Software complex for geophysical data visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Kryukov, Ilya A.; Tyugin, Dmitry Y.; Kurkin, Andrey A.; Kurkina, Oxana E.

2013-04-01

The effectiveness of current research in geophysics is largely determined by the degree of implementation of the procedure of data processing and visualization with the use of modern information technology. Realistic and informative visualization of the results of three-dimensional modeling of geophysical processes contributes significantly into the naturalness of physical modeling and detailed view of the phenomena. The main difficulty in this case is to interpret the results of the calculations: it is necessary to be able to observe the various parameters of the three-dimensional models, build sections on different planes to evaluate certain characteristics and make a rapid assessment. Programs for interpretation and visualization of simulations are spread all over the world, for example, software systems such as ParaView, Golden Software Surfer, Voxler, Flow Vision and others. However, it is not always possible to solve the problem of visualization with the help of a single software package. Preprocessing, data transfer between the packages and setting up a uniform visualization style can turn into a long and routine work. In addition to this, sometimes special display modes for specific data are required and existing products tend to have more common features and are not always fully applicable to certain special cases. Rendering of dynamic data may require scripting languages that does not relieve the user from writing code. Therefore, the task was to develop a new and original software complex for the visualization of simulation results. Let us briefly list of the primary features that are developed. Software complex is a graphical application with a convenient and simple user interface that displays the results of the simulation. Complex is also able to interactively manage the image, resize the image without loss of quality, apply a two-dimensional and three-dimensional regular grid, set the coordinate axes with data labels and perform slice of data. The

Predicting beauty: fractal dimension and visual complexity in art.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsythe, A; Nadal, M; Sheehy, N; Cela-Conde, C J; Sawey, M

2011-02-01

Visual complexity has been known to be a significant predictor of preference for artistic works for some time. The first study reported here examines the extent to which perceived visual complexity in art can be successfully predicted using automated measures of complexity. Contrary to previous findings the most successful predictor of visual complexity was Gif compression. The second study examined the extent to which fractal dimension could account for judgments of perceived beauty. The fractal dimension measure accounts for more of the variance in judgments of perceived beauty in visual art than measures of visual complexity alone, particularly for abstract and natural images. Results also suggest that when colour is removed from an artistic image observers are unable to make meaningful judgments as to its beauty. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher R. Madan

2018-01-01

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

Visualization and Analysis of Complex Covert Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Memon, Bisharat

systems that are covert and hence inherently complex. My Ph.D. is positioned within the wider framework of CrimeFighter project. The framework envisions a number of key knowledge management processes that are involved in the workflow, and the toolbox provides supporting tools to assist human end......This report discusses and summarize the results of my work so far in relation to my Ph.D. project entitled "Visualization and Analysis of Complex Covert Networks". The focus of my research is primarily on development of methods and supporting tools for visualization and analysis of networked......-users (intelligence analysts) in harvesting, filtering, storing, managing, structuring, mining, analyzing, interpreting, and visualizing data about offensive networks. The methods and tools proposed and discussed in this work can also be applied to analysis of more generic complex networks....

VLSI Architecture for Configurable and Low-Complexity Design of Hard-Decision Viterbi Decoding Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachmad Vidya Wicaksana Putra

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Convolutional encoding and data decoding are fundamental processes in convolutional error correction. One of the most popular error correction methods in decoding is the Viterbi algorithm. It is extensively implemented in many digital communication applications. Its VLSI design challenges are about area, speed, power, complexity and configurability. In this research, we specifically propose a VLSI architecture for a configurable and low-complexity design of a hard-decision Viterbi decoding algorithm. The configurable and low-complexity design is achieved by designing a generic VLSI architecture, optimizing each processing element (PE at the logical operation level and designing a conditional adapter. The proposed design can be configured for any predefined number of trace-backs, only by changing the trace-back parameter value. Its computational process only needs N + 2 clock cycles latency, with N is the number of trace-backs. Its configurability function has been proven for N = 8, N = 16, N = 32 and N = 64. Furthermore, the proposed design was synthesized and evaluated in Xilinx and Altera FPGA target boards for area consumption and speed performance.

