur in some patients after surgery. The aim is to evaluate the effect of V4c-ICL implantation on vision-related daily activities. This retrospective study included 42 patients. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), endothelial cell density (ECD), and vault were recorded and vision-related daily activities were evaluated at 3 months after operation. The average spherical equivalent was −0.12 ± 0.33 D at 3 months after operation. UCVA equal to or better than preoperative BCVA occurred in 98% of eyes. The average BCVA at 3 months after operation was −0.03 ± 0.07 LogMAR, which was significantly better than preoperative BCVA (0.08 ± 0.10 LogMAR) (P = 0.029). Apart from one patient (2.4%) who had difficulty reading computer screens, all patients had satisfactory or very satisfactory results. During the early postoperation, halos occurred in 23 patients (54.8%). However there were no significant differences in the scores of visual functions between patients with and without halos (P > 0.05). Patients were very satisfied with their vision-related daily activities at 3 months after operation. The central hole of V4c-ICL does not affect patients' vision-related daily activities. PMID:27965890

Family Reading Night

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchins, Darcy; Greenfeld, Marsha; Epstein, Joyce

2007-01-01

This book offers clear and practical guidelines to help engage families in student success. It shows families how to conduct a successful Family Reading Night at their school. Family Night themes include Scary Stories, Books We Love, Reading Olympics, Dr. Seuss, and other themes. Family reading nights invite parents to come to school with their…

Vision in the dimmest habitats on earth.

PubMed

Warrant, Eric

2004-10-01

A very large proportion of the world's animal species are active in dim light, either under the cover of night or in the depths of the sea. The worlds they see can be dim and extended, with light reaching the eyes from all directions at once, or they can be composed of bright point sources, like the multitudes of stars seen in a clear night sky or the rare sparks of bioluminescence that are visible in the deep sea. The eye designs of nocturnal and deep-sea animals have evolved in response to these two very different types of habitats, being optimised for maximum sensitivity to extended scenes, or to point sources, or to both. After describing the many visual adaptations that have evolved across the animal kingdom for maximising sensitivity to extended and point-source scenes, I then use case studies from the recent literature to show how these adaptations have endowed nocturnal animals with excellent vision. Nocturnal animals can see colour and negotiate dimly illuminated obstacles during flight. They can also navigate using learned terrestrial landmarks, the constellations of stars or the dim pattern of polarised light formed around the moon. The conclusion from these studies is clear: nocturnal habitats are just as rich in visual details as diurnal habitats are, and nocturnal animals have evolved visual systems capable of exploiting them. The same is certainly true of deep-sea animals, as future research will no doubt reveal.

Benefits and safety impact of night work-zone activities

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-10-01

Through a literature review and discussions with highway and transportation officials in several states, information was obtained on questions and concerns relating to the planning, safety, and traffic control aspects of night maintenance and constru...

Using a Curricular Vision to Define Entrustable Professional Activities for Medical Student Assessment.

PubMed

Hauer, Karen E; Boscardin, Christy; Fulton, Tracy B; Lucey, Catherine; Oza, Sandra; Teherani, Arianne

2015-09-01

The new UCSF Bridges Curriculum aims to prepare students to succeed in today's health care system while simultaneously improving it. Curriculum redesign requires assessment strategies that ensure that graduates achieve competence in enduring and emerging skills for clinical practice. To design entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for assessment in a new curriculum and gather evidence of content validity. University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Nineteen medical educators participated; 14 completed both rounds of a Delphi survey. Authors describe 5 steps for defining EPAs that encompass a curricular vision including refining the vision, defining draft EPAs, developing EPAs and assessment strategies, defining competencies and milestones, and mapping milestones to EPAs. A Q-sort activity and Delphi survey involving local medical educators created consensus and prioritization for milestones for each EPA. For 4 EPAs, most milestones had content validity indices (CVIs) of at least 78 %. For 2 EPAs, 2 to 4 milestones did not achieve CVIs of 78 %. We demonstrate a stepwise procedure for developing EPAs that capture essential physician work activities defined by a curricular vision. Structured procedures for soliciting faculty feedback and mapping milestones to EPAs provide content validity.

In the darkness of the polar night, scallops keep on a steady rhythm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Damien; Sow, Mohamedou; Camus, Lionel; Ciret, Pierre; Berge, Jorgen; Massabuau, Jean-Charles

2016-08-01

Although the prevailing paradigm has held that the polar night is a period of biological quiescence, recent studies have detected noticeable activity levels in marine organisms. In this study, we investigated the circadian rhythm of the scallop Chlamys islandica by continuously recording the animal’s behaviour over 3 years in the Arctic (Svalbard). Our results showed that a circadian rhythm persists throughout the polar night and lasts for at least 4 months. Based on observations across three polar nights, we showed that the robustness and synchronicity of the rhythm depends on the angle of the sun below the horizon. The weakest rhythm occurred at the onset of the polar night during the nautical twilight. Surprisingly, the circadian behaviour began to recover during the darkest part of the polar night. Because active rhythms optimize the fitness of an organism, our study brings out that the scallops C. islandica remain active even during the polar night.

The effect of gender and level of vision on the physical activity level of children and adolescents with visual impairment.

PubMed

Aslan, Ummuhan Bas; Calik, Bilge Basakcı; Kitiş, Ali

2012-01-01

This study was planned in order to determine physical activity levels of visually impaired children and adolescents and to investigate the effect of gender and level of vision on physical activity level in visually impaired children and adolescents. A total of 30 visually impaired children and adolescents (16 low vision and 14 blind) aged between 8 and 16 years participated in the study. The physical activity level of cases was evaluated with a physical activity diary (PAD) and one-mile run/walk test (OMR-WT). No difference was found between the PAD and the OMR-WT results of low vision and blind children and adolescents. The visually impaired children and adolescents were detected not to participate in vigorous physical activity. A difference was found in favor of low vision boys in terms of mild, moderate activities and OMR-WT durations. However, no difference was found between physical activity levels of blind girls and boys. The results of our study suggested that the physical activity level of visually impaired children and adolescents was low, and gender affected physical activity in low vision children and adolescents. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Artificial light at night alters trophic interactions of intertidal invertebrates.

PubMed

Underwood, Charlotte N; Davies, Thomas W; Queirós, Ana M

2017-07-01

Despite being globally widespread in coastal regions, the impacts of light pollution on intertidal ecosystems has received little attention. Intertidal species exhibit many night-time-dependent ecological strategies, including feeding, reproduction, orientation and predator avoidance, which are likely negatively affected by shifting light regimes, as has been observed in terrestrial and aquatic taxa. Coastal lighting may shape intertidal communities through its influence on the nocturnal foraging activity of dogwhelks (Nucella lapillus), a widespread predatory mollusc that structures biodiversity in temperate rocky shores. In the laboratory, we investigated whether the basal and foraging activity of this predator was affected by exposure to night-time lighting both in the presence and absence of olfactory predator cues (Carcinus maenas, common shore crab). Assessments of dogwhelks' behavioural responses to night-time white LED lighting were performed on individuals that had been acclimated to night-time white LED lighting conditions for 16 days and individuals that had not previously been exposed to artificial light at night. Dogwhelks acclimated to night-time lighting exhibited natural refuge-seeking behaviour less often compared to control animals, but were more likely to respond to and handle prey irrespective of whether olfactory predator cues were present. These responses suggest night-time lighting likely increased the energetic demand of dogwhelks through stress, encouraging foraging whenever food was available, regardless of potential danger. Contrastingly, whelks not acclimated under night-time lighting were more likely to respond to the presence of prey under artificial light at night when olfactory predator cues were present, indicating an opportunistic shift towards the use of visual instead of olfactory cues in risk evaluation. These results demonstrate that artificial night-time lighting influences the behaviour of intertidal fauna such that the

Pyramidal neurovision architecture for vision machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Madan M.; Knopf, George K.

1993-08-01

The vision system employed by an intelligent robot must be active; active in the sense that it must be capable of selectively acquiring the minimal amount of relevant information for a given task. An efficient active vision system architecture that is based loosely upon the parallel-hierarchical (pyramidal) structure of the biological visual pathway is presented in this paper. Although the computational architecture of the proposed pyramidal neuro-vision system is far less sophisticated than the architecture of the biological visual pathway, it does retain some essential features such as the converging multilayered structure of its biological counterpart. In terms of visual information processing, the neuro-vision system is constructed from a hierarchy of several interactive computational levels, whereupon each level contains one or more nonlinear parallel processors. Computationally efficient vision machines can be developed by utilizing both the parallel and serial information processing techniques within the pyramidal computing architecture. A computer simulation of a pyramidal vision system for active scene surveillance is presented.

Adnyamathanha Night Skies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curnow, Paul

2009-06-01

Aboriginal Australians have been viewing the night skies of Australia for some 45,000 years and possibly much longer. During this time they have been able to develop a complex knowledge of the night sky, the terrestrial environment in addition to seasonal changes. However, few of us in contemporary society have an in-depth knowledge of the nightly waltz of stars above.

Is part-night lighting an effective measure to limit the impacts of artificial lighting on bats?

PubMed

Azam, Clémentine; Kerbiriou, Christian; Vernet, Arthur; Julien, Jean-François; Bas, Yves; Plichard, Laura; Maratrat, Julie; Le Viol, Isabelle

2015-12-01

As light pollution is currently considered to be a major threat to biodiversity, different lighting management options are being explored to mitigate the impact of artificial lighting on wildlife. Although part-night lighting schemes have been adopted by many local authorities across Europe to reduce the carbon footprint and save energy, their effects on biodiversity are unknown. Through a paired, in situ experiment, we compared the activity levels of 8 bat species under unlit, part-night, and full-night lighting treatments in a rural area located 60 km south of Paris, France. We selected 36 study locations composed of 1 lit site and a paired unlit control site; 24 of these sites were located in areas subject to part-night lighting schemes, and 12 sites were in areas under standard, full-night lighting. There was significantly more activity on part-night lighting sites compared to full-night lighting sites for the late-emerging, light-sensitive Plecotus spp., and a similar pattern was observable for Myotis spp., although not significant. In contrast, part-night lighting did not influence the activity of early emerging bat species around streetlights, except for Pipistrellus pipistrellus for which there was significantly less activity on part-night lighting sites than on full-night lighting sites. Overall, no significant difference in activity between part- and full-night lighting sites were observed in 5 of the 8 species studied, suggesting that current part-night lighting schemes fail to encompass the range of activity of most bat species. We recommend that such schemes start earlier at night to effectively mitigate the adverse effects of artificial lighting on light-sensitive species, particularly along ecological corridors that are especially important to the persistence of biodiversity in urban landscapes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Artificial light at night alters behavior in laboratory and wild animals.

PubMed

Russart, Kathryn L G; Nelson, Randy J

2018-05-28

Life has evolved to internalize and depend upon the daily and seasonal light cycles to synchronize physiology and behavior with environmental conditions. The nightscape has been vastly changed in response to the use of artificial lighting. Wildlife is now often exposed to direct lighting via streetlights or indirect lighting via sky glow at night. Because many activities rely on daily and seasonal light cues, the effects of artificial light at night could be extensive, but remain largely unknown. Laboratory studies suggest exposure to light at night can alter typical timing of daily locomotor activity and shift the timing of foraging/food intake to the daytime in nocturnal rodents. Additionally, nocturnal rodents decrease anxiety-like behaviors (i.e., spend more time in the open and increase rearing up) in response to even dim light at night. These are all likely maladaptive responses in the wild. Photoperiodic animals rely on seasonal changes in day length as a cue to evoke physiological and behavioral modifications to anticipate favorable and unfavorable conditions for survival and reproduction. Light at night can mask detection of short days, inappropriately signal long days, and thus desynchronize seasonal reproductive activities. We review laboratory and the sparse field studies that address the effects of exposure to artificial light at night to propose that exposure to light at night disrupts circadian and seasonal behavior in wildlife, which potentially decreases individual fitness and modifies ecosystems. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Night Terrors (For Parents)

MedlinePlus

... Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Night Terrors KidsHealth / For Parents / Night Terrors Print en español Terrores nocturnos What Are Night Terrors? Most parents have comforted their child after the ...

Signatures of functional constraint at aye-aye opsin genes: the potential of adaptive color vision in a nocturnal primate.

PubMed

Perry, George H; Martin, Robert D; Verrelli, Brian C

2007-09-01

While color vision perception is thought to be adaptively correlated with foraging efficiency for diurnal mammals, those that forage exclusively at night may not need color vision nor have the capacity for it. Indeed, although the basic condition for mammals is dichromacy, diverse nocturnal mammals have only monochromatic vision, resulting from functional loss of the short-wavelength sensitive opsin gene. However, many nocturnal primates maintain intact two opsin genes and thus have dichromatic capacity. The evolutionary significance of this surprising observation has not yet been elucidated. We used a molecular population genetics approach to test evolutionary hypotheses for the two intact opsin genes of the fully nocturnal aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a highly unusual and endangered Madagascar primate. No evidence of gene degradation in either opsin gene was observed for any of 8 aye-aye individuals examined. Furthermore, levels of nucleotide diversity for opsin gene functional sites were lower than those for 15 neutrally evolving intergenic regions (>25 kb in total), which is consistent with a history of purifying selection on aye-aye opsin genes. The most likely explanation for these findings is that dichromacy is advantageous for aye-ayes despite their nocturnal activity pattern. We speculate that dichromatic nocturnal primates may be able to perceive color while foraging under moonlight conditions, and suggest that behavioral and ecological comparisons among dichromatic and monochromatic nocturnal primates will help to elucidate the specific activities for which color vision perception is advantageous.

Three spectrally distinct photoreceptors in diurnal and nocturnal Australian ants.

PubMed

Ogawa, Yuri; Falkowski, Marcin; Narendra, Ajay; Zeil, Jochen; Hemmi, Jan M

2015-06-07

Ants are thought to be special among Hymenopterans in having only dichromatic colour vision based on two spectrally distinct photoreceptors. Many ants are highly visual animals, however, and use vision extensively for navigation. We show here that two congeneric day- and night-active Australian ants have three spectrally distinct photoreceptor types, potentially supporting trichromatic colour vision. Electroretinogram recordings show the presence of three spectral sensitivities with peaks (λmax) at 370, 450 and 550 nm in the night-active Myrmecia vindex and peaks at 370, 470 and 510 nm in the day-active Myrmecia croslandi. Intracellular electrophysiology on individual photoreceptors confirmed that the night-active M. vindex has three spectral sensitivities with peaks (λmax) at 370, 430 and 550 nm. A large number of the intracellular recordings in the night-active M. vindex show unusually broad-band spectral sensitivities, suggesting that photoreceptors may be coupled. Spectral measurements at different temporal frequencies revealed that the ultraviolet receptors are comparatively slow. We discuss the adaptive significance and the probability of trichromacy in Myrmecia ants in the context of dim light vision and visual navigation. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

The impact of night-shift work on platelet function in healthy medical staff.

PubMed

Nakao, Tomoko; Yasumoto, Atsushi; Tokuoka, Suzumi; Kita, Yoshihiro; Kawahara, Takuya; Daimon, Masao; Yatomi, Yutaka

2018-04-18

Rotating shift work has been reported to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Vascular endothelial dysfunction and platelet activation are among the leading causes of thrombus formation in patients with myocardial infarction or stroke. Endothelial function has been shown to be impaired immediately after night-shift work; however, it is not known whether platelets are also activated. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute impact of night-shift work on platelet function. This observational study included 11 healthy medical staff members (seven women, median age 32 years). We examined each subject's platelet aggregation rates and the serum concentrations of eicosanoid mediators after night-shift work and on day-shift work without preceding night-shift work (baseline). Platelet aggregation did not differ from baseline levels after night-shift work. However, serum cyclooxygenase (COX)-metabolized eicosanoid mediators, particularly thromboxane (Tx) B 2 (a stable metabolite of TxA 2 and the most important marker of platelet activation), were significantly higher after the night-shift than at baseline (median 65.3 vs 180.4 ng/ml). Although platelet aggregation did not increase, there was an increase in serum COX-metabolized eicosanoid mediators such as TxB 2 in healthy medical staff after night-shift work. This platelet hypersensitivity may be one of the mechanisms underlying the significant association between night-shift work and adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

The World Water Vision: From Developing a Vision to Action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gangopadhyay, S.; Cosgrove, W.; Rijsberman, F.; Strzepek, K.; Strzepek, K.

2001-05-01

The World Water Vision exercise was initiated by the World Water Commission under the auspices of the World Water Council. The goal of the World Water Vision project was to develop a widely shared vision on the actions required to achieve a common set of water-related goals and the necessary commitment to carry out these actions. The Vision should be participatory in nature, including input from both developed and developing regions, with a special focus on the needs of the poor, women, youth, children and the environment. Three overall objectives were to: (i)raise awareness of water issues among both the general population and decision-makers so as to foster the necessary political will and leadership to tackle the problems seriously and systematically; (ii) develop a vision of water management for 2025 that is shared by water sector specialists as well as international, national and regional decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society; and (iii) provide input to a Framework for Action to be elaborated by the Global Water Partnership, with steps to go from vision to action, including recommendations to funding agencies for investment priorities. This exercise was characterized by the principles of: (i) a participatory approach with extensive consultation; (ii) Innovative thinking; (iii) central analysis to assure integration and co-ordination; and (iv) emphasis on communication with groups outside the water sector. The primary activities included, developing global water scenarios that fed into regional consultations and sectoral consultations as water for food, water for people - water supply and sanitation, and water and environment. These consultations formulated the regional and sectoral visions that were synthesized to form the World Water Vision. The findings from this exercise were reported and debated at the Second World Water Forum and the Ministerial Conference held in The Hague, The Netherlands during April 2000. This paper

The Effect of a Monocular Helmet-Mounted Display on Aircrew Health: A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Apache AH Mk 1 Pilots -(Vision and Handedness)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-19

reported by U.S. Army aviators using NVG for night flights (Glick and Moser, 1974). It was initially, and incorrectly, called “brown eye syndrome ...112 FREQUENCY Never Rarely Occasionally Often Eye irritation Eye pain Blurred vision Dry eye ... Eye pain Blurred vision Dry eye Light sensitivity j. Since your last contact lens review, did you experience any of the following

Unexpected Levels of Biological Activity during the Polar Night Offer New Perspectives on a Warming Arctic.

PubMed

Berge, Jørgen; Daase, Malin; Renaud, Paul E; Ambrose, William G; Darnis, Gerald; Last, Kim S; Leu, Eva; Cohen, Jonathan H; Johnsen, Geir; Moline, Mark A; Cottier, Finlo; Varpe, Øystein; Shunatova, Natalia; Bałazy, Piotr; Morata, Nathalie; Massabuau, Jean-Charles; Falk-Petersen, Stig; Kosobokova, Ksenia; Hoppe, Clara J M; Węsławski, Jan Marcin; Kukliński, Piotr; Legeżyńska, Joanna; Nikishina, Daria; Cusa, Marine; Kędra, Monika; Włodarska-Kowalczuk, Maria; Vogedes, Daniel; Camus, Lionel; Tran, Damien; Michaud, Emma; Gabrielsen, Tove M; Granovitch, Andrei; Gonchar, Anya; Krapp, Rupert; Callesen, Trine A

2015-10-05

The current understanding of Arctic ecosystems is deeply rooted in the classical view of a bottom-up controlled system with strong physical forcing and seasonality in primary-production regimes. Consequently, the Arctic polar night is commonly disregarded as a time of year when biological activities are reduced to a minimum due to a reduced food supply. Here, based upon a multidisciplinary ecosystem-scale study from the polar night at 79°N, we present an entirely different view. Instead of an ecosystem that has entered a resting state, we document a system with high activity levels and biological interactions across most trophic levels. In some habitats, biological diversity and presence of juvenile stages were elevated in winter months compared to the more productive and sunlit periods. Ultimately, our results suggest a different perspective regarding ecosystem function that will be of importance for future environmental management and decision making, especially at a time when Arctic regions are experiencing accelerated environmental change [1]. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid vision activities at NASA Johnson Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juday, Richard D.

1990-01-01

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is active in several aspects of hybrid image processing. (The term hybrid image processing refers to a system that combines digital and photonic processing). The major thrusts are autonomous space operations such as planetary landing, servicing, and rendezvous and docking. By processing images in non-Cartesian geometries to achieve shift invariance to canonical distortions, researchers use certain aspects of the human visual system for machine vision. That technology flow is bidirectional; researchers are investigating the possible utility of video-rate coordinate transformations for human low-vision patients. Man-in-the-loop teleoperations are also supported by the use of video-rate image-coordinate transformations, as researchers plan to use bandwidth compression tailored to the varying spatial acuity of the human operator. Technological elements being developed in the program include upgraded spatial light modulators, real-time coordinate transformations in video imagery, synthetic filters that robustly allow estimation of object pose parameters, convolutionally blurred filters that have continuously selectable invariance to such image changes as magnification and rotation, and optimization of optical correlation done with spatial light modulators that have limited range and couple both phase and amplitude in their response.

Intersubject synchronization of cortical activity during natural vision.

PubMed

Hasson, Uri; Nir, Yuval; Levy, Ifat; Fuhrmann, Galit; Malach, Rafael

2004-03-12

To what extent do all brains work alike during natural conditions? We explored this question by letting five subjects freely view half an hour of a popular movie while undergoing functional brain imaging. Applying an unbiased analysis in which spatiotemporal activity patterns in one brain were used to "model" activity in another brain, we found a striking level of voxel-by-voxel synchronization between individuals, not only in primary and secondary visual and auditory areas but also in association cortices. The results reveal a surprising tendency of individual brains to "tick collectively" during natural vision. The intersubject synchronization consisted of a widespread cortical activation pattern correlated with emotionally arousing scenes and regionally selective components. The characteristics of these activations were revealed with the use of an open-ended "reverse-correlation" approach, which inverts the conventional analysis by letting the brain signals themselves "pick up" the optimal stimuli for each specialized cortical area.

Low Vision Aids in Glaucoma

PubMed Central

Khanna, Anjani

2012-01-01

A large number of glaucoma patients suffer from vision impairments that qualify as low vision. Additional difficulties associated with low vision include problems with glare, lighting, and contrast, which can make daily activities extremely challenging. This article elaborates on how low vision aids can help with various tasks that visually impaired glaucoma patients need to do each day, to take care of themselves and to lead an independent life. PMID:27990068

Design and control of active vision based mechanisms for intelligent robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Liwei; Marefat, Michael M.

1994-01-01

In this paper, we propose a design of an active vision system for intelligent robot application purposes. The system has the degrees of freedom of pan, tilt, vergence, camera height adjustment, and baseline adjustment with a hierarchical control system structure. Based on this vision system, we discuss two problems involved in the binocular gaze stabilization process: fixation point selection and vergence disparity extraction. A hierarchical approach to determining point of fixation from potential gaze targets using evaluation function representing human visual behavior to outside stimuli is suggested. We also characterize different visual tasks in two cameras for vergence control purposes, and a phase-based method based on binarized images to extract vergence disparity for vergence control is presented. A control algorithm for vergence control is discussed.

How to assess vision.

PubMed

Marsden, Janet

2016-09-21

Rationale and key points An objective assessment of the patient's vision is important to assess variation from 'normal' vision in acute and community settings, to establish a baseline before examination and treatment in the emergency department, and to assess any changes during ophthalmic outpatient appointments. » Vision is one of the essential senses that permits people to make sense of the world. » Visual assessment does not only involve measuring central visual acuity, it also involves assessing the consequences of reduced vision. » Assessment of vision in children is crucial to identify issues that might affect vision and visual development, and to optimise lifelong vision. » Untreatable loss of vision is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. » Timely and repeated assessment of vision over life can reduce the incidence of falls, prevent injury and optimise independence. Reflective activity 'How to' articles can help update you practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of: 1. How this article might change your practice when assessing people holistically. 2. How you could use this article to educate your colleagues in the assessment of vision.

Vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, J. H.

1973-01-01

Some data on human vision, important in present and projected space activities, are presented. Visual environment and performance and structure of the visual system are also considered. Visual perception during stress is included.

Temporal monitoring of vessels activity using day/night band in Suomi NPP on South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamaguchi, Takashi; Asanuma, Ichio; Park, Jong Geol; Mackin, Kenneth J.; Mittleman, John

2017-05-01

In this research, we focus on vessel detection using the satellite imagery of day/night band (DNB) on Suomi NPP in order to monitor the change of vessel activity on the region of South China Sea. In this paper, we consider the relation between the temporal change of vessel activities and the events on maritime environment based on the vessel traffic density estimation using DNB. DNB is a moderate resolution (350-700m) satellite imagery but can detect the fishing light of fishery boats in night time for every day. The advantage of DNB is the continuous monitoring on wide area compared to another vessel detection and locating system. However, DNB gave strong influence of cloud and lunar refection. Therefore, we additionally used Brightness Temperature at 3.7μm(BT3.7) for cloud information. In our previous research, we construct an empirical vessel detection model that based on the DNB contrast and the estimation of cloud condition using BT3.7. Moreover, we proposed a vessel traffic density estimation method based on empirical model. In this paper, we construct the time temporal density estimation map on South China Sea and East China Sea in order to extract the knowledge from vessel activities change.

GLOBE at Night: Scientific Research outside of the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, S.; Walker, C. E.; Geary, E.; Pompea, S. M.

2005-12-01

Increased and robust understanding of our environment requires learning opportunities that take place outside of the traditional K-12 classroom and beyond the confines of the school day. GLOBE at Night is a new event within The GLOBE Program that provides a mechanism for a nontraditional learning activity involving teachers, students, and their families taking observations of the night sky around the world and reporting their observations via a central data base for analysis. To support activities centered on authentic research experiences such as GLOBE at Night, The GLOBE Program has changed its approach to professional development (PD). The new focus of GLOBE PD efforts is centered on teachers being able to facilitate student research in and out of the classroom reflective of authentic scientific research experiences. It has been recognized that there is a critical need for effective teacher professional development programs that support teacher involvement in meaningful scientific research that encourages partnerships between scientists, teachers, and students. Partnerships promoting scientific research for K-12 audiences provides the foundation for The GLOBE Program, an international inquiry-based program designed to engage teachers with their students in partnership with research scientists to better understand the environment at local, regional, and global scales. GLOBE is an ongoing international science and education program that unites students, teachers, and scientists in the study of the Earth System. Students participating in GLOBE engage in hands-on activities, including the collection, analysis, and sharing of research quality scientific data with their peers around the world. Students interact with members of the science community who use the data collected from locations around the world in their research - data that would often not be available otherwise. As of September 2005, over 30,000 teachers representing over 16,000 schools worldwide have

Fundus white spots and acquired night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency.

PubMed

Genead, Mohamed A; Fishman, Gerald A; Lindeman, Martin

2009-12-01

To report a successfully treated case of acquired night blindness associated with fundus white spots secondary to vitamin A deficiency. An ocular examination, electrophysiologic testing, as well as visual field and OCT examinations were obtained on a 61-year-old man with vitamin A deficiency who had previously undergone gastric bypass surgery. The patient had a re-evaluation after treatment with high doses of oral vitamin A. The patient was observed to have numerous white spots in the retina of each eye. Best-corrected visual acuity was initially 20/80 in each eye, which improved to 20/40-1 OU after oral vitamin A therapy for 2 months. Full field electroretinogram (ERG) testing, showed non-detectable rod function and a 34 and 41% reduction for 32-Hz flicker and single flash cone responses, respectively, below the lower limits of normal. Both rod and cone functions markedly improved after initiation of vitamin A therapy. Vitamin A deficiency needs to be considered in a patient with white spots of the retina in the presence of poor night vision.

Color vision predicts processing modes of goal activation during action cascading.

PubMed

Jongkees, Bryant J; Steenbergen, Laura; Colzato, Lorenza S

2017-09-01

One of the most important functions of cognitive control is action cascading: the ability to cope with multiple response options when confronted with various task goals. A recent study implicates a key role for dopamine (DA) in this process, suggesting higher D1 efficiency shifts the action cascading strategy toward a more serial processing mode, whereas higher D2 efficiency promotes a shift in the opposite direction by inducing a more parallel processing mode (Stock, Arning, Epplen, & Beste, 2014). Given that DA is found in high concentration in the retina and modulation of retinal DA release displays characteristics of D2-receptors (Peters, Schweibold, Przuntek, & Müller, 2000), color vision discrimination might serve as an index of D2 efficiency. We used color discrimination, assessed with the Lanthony Desaturated Panel D-15 test, to predict individual differences (N = 85) in a stop-change paradigm that provides a well-established measure of action cascading. In this task it is possible to calculate an individual slope value for each participant that estimates the degree of overlap in task goal activation. When the stopping process of a previous task goal has not finished at the time the change process toward a new task goal is initiated (parallel processing), the slope value becomes steeper. In case of less overlap (more serial processing), the slope value becomes flatter. As expected, participants showing better color vision were more prone to activate goals in a parallel manner as indicated by a steeper slope. Our findings suggest that color vision might represent a predictor of D2 efficiency and the predisposed processing mode of goal activation during action cascading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Night Sky Brightness at San Pedro Martir Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plauchu-Frayn, I.; Richer, M. G.; Colorado, E.; Herrera, J.; Córdova, A.; Ceseña, U.; Ávila, F.

2017-03-01

We present optical UBVRI zenith night sky brightness measurements collected on 18 nights during 2013 to 2016 and SQM measurements obtained daily over 20 months during 2014 to 2016 at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional on the Sierra San Pedro Mártir (OAN-SPM) in México. The UBVRI data is based upon CCD images obtained with the 0.84 m and 2.12 m telescopes, while the SQM data is obtained with a high-sensitivity, low-cost photometer. The typical moonless night sky brightness at zenith averaged over the whole period is U = 22.68, B = 23.10, V = 21.84, R = 21.04, I = 19.36, and SQM = 21.88 {mag} {{arcsec}}-2, once corrected for zodiacal light. We find no seasonal variation of the night sky brightness measured with the SQM. The typical night sky brightness values found at OAN-SPM are similar to those reported for other astronomical dark sites at a similar phase of the solar cycle. We find a trend of decreasing night sky brightness with decreasing solar activity during period of the observations. This trend implies that the sky has become darker by Δ U = 0.7, Δ B = 0.5, Δ V = 0.3, Δ R=0.5 mag arcsec-2 since early 2014 due to the present solar cycle.

Barriers to accessing low vision services.

PubMed

Pollard, Tamara L; Simpson, John A; Lamoureux, Ecosse L; Keeffe, Jill E

2003-07-01

To investigate barriers to accessing low vision services in Australia. Adults with a vision impairment (<6/12 in the better eye and/or significant visual field defect), who were current patients at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH), were interviewed. The questions investigated self-perceived vision difficulties, duration of vision loss and satisfaction with vision and also examined issues of awareness of low vision services and referral to services. Focus groups were also conducted with vision impaired (<6/12 in the better eye) patients from the RVEEH, listeners of the Radio for the Print Handicapped and peer workers at Vision Australia Foundation. The discussions were recorded and transcribed. The questionnaire revealed that referral to low vision services was associated with a greater degree of vision loss (p = 0.002) and a greater self-perception of low vision (p = 0.005) but that referral was not associated with satisfaction (p = 0.144) or difficulties related to vision (p = 0.169). Participants with mild and moderate vision impairment each reported similar levels of difficulties with daily activities and satisfaction with their vision (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the level of difficulties experienced with daily activities between those with mild-moderate and severe vision impairment (p < 0.05). The participants of the focus groups identified barriers to accessing low vision services related to awareness of services among the general public and eye care professionals, understanding of low vision and the services available, acceptance of low vision, the referral process, and transport. In addition to the expected difficulties with lack of awareness of services by people with low vision, many people do not understand what the services provide and do not identify themselves as having low vision. Knowledge of these barriers, from the perspective of people with low vision, can now be used to guide the development and

[Night-to-night variability of the obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome].

PubMed

Mjid, M; Ouahchi, Y; Toujani, S; Snen, H; Ben Salah, N; Ben Hmida, A; Louzir, B; Mhiri, N; Cherif, J; Beji, M

2016-11-01

The apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) is the primary measurement used to characterize the obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS). Despite its popularity, there are limiting factors to its application such as night-to-night variability. To evaluate the variability of AHI in the OSAHS. A prospective study was designed in our university hospital's sleep unit. Adults with clinical suspicion of OSAHS underwent 2 consecutive nights of polysomnographic recording. The population was divided in two groups according to an AHI>or<10. Patients with psychiatric disorders or professions that might result in sleep deprivation or an altered sleep/wake cycle were excluded. Twenty patients were enrolled. The mean age was 50.6±9.3 years. OSAHS was mild in 4 cases, moderate in 6 cases and severe in 8 cases. AHI was less than 5 in two cases. AHI values were not significantly altered throughout both recording nights (33.2 vs. 31.8 events/h). A significant positive correlation was found between AHI measured on the first and the second night. However, a significant individual variability was noted. Comparison between both patient's groups showed a correlation between AHI and the body mass index. This study demonstrates that the AHI in OSAHS patients is well correlated between two consecutive nights. However, a significant individual variability should be taken into consideration, especially when AHI is used in the classification of OSAHS or as a criterion of therapeutic success. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Preservice Teachers' Observations of Children's Learning during Family Math Night

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurz, Terri L.; Kokic, Ivana Batarelo

2011-01-01

Family math night can easily be implemented into mathematics methodology courses providing an opportunity for field-based learning. Preservice teachers were asked to develop and implement an inquiry-based activity at a family math night event held at a local school with personnel, elementary children and their parents in attendance. This action…

Vision - night blindness

MedlinePlus

... walking through a dark room, such as a movie theater. These problems are often worse just after ... Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2013:vol 3, chap 2. Review Date 8/20/2016 Updated by: Franklin W. ...

Drosophila DH31 Neuropeptide and PDF Receptor Regulate Night-Onset Temperature Preference

PubMed Central

Goda, Tadahiro; Tang, Xin; Umezaki, Yujiro; Chu, Michelle L.

2016-01-01

Body temperature exhibits rhythmic fluctuations over a 24 h period (Refinetti and Menaker, 1992) and decreases during the night, which is associated with sleep initiation (Gilbert et al., 2004; Kräuchi, 2007a,b). However, the underlying mechanism of this temperature decrease is largely unknown. We have previously shown that Drosophila exhibit a daily temperature preference rhythm (TPR), in which their preferred temperatures increase during the daytime and then decrease at the transition from day to night (night-onset) (Kaneko et al., 2012). Because Drosophila are small ectotherms, their body temperature is very close to that of the ambient temperature (Stevenson, 1985), suggesting that their TPR generates their body temperature rhythm. Here, we demonstrate that the neuropeptide diuretic hormone 31 (DH31) and pigment-dispersing factor receptor (PDFR) contribute to regulate the preferred temperature decrease at night-onset. We show that PDFR and tethered-DH31 expression in dorsal neurons 2 (DN2s) restore the preferred temperature decrease at night-onset, suggesting that DH31 acts on PDFR in DN2s. Notably, we previously showed that the molecular clock in DN2s is important for TPR. Although PDF (another ligand of PDFR) is a critical factor for locomotor activity rhythms, Pdf mutants exhibit normal preferred temperature decreases at night-onset. This suggests that DH31-PDFR signaling specifically regulates a preferred temperature decrease at night-onset. Thus, we propose that night-onset TPR and locomotor activity rhythms are differentially controlled not only by clock neurons but also by neuropeptide signaling in the brain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Body temperature rhythm (BTR) is fundamental for the maintenance of functions essential for homeostasis, such as generating metabolic energy and sleep. One major unsolved question is how body temperature decreases dramatically during the night. Previously, we demonstrated that a BTR-like mechanism, referred to as temperature

Brain cholinesterase activity of nestling great egrets, snowy egrets, and black-crowned night-herons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Custer, T.W.; Ohlendorf, H.M.

1989-01-01

Inhibition of brain cholinesterase (ChE) activity in birds is often used to diagnose exposure or death from organophosphorus or carbmate pesticides. Brain ChE activity in the young of altricial species increase with age; however, this relationship has only been demonstrated in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Brain ChE activity of nestling great egrets (Casmerodius albus) collected from a colony in Texas increased significantly with age and did not differ among individuals from different nests. Brain ChE activity of nestling snowy egrets (Egretta thula) and black-crowned night -herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) collected in one colony each from Rhode Island, Texas, and California also increased significantly with age and did not differ among individuals from different nests or colonies. This study further demonstrates that age must be considered when evaluating exposure of nestling altricial birds to ChE inhibitors.

Brain cholinesterase activity of nestling great egrets snowy egrets and black-crowned night-herons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Custer, T.W.; Ohlendorf, H.M.

1989-01-01

Inhibition of brain cholinesterase (ChE) activity in birds is often used to diagnose exposure or death from organophosphorus or carbamate pesticides. Brain ChE activity in the young of altricial species increases with age; however, this relationship has only been demonstrated in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Brain ChE activity of nestling great egrets (Casmerodius albus) collected from a colony in Texas (USA) increased significantly with age and did not differ among individuals from different nests. Brain ChE activity of nestling snowy egrets (Egretta thula) and black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) collected in one colony each from Rhode Island, Texas and California (USA) also increased significantly with age and did not differ among individuals from different nests or colonies. This study further demonstrates that age must be considered when evaluating exposure of nestling altricial birds to ChE inhibitors.

Anti-nerve growth factor therapy increases spontaneous day/night activity in mice with orthopedic surgery-induced pain.

PubMed

Majuta, Lisa A; Guedon, Jean-Marc G; Mitchell, Stefanie A T; Ossipov, Michael H; Mantyh, Patrick W

2017-04-01

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) are 2 of the most common and successful surgical interventions to relieve osteoarthritis pain. Control of postoperative pain is critical for patients to fully participate in the required physical therapy which is the most influential factor in effective postoperative knee rehabilitation. Currently, opiates are a mainstay for managing postoperative orthopedic surgery pain including TKA or THA pain. Recently, issues including efficacy, dependence, overdose, and death from opiates have made clinicians and researchers more critical of use of opioids for treating nonmalignant skeletal pain. In the present report, a nonopiate therapy using a monoclonal antibody raised against nerve growth factor (anti-NGF) was assessed for its ability to increase the spontaneous activity of the operated knee joint in a mouse model of orthopedic surgery pain-induced by drilling and coring the trochlear groove of the mouse femur. Horizontal activity and velocity and vertical rearing were continually assessed over a 20 hours day/night period using automated activity boxes in an effort to reduce observer bias and capture night activity when the mice are most active. At days 1 and 3, after orthopedic surgery, there was a marked reduction in spontaneous activity and vertical rearing; anti-NGF significantly attenuated this decline. The present data suggest that anti-NGF improves limb use in a rodent model of joint/orthopedic surgery and as such anti-NGF may be useful in controlling pain after orthopedic surgeries such as TKA or THA.

Day and night shift schedules are associated with lower sleep quality in Evening-types.

PubMed

Martin, Jeanne Sophie; Laberge, Luc; Sasseville, Alexandre; Bérubé, Marilie; Alain, Samuel; Houle, Jérôme; Hébert, Marc

2015-06-01

Eveningness has been suggested as a facilitating factor in adaptation to shift work, with several studies reporting evening chronotypes (E-types) as better sleepers when on night shifts. Conversely, eveningness has been associated with more sleep complaints during day shifts. However, sleep during day shifts has received limited attention in previous studies assessing chronotypes in shift workers. Environmental light exposure has also been reported to differ between chronotypes in day workers. Activity is also known to provide temporal input to the circadian clock. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare objective sleep, light exposure and activity levels between chronotypes, both during the night and day shifts. Thirty-nine patrol police patrol officers working on a fast rotating shift schedule (mean age ± SD: 28.9 ± 3.2 yrs; 28 males) participated in this study. All subjects completed the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Sleep and activity were monitored with actigraphy (Actiwatch-L; Mini-Mitter/Respironics, Bend, OR) for four consecutive night shifts and four consecutive day shifts (night work schedule: 00:00 h-07:00 h; day work schedule: 07:00 h-15:00 h). Sleep and activity parameters were calculated with Actiware software. MEQ scores ranged from 26 to 56; no subject was categorized as Morning-type. E-types (n = 13) showed significantly lower sleep efficiency, longer snooze time and spent more time awake after sleep onset than Intermediate-types (I-types, n = 26) for both the night and day shifts. E-types also exhibited shorter and more numerous sleep bouts. Furthermore, when napping was taken into account, E-types had shorter total sleep duration than I-types during the day shifts. E-types were more active during the first hours of their night shift when compared to I-types. Also, all participants spent more time active and had higher amount of activity per minute during day shifts when compared to night shifts. No

Breaking BAD: A Data Serving Vision for Big Active Data

PubMed Central

Carey, Michael J.; Jacobs, Steven; Tsotras, Vassilis J.

2017-01-01

Virtually all of today’s Big Data systems are passive in nature. Here we describe a project to shift Big Data platforms from passive to active. We detail a vision for a scalable system that can continuously and reliably capture Big Data to enable timely and automatic delivery of new information to a large pool of interested users as well as supporting analyses of historical information. We are currently building a Big Active Data (BAD) system by extending an existing scalable open-source BDMS (AsterixDB) in this active direction. This first paper zooms in on the Data Serving piece of the BAD puzzle, including its key concepts and user model. PMID:29034377

Prevalence and predictors of night sweats, day sweats, and hot flashes in older primary care patients: an OKPRN study.

PubMed

Mold, James W; Roberts, Michelle; Aboshady, Hesham M

2004-01-01

We wanted to estimate the prevalence of night sweats, day sweats, and hot flashes in older primary care patients and identify associated factors. We undertook a cross-sectional study of patients older than 64 years recruited from the practices of 23 family physicians. Variables included sociodemographic information, health habits, chronic medical problems, symptoms, quality of life, and the degree to which patients were bothered by night sweats, daytime sweating, and hot flashes. Among the 795 patients, 10% reported being bothered by night sweats, 9% by day sweats, and 8% by hot flashes. Eighteen percent reported at least 1 of these symptoms. The 3 symptoms were strongly correlated. Factors associated with night sweats in the multivariate models were age (odds ratio [OR] 0.94/y; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89-0.98), fever (OR 12.60; 95% CI, 6.58-24.14), muscle cramps (OR 2.84; 95% CI, 1.53-5.24), numbness of hands and feet (OR 3.34; 95% CI, 1.92-5.81), impaired vision (OR 2.45; 95% CI, 1.41-4.27), and hearing loss (OR 1.84; 95% CI, 1.03-3.27). Day sweats were associated with fever (OR 4.10; 95% CI, 2.14-7.87), restless legs (OR 3.22; 95% CI, 1.76-5.89), lightheadedness (OR 2.24; 95% CI, 1.30-3.88), and diabetes (OR 2.19; 95% CI, 1.22-3.92). Hot flashes were associated with nonwhite race (OR 3.10; 95% CI, 1.60-5.98), fever (OR 3.98; 95% CI, 1.97-8.04), bone pain (OR 2.31; CI 95%: 1.30-4.08), impaired vision (OR 2.12; 95% CI, 1.19-3.79), and nervous spells (OR 1.87; 95% CI, 1.01-3.46). All 3 symptoms were associated with reduced quality of life. Many older patients are bothered by night sweats, day sweats, and hot flashes. Though these symptoms are similar and related, they have somewhat different associations with other variables. Clinical evaluation should include questions about febrile illnesses, sensory deficits, anxiety, depression, pain, muscle cramps, and restless legs syndrome.

Light Pollution Awareness through Globe at Night & IYL2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.

2015-01-01

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) will be coordinating extensive activities to raise awareness of light pollution through running the Cosmic Light theme of the International Year of Light (IYL2015) and by partnering in particular with the popular Globe at Night program.Globe at Night (www.globeatnight.org) is an international campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by having people measure night-sky brightness and submit observations in real-time with smart phone or later with a computer. In 2015, Globe at Night will run for 10-nights each month, an hour after sunset til before the Moon rises. Students can use the data to monitor levels of light pollution around the world, as well as understand light pollution's effects on energy consumption, plants, wildlife, human health and our ability to enjoy a starry night sky.Since its inception in 2006, more than 115,000 measurements from 115 countries have been reported. The last 9 years of data can be explored with Globe at Night's interactive world map or with the 'map app' to view a particular area. A spreadsheet of the data is downloadable from any year. One can compare Globe at Night data with a variety of other databases to see, for example, how light pollution affects the foraging habits of bats.To encourage public participation in Globe at Night during IYL2015, each month will target an area of the world that habitually contributes during that time. Special concerns for how light pollution affects that area and solutions will be featured on the Globe at Night website (www.globeatnight.org), through its Facebook page, in its newsletter or in the 365DaysofAstronomy.org podcasts.Twice during IYL there will be a global Flash Mob event, one on Super Pi Day (March 14, 2015) and a second in mid-September, where the public will be invited to take night-sky brightness measurements en masse. In April, the International Dark-Sky Week hosted by the International Dark-Sky Association will be

Night shift work exposure profile and obesity: Baseline results from a Chinese night shift worker cohort.

PubMed

Sun, Miaomiao; Feng, Wenting; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Liuzhuo; Wu, Zijun; Li, Zhimin; Zhang, Bo; He, Yonghua; Xie, Shaohua; Li, Mengjie; Fok, Joan P C; Tse, Gary; Wong, Martin C S; Tang, Jin-Ling; Wong, Samuel Y S; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Evans, Greg; Vermeulen, Roel; Tse, Lap Ah

2018-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the associations between types of night shift work and different indices of obesity using the baseline information from a prospective cohort study of night shift workers in China. A total of 3,871 workers from five companies were recruited from the baseline survey. A structured self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the participants' demographic information, lifetime working history, and lifestyle habits. Participants were grouped into rotating, permanent and irregular night shift work groups. Anthropometric parameters were assessed by healthcare professionals. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between night shift work and different indices of obesity. Night shift workers had increased risk of overweight and obesity, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.17 (95% CI, 0.97-1.41) and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.74-2.18), respectively. Abdominal obesity had a significant but marginal association with night shift work (OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.01-1.43). A positive gradient between the number of years of night shift work and overweight or abdominal obesity was observed. Permanent night shift work showed the highest odds of being overweight (OR = 3.94, 95% CI, 1.40-11.03) and having increased abdominal obesity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI, 1.19-9.37). Irregular night shift work was also significantly associated with overweight (OR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.13-2.14), but its association with abdominal obesity was borderline (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.94-1.69). By contrast, the association between rotating night shift work and these parameters was not significant. Permanent and irregular night shift work were more likely to be associated with overweight or abdominal obesity than rotating night shift work. These associations need to be verified in prospective cohort studies.

Night shift work exposure profile and obesity: Baseline results from a Chinese night shift worker cohort

PubMed Central

Feng, Wenting; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Liuzhuo; Wu, Zijun; Li, Zhimin; Zhang, Bo; He, Yonghua; Xie, Shaohua; Li, Mengjie; Fok, Joan P. C.; Tse, Gary; Wong, Martin C. S.; Tang, Jin-ling; Wong, Samuel Y. S.; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Evans, Greg; Vermeulen, Roel; Tse, Lap Ah

2018-01-01

Aims This study aimed to evaluate the associations between types of night shift work and different indices of obesity using the baseline information from a prospective cohort study of night shift workers in China. Methods A total of 3,871 workers from five companies were recruited from the baseline survey. A structured self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the participants’ demographic information, lifetime working history, and lifestyle habits. Participants were grouped into rotating, permanent and irregular night shift work groups. Anthropometric parameters were assessed by healthcare professionals. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between night shift work and different indices of obesity. Results Night shift workers had increased risk of overweight and obesity, and odds ratios (ORs) were 1.17 (95% CI, 0.97–1.41) and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.74–2.18), respectively. Abdominal obesity had a significant but marginal association with night shift work (OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.01–1.43). A positive gradient between the number of years of night shift work and overweight or abdominal obesity was observed. Permanent night shift work showed the highest odds of being overweight (OR = 3.94, 95% CI, 1.40–11.03) and having increased abdominal obesity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI, 1.19–9.37). Irregular night shift work was also significantly associated with overweight (OR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.13–2.14), but its association with abdominal obesity was borderline (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.94–1.69). By contrast, the association between rotating night shift work and these parameters was not significant. Conclusion Permanent and irregular night shift work were more likely to be associated with overweight or abdominal obesity than rotating night shift work. These associations need to be verified in prospective cohort studies. PMID:29763461

Dew Worms in the White Nights

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lumbricus terrestris L. (the dew worm) forages, mates and migrates on the soil surface during the night. Its distribution covers a broad latitudinal gradient and variation in day length conditions. Since soil-surface activity is crucial for the survival and reproduction of dew worms, it is conceivab...

[Night shift work and prolactin as a breast cancer risk factor].

PubMed

Bukowska, Agnieszka; Pepłońska, Beata

2013-01-01

Prolactin - a hormone secreted in a circadian rhythm acts as a regulator of growth and development of the mammary glands. It has been observed that working at night increases breast cancer risk in women. Night shift work, probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A IARC), can disrupt a circadian rhythm, and thus potentially alter the rhythm of prolactin secretion. The aim of our work was to review epidemiological evidence on the association between prolactin and the risk of breast cancer and the influence of work at night on prolactin secretion. Search was done in the Medline database by keywords (shift work, work at night, risk of breast cancer and prolactin). 'The increased proliferation of breast cells activated by prolactin can promote the development of cancer. The results of the largest epidemiological prospective studies suggest the association between prolactin levels and the risk of breast cancer in women. So far, only seven studies have investigated the association between work at night and prolactin secretion. In three studies lower concentrations of prolactin have been observed in night shift workers. No relationship between the night shift work duration and prolactin level in women have been reported. Night shift work can modify the profile of prolactin secretion in night workers, probably decreasing the secretion of this hormone at night. It is therefore unlikely that prolactin plays an important role in the development of breast cancer in women working at night. This conclusion is based on the results of a few epidemiological studies.

Is there a first night effect on sleep bruxism? A sleep laboratory study.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Yoko; Lavigne, Gilles; Rompré, Pierre; Kato, Takafumi; Urade, Masahiro; Huynh, Nelly

2013-11-15

Sleep bruxism (SB) is reported to vary in frequency over time. The aim of this study was to assess the first night effect on SB. A retrospective polysomnographic (PSG) analysis was performed of data from a sample of SB patients (12 females, 4 males; age range: 17-39 years) recorded in a sleep laboratory over 2 consecutive nights. Sleep parameters and jaw muscle activity variables (i.e., rhythmic masticatory muscle activity [RMMA]) for SB were quantified and compared between the 2 nights. Subjects were classified into groups according to severity of RMMA frequency, such as low frequency (2-4 episodes/h and/or < 25 bursts/h) and moderate-high frequency (≥ 4 episodes/h and ≥ 25 bursts/h). Overall, no first night effects were found for most sleep variables. However, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and stage transitions showed significant time and group interactions (repeated measures ANOVAs, p ≤ 0.05). The RMMA episode index did not differ between the 2 nights, whereas the second night showed significantly higher burst index, bruxism time index, and mean burst duration (repeated measure ANOVAs, p ≤ 0.05). Five patients of 8 in the low frequency group were classified into the moderate-high frequency group on the second night, whereas only one patient in the moderate-high frequency group moved to the low frequency group. The results showed no overall first night effect on severity of RMMA frequency in young and healthy patients with SB. In clinical practice, one-night sleep recording may be sufficient for moderate-high frequency SB patients. However, low RMMA frequency in the first night could be confirmed by a second night based on the patient's medical and dental history.

[Possibilities and limits of sleep recovery for night-nursing workers].

PubMed

de Medeiros, Soraya Maria; de Macêdo, Maria Lúcia Azevedo Ferreira; de Oliveira, Jonas Sâmi Albuquerque; Ribeiro, Laiane Medeiros

2009-03-01

The present study had the objective of investigating the possibilities/limits of sleep recovery in women workers with medium level in nursing that develop their activities in night shifts in a first-aid clinic at a public hospital in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. This was an analytic study, with a qualitative approach which used the technique of thematic oral history Fifteen women workers with medium level in nursing were interviewed. The following empirical categories were defined: night shift work and night sleep and night rest at work environment Physiological and psychological sufferings are evident on their speech as well as what the lack of sleep causes in health and personal life of these women workers, making the overload of work clear and also the sociocultural imperfections of feminine gender

"Chrono-functional milk": The difference between melatonin concentrations in night-milk versus day-milk under different night illumination conditions.

PubMed

Asher, A; Shabtay, A; Brosh, A; Eitam, H; Agmon, R; Cohen-Zinder, M; Zubidat, A E; Haim, A

2015-01-01

Pineal melatonin (MLT) is produced at highest levels during the night, under dark conditions. We evaluated differences in MLT-concentration by comparing daytime versus night time milk samples, from two dairy farms with different night illumination conditions: (1) natural dark (Dark-Night); (2) short wavelength Artificial Light at Night (ALAN, Night-Illuminated). Samples were collected from 14 Israeli Holstein cows from each commercial dairy farm at 04:30 h ("Night-milk") 12:30 h ("Day-milk") and analyzed for MLT-concentration. In order to study the effects of night illumination conditions on cows circadian rhythms, Heart Rate (HR) daily rhythms were recorded. MLT-concentrations of Night-milk samples from the dark-night group were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than those of Night-illuminated conditions (30.70 ± 1.79 and 17.81 ± 0.33 pg/ml, respectively). Interestingly, night illumination conditions also affected melatonin concentrations at daytime where under Dark-Night conditions values are significantly (p < 0.001) higher than Night-Illuminated conditions, (5.36 ± 0.33 and 3.30 ± 0.18 pg/ml, respectively). There were no significant differences between the two treatments in the milk yield and milk composition except somatic cell count (SCC), which was significantly lower (p = 0.02) in the Dark-Night group compared with the Night-Illuminated group. Cows in both groups presented a significant (p < 0.01) HR daily rhythm, therefore we assume that in the night illuminated cows feeding and milking time are the "time keeper", while in the Dark-night cows, HR rhythms were entrained by the light/dark cycle. The higher MLT-concentration in Dark-night cows with the lower SCC values calls upon farmers to avoid exposure of cows to ALAN. Therefore, under Dark-night conditions milk quality will improve by lowering SCC values where separation between night and day of such milk can produce chrono-functional milk, naturally rich with

Drosophila DH31 Neuropeptide and PDF Receptor Regulate Night-Onset Temperature Preference.

PubMed

Goda, Tadahiro; Tang, Xin; Umezaki, Yujiro; Chu, Michelle L; Kunst, Michael; Nitabach, Michael N; Hamada, Fumika N

2016-11-16

Body temperature exhibits rhythmic fluctuations over a 24 h period (Refinetti and Menaker, 1992) and decreases during the night, which is associated with sleep initiation (Gilbert et al., 2004; Kräuchi, 2007a,b). However, the underlying mechanism of this temperature decrease is largely unknown. We have previously shown that Drosophila exhibit a daily temperature preference rhythm (TPR), in which their preferred temperatures increase during the daytime and then decrease at the transition from day to night (night-onset) (Kaneko et al., 2012). Because Drosophila are small ectotherms, their body temperature is very close to that of the ambient temperature (Stevenson, 1985), suggesting that their TPR generates their body temperature rhythm. Here, we demonstrate that the neuropeptide diuretic hormone 31 (DH31) and pigment-dispersing factor receptor (PDFR) contribute to regulate the preferred temperature decrease at night-onset. We show that PDFR and tethered-DH31 expression in dorsal neurons 2 (DN2s) restore the preferred temperature decrease at night-onset, suggesting that DH31 acts on PDFR in DN2s. Notably, we previously showed that the molecular clock in DN2s is important for TPR. Although PDF (another ligand of PDFR) is a critical factor for locomotor activity rhythms, Pdf mutants exhibit normal preferred temperature decreases at night-onset. This suggests that DH31-PDFR signaling specifically regulates a preferred temperature decrease at night-onset. Thus, we propose that night-onset TPR and locomotor activity rhythms are differentially controlled not only by clock neurons but also by neuropeptide signaling in the brain. Body temperature rhythm (BTR) is fundamental for the maintenance of functions essential for homeostasis, such as generating metabolic energy and sleep. One major unsolved question is how body temperature decreases dramatically during the night. Previously, we demonstrated that a BTR-like mechanism, referred to as temperature preference rhythm (TPR

Development and testing of the EVS 2000 enhanced vision system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Way, Scott P.; Kerr, Richard; Imamura, Joe J.; Arnoldy, Dan; Zeylmaker, Richard; Zuro, Greg

2003-09-01

An effective enhanced vision system must operate over a broad spectral range in order to offer a pilot an optimized scene that includes runway background as well as airport lighting and aircraft operations. The large dynamic range of intensities of these images is best handled with separate imaging sensors. The EVS 2000 is a patented dual-band Infrared Enhanced Vision System (EVS) utilizing image fusion concepts to provide a single image from uncooled infrared imagers in both the LWIR and SWIR. The system is designed to provide commercial and corporate airline pilots with improved situational awareness at night and in degraded weather conditions. A prototype of this system was recently fabricated and flown on the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator 737-900 aircraft. This paper will discuss the current EVS 2000 concept, show results taken from the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator program, and discuss future plans for EVS systems.

Estimation of Population Number via Light Activities on Night-Time Satellite Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turan, M. K.; Yücer, E.; Sehirli, E.; Karaş, İ. R.

2017-11-01

Estimation and accurate assessment regarding population gets harder and harder day by day due to growth of world population in a fast manner. Estimating tendencies to settlements in cities and countries, socio-cultural development and population numbers is quite difficult. In addition to them, selection and analysis of parameters such as time, work-force and cost seems like another difficult issue. In this study, population number is guessed by evaluating light activities in İstanbul via night-time images of Turkey. By evaluating light activities between 2000 and 2010, average population per pixel is obtained. Hence, it is used to estimate population numbers in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Mean errors are concluded as 4.14 % for 2011, 3.74 % for 2012 and 3.04 % for 2013 separately. As a result of developed thresholding method, mean error is concluded as 3.64 % to estimate population number in İstanbul for next three years.

5 CFR 532.505 - Night shift differentials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... employee regularly assigned to a night shift who is temporarily assigned to a day shift or to a night shift... regularly assigned to a day shift who is temporarily assigned to a night shift shall be paid a night shift... schedule involving work on both day and night shifts shall be paid a night shift differential only for any...

Object tracking with stereo vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huber, Eric

1994-01-01

A real-time active stereo vision system incorporating gaze control and task directed vision is described. Emphasis is placed on object tracking and object size and shape determination. Techniques include motion-centroid tracking, depth tracking, and contour tracking.

The Effect of Gender and Level of Vision on the Physical Activity Level of Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aslan, Ummuhan Bas; Calik, Bilge Basakci; Kitis, Ali

2012-01-01

This study was planned in order to determine physical activity levels of visually impaired children and adolescents and to investigate the effect of gender and level of vision on physical activity level in visually impaired children and adolescents. A total of 30 visually impaired children and adolescents (16 low vision and 14 blind) aged between…

Impact of low vision rehabilitation on functional vision performance of children with visual impairment.

PubMed

Ganesh, Suma; Sethi, Sumita; Srivastav, Sonia; Chaudhary, Amrita; Arora, Priyanka

2013-09-01

To evaluate the impact of low vision rehabilitation on functional vision of children with visual impairment. The LV Prasad-Functional Vision Questionnaire, designed specifically to measure functional performance of visually impaired children of developing countries, was used to assess the level of difficulty in performing various tasks pre and post visual rehabilitation in children with documented visual impairment. Chi-square test was used to assess the impact of rehabilitation intervention on functional vision performance; a P < 0.05 was considered significant. LogMAR visual acuity prior to the introduction of low vision devices (LVDs) was 0.90 ± 0.05 for distance and for near it was 0.61 ± 0.05. After the intervention, the acuities improved significantly for distance (0.2 ± 0.27; P < 0.0001) and near (0.42 ± 0.17; P = 0.001). The most common reported difficulties were related to their academic activities like copying from the blackboard (80%), reading textbook at arm's length (77.2%), and writing along a straight line (77.2%). Absolute raw score of disability pre-LVD was 15.05 which improved to 7.58 post-LVD. An improvement in functional vision post visual rehabilitation was especially found in those activities related to their studying lifestyle like copying from the blackboard (P < 0.0001), reading textbook at arm's length (P < 0.0001), and writing along a straight line (P = 0.003). In our study group, there was a significant improvement in functional vision post visual rehabilitation, especially with those activities which are related to their academic output. It is important for these children to have an early visual rehabilitation to decrease the impairment associated with these decreased visual output and to enhance their learning abilities.

Is there a First Night Effect on Sleep Bruxism? A Sleep Laboratory Study

PubMed Central

Hasegawa, Yoko; Lavigne, Gilles; Rompré, Pierre; Kato, Takafumi; Urade, Masahiro; Huynh, Nelly

2013-01-01

Study Objectives: Sleep bruxism (SB) is reported to vary in frequency over time. The aim of this study was to assess the first night effect on SB. Methods: A retrospective polysomnographic (PSG) analysis was performed of data from a sample of SB patients (12 females, 4 males; age range: 17-39 years) recorded in a sleep laboratory over 2 consecutive nights. Sleep parameters and jaw muscle activity variables (i.e., rhythmic masticatory muscle activity [RMMA]) for SB were quantified and compared between the 2 nights. Subjects were classified into groups according to severity of RMMA frequency, such as low frequency (2-4 episodes/h and/or < 25 bursts/h) and moderate-high frequency (≥ 4 episodes/h and ≥ 25 bursts/h). Results: Overall, no first night effects were found for most sleep variables. However, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and stage transitions showed significant time and group interactions (repeated measures ANOVAs, p ≤ 0.05). The RMMA episode index did not differ between the 2 nights, whereas the second night showed significantly higher burst index, bruxism time index, and mean burst duration (repeated measure ANOVAs, p ≤ 0.05). Five patients of 8 in the low frequency group were classified into the moderate-high frequency group on the second night, whereas only one patient in the moderate-high frequency group moved to the low frequency group. Conclusions: The results showed no overall first night effect on severity of RMMA frequency in young and healthy patients with SB. In clinical practice, one-night sleep recording may be sufficient for moderate-high frequency SB patients. However, low RMMA frequency in the first night could be confirmed by a second night based on the patient's medical and dental history. Citation: Hasegawa Y; Lavigne G; Rompré P; Kato T; Urade M; Huynh N. Is there a first night effect on sleep bruxism? A sleep laboratory study. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(11):1139-1145. PMID:24235894

Night terrors in children

MedlinePlus

Pavor nocturnus; Sleep terror disorder ... The cause is unknown, but night terrors may be triggered by: Fever Lack of sleep Periods of emotional tension, stress, or conflict Night terrors are most common in children ...

Can colour vision re-evolve? Variation in the X-linked opsin locus of cathemeral Azara's owl monkeys (Aotus azarae azarae).

PubMed

Mundy, N I; Morningstar, N C; Baden, A L; Fernandez-Duque, E; Dávalos, V M; Bradley, B J

2016-01-01

Do evolutionary specializations lead to evolutionary constraint? This appears plausible, particularly when specialization leads to loss of complex adaptations. In the owl monkey lineage, nocturnality clearly arose from a diurnal ancestor. This behavioural shift was accompanied by morphological changes in the eye and orbit and complete loss of colour vision via missense mutations in the gene encoding the short-wave sensitive visual pigment (SWS opsin). Interestingly, at least one subspecies of owl monkey, Azara's owl monkey (Aotus azarae azarae), has regained activity in daylight. Given that all primate species that are active in daylight, including primarily diurnal species and species that are active during both day and night, have at least dichromatic colour vision, it seems reasonable to propose that dichromacy would be adaptive in A. a. azarae. With a disabled SWS opsin, the main avenue available for Azara's owl monkeys to re-evolve colour vision is via a polymorphism in the intact X-linked opsin locus, which commonly occurs in other New World monkeys. To examine this possibility we assayed variation in the X-linked opsin of A. a. azarae, focusing on the three exons (3, 4 and 5) that control spectral sensitivity. We found low opsin genetic variation on a population level, and no differences at the three main sites that lead to variation in spectral sensitivity in the opsins of other New World monkeys. Two rare alleles with single amino acid variants are segregating in the population, but previous functional studies indicate that these are unlikely to affect spectral sensitivity. Genetic constraint on the re-evolution of colour vision is likely operating in Azara's owl monkey, which may affect the niche that this subspecies is able to occupy.

Reduced Tolerance to Night Shift in Chronic Shift Workers: Insight From Fractal Regulation.

PubMed

Li, Peng; Morris, Christopher J; Patxot, Melissa; Yugay, Tatiana; Mistretta, Joseph; Purvis, Taylor E; Scheer, Frank A J L; Hu, Kun

2017-07-01

Healthy physiology is characterized by fractal regulation (FR) that generates similar structures in the fluctuations of physiological outputs at different time scales. Perturbed FR is associated with aging and age-related pathological conditions. Shift work, involving repeated and chronic exposure to misaligned environmental and behavioral cycles, disrupts circadian coordination. We tested whether night shifts perturb FR in motor activity and whether night shifts affect FR in chronic shift workers and non-shift workers differently. We studied 13 chronic shift workers and 14 non-shift workers as controls using both field and in-laboratory experiments. In the in-laboratory study, simulated night shifts were used to induce a misalignment between the endogenous circadian pacemaker and the sleep-wake cycles (ie, circadian misalignment) while environmental conditions and food intake were controlled. In the field study, we found that FR was robust in controls but broke down in shift workers during night shifts, leading to more random activity fluctuations as observed in patients with dementia. The night shift effect was present even 2 days after ending night shifts. The in-laboratory study confirmed that night shifts perturbed FR in chronic shift workers and showed that FR in controls was more resilience to the circadian misalignment. Moreover, FR during real and simulated night shifts was more perturbed in those who started shift work at older ages. Chronic shift work causes night shift intolerance, which is probably linked to the degraded plasticity of the circadian control system. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Features of the Vision of Elderly Pedestrians when Crossing a Road.

PubMed

Matsui, Yasuhiro; Oikawa, Shoko; Aoki, Yoshio; Sekine, Michiaki; Mitobe, Kazutaka

2014-11-01

The present study clarifies the mechanism by which an accident occurs when an elderly pedestrian crosses a road in front of a car, focusing on features of the central and peripheral vision of elderly pedestrians who are judging when it is safe to cross the road. For the pedestrian's central visual field, we investigated the effect of age on the timing judgment using an actual car. The results for daytime conditions indicate that the elderly pedestrians tended to make later judgments of when they crossed the road from the right side of the driver's view at high car velocities. At night, for a car with its headlights on high beam, the average car-pedestrian distances of elderly pedestrians on the left side of the driver's view were significantly longer than those of young pedestrians at velocities of 20 and 40 km/h. The eyesight of the elderly pedestrians during the day did not affect the timing judgment of crossing a road. At night, for a car with its headlights on either high or low beam, the average car-pedestrian distances of elderly pedestrians having good eyesight were longer than those of elderly pedestrians having poor eyesight, for all car velocities. The color of the car body in the central visual field did not affect the timing judgment of elderly pedestrians crossing the road. Meanwhile, the car-body color in the elderly pedestrian's peripheral vision strongly affected the pedestrian's awareness of the car.

X-linked retinitis pigmentosa: Report of a large kindred with loss of central vision and preserved peripheral function

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

Shastry, B.S.; Trese, M.T.

1995-11-20

X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) is the most severe form of the inherited forms of retinitis pigmentosa and is clinically variable and genetically heterogeneous. It affects one in 20,000 live births. The affected individuals manifest degeneration of the peripheral retina during the first two decades of life on the basis of night blindness. Central vision usually is preserved until age 50, when the disease advances, affecting central vision and ultimately leading to complete loss of sight. Linkage analysis has shown two loci with a possibility of a third locus on the human X chromosome. The genetic abnormality that causes XLRP ismore » not known at present. Here we describe a large kindred which manifests central loss of field with the preservation of peripheral vision. 5 refs., 1 fig.« less

GLOBE at Night: a Worldwide Citizen-Science Program to Increase Awareness of Light Pollution by Measuring Night Sky Brightness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, C. E.; Pompea, S. M.

2011-12-01

The emphasis in the international citizen-science, star-hunting campaign, GLOBE at Night, is in bringing awareness to the public on issues of light pollution. Light pollution threatens not only observatory sites and our "right to starlight", but can affect energy consumption, wildlife and health. GLOBE at Night has successfully reached a few 100,000 citizen-scientists. What has contributed to its success? Foundational resources are available to facilitate the public's participation in promoting dark skies awareness. The GLOBE at Night website explains clearly the simple-to-participate-in 5 step program and offers background information and interactive games on key concepts. To promote the campaign via popular social media, GLOBE at Night created Facebook and Twitter pages. The program has been expanded to include trainings of the general public, but especially educators in schools, museums and science centers, in unique ways. Education kits for dark skies awareness have been distributed at the training workshops. The kit includes material for a light shielding demonstration, a digital Sky Quality Meter and "Dark Skies Rangers" activities. The activities are on how unshielded light wastes energy, how light pollution affects wildlife and how one can participate in a citizen-science star-hunt like GLOBE at Night. To increase participation in the 2011 campaign, children and adults submitted their sky brightness measurements in real time with smart phones or tablets using the web application at www.globeatnight.org/webapp/. With smart phones and tablets, the location, date and time register automatically. For those without smart mobile devices, user-friendly tools on the GLOBE at Night report page were reconfigured to determine latitude and longitude more easily and accurately. As a proto-type for taking multiple measurements, people in Tucson found it easy to adopt a street and take measurements every mile for the length of the street. The grid of measurements

Vision Voice: A Multimedia Exploration of Diabetes and Vision Loss in East Harlem.

PubMed

Ives, Brett; Nedelman, Michael; Redwood, Charysse; Ramos, Michelle A; Hughson-Andrade, Jessica; Hernandez, Evelyn; Jordan, Dioris; Horowitz, Carol R

2015-01-01

East Harlem, New York, is a community actively struggling with diabetes and its complications, including vision-related conditions that can affect many aspects of daily life. Vision Voice was a qualitative community-based participatory research (CBPR) study that intended to better understand the needs and experiences of people living with diabetes, other comorbid chronic illnesses, and vision loss in East Harlem. Using photovoice methodology, four participants took photographs, convened to review their photographs, and determined overarching themes for the group's collective body of work. Identified themes included effect of decreased vision function on personal independence/mobility and self-management of chronic conditions and the importance of informing community members and health care providers about these issues. The team next created a documentary film that further develops the narratives of the photovoice participants. The Vision Voice photovoice project was an effective tool to assess community needs, educate and raise awareness.

Sleep, activity and fatigue reported by postgraduate year 1 residents: a prospective cohort study comparing the effects of night-float versus traditional overnight on-call.

PubMed

Low, Jia Ming; Tan, Mae Yue; See, Kay Choong; Aw, Marion M

2018-03-19

As traditional overnight on-call was shown to contribute to fatigue, Singapore moved to implement a shift system in 2014. We aimed to compare activity levels, sleep (using a wrist actigraph), fatigue and professional quality-of-life between residents working on night-float and those working on traditional overnight on-call. All postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residents at our institution were invited to participate. Participants were required to wear a wrist actigraph for four months, and complete two validated surveys (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] and Professional Quality of Life Scale [ProQOL]) once each at the start and at the end of study. 49 residents were recruited. Residents on night-float and on-call showed comparable median (range) number of steps (10,061 [1,195-15,923] vs. 10,649 [308-21,910]; p = 0.429), amount of sleep logged (361 [149-630] minutes vs. 380 [175-484] minutes; p = 0.369) and time taken to fall asleep (6 [0-14] minutes vs. 6 [range 0-45] minutes; p = 0.726) respectively. Residents on night-float had less efficient sleep, with 90.5% participants having over 85% sleep efficiency compared to 100% of residents on on-call (p = 0.127). More residents on night-float reported ESS > 10 (73.8% vs. 38.5%) and higher burnout scores on ProQOL (41.4% vs. 21.4%) at the start of the study. However, this was similar to the end of the study and was not statistically significant. The physical activity and amount of sleep of residents on night-float and on-call rota were not significantly different. Residents on night-float reported comparatively higher fatigue and burnout.