Comparative Visual Analysis of Structure-Performance Relations in Complex Bulk-Heterojunction Morphologies

KAUST Repository

Aboulhassan, A.

2017-07-04

The structure of Bulk-Heterojunction (BHJ) materials, the main component of organic photovoltaic solar cells, is very complex, and the relationship between structure and performance is still largely an open question. Overall, there is a wide spectrum of fabrication configurations resulting in different BHJ morphologies and correspondingly different performances. Current state-of-the-art methods for assessing the performance of BHJ morphologies are either based on global quantification of morphological features or simply on visual inspection of the morphology based on experimental imaging. This makes finding optimal BHJ structures very challenging. Moreover, finding the optimal fabrication parameters to get an optimal structure is still an open question. In this paper, we propose a visual analysis framework to help answer these questions through comparative visualization and parameter space exploration for local morphology features. With our approach, we enable scientists to explore multivariate correlations between local features and performance indicators of BHJ morphologies. Our framework is built on shape-based clustering of local cubical regions of the morphology that we call patches. This enables correlating the features of clusters with intuition-based performance indicators computed from geometrical and topological features of charge paths.

Comparative Visual Analysis of Structure-Performance Relations in Complex Bulk-Heterojunction Morphologies

KAUST Repository

Aboulhassan, A.; Sicat, R.; Baum, D.; Wodo, O.; Hadwiger, Markus

2017-01-01

The structure of Bulk-Heterojunction (BHJ) materials, the main component of organic photovoltaic solar cells, is very complex, and the relationship between structure and performance is still largely an open question. Overall, there is a wide spectrum of fabrication configurations resulting in different BHJ morphologies and correspondingly different performances. Current state-of-the-art methods for assessing the performance of BHJ morphologies are either based on global quantification of morphological features or simply on visual inspection of the morphology based on experimental imaging. This makes finding optimal BHJ structures very challenging. Moreover, finding the optimal fabrication parameters to get an optimal structure is still an open question. In this paper, we propose a visual analysis framework to help answer these questions through comparative visualization and parameter space exploration for local morphology features. With our approach, we enable scientists to explore multivariate correlations between local features and performance indicators of BHJ morphologies. Our framework is built on shape-based clustering of local cubical regions of the morphology that we call patches. This enables correlating the features of clusters with intuition-based performance indicators computed from geometrical and topological features of charge paths.

Bloom: A Relationship Visualization Tool for Complex Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Horsfall

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Faced with an ever-increasing capacity to collect and store data, organizations must find a way to make sense of it to their advantage. Methods are required to simplify the data so that it can inform strategic decisions and help solve problems. Visualization tools are becoming increasingly popular since they can display complex relationships in a simple, visual format. This article describes Bloom, a project at Carleton University to develop an open source visualization tool for complex networks and business ecosystems. It provides an overview of the visualization technology used in the project and demonstrates its potential impact through a case study using real-world data.

Low Complexity HEVC Encoder for Visual Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaoqing Pan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Visual sensor networks (VSNs can be widely applied in security surveillance, environmental monitoring, smart rooms, etc. However, with the increased number of camera nodes in VSNs, the volume of the visual information data increases significantly, which becomes a challenge for storage, processing and transmitting the visual data. The state-of-the-art video compression standard, high efficiency video coding (HEVC, can effectively compress the raw visual data, while the higher compression rate comes at the cost of heavy computational complexity. Hence, reducing the encoding complexity becomes vital for the HEVC encoder to be used in VSNs. In this paper, we propose a fast coding unit (CU depth decision method to reduce the encoding complexity of the HEVC encoder for VSNs. Firstly, the content property of the CU is analyzed. Then, an early CU depth decision method and a low complexity distortion calculation method are proposed for the CUs with homogenous content. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves 71.91% on average encoding time savings for the HEVC encoder for VSNs.