Determinants of day-night difference in blood pressure, a comparison with determinants of daytime and night-time blood pressure.

PubMed

Musameh, M D; Nelson, C P; Gracey, J; Tobin, M; Tomaszewski, M; Samani, N J

2017-01-01

Blunted day-night difference in blood pressure (BP) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor, although there is limited information on determinants of diurnal variation in BP. We investigated determinants of day-night difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP and how these compared with determinants of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP. We analysed the association of mean daytime, mean night-time and mean day-night difference (defined as (mean daytime-mean night-time)/mean daytime) in SBP and DBP with clinical, lifestyle and biochemical parameters from 1562 adult individuals (mean age 38.6) from 509 nuclear families recruited in the GRAPHIC Study. We estimated the heritability of the various BP phenotypes. In multivariate analysis, there were significant associations of age, sex, markers of adiposity (body mass index and waist-hip ratio), plasma lipids (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides), serum uric acid, alcohol intake and current smoking status on daytime or night-time SBP and/or DBP. Of these, only age (P=4.7 × 10 -5 ), total cholesterol (P=0.002), plasma triglycerides (P=0.006) and current smoking (P=3.8 × 10 -9 ) associated with day-night difference in SBP, and age (P=0.001), plasma triglyceride (P=2.2 × 10 -5 ) and current smoking (3.8 × 10 -4 ) associated with day-night difference in DBP. 24-h, daytime and night-time SBP and DBP showed substantial heritability (ranging from 18-43%). In contrast day-night difference in SBP showed a lower heritability (13%) while heritability of day-night difference in DBP was not significant. These data suggest that specific clinical, lifestyle and biochemical factors contribute to inter-individual variation in daytime, night-time and day-night differences in SBP and DBP. Variation in day-night differences in BP is largely non-genetic.

Determinants of day–night difference in blood pressure, a comparison with determinants of daytime and night-time blood pressure

PubMed Central

Musameh, M D; Nelson, C P; Gracey, J; Tobin, M; Tomaszewski, M; Samani, N J

2017-01-01

Blunted day–night difference in blood pressure (BP) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor, although there is limited information on determinants of diurnal variation in BP. We investigated determinants of day–night difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP and how these compared with determinants of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP. We analysed the association of mean daytime, mean night-time and mean day–night difference (defined as (mean daytime−mean night-time)/mean daytime) in SBP and DBP with clinical, lifestyle and biochemical parameters from 1562 adult individuals (mean age 38.6) from 509 nuclear families recruited in the GRAPHIC Study. We estimated the heritability of the various BP phenotypes. In multivariate analysis, there were significant associations of age, sex, markers of adiposity (body mass index and waist–hip ratio), plasma lipids (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides), serum uric acid, alcohol intake and current smoking status on daytime or night-time SBP and/or DBP. Of these, only age (P=4.7 × 10−5), total cholesterol (P=0.002), plasma triglycerides (P=0.006) and current smoking (P=3.8 × 10−9) associated with day–night difference in SBP, and age (P=0.001), plasma triglyceride (P=2.2 × 10−5) and current smoking (3.8 × 10−4) associated with day–night difference in DBP. 24-h, daytime and night-time SBP and DBP showed substantial heritability (ranging from 18–43%). In contrast day–night difference in SBP showed a lower heritability (13%) while heritability of day–night difference in DBP was not significant. These data suggest that specific clinical, lifestyle and biochemical factors contribute to inter-individual variation in daytime, night-time and day–night differences in SBP and DBP. Variation in day–night differences in BP is largely non-genetic. PMID:26984683

Shedding Light on Light Pollution: Reports from GLOBE at Night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.; Pompea, S. M.; Isbell, D.

2009-05-01

The citizen-science program on light pollution, GLOBE at Night, has had rich responses during this year's campaign in March 2009. Reporting on some of the highlights, we will hear success stories and lessons learned from educators, students, science centers and astronomy clubs from around the world. Communities will be featured from several cities, such Norman, Oklahoma, Mishawaka, Indiana, Willimantic, Connecticut, and Waynesville, Ohio, which created mini-campaigns that combined local students with public advocates and representatives from local city and county governments. Connecticut kids collaborated with students in Wales, Canada and Romania on GLOBE at Night, and an extensive campaign was planned with the schools near the observatories of north-central Chile. Groups that have received special training in GLOBE at Night and related activities include the "Astronomy from the Ground Up” network of science and nature centers (fostered by the ASP and the NSF), 146 amateur astronomers who are part of the ASP-NASA Night-Sky Network, and the Association of Science-Technology Centers. Special training was given over forums, telecon-powerpoint presentations and blogs, to fit the needs of the communities. Among the more interesting media efforts for the general public, GLOBE at Night was the topic of the March 6 episode of the IYA2009 "Days of Astronomy" podcast. International organizing efforts for GLOBE at Night have been strong in countries like Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom, to name a few. We will also discuss how cities, such as Tucson, Arizona, combined efforts on GLOBE at Night with involvement in the World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour event (www.earthhour.org). Earth Hour encouraged everyone to turn out their lights from 8:30-9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 28, the final night of GLOBE at Night 2009.

Invite an Alien to Astronomy Night

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Governor, Donna; Richwine, Pebble

2007-01-01

Dozens of inflatable aliens recently "descended" upon the authors' middle school to kick-off their first school-wide Astronomy night. With an estimated attendance of over 500, their eighth-grade students hosted over a dozen activity-rich sessions designed to entertain and educate students and their families about the wonders of the solar system…

Who is sleepier on the night shift? The influence of bio-psycho-social factors on subjective sleepiness of female nurses during the night shift.

PubMed

Zion, Nataly; Drach-Zahavy, Anat; Shochat, Tamar

2018-07-01

Sleepiness is a common complaint during the night shift and may impair performance. The current study aims to identify bio-psycho-social factors associated with subjective sleepiness during the night shift. Ninety-two female nurses working rotating shifts completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Munich ChronoType Questionaire for shift workers, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and the Pre-sleep Arousal Scale. Subjective sleepiness was measured hourly during two night shifts using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, and activity monitors assessed sleep duration 24-h before each shift. Findings showed that increased sleepiness was associated with increased age in nurses with early chronotypes and with more children. High cognitive pre-sleep arousal, but not sleep, was associated with increased sleepiness, especially in late chronotypes. The impact of bio-psycho-social factors on night shift sleepiness is complex, and depends on mutual interactions between these factors. Nurses most prone to increased sleepiness must develop personal strategies for maintaining vigilance on the night shift. Practitioner Summary: This study aims to identify bio-psycho-social factors associated with subjective sleepiness of female nurses during the night shift. Increasing sleepiness was associated with increased age in nurses with early chronotypes and with more children. Increased cognitive pre-sleep arousal, but not sleep, was associated with increased sleepiness, especially in late chronotypes.

Oxidative DNA damage during night shift work.

PubMed

Bhatti, Parveen; Mirick, Dana K; Randolph, Timothy W; Gong, Jicheng; Buchanan, Diana Taibi; Zhang, Junfeng Jim; Davis, Scott

2017-09-01

We previously reported that compared with night sleep, day sleep among shift workers was associated with reduced urinary excretion of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), potentially reflecting a reduced ability to repair 8-OH-dG lesions in DNA. We identified the absence of melatonin during day sleep as the likely causative factor. We now investigate whether night work is also associated with reduced urinary excretion of 8-OH-dG. For this cross-sectional study, 50 shift workers with the largest negative differences in night work versus night sleep circulating melatonin levels (measured as 6-sulfatoxymelatonin in urine) were selected from among the 223 shift workers included in our previous study. 8-OH-dG concentrations were measured in stored urine samples using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Mixed effects models were used to compare night work versus night sleep 8-OH-dG levels. Circulating melatonin levels during night work (mean=17.1 ng/mg creatinine/mg creatinine) were much lower than during night sleep (mean=51.7 ng/mg creatinine). In adjusted analyses, average urinary 8-OH-dG levels during the night work period were only 20% of those observed during the night sleep period (95% CI 10% to 30%; p<0.001). This study suggests that night work, relative to night sleep, is associated with reduced repair of 8-OH-dG lesions in DNA and that the effect is likely driven by melatonin suppression occurring during night work relative to night sleep. If confirmed, future studies should evaluate melatonin supplementation as a means to restore oxidative DNA damage repair capacity among shift workers. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

ROVER: A prototype active vision system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coombs, David J.; Marsh, Brian D.

1987-08-01

The Roving Eyes project is an experiment in active vision. We present the design and implementation of a prototype that tracks colored balls in images from an on-line charge coupled device (CCD) camera. Rover is designed to keep up with its rapidly changing environment by handling best and average case conditions and ignoring the worst case. This allows Rover's techniques to be less sophisticated and consequently faster. Each of Rover's major functional units is relatively isolated from the others, and an executive which knows all the functional units directs the computation by deciding which jobs would be most effective to run. This organization is realized with a priority queue of jobs and their arguments. Rover's structure not only allows it to adapt its strategy to the environment, but also makes the system extensible. A capability can be added to the system by adding a functional module with a well defined interface and by modifying the executive to make use of the new module. The current implementation is discussed in the appendices.

An Active Vision Approach to Understanding and Improving Visual Training in the Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronov, J.; Tarduno, J. A.; Jacobs, R. A.; Pelz, J. B.; Rosen, M. R.

2009-12-01

Experience in the field is a fundamental aspect of geologic training, and its effectiveness is largely unchallenged because of anecdotal evidence of its success among expert geologists. However, there have been only a few quantitative studies based on large data collection efforts to investigate how Earth Scientists learn in the field. In a recent collaboration between Earth scientists, Cognitive scientists and experts in Imaging science at the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology, we are investigating such a study. Within Cognitive Science, one school of thought, referred to as the Active Vision approach, emphasizes that visual perception is an active process requiring us to move our eyes to acquire new information about our environment. The Active Vision approach indicates the perceptual skills which experts possess and which novices will need to acquire to achieve expert performance. We describe data collection efforts using portable eye-trackers to assess how novice and expert geologists acquire visual knowledge in the field. We also discuss our efforts to collect images for use in a semi-immersive classroom environment, useful for further testing of novices and experts using eye-tracking technologies.

International Observe the Moon Night

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-28

Volunteer Billy Hix with his telescope at International Observe the Moon Night. The event, hosted by the Planetary Missions Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, encourages observation and appreciation of the Moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration, as well as our cultural and personal connections to it. Children attending the event had the opportunity to participate in planetary, science-based, hands-on activities

Day-night cycles and the sleep-promoting factor, Sleepless, affect stem cell activity in the Drosophila testis.

PubMed

Tulina, Natalia M; Chen, Wen-Feng; Chen, Jung Hsuan; Sowcik, Mallory; Sehgal, Amita

2014-02-25

Adult stem cells maintain tissue integrity and function by renewing cellular content of the organism through regulated mitotic divisions. Previous studies showed that stem cell activity is affected by local, systemic, and environmental cues. Here, we explore a role of environmental day-night cycles in modulating cell cycle progression in populations of adult stem cells. Using a classic stem cell system, the Drosophila spermatogonial stem cell niche, we reveal daily rhythms in division frequencies of germ-line and somatic stem cells that act cooperatively to produce male gametes. We also examine whether behavioral sleep-wake cycles, which are driven by the environmental day-night cycles, regulate stem cell function. We find that flies lacking the sleep-promoting factor Sleepless, which maintains normal sleep in Drosophila, have increased germ-line stem cell (GSC) division rates, and this effect is mediated, in part, through a GABAergic signaling pathway. We suggest that alterations in sleep can influence the daily dynamics of GSC divisions.

The association of sleep and late-night cell phone use among adolescents.

PubMed

Amra, Babak; Shahsavari, Ali; Shayan-Moghadam, Ramin; Mirheli, Omid; Moradi-Khaniabadi, Bita; Bazukar, Mehdi; Yadollahi-Farsani, Ashkan; Kelishadi, Roya

This study aims to assess the relationship of late-night cell phone use with sleep duration and quality in a sample of Iranian adolescents. The study population consisted of 2400 adolescents, aged 12-18 years, living in Isfahan, Iran. Age, body mass index, sleep duration, cell phone use after 9p.m., and physical activity were documented. For sleep assessment, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire was used. The participation rate was 90.4% (n=2257 adolescents). The mean (SD) age of participants was 15.44 (1.55) years; 1270 participants reported to use cell phone after 9p.m. Overall, 56.1% of girls and 38.9% of boys reported poor quality sleep, respectively. Wake-up time was 8:17 a.m. (2.33), among late-night cell phone users and 8:03a.m. (2.11) among non-users. Most (52%) late-night cell phone users had poor sleep quality. Sedentary participants had higher sleep latency than their peers. Adjusted binary and multinomial logistic regression models showed that late-night cell users were 1.39 times more likely to have a poor sleep quality than non-users (p-value<0.001). Late-night cell phone use by adolescents was associated with poorer sleep quality. Participants who were physically active had better sleep quality and quantity. As part of healthy lifestyle recommendations, avoidance of late-night cell phone use should be encouraged in adolescents. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

One-night sleep deprivation induces changes in the DNA methylation and serum activity indices of stearoyl-CoA desaturase in young healthy men.

PubMed

Skuladottir, Gudrun Valgerdur; Nilsson, Emil Karl; Mwinyi, Jessica; Schiöth, Helgi Birgir

2016-08-26

Sleep deprivation has been associated with obesity among adults, and accumulating data suggests that stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) expression has a relevant impact on fatty acid (FA) composition of lipid pools and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of one-night total sleep deprivation (TSD) on DNA methylation in the 5'-prime region of SCD1, and whether detected changes in DNA methylation are associated with SCD activity indices (product to precursor FA ratios; 16:1n-7/16:0 and 18:1n-9/18:0) derived from serum phospholipids (PL). Sixteen young, normal-weight, healthy men completed two study sessions, one with one-night TSD and one with one-night normal sleep (NS). Sleep quality and length was assessed by polysomnography, and consisted of electroencephalography, electrooculography, and electromyography. Fasting whole blood samples were collected on the subsequent morning for analysis of DNA methylation and FAs in serum PL. Linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between changes in DNA methylation and SCD activity indices. Three CpG sites close to the transcription start site (TSS) of SCD1 (cg00954566, cg24503796, cg14089512) were significantly differentially methylated in dependency of sleep duration (-log10 P-value > 1.3). Both SCD-16 and SCD-18 activity indices were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) following one-night TSD, and significantly associated with DNA methylation changes of the three mentioned probes in the 5' region of SCD1. Our results suggest a relevant link between TSD, hepatic SCD1 expression and de-novo fatty acid synthesis via epigenetically driven regulatory mechanisms.

Vision Problems: How Teachers Can Help.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desrochers, Joyce

1999-01-01

Describes common vision problems in young children such as myopia, strabismus, and amblyopia. Presents suggestions for helping children with vision problems in the early childhood classroom and in outdoor activities. Lists related resources and children's books. (KB)

Optimal design of photoreceptor mosaics: why we do not see color at night.

PubMed

Manning, Jeremy R; Brainard, David H

2009-01-01

While color vision mediated by rod photoreceptors in dim light is possible (Kelber & Roth, 2006), most animals, including humans, do not see in color at night. This is because their retinas contain only a single class of rod photoreceptors. Many of these same animals have daylight color vision, mediated by multiple classes of cone photoreceptors. We develop a general formulation, based on Bayesian decision theory, to evaluate the efficacy of various retinal photoreceptor mosaics. The formulation evaluates each mosaic under the assumption that its output is processed to optimally estimate the image. It also explicitly takes into account the statistics of the environmental image ensemble. Using the general formulation, we consider the trade-off between monochromatic and dichromatic retinal designs as a function of overall illuminant intensity. We are able to demonstrate a set of assumptions under which the prevalent biological pattern represents optimal processing. These assumptions include an image ensemble characterized by high correlations between image intensities at nearby locations, as well as high correlations between intensities in different wavelength bands. They also include a constraint on receptor photopigment biophysics and/or the information carried by different wavelengths that produces an asymmetry in the signal-to-noise ratio of the output of different receptor classes. Our results thus provide an optimality explanation for the evolution of color vision for daylight conditions and monochromatic vision for nighttime conditions. An additional result from our calculations is that regular spatial interleaving of two receptor classes in a dichromatic retina yields performance superior to that of a retina where receptors of the same class are clumped together.

The effect of chronotype on sleepiness, fatigue, and psychomotor vigilance of ICU nurses during the night shift.

PubMed

Reinke, Laurens; Özbay, Yusuf; Dieperink, Willem; Tulleken, Jaap E

2015-04-01

In general, sleeping and activity patterns vary between individuals. This attribute, known as chronotype, may affect night shift performance. In the intensive care unit (ICR), night shift performance may impact patient safety. We have investigated the effect of chronotype and social demographics on sleepiness, fatigue, and night shift on the performance of nurses. This was a prospective observational cohort study which assessed the performance of 96 ICU night shift nurses during the day and night shifts in a mixed medical-surgical ICU in the Netherlands. We determined chronotype and assessed sleeping behaviour for each nurse prior to starting shift work and before free days. The level of sleepiness and fatigue of nurses during the day and night shifts was determined, as was the effect of these conditions on psychomotor vigilance and mathematical problem-solving. The majority of ICU nurses had a preference for early activity (morning chronotype). Compared to their counterparts (i.e. evening chronotypes), they were more likely to nap before commencing night shifts and more likely to have young children living at home. Despite increased sleepiness and fatigue during night shifts, no effect on psychomotor vigilance was observed during night shifts. Problem-solving accuracy remained high during night shifts, at the cost of productivity. Most of the ICU night shift nurses assessed here appeared to have adapted well to night shift work, despite the high percentage of morning chronotypes, possibly due to their 8-h shift duration. Parental responsibilities may, however, influence shift work tolerance.

Poor Vision, Functioning, and Depressive Symptoms: A Test of the Activity Restriction Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bookwala, Jamila; Lawson, Brendan

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study tested the applicability of the activity restriction model of depressed affect to the context of poor vision in late life. This model hypothesizes that late-life stressors contribute to poorer mental health not only directly but also indirectly by restricting routine everyday functioning. Method: We used data from a national…

Implementing a night-shift clinical nurse specialist.

PubMed

Becker, Dawn Marie

2013-01-01

Night-shift nurses receive fewer educational opportunities and less administrative support than do day-shift staff, tend to be newer, with less experience and fewer resources, and experience greater turnover rates, stress, and procedural errors. In an attempt to bridge the gap between day- and night-shift nursing, a night-shift clinical nurse specialist (CNS) position was created in a midsized, community teaching hospital. The goal was to provide an advanced practice presence to improve patient outcomes, communication, education, and cost-effectiveness. The night-shift CNS participated in nursing education and skill certifications, communicated new procedures and information, and created a communication committee specifically for night-shift nurses. Through regular rounding and on-call notification, the CNS was available to every area of the hospital for consultation and clinical assistance and assisted with rapid responses, codes, and traumas. Providing education during night shift reduced overtime costs and increased morale, positively affecting turnover rates. The night-shift CNS position has improved morale and equalized support for night-shift nurses. More research, most notably in specific night-shift metrics, is necessary, and with the implementation of the role in additional facilities, more can be understood about improving patient care and nursing staff satisfaction during night shift.

Vision impairment and major causes of vision loss impacts on vision-specific functioning independent of socioeconomic factors.

PubMed

Chiang, Peggy P C; Zheng, Yingfeng; Wong, Tien Y; Lamoureux, Ecosse L

2013-02-01

cases; P<0.001) and DR (29.4% in unilateral cases and 33.3% in bilateral cases; P<0.001). Vision impairment and major age-related eye diseases such as cataract, DR, and glaucoma are associated significantly with worse deterioration in VF, regardless of education level, literacy adequacy, or immigration pattern. Glaucoma and DR seemed to have a greater negative impact on VF score compared with cataract. This study highlights the importance of disease-specific interventions in reducing the adverse impact of VI on daily activities. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neck muscle activity in helicopter pilots: effect of position and helmet-mounted equipment.

PubMed

Thuresson, Marcus; Ang, Björn; Linder, Jan; Harms-Ringdahl, Karin

2003-05-01

Helicopter pilots usually work in unfavorable ergonomic positions, often with bulky head-worn equipment during flying missions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare immediate muscle response in the dorsal neck muscles to different positions with a variety of head-worn equipment. Fourteen healthy male helicopter pilots volunteered for this study. EMG activity in the upper and lower dorsal neck muscles and the trapezius muscle was measured in a laboratory situation for 5 s in different sitting positions (neutral, trunk inclined 20 degrees, neck flexed 20 degrees), including registration of a 30 degrees left and right rotation in every position; all measurements were performed while wearing a helmet, a helmet and night vision goggles (hNVG), and a helmet, night vision goggles, and counterweight (hCW), in random order. There was significant higher EMG activity in the upper neck with hNVG and hCW than with the helmet only when comparing the mean activity level of all positions. However, there was no significant difference in EMG activity between any variations of head-worn equipment when comparing activity levels during each position separately. In the upper and lower neck, respectively, there was significantly higher muscle activity during the ipsilateral rotated positions plus neck flexion and trunk inclination than in most other positions. The increased load caused by different positions seems to have a greater influence on muscle activity than the increased load of the head-worn equipment, which must be considered when designing helicopter work-places.

Saturday night burns: an increasing problem?

PubMed

Bollero, D; Malvasio, V; Gangemi, E N; Giunta, G; Collard, B; Stella, M

2015-03-31

In Italy the economic crisis has caused changes in behavior in daily as well as leisure activities. For instance, night clubs have changed both their scenography and what they can offer. From simply providing a place to dance, they can now offer more complex scenography with spectacular fireworks and lit cocktails. While this can be amazing for all of us it can also be another cause of burn injuries. We conducted a retrospective study of all burns patients admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department at CTO Hospital in Turin from 2009 to 2013, after a night clubbing. A total of five patients were identified with an average age of 20 years old: four were burned by flaming cocktails and one was burned by a firework. Two received outpatient treatment, while orotracheal intubation and admission were needed for three, and two required surgical debridement and resurfacing with split skin graft. All patients had permanent sequelae caused by pathologic scarring and/or dyschromia. Our findings show that the risk of burn injuries is higher at weekends, mainly in summer, if all correct safety procedures are not followed. Meanwhile it is important to highlight that the promotion of inappropriate behavior at night clubs during firework displays and the passing of flaming cocktails should be avoided.

The role of vision processing in prosthetic vision.

PubMed

Barnes, Nick; He, Xuming; McCarthy, Chris; Horne, Lachlan; Kim, Junae; Scott, Adele; Lieby, Paulette

2012-01-01

Prosthetic vision provides vision which is reduced in resolution and dynamic range compared to normal human vision. This comes about both due to residual damage to the visual system from the condition that caused vision loss, and due to limitations of current technology. However, even with limitations, prosthetic vision may still be able to support functional performance which is sufficient for tasks which are key to restoring independent living and quality of life. Here vision processing can play a key role, ensuring that information which is critical to the performance of key tasks is available within the capability of the available prosthetic vision. In this paper, we frame vision processing for prosthetic vision, highlight some key areas which present problems in terms of quality of life, and present examples where vision processing can help achieve better outcomes.

A Review on Human Activity Recognition Using Vision-Based Method.

PubMed

Zhang, Shugang; Wei, Zhiqiang; Nie, Jie; Huang, Lei; Wang, Shuang; Li, Zhen

2017-01-01

Human activity recognition (HAR) aims to recognize activities from a series of observations on the actions of subjects and the environmental conditions. The vision-based HAR research is the basis of many applications including video surveillance, health care, and human-computer interaction (HCI). This review highlights the advances of state-of-the-art activity recognition approaches, especially for the activity representation and classification methods. For the representation methods, we sort out a chronological research trajectory from global representations to local representations, and recent depth-based representations. For the classification methods, we conform to the categorization of template-based methods, discriminative models, and generative models and review several prevalent methods. Next, representative and available datasets are introduced. Aiming to provide an overview of those methods and a convenient way of comparing them, we classify existing literatures with a detailed taxonomy including representation and classification methods, as well as the datasets they used. Finally, we investigate the directions for future research.

A Review on Human Activity Recognition Using Vision-Based Method

PubMed Central

Nie, Jie

2017-01-01

Human activity recognition (HAR) aims to recognize activities from a series of observations on the actions of subjects and the environmental conditions. The vision-based HAR research is the basis of many applications including video surveillance, health care, and human-computer interaction (HCI). This review highlights the advances of state-of-the-art activity recognition approaches, especially for the activity representation and classification methods. For the representation methods, we sort out a chronological research trajectory from global representations to local representations, and recent depth-based representations. For the classification methods, we conform to the categorization of template-based methods, discriminative models, and generative models and review several prevalent methods. Next, representative and available datasets are introduced. Aiming to provide an overview of those methods and a convenient way of comparing them, we classify existing literatures with a detailed taxonomy including representation and classification methods, as well as the datasets they used. Finally, we investigate the directions for future research. PMID:29065585

Night and day in the VA: associations between night shift staffing, nurse workforce characteristics, and length of stay.

PubMed

de Cordova, Pamela B; Phibbs, Ciaran S; Schmitt, Susan K; Stone, Patricia W

2014-04-01

In hospitals, nurses provide patient care around the clock, but the impact of night staff characteristics on patient outcomes is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the association between night nurse staffing and workforce characteristics and the length of stay (LOS) in 138 veterans affairs (VA) hospitals using panel data from 2002 through 2006. Staffing in hours per patient day was higher during the day than at night. The day nurse workforce had more educational preparation than the night workforce. Nurses' years of experience at the unit, facility, and VA level were greater at night. In multivariable analyses controlling for confounding variables, higher night staffing and a higher skill mix were associated with reduced LOS. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Machine Vision Giving Eyes to Robots. Resources in Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Technology Teacher, 1990

1990-01-01

This module introduces machine vision, which can be used for inspection, robot guidance and part sorting. The future for machine vision will include new technology and will bring vision systems closer to the ultimate vision processor, the human eye. Includes a student quiz, outcomes, and activities. (JOW)

Human activity discrimination for maritime application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boettcher, Evelyn; Deaver, Dawne M.; Krapels, Keith

2008-04-01

The US Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) is investigating how motion affects the target acquisition model (NVThermIP) sensor performance estimates. This paper looks specifically at estimating sensor performance for the task of discriminating human activities on watercraft, and was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Traditionally, sensor models were calibrated using still images. While that approach is sufficient for static targets, video allows one to use motion cues to aid in discerning the type of human activity more quickly and accurately. This, in turn, will affect estimated sensor performance and these effects are measured in order to calibrate current target acquisition models for this task. The study employed an eleven alternative forced choice (11AFC) human perception experiment to measure the task difficulty of discriminating unique human activities on watercrafts. A mid-wave infrared camera was used to collect video at night. A description of the construction of this experiment is given, including: the data collection, image processing, perception testing and how contrast was defined for video. These results are applicable to evaluate sensor field performance for Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection (AT/FP) tasks for the U.S. Navy.

Improvement in vision: a new goal for treatment of hereditary retinal degenerations

PubMed Central

Jacobson, Samuel G; Cideciyan, Artur V; Aguirre, Gustavo D; Roman, Alejandro J; Sumaroka, Alexander; Hauswirth, William W; Palczewski, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

Introduction: Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) have long been considered untreatable and incurable. Recently, one form of early-onset autosomal recessive IRD, Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) caused by mutations in RPE65 (retinal pigment epithelium-specific protein 65 kDa) gene, has responded with some improvement of vision to gene augmentation therapy and oral retinoid administration. This early success now requires refinement of such therapeutics to fully realize the impact of these major scientific and clinical advances. Areas covered: Progress toward human therapy for RPE65-LCA is detailed from the understanding of molecular mechanisms to preclinical proof-of-concept research to clinical trials. Unexpected positive and complicating results in the patients receiving treatment are explained. Logical next steps to advance the clinical value of the therapeutics are suggested. Expert opinion: The first molecularly based early-phase therapies for an IRD are remarkably successful in that vision has improved and adverse events are mainly associated with surgical delivery to the subretinal space. Yet, there are features of the gene augmentation therapeutic response, such as slowed kinetics of night vision, lack of foveal cone function improvement and relentlessly progressive retinal degeneration despite therapy, that still require research attention. PMID:26246977

Constitutively active rhodopsin mutants causing night blindness are effectively phosphorylated by GRKs but differ in arrestin-1 binding

PubMed Central

Vishnivetskiy, Sergey. A.; Ostermaier, Martin K.; Singhal, Ankita; Panneels, Valerie; Homan, Kristoff T.; Glukhova, Alisa; Sligar, Stephen G.; Tesmer, John J. G.; Schertler, Gebhard F.X.; Standfuss, Joerg; Gurevich, Vsevolod V.

2013-01-01

The effects of activating mutations associated with night blindness on the stoichiometry of rhodopsin interactions with G protein-coupled receptor kinase 1 (GRK1) and arrestin-1 have not been reported. Here we show that the monomeric form of WT rhodopsin and its constitutively active mutants M257Y, G90D, and T94I, reconstituted into HDL particles are effectively phosphorylated by GRK1, as well as two more ubiquitously expressed subtypes, GRK2 and GRK5. All versions of arrestin-1 tested (WT, pre-activated, and constitutively monomeric mutants) bind to monomeric rhodopsin and show the same selectivity for different functional forms of rhodopsin as in native disc membranes. Rhodopsin phosphorylation by GRK1 and GRK2 promotes arrestin-1 binding to a comparable extent, whereas similar phosphorylation by GRK5 is less effective, suggesting that not all phosphorylation sites on rhodopsin are equivalent in promoting arrestin-1 binding. The binding of WT arrestin-1 to phospho-opsin is comparable to the binding to its preferred target, P-Rh*, suggesting that in photoreceptors arrestin-1 only dissociates after opsin regeneration with 11-cis-retinal, which converts phospho-opsin into inactive phospho-rhodopsin that has lower affinity for arrestin-1. Reduced binding of arrestin-1 to the phospho-opsin form of G90D mutant likely contributes to night blindness caused by this mutation in humans. PMID:23872075

Constitutively active rhodopsin mutants causing night blindness are effectively phosphorylated by GRKs but differ in arrestin-1 binding.

PubMed

Vishnivetskiy, Sergey A; Ostermaier, Martin K; Singhal, Ankita; Panneels, Valerie; Homan, Kristoff T; Glukhova, Alisa; Sligar, Stephen G; Tesmer, John J G; Schertler, Gebhard F X; Standfuss, Joerg; Gurevich, Vsevolod V

2013-11-01

The effects of activating mutations associated with night blindness on the stoichiometry of rhodopsin interactions with G protein-coupled receptor kinase 1 (GRK1) and arrestin-1 have not been reported. Here we show that the monomeric form of WT rhodopsin and its constitutively active mutants M257Y, G90D, and T94I, reconstituted into HDL particles are effectively phosphorylated by GRK1, as well as two more ubiquitously expressed subtypes, GRK2 and GRK5. All versions of arrestin-1 tested (WT, pre-activated, and constitutively monomeric mutants) bind to monomeric rhodopsin and show the same selectivity for different functional forms of rhodopsin as in native disc membranes. Rhodopsin phosphorylation by GRK1 and GRK2 promotes arrestin-1 binding to a comparable extent, whereas similar phosphorylation by GRK5 is less effective, suggesting that not all phosphorylation sites on rhodopsin are equivalent in promoting arrestin-1 binding. The binding of WT arrestin-1 to phospho-opsin is comparable to the binding to its preferred target, P-Rh*, suggesting that in photoreceptors arrestin-1 only dissociates after opsin regeneration with 11-cis-retinal, which converts phospho-opsin into inactive phospho-rhodopsin that has lower affinity for arrestin-1. Reduced binding of arrestin-1 to the phospho-opsin form of G90D mutant likely contributes to night blindness caused by this mutation in humans. © 2013.

The GLOBE at Night Campaign: Promoting Dark Skies Awareness Beyond IYA2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.

2010-01-01

One of the most productive programs in the IYA2009 Dark Skies Awareness Cornerstone Project has been GLOBE at Night. The GLOBE at Night program has endeavored to promote social awareness of the dark sky by getting the general public to measure light pollution and submit results on-line. During IYA2009 alone, over 15,700 measurements from 70 countries were contributed during the 2-week campaign period. That amount is twice the number of measurements on average from previous years. The GLOBE at Night website explains clearly the simple-to-participate-in 5 step program and offers background information and interactive games on key concepts. The program has been expanded to include trainings of the general public, but especially educators in schools, museums and science centers, in unique ways. Education kits for Dark Skies Awareness have been distributed at these training workshops. The kit includes material for a light shielding demonstration, a digital Sky Quality Meter and Dark Skies Ranger Activities. The activities are on how unshielded light wastes energy, how light pollution affects wildlife and how you can participate in a citizen-science star-hunt like GLOBE at Night. In addition, projects are being developed for what to do with the data once it is taken. There were particularly spirited and creative GLOBE at Night campaigns around the world in 2009. One such "poster child” was carried out by 6500 students in northern Indiana. The students produced 3,391 GLOBE at Night measurements. To visualize the magnitudes of dark sky lost to light pollution, these students removed over 12,000 of the 35,000 stacked LEGO blocks that represented an ideal night sky across the school district. The presentation will provide an update with lessons learned, describe how people can become involved and take a look ahead at the program's sustainability. For further information, visit www.globe.gov/globeatnight.

Day-night contrast as source of health for the human circadian system.

PubMed

Martinez-Nicolas, Antonio; Madrid, Juan Antonio; Rol, Maria Angeles

2014-04-01

Modern societies are characterized by a 24/7 lifestyle (LS) with no environmental differences between day and night, resulting in weak zeitgebers (weak day light, absence of darkness during night, constant environmental temperature, sedentary LS and frequent snacking), and as a consequence, in an impaired circadian system (CS) through a process known as chronodisruption. Both weak zeitgebers and CS impairment are related to human pathologies (certain cancers, metabolic syndrome and affective and cognitive disorders), but little is known about how to chronoenhance the CS. The aim of this work is to propose practical strategies for chronoenhancement, based on accentuating the day/night contrast. For this, 131 young subjects were recruited, and their wrist temperature (WT), activity, body position, light exposure, environmental temperature and sleep were recorded under free-living conditions for 1 week. Subjects with high contrast (HC) and low contrast (LC) for each variable were selected to analyze the HC effect in activity, body position, environmental temperature, light exposure and sleep would have on WT. We found that HC showed better rhythms than LC for every variable except sleep. Subjects with HC and LC for WT also demonstrated differences in LS, where HC subjects had a slightly advanced night phase onset and a general increase in day/night contrast. In addition, theoretical high day/night contrast calculated using mathematical models suggests an improvement by means of LS contrast. Finally, some individuals classified as belonging to the HC group in terms of WT when they are exposed to the LS characteristic of the LC group, while others exhibit WT arrhythmicity despite their good LS habits, revealing two different WT components: an exogenous component modified by LS and another endogenous component that is refractory to it. Therefore, intensifying day/night contrast in subject's LS has proven to be a feasible measure to chronoenhance the CS.

Lessons learnt from Volcanoes' Night I-II-III - a Marie Curie Researchers' Night project series dedicated to geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cseko, Adrienn; Bodo, Balazs; Ortega Rodriguez, Ariadna

2017-04-01

European Researchers' Nights (ERNs) are a pan-European series of events funded by the European Commission, organised on the last Friday of every September since 2005. ERNs mobilise scientific, academic and research organisations with the aim of giving the public the opportunity to meet researchers in an informal setting. The overall objective of ERNs is to achieve better awareness among the general public concerning the importance of science in everyday life and to combat stereotypes about researchers. The longer-term strategic objective of ERNs is to encourage young people to embark on a scientific career. Volcanoes' Night I-II-III has been an ERN project series funded by the EC FP7 and H2020 programmes between 2012-2015 (EC contract No. 316558, 610050, 633310, www.nochedevolcanes.es). The concept of Volcanoes' Night was created by researchers from the Canary Islands, Spain, where both the researchers and the public live in the close vicinity of volcanoes. The objective of the project was to use volcanoes as a background against which the role of geoscientists could be explained to the public. The scope of Volcanoes' Night was exclusively dedicated to geoscience, and in this respect it stands out among all other ERN projects, which are always more general in scope. During its four years of EC funding, the geographical coverage of Volcanoes' Night expanded substantially from a single location in 2012 (Fuencaliente de La Palma, Spain) to a dozen locations in 2015, mobilising multiple scientific organisations, researchers, and public authorities for engagement with the public. The last EC-funded project, Volcanoes' Night III, which was organised in 2014 and 2015, engaged approximately 21,000 visitors through its outreach activities, which included experiments, science cafés, volcano movies, My Day presentations, excursions, science workshops and more. The impact of the project was carefully assessed via surveys and social studies during its lifetime, and an Impact

No Escaping the Rat Race: Simulated Night Shift Work Alters the Time-of-Day Variation in BMAL1 Translational Activity in the Prefrontal Cortex.

PubMed

Marti, Andrea R; Patil, Sudarshan; Mrdalj, Jelena; Meerlo, Peter; Skrede, Silje; Pallesen, Ståle; Pedersen, Torhild T; Bramham, Clive R; Grønli, Janne

2017-01-01

Millions of people worldwide work during the night, resulting in disturbed circadian rhythms and sleep loss. This may cause deficits in cognitive functions, impaired alertness and increased risk of errors and accidents. Disturbed circadian rhythmicity resulting from night shift work could impair brain function and cognition through disrupted synthesis of proteins involved in synaptic plasticity and neuronal function. Recently, the circadian transcription factor brain-and-muscle arnt-like protein 1 (BMAL1) has been identified as a promoter of mRNA translation initiation, the most highly regulated step in protein synthesis, through binding to the mRNA "cap". In this study we investigated the effects of simulated shift work on protein synthesis markers. Male rats ( n = 40) were exposed to forced activity, either in their rest phase (simulated night shift work) or in their active phase (simulated day shift work) for 3 days. Following the third work shift, experimental animals and time-matched undisturbed controls were euthanized (rest work at ZT12; active work at ZT0). Tissue lysates from two brain regions (prefrontal cortex, PFC and hippocampus) implicated in cognition and sleep loss, were analyzed with m 7 GTP (cap) pull-down to examine time-of-day variation and effects of simulated shift work on cap-bound protein translation. The results show time-of-day variation of protein synthesis markers in PFC, with increased protein synthesis at ZT12. In the hippocampus there was little difference between ZT0 and ZT12. Active phase work did not induce statistically significant changes in protein synthesis markers at ZT0 compared to time-matched undisturbed controls. Rest work, however, resulted in distinct brain-region specific changes of protein synthesis markers compared to time-matched controls at ZT12. While no changes were observed in the hippocampus, phosphorylation of cap-bound BMAL1 and its regulator S6 kinase beta-1 (S6K1) was significantly reduced in the PFC

Aurora Activities Observed by SNPP VIIRS Day-Night Band during St. Patrick's Day, 2015 G4 Level Geomagnetic Storm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, T. C.; Shao, X.; Cao, C.; Zhang, B.; Fung, S. F.; Sharma, S.

2015-12-01

A G4 level (severe) geomagnetic storm occurred on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), 2015 and it is among the strongest geomagnetic storms of the current solar cycle (Solar Cycle 24). The storm is identified as due to the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which erupted on March 15 from Region 2297 of solar surface. During this event, the geomagnetic storm index Dst reached -223 nT and the geomagnetic aurora electrojet (AE) index increased and reached as high as >2200 nT with large amplitude fluctuations. Aurora occurred in both hemispheres. Ground auroral sightings were reported from Michigan to Alaska and as far south as southern Colorado. The Day Night Band (DNB) of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard Suomi-NPP represents a major advancement in night time imaging capabilities. The DNB senses radiance that can span 7 orders of magnitude in one panchromatic (0.5-0.9 μm) reflective solar band and provides imagery of clouds and other Earth features over illumination levels ranging from full sunlight to quarter moon. In this paper, DNB observations of aurora activities during the St. Patrick's Day geomagnetic storm are analyzed. Aurora are observed to evolve with salient features by DNB for orbital pass on the night side (~local time 1:30am) in both hemispheres. The radiance data from DNB observation are collected at the night sides of southern and northern hemispheres and geo-located onto geomagnetic local time (MLT) coordinates. Regions of aurora during each orbital pass are identified through image processing by contouring radiance values and excluding regions with stray light near day-night terminator. The evolution of aurora are characterized with time series of the poleward and low latitude boundary of aurora, their latitude-span and area, peak radiance and total light emission of the aurora region in DNB observation. These characteristic parameters are correlated with solar wind and geomagnetic index parameters.

A low-noise 15-μm pixel-pitch 640×512 hybrid InGaAs image sensor for night vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guellec, Fabrice; Dubois, Sébastien; de Borniol, Eric; Castelein, Pierre; Martin, Sébastien; Guiguet, Romain; Tchagaspanian, Micha"l.; Rouvié, Anne; Bois, Philippe

2012-03-01

Hybrid InGaAs focal plane arrays are very interesting for night vision because they can benefit from the nightglow emission in the Short Wave Infrared band. Through a collaboration between III-V Lab and CEA-Léti, a 640x512 InGaAs image sensor with 15μm pixel pitch has been developed. The good crystalline quality of the InGaAs detectors opens the door to low dark current (around 20nA/cm2 at room temperature and -0.1V bias) as required for low light level imaging. In addition, the InP substrate can be removed to extend the detection range towards the visible spectrum. A custom readout IC (ROIC) has been designed in a standard CMOS 0.18μm technology. The pixel circuit is based on a capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) with two selectable charge-to-voltage conversion gains. Relying on a thorough noise analysis, this input stage has been optimized to deliver low-noise performance in high-gain mode with a reasonable concession on dynamic range. The exposure time can be maximized up to the frame period thanks to a rolling shutter approach. The frame rate can be up to 120fps or 60fps if the Correlated Double Sampling (CDS) capability of the circuit is enabled. The first results show that the CDS is effective at removing the very low frequency noise present on the reference voltage in our test setup. In this way, the measured total dark noise is around 90 electrons in high-gain mode for 8.3ms exposure time. It is mainly dominated by the dark shot noise for a detector temperature settling around 30°C when not cooled. The readout noise measured with shorter exposure time is around 30 electrons for a dynamic range of 71dB in high-gain mode and 108 electrons for 79dB in low-gain mode.

Glucosensing capacity in rainbow trout liver displays day-night variations possibly related to melatonin action.

PubMed

Conde-Sieira, Marta; Patiño, Marcos A López; Míguez, Jesús M; Soengas, José L

2012-09-01

To assess whether the glucosensing capacity in peripheral (liver and Brockmann bodies) and central (hypothalamus and hindbrain) locations of rainbow trout displays day-night variations in its response to changes in circulating glucose levels, we evaluated the response of parameters related to glucosensing [glucose, glycogen and glucose 6-phosphate levels, activities of glucokinase (GK), glycogen synthetase (GSase) and pyruvate kinase (PK), and mRNA abundance of GK, glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), and K(ATP) channel subunits Kir6.x-like and sulfonylurea receptor (SUR)-like] in fish subjected to hyperglycemic treatment under night or day conditions. No day-night significant variations were noticed in the glucosensing capacity of the hypothalamus, hindbrain and Brockmann bodies. In contrast, a clear differential response was noticed in the liver, where glucose levels, GK activity (and mRNA levels) and GSase activity displayed increased values during the day in hyperglycemic fish compared with controls, and lower (GK mRNA levels) or non-existent (glucose, GK and GSase activities, and Kir6.x-like mRNA levels) values during the night. A similar decrease in parameters related to glucosensing in the liver was observed when fish under day conditions were treated with melatonin, suggesting a modulatory role of melatonin in day-night changes of the glucosensing response in the same tissue.

The Medawar Lecture 2001 Knowledge for vision: vision for knowledge

PubMed Central

Gregory, Richard L

2005-01-01

An evolutionary development of perception is suggested—from passive reception to active perception to explicit conception—earlier stages being largely retained and incorporated in later species. A key is innate and then individually learned knowledge, giving meaning to sensory signals. Inappropriate or misapplied knowledge produces rich cognitive phenomena of illusions, revealing normally hidden processes of vision, tentatively classified here in a ‘peeriodic table’. Phenomena of physiology are distinguished from phenomena of general rules and specific object knowledge. It is concluded that vision uses implicit knowledge, and provides knowledge for intelligent behaviour and for explicit conceptual understanding including science. PMID:16147519

International Observe the Moon Night

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-28

A volunteer assists an eager participant at International Observe the Moon Night Oct. 28 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. The event, hosted by the Planetary Missions Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, encourages observation and appreciation of the Moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration, as well as our cultural and personal connections to it. Children attending the event had the opportunity to participate in planetary, science-based, hands-on activities

Effects of one night of induced night-wakings versus sleep restriction on sustained attention and mood: a pilot study.

PubMed

Kahn, Michal; Fridenson, Shimrit; Lerer, Reut; Bar-Haim, Yair; Sadeh, Avi

2014-07-01

Despite their high prevalence in daily life, repeated night-wakings and their cognitive and emotional consequences have received less research attention compared to other types of sleep disturbances. Our aim was to experimentally compare the effects of one night of induced infrequent night-wakings (of ∼15 min, each requiring a purposeful response) and sleep restriction on sustained attention and mood in young adults. In a within-between subjects counterbalanced design, 61 healthy adults (40 females; aged 20-29 years) underwent home assessments of sustained attention and self-reported mood at two times: after a normal (control) sleep night, and after a night of either sleep restriction (4h in bed) or induced night-wakings (four prolonged awakenings across 8h in bed). Sleep was monitored using actigraphy and sleep diaries. Sustained attention was assessed using an online continuous performance test (OCPT), and mood was reported online using the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Actigraphic data revealed good compliance with experimental sleep requirements. Induced night-wakings and sleep restriction both resulted in more OCPT omission and commission errors, and in increased depression, fatigue and confusion levels and reduced vigor compared to the normal sleep night. Moreover, there were no significant differences between the consequences of induced awakenings and sleep restriction. Our pilot study indicates that, similar to sleep restriction, one night of life-like repeated night-wakings negatively affects mood and sustained attention. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Post-flowering night respiration and altered sink activity account for high night temperature-induced grain yield and quality loss in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

PubMed

Bahuguna, Rajeev N; Solis, Celymar A; Shi, Wanju; Jagadish, Krishna S V

2017-01-01

High night temperature (HNT) is a major constraint to sustaining global rice production under future climate. Physiological and biochemical mechanisms were elucidated for HNT-induced grain yield and quality loss in rice. Contrasting rice cultivars (N22, tolerant; Gharib, susceptible; IR64, high yielding with superior grain quality) were tested under control (23°C) and HNT (29°C) using unique field-based tents from panicle initiation till physiological maturity. HNT affected 1000 grain weight, grain yield, grain chalk and amylose content in Gharib and IR64. HNT increased night respiration (Rn) accounted for higher carbon losses during post-flowering phase. Gharib and IR64 recorded 16 and 9% yield reduction with a 63 and 35% increase in average post-flowering Rn under HNT, respectively. HNT altered sugar accumulation in the rachis and spikelets across the cultivars with Gharib and IR64 recording higher sugar accumulation in the rachis. HNT reduced panicle starch content in Gharib (22%) and IR64 (11%) at physiological maturity, but not in the tolerant N22. At the enzymatic level, HNT reduced sink strength with lower cell wall invertase and sucrose synthase activity in Gharib and IR64, which affected starch accumulation in the developing grain, thereby reducing grain weight and quality. Interestingly, N22 recorded lower Rn-mediated carbon losses and minimum impact on sink strength under HNT. Mechanistic responses identified will facilitate crop models to precisely estimate HNT-induced damage under future warming scenarios. © 2016 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

The transition from day-to-night activity is a risk factor for the development of CNS oxygen toxicity in the diurnal fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus).

PubMed

Eynan, Mirit; Biram, Adi; Mullokandov, Michael; Kronfeld-Schor, Noga; Paz-Cohen, Rotem; Menajem, Dvir; Arieli, Yehuda

2017-01-01

Performance and safety are impaired in employees engaged in shift work. Combat divers who use closed-circuit oxygen diving apparatus undergo part of their training during the night hours. The greatest risk involved in diving with such apparatus is the development of central nervous system oxygen toxicity (CNS-OT). We investigated whether the switch from day-to-night activity may be a risk factor for the development of CNS-OT using a diurnal animal model, the fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus). Animals were kept on a 12:12 light-dark schedule (6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 500 lx). The study included two groups: (1) Control group: animals were kept awake and active during the day, between 09:00 and 15:00. (2) Experimental group: animals were kept awake and active during the night, between 21:00 and 03:00, when they were exposed to dim light in order to simulate the conditions prevalent during combat diver training. This continued for a period of 3 weeks, 5 days a week. On completion of this phase, 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (6-SMT) levels in urine were determined over a period of 24 h. Animals were then exposed to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). To investigate the effect of acute melatonin administration, melatonin (50 mg/kg) or its vehicle was administered to the animals in both groups 20 min prior to HBO exposure. After the exposure, the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase was measured, as were the levels of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and overall nitrotyrosylation in the cortex and hippocampus. Latency to CNS-OT was significantly reduced after the transition from day-to-night activity. This was associated with alterations in the level of melatonin metabolites secreted in the urine. Acute melatonin administration had no effect on latency to CNS-OT in either of the groups. Nevertheless, the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase, as well as nitrotyrosine and nNOS levels, were altered in the hippocampus following melatonin

Associations between number of consecutive night shifts and impairment of neurobehavioral performance during a subsequent simulated night shift.

PubMed

Magee, Michelle; Sletten, Tracey L; Ferguson, Sally A; Grunstein, Ronald R; Anderson, Clare; Kennaway, David J; Lockley, Steven W; Rajaratnam, Shantha Mw

2016-05-01

This study aimed to investigate sleep and circadian phase in the relationships between neurobehavioral performance and the number of consecutive shifts worked. Thirty-four shift workers [20 men, mean age 31.8 (SD 10.9) years] worked 2-7 consecutive night shifts immediately prior to a laboratory-based, simulated night shift. For 7 days prior, participants worked their usual shift sequence, and sleep was assessed with logs and actigraphy. Participants completed a 10-minute auditory psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at the start (~21:00 hours) and end (~07:00 hours) of the simulated night shift. Mean reaction times (RT), number of lapses and RT distribution was compared between those who worked 2-3 consecutive night shifts versus those who worked 4-7 shifts. Following 4-7 shifts, night shift workers had significantly longer mean RT at the start and end of shift, compared to those who worked 2-3 shifts. The slowest and fastest 10% RT were significantly slower at the start, but not end, of shift among participants who worked 4-7 nights. Those working 4-7 nights also demonstrated a broader RT distribution at the start and end of shift and had significantly slower RT based on cumulative distribution analysis (5 (th), 25 (th), 50 (th), 75 (th)percentiles at the start of shift; 75th percentile at the end of shift). No group differences in sleep parameters were found for 7 days and 24 hours prior to the simulated night shift. A greater number of consecutive night shifts has a negative impact on neurobehavioral performance, likely due to cognitive slowing.

Saturday night burns: an increasing problem?

PubMed Central

Bollero, D.; Malvasio, V.; Gangemi, E.N.; Giunta, G.; Collard, B.; Stella, M.

2015-01-01

Summary In Italy the economic crisis has caused changes in behavior in daily as well as leisure activities. For instance, night clubs have changed both their scenography and what they can offer. From simply providing a place to dance, they can now offer more complex scenography with spectacular fireworks and lit cocktails. While this can be amazing for all of us it can also be another cause of burn injuries. We conducted a retrospective study of all burns patients admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department at CTO Hospital in Turin from 2009 to 2013, after a night clubbing. A total of five patients were identified with an average age of 20 years old: four were burned by flaming cocktails and one was burned by a firework. Two received outpatient treatment, while orotracheal intubation and admission were needed for three, and two required surgical debridement and resurfacing with split skin graft. All patients had permanent sequelae caused by pathologic scarring and/or dyschromia. Our findings show that the risk of burn injuries is higher at weekends, mainly in summer, if all correct safety procedures are not followed. Meanwhile it is important to highlight that the promotion of inappropriate behavior at night clubs during firework displays and the passing of flaming cocktails should be avoided. PMID:26668565

Vision based assistive technology for people with dementia performing activities of daily living (ADLs): an overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

As'ari, M. A.; Sheikh, U. U.

2012-04-01

The rapid development of intelligent assistive technology for replacing a human caregiver in assisting people with dementia performing activities of daily living (ADLs) promises in the reduction of care cost especially in training and hiring human caregiver. The main problem however, is the various kinds of sensing agents used in such system and is dependent on the intent (types of ADLs) and environment where the activity is performed. In this paper on overview of the potential of computer vision based sensing agent in assistive system and how it can be generalized and be invariant to various kind of ADLs and environment. We find that there exists a gap from the existing vision based human action recognition method in designing such system due to cognitive and physical impairment of people with dementia.

Design and testing of a dual-band enhanced vision system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Way, Scott P.; Kerr, Richard; Imamura, Joseph J.; Arnoldy, Dan; Zeylmaker, Dick; Zuro, Greg

2003-09-01

An effective enhanced vision system must operate over a broad spectral range in order to offer a pilot an optimized scene that includes runway background as well as airport lighting and aircraft operations. The large dynamic range of intensities of these images is best handled with separate imaging sensors. The EVS 2000 is a patented dual-band Infrared Enhanced Vision System (EVS) utilizing image fusion concepts. It has the ability to provide a single image from uncooled infrared imagers combined with SWIR, NIR or LLLTV sensors. The system is designed to provide commercial and corporate airline pilots with improved situational awareness at night and in degraded weather conditions but can also be used in a variety of applications where the fusion of dual band or multiband imagery is required. A prototype of this system was recently fabricated and flown on the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator 737-900 aircraft. This paper will discuss the current EVS 2000 concept, show results taken from the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator program, and discuss future plans for the fusion system.

Virtual Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terzopoulos, Demetri; Qureshi, Faisal Z.

Computer vision and sensor networks researchers are increasingly motivated to investigate complex multi-camera sensing and control issues that arise in the automatic visual surveillance of extensive, highly populated public spaces such as airports and train stations. However, they often encounter serious impediments to deploying and experimenting with large-scale physical camera networks in such real-world environments. We propose an alternative approach called "Virtual Vision", which facilitates this type of research through the virtual reality simulation of populated urban spaces, camera sensor networks, and computer vision on commodity computers. We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach by developing two highly automated surveillance systems comprising passive and active pan/tilt/zoom cameras that are deployed in a virtual train station environment populated by autonomous, lifelike virtual pedestrians. The easily reconfigurable virtual cameras distributed in this environment generate synthetic video feeds that emulate those acquired by real surveillance cameras monitoring public spaces. The novel multi-camera control strategies that we describe enable the cameras to collaborate in persistently observing pedestrians of interest and in acquiring close-up videos of pedestrians in designated areas.

Active vision and image/video understanding with decision structures based on the network-symbolic models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuvich, Gary

2003-08-01

Vision is a part of a larger information system that converts visual information into knowledge structures. These structures drive vision process, resolve ambiguity and uncertainty via feedback projections, and provide image understanding that is an interpretation of visual information in terms of such knowledge models. The ability of human brain to emulate knowledge structures in the form of networks-symbolic models is found. And that means an important shift of paradigm in our knowledge about brain from neural networks to "cortical software". Symbols, predicates and grammars naturally emerge in such active multilevel hierarchical networks, and logic is simply a way of restructuring such models. Brain analyzes an image as a graph-type decision structure created via multilevel hierarchical compression of visual information. Mid-level vision processes like clustering, perceptual grouping, separation of figure from ground, are special kinds of graph/network transformations. They convert low-level image structure into the set of more abstract ones, which represent objects and visual scene, making them easy for analysis by higher-level knowledge structures. Higher-level vision phenomena are results of such analysis. Composition of network-symbolic models works similar to frames and agents, combines learning, classification, analogy together with higher-level model-based reasoning into a single framework. Such models do not require supercomputers. Based on such principles, and using methods of Computational intelligence, an Image Understanding system can convert images into the network-symbolic knowledge models, and effectively resolve uncertainty and ambiguity, providing unifying representation for perception and cognition. That allows creating new intelligent computer vision systems for robotic and defense industries.

Seeing Stars: A GLOBE at Night Campaign Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.; Pompea, S. M.; Sparks, R. T.; Newhouse, M.

2012-01-01

The emphasis in the international citizen-science, star-hunting campaign, GLOBE at Night, is in bringing awareness to the public on issues of light pollution. Light pollution threatens not only observatory sites and our "right to starlight", but can affect energy consumption, wildlife and health. GLOBE at Night has successfully reached a few 100,000 citizen-scientists. What has done in the last year to contribute to its success? • To promote the campaign via popular social media, GLOBE at Night created Facebook and Twitter pages. • Videos have been created for 4 out of 8 Dark Skies Rangers activities. • Sky brightness measurements can be submitted in real time with smart phones or tablets using the new Web application at www.globeatnight.org/webapp/. The location, date and time register automatically. • As a proto-type, an adopt-a-street program had people in Tucson take measurements every mile for the length of the street. Grid measurements canvassed the town, allowing for comparisons of light levels over time. • The increase to 2 campaigns in 2011 re-enforces these studies. In 2012, the campaign will be offered 4 times for 10 days a month: January 14-23, February 12-21, March 13-22 and April 11-20. • A new Web application (www.globeatnight.org/mapapp/) allows for mapping GLOBE at Night data points within a specified distance around a city or area of choice. The resulting maps are bookmarkable and shareable. • NOAO and Arizona Game and Fish Department started a project with GLOBE at Night data and bat telemetry to examine a dark skies corridor in Tucson where endangered bats fly. While providing these updates to the GLOBE at Night program, the presentation will highlight the education and outreach value of the program's resources and outcomes, lessons learned, successes and pitfalls in communicating awareness with the public and attracting young people to study science.

Family Literacy Night: A Celebration of Reading!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Becky; Morton, Shirley; Rumschlag, Hella

2011-01-01

Family Literacy Night is an exciting way to engage students and their parents in meaningful literacy activities while building community spirit and strengthening the partnership between school and home. It is an opportunity for students to show their parents what they do in school; how they create in the computer lab, how they work in the art…

Stennis hosts NASA Night at Zephyr Field

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-08-20

Stennis employee Chris Smith helps a young child 'launch' a balloon rocket. Employees from NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center traveled to New Orleans on Aug. 20 to host NASA Night at Zephyr Field. Stennis personnel provided a variety of activities and materials for persons attending a game between the New Orleans Zephyrs and the Las Vegas 51s.

Modeling the target acquisition performance of active imaging systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinola, Richard L.; Jacobs, Eddie L.; Halford, Carl E.; Vollmerhausen, Richard; Tofsted, David H.

2007-04-01

Recent development of active imaging system technology in the defense and security community have driven the need for a theoretical understanding of its operation and performance in military applications such as target acquisition. In this paper, the modeling of active imaging systems, developed at the U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate, is presented with particular emphasis on the impact of coherent effects such as speckle and atmospheric scintillation. Experimental results from human perception tests are in good agreement with the model results, validating the modeling of coherent effects as additional noise sources. Example trade studies on the design of a conceptual active imaging system to mitigate deleterious coherent effects are shown.

Modeling the target acquisition performance of active imaging systems.

PubMed

Espinola, Richard L; Jacobs, Eddie L; Halford, Carl E; Vollmerhausen, Richard; Tofsted, David H

2007-04-02

Recent development of active imaging system technology in the defense and security community have driven the need for a theoretical understanding of its operation and performance in military applications such as target acquisition. In this paper, the modeling of active imaging systems, developed at the U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate, is presented with particular emphasis on the impact of coherent effects such as speckle and atmospheric scintillation. Experimental results from human perception tests are in good agreement with the model results, validating the modeling of coherent effects as additional noise sources. Example trade studies on the design of a conceptual active imaging system to mitigate deleterious coherent effects are shown.

Artificial light at night advances avian reproductive physiology

PubMed Central

Dominoni, Davide; Quetting, Michael; Partecke, Jesko

2013-01-01

Artificial light at night is a rapidly increasing phenomenon and it is presumed to have global implications. Light at night has been associated with health problems in humans as a consequence of altered biological rhythms. Effects on wild animals have been less investigated, but light at night has often been assumed to affect seasonal cycles of urban dwellers. Using light loggers attached to free-living European blackbirds (Turdus merula), we first measured light intensity at night which forest and city birds are subjected to in the wild. Then we used these measurements to test for the effect of light at night on timing of reproductive physiology. Captive city and forest blackbirds were exposed to either dark nights or very low light intensities at night (0.3 lux). Birds exposed to light at night developed their reproductive system up to one month earlier, and also moulted earlier, than birds kept under dark nights. Furthermore, city birds responded differently than forest individuals to the light at night treatment, suggesting that urbanization can alter the physiological phenotype of songbirds. Our results emphasize the impact of human-induced lighting on the ecology of millions of animals living in cities and call for an understanding of the fitness consequences of light pollution. PMID:23407836

Night shift work and hormone levels in women.

PubMed

Davis, Scott; Mirick, Dana K; Chen, Chu; Stanczyk, Frank Z

2012-04-01

Night shift work may disrupt the normal nocturnal rise in melatonin, resulting in increased breast cancer risk, possibly through increased reproductive hormone levels. We investigated whether night shift work is associated with decreased levels of urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, the primary metabolite of melatonin, and increased urinary reproductive hormone levels. Participants were 172 night shift and 151 day shift-working nurses, aged 20-49 years, with regular menstrual cycles. Urine samples were collected throughout work and sleep periods and assayed for 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and estrone conjugate (E1C). 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin levels were 62% lower and FSH and LH were 62% and 58% higher, respectively, in night shift-working women during daytime sleep than in day shift-working women during nighttime sleep (P ≤ 0.0001). Nighttime sleep on off-nights was associated with 42% lower 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels among the night shift workers, relative to the day shift workers (P < 0.0001); no significant differences in LH or FSH were observed. 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin levels during night work were approximately 69% lower and FSH and LH were 35% and 38% higher, compared with day shift workers during nighttime sleep. No differences in E1C levels between night and day shift workers were observed. Within night shift workers, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels were lower and reproductive hormone levels were higher during daytime sleep and nighttime work, relative to nighttime sleep (P < 0.05). These results indicate that night shift workers have substantially reduced 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels during night work and daytime sleep and that levels remain low even when a night shift worker sleeps at night. Shift work could be an important risk factor for many other cancers in addition to breast cancer. ©2012 AACR.

Effect of bright light at night on core temperature, subjective alertness and performance as a function of exposure time.

PubMed

Foret, J; Daurat, A; Tirilly, G

1998-01-01

This simulated night shift study measured the effects of moderate bright light (a 4-hour pulse starting at 2000 or 0400) during the exposure night and subsequent night (dim light). Eight young males remained confined with little physical activity to a laboratory in groups of 4. After a night of reference, they were active for 24 hours; then after a morning recovery sleep, they were active again for 16 hours. Continuously measured rectal temperature proved to be immediately sensitive to 4 hours of bright light, particularly when given at the end of the night. Self-assessed alertness and also performance on a task with a high requirement for short-term memory were improved by the exposure to bright light. During the subsequent night the subjects were exposed only to dim light. Core temperature, subjective alertness and performance continued to show a time course depending on the preceding bright light exposure. Probably because evening exposure to bright light and morning sleep both had a phase-delaying effect, the effects on the circadian pacemaker were more pronounced. Thus, for practical applications in long night shifts, bright light can be considered to improve mood and alertness immediately but the possibility of modifying the circadian "clock" during subsequent nights should be taken into consideration, in particular after exposure to bright light in the evening.

Operational Assessment of Color Vision

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-20

evaluated in this study. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Color vision, aviation, cone contrast test, Colour Assessment & Diagnosis , color Dx, OBVA 16. SECURITY...symbologies are frequently used to aid or direct critical activities such as aircraft landing approaches or railroad right-of-way designations...computer-generated display systems have facilitated the development of computer-based, automated tests of color vision [14,15]. The United Kingdom’s

[Comparison study between biological vision and computer vision].

PubMed

Liu, W; Yuan, X G; Yang, C X; Liu, Z Q; Wang, R

2001-08-01

The development and bearing of biology vision in structure and mechanism were discussed, especially on the aspects including anatomical structure of biological vision, tentative classification of reception field, parallel processing of visual information, feedback and conformity effect of visual cortical, and so on. The new advance in the field was introduced through the study of the morphology of biological vision. Besides, comparison between biological vision and computer vision was made, and their similarities and differences were pointed out.

International Observe the Moon Night

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-19

Double beams shoot into the night sky during the Internation Observe the Moon night event. Goddard's Laser Ranging Facility directs a laser toward the Lunar Reconassaince Orbiter on International Observe the Moon Night. (Sept 18, 2010) Background on laser ranging: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/LRO_lr.html Credit: NASA/GSFC/Debbie Mccallum On September 18, 2010 the world joined the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., as well as other NASA Centers to celebrate the first annual International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN). To read more go to: www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/features/2010/moon-nigh... NASA Goddard Space Flight Center contributes to NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s endeavors by providing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Paradoxical post-exercise responses of acylated ghrelin and leptin during a simulated night shift.

PubMed

Morris, Christopher J; Fullick, Sarah; Gregson, Warren; Clarke, Neil; Doran, Dominic; MacLaren, Don; Atkinson, Greg

2010-05-01

Approximately 10% of employees undertake night work, which is a significant predictor of weight gain, possibly because responses to activity and eating are altered at night. It is known that the appetite-related hormone, acylated ghrelin, is suppressed after an acute bout of exercise during the day, but no researcher has explored whether evening exercise alters acylated ghrelin and other appetite-related outcomes during a subsequent night shift. Six healthy men (mean +/- SD: age 30 +/- 8 yrs, body mass index 23.1 +/- 1.1 kg/m(2)) completed two crossover trials (control and exercise) in random order. Participants fasted from 10:00 h, consumed a test meal at 18:00 h, and then cycled at 50% peak oxygen uptake or rested between 19:00-20:00 h. Participants then completed light activities during a simulated night shift which ended at 05:00 h. Two small isocaloric meals were consumed at 22:00 and 02:00 h. Venous blood samples were drawn via cannulation at 1 h intervals between 19:00-05:00 h for the determination of acylated ghrelin, leptin, insulin, glucose, triglyceride, and non-esterified fatty acids concentrations. Perceived hunger and wrist actimetry were also recorded. During the simulated night shift, mean +/- SD acylated ghrelin concentration was 86.5 +/- 40.8 pg/ml following exercise compared with 71.7 +/- 37.7 pg/ml without prior exercise (p = 0.015). Throughout the night shift, leptin concentration was 263 +/- 242 pg/ml following exercise compared with 187 +/- 221 pg/ml without prior exercise (p = 0.017). Mean levels of insulin, triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acids, and wrist actimetry level were also higher during the night shift that followed exercise (p < 0.05). These data indicate that prior exercise increases acylated ghrelin and leptin concentrations during a subsequent simulated night shift. These findings differ from the known effects of exercise on acylated ghrelin and leptin during the day, and therefore have implications for energy balance during

Paradoxical post-exercise responses of acylated ghrelin and leptin during a simulated night-shift

PubMed Central

Morris, Chris; Fullick, Sarah; Gregson, Warren; Clarke, Neil; Doran, Dominic; MacLaren, Don; Atkinson, Greg

2009-01-01

Approximately 10% of employees undertake night-work which is a significant predictor of weight-gain, possibly because responses to activity and eating are altered at night. It is known that the appetite-related hormone, acylated ghrelin is suppressed after an acute bout of exercise during the day, but no researcher has explored whether evening exercise alters acylated ghrelin and other appetite-related outcomes during a subsequent night-shift. Six healthy men (mean±SD: age 30±8 yrs, body mass index 23.1±1.1 kg/m2) completed two crossover trials (control and exercise) in a random order. Participants fasted from 10:00 h, consumed a test meal at 18:00 h and then cycled at 50% peak oxygen uptake or rested between 19:00-20:00 h. Participants then completed light activities during a simulated night-shift which ended at 05:00 h. Two small isocaloric meals were consumed at 22:00 and 02:00 h. Venous blood samples were drawn via cannulation at 1-h intervals between 19:00-05:00 h for the determination of acylated ghrelin, leptin, insulin, glucose, triglyceride and non-esterified fatty acids concentrations. Perceived hunger and wrist actimetry were also recorded. During the night-shift, mean±SD acylated ghrelin concentration was 86.5±40.8 pg/ml following exercise compared with 71.7±37.7 pg/ml without prior exercise (P=0.015). Throughout the night-shift, leptin concentration was 263±242 pg/ml following exercise compared with 187±221 pg/ml without prior exercise (P=0.017). Mean levels of insulin, triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acids and wrist actimetry were also higher during the night-shift that followed exercise (P<0.05). These data indicate that prior exercise increases acylated ghrelin and leptin concentrations during a subsequent simulated night-shift. These findings differ from the known effects of exercise on acylated ghrelin and leptin during the day, and therefore have implications for energy balance during night-work. PMID:20524803

Nurses' assessments and patients' perceptions: development of the Night Nursing Care Instrument (NNCI), measuring nursing care at night.

PubMed

Johansson, Peter; Oléni, Magnus; Fridlund, Bengt

2005-07-01

Nursing care provided at night has a different purpose and objective to that provided during the day. A review of the literature does not reveal any scientifically tested research instruments for evaluating and comparing the nurse's assessment of nursing care with the patient's perception at night. The aim of this study was to develop and test an instrument for evaluating nursing care and to compare nurses' assessments with patients' perceptions of nursing care provided at night. The study was carried out in two phases; the first had an explorative design and the second an evaluative and comparative design. The Night Nursing Care Instrument (NNCI) included two questionnaires; one for nurses and one for patients. These questionnaires were developed from a nursing framework and covered the following three areas: 'nursing interventions', 'medical interventions' and 'evaluation'. Nurses (n = 40) on night duty on a medical ward at a central hospital in southern Sweden were consecutively selected, to participate in the study. The patients (n = 80) were selected by means of convenience sampling. In order to achieve construct validity, factor analysis of each individual area was carried out. Reliability in terms of internal consistency was tested by Cronbach's alpha. The overall NNCI had acceptable reliability and validity. There was no statistically significant difference between nurses' assessments and patients' perceptions in any of the three areas of 'nursing interventions', 'medical interventions' or 'evaluation'. The patients rated night nursing care as satisfactory for the majority of the items. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to create a short instrument with acceptable reliability and validity, which is easy to use in clinical practice. The results also show that night nurses need to improve their ability to assess patients' needs during the night to increase the quality of night nursing care.

Artificial night lighting inhibits feeding in moths

PubMed Central

van Grunsven, Roy H. A.; Veenendaal, Elmar M.

2017-01-01

One major, yet poorly studied, change in the environment is nocturnal light pollution, which strongly alters habitats of nocturnally active species. Artificial night lighting is often considered as driving force behind rapid moth population declines in severely illuminated countries. To understand these declines, the question remains whether artificial light causes only increased mortality or also sublethal effects. We show that moths subjected to artificial night lighting spend less time feeding than moths in darkness, with the shortest time under light conditions rich in short wavelength radiation. These findings provide evidence for sublethal effects contributing to moth population declines. Because effects are strong under various types of light compared with dark conditions, the potential of spectral alterations as a conservation tool may be overestimated. Therefore, restoration and maintenance of darkness in illuminated areas is essential for reversing declines of moth populations. PMID:28250209

Ideas for Teaching Vision and Visioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quijada, Maria Alejandra

2017-01-01

In teaching leadership, a key element to include should be a discussion about vision: what it is, how to communicate it, and how to ensure that it is effective and shared. This article describes a series of exercises that rely on videos to illustrate different aspects of vision and visioning, both in the positive and in the negative. The article…

Stennis hosts NASA Night at Zephyr Field

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-08-20

NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center Director Patrick Scheuermann throws the first pitch of the game Aug. 20 at New Orleans Zephyr Field. Stennis employees traveled to New Orleans to host NASA Night at Zephyr Field. Stennis personnel provided a variety of activities and materials for persons attending a game between the New Orleans Zephyrs and the Las Vegas 51s.