Configuration and localization of the nipple-areola complex in men.

Science.gov (United States)

Beer, G M; Budi, S; Seifert, B; Morgenthaler, W; Infanger, M; Meyer, V E

2001-12-01

The causes of bilateral absence of the nipple-areola complex in men are seldom congenital, but attributable rather to destruction as a result of trauma, or after mastectomy in female-to-male transsexuals and in male breast cancer, or after the correction of extreme bilateral gynecomastia. Such a bilateral loss becomes a major reconstructive challenge with respect to the configuration and localization of a new nipple-areola complex. Because there is very little information available in the literature, we carried out a cross-sectional study on the configuration and localization of the nipple-areola complex in men.A total of 100 healthy men aged 20 to 36 years were examined under standardized conditions. The first part of the study dealt with the configuration of the nipple-areola complex (dimensions, round or oval shape). The second part concentrated on the localization of the complex on the thoracic wall with respect to anatomic landmarks and in correlation to various parameters such as weight and height of the body, circumference of the thorax, length of sternum, and position in the intercostal space. Of the 100 subjects examined, 91 had oval and seven had a round nipple-areola complex. An asymmetry between the right and the left side was found in two cases. The mean ratio of the horizontal/vertical diameter of an oval nipple-areola complex was 27:20 mm and the mean diameter for a round nipple-areola complex was 23 mm. The center of the nipple-areola complex was in the fourth intercostal space in 75 percent and in the fifth intercostal space in 23 percent of the subjects. To localize the nipple-areola complex on the thoracic wall de novo, at least two reproducible measurements proved to be necessary, composed of a horizontal line (distance from the midsternal line to the nipple = A) and a vertical line (distance from the sternal notch to the intersection of line A, = B). The closest correlation for the horizontal distance A was given by the circumference of the

Interactive ultrasonic field simulations for complex non-destructive testing configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chouh, Hamza

2016-01-01

In order to fulfill increasing reliability and safety requirements, non-destructive testing techniques are constantly evolving and so does their complexity. Consequently, simulation is an essential part of their design. We developed a tool for the simulation of the ultrasonic field radiated by any planar probes into non-destructive testing configurations involving meshed geometries without prominent edges, isotropic and anisotropic, homogeneous and heterogeneous materials, and wave trajectories that can include reflections and transmissions. We approximate the ultrasonic wave fronts by using polynomial interpolators that are local to ultrasonic ray pencils. They are obtained using a surface research algorithm based on pencil tracing and successive subdivisions. Their interpolators enable the computation of the necessary quantities for the impulse responses on each point of a sampling of the transducer surface that fulfills the Shannon criterion. By doing so, we can compute a global impulse response which, when convolved with the excitation signal of the transducer, results in the ultrasonic field. The usage of task parallelism and of SIMD instructions on the most computationally expensive steps yields an important performance boost. Finally, we developed a tool for progressive visualization of field images. It benefits from an image reconstruction technique and schedules field computations in order to accelerate convergence towards the final image. (author) [fr

The guidance of visual search by shape features and shape configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

McCants, Cody W; Berggren, Nick; Eimer, Martin

2018-03-01

Representations of target features (attentional templates) guide attentional object selection during visual search. In many search tasks, targets objects are defined not by a single feature but by the spatial configuration of their component shapes. We used electrophysiological markers of attentional selection processes to determine whether the guidance of shape configuration search is entirely part-based or sensitive to the spatial relationship between shape features. Participants searched for targets defined by the spatial arrangement of two shape components (e.g., hourglass above circle). N2pc components were triggered not only by targets but also by partially matching distractors with one target shape (e.g., hourglass above hexagon) and by distractors that contained both target shapes in the reverse arrangement (e.g., circle above hourglass), in line with part-based attentional control. Target N2pc components were delayed when a reverse distractor was present on the opposite side of the same display, suggesting that early shape-specific attentional guidance processes could not distinguish between targets and reverse distractors. The control of attention then became sensitive to spatial configuration, which resulted in a stronger attentional bias for target objects relative to reverse and partially matching distractors. Results demonstrate that search for target objects defined by the spatial arrangement of their component shapes is initially controlled in a feature-based fashion but can later be guided by templates for spatial configurations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Human hippocampal and parahippocampal activity during visual associative recognition memory for spatial and nonspatial stimulus configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Düzel, Emrah; Habib, Reza; Rotte, Michael; Guderian, Sebastian; Tulving, Endel; Heinze, Hans-Jochen

2003-10-15

Evidence from animal studies points to the importance of the parahippocampal region (PHR) [including entorhinal, perirhinal, and parahippocampal (PHC) cortices] for recognition of visual stimuli. Recent findings in animals suggest that PHR may also be involved in visual associative recognition memory for configurations of stimuli. Thus far, however, such involvement has not been demonstrated in humans. In fact, it has been argued that associative recognition in humans is critically dependent on the hippocampal formation (HF). To better understand the division of function between HF and PHR during recognition memory in humans, we measured the activity of both areas in healthy young adults during an associative recognition memory task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. To more precisely characterize the nature of the associations that might be coded by the HF and PHR during recognition, subjects were required to learn and were later tested for associations based on either the spatial arrangements of two stimuli or the identity of two stimuli (a face and a tool). An area in the PHC was found to be more active for recognized old configurations than new configurations in both the spatial and identity conditions. The HF, on the other hand, was more active for recognition of new configurations than old configurations and also more active in the spatial than the identity condition. These data highlight the involvement of PHR in the long-term coding of associative relationships between stimuli and help to clarify the nature of its functional distinction from the HF.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Titov, Alexander; Gordov, Evgeny; Okladnikov, Igor

2016-04-01

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

Identification of effective visual problem solving strategies in a complex visual domain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Meeuwen, Ludo; Jarodzka, Halszka; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Kirschner, Paul A.; De Bock, Jeano; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen

2018-01-01

Students in complex visual domains must acquire visual problem solving strategies that allow them to make fast decisions and come up with good solutions to real-time problems. In this study, 31 air traffic controllers at different levels of expertise (novice, intermediate, expert) were confronted

Creativity, Complexity, and Precision: Information Visualization for (Landscape) Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buscher, Monika; Christensen, Michael; Mogensen, Preben Holst

2000-01-01

Drawing on ethnographic studies of (landscape) architects at work, this paper presents a human-centered approach to information visualization. A 3D collaborative electronic workspace allows people to configure, save and browse arrangements of heterogeneous work materials. Spatial arrangements...... and links are created and maintained as an integral part of ongoing work with `live' documents and objects. The result is an extension of the physical information space of the architects' studio that utilizes the potential of electronic data storage, visualization and network technologies to support work...... with information in context...

Quantifying Configuration-Sampling Error in Langevin Simulations of Complex Molecular Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josh Fass

2018-04-01

Full Text Available While Langevin integrators are popular in the study of equilibrium properties of complex systems, it is challenging to estimate the timestep-induced discretization error: the degree to which the sampled phase-space or configuration-space probability density departs from the desired target density due to the use of a finite integration timestep. Sivak et al., introduced a convenient approach to approximating a natural measure of error between the sampled density and the target equilibrium density, the Kullback-Leibler (KL divergence, in phase space, but did not specifically address the issue of configuration-space properties, which are much more commonly of interest in molecular simulations. Here, we introduce a variant of this near-equilibrium estimator capable of measuring the error in the configuration-space marginal density, validating it against a complex but exact nested Monte Carlo estimator to show that it reproduces the KL divergence with high fidelity. To illustrate its utility, we employ this new near-equilibrium estimator to assess a claim that a recently proposed Langevin integrator introduces extremely small configuration-space density errors up to the stability limit at no extra computational expense. Finally, we show how this approach to quantifying sampling bias can be applied to a wide variety of stochastic integrators by following a straightforward procedure to compute the appropriate shadow work, and describe how it can be extended to quantify the error in arbitrary marginal or conditional distributions of interest.