Comparative day/night metatranscriptomic analysis of microbial communities in the North Pacific subtropical gyre.

PubMed

Poretsky, Rachel S; Hewson, Ian; Sun, Shulei; Allen, Andrew E; Zehr, Jonathan P; Moran, Mary Ann

2009-06-01

Metatranscriptomic analyses of microbial assemblages (< 5 microm) from surface water at the Hawaiian Ocean Time-Series (HOT) revealed community-wide metabolic activities and day/night patterns of differential gene expression. Pyrosequencing produced 75 558 putative mRNA reads from a day transcriptome and 75 946 from a night transcriptome. Taxonomic binning of annotated mRNAs indicated that Cyanobacteria contributed a greater percentage of the transcripts (54% of annotated sequences) than expected based on abundance (35% of cell counts and 21% 16S rRNA of libraries), and may represent the most actively transcribing cells in this surface ocean community in both the day and night. Major heterotrophic taxa contributing to the community transcriptome included alpha-Proteobacteria (19% of annotated sequences, most of which were SAR11-related) and gamma-Proteobacteria (4%). The composition of transcript pools was consistent with models of prokaryotic gene expression, including operon-based transcription patterns and an abundance of genes predicted to be highly expressed. Metabolic activities that are shared by many microbial taxa (e.g. glycolysis, citric acid cycle, amino acid biosynthesis and transcription and translation machinery) were well represented among the community transcripts. There was an overabundance of transcripts for photosynthesis, C1 metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation in the day compared with night, and evidence that energy acquisition is coordinated with solar radiation levels for both autotrophic and heterotrophic microbes. In contrast, housekeeping activities such as amino acid biosynthesis, membrane synthesis and repair, and vitamin biosynthesis were overrepresented in the night transcriptome. Direct sequencing of these environmental transcripts has provided detailed information on metabolic and biogeochemical responses of a microbial community to solar forcing.

[Oguchi disease or stationary congenital night blindness: a case report].

PubMed

Boissonnot, M; Robert, M F; Gilbert-Dussardier, B; Dighiero, P

2007-01-01

Oguchi disease, originally described in Japanese people, is a rare form of stationary night blindness in patients with normal acuity. We report the case of an 8-year-old girl who presented with an abnormal terrified behavior in the dark. Thorough questioning revealed hemeralopia. Her clinical examination (visual acuity, Goldmann visual field, and color vision) were normal. The fundus examination showed golden-brown color, grayish, almost greenish yellow discoloration in the peripheral area with no osteoclast. This abnormality disappeared after prolonged dark adaptation. The electroretinogram showed a reduced b wave amplitude under scotopic conditions. Her parents were cousins. This diagnosis should be suggested when hemeralopia is associated with typical fundus aspect resolving after dark adaptation (so called Mizuo-Nakamura phenomenon). The long-term prognosis in these patients is good in the absence of clinical progression. This is a genetic autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the gene coding for arrestin located in 2q37.1.

New Zealand's Christchurch Hospital at night: an audit of medical activity from 2230 to 0800 hours.

PubMed

Morton, John; Williams, Yvonne; Philpott, Mike

2006-03-31

To audit medical activity at Christchurch Hospital New Zealand between 2230 and 0800 hours; specifically, to measure the volumes of tasks requiring completion overnight and to identify the competencies required for this as well as the level of teamwork that existed. After a pilot study tested possible methods, Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) responsible for the care of adult patients at night were linked by a shift coordinator to recorders (mostly nursing students) trained to register the tasks performed, together with task urgency (as judged by the RMO) and duration. This information, checked each morning for completeness, was entered immediately into a database and analysed later. Telephonists logged all outbound calls through the hospital switchboard to on-call medical staff; theatre and admission records were recorded as usual. Anaesthetic and Radiology Registrar activity was self-recorded. Christchurch Hospital is a 650 bed tertiary centre, which covers most specialties. In the absence of leadership, the RMOs were not working as a team. Consequently some were overextended while others were inactive. House officer tasks were largely generic--not specialty specific; there was no formal handover from the afternoon or day shifts and the level of hospital medical staffing did not reflect the activity levels over the time period studied. A review of the beep policy is urgently needed. A third of the admissions were to General Medicine, and basic medical activities (including admitting, reviewing, and prescribing drugs and fluids) for patients admitted under all specialties represented the majority of the night workload. Medical registrars had reduced some of the traditional multiple clerking by admitting patients themselves. The workload and its distribution over time was remarkably similar to that found at the 17 pilot sites in the United Kingdom, where Out of Hours Multidisciplinary Teams (OoHMT) were introduced. We recommend that Christchurch Hospital use these

Determining Light Pollution of the Global Sky: GLOBE at Night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, S.; Meymaris, K.; Ward, D.; Walker, C.; Russell, R.; Pompea, S.; Salisbury, D.

2006-05-01

GLOBE at Night is an international science event designed to observe and record the visible stars as a means of measuring light pollution in a given location. Increased and robust understanding of our environment requires learning opportunities that take place outside of the conventional K-12 classroom and beyond the confines of the school day. This hands-on learning activity extended the traditional classroom and school day last March with a week of nighttime sky observations involving teachers, students and their families. The quality of the night sky for stellar observations is impacted by several factors including human activities. By observing cloud cover and locating specific constellations in the sky, students from around the world learned how the lights in their community contribute to light pollution, exploring the relationship between science, technology and their society. Students learned that light pollution impacts more than just the visibility of stars at night. Lights at night impact both the biology and ecology of many species in our environment. Students were able to participate in this global scientific campaign by submitting their observations through an online database, allowing for authentic worldwide research and analysis by participating scientists. Students and their families learned how latitude and longitude coordinates provide a location system to map and analyze the observation data submitted from around the globe. The collected data is available online for use by students, teachers and scientists worldwide to assess how the quality of the night sky varies around the world. This session will share how students and scientists across the globe can explore and analyze the results of this exciting campaign. GLOBE at Night is a collaborative effort sponsored by The GLOBE Program, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), Centro de Apoyo a la Didactica de la Astronomia (CADIAS), Windows to the Universe, and ESRI. The GLOBE Program is

Night airglow in RGB mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhalev, Aleksandr; Podlesny, Stepan; Stoeva, Penka

2016-09-01

To study dynamics of the upper atmosphere, we consider results of the night sky photometry, using a color CCD camera and taking into account the night airglow and features of its spectral composition. We use night airglow observations for 2010-2015, which have been obtained at the ISTP SB RAS Geophysical Observatory (52° N, 103° E) by the camera with KODAK KAI-11002 CCD sensor. We estimate the average brightness of the night sky in R, G, B channels of the color camera for eastern Siberia with typical values ranging from ~0.008 to 0.01 erg*cm-2*s-1. Besides, we determine seasonal variations in the night sky luminosities in R, G, B channels of the color camera. In these channels, luminosities decrease in spring, increase in autumn, and have a pronounced summer maximum, which can be explained by scattered light and is associated with the location of the Geophysical Observatory. We consider geophysical phenomena with their optical effects in R, G, B channels of the color camera. For some geophysical phenomena (geomagnetic storms, sudden stratospheric warmings), we demonstrate the possibility of the quantitative relationship between enhanced signals in R and G channels and increases in intensities of discrete 557.7 and 630 nm emissions, which are predominant in the airglow spectrum.

Complete Vision-Based Traffic Sign Recognition Supported by an I2V Communication System

PubMed Central

García-Garrido, Miguel A.; Ocaña, Manuel; Llorca, David F.; Arroyo, Estefanía; Pozuelo, Jorge; Gavilán, Miguel

2012-01-01

This paper presents a complete traffic sign recognition system based on vision sensor onboard a moving vehicle which detects and recognizes up to one hundred of the most important road signs, including circular and triangular signs. A restricted Hough transform is used as detection method from the information extracted in contour images, while the proposed recognition system is based on Support Vector Machines (SVM). A novel solution to the problem of discarding detected signs that do not pertain to the host road is proposed. For that purpose infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication and a stereo vision sensor are used. Furthermore, the outputs provided by the vision sensor and the data supplied by the CAN Bus and a GPS sensor are combined to obtain the global position of the detected traffic signs, which is used to identify a traffic sign in the I2V communication. This paper presents plenty of tests in real driving conditions, both day and night, in which an average detection rate over 95% and an average recognition rate around 93% were obtained with an average runtime of 35 ms that allows real-time performance. PMID:22438704

Complete vision-based traffic sign recognition supported by an I2V communication system.

PubMed

García-Garrido, Miguel A; Ocaña, Manuel; Llorca, David F; Arroyo, Estefanía; Pozuelo, Jorge; Gavilán, Miguel

2012-01-01

This paper presents a complete traffic sign recognition system based on vision sensor onboard a moving vehicle which detects and recognizes up to one hundred of the most important road signs, including circular and triangular signs. A restricted Hough transform is used as detection method from the information extracted in contour images, while the proposed recognition system is based on Support Vector Machines (SVM). A novel solution to the problem of discarding detected signs that do not pertain to the host road is proposed. For that purpose infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication and a stereo vision sensor are used. Furthermore, the outputs provided by the vision sensor and the data supplied by the CAN Bus and a GPS sensor are combined to obtain the global position of the detected traffic signs, which is used to identify a traffic sign in the I2V communication. This paper presents plenty of tests in real driving conditions, both day and night, in which an average detection rate over 95% and an average recognition rate around 93% were obtained with an average runtime of 35 ms that allows real-time performance.

Day/night difference in extradural cortical stimulation for motor relearning in a subacute stroke rat model.

PubMed

Kim, Joo Yeon; Sun, Woong; Park, Eunhee; Lee, Jiyeong; Kim, Hyun; Shin, Yong-Il; Kim, Yun-Hee; Chang, Won Hyuk

2016-02-24

The aim of this study was to assess the proper timing of extradural cortical stimulation (ECS) on the motor relearning in a rat model of subacute photothrombotic stroke. Photothrombotic infarction was induced on the dominant sensorimotor cortex in male Sprague-Dawley rats after training in a single-pellet reaching task (SPRT). Rats were randomly divided into three groups after stroke: ECS during the inactive period (Day-ECS group), ECS during the active period (Night-ECS group) and no ECS (Non-stimulated group). Six sham-operated rats were assigned to the control group. The Day- and Night-ECS group received continuous ECS for 12 hours during the day or night for 2 weeks from day 4 after the stroke. Behavioral assessment with SPRT was performed daily. SPRT showed a significantly faster and greater improvement in the Day and Night-ECS groups than in the Non-stimulated group. In the Day- and Night-ECS groups, the success rate of SPRT differed significantly from Non-stimulated group on day 11 and day 8, respectively. In addition, the Night-ECS group showed a significantly higher SPRT success rate than the Day-ECS group from days 10 to 13. ECS during the active period might be more effective for motor relearning in the subacute stroke rat model.

Evaluation of status of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium levels in biological samples in children of different age groups with normal vision and night blindness.

PubMed

Afridi, Hassan Imran; Kazi, Tasneem Gul; Kazi, Naveed; Kandhro, Ghulam Abbas; Baig, Jameel Ahmed; Shah, Abdul Qadir; Khan, Sumaira; Kolachi, Nida Fatima; Wadhwa, Sham Kumar; Shah, Faheem

2011-01-01

The most common cause of blindness in developing countries is vitamin A deficiency. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 13.8 million children have some degree of visual loss related to vitamin A deficiency. The causes of night blindness in children are multifactorial and particular consideration has been given to childhood nutritional deficiency, which is the most common problem found in underdeveloped countries. Such deficiency can result in physiological and pathological processes that in turn influence biological sample composition. Vitamin and mineral deficiency prevents more than two billion people from achieving their full intellectual and physical potential. This study was designed to compare the levels of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), and sodium (Na) in scalp hair, serum, blood, and urine of night blindness children in two age groups, (1-5) and (6-10) years, of both genders comparing them to sex- and age-matched controls. A microwave assisted wet acid digestion procedure was developed as a sample pretreatment for the determination of Mg, Ca, K, and Na in biological samples of children with night blindness. The proposed method was validated by using conventional wet digestion and certified reference samples of hair, serum, blood, and urine. The digests of all biological samples were analysed for Mg, Ca, K, and Na by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) using an air/acetylene flame. The results indicated significantly lower levels of Mg, Ca, and K in the biological samples (blood, serum, and scalp hair) of male and female children with night blindness and higher values of Na compared with control subjects of both genders. These data present guidance to clinicians and other professionals investigating deficiency of essential mineral elements in biological samples (scalp hair, serum, and blood) of children with night blindness.

Benchmarking neuromorphic vision: lessons learnt from computer vision

PubMed Central

Tan, Cheston; Lallee, Stephane; Orchard, Garrick

2015-01-01

Neuromorphic Vision sensors have improved greatly since the first silicon retina was presented almost three decades ago. They have recently matured to the point where they are commercially available and can be operated by laymen. However, despite improved availability of sensors, there remains a lack of good datasets, while algorithms for processing spike-based visual data are still in their infancy. On the other hand, frame-based computer vision algorithms are far more mature, thanks in part to widely accepted datasets which allow direct comparison between algorithms and encourage competition. We are presented with a unique opportunity to shape the development of Neuromorphic Vision benchmarks and challenges by leveraging what has been learnt from the use of datasets in frame-based computer vision. Taking advantage of this opportunity, in this paper we review the role that benchmarks and challenges have played in the advancement of frame-based computer vision, and suggest guidelines for the creation of Neuromorphic Vision benchmarks and challenges. We also discuss the unique challenges faced when benchmarking Neuromorphic Vision algorithms, particularly when attempting to provide direct comparison with frame-based computer vision. PMID:26528120

Low night temperature effect on photosynthate translocation of two C4 grasses.

PubMed

Potvin, C; Strain, B R; Goeschl, J D

1985-10-01

Translocation of assimilates in plants of Echinochloa crus-galli, from Quebec and Mississippi, and of Eleusine indica from Mississippi was monitored, before and after night chilling, using radioactive tracing with the short-life isotope 11 C. Plants were grown at 28°/22°C (day/night temperatures) under either 350 or 675 μl·l -1 CO 2 . Low night temperature reduced translocation mainly by increasing the turn-over times of the export pool. E. crus-galli plants from Mississippi were the most susceptible to chilling; translocation being completely inhibited by exposure for one night to 7°C at 350 μl·l -1 CO 2 . Overall, plants from Quebec were the most tolerant to chilling-stress. For plants of all three populations, growth under CO 2 enrichment resulted in higher 11 C activity in the leaf phloem. High CO 2 concentrations also seemed to buffer the transport system against chilling injuries.

Night driving simulation in a randomized prospective comparison of Visian toric implantable collamer lens and conventional PRK for moderate to high myopic astigmatism.

PubMed

Schallhorn, Steven; Tanzer, David; Sanders, Donald R; Sanders, Monica; Brown, Mitch; Kaupp, Sandor E

2010-05-01

To compare changes in simulated night driving performance after Visian Toric Implantable Collamer Lens (TICL; STAAR Surgical) implantation and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for the correction of moderate to high myopic astigmatism. This prospective, randomized study consisted of 43 eyes implanted with the TICL (20 bilateral cases) and 45 eyes receiving conventional PRK (VISX Star S3 excimer laser) with mitomycin C (22 bilateral cases) for moderate to high myopia (-6.00 to -20.00 diopters[D] sphere) measured at the spectacle plane and 1.00 to 4.00 D of astigmatism. As a substudy, 27 eyes of 14 TICL patients and 41 eyes of 21 PRK patients underwent a simulated night driving test. The detection and identification distances of road signs and hazards with the Night Driving Simulator (Vision Sciences Research Corp) were measured with and without a glare source before and 6 months after each procedure. No significant difference was noted in the pre- to postoperative Night Driving Simulator in detection distances with and without the glare source between the TICL and PRK groups. The differences in identification distances without glare were significantly better for business and traffic road signs and pedestrian hazards in the TICL group relative to the PRK group whereas with glare, only the pedestrian hazards were significantly better. A clinically relevant change of Night Driving Simulator performance (>0.5 seconds change in ability to identify tasks postoperatively) was significantly better in the TICL group (with and without glare) for all identification tasks. The TICL performed better than conventional PRK in the pre- to postoperative Night Driving Simulator testing with and without a glare source present. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Foundation doctors working at night: what training opportunities exist?

PubMed

Coomber, R; Smith, D; McGuinness, D; Shao, E; Soobrah, R; Frankel, A H

2014-07-01

Foundation Training is designed for doctors in their first two years of post-graduation. The number of foundation doctors (FD) in the UK working nights has reduced because of a perception that clinical supervision at night is unsatisfactory and that minimal training opportunities exist. We aimed to assess the value of night shifts to FDs and hypothesised that removing FDs from nights may be detrimental to training. Using a survey, we assessed the number of FDs working nights in London, FDs views on working nights and their supervision at night. We evaluated whether working at night, compared to daytime working provided opportunities to achieve foundation competencies. 83% (N = 2157/2593) of FDs completed the survey. Over 90% of FDs who worked nights felt that the experience they gained improved their ability to prioritise, make decisions and plan. FDs who worked nights reported higher scores for achieving competencies in history taking (2.67 vs. 2.51; p = 0.00), examination (2.72 vs. 2.59; p = 0.01) and resuscitation (2.27 vs. 1.96; p = 0.00). The majority (65%) felt adequately supervised. Our survey has demonstrated that FDs find working nights a valuable experience, providing important training opportunities, which are additional to those encountered during daytime working.

Multispectral image-fused head-tracked vision system (HTVS) for driving applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reese, Colin E.; Bender, Edward J.

2001-08-01

Current military thermal driver vision systems consist of a single Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) sensor mounted on a manually operated gimbal, which is normally locked forward during driving. The sensor video imagery is presented on a large area flat panel display for direct view. The Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate and Kaiser Electronics are cooperatively working to develop a driver's Head Tracked Vision System (HTVS) which directs dual waveband sensors in a more natural head-slewed imaging mode. The HTVS consists of LWIR and image intensified sensors, a high-speed gimbal, a head mounted display, and a head tracker. The first prototype systems have been delivered and have undergone preliminary field trials to characterize the operational benefits of a head tracked sensor system for tactical military ground applications. This investigation will address the advantages of head tracked vs. fixed sensor systems regarding peripheral sightings of threats, road hazards, and nearby vehicles. An additional thrust will investigate the degree to which additive (A+B) fusion of LWIR and image intensified sensors enhances overall driving performance. Typically, LWIR sensors are better for detecting threats, while image intensified sensors provide more natural scene cues, such as shadows and texture. This investigation will examine the degree to which the fusion of these two sensors enhances the driver's overall situational awareness.

Menstrual characteristics and night work among nurses.

PubMed

Moen, Bente E; Baste, Valborg; Morken, Tone; Alsaker, Kjersti; Pallesen, Ståle; Bjorvatn, Bjørn

2015-01-01

Night work has been associated with adverse effects in terms of reproductive health. Specifically, menstruation has been suggested to be negatively impacted by night work, which again may influence fertility. This study investigated whether working nights is related to menstrual characteristics and if there is a relationship between shift work disorder (SWD) and menstruation. The study was cross-sectional, response rate 38%. The sample comprised female nurses who were members of the Norwegian Nurses Association; below 50 yr of age, who were not pregnant, did not use hormonal pills or intrauterine devices and who had not reached menopause (n=766). The nurses answered a postal survey including questions about night work and menstrual characteristics. Fifteen per cent reported to have irregular menstruations. Thirty-nine per cent of the nurses were classified as having SWD. Logistic regression analyses concerning the relationship between irregular menstruations and night work did not show any associations. Furthermore, no associations were found between cycle length or bleeding period and night work parameters. No associations were found between menstrual characteristics and SWD.

Menstrual characteristics and night work among nurses

PubMed Central

MOEN, Bente E.; BASTE, Valborg; MORKEN, Tone; ALSAKER, Kjersti; PALLESEN, Ståle; BJORVATN, Bjørn

2015-01-01

Night work has been associated with adverse effects in terms of reproductive health. Specifically, menstruation has been suggested to be negatively impacted by night work, which again may influence fertility. This study investigated whether working nights is related to menstrual characteristics and if there is a relationship between shift work disorder (SWD) and menstruation. The study was cross-sectional, response rate 38%. The sample comprised female nurses who were members of the Norwegian Nurses Association; below 50 yr of age, who were not pregnant, did not use hormonal pills or intrauterine devices and who had not reached menopause (n=766). The nurses answered a postal survey including questions about night work and menstrual characteristics. Fifteen per cent reported to have irregular menstruations. Thirty-nine per cent of the nurses were classified as having SWD. Logistic regression analyses concerning the relationship between irregular menstruations and night work did not show any associations. Furthermore, no associations were found between cycle length or bleeding period and night work parameters. No associations were found between menstrual characteristics and SWD. PMID:25914071

Case Report: Use of Sports and Performance Vision Training to Benefit a Low-vision Patient's Function.

PubMed

Laby, Daniel M

2018-05-17

Despite our inability to attenuate the course of many ocular diseases that can ultimately lead to loss or significantly decreased visual function, this report describes a potential technique to aid such patients in maximizing the use of the vision that remains. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the applicability of utilizing sports vision training to improve objective and subjective visuomotor function in a low-vision patient. A 37-year-old woman with Usher syndrome presented with reduced central visual acuity and visual field. Although we were unable to reverse the damage resulting from her diagnosis, we were able to improve the use of the remaining vision. A 27 to 31% improvement in hand-eye coordination was achieved along with a 41% improvement in object tracking and visual concentration. Most importantly, following the 14-week training period, there was also a subjective improvement in the patient's appreciation of her visual ability. The sports vision literature cites many examples in which sports vision training is useful in improving visuomotor and on-field performance. We hypothesized that these techniques may be used to aid not only athletes but also patients with low vision. Despite suffering from reduced acuity and a limited visual field, these patients often still have a significant amount of vision ability that can be used to guide motor actions. Using techniques to increase the efficient use of this remaining vision may reduce the impact of the reduced visual function and aid in activities of daily living.

A Rodent Model of Night-Shift Work Induces Short-Term and Enduring Sleep and Electroencephalographic Disturbances.

PubMed

Grønli, Janne; Meerlo, Peter; Pedersen, Torhild T; Pallesen, Ståle; Skrede, Silje; Marti, Andrea R; Wisor, Jonathan P; Murison, Robert; Henriksen, Tone E G; Rempe, Michael J; Mrdalj, Jelena

2017-02-01

Millions of people worldwide are working at times that overlap with the normal time for sleep. Sleep problems related to the work schedule may mediate the well-established relationship between shift work and increased risk for disease, occupational errors and accidents. Yet, our understanding of causality and the underlying mechanisms that explain this relationship is limited. We aimed to assess the consequences of night-shift work for sleep and to examine whether night-shift work-induced sleep disturbances may yield electrophysiological markers of impaired maintenance of the waking brain state. An experimental model developed in rats simulated a 4-day protocol of night-work in humans. Two groups of rats underwent 8-h sessions of enforced ambulation, either at the circadian time when the animal was physiologically primed for wakefulness (active-workers, mimicking day-shift) or for sleep (rest-workers, mimicking night-shift). The 4-day rest-work schedule induced a pronounced redistribution of sleep to the endogenous active phase. Rest-work also led to higher electroencephalogram (EEG) slow-wave (1-4 Hz) energy in quiet wakefulness during work-sessions, suggesting a degraded waking state. After the daily work-sessions, being in their endogenous active phase, rest-workers slept less and had higher gamma (80-90 Hz) activity during wake than active-workers. Finally, rest-work induced an enduring shift in the main sleep period and attenuated the accumulation of slow-wave energy during NREM sleep. A comparison of recovery data from 12:12 LD and constant dark conditions suggests that reduced time in NREM sleep throughout the recorded 7-day recovery phase induced by rest-work may be modulated by circadian factors. Our data in rats show that enforced night-work-like activity during the normal resting phase has pronounced acute and persistent effects on sleep and waking behavior. The study also underscores the potential importance of animal models for future studies on the

Analysis of circadian properties and healthy levels of blue light from smartphones at night

PubMed Central

Oh, Ji Hye; Yoo, Heeyeon; Park, Hoo Keun; Do, Young Rag

2015-01-01

This study proposes representative figures of merit for circadian and vision performance for healthy and efficient use of smartphone displays. The recently developed figures of merit for circadian luminous efficacy of radiation (CER) and circadian illuminance (CIL) related to human health and circadian rhythm were measured to compare three kinds of commercial smartphone displays. The CIL values for social network service (SNS) messenger screens from all three displays were higher than 41.3 biolux (blx) in a dark room at night, and the highest CIL value reached 50.9 blx. These CIL values corresponded to melatonin suppression values (MSVs) of 7.3% and 11.4%, respectively. Moreover, smartphone use in a bright room at night had much higher CIL and MSV values (58.7 ~ 105.2 blx and 15.4 ~ 36.1%, respectively). This study also analyzed the nonvisual and visual optical properties of the three smartphone displays while varying the distance between the screen and eye and controlling the brightness setting. Finally, a method to possibly attenuate the unhealthy effects of smartphone displays was proposed and investigated by decreasing the emitting wavelength of blue LEDs in a smartphone LCD backlight and subsequently reducing the circadian effect of the display. PMID:26085126

Analysis of circadian properties and healthy levels of blue light from smartphones at night.

PubMed

Oh, Ji Hye; Yoo, Heeyeon; Park, Hoo Keun; Do, Young Rag

2015-06-18

This study proposes representative figures of merit for circadian and vision performance for healthy and efficient use of smartphone displays. The recently developed figures of merit for circadian luminous efficacy of radiation (CER) and circadian illuminance (CIL) related to human health and circadian rhythm were measured to compare three kinds of commercial smartphone displays. The CIL values for social network service (SNS) messenger screens from all three displays were higher than 41.3 biolux (blx) in a dark room at night, and the highest CIL value reached 50.9 blx. These CIL values corresponded to melatonin suppression values (MSVs) of 7.3% and 11.4%, respectively. Moreover, smartphone use in a bright room at night had much higher CIL and MSV values (58.7 ~ 105.2 blx and 15.4 ~ 36.1%, respectively). This study also analyzed the nonvisual and visual optical properties of the three smartphone displays while varying the distance between the screen and eye and controlling the brightness setting. Finally, a method to possibly attenuate the unhealthy effects of smartphone displays was proposed and investigated by decreasing the emitting wavelength of blue LEDs in a smartphone LCD backlight and subsequently reducing the circadian effect of the display.

Analysis of circadian properties and healthy levels of blue light from smartphones at night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Ji Hye; Yoo, Heeyeon; Park, Hoo Keun; Do, Young Rag

2015-06-01

This study proposes representative figures of merit for circadian and vision performance for healthy and efficient use of smartphone displays. The recently developed figures of merit for circadian luminous efficacy of radiation (CER) and circadian illuminance (CIL) related to human health and circadian rhythm were measured to compare three kinds of commercial smartphone displays. The CIL values for social network service (SNS) messenger screens from all three displays were higher than 41.3 biolux (blx) in a dark room at night, and the highest CIL value reached 50.9 blx. These CIL values corresponded to melatonin suppression values (MSVs) of 7.3% and 11.4%, respectively. Moreover, smartphone use in a bright room at night had much higher CIL and MSV values (58.7 ~ 105.2 blx and 15.4 ~ 36.1%, respectively). This study also analyzed the nonvisual and visual optical properties of the three smartphone displays while varying the distance between the screen and eye and controlling the brightness setting. Finally, a method to possibly attenuate the unhealthy effects of smartphone displays was proposed and investigated by decreasing the emitting wavelength of blue LEDs in a smartphone LCD backlight and subsequently reducing the circadian effect of the display.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus drives day-night variations in postprandial triglyceride uptake into skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue.

PubMed

Moran-Ramos, Sofía; Guerrero-Vargas, Natali N; Mendez-Hernandez, Rebeca; Basualdo, Maria Del Carmen; Escobar, Carolina; Buijs, Ruud M

2017-12-01

What is the central question of this study? What are the factors influencing day-night variations in postprandial triglycerides? What is the main finding and its importance? Rats show low postprandial plasma triglyceride concentrations early in the active period that are attributable to a higher uptake by skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue. We show that these day-night variations in uptake are driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus, probably via a Rev-erbα-mediated mechanism and independent of locomotor activity. These findings highlight that the suprachiasmatic nucleus has a major role in day-night variations in plasma triglycerides and that disturbances in our biological clock might be an important risk factor contributing to development of postprandial hyperlipidaemia. Energy metabolism follows a diurnal pattern, mainly driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and disruption of circadian regulation has been linked to metabolic abnormalities. Indeed, epidemiological evidence shows that night work is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and postprandial hyperlipidaemia is an important contributor. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the factors that drive day-night variations in postprandial triglycerides (TGs). Intact and SCN-lesioned male Wistar rats were subjected to an oral fat challenge during the beginning of the rest phase (day) or the beginning of the active phase (night). The plasma TG profile was evaluated and tissue TG uptake assayed. After the fat challenge, intact rats showed lower postprandial plasma TG concentrations early in the night when compared with the day. However, no differences were observed in the rate of intestinal TG secretion between day and night. Instead, there was a higher uptake of TG by skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue early in the active phase (night) when compared with the rest phase (day), and these variations were abolished in rats bearing bilateral SCN lesions. Rev-erbα gene expression

The night sky brightness at McDonald Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalinowski, J. K.; Roosen, R. G.; Brandt, J. C.

1975-01-01

Baseline observations of the night sky brightness in B and V are presented for McDonald Observatory. In agreement with earlier work by Elvey and Rudnick (1937) and Elvey (1943), significant night-to-night and same-night variations in sky brightness are found. Possible causes for these variations are discussed. The largest variation in sky brightness found during a single night is approximately a factor of two, a value which corresponds to a factor-of-four variation in airglow brightness. The data are used to comment on the accuracy of previously published surface photometry of M 81.

Healthy Diet And Reduction Of Chronic Disease Risks Of Night Shift Workers.

PubMed

Ferri, Giovanni M; Cavone, Domenica; Intranuovo, Graziana; Macinagrossa, Linda

2017-07-20

The large increase in epidemiological studies on night shift work is due to the important effects of night shift work on workers' health and psychophysical wellbeing. The short-term effects-insomnia, difficulties in managing work and private life, lower work performance, and more work and extra-work accidents-are easily studied. However, there are several long-term effects that are difficult to study because of the need for detailed exposure assessment and the long latency periods of these diseases. The aim was to collect epidemiologic evidence of diseases in night shift workers, describing their biological pathways and a set of dietary guidelines. This is a review on diet and health effects in night shift workers. Significant increases in the rate ratios and hazard ratios of different diseases were associated with modified eating behaviours and poor eating habits among night shift workers. Night shift work is a risk factor for disruption of the circadian rhythms and for some genetic deregulation because it produces the inversion of the sleep/wake cycle and modifies the alternation between activity and rest. A healthy diet and improved dietary practices, together with other factors, can reduce shift workers' chronic disease risk. The literature showed the importance of eating behaviour in order to prevent diseases in these workers; therefore, educational programmes are necessary to encourage several important lifestyle changes. The target of our future research will be the role of food components in some dietetic habits for the prevention of disease in night shift workers. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Starry Nights: The Great World Wide Star Count

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, D. L.; Meymaris, K.; Russell, R.; Gallagher, S.

2007-12-01

Increased and robust understanding of our environment requires learning opportunities that take place outside of the conventional K-12 classroom and beyond the confines of the school day. There has been an increase in extracurricular activities that bring students into the "real world", sometimes spanning past the regular school year, and often times including other family and/or community members. Citizen science or public engagement activities are becoming available across many disciplines and are attracting the attention of people of all ages. The Great World Wide Star Count is an international citizen science event encouraging everyone to go outside, look skywards after dark, count the stars they see in certain constellations, and report what they see online. This inaugural Windows After Dark event is designed to raise awareness about light pollution and the night sky as well as promote learning in astronomy. The activities of Star Count benefit from the current excitement in citizen science, with 15 nights of observing in October. Utilizing the international networking capabilities of Windows to the Universe, Star Count is able to engage people around the world. Data collection and online reporting is designed to be simple and user-friendly for citizen- scientists of all ages. The collected data is available online in a variety of formats for use by students, teachers and scientists worldwide to assess how the quality of the night sky varies around the world. This session will share our results and demonstrate how students and scientists worldwide can explore and analyze the results of this exciting campaign. We will discuss how the project team planned and executed the project in such a way that non-astronomers were able to make valid and useful contributions. We will also discuss lessons learned and best practices based on this inaugural campaign.

The influence of day/night cycles on biomass yield and composition of Neochloris oleoabundans.

PubMed

de Winter, Lenneke; Cabanelas, Iago Teles Dominguez; Martens, Dirk E; Wijffels, René H; Barbosa, Maria J

2017-01-01

Day/night cycles regulate the circadian clock of organisms to program daily activities. Many species of microalgae have a synchronized cell division when grown under a day/night cycle, and synchronization might influence biomass yield and composition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to study the influence of day/night cycle on biomass yield and composition of the green microalgae Neochloris oleoabundans . Hence, we compared continuous turbidostat cultures grown under continuous light with cultures grown under simulated day/night cycles. Under day/night cycles, cultures were synchronized as cell division was scheduled in the night, whereas under continuous light cell division occurred randomly synchronized cultures were able to use the light 10-15% more efficiently than non-synchronized cultures. Our results indicate that the efficiency of light use varies over the cell cycle and that synchronized cell division provides a fitness benefit to microalgae. Biomass composition under day/night cycles was similar to continuous light, with the exception of starch content. The starch content was higher in cultures under continuous light, most likely because the cells never had to respire starch to cover for maintenance during dark periods. Day/night cycles were provided in a 'block' (continuous light intensity during the light period) and in a 'sine' (using a sine function to simulate light intensities from sunrise to sunset). There were no differences in biomass yield or composition between these two ways of providing light (in a 'block' or in a 'sine'). The biomass yield and composition of N. oleoabundans were influenced by day/night cycles. These results are important to better understand the relations between research done under continuous light conditions and with day/night cycle conditions. Our findings also imply that more research should be done under day/night cycles.

14 CFR 61.31 - Type rating requirements, additional training, and authorization requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... holder is already qualified. (k) Additional training required for night vision goggle operations. (1... aircraft using night vision goggles only if that person receives and logs ground training from an...: (i) Applicable portions of this chapter that relate to night vision goggle limitations and flight...

14 CFR 61.31 - Type rating requirements, additional training, and authorization requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... holder is already qualified. (k) Additional training required for night vision goggle operations. (1... aircraft using night vision goggles only if that person receives and logs ground training from an...: (i) Applicable portions of this chapter that relate to night vision goggle limitations and flight...

Integrating National Space Visions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherwood, Brent

2006-01-01

This paper examines value proposition assumptions for various models nations may use to justify, shape, and guide their space programs. Nations organize major societal investments like space programs to actualize national visions represented by leaders as investments in the public good. The paper defines nine 'vision drivers' that circumscribe the motivations evidently underpinning national space programs. It then describes 19 fundamental space activity objectives (eight extant and eleven prospective) that nations already do or could in the future use to actualize the visions they select. Finally the paper presents four contrasting models of engagement among nations, and compares these models to assess realistic pounds on the pace of human progress in space over the coming decades. The conclusion is that orthogonal engagement, albeit unlikely because it is unprecedented, would yield the most robust and rapid global progress.