Visual Navigation of Complex Information Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah North

1995-11-01

Full Text Available The authors lay the foundation for the introduction of visual navigation aid to assist computer users in direct manipulation of the complex information spaces. By exploring present research on scientific data visualisation and creating a case for improved information visualisation tools, they introduce the design of an improved information visualisation interface utilizing dynamic slider, called Visual-X, incorporating icons with bindable attributes (glyphs. Exploring the improvement that these data visualisations, make to a computing environment, the authors conduct an experiment to compare the performance of subjects who use traditional interfaces and Visual-X. Methodology is presented and conclusions reveal that the use of Visual-X appears to be a promising approach in providing users with a navigation tool that does not overload their cognitive processes.

Unsteady subsonic and supersonic potential aerodynamics for complex configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Morino, L.; Tseng, K.

1977-01-01

A recently developed general theory for unsteady compressible potential fluid dynamics for complex-configuration aircraft is reviewed. The method is based on a combination of the following techniques: Green's function method (to transform the differential equation into an integral differential-delay equation), finite element method (to transform the equation into a set of differential-delay equations in time), and the Laplace transform method (to transform the differential-delay equations into algebraic equations).

Neuropsychiatry of complex visual hallucinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mocellin, Ramon; Walterfang, Mark; Velakoulis, Dennis

2006-09-01

To describe the phenomenology and pathophysiology of complex visual hallucinations (CVH) in various organic states, in particular Charles Bonnet syndrome and peduncular hallucinosis. Three cases of CVH in the setting of pontine infarction, thalamic infarction and temporoparietal epileptiform activity are presented and the available psychiatric, neurological and biological literature on the structures of the central nervous system involved in producing hallucinatory states is reviewed. Complex visual hallucinations can arise from a variety of processes involving the retinogeniculocalcarine tract, or ascending brainstem modulatory structures. The cortical activity responsible for hallucinations results from altered or reduced input into these regions, or a loss of ascending inhibition of their afferent pathways. A significant degree of overlaps exists between the concepts of Charles Bonnet syndrome and peduncular hallucinosis. The fluidity of these eponymous syndromes reduces their validity and meaning, and may result in an inappropriate attribution of the underlying pathology. An understanding of how differing pathologies may produce CVH allows for the appropriate tailoring of treatment, depending on the site and nature of the lesion and content of perceptual disturbance.

Quality plan and configuration management in complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez Junto, J.; Merchan Teyssiere

1993-01-01

Since the Second World War, the philosophy behind the quality systems of industries and service companies has evolved to embrace the whole life cycle of the product, system or service. In this evolution process, quality has become a strategic factor in the survival of entreprises. The first steps in trying to establish quality systems were taken for the armed forces, followed by space, aeronautical and nuclear projects, whose products were more and more complex and sophisticated. These systems were established by means of quality plans or programmes, and their basic objective was to guarantee a high safety level for the user and/or the general population. In later years, the main concern was to reach a determined quality level not only in one phase of the product life, but in the complete life cycle of the final product. Today a new goal is established and pursued: better quality of the product, service or system life cycle at a lower cost. Methods of improving the quality of systems and processes are the subject of numerous initiatives and studies, to better availability and maintainability of complex equipment or installations, with an extended useful life and greater requirements. Experience in the performance of complex projects shows that a higher quality may be obtained through designing a comprehensive quality plan which pays special attention to information management and modifications of the original design. Obtaining a high reliability level for an installation (equipment, systems, etc), increasing its availability and rationalizing its maintenance may be little less than fanciful without a deep knowledge of the installation, of its activities and its current status in day-to-day operation, which shows the importance of truthful information available to operators and corresponding exactly to their needs. In this frame of mind, a quality plan comprising a configuration management system of information and documents constitutes the basic support tool for