Making Space Cool - Successful Outreach at Yuri's Night Stuttgart

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Christine; Bretschneider, Jens; Nathanson, Emil; Grossmann, Agnes

Yuri’s Night - also known as the “World Space Party” - is the annual celebration commemorating Gagarin’s historic flight on April 12, 1961, and the maiden voyage of the American space shuttle on April 12, 1981. It was created by young space enthusiasts in 2000 at the annual Space Generation Congress and was first celebrated in 2001, registering more than 60 events around the world from the start. Since then the interest in celebrating human spaceflight grew constantly to over 350 events across all seven continents in 2013. The honoring of Yuri Gagarin’s first spaceflight in Stuttgart started in 2007 and resulted in one of the largest events outside the US, with five parties following in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. The Stuttgart event was originally organized as space party for an audience at the age of 20 and beyond including informative aspects at the afternoon and a following party far into the night. Since 2010 the focus of the Yuri’s Night Stuttgart is to bring awareness of space exploration to people of all ages, including particularly many participatory hands-on space activities for kids and families that attract hundreds of visitors every year. As much as Yuri’s Night is a worldwide party, the events in Stuttgart successfully concentrate on educational aspects that help to inspire new generations of space enthusiasts who will ultimately shape the future of space exploration. It is therefore not only a look back to one of the greatest achievements of the 20th Century, but it is also a look into the future: from multinational cooperation on the International Space Station to benefit of space flight to the introduction of the next generation of space technology. This paper will introduce the celebrations of Yuri’s Night in Stuttgart of the past four years and compare them to the early events. It provides a summary of the development of the Yuri’s Night including educational aspects, public relations and media attraction and gives

The effects of early and late night partial sleep deprivation on automatic and selective attention: An ERP study.

PubMed

Zerouali, Younes; Jemel, Boutheina; Godbout, Roger

2010-01-13

The link between decrease in levels of attention and total sleep deprivation is well known but the respective contributions of slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM) is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of sleep deprivation during the SWS phase (i.e., early night sleep) and the REM phase (i.e., late night sleep) on tasks that tap automatic and selective attention; these two forms of attention were indexed respectively by "mismatch negativity" (MMN) and "negative difference" (Nd) event-related potential (ERP) difference waves. Ten young adult participants were subjected to a three-night sleep protocol. They were each received one night of full sleep (F), one night of sleep deprivation during the first half of the night (H1), and one night of sleep deprivation during the second half of the night (H2). MMN and Nd were recorded the following morning of each night during two auditory oddball tasks that tapped automatic and selective attention. The effect of sleep deprivation condition was assessed using ERP amplitude measures and standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography method (sLORETA). ERP results revealed significant MMN amplitude reduction over frontal and temporal recording areas following the H2 night compared to F and H1, indicating reductions in levels of automatic attention. In addition, Nd amplitude over the parietal recording area was significantly increased following the H2 night compared to F and H1. sLORETA findings show significant changes from F to H2 night in frontal cortex activity, decreasing during the automatic attention task but increasing during the selective attention task. No significant change in brain activity is observed after H1 night. The restoration of attention processes is mainly achieved during REM sleep, which confirms results from previous studies in rat models. The anterior cortex seems to be more sensitive to sleep loss, while the parietal cortex acts as a

Colour, vision and ergonomics.

PubMed

Pinheiro, Cristina; da Silva, Fernando Moreira

2012-01-01

This paper is based on a research project - Visual Communication and Inclusive Design-Colour, Legibility and Aged Vision, developed at the Faculty of Architecture of Lisbon. The research has the aim of determining specific design principles to be applied to visual communication design (printed) objects, in order to be easily read and perceived by all. This study target group was composed by a selection of socially active individuals, between 55 and 80 years, and we used cultural events posters as objects of study and observation. The main objective is to overlap the study of areas such as colour, vision, older people's colour vision, ergonomics, chromatic contrasts, typography and legibility. In the end we will produce a manual with guidelines and information to apply scientific knowledge into the communication design projectual practice. Within the normal aging process, visual functions gradually decline; the quality of vision worsens, colour vision and contrast sensitivity are also affected. As people's needs change along with age, design should help people and communities, and improve life quality in the present. Applying principles of visually accessible design and ergonomics, the printed design objects, (or interior spaces, urban environments, products, signage and all kinds of visually information) will be effective, easier on everyone's eyes not only for visually impaired people but also for all of us as we age.

The crowding factor method applied to parafoveal vision

PubMed Central

Ghahghaei, Saeideh; Walker, Laura

2016-01-01

Crowding increases with eccentricity and is most readily observed in the periphery. During natural, active vision, however, central vision plays an important role. Measures of critical distance to estimate crowding are difficult in central vision, as these distances are small. Any overlap of flankers with the target may create an overlay masking confound. The crowding factor method avoids this issue by simultaneously modulating target size and flanker distance and using a ratio to compare crowded to uncrowded conditions. This method was developed and applied in the periphery (Petrov & Meleshkevich, 2011b). In this work, we apply the method to characterize crowding in parafoveal vision (<3.5 visual degrees) with spatial uncertainty. We find that eccentricity and hemifield have less impact on crowding than in the periphery, yet radial/tangential asymmetries are clearly preserved. There are considerable idiosyncratic differences observed between participants. The crowding factor method provides a powerful tool for examining crowding in central and peripheral vision, which will be useful in future studies that seek to understand visual processing under natural, active viewing conditions. PMID:27690170

Controlled patterns of daytime light exposure improve circadian adjustment in simulated night work.

PubMed

Dumont, Marie; Blais, Hélène; Roy, Joanie; Paquet, Jean

2009-10-01

Circadian misalignment between the endogenous circadian signal and the imposed rest-activity cycle is one of the main sources of sleep and health troubles in night shift workers. Timed bright light exposure during night work can reduce circadian misalignment in night workers, but this approach is limited by difficulties in incorporating bright light treatment into most workplaces. Controlled light and dark exposure during the daytime also has a significant impact on circadian phase and could be easier to implement in real-life situations. The authors previously described distinctive light exposure patterns in night nurses with and without circadian adaptation. In the present study, the main features of these patterns were used to design daytime light exposure profiles. Profiles were then tested in a laboratory simulation of night work to evaluate their efficacy in reducing circadian misalignment in night workers. The simulation included 2 day shifts followed by 4 consecutive night shifts (2400-0800 h). Healthy subjects (15 men and 23 women; 20-35 years old) were divided into 3 groups to test 3 daytime light exposure profiles designed to produce respectively a phase delay (delay group, n=12), a phase advance (advance group, n=13), or an unchanged circadian phase (stable group, n=13). In all 3 groups, light intensity was set at 50 lux during the nights of simulated night work. Salivary dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) showed a significant phase advance of 2.3 h (+/-1.3 h) in the advance group and a significant phase delay of 4.1 h (+/-1.3 h) in the delay group. The stable group showed a smaller but significant phase delay of 1.7 h (+/-1.6 h). Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) acrophases were highly correlated to salivary DLMOs. Urinary aMT6s acrophases were used to track daily phase shifts. They showed that phase shifts occurred rapidly and differed between the 3 groups by the 3rd night of simulated night work. These results show that significant phase shifts can

Dark nights reverse metabolic disruption caused by dim light at night.

PubMed

Fonken, L K; Weil, Z M; Nelson, R J

2013-06-01

The increasing prevalence of obesity and related metabolic disorders coincides with increasing exposure to light at night. Previous studies report that mice exposed to dim light at night (dLAN) develop symptoms of metabolic syndrome. This study investigated whether mice returned to dark nights after dLAN exposure recover metabolic function. Male Swiss-Webster mice were assigned to either: standard light-dark (LD) conditions for 8 weeks (LD/LD), dLAN for 8 weeks (dLAN/dLAN), LD for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks of dLAN (LD/dLAN), and dLAN for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks of LD (dLAN/LD). After 4 weeks in their respective lighting conditions both groups initially placed in dLAN increased body mass gain compared to LD mice. Half of the dLAN mice (dLAN/LD) were then transferred to LD and vice versa (LD/dLAN). Following the transfer dLAN/dLAN and LD/dLAN mice gained more weight than LD/LD and dLAN/LD mice. At the conclusion of the study dLAN/LD mice did not differ from LD/LD mice with respect to weight gain and had lower fat pad mass compared to dLAN/dLAN mice. Compared to all other groups dLAN/dLAN mice decreased glucose tolerance as indicated by an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test at week 7, indicating that dLAN/LD mice recovered glucose metabolism. dLAN/dLAN mice also increased MAC1 mRNA expression in peripheral fat as compared to both LD/LD and dLAN/LD mice, suggesting peripheral inflammation is induced by dLAN, but not sustained after return to LD. These results suggest that re-exposure to dark nights ameliorates metabolic disruption caused by dLAN exposure. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

Using blue-green light at night and blue-blockers during the day to improves adaptation to night work: a pilot study.

PubMed

Sasseville, Alexandre; Hébert, Marc

2010-10-01

Bright light at night paired with darkness during the day seem to facilitate adaptation to night work. Considering the biological clock sensitive to short wavelengths, we investigated the possibility of adaptation in shift workers exposed to blue-green light at night, combined with using blue-blockers during the day. Four sawmill shift workers were evaluated during two weeks of night shifts (control and experimental) and one week of day shifts. Throughout the experimental week, ambient light (approximately 130 lx) was supplemented with blue-green light (200 lx) from 00:00 h to: 05:00 h on Monday and Tuesday, 06:00 h on Wednesday and 07:00 h on Thursday. Blue-blockers had to be worn outside from the end of the night shift until 16:00 h. For circadian assessment, salivary melatonin profiles were obtained between 00:00 h and 08:00 h, before and after 4 experimental night shifts. Sleep was continuously monitored with actigraphy and subjective vigilance was measured at the beginning, the middle and the end of each night and day shifts. The error percentage in wood board classification was used as an index of performance. Through experimental week, melatonin profiles of 3 participants have shifted by at least 2 hours. Improvements were observed in sleep parameters and subjective vigilance from the third night (Wednesday) as performance increased on the fourth night (Thursday) from 5.14% to 1.36% of errors (p=0.04). Strategic exposure to short wavelengths at night, and/or daytime use of blue-blocker glasses, seemed to improve sleep, vigilance and performance. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wearable Improved Vision System for Color Vision Deficiency Correction

PubMed Central

Riccio, Daniel; Di Perna, Luigi; Sanniti Di Baja, Gabriella; De Nino, Maurizio; Rossi, Settimio; Testa, Francesco; Simonelli, Francesca; Frucci, Maria

2017-01-01

Color vision deficiency (CVD) is an extremely frequent vision impairment that compromises the ability to recognize colors. In order to improve color vision in a subject with CVD, we designed and developed a wearable improved vision system based on an augmented reality device. The system was validated in a clinical pilot study on 24 subjects with CVD (18 males and 6 females, aged 37.4 ± 14.2 years). The primary outcome was the improvement in the Ishihara Vision Test score with the correction proposed by our system. The Ishihara test score significantly improved (\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$p = 0.03$ \\end{document}) from 5.8 ± 3.0 without correction to 14.8 ± 5.0 with correction. Almost all patients showed an improvement in color vision, as shown by the increased test scores. Moreover, with our system, 12 subjects (50%) passed the vision color test as normal vision subjects. The development and preliminary validation of the proposed platform confirm that a wearable augmented-reality device could be an effective aid to improve color vision in subjects with CVD. PMID:28507827

Can you see me? Experiences of nurses working night shift in Australian regional hospitals: a qualitative case study.

PubMed

Powell, Idona

2013-10-01

To report a study that explored the experiences of night-shift nurses, focusing on employee interrelationships and work satisfaction. Night-shift nurses are a critical component in hospital care making it essential to understand the experiences that give meaning to their work and understand how these nurses and the organization can benefit from their contribution to hospital care. A literature review revealed minimal research in this area. Qualitative case study. A qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews and self-completed diaries was conducted in 2010 in regional public hospitals in Australia. Participants were 14 nurses working nights half or more of their shifts in medical or surgical wards. Thematic analysis identified four major areas of concern: work relationships, work environment, work practices and lifestyle impact. Notably, work relationships were most meaningful for nurses on the same shift; night-shift nurses experienced working conditions inferior to their daytime counterparts including a perception of minimal leadership. Despite limited education opportunities, night shift provided opportunity for professional growth for some nurses with a slippage in skills for others; night shift provided flexibility for family and social activities, yet impeded these same activities, primarily due to pervasive fatigue. Night-shift nurses considered their role critical, yet believed that they were poorly regarded. The strong interpersonal relationships developed between night-shift workers need to be capitalized on whilst developing a more effective leadership model, improved work environment, more equitable professional development, and genuine recognition of the critical role of night nurses. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Fluticasone furoate/vilanterol once daily improves night-time awakenings in asthma patients with night symptoms; post-hoc analyses of three randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Kerwin, Edward; Barnes, Neil; Gibbs, Michael; Leather, David; Forth, Richard; Jacques, Loretta; Yates, Louisa J

2017-08-07

Symptoms, including night-time awakenings, affect the quality of life of people with asthma. Fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI) reduces exacerbations, improves lung function, and rescue-free and symptom-free 24-hour periods in patients with asthma. These post-hoc analyses compared daytime and night-time symptoms in patients with asthma who received FF/VI, versus FF, fluticasone propionate (FP) or placebo. Daytime and night-time symptoms were collected via electronic daily diary cards in three Phase III randomized studies of once-daily FF/VI in patients with uncontrolled asthma on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) ±long-acting beta 2 -agonists (LABA) (n = 609/1039/586). Endpoints included: change from baseline in symptom-free days and nights (analyzed by Analysis of Covariance, covariates: baseline, region, sex, age, treatment), time for patients to achieve 7 consecutive symptom-free nights (analyzed by Cox proportional hazards model, covariates as above), and proportion of patients experiencing 100% symptom-free nights per week (analyzed by logistic regression, covariates: percentage of symptom-free nights, sex, age, treatment). Improvements in symptom-free days and nights were generally observed for all treatments. More patients who received FF/VI experienced 100% symptom-free nights in the last week of the treatment period than patients who received ICS alone or placebo. FF/VI also reduced time to 7 consecutive symptom-free nights. Patients with at least one night of symptoms at baseline experienced an additional 2.7 and 2.0 symptom-free nights per week with FF/VI 100/25 µg, versus 1.9 and 1.7 with FF alone; similar findings were seen with FF/VI 200/25 µg. Benefits in terms of symptom-free days and nights were observed for patients receiving FF/VI versus comparators in these post-hoc analyses.

GSFC Information Systems Technology Developments Supporting the Vision for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Peter; Dennehy, Cornelius; Mosier, Gary; Smith, Dan; Rykowski, Lisa

2004-01-01

The Vision for Space Exploration will guide NASA's future human and robotic space activities. The broad range of human and robotic missions now being planned will require the development of new system-level capabilities enabled by emerging new technologies. Goddard Space Flight Center is actively supporting the Vision for Space Exploration in a number of program management, engineering and technology areas. This paper provides a brief background on the Vision for Space Exploration and a general overview of potential key Goddard contributions. In particular, this paper focuses on describing relevant GSFC information systems capabilities in architecture development; interoperable command, control and communications; and other applied information systems technology/research activities that are applicable to support the Vision for Space Exploration goals. Current GSFC development efforts and task activities are presented together with future plans.

Sympathomodulatory effects of Saam acupuncture on heart rate variability in night-shift-working nurses.

PubMed

Hwang, Deok-Sang; Kim, Hyee Kwon; Seo, Jung Chul; Shin, Im Hee; Kim, Dal Ho; Kim, Yong-Suk

2011-01-01

We assessed the effects of Saam (traditional Korean) acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system in night-shift nurses using power-spectral heart-rate variability (HRV) analysis. This study had a 2 × 4 cross-over design with a series of six (n = 1) controlled trials. Six night-shift nurses were randomly divided into two groups, and each nurse received four acupuncture treatments on the third day of night-shift work. One group started with Saam acupuncture (gallbladder jeonggyeok), while the other started with sham acupuncture. Saam acupuncture and sham acupuncture were applied in turn. HRV was measured before and after treatment. For statistical analysis, the results of the two groups were combined, and a Bayesian model was used to compare the changes in HRV values before and after treatment, between Saam and sham acupuncture. As the ratio of low- to high-frequency power (LF/HF) for HRV increased on the third day of night-shift work in the pilot study, HRV measurements were made on the third day. Compared with sham acupuncture, Saam acupuncture reduced sympathetic activity; the overall median treatment effect estimate in LF normalised units decreased by -17.4 (confidence interval (CI): -26.67, -8.725) and that for LF/HF decreased by -1.691 (CI: -3.222, -0.3789). The overall median treatment effect estimate in HF normalised units increased by 17.41 (CI: 6.393, 27.13) with Saam acupuncture, suggesting an increase in parasympathetic activity. Saam acupuncture may attenuate the imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activities induced by night-shift work in nurses. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A "Vision and Change" Reform of Introductory Biology Shifts Faculty Perceptions and Use of Active Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auerbach, Anna Jo; Schussler, Elisabeth

2017-01-01

Increasing faculty use of active-learning (AL) pedagogies in college classrooms is a persistent challenge in biology education. A large research-intensive university implemented changes to its biology majors' two-course introductory sequence as outlined by the "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education" final report. One goal…

5 CFR 550.122 - Computation of night pay differential.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... the total amount of that leave in a pay period, including both night and day hours, is less than 8... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Computation of night pay differential... REGULATIONS PAY ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL) Premium Pay Night Pay § 550.122 Computation of night pay differential...

Functional vision in children with perinatal brain damage.

PubMed

Alimović, Sonja; Jurić, Nikolina; Bošnjak, Vlatka Mejaški

2014-09-01

Many authors have discussed the effects of visual stimulations on visual functions, but there is no research about the effects on using vision in everyday activities (i.e. functional vision). Children with perinatal brain damage can develop cerebral visual impairment with preserved visual functions (e.g. visual acuity, contrast sensitivity) but poor functional vision. Our aim was to discuss the importance of assessing and stimulating functional vision in children with perinatal brain damage. We assessed visual functions (grating visual acuity, contrast sensitivity) and functional vision (the ability of maintaining visual attention and using vision in communication) in 99 children with perinatal brain damage and visual impairment. All children were assessed before and after the visual stimulation program. Our first assessment results showed that children with perinatal brain damage had significantly more problems in functional vision than in basic visual functions. During the visual stimulation program both variables of functional vision and contrast sensitivity improved significantly, while grating acuity improved only in 2.7% of children. We also found that improvement of visual attention significantly correlated to improvement on all other functions describing vision. Therefore, functional vision assessment, especially assessment of visual attention is indispensable in early monitoring of child with perinatal brain damage.

An ethnographic study of night blindness "ratauni" among women in the Terai of Nepal.

PubMed

Christian, P; Bentley, M E; Pradhan, R; West, K P

1998-04-01

Night blindness is the most common ocular condition representing moderate-to-severe vitamin A deficiency in children. Very little, however, is known about maternal night blindness, which has recently been reported to occur frequently during pregnancy in parts of south-east Asia. In Nepal, the prevalence of night blindness is reported to be 16%. We carried out an ethnographic study of night blindness during pregnancy in the south-eastern, rural plains of Nepal as preliminary research for a case-control study of the determinants of this condition. The purpose of the research was to identify local terms and concepts of night blindness and to examine women's perceptions of its causes, symptoms, severity, and consequences during pregnancy. Data collection involved in-depth interviews, case studies, unstructured observations and structured anthropologic methods, such as free listing and quick sort ranking. Women considered night blindness to be an important illness of pregnancy, ranking it second (to vaginal bleeding) in perceived severity from a list of 15 "women's illnesses". Local terms for night blindness were identified in three different languages from the region. Informants described a complex ethnomedical model of night blindness that included causes, symptomatology, and treatment alternatives. However, there was no perceived link between food intake and the occurrence of night blindness. The major causes of night blindness were attributed to pregnancy, weakness, or "hotness". Some women sought treatment for the condition but most women chose not to treat it since they believed that it was a transient condition of pregnancy. Interviews with women who had previously experienced night blindness and home-based observations of women exhibiting concurrent night blindness showed that it adversely affected their activity patterns, especially those related to child care and food preparation. Night blindness increased reliance on family members to perform various domestic

Relationship between thyroid stimulating hormone and night shift work.

PubMed

Moon, So-Hyun; Lee, Bum-Joon; Kim, Seong-Jin; Kim, Hwan-Cheol

2016-01-01

Night shift work has well-known adverse effects on health. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between thyroid diseases and night shift work. This study aimed to examine night shift workers and their changes in thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) levels over time. Medical check-up data (2011-2015) were obtained from 967 female workers at a university hospital in Incheon, Korea. Data regarding TSH levels were extracted from the records, and 2015 was used as a reference point to determine night shift work status. The relationships between TSH levels and night shift work in each year were analyzed using the general linear model (GLM). The generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to evaluate the repeated measurements over the 5-year period. The GEE analysis revealed that from 2011 to 2015, night shift workers had TSH levels that were 0.303 mIU/L higher than the levels of non-night shift workers (95 % CI: 0.087-0.519 mIU/L, p  = 0.006) after adjusting for age and department. When we used TSH levels of 4.5 ≥ mIU/L to identify subclinical hypothyroidism, night shift workers exhibited a 1.399 fold higher risk of subclinical hypothyroidism (95 % CI: 1.050-1.863, p  = 0.022), compared to their non-night shift counterparts. This result of this study suggests that night shift workers may have an increased risk of thyroid diseases, compared to non-night shift workers.

TWAN: The World at Night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tafreshi, Babak A.

2011-06-01

The World at Night (TWAN) is a global program to produce, collect, and present stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world's most beautiful and historic sites against the night-time backdrop of stars, planets, and celestial events. TWAN is a bridge between art, science and humanity to bring the message of peace, concealed in the sky. Organised by ``Astronomers Without Borders'', the project consist of world's best night sky photographers in over countries and coordinators, regional event organisers, and consultants. TWAN was also designated as a Special Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. While the project's global exhibitions and educational events peaked during IYA2009, TWAN is planned for long term in several phases and will continue to create and exhibit images in the next years.

STEM Girls Night In at Goddard

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-11-04

Girls Night In was held at Goddard on Nov 4-5, 2016. This is a pilot program which reinvigorates, Girls Night In was held at Goddard on Nov 4-5, inspires and engages high school girls who may be struggling or not fully engaged in STEM

Predicting Visual Disability in Glaucoma With Combinations of Vision Measures.

PubMed

Lin, Stephanie; Mihailovic, Aleksandra; West, Sheila K; Johnson, Chris A; Friedman, David S; Kong, Xiangrong; Ramulu, Pradeep Y

2018-04-01

We characterized vision in glaucoma using seven visual measures, with the goals of determining the dimensionality of vision, and how many and which visual measures best model activity limitation. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 150 older adults with glaucoma, collecting seven visual measures: integrated visual field (VF) sensitivity, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity (CS), area under the log CS function, color vision, stereoacuity, and visual acuity with noise. Principal component analysis was used to examine the dimensionality of vision. Multivariable regression models using one, two, or three vision tests (and nonvisual predictors) were compared to determine which was best associated with Rasch-analyzed Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 (GQL-15) person measure scores. The participants had a mean age of 70.2 and IVF sensitivity of 26.6 dB, suggesting mild-to-moderate glaucoma. All seven vision measures loaded similarly onto the first principal component (eigenvectors, 0.220-0.442), which explained 56.9% of the variance in vision scores. In models for GQL scores, the maximum adjusted- R 2 values obtained were 0.263, 0.296, and 0.301 when using one, two, and three vision tests in the models, respectively, though several models in each category had similar adjusted- R 2 values. All three of the best-performing models contained CS. Vision in glaucoma is a multidimensional construct that can be described by several variably-correlated vision measures. Measuring more than two vision tests does not substantially improve models for activity limitation. A sufficient description of disability in glaucoma can be obtained using one to two vision tests, especially VF and CS.

Night-day-night sleep-wakefulness monitoring by ambulatory integrated circuit memories.

PubMed

Yamamoto, M; Nakao, M; Katayama, N; Waku, M; Suzuki, K; Irokawa, K; Abe, M; Ueno, T

1999-04-01

A medium-sized portable digital recorder with fully integrated circuit (IC) memories for sleep monitoring has been developed. It has five amplifiers for EEG, EMG, EOG, ECG, and a signal of body acceleration or respiration sound, four event markers, an 8 ch A/D converter, a digital signal processor (DSP), 192 Mbytes IC flash memories, and batteries. The whole system weighs 1200 g including batteries and is put into a small bag worn on the subject's waist or carried in their hand. The sampling rate for each input channel is programmable through the DSP. This apparatus is valuable for continuously monitoring the states of sleep-wakefulness over 24 h, making a night-day-night recording possible in a hospital, home, or car.

Individual-based measurements of light intensity provide new insights into the effects of artificial light at night on daily rhythms of urban-dwelling songbirds.

PubMed

Dominoni, Davide M; Carmona-Wagner, Esther O; Hofmann, Michaela; Kranstauber, Bart; Partecke, Jesko

2014-05-01

The growing interest in the effects of light pollution on daily and seasonal cycles of animals has led to a boost of research in recent years. In birds, it has been hypothesized that artificial light at night can affect daily aspects of behaviour, but one caveat is the lack of knowledge about the light intensity that wild animals, such as birds, are exposed to during the night. Organisms have naturally evolved daily rhythms to adapt to the 24-h cycle of day and night, thus, it is important to investigate the potential shifts in daily cycles due to global anthropogenic processes such as urbanization. We captured adult male European blackbirds (Turdus merula) in one rural forest and two urban sites differing in the degree of anthropogenic disturbance. We tagged these birds with light loggers and simultaneously recorded changes in activity status (active/non-active) through an automated telemetry system. We first analysed the relationship between light at night, weather conditions and date with daily activity onset and end. We then compared activity, light at night exposure and noise levels between weekdays and weekends. Onset of daily activity was significantly advanced in both urban sites compared to the rural population, while end of daily activity did not vary either among sites. Birds exposed to higher amounts of light in the late night showed earlier onset of activity in the morning, but light at night did not influence end of daily activity. Light exposure at night and onset/end of daily activity timing was not different between weekdays and weekends, but all noise variables were. A strong seasonal effect was detected in both urban and rural populations, such as birds tended to be active earlier in the morning and later in the evening (relative to civil twilight) in the early breeding season than at later stages. Our results point at artificial light at night as a major driver of change in timing of daily activity. Future research should focus on the costs and

Effects of partial circadian adjustments on sleep and vigilance quality during simulated night work.

PubMed

Chapdelaine, Simon; Paquet, Jean; Dumont, Marie

2012-08-01

In most situations, complete circadian adjustment is not recommended for night workers. With complete adjustment, workers experience circadian misalignment when returning on a day-active schedule, causing repeated circadian phase shifts and internal desynchrony. For this reason, partial circadian realignment was proposed as a good compromise to stabilize internal circadian rhythms in night shift workers. However, the extent of partial circadian adjustment necessary to improve sleep and vigilance quality is still a matter of debate. In this study, the effects of small but statistically significant partial circadian adjustments on sleep and vigilance quality were assessed in a laboratory simulation of night work to determine whether they were also of clinical significance. Partial adjustments obtained by phase delay or by phase advance were quantified not only by the phase shift of dim light salivary melatonin onset, but also by the overlap of the episode of melatonin production with the sleep-wake cycle adopted during simulated night work. The effects on daytime sleep and night-time vigilance quality were modest. However, they suggest that even small adjustments by phase delay may decrease the accumulation of sleep debt, whereas the advance strategy improves subjective alertness and mood during night work. Furthermore, absolute phase shifts, by advance or by delay, were associated with improved subjective alertness and mood during the night shift. These strategies need to be tested in the field, to determine whether they can be adapted to real-life situations and provide effective support to night workers. © 2012 European Sleep Research Society.

Occupational health services for shift and night workers.

PubMed

Koller, M

1996-02-01

It is important for an occupational health service to plan health supervision and measures for shift and night workers considering the biorhythmic and psychosocial desynchronisation, as well as the frequent prevalence of combined effects of adverse environmental and working conditions. The measures taken should be preventive to reduce the expected health risks rather than being rehabilitative. Both a medical surveillance and a counselling service are recommended before and during engagement in shift and night work. Sleep, digestive, metabolic and cardiovascular troubles should be noted and followed up. Medical counselling is especially necessary in the first months of shift and night work exposure and then after long-term exposure. The postulate for timed surveillance and intervention is supported by data of our epidemiologic investigations. The importance of the single health measures is underlined by direct reference to the relevant literature. Recommendations that should be applied in all countries and enterprises are in accordance with the ILO Night Work Convention 1990a and include: (1) appropriate occupational health services provided for night and shift workers, including counselling; (2) first aid facilities during all shift hours; (3) the option of transfer to day work when certified unfit for night work for reasons of health; and (4) measures for women on night shifts, in particular special maternity protection (transfer to day work, social security benefits or an extension of maternity leave). Examples of occupational health services already installed in some states for shift and night workers, and information on future developments are given. Up to now the medical service has been implemented mostly on the basis of collective agreements rather than on the basis of legal provisions. The Austrian Night Shift/Heavy Work Law Regulations of 1981, revised 1993, are cited: workers exposed to night shifts under defined single or combined additional heavy

Grounding Our Vision: Brain Research and Strategic Vision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Mike

2011-01-01

While recognizing the value of "vision," it could be argued that vision alone--at least in schools--is not enough to rally the financial and emotional support required to translate an idea into reality. A compelling vision needs to reflect substantive, research-based knowledge if it is to spark the kind of strategic thinking and insight…

Prolonged Nightly Fasting and Breast Cancer Prognosis

PubMed Central

Marinac, Catherine R.; Nelson, Sandahl H.; Breen, Caitlin I.; Hartman, Sheri J.; Natarajan, Loki; Pierce, John P.; Flatt, Shirley W.; Sears, Dorothy D.; Patterson, Ruth E.

2016-01-01

IMPORTANCE Rodent studies demonstrate that prolonged fasting during the sleep phase positively influences carcinogenesis and metabolic processes that are putatively associated with risk and prognosis of breast cancer. To our knowledge, no studies in humans have examined nightly fasting duration and cancer outcomes. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether duration of nightly fasting predicted recurrence and mortality among women with early-stage breast cancer and, if so, whether it was associated with risk factors for poor outcomes, including glucoregulation (hemoglobin A1c), chronic inflammation (C-reactive protein), obesity, and sleep. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Data were collected from 2413 women with breast cancer but without diabetes mellitus who were aged 27 to 70 years at diagnosis and participated in the prospective Women’s Healthy Eating and Living study between March 1, 1995, and May 3, 2007. Data analysis was conducted from May 18 to October 5, 2015. EXPOSURES Nightly fasting duration was estimated from 24-hour dietary recalls collected at baseline, year 1, and year 4. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Clinical outcomes were invasive breast cancer recurrence and new primary breast tumors during a mean of 7.3 years of study follow-up as well as death from breast cancer or any cause during a mean of 11.4 years of surveillance. Baseline sleep duration was self-reported, and archived blood samples were used to assess concentrations of hemoglobin A1c and C-reactive protein. RESULTS The cohort of 2413 women (mean [SD] age, 52.4 [8.9] years) reported a mean (SD) fasting duration of 12.5 (1.7) hours per night. In repeated-measures Cox proportional hazards regression models, fasting less than 13 hours per night (lower 2 tertiles of nightly fasting distribution) was associated with an increase in the risk of breast cancer recurrence compared with fasting 13 or more hours per night (hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.05-1.76). Nightly fasting less than 13 hours was not

Prolonged Nightly Fasting and Breast Cancer Prognosis.

PubMed

Marinac, Catherine R; Nelson, Sandahl H; Breen, Caitlin I; Hartman, Sheri J; Natarajan, Loki; Pierce, John P; Flatt, Shirley W; Sears, Dorothy D; Patterson, Ruth E

2016-08-01

Rodent studies demonstrate that prolonged fasting during the sleep phase positively influences carcinogenesis and metabolic processes that are putatively associated with risk and prognosis of breast cancer. To our knowledge, no studies in humans have examined nightly fasting duration and cancer outcomes. To investigate whether duration of nightly fasting predicted recurrence and mortality among women with early-stage breast cancer and, if so, whether it was associated with risk factors for poor outcomes, including glucoregulation (hemoglobin A1c), chronic inflammation (C-reactive protein), obesity, and sleep. Data were collected from 2413 women with breast cancer but without diabetes mellitus who were aged 27 to 70 years at diagnosis and participated in the prospective Women's Healthy Eating and Living study between March 1, 1995, and May 3, 2007. Data analysis was conducted from May 18 to October 5, 2015. Nightly fasting duration was estimated from 24-hour dietary recalls collected at baseline, year 1, and year 4. Clinical outcomes were invasive breast cancer recurrence and new primary breast tumors during a mean of 7.3 years of study follow-up as well as death from breast cancer or any cause during a mean of 11.4 years of surveillance. Baseline sleep duration was self-reported, and archived blood samples were used to assess concentrations of hemoglobin A1c and C-reactive protein. The cohort of 2413 women (mean [SD] age, 52.4 [8.9] years) reported a mean (SD) fasting duration of 12.5 (1.7) hours per night. In repeated-measures Cox proportional hazards regression models, fasting less than 13 hours per night (lower 2 tertiles of nightly fasting distribution) was associated with an increase in the risk of breast cancer recurrence compared with fasting 13 or more hours per night (hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.05-1.76). Nightly fasting less than 13 hours was not associated with a statistically significant higher risk of breast cancer mortality (hazard ratio, 1.21; 95

[Shift and night work and mental health].

PubMed

Sancini, Angela; Ciarrocca, Manuela; Capozzella, Assunta; Corbosiero, Paola; Fiaschetti, Maria; Caciari, Tiziana; Cetica, Carlotta; Scimitto, Lara; Ponticiello, Barnaba Giuseppina; Tasciotti, Zaira; Schifano, Maria Pia; Andreozzit, Giorgia; Tomei, Francesco; Tomei, Gianfranco

2012-01-01

Aim of our study was to evaluate the influence that shift work and night work could have on mental health. A review of literary articles from 1990 to 2011 on shift work and night work was carried out. The results of this review confirmed that the shift work and night work affect mental health with the onset of neuropsychological disorders such as mood disorders, anxiety, nervousness, depressive anxiety syndromes, chronic fatigue and chronic insomnia irritability, sleep disturbances, reduction in levels of attention, cognitive impairments, alteration of circadian rhythm. Night work and shift work cause severe desynchronization of the cronobiological rhythms and a disruption of social life with negative effects on performance at work, on health and on social relationships. In the light of these results and recognizing shift work and night work as risk factors for the health of workers is necessary to implement preventive and periodic health checks by the occupational doctor to ensure the health and safety of workers taking account of the different environmental and individual factors.

Retinal Structures and Visual Cortex Activity are Impaired Prior to Clinical Vision Loss in Glaucoma.

PubMed

Murphy, Matthew C; Conner, Ian P; Teng, Cindy Y; Lawrence, Jesse D; Safiullah, Zaid; Wang, Bo; Bilonick, Richard A; Kim, Seong-Gi; Wollstein, Gadi; Schuman, Joel S; Chan, Kevin C

2016-08-11

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide and its pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we measured the structure, metabolism and function of the visual system by optical coherence tomography and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging in healthy subjects and glaucoma patients with different degrees of vision loss. We found that inner retinal layer thinning, optic nerve cupping and reduced visual cortex activity occurred before patients showed visual field impairment. The primary visual cortex also exhibited more severe functional deficits than higher-order visual brain areas in glaucoma. Within the visual cortex, choline metabolism was perturbed along with increasing disease severity in the eye, optic radiation and visual field. In summary, this study showed evidence that glaucoma deterioration is already present in the eye and the brain before substantial vision loss can be detected clinically using current testing methods. In addition, cortical cholinergic abnormalities are involved during trans-neuronal degeneration and can be detected non-invasively in glaucoma. The current results can be of impact for identifying early glaucoma mechanisms, detecting and monitoring pathophysiological events and eye-brain-behavior relationships, and guiding vision preservation strategies in the visual system, which may help reduce the burden of this irreversible but preventable neurodegenerative disease.

Retinal Structures and Visual Cortex Activity are Impaired Prior to Clinical Vision Loss in Glaucoma

PubMed Central

Murphy, Matthew C.; Conner, Ian P.; Teng, Cindy Y.; Lawrence, Jesse D.; Safiullah, Zaid; Wang, Bo; Bilonick, Richard A.; Kim, Seong-Gi; Wollstein, Gadi; Schuman, Joel S.; Chan, Kevin C.