Decoding complex flow-field patterns in visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Christophel, Thomas B; Haynes, John-Dylan

2014-05-01

There has been a long history of research on visual working memory. Whereas early studies have focused on the role of lateral prefrontal cortex in the storage of sensory information, this has been challenged by research in humans that has directly assessed the encoding of perceptual contents, pointing towards a role of visual and parietal regions during storage. In a previous study we used pattern classification to investigate the storage of complex visual color patterns across delay periods. This revealed coding of such contents in early visual and parietal brain regions. Here we aim to investigate whether the involvement of visual and parietal cortex is also observable for other types of complex, visuo-spatial pattern stimuli. Specifically, we used a combination of fMRI and multivariate classification to investigate the retention of complex flow-field stimuli defined by the spatial patterning of motion trajectories of random dots. Subjects were trained to memorize the precise spatial layout of these stimuli and to retain this information during an extended delay. We used a multivariate decoding approach to identify brain regions where spatial patterns of activity encoded the memorized stimuli. Content-specific memory signals were observable in motion sensitive visual area MT+ and in posterior parietal cortex that might encode spatial information in a modality independent manner. Interestingly, we also found information about the memorized visual stimulus in somatosensory cortex, suggesting a potential crossmodal contribution to memory. Our findings thus indicate that working memory storage of visual percepts might be distributed across unimodal, multimodal and even crossmodal brain regions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dependency visualization for complex system understanding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smart, J. Allison Cory [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

1994-09-01

With the volume of software in production use dramatically increasing, the importance of software maintenance has become strikingly apparent. Techniques now sought and developed for reverse engineering and design extraction and recovery. At present, numerous commercial products and research tools exist which are capable of visualizing a variety of programming languages and software constructs. The list of new tools and services continues to grow rapidly. Although the scope of the existing commercial and academic product set is quite broad, these tools still share a common underlying problem. The ability of each tool to visually organize object representations is increasingly impaired as the number of components and component dependencies within systems increases. Regardless of how objects are defined, complex ``spaghetti`` networks result in nearly all large system cases. While this problem is immediately apparent in modem systems analysis involving large software implementations, it is not new. As will be discussed in Chapter 2, related problems involving the theory of graphs were identified long ago. This important theoretical foundation provides a useful vehicle for representing and analyzing complex system structures. While the utility of directed graph based concepts in software tool design has been demonstrated in literature, these tools still lack the capabilities necessary for large system comprehension. This foundation must therefore be expanded with new organizational and visualization constructs necessary to meet this challenge. This dissertation addresses this need by constructing a conceptual model and a set of methods for interactively exploring, organizing, and understanding the structure of complex software systems.

Mate choice in the eye and ear of the beholder? Female multimodal sensory configuration influences her preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronald, Kelly L; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban; Lucas, Jeffrey R

2018-05-16

A common assumption in sexual selection studies is that receivers decode signal information similarly. However, receivers may vary in how they rank signallers if signal perception varies with an individual's sensory configuration. Furthermore, receivers may vary in their weighting of different elements of multimodal signals based on their sensory configuration. This could lead to complex levels of selection on signalling traits. We tested whether multimodal sensory configuration could affect preferences for multimodal signals. We used brown-headed cowbird ( Molothrus ater ) females to examine how auditory sensitivity and auditory filters, which influence auditory spectral and temporal resolution, affect song preferences, and how visual spatial resolution and visual temporal resolution, which influence resolution of a moving visual signal, affect visual display preferences. Our results show that multimodal sensory configuration significantly affects preferences for male displays: females with better auditory temporal resolution preferred songs that were shorter, with lower Wiener entropy, and higher frequency; and females with better visual temporal resolution preferred males with less intense visual displays. Our findings provide new insights into mate-choice decisions and receiver signal processing. Furthermore, our results challenge a long-standing assumption in animal communication which can affect how we address honest signalling, assortative mating and sensory drive. © 2018 The Author(s).

The guidance of spatial attention during visual search for colour combinations and colour configurations

OpenAIRE

Berggren, Nick; Eimer, Martin

2016-01-01

Representations of target-defining features (attentional templates) guide the selection of target objects in visual search. We used behavioural and electrophysiological measures to investigate how such search templates control the allocation of attention in search tasks where targets are defined by the combination of two colours or by a specific spatial configuration of these colours. Target displays were preceded by spatially uninformative cue displays that contained items in one or both tar...

A Fuzzy-Based Approach for Sensing, Coding and Transmission Configuration of Visual Sensors in Smart City Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Daniel G; Collotta, Mario; Pau, Giovanni; Duran-Faundez, Cristian

2017-01-05

The advance of technologies in several areas has allowed the development of smart city applications, which can improve the way of life in modern cities. When employing visual sensors in that scenario, still images and video streams may be retrieved from monitored areas, potentially providing valuable data for many applications. Actually, visual sensor networks may need to be highly dynamic, reflecting the changing of parameters in smart cities. In this context, characteristics of visual sensors and conditions of the monitored environment, as well as the status of other concurrent monitoring systems, may affect how visual sensors collect, encode and transmit information. This paper proposes a fuzzy-based approach to dynamically configure the way visual sensors will operate concerning sensing, coding and transmission patterns, exploiting different types of reference parameters. This innovative approach can be considered as the basis for multi-systems smart city applications based on visual monitoring, potentially bringing significant results for this research field.

A low complexity visualization tool that helps to perform complex systems analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beiro, M G; Alvarez-Hamelin, J I; Busch, J R

2008-01-01

In this paper, we present an extension of large network visualization (LaNet-vi), a tool to visualize large scale networks using the k-core decomposition. One of the new features is how vertices compute their angular position. While in the later version it is done using shell clusters, in this version we use the angular coordinate of vertices in higher k-shells, and arrange the highest shell according to a cliques decomposition. The time complexity goes from O(n√n) to O(n) upon bounds on a heavy-tailed degree distribution. The tool also performs a k-core-connectivity analysis, highlighting vertices that are not k-connected; e.g. this property is useful to measure robustness or quality of service (QoS) capabilities in communication networks. Finally, the actual version of LaNet-vi can draw labels and all the edges using transparencies, yielding an accurate visualization. Based on the obtained figure, it is possible to distinguish different sources and types of complex networks at a glance, in a sort of 'network iris-print'.

A low complexity visualization tool that helps to perform complex systems analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Beiró, M. G.; Alvarez-Hamelin, J. I.; Busch, J. R.

2008-12-01

In this paper, we present an extension of large network visualization (LaNet-vi), a tool to visualize large scale networks using the k-core decomposition. One of the new features is how vertices compute their angular position. While in the later version it is done using shell clusters, in this version we use the angular coordinate of vertices in higher k-shells, and arrange the highest shell according to a cliques decomposition. The time complexity goes from O(n\\sqrt n) to O(n) upon bounds on a heavy-tailed degree distribution. The tool also performs a k-core-connectivity analysis, highlighting vertices that are not k-connected; e.g. this property is useful to measure robustness or quality of service (QoS) capabilities in communication networks. Finally, the actual version of LaNet-vi can draw labels and all the edges using transparencies, yielding an accurate visualization. Based on the obtained figure, it is possible to distinguish different sources and types of complex networks at a glance, in a sort of 'network iris-print'.