2016-01-01

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide and its pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we measured the structure, metabolism and function of the visual system by optical coherence tomography and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging in healthy subjects and glaucoma patients with different degrees of vision loss. We found that inner retinal layer thinning, optic nerve cupping and reduced visual cortex activity occurred before patients showed visual field impairment. The primary visual cortex also exhibited more severe functional deficits than higher-order visual brain areas in glaucoma. Within the visual cortex, choline metabolism was perturbed along with increasing disease severity in the eye, optic radiation and visual field. In summary, this study showed evidence that glaucoma deterioration is already present in the eye and the brain before substantial vision loss can be detected clinically using current testing methods. In addition, cortical cholinergic abnormalities are involved during trans-neuronal degeneration and can be detected non-invasively in glaucoma. The current results can be of impact for identifying early glaucoma mechanisms, detecting and monitoring pathophysiological events and eye-brain-behavior relationships, and guiding vision preservation strategies in the visual system, which may help reduce the burden of this irreversible but preventable neurodegenerative disease. PMID:27510406

Dark matters: effects of light at night on metabolism.

PubMed

Nelson, Randy J; Chbeir, Souhad

2018-05-11

Life on earth has evolved during the past several billion years under relatively bright days and dark night conditions. The wide-spread adoption of electric lights during the past century exposed animals, both human and non-human, to significant light at night for the first time in their evolutionary history. Endogenous circadian clocks depend on light to entrain to the external daily environment and seasonal rhythms depend on clear nightly melatonin signals to assess time of year. Thus, light at night can derange temporal adaptations. Indeed, disruption of naturally evolved light-dark cycles results in several physiological and behavioural changes with potentially serious implications for physiology, behaviour and mood. In this review, data from night-shift workers on their elevated risk for metabolic disorders, as well as data from animal studies will be discussed. Night-shift workers are predisposed to obesity and dysregulated metabolism that may result from disrupted circadian rhythms. Although studies in human subjects are correlative, animal studies have revealed several mechanisms through which light at night may exert its effects on metabolism by disrupting circadian rhythms that are associated with inflammation, both in the brain and in the periphery. Disruption of the typical timing of food intake is a key effect of light at night and subsequent metabolic dysregulation. Strategies to avoid the effects of light at night on body mass dysregulation should be pursued.

Late-night salivary cortisol measurement in the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome.

PubMed

Carroll, Ty; Raff, Hershel; Findling, James W

2008-06-01

Making a definite diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome is a challenging problem. Unsuspected Cushing's syndrome occurs in 2-3% of patients with poorly controlled diabetes, 0.5-1% with hypertension, 6-9% with incidental adrenal masses, and 11% with unexplained osteoporosis and vertebral fractures. The increasing recognition of this syndrome highlights the need for a simple, sensitive, and specific diagnostic test. Patients with Cushing's syndrome consistently do not reach a normal nadir of cortisol secretion at night. The measurement of late-night salivary cortisol levels might, therefore, provide a new diagnostic approach for this disorder. Salivary cortisol concentrations reflect those of active free cortisol in plasma and saliva samples can easily be obtained in a nonstressful environment (e.g. at home). Late-night salivary cortisol measurement yields excellent overall diagnostic accuracy for Cushing's syndrome, with a sensitivity of 92-100% and a specificity of 93-100%. Several factors can, however, make interpretation of results difficult; these factors include disturbed sleep-wake cycles, contamination of samples (particularly by topical corticosteroids), and illnesses known to cause physiologic activation of the pituitary-adrenal axis. In this Review, we discuss the methods and value of measuring salivary cortisol for the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome, and put forward some recommendations to maximize accuracy of results.

Genetics Home Reference: X-linked congenital stationary night blindness

MedlinePlus

... Health Conditions X-linked congenital stationary night blindness X-linked congenital stationary night blindness Printable PDF Open ... Javascript to view the expand/collapse boxes. Description X-linked congenital stationary night blindness is a disorder ...

Artificial light at night desynchronizes strictly seasonal reproduction in a wild mammal.

PubMed

Robert, Kylie A; Lesku, John A; Partecke, Jesko; Chambers, Brian

2015-10-07

Change in day length is an important cue for reproductive activation in seasonally breeding animals to ensure that the timing of greatest maternal investment (e.g. lactation in mammals) coincides with favourable environmental conditions (e.g. peak productivity). However, artificial light at night has the potential to interfere with the perception of such natural cues. Following a 5-year study on two populations of wild marsupial mammals exposed to different night-time levels of anthropogenic light, we show that light pollution in urban environments masks seasonal changes in ambient light cues, suppressing melatonin levels and delaying births in the tammar wallaby. These results highlight a previously unappreciated relationship linking artificial light at night with induced changes in mammalian reproductive physiology, and the potential for larger-scale impacts at the population level. © 2015 The Author(s).

46 CFR 9.6 - Rate for night service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OVERTIME SERVICES § 9.6 Rate for night service. The rate of extra compensation for authorized overtime services performed at night on any week day is hereby fixed at one half the gross daily rate of regular pay... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Rate for night service. 9.6 Section 9.6 Shipping COAST...

Portable electronic vision enhancement systems in comparison with optical magnifiers for near vision activities: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized crossover trial.

PubMed

Bray, Nathan; Brand, Andrew; Taylor, John; Hoare, Zoe; Dickinson, Christine; Edwards, Rhiannon T

2017-08-01

To determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of portable electronic vision enhancement system (p-EVES) devices compared with optical low vision aids (LVAs), for improving near vision visual function, quality of life and well-being of people with a visual impairment. An AB/BA randomized crossover trial design was used. Eighty-two participants completed the study. Participants were current users of optical LVAs who had not tried a p-EVES device before and had a stable visual impairment. The trial intervention was the addition of a p-EVES device to the participant's existing optical LVA(s) for 2 months, and the control intervention was optical LVA use only, for 2 months. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses were conducted from a societal perspective. The mean cost of the p-EVES intervention was £448. Carer costs were £30 (4.46 hr) less for the p-EVES intervention compared with the LVA only control. The mean difference in total costs was £417. Bootstrapping gave an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £736 (95% CI £481 to £1525) for a 7% improvement in near vision visual function. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) ranged from £56 991 (lower 95% CI = £19 801) to £66 490 (lower 95% CI = £23 055). Sensitivity analysis varying the commercial price of the p-EVES device reduced ICERs by up to 75%, with cost per QALYs falling below £30 000. Portable electronic vision enhancement system (p-EVES) devices are likely to be a cost-effective use of healthcare resources for improving near vision visual function, but this does not translate into cost-effective improvements in quality of life, capability or well-being. © 2016 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation and European Association for Vision & Eye Research.

Making a vision document tangible using "vision-tactics-metrics" tables.

PubMed

Drury, Ivo; Slomski, Carol

2006-01-01

We describe a method of making a vision document tangible by attaching specific tactics and metrics to the key elements of the vision. We report on the development and early use of a "vision-tactics-metrics" table in a department of surgery. Use of the table centered the vision in the daily life of the department and its faculty, and facilitated cultural change.

Self-reported health and sleep complaints among nursing personnel working under 12 h night and day shifts.

PubMed

Portela, Luciana F; Rotenberg, Lúcia; Waissmann, William

2004-01-01

This cross-sectional exploratory study involved health care workers of various skill types and levels. We tested the hypothesis that the prevalence of diseases, sleep complaints, and insufficient time for nonprofessional activities (family, leisure, and rest) are higher among night than day workers. Data collection was carried out in two public hospitals using questionnaires and other forms. Night work was explored as a risk factor, considering a night worker as one who had at least one night job on the occasion of the research. Data were assessed by a univariate analysis. The association between work schedule and the dependent variables--health conditions, sleep complaints, and insufficient time for nonprofessional activities--was evaluated through the estimation of the prevalence ratio, with a confidence interval of 95%. Two hundred and fifty-eight female nursing personnel participated; 41.5% were moonlighters, and only 20 worked a shift of less than 12h in length. Reports of migraine and need of medical care the 2 weeks before the survey were more prevalent among day than night workers (PR=0.71; CI=0.55-0.92 and PR=0.71; CI=0.52-0.95, respectively). Migraine headaches occurred less frequently among night than day workers as confirmed by comparing the reports of the night workers and day workers whose work history was always day shifts (PR = 0.74; CI = 0.57-0.96). Reports of mild emotional disorders (mild depression, tension, anxiety, or insomnia) were less frequent among night (PR=0.76; CI=0.59-0.98) and ex-night workers (PR=0.68; CI=0.50-0.91) than day workers who never had worked a night job. The healthy worker effect does not seem to explain the results of the comparisons between day and night workers. The possible role of exposure by day workers to some risk factors, such as stress, was suggested as an explanation for these results. No significant difference was observed between night and day workers as to sleep complaints, a result that may have been

Night Shift Work and Risk of Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Hansen, Johnni

2017-09-01

Night work is increasingly common and a necessity in certain sectors of the modern 24-h society. The embedded exposure to light-at-night, which suppresses the nocturnal hormone melatonin with oncostatic properties and circadian disruption, i.e., misalignment between internal and external night and between cells and organs, are suggested as main mechanisms involved in carcinogenesis. In 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified shift work that involves circadian disruption as probably carcinogenic to humans based on limited evidence from eight epidemiologic studies on breast cancer, in addition to sufficient evidence from animal experiments. The aim of this review is a critical update of the IARC evaluation, including subsequent and the most recent epidemiologic evidence on breast cancer risk after night work. After 2007, in total nine new case-control studies, one case-cohort study, and eight cohort studies are published, which triples the number of studies. Further, two previous cohorts have been updated with extended follow-up. The assessment of night shift work is different in all of the 26 existing studies. There is some evidence that high number of consecutive night shifts has impact on the extent of circadian disruption, and thereby increased breast cancer risk, but this information is missing in almost all cohort studies. This in combination with short-term follow-up of aging cohorts may explain why some cohort studies may have null findings. The more recent case-control studies have contributed interesting results concerning breast cancer subtypes in relation to both menopausal status and different hormonal subtypes. The large differences in definitions of both exposure and outcome may contribute to the observed heterogeneity of results from studies of night work and breast cancer, which overall points in the direction of an increased breast cancer risk, in particular after over 20 years of night shifts. Overall, there is a

Robotic vision. [process control applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. S.; Wilf, J. M.; Cunningham, R. T.; Eskenazi, R.

1979-01-01

Robotic vision, involving the use of a vision system to control a process, is discussed. Design and selection of active sensors employing radiation of radio waves, sound waves, and laser light, respectively, to light up unobservable features in the scene are considered, as are design and selection of passive sensors, which rely on external sources of illumination. The segmentation technique by which an image is separated into different collections of contiguous picture elements having such common characteristics as color, brightness, or texture is examined, with emphasis on the edge detection technique. The IMFEX (image feature extractor) system performing edge detection and thresholding at 30 frames/sec television frame rates is described. The template matching and discrimination approach to recognize objects are noted. Applications of robotic vision in industry for tasks too monotonous or too dangerous for the workers are mentioned.

The impact of shift and night work on health related quality of life of working women: findings from the Korea Health Panel.

PubMed

Kim, Woorim; Kim, Tae Hyun; Lee, Tae-Hoon; Choi, Jae Woo; Park, Eun-Cheol

2016-11-28

Night and shift work status has been associated with health related quality of life (HRQoL) in economically active women. This study aimed to investigate the association between night or shift work status and HRQoL of economically active women and to further analyze how marital status interplays in the objected relationship. Data were from the Korea Health Panel, 2011 to 2013. A total of 2238 working women were included for analysis. Work status was categorized into day work, night work, and rotating shift work and its association with HRQoL, measured using the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) index, was investigated using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. Compared to the day work reference group, the night work group (β: -0.9757, P = 0.0202) and the rotating shift work group (β: -0.7947, P = 0.0363) showed decreases in EQ-5D scores. This trend was maintained regardless of marital status, although decreases in health related quality of life were particularly pronounced among night shift workers with a spouse. Night and rotating shift work status was associated with HRQoL of economically active women as individuals working night and rotating shifts showed decreases in EQ-5D scores compared to individuals working day shifts. The findings of this study signify the importance of monitoring the HRQoL status of women working night and rotating shifts as these individuals may be comparatively vulnerable to reduced HRQoL.

Group Active Engagement Exercises: Pursuing the Recommendations of "Vision and Change" in an Introductory Undergraduate Science Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jardine, Hannah E.; Levin, Daniel M.; Quimby, B. Booth; Cooke, Todd J.

2017-01-01

"Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education: A Call to Action," published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011, suggested cultivating biological literacy and practicing more student-centered learning in undergraduate life sciences education. We report here on the use of Group Active Engagement (GAE)…

Practical color vision tests for air traffic control applicants: en route center and terminal facilities.

PubMed

Mertens, H W; Milburn, N J; Collins, W E

2000-12-01

Two practical color vision tests were developed and validated for use in screening Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) applicants for work at en route center or terminal facilities. The development of the tests involved careful reproduction/simulation of color-coded materials from the most demanding, safety-critical color task performed in each type of facility. The tests were evaluated using 106 subjects with normal color vision and 85 with color vision deficiency. The en route center test, named the Flight Progress Strips Test (FPST), required the identification of critical red/black coding in computer printing and handwriting on flight progress strips. The terminal option test, named the Aviation Lights Test (ALT), simulated red/green/white aircraft lights that must be identified in night ATC tower operations. Color-coding is a non-redundant source of safety-critical information in both tasks. The FPST was validated by direct comparison of responses to strip reproductions with responses to the original flight progress strips and a set of strips selected independently. Validity was high; Kappa = 0.91 with original strips as the validation criterion and 0.86 with different strips. The light point stimuli of the ALT were validated physically with a spectroradiometer. The reliabilities of the FPST and ALT were estimated with Chronbach's alpha as 0.93 and 0.98, respectively. The high job-relevance, validity, and reliability of these tests increases the effectiveness and fairness of ATCS color vision testing.

Influence of Socially Used Drugs on Vision and Vision Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-07-31

AD-A012 909 INFLUENCE OF SOCIALLY USED DRUGS ON VISION AND VISION PERFORMANCE OPTICAL SCIENCES GROUP PREPARED FOR ARMY MEDICAL RESEARCH AND...AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE July 11, 1974 U.S. Army Medical Research and D mvelopmenteommand 13. NUMBER OF PAGES Washington, D.C. 203114 14...nreeeoary and identily by block number) vision vision performance alcohol marijuana tetrahydrocannabinol 20. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverae aide It

Factors Affecting Readiness for Low Vision Interventions in Older Adults.

PubMed

Mohler, Amanda Jean; Neufeld, Peggy; Perlmutter, Monica S

2015-01-01

We sought to identify factors that facilitate and inhibit readiness for low vision interventions in people with vision loss, conceptualized as readiness for change in the way they perform daily activities. We conducted 10 semistructured interviews with older adults with low vision and analyzed the results using grounded theory concepts. Themes involving factors that facilitated change included desire to maintain or regain independence, positive attitude, and presence of formal social support. Themes related to barriers to change included limited knowledge of options and activity not a priority. Themes that acted as both barriers and facilitators were informal social support and community resources. This study provides insight into readiness to make changes in behavior and environment in older adults with vision loss. Study findings can help occupational therapy practitioners practice client-centered care more effectively and promote safe and satisfying daily living activity performance in this population. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Effects of Five Nights under Normobaric Hypoxia on Sleep Quality.

PubMed

Hoshikawa, Masako; Uchida, Sunao; Osawa, Takuya; Eguchi, Kazumi; Arimitsu, Takuma; Suzuki, Yasuhiro; Kawahara, Takashi

2015-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of five nights' sleep under normobaric hypoxia on ventilatory acclimatization and sleep quality. Seven men initially slept for six nights under normoxia and then for five nights under normobaric hypoxia equivalent to a 2000-m altitude. Nocturnal polysomnograms (PSGs), arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and respiratory events were recorded on the first and fifth nights under both conditions. The hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR), hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR), and resting end-tidal CO2 (resting PETCO2) were measured three times during the experimental period. The duration of slow-wave sleep (SWS: stage N3) and the whole-night delta (1-3 Hz) power of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep EEG decreased on the first night under hypoxia. This hypoxia-induced sleep quality deterioration on the first night was accompanied by a lower mean and minimum SpO2, a longer time spent with SpO2 below 90% (<90% SpO2 time), and more episodes of respiratory disturbance. On the fifth night, the SWS duration and whole-night delta power did not differ between the conditions. Although the mean SpO2 under hypoxia was still lower than under normoxia, the minimum SpO2 increased, and the <90% SpO2 time and number of episodes of respiratory disturbance decreased during the five nights under hypoxia. The HVR increased and resting PETCO2 decreased after five nights under hypoxia. The results suggest that five nights under hypoxia improves the sleep quality. This may be derived from improvements of respiratory disturbances, the minimum SpO2, and <90% SpO2 time.

Geometric Variational Methods for Controlled Active Vision

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-08-01

Haker , L. Zhu, and A. Tannenbaum, ``Optimal mass transport for registration and warping’’ Int. Journal Computer Vision, volume 60, 2004, pp. 225-240. G...pp. 119-142. A. Angenent, S. Haker , and A. Tannenbaum, ``Minimizing flows for the Monge-Kantorovich problem,’’ SIAM J. Math. Analysis, volume 35...Shape analysis of structures using spherical wavelets’’ (with S. Haker and D. Nain), Proceeedings of MICCAI, 2005. ``Affine surface evolution for 3D

GLOBE at Night: Raising Public Awareness and Involvement through Citizen Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, C. E.; Pompea, S. M.; Sparks, R. T.

2010-12-01

With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. Light pollution is obscuring people’s long-standing natural heritage to view stars. The GLOBE at Night program (www.globeatnight.org) is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by encouraging everyone everywhere to measure local levels of night sky brightness and contribute observations online to a world map. In the last 5 years, GLOBE at Night has been the most productive public light pollution monitoring campaign, collecting over 52,000 observations in a two-week period annually. This year, during the moonless two weeks in March, the campaign set a record high of over 17,800 measurements from people in 86 countries. Foundational resources are available to facilitate the public’s participation in promoting dark skies awareness. The GLOBE at Night website explains clearly the simple-to-participate-in 5 step program and offers background information and interactive games on key concepts. The program has been expanded to include trainings of the general public, but especially educators in schools, museums and science centers, in unique ways. Education kits for dark skies awareness have been distributed at the training workshops. The kit includes material for a light shielding demonstration, a digital Sky Quality Meter and “Dark Skies Rangers” activities. The activities are on how unshielded light wastes energy, how light pollution affects wildlife and how you can participate in a citizen-science star-hunt like GLOBE at Night. In addition, projects are being developed for what to do with the data once it is taken. The GLOBE at Night data from different years can be compared to look for trends over time or with population density maps. The data can also be used to search for dark sky oases or to monitor lighting ordinance compliance. Most

Feature-Free Activity Classification of Inertial Sensor Data With Machine Vision Techniques: Method, Development, and Evaluation

PubMed Central

O'Reilly, Martin; Whelan, Darragh; Caulfield, Brian; Ward, Tomas E

2017-01-01

Background Inertial sensors are one of the most commonly used sources of data for human activity recognition (HAR) and exercise detection (ED) tasks. The time series produced by these sensors are generally analyzed through numerical methods. Machine learning techniques such as random forests or support vector machines are popular in this field for classification efforts, but they need to be supported through the isolation of a potentially large number of additionally crafted features derived from the raw data. This feature preprocessing step can involve nontrivial digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. However, in many cases, the researchers interested in this type of activity recognition problems do not possess the necessary technical background for this feature-set development. Objective The study aimed to present a novel application of established machine vision methods to provide interested researchers with an easier entry path into the HAR and ED fields. This can be achieved by removing the need for deep DSP skills through the use of transfer learning. This can be done by using a pretrained convolutional neural network (CNN) developed for machine vision purposes for exercise classification effort. The new method should simply require researchers to generate plots of the signals that they would like to build classifiers with, store them as images, and then place them in folders according to their training label before retraining the network. Methods We applied a CNN, an established machine vision technique, to the task of ED. Tensorflow, a high-level framework for machine learning, was used to facilitate infrastructure needs. Simple time series plots generated directly from accelerometer and gyroscope signals are used to retrain an openly available neural network (Inception), originally developed for machine vision tasks. Data from 82 healthy volunteers, performing 5 different exercises while wearing a lumbar-worn inertial measurement unit (IMU), was

Sleep/awake status throughout the night and circadian motor activity patterns in older nursing-home residents with or without dementia, and older community-dwelling people without dementia.

PubMed

Kume, Yu; Kodama, Ayuto; Sato, Kotaro; Kurosawa, Satoko; Ishikawa, Takashi; Ishikawa, Sachiko

2016-12-01

Sleep disturbances are commonly observed in older nursing home residents, mainly in combination with dementia. However, sleep-associated circadian motor activity patterns have not been thoroughly investigated in Japanese nursing homes. The present study aimed to respectively clarify the effect of community living and the presence of dementia on sleep disturbances and interrupted activity rhythm of older nursing-home residents with or without dementia and older community-dwelling people without dementia. Actigraph devices worn on the participants' non-dominant wrists for seven days were used to collect objective measurements of the sleep/awake status throughout the night and the circadian motor activity patterns. The presence of dementia was assessed by a trained medical doctor using the residents' records and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). The functional capacity of the participants was determined using the Barthel Index (BI). Fifty-one older people in Akita prefecture were included in the current study, consisting of 17 residents with dementia (mean age: 82.2 years), 17 residents without dementia (84.5 years), and 17 community-dwelling people (83.6 years). The results showed that older nursing-home residents with dementia had significantly a lower rate of sleep efficiency and a longer awake time throughout the night than the other groups. Older nursing-home residents with and without dementia had more fragmented rhythm than community-dwelling people without dementia. These results provide evidence of poor sleep/awake status throughout the night and interrupted circadian activity rhythms in nursing-home residents with and without dementia. However, further studies performed according to dementia classifications are needed.

Effectiveness of the anaesthetic MS-222 in gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata: effect of feeding time and day-night variations in plasma MS-222 concentration and GST activity.

PubMed

Vera, L M; Montoya, A; Sánchez-Vázquez, F J

2013-02-17

Feeding time is a potent zeitgeber capable of synchronising behavioural and physiological daily rhythms in fish. However, the effect of feeding time on the daily rhythm of drugs toxicity and/or effectiveness remains unexplored to date. In this paper we investigated the day/night variations in the effectiveness of an anaesthetic commonly used in fish (Tricaine, MS-222) in a teleost of great chronobiological and aquaculture interest (gilthead seabream). To this end, fish were kept under LD 12:12 and fed at mid-light (ML), mid-darkness (MD) or random times (RD). The time needed to induce anaesthesia (reduction of locomotor activity) during MS-222 exposure (65 mg/L) as well as the recovery period were investigated at ML and MD in the three experimental groups using specialised video tracking software. In addition, daily rhythms of GST activity in the liver (as an indicator of detoxification processes) and plasma MS-222 concentration (related to uptake) were determined. The results revealed that MS-222 effectiveness in the ML group was higher during the day than at night (significant reduction of activity after 3 min vs. 5 min) whereas in the MD group, the daily variation of MS-222 effectiveness was inverted (significant reduction of activity after 7 min at ML vs. 2 min at MD), suggesting that feeding time can shift the day-night variations in the effectiveness of MS-222. Hepatic GST also seemed to be affected by feeding time: in fish fed at MD or RD this enzyme activity showed significant differences during the day, and the highest levels were found at different times of the day in each group. Plasma MS-222 concentrations were higher at ML (142.4±12.8 ng/ml) than at MD (96.3±10.9 ng/ml) (t-Student, p<0.05). These results suggest that the daily variation in MS-222 concentration following exposure might be involved, among other factors, in the existence of day-night variations in the effectiveness of this anaesthetic. Furthermore, manipulation of the feeding schedule

Is My World Getting Smaller? The Challenges of Living with Vision Loss

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berger, Sue

2012-01-01

Introduction: Vision loss influences both basic and instrumental activities of daily living. There is limited information, however, on the relationship between vision loss and leisure activities. The research presented here was part of a larger study that aimed to understand the importance of participation in leisure activities for those with…

Globe at Night Citizen Science: Reaching for the Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, C. E.; Pompea, S. M.

2017-12-01

Citizen-science is a rewardingly inclusive way to bring awareness to the public on the disappearance of the starry night sky, its cause and solutions. Globe at Night (GaN) encourages citizen-scientists worldwide to record the brightness of the night sky. During ten-days per month of moonless evenings, children and adults match the appearance of a specific constellation with 7 star maps of progressively fainter stars found at www.globeatnight.org. They then submit their choice of star map in-situ using the "webapp" on a smart device. In eleven years of the program, over 160,000 observations from 180 countries have been contributed to a light pollution map. The GaN (open) database is a source of research projects. For example, students conducted research to understand the lesser long-nosed bats' avoidance of city center at night. With its analytical tools, Fieldscope will be a conduit for comparing GaN to other databases. On-the-fly mapping enables citizen-scientists to see observations immediately. There are 4 ways of taking measurements. The online app for data reporting is in 26 languages. STEM activities for young children and problem-based learning activities for older students were created to experience real-life scenarios: role-playing sea turtles hatching (misdirected by lights on shore) or analyzing an ISS image of Houston to estimate the wasted energy, cost and carbon footprint. In-situ and on-line workshops have been given on using GaN, as well as the activities. Our Facebook page exists to encourage dialogue and bring cutting edge news. To entice interest, we had monthly newsletters and serial podcasts starring the Dark Skies Crusader. GaN has been part of special campaigns like with the National Park Service, the National Geographic BioBlitz and Tucson in 2011. We have built a community of practitioners in various ways worldwide and have metrics on behavioral changes. To maintain the community and create new partnerships, we have teamed with Sci

Enhanced Night Visibility Series, Volume XVI : Phase III, Characterization of Experimental Objects

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-12-01

The Enhanced Night Visibility (ENV) project is a series of experiments undertaken to investigate different visual enhancement systems (VES) for the nighttime driving task. The purpose of this characterization activity is to establish the photometric ...

EUROPEAN VOLCANOES' NIGHT: building a link between general public and volcanologists in a relaxed and welcoming setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvo, David; González-Cárdenas, María E.; Baldrich, Laura; Solana, Carmen; Nave, Rosella; Calvari, Sonia; Harangi, Szabolcs; Chouraqui, Floriane; Dionis, Samara; Silva, Sonia V.; Forjaz, Victor H.; D'Auria, Luca; Pérez, Nemesio M.

2017-04-01

European Volcanoes' Night (www.volcanoesnight.com) is a "volcanic eruption" of art, culture, music, gastronomy, school activities, geotourism, exhibitions and scientific debates. The event aims to bring together members of the general public with scientists who work on the study of volcanoes, in order to meet and ask questions in a relaxed and welcoming setting. It is open to both locals and tourists who appreciate the beauty and power of this natural phenomena. This celebration gives attendees, and in particular young people, the opportunity to meet researchers in a relaxed and festive setting, which will feature many activities and which will be used to highlight the attractiveness of a career research on one of the most attractive natural phenomena; volcanoes. The 2016 European Volcanoes' Night was held at 16 different municipalities of Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom and Cape Verde on September 30, 2016, coinciding with the celebration of "European Researchers' Night" held annually throughout Europe and neighbouring countries the last Friday of September. The spirit of the European VolcanoeśNight fits perfectly in the aim of the ERN, trying to close the gap between the scientific community and the rest of the society. In this case, volcanoes are the driving force of this event, celebrating the singularity of living on volcanoes, and how these affect our daily lives, our culture and our heritage. European VolcanoeśNight also celebrates volcano science, with avantgarde talks and presentations on different volcanic topics and becomes a meeting point for children discovering volcanoes as a pastime or a leisure topic, making this event a must for tourists and locals wherever has been held. At the end of 2016 European VolcanoeśNight, almost 150 activities were performed for thousands of spectators, a big success that confirms something as crucial as science as a communication issue, and as a tool to strengthen the ties between researchers

Air quality at night markets in Taiwan.

PubMed

Zhao, Ping; Lin, Chi-Chi

2010-03-01

In Taiwan, there are more than 300 night markets and they have attracted more and more visitors in recent years. Air quality in night markets has become a public concern. To characterize the current air quality in night markets, four major night markets in Kaohsiung were selected for this study. The results of this study showed that the mean carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations at fixed and moving sites in night markets ranged from 326 to 427 parts per million (ppm) during non-open hours and from 433 to 916 ppm during open hours. The average carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations at fixed and moving sites in night markets ranged from 0.2 to 2.8 ppm during non-open hours and from 2.1 to 14.1 ppm during open hours. The average 1-hr levels of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 microm (PM10) and less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5) at fixed and moving sites in night markets were high, ranging from 186 to 451 microg/m3 and from 175 to 418 microg/m3, respectively. The levels of PM2.5 accounted for 80-97% of their respective PM10 concentrations. The average formaldehyde (HCHO) concentrations at fixed and moving sites in night markets ranged from 0 to 0.05 ppm during non-open hours and from 0.02 to 0.27 ppm during open hours. The average concentration of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was found in the range of 0.09 x 10(4) to 1.8 x 10(4) ng/m3. The total identified PAHs (TIPs) ranged from 7.8 x 10(1) to 20 x 10(1) ng/m3 during non-open hours and from 1.5 x 10(4) to 4.0 x 10(4) ng/m3 during open hours. Of the total analyzed PAHs, the low-molecular-weight PAHs (two to three rings) were the dominant species, corresponding to an average of 97% during non-open hours and 88% during open hours, whereas high-molecular-weight PAHs (four to six rings) represented 3 and 12% of the total detected PAHs in the gas phase during non-open and open hours, respectively.

Colour vision deficiency.

PubMed

Simunovic, M P

2010-05-01

Colour vision deficiency is one of the commonest disorders of vision and can be divided into congenital and acquired forms. Congenital colour vision deficiency affects as many as 8% of males and 0.5% of females--the difference in prevalence reflects the fact that the commonest forms of congenital colour vision deficiency are inherited in an X-linked recessive manner. Until relatively recently, our understanding of the pathophysiological basis of colour vision deficiency largely rested on behavioural data; however, modern molecular genetic techniques have helped to elucidate its mechanisms. The current management of congenital colour vision deficiency lies chiefly in appropriate counselling (including career counselling). Although visual aids may be of benefit to those with colour vision deficiency when performing certain tasks, the evidence suggests that they do not enable wearers to obtain normal colour discrimination. In the future, gene therapy remains a possibility, with animal models demonstrating amelioration following treatment.

Trapezius Muscle Load, Heart Rate and Time Pressure during Day and Night Shift in Swiss and Japanese Nurses

PubMed Central

NICOLETTI, Corinne; MÜLLER, Christian; TOBITA, Itoko; NAKASEKO, Masaru; LÄUBLI, Thomas

2014-01-01

The aim of the present study was to analyze the activity of the trapezius muscle, the heart rate and the time pressure of Swiss and Japanese nurses during day and night shifts. The parameters were measured during a day and a night shift of 17 Swiss and 22 Japanese nurses. The observed rest time of the trapezius muscle was longer for Swiss than for Japanese nurses during both shifts. The 10th and the 50th percentile of the trapezius muscle activity showed a different effect for Swiss than for Japanese nurses. It was higher during the day shift of Swiss nurses and higher during the night shift of Japanese nurses. Heart rate was higher for both Swiss and Japanese nurses during the day. The time pressure was significantly higher for Japanese than for Swiss nurses. Over the duration of the shifts, time pressure increased for Japanese nurses and slightly decreased for those from Switzerland. Considering trapezius muscle activity and time pressure, the nursing profession was more burdening for the examined Japanese nurses than for Swiss nurses. In particular, the night shift for Japanese nurses was characterized by a high trapezius muscle activity and only few rest times for the trapezius muscle. PMID:24633074

Trapezius muscle load, heart rate and time pressure during day and night shift in Swiss and Japanese nurses.

PubMed

Nicoletti, Corinne; Müller, Christian; Tobita, Itoko; Nakaseko, Masaru; Läubli, Thomas

2014-01-01

The aim of the present study was to analyze the activity of the trapezius muscle, the heart rate and the time pressure of Swiss and Japanese nurses during day and night shifts. The parameters were measured during a day and a night shift of 17 Swiss and 22 Japanese nurses. The observed rest time of the trapezius muscle was longer for Swiss than for Japanese nurses during both shifts. The 10th and the 50th percentile of the trapezius muscle activity showed a different effect for Swiss than for Japanese nurses. It was higher during the day shift of Swiss nurses and higher during the night shift of Japanese nurses. Heart rate was higher for both Swiss and Japanese nurses during the day. The time pressure was significantly higher for Japanese than for Swiss nurses. Over the duration of the shifts, time pressure increased for Japanese nurses and slightly decreased for those from Switzerland. Considering trapezius muscle activity and time pressure, the nursing profession was more burdening for the examined Japanese nurses than for Swiss nurses. In particular, the night shift for Japanese nurses was characterized by a high trapezius muscle activity and only few rest times for the trapezius muscle.

Light at night increases body mass by shifting the time of food intake

PubMed Central

Fonken, Laura K.; Workman, Joanna L.; Walton, James C.; Weil, Zachary M.; Morris, John S.; Haim, Abraham; Nelson, Randy J.

2010-01-01

The global increase in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic disorders coincides with the increase of exposure to light at night (LAN) and shift work. Circadian regulation of energy homeostasis is controlled by an endogenous biological clock that is synchronized by light information. To promote optimal adaptive functioning, the circadian clock prepares individuals for predictable events such as food availability and sleep, and disruption of clock function causes circadian and metabolic disturbances. To determine whether a causal relationship exists between nighttime light exposure and obesity, we examined the effects of LAN on body mass in male mice. Mice housed in either bright (LL) or dim (DM) LAN have significantly increased body mass and reduced glucose tolerance compared with mice in a standard (LD) light/dark cycle, despite equivalent levels of caloric intake and total daily activity output. Furthermore, the timing of food consumption by DM and LL mice differs from that in LD mice. Nocturnal rodents typically eat substantially more food at night; however, DM mice consume 55.5% of their food during the light phase, as compared with 36.5% in LD mice. Restricting food consumption to the active phase in DM mice prevents body mass gain. These results suggest that low levels of light at night disrupt the timing of food intake and other metabolic signals, leading to excess weight gain. These data are relevant to the coincidence between increasing use of light at night and obesity in humans. PMID:20937863

Vision Systems with the Human in the Loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauckhage, Christian; Hanheide, Marc; Wrede, Sebastian; Käster, Thomas; Pfeiffer, Michael; Sagerer, Gerhard

2005-12-01

The emerging cognitive vision paradigm deals with vision systems that apply machine learning and automatic reasoning in order to learn from what they perceive. Cognitive vision systems can rate the relevance and consistency of newly acquired knowledge, they can adapt to their environment and thus will exhibit high robustness. This contribution presents vision systems that aim at flexibility and robustness. One is tailored for content-based image retrieval, the others are cognitive vision systems that constitute prototypes of visual active memories which evaluate, gather, and integrate contextual knowledge for visual analysis. All three systems are designed to interact with human users. After we will have discussed adaptive content-based image retrieval and object and action recognition in an office environment, the issue of assessing cognitive systems will be raised. Experiences from psychologically evaluated human-machine interactions will be reported and the promising potential of psychologically-based usability experiments will be stressed.

AN INVESTIGATION OF VISION PROBLEMS AND THE VISION CARE SYSTEM IN RURAL CHINA.

PubMed

Bai, Yunli; Yi, Hongmei; Zhang, Linxiu; Shi, Yaojiang; Ma, Xiaochen; Congdon, Nathan; Zhou, Zhongqiang; Boswell, Matthew; Rozelle, Scott

2014-11-01

This paper examines the prevalence of vision problems and the accessibility to and quality of vision care in rural China. We obtained data from 4 sources: 1) the National Rural Vision Care Survey; 2) the Private Optometrists Survey; 3) the County Hospital Eye Care Survey; and 4) the Rural School Vision Care Survey. The data from each of the surveys were collected by the authors during 2012. Thirty-three percent of the rural population surveyed self-reported vision problems. Twenty-two percent of subjects surveyed had ever had a vision exam. Among those who self-reported having vision problems, 34% did not wear eyeglasses. Fifty-four percent of those with vision problems who had eyeglasses did not have a vision exam prior to receiving glasses. However, having a vision exam did not always guarantee access to quality vision care. Four channels of vision care service were assessed. The school vision examination program did not increase the usage rate of eyeglasses. Each county-hospital was staffed with three eye-doctors having one year of education beyond high school, serving more than 400,000 residents. Private optometrists often had low levels of education and professional certification. In conclusion, our findings shows that the vision care system in rural China is inadequate and ineffective in meeting the needs of the rural population sampled.

Export of carbon from chloroplasts at night

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

Schleucher, J.; Vanderveer, P.J.; Sharkey, T.D.

Hexose export from chloroplasts at night has been inferred in previous studies of mutant and transgenic plants. The authors have tested whether hexose export is the normal route of carbon export from chloroplasts at night. The authors used nuclear magnetic resonance to distinguish glucose (Glc) made from hexose export and Glc made from triose export. Glc synthesized in vitro from fructose-6-phosphate in the presence of deuterium-labeled water had deuterium incorporated at C-2, whereas synthesis from triose phosphates caused C-2 through C-5 to become deuterated. In both tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) and bean (phaseolus vulgaris L.), Glc from sucrose made atmore » night in the presence of deuterium-enriched water was deuterated only in the C-2 position, indicating that >75% of carbon is exported as hexoses at night. In darkness the phosphate in the cytosol was 28 mM, whereas that in the chloroplasts was 5 mW, but hexose phosphates were 10-fold higher in the cytosol than in the chloroplasts. Therefore, hexose phosphates would not move out of chloroplasts without the input of energy. The authors conclude that most carbon leaves chloroplasts at night as Glc, maltose, or higher maltodextrins under normal conditions.« less

A combined field and laboratory design for assessing the impact of night shift work on police officer operational performance.

PubMed

Waggoner, Lauren B; Grant, Devon A; Van Dongen, Hans P A; Belenky, Gregory; Vila, Bryan

2012-11-01

This study assessed the utility of a combined field and laboratory research design for measuring the impact of consecutive night shift work on the sleepiness, vigilance, and driving performance of police patrol officers. For police patrol officers working their normal night shift duty cycles, simulated driving performance and psychomotor vigilance were measured in a laboratory on two separate occasions: in the morning after the last of five consecutive 10.7-h night shifts, and at the same time in the morning after three consecutive days off duty. Order of participation in conditions was randomized among subjects. Subjects experienced manipulation of sleep schedules due to working night shifts in a real operational environment, but performance testing was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. N = 29 active-duty police patrol officers (27 male, 2 female; age 37.1 ± 6.3 years) working night shift schedules participated in this study. Simulated driving performance, psychomotor vigilance, and subjective sleepiness were significantly degraded following 5 consecutive night shifts as compared to 3 consecutive days off duty, indicating that active-duty police officers are susceptible to performance degradation as a consequence of working nights. This combined field and laboratory research design succeeded in bridging the gap between the realism of the operational environment and the control of laboratory performance testing, demonstrating that this is a useful approach for addressing the relationship between shift work induced fatigue and critical operational task performance.

Day Persons, Night Persons, and Time of Birth: Preliminary Findings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Benjamin; Fisher, Leslie E.

2001-01-01

Presents the results from two surveys that explored the relationship between time of birth and being a day or night person. Explains that in survey one, U.S. high school students completed a questionnaire related to daytime or nighttime activity, while in survey two, U.S. college students completed the same questionnaire. (CMK)

An Rx for 20/20 Vision: Vision Planning and Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chrisman, Gerald J.; Holliday, Clifford R.

1996-01-01

Discusses the Dallas Independent School District's decision to adopt an integrated technology infrastructure and the importance of vision planning for long term goals. Outlines the vision planning process: first draft; environmental projection; restatement of vision in terms of market projections, anticipated customer needs, suspected competitor…

High dynamic range vision sensor for automotive applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grenet, Eric; Gyger, Steve; Heim, Pascal; Heitger, Friedrich; Kaess, Francois; Nussbaum, Pascal; Ruedi, Pierre-Francois

2005-02-01

A 128 x 128 pixels, 120 dB vision sensor extracting at the pixel level the contrast magnitude and direction of local image features is used to implement a lane tracking system. The contrast representation (relative change of illumination) delivered by the sensor is independent of the illumination level. Together with the high dynamic range of the sensor, it ensures a very stable image feature representation even with high spatial and temporal inhomogeneities of the illumination. Dispatching off chip image feature is done according to the contrast magnitude, prioritizing features with high contrast magnitude. This allows to reduce drastically the amount of data transmitted out of the chip, hence the processing power required for subsequent processing stages. To compensate for the low fill factor (9%) of the sensor, micro-lenses have been deposited which increase the sensitivity by a factor of 5, corresponding to an equivalent of 2000 ASA. An algorithm exploiting the contrast representation output by the vision sensor has been developed to estimate the position of a vehicle relative to the road markings. The algorithm first detects the road markings based on the contrast direction map. Then, it performs quadratic fits on selected kernel of 3 by 3 pixels to achieve sub-pixel accuracy on the estimation of the lane marking positions. The resulting precision on the estimation of the vehicle lateral position is 1 cm. The algorithm performs efficiently under a wide variety of environmental conditions, including night and rainy conditions.

Vision Therapy News Backgrounder.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Optometric Association, St. Louis, MO.

The booklet provides an overview on vision therapy to aid writers, editors, and broadcasters help parents, teachers, older adults, and all consumers learn more about vision therapy. Following a description of vision therapy or vision training, information is provided on how and why vision therapy works. Additional sections address providers of…

Effect of high night temperature on storage lipids and transcriptome changes in developing seeds of oilseed rape.

PubMed

Zhou, Longhua; Yan, Tao; Chen, Xin; Li, Zhilan; Wu, Dezhi; Hua, Shuijin; Jiang, Lixi

2018-03-24

Global warming causes a faster increase of night temperature than of day temperature in tropical and subtropical zones. Little is known about the effect of high night temperature on storage lipids and transcriptome changes in oilseed rape. This study compared the total fatty acids and fatty acid compositions in seeds of two oilseed rape cultivars between high and low night temperatures. Their transcriptome profiles were also analyzed. High night temperature significantly affected the total fatty acids and fatty acid compositions in seeds of both low and high oil content cultivars, namely Jiuer-13 and Zheyou-50, thereby resulting in 18.9% and 13.7% total fatty acid reductions, respectively. In particular, high night temperature decreased the relative proportions of C18:0 and C18:1 but increased the proportions of C18:2 and C18:3 in both cultivars. In-depth analysis of transcriptome profiles revealed that high night temperature up-regulated gibberellin signaling during the night-time. This up-regulation was associated with the active expression of genes involved in fatty acid catabolism, such as those in β-oxidation and glyoxylate metabolism pathways. Although the effect of temperature on plant lipids has been previously examined, the present study is the first to focus on night temperature and its effect on the fatty acid composition in seeds.

[Ophthalmologist and "computer vision syndrome"].

PubMed

Barar, A; Apatachioaie, Ioana Daniela; Apatachioaie, C; Marceanu-Brasov, L

2007-01-01

The authors had tried to collect the data available on the Internet about a subject that we consider as being totally ignored in the Romanian scientific literature and unexpectedly insufficiently treated in the specialized ophthalmologic literature. Known in the specialty literature under the generic name of "Computer vision syndrome", it is defined by the American Optometric Association as a complex of eye and vision problems related to the activities which stress the near vision and which are experienced in relation, or during, the use of the computer. During the consultations we hear frequent complaints of eye-strain - asthenopia, headaches, blurred distance and/or near vision, dry and irritated eyes, slow refocusing, neck and backache, photophobia, sensation of diplopia, light sensitivity, and double vision, but because of the lack of information, we overlooked them too easily, without going thoroughly into the real motives. In most of the developed countries, there are recommendations issued by renowned medical associations with regard to the definition, the diagnosis, and the methods for the prevention, treatment and periodical control of the symptoms found in computer users, in conjunction with an extremely detailed ergonomic legislation. We found out that these problems incite a much too low interest in our country. We would like to rouse the interest of our ophthalmologist colleagues in the understanding and the recognition of these symptoms and in their treatment, or at least their improvement, through specialized measures or through the cooperation with our specialist occupational medicine colleagues.

Heart rate variability changes in physicians working on night call.

PubMed

Malmberg, Birgitta; Persson, Roger; Flisberg, Per; Ørbaek, Palle

2011-03-01

Adverse effects by night-call duty have become an important occupational health issue. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the heart rate variability (HRV) differed during recovery from day work and night-call duty between distinct physician specialities. We studied the impact of a 16-h night-call duty on autonomic balance, measured by HRV, among two physician groups differing with respect to having to deal with life-threatening conditions while on call. Nineteen anaesthesiologists (ANEST) and 16 paediatricians and ear, nose and throat surgeons (PENT) were monitored by ambulatory digital Holter electrocardiogram (ECG). Heart rate variability was analysed between 21:00 and 22:00 after an ordinary workday, on night call and in the evening post-call. Absolute and normalized high-frequency power (HF, HFnu) were the main outcome variables, expressing parasympathetic influence on the heart. ANEST had lower HF power than PENT while on night call and post-daytime work (p < 0.05), but not at post-night call. In the whole group of physicians, HFnu was lower on call and post-daytime work compared with post-night-call duty (p < 0.05). The physiological recovery after night duty seemed sufficient in terms of HRV patterns for HFnu, reflecting autonomic balance and did not differ between specialities. However, the less dynamic HRV after daytime work and during night-call duty in the ANEST group may indicate a higher physiological stress level. These results may contribute to the improvement of night-call schedules within the health care sector.

Color vision test

MedlinePlus

... present from birth) color vision problems: Achromatopsia -- complete color blindness , seeing only shades of gray Deuteranopia -- difficulty telling ... Vision test - color; Ishihara color vision test Images Color blindness tests References Bowling B. Hereditary fundus dystrophies. In: ...

Stennis hosts NASA Night in Oxford

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

A young visitor to the Powerhouse Community Arts and Cultural Center in Oxford, Miss., enjoys a balloon rocket transportation activity during a NASA Night in the Neighborhood on March 29. NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis visited the center with a variety of space-related displays and educational activities. Events targeted for children included moon phasers and build-your-own rocket transportation exercises, as well as an astronaut ice cream tasting station. Visitors also were able to take photos in the astronaut suit display. Displays focused on the 40th anniversaries of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 lunar missions, the International Space Station, and various aspects of Stennis work. The event was sponsored by the NASA Office of External Affairs and Education at Stennis.

Relation among cytochrome P450, AH-active PCB congeners and dioxin equivalents in pipping black-crowned night-heron embryos

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rattner, B.A.; Hatfield, J.S.; Melancon, M.J.; Custer, T.W.; Tillitt, D.E.

1994-01-01

Pipping black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) embryos were collected from a relatively uncontaminated site (next to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, VA) and three polluted sites (Cat Island, Green Bay, Lake Michigan, WI; Bair Island, San Francisco Bay, CA; West Marin Island, San Francisco Bay, CA). Hepatic cytochrome P-450-associated monooxygenases and cytochrome P-450 proteins, induced up to 85-fold relative to the reference site, were associated with concentrations of total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 11 PCB congeners that are presumed to express toxicity through the arylhydrocarbon (Ah) receptor. Multiple regression revealed that up to 86% of the variation of cytochrome P450 measurements was accounted for by variation in the concentration of these PCB congeners. Toxic equivalents (TEQs) of sample extracts, predicted mathematically (summed product of PCB congener concentrations and toxic equivalency factors), and dioxin equivalents (TCDD-EQs), derived by bioassay (ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase activity of treated H4IIE rat hepatoma cells), were greatest in Cat Island samples. Cytochrome P450-associated monooxygenases and cytochrome P450 proteins were related to TEQs and TCDD-EQs; adjusted r-2 often exceeded 0.5 for the relation among mathematically predicted TEQs and cytochrome P450 measurements. These data extend previous observations in heron embryos of an association between P450 and total PCB burdens to include Ah-active PCB congeners, and presumably other compounds, which interact similarly with the Ah receptor. Benzyloxyresorufin O-dealkylase, ethoxyresorufin O-dealkylase, and cytochrome P450 1A appear to be the most reliable measures of exposure to Ah-active PCB congeners in black-crowned night-heron embryos. These findings provide further evidence that cytochrome P450-associated parameters have considerable value as a biomarker for assessing environmental contamination of wetlands.

Travelers In The Night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grauer, Albert D.

2014-11-01

Travelers In The Night is an engaging and informative series of two minute radio programs about asteroids, comets, spacecraft, and other objects in space. The pieces are evergreen in that they are current but not dated. They are published on the Public Radio Exchange and carried by a number of radio stations. For teachers, students, and kids of all ages, the script for each piece and the start of a path for further inquiry can be found on the website travelersinthenight.org . The Travelers InThe Night Pieces are written and produced by an observing member of the Catalina Sky Survey Team at the University of Arizona. DPS members are encouraged to submit program ideas which can be developed to feature their research efforts.

Day-night variation in heart rate variability changes induced by endotoxaemia in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Alamili, M; Rosenberg, J; Gögenur, I

2015-04-01

Morbidity and mortality in response to sepsis may be dependent on clock time for the initiation of sepsis. Endotoxaemia, an experimental model for systemic inflammation, induces alterations in sympatico-vagal balance in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The activity of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity can be estimated by measuring heart rate variability (HRV). Based on the intimate link between ANS and the inflammatory response, we hypothesized, that HRV changes seen during endotoxaemia would be different based on time of the day the endotoxaemia is initiated. We investigated day/night variation in endotoxaemia-induced changes in HRV. A randomized, crossover study with 12 healthy men (age 18-31) was conducted. Endotoxaemia were induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin 0.3 ng/kg b.w. in two visits (day visit and night visit). At the day visit, endotoxaemia were induced at 12:00 h, and at the night visit it was induced at 24:00 h. Holter recordings were started 1 h before administration of LPS, and continued for 10 h. Time-domain and frequency-domain parameters of HRV were analysed. A total of nine persons finished the study with valid recordings. Endotoxaemia at both night and day resulted in a significant depression in HRV parameters high-frequency power (HF), low-frequency power (LF), standard deviation of normal-to-normal (NN) intervals, root mean square of successive differences and proportion of NN50 divided by total number of NNs (P<0.001). The ratio LF/HF and mean heart rate significantly increased by endotoxaemia (P<0.001). At night-time endotoxaemia, a more pronounced depression of LF, HF and SDNN (P<0.01) and a more pronounced increase in the ratio of LF/HF and mean heart rate (P<0.01) occurred compared with day-time endotoxaemia. Endotoxaemia induced changes in HRV exhibit a day-night difference. This difference may have clinical consequences in patients with sepsis. © 2015 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation

Family Science Night: Changing Perceptions One Family at a Time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pesnell, W. D.; Drobnes, E.; Mitchell, S.; Colina-Trujillo, M.

2007-01-01

If students are not encouraged to succeed in science, mathematics, and technology classes at school, efforts to improve the quality of content and teaching in these subjects may be futile. Parents and families are in a unique position to encourage children to enroll and achieve in these classes. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Family Science Night program invites middle school students and their families to explore the importance of science and technology in our daily lives by providing a venue for families to comfortably engage in learning activities that change their perception and understanding of science - making it more practical and approachable for participants of all ages. Family Science Night strives to change the way that students and their families participate in science, within the program and beyond.

Comparison of lung burdens of inhaled particles of rats exposed during the day or night

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

Hesseltine, G.R.; Wolff, R.K.; Hanson, R.L.

Inhalation studies frequently involve daytime exposures of nocturnal animals to toxicants. Such exposures may result in different respiratory tract depositions than would be obtained if rodents were exposed at night. Our study assessed the effect of night versus day exposures on lung burdens of particles inhaled by Fischer 344 rats. One group of 15 female rats was exposed to 0.3 micron volume median diameter particles of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) for 11.2 h during the day and a second group of 15 female rats was exposed to the same aerosol for 11.2 h at night. Gallium in the lungs at themore » end of exposure was measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Rats exposed during the night had significantly (p less than 0.05) higher lung burdens than day-exposed rats when burdens were expressed as either microgram Ga2O3/lung (mean +/- SD = 896 +/- 175 versus 698 +/- 150) or microgram Ga2O3/g lung (mean +/- SD = 683 +/- 134 versus 465 +/- 103). The greater amount of material in lungs of rats exposed at night probably reflected increased ventilation accompanying nocturnal activity.« less

[Night work, shift work: Breast cancer risk factor?].

PubMed

Benabu, J-C; Stoll, F; Gonzalez, M; Mathelin, C

2015-12-01

The aim of this review was to determine the link between night/shift work and breast cancer. The analysed articles were taken from the PUBMED database between 1996 and 2015. The keywords used were "breast cancer risk", "night work" and "shift work". In total, 25 articles were selected. Night/shift workers are more at risk to develop a breast cancer (relative risk (RR) between 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02-1.20 and 1.48; 95% CI: 1.36-1.61 in the meta-analyses). However, this risk is not found by some cohort and case-control studies. The circadian rhythm disruption, responsible of disorderliness of melatonin secretion, could be one of the mechanisms involved in the increase of that risk. Hormonal status of night/shift workers, their geographic origin, their lifestyle and their vitamin D deficiency appear as other mechanisms potentially responsible for increased risk of cancer in this professional population. Moreover, a dose-effect connection may exist, with an increase of the risk with the number of years of night/shift work. Night/shift work is associated with a moderate increased risk of breast cancer, especially among women who worked over 20 years. Recommendations concerning the breast monitoring in this population could be diffused. The benefit of melatonin supplementation remains to be assessed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier SAS.

Icelandic herring-eating killer whales feed at night.

PubMed

Richard, Gaëtan; Filatova, Olga A; Samarra, Filipa I P; Fedutin, Ivan D; Lammers, Marc; Miller, Patrick J

2017-01-01

Herring-eating killer whales debilitate herring with underwater tail slaps and likely herd herring into tighter schools using a feeding-specific low-frequency pulsed call ('herding' call). Feeding on herring may be dependent upon daylight, as the whales use their white underside to help herd herring; however, feeding at night has not been investigated. The production of feeding-specific sounds provides an opportunity to use passive acoustic monitoring to investigate feeding behaviour at different times of day. We compared the acoustic behaviour of killer whales between day and night, using an autonomous recorder deployed in Iceland during winter. Based upon acoustic detection of underwater tail slaps used to feed upon herring we found that killer whales fed both at night and day: they spent 50% of their time at night and 73% of daytime feeding. Interestingly, there was a significant diel variation in acoustic behaviour. Herding calls were significantly associated with underwater tail slap rate and were recorded significantly more often at night, suggesting that in low-light conditions killer whales rely more on acoustics to herd herring. Communicative sounds were also related to underwater tail slap rate and produced at different rates during day and night. The capability to adapt feeding behaviour to different light conditions may be particularly relevant for predator species occurring in high latitudes during winter, when light availability is limited.

Feature-Free Activity Classification of Inertial Sensor Data With Machine Vision Techniques: Method, Development, and Evaluation.

PubMed

Dominguez Veiga, Jose Juan; O'Reilly, Martin; Whelan, Darragh; Caulfield, Brian; Ward, Tomas E

2017-08-04

Inertial sensors are one of the most commonly used sources of data for human activity recognition (HAR) and exercise detection (ED) tasks. The time series produced by these sensors are generally analyzed through numerical methods. Machine learning techniques such as random forests or support vector machines are popular in this field for classification efforts, but they need to be supported through the isolation of a potentially large number of additionally crafted features derived from the raw data. This feature preprocessing step can involve nontrivial digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. However, in many cases, the researchers interested in this type of activity recognition problems do not possess the necessary technical background for this feature-set development. The study aimed to present a novel application of established machine vision methods to provide interested researchers with an easier entry path into the HAR and ED fields. This can be achieved by removing the need for deep DSP skills through the use of transfer learning. This can be done by using a pretrained convolutional neural network (CNN) developed for machine vision purposes for exercise classification effort. The new method should simply require researchers to generate plots of the signals that they would like to build classifiers with, store them as images, and then place them in folders according to their training label before retraining the network. We applied a CNN, an established machine vision technique, to the task of ED. Tensorflow, a high-level framework for machine learning, was used to facilitate infrastructure needs. Simple time series plots generated directly from accelerometer and gyroscope signals are used to retrain an openly available neural network (Inception), originally developed for machine vision tasks. Data from 82 healthy volunteers, performing 5 different exercises while wearing a lumbar-worn inertial measurement unit (IMU), was collected. The ability of the

Deep Learning for Computer Vision: A Brief Review

PubMed Central

Doulamis, Nikolaos; Doulamis, Anastasios; Protopapadakis, Eftychios

2018-01-01

Over the last years deep learning methods have been shown to outperform previous state-of-the-art machine learning techniques in several fields, with computer vision being one of the most prominent cases. This review paper provides a brief overview of some of the most significant deep learning schemes used in computer vision problems, that is, Convolutional Neural Networks, Deep Boltzmann Machines and Deep Belief Networks, and Stacked Denoising Autoencoders. A brief account of their history, structure, advantages, and limitations is given, followed by a description of their applications in various computer vision tasks, such as object detection, face recognition, action and activity recognition, and human pose estimation. Finally, a brief overview is given of future directions in designing deep learning schemes for computer vision problems and the challenges involved therein. PMID:29487619

Blindness and vision loss

MedlinePlus

... eye ( chemical burns or sports injuries) Diabetes Glaucoma Macular degeneration The type of partial vision loss may differ, ... tunnel vision and missing areas of vision With macular degeneration, the side vision is normal but the central ...

Late-night hours draw busy patients.

PubMed

1999-10-01

Planned Parenthood of Houston and southeast Texas is currently implementing a reproductive health care clinic with night-time hours. The clinic provides for the reproductive health care needs of college students with after-class jobs, women with two jobs or with night-shift employment, and all other women who do not have time to go to a daytime clinic. The clinic operates twice a month on Fridays and was initially open 10:30 p.m. - 7 a.m., but now it has changed its hours to 7:30 p.m. - 3:30 a.m. The clinic is staffed by one clinician and two clinic assistants, which attend to an average of 17-22 patients per night's schedule. Women who use the clinic keep their appointments better and do not have to wait so long for care.

Supportive leadership in Swedish community night nursing.

PubMed

Gustafsson, Christine; Fagerberg, Ingegerd; Asp, Margareta

2010-10-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the support night nurses' give to staff in community night nursing. Studies have shown that support given to staff is one of night registered nurses' (RNs') experiences of the meaning of caring. This support, that community RNs display for staff in night-time care, is sparsely described. All community night-duty nurses in a medium-sized municipal in Sweden participated in the present study. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data from observations. The support given by RNs to staff is described using three themes: (1) a conditional supporting stance, (2) preparing propitious conditions for caring and (3) confidence in the abilities of individual staff members and adaptation to their individual needs. The results reveal that RNs consider support to staff in terms of nursing leadership. Out of 'concern for the staff' the RNs try to be there for them, which corresponds to nursing leadership. Such concern also arises from the RNs' awareness that by giving support to staff this affects the staffs' caring for older people. The current municipal social care organization of community nursing of older people in which RNs have extensive responsibilities with insufficient control, is a working condition with a risk for decreased quality of care and a high risk for work-related stress syndrome. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Robot Vision Library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Andrew B.; Ansar, Adnan I.; Litwin, Todd E.; Goldberg, Steven B.

2009-01-01

The JPL Robot Vision Library (JPLV) provides real-time robot vision algorithms for developers who are not vision specialists. The package includes algorithms for stereo ranging, visual odometry and unsurveyed camera calibration, and has unique support for very wideangle lenses

The feast "STAR NIGHT 2009" in Shumen, Bulgaria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyurkchieva, Diana P.

Information about the preparation and realization of the attractive program for the "Star Night" on September 25, 2009, in Shumen, is presented. Its goal is popularization of the European initiative "Research Night" in Bulgaria.

Relationship between functional vision and balance and mobility performance in community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Aartolahti, Eeva; Häkkinen, Arja; Lönnroos, Eija; Kautiainen, Hannu; Sulkava, Raimo; Hartikainen, Sirpa

2013-10-01

Vision is an important prerequisite for balance control and mobility. The role of objectively measured visual functions has been previously studied but less is known about associations of functional vision, that refers to self-perceived vision-based ability to perform daily activities. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between functional vision and balance and mobility performance in a community-based sample of older adults. This study is part of a Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy for the Good Care of the Elderly project (GeMS). Participants (576) aged 76-100 years (mean age 81 years, 70 % women) were interviewed using a seven-item functional vision questionnaire (VF-7). Balance and mobility were measured by the Berg balance scale (BBS), timed up and go (TUG), chair stand test, and maximal walking speed. In addition, self-reported fear of falling, depressive symptoms (15-item Geriatric Depression Scale), cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination) and physical activity (Grimby) were assessed. In the analysis, participants were classified into poor, moderate, or good functional vision groups. The poor functional vision group (n = 95) had more comorbidities, depressed mood, cognition decline, fear of falling, and reduced physical activity compared to participants with moderate (n = 222) or good functional vision (n = 259). Participants with poor functional vision performed worse on all balance and mobility tests. After adjusting for gender, age, chronic conditions, and cognition, the linearity remained statistically significant between functional vision and BBS (p = 0.013), TUG (p = 0.010), and maximal walking speed (p = 0.008), but not between functional vision and chair stand (p = 0.069). Poor functional vision is related to weaker balance and mobility performance in community-dwelling older adults. This highlights the importance of widespread assessment of health, including functional vision, to prevent balance impairment and maintain

Differences in day and night shift clinical performance in anesthesiology.

PubMed

Cao, Caroline G L; Weinger, Matthew B; Slagle, Jason; Zhou, Chuan; Ou, Jennie; Gillin, Shakha; Sheh, Bryant; Mazzei, William

2008-04-01

This study examined whether anesthesia residents (physicians in training) performed clinical duties in the operating room differently during the day versus at night. Fatigue from sleep deprivation and working through the night is common for physicians, particularly during residency training. Using a repeated-measures design, we studied 13 pairs of day-night matched anesthesia cases. Dependent measures included task times, workload ratings, response to an alarm light latency task, and mood. Residents spent significantly less time on manual tasks and more time on monitoring tasks during the maintenance phase at night than during the day. Residents reported more negative mood at night than during the day, both pre- and postoperation. However, time of day had no effect on the mood change between pre- and postoperation. Workload ratings and the response time to an alarm light latency task were not significantly different between night and day cases. Because night shift residents had been awake and working for more than 16 hr, the observed differences in task performance and mood may be attributed to fatigue. The changes in task distribution during night shift work may represent compensatory strategies to maintain patient care quality while keeping perceived workload at a manageable level. Fatigue effects during night shifts should be considered when designing work-rest schedules for clinicians. This matched-case control scheme can also be applied to study other phenomena associated with patient safety in the actual clinical environment.

Night shift work and levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and cortisol in men.

PubMed

Mirick, Dana K; Bhatti, Parveen; Chen, Chu; Nordt, Frank; Stanczyk, Frank Z; Davis, Scott

2013-06-01

Night shift work is associated with cancer among men, but the biologic mechanism is unclear. We investigated whether male night shift workers showed changes in levels of melatonin and cortisol, potential biomarkers of cancer risk. Urine was collected from 185 night shift and 158 day shift-working male healthcare providers, aged 22 to 55 years, throughout work and sleep periods, and assayed for 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and cortisol. Morning serum was collected within 90 minutes of completing the night and assayed for cortisol. Night shift workers had significantly lower 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels during daytime sleep, nighttime work, and nighttime sleep on off-nights (57%, 62%, and 40% lower, respectively), relative to the day shift workers during nighttime sleep (P < 0.0001); urinary cortisol in night shift workers was 16% higher during daytime sleep and 13% lower during nighttime sleep on off-nights (P < 0.05). Morning serum cortisol post-work and post-sleep in night shift workers were 24% and 43% lower, respectively, than post-sleep levels among day shift workers (P < 0.0001). Within-subject comparisons among the night shift workers revealed significantly lower melatonin levels and significantly higher urinary cortisol levels during daytime sleep and nighttime work, relative to nighttime sleep (P < 0.01); morning serum cortisol levels post-work were lower than those post-sleep. Night shift workers have substantially lower 6-sulfatoxymelatonin during night work and daytime sleep, and levels remain low when night shift workers sleep at night. Chronic reduction in melatonin among night shift workers may be an important carcinogenic mechanism. Cortisol secretion patterns may be impacted by night shift work, which could affect cancer risk. Shift work could be an important risk factor for many types of cancer.

77 FR 62147 - Night Definition; Technical Amendment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-12

.... Nos. 1-1] Night Definition; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT. ACTION... Canada. In 14 CFR 1.1 the definition of night refers to twilight times as published in the ``American Air... make the amendment effective in less than 30 days. List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 1 Air transportation...

Circadian variation of melatonin, light exposure, and diurnal preference in day and night shift workers of both sexes.

PubMed

Papantoniou, Kyriaki; Pozo, Oscar J; Espinosa, Ana; Marcos, Josep; Castaño-Vinyals, Gemma; Basagaña, Xavier; Ribas, Ferran Calduch; Mirabent, Joan; Martín, Jordi; Carenys, Gemma; Martín, Celia Reyes; Middleton, Benita; Skene, Debra J; Kogevinas, Manolis

2014-07-01

Light-at-night has been shown in experimental studies to disrupt melatonin production but this has only partly been confirmed in studies of night shift workers. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the circadian variation of melatonin in relation to shift status, individual levels of light-at-night exposure, and diurnal preference, an attribute reflecting personal preference for activity in the morning or evening. One hundred and seventeen workers (75 night and 42 day) of both sexes, ages 22 to 64 years, were recruited from four companies. Participants collected urine samples from all voids over 24 hours and wore a data logger continuously recording their light exposure. Sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle, and diurnal preference information were collected by interview. Concentrations of urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), the main melatonin metabolite, were measured. Mean aMT6s levels were lower in night [10.9 ng/mg creatinine/hour; 95% confidence interval (CI), 9.5-12.6] compared with day workers (15.4; 95% CI, 12.3-19.3). The lowest aMT6s levels were observed in night workers with morning preference (6.4; 95% CI, 3.0-13.6). Peak time of aMT6s production occurred 3 hours later in night (08:42 hour, 95% CI, 07:48-09:42) compared with day workers (05:36 hour, 95% CI, 05:06-06:12). Phase delay was stronger among subjects with higher light-at-night exposure and number of nights worked. Night shift workers had lower levels and a delay in peak time of aMT6s production over a 24-hour period. Differences were modified by diurnal preference and intensity of light-at-night exposure. Night shift work affects levels and timing of melatonin production and both parameters may relate to future cancer risk. ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.

Improving Vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Many people are familiar with the popular science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show featuring a blind character named Geordi La Forge, whose visor-like glasses enable him to see. What many people do not know is that a product very similar to Geordi's glasses is available to assist people with vision conditions, and a NASA engineer's expertise contributed to its development. The JORDY(trademark) (Joint Optical Reflective Display) device, designed and manufactured by a privately-held medical device company known as Enhanced Vision, enables people with low vision to read, write, and watch television. Low vision, which includes macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, describes eyesight that is 20/70 or worse, and cannot be fully corrected with conventional glasses.

The impact of short night-time naps on performance, sleepiness and mood during a simulated night shift.

PubMed

Centofanti, Stephanie A; Hilditch, Cassie J; Dorrian, Jillian; Banks, Siobhan

2016-01-01

Short naps on night shift are recommended in some industries. There is a paucity of evidence to verify the sustained recovery benefits of short naps in the last few hours of the night shift. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the sustained recovery benefits of 30 and 10-min nap opportunities during a simulated night shift. Thirty-one healthy participants (18F, 21-35 y) completed a 3-day, between-groups laboratory study with one baseline night (22:00-07:00 h time in bed), followed by one night awake (time awake from 07:00 h on day two through 10:00 h day three) with random allocation to: a 10-min nap opportunity ending at 04:00 h, a 30-min nap opportunity ending at 04:00 h or no nap (control). A neurobehavioral test bout was administered approximately every 2 h during wake periods. There were no significant differences between nap conditions for post-nap psychomotor vigilance performance after controlling for pre-nap scores (p > 0.05). The 30-min nap significantly improved subjective sleepiness compared to the 10-min nap and no-nap control (p < 0.05). The 10-min nap significantly worsened negative mood compared to the 30-min nap and no-nap control (p < 0.01). Contrary to some evidence suggesting "power naps" can help to alleviate performance decrements, a 30-min nap opportunity at approximately 04:00 h was found to improve subjective, but not objective sleepiness. A 10-min nap may lead to increased negative mood in the hours following the nap due to a "short nap aversion" effect.

Mathematical leadership vision.

PubMed

Hamburger, Y A

2000-11-01

This article is an analysis of a new type of leadership vision, the kind of vision that is becoming increasingly pervasive among leaders in the modern world. This vision appears to offer a new horizon, whereas, in fact it delivers to its target audience a finely tuned version of the already existing ambitions and aspirations of the target audience. The leader, with advisors, has examined the target audience and has used the results of extensive research and statistical methods concerning the group to form a picture of its members' lifestyles and values. On the basis of this information, the leader has built a "vision." The vision is intended to create an impression of a charismatic and transformational leader when, in fact, it is merely a response. The systemic, arithmetic, and statistical methods employed in this operation have led to the coining of the terms mathematical leader and mathematical vision.

Effects of experimental light at night on extra-pair paternity in a songbird.

PubMed

de Jong, Maaike; Lamers, Koosje P; Eugster, Mark; Ouyang, Jenny Q; Da Silva, Arnaud; Mateman, A Christa; van Grunsven, Roy H A; Visser, Marcel E; Spoelstra, Kamiel

2018-06-27

Light pollution is increasing worldwide and significantly affects animal behavior. In birds, these effects include advancement of morning activity and onset of dawn song, which may affect extra-pair paternity. Advanced dawn song of males may stimulate females to engage in extra-pair copulations, and the earlier activity onset may affect the males' mate guarding behavior. Earlier work showed an effect of light at night on extra-pair behavior, but this was in an area with other anthropogenic disturbances. Here, we present a two-year experimental study on effects of light at night on extra-pair paternity of great tits (Parus major). Previously dark natural areas were illuminated with white, red, and green LED lamps and compared to a dark control. In 2014, the proportion of extra-pair young in broods increased with distance to the red and white lamps (i.e., at lower light intensities), but decreased with distance to the poles in the dark control. In 2013, we found no effects on the proportion of extra-pair young. The total number of offspring sired by a male was unaffected by artificial light at night in both years, suggesting that potential changes in female fidelity in pairs breeding close to white and red light did not translate into fitness benefits for the males of these pairs. Artificial light at night might disrupt the natural patterns of extra-pair paternity, possibly negates potential benefits of extra-pair copulations and thus could alter sexual selection processes in wild birds. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Technology Advancements for Active Remote Sensing of Carbon Dioxide from Space using the Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) CarbonHawk Experiment Simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obland, Michael D.; Campbell, Joel; Kooi, Susan; Fan, Tai-Fang; Carrion, William; Hicks, Jonathan; Lin, Bing; Nehrir, Amin R.; Browell, Edward V.; Meadows, Byron; Davis, Kenneth J.

2018-04-01

This work describes advances in critical lidar technologies and techniques developed as part of the NASA Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons CarbonHawk Experiment Simulator system for measuring atmospheric column carbon dioxide (CO2) mixing ratios. This work provides an overview of these technologies and results from recent test flights during the NASA Atmospheric Carbon and Transport - America (ACT-America) Earth Venture Suborbital summer 2016 flight campaign.

Active learning in camera calibration through vision measurement application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)