Similarity, Not Complexity, Determines Visual Working Memory Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Margaret C.; Linden, David E. J.; Roberts, Mark V.; Kriegeskorte, Nikolaus; Haenschel, Corinna

2015-01-01

A number of studies have shown that visual working memory (WM) is poorer for complex versus simple items, traditionally accounted for by higher information load placing greater demands on encoding and storage capacity limits. Other research suggests that it may not be complexity that determines WM performance per se, but rather increased…

Supporting Sensemaking of Complex Objects with Visualizations: Visibility and Complementarity of Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamran Sedig

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Making sense of complex objects is difficult, and typically requires the use of external representations to support cognitive demands while reasoning about the objects. Visualizations are one type of external representation that can be used to support sensemaking activities. In this paper, we investigate the role of two design strategies in making the interactive features of visualizations more supportive of users’ exploratory needs when trying to make sense of complex objects. These two strategies are visibility and complementarity of interactions. We employ a theoretical framework concerned with human–information interaction and complex cognitive activities to inform, contextualize, and interpret the effects of the design strategies. The two strategies are incorporated in the design of Polyvise, a visualization tool that supports making sense of complex four-dimensional geometric objects. A mixed-methods study was conducted to evaluate the design strategies and the overall usability of Polyvise. We report the findings of the study, discuss some implications for the design of visualization tools that support sensemaking of complex objects, and propose five design guidelines. We anticipate that our results are transferrable to other contexts, and that these two design strategies can be used broadly in visualization tools intended to support activities with complex objects and information spaces.

iview: an interactive WebGL visualizer for protein-ligand complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongjian; Leung, Kwong-Sak; Nakane, Takanori; Wong, Man-Hon

2014-02-25

Visualization of protein-ligand complex plays an important role in elaborating protein-ligand interactions and aiding novel drug design. Most existing web visualizers either rely on slow software rendering, or lack virtual reality support. The vital feature of macromolecular surface construction is also unavailable. We have developed iview, an easy-to-use interactive WebGL visualizer of protein-ligand complex. It exploits hardware acceleration rather than software rendering. It features three special effects in virtual reality settings, namely anaglyph, parallax barrier and oculus rift, resulting in visually appealing identification of intermolecular interactions. It supports four surface representations including Van der Waals surface, solvent excluded surface, solvent accessible surface and molecular surface. Moreover, based on the feature-rich version of iview, we have also developed a neat and tailor-made version specifically for our istar web platform for protein-ligand docking purpose. This demonstrates the excellent portability of iview. Using innovative 3D techniques, we provide a user friendly visualizer that is not intended to compete with professional visualizers, but to enable easy accessibility and platform independence.

[Complex visual hallucinations following occipital infarct and perception of optical illusions].

Science.gov (United States)

Renou, P; Deltour, S; Samson, Y

2008-05-01

The physiopathology of visual hallucinations in the hemianopic field secondary to occipital infarct is uncertain. We report the case of a patient with a history of occipital infarct who presented nonstereotyped complex hallucinations in the quadranopic field resulting from a second controlateral occipital infarct. Based on an experience with motion optical illusions, we suggested that the association of these two occipital lesions, involving the V5 motion area on the one side and the V1 area on the other side, could have produced the complex hallucinations due to a release phenomenon. The patient experienced simultaneously a double visual consciousness, with both hallucinations and real visual perceptions. The study of perceptual illusions in patients with visual hallucinations could illustrate the innovative theory of visual consciousness as being not unified but constituted of multiple microconsciousnesses.

Brain signal complexity rises with repetition suppression in visual learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lafontaine, Marc Philippe; Lacourse, Karine; Lina, Jean-Marc; McIntosh, Anthony R; Gosselin, Frédéric; Théoret, Hugo; Lippé, Sarah

2016-06-21

Neuronal activity associated with visual processing of an unfamiliar face gradually diminishes when it is viewed repeatedly. This process, known as repetition suppression (RS), is involved in the acquisition of familiarity. Current models suggest that RS results from interactions between visual information processing areas located in the occipito-temporal cortex and higher order areas, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Brain signal complexity, which reflects information dynamics of cortical networks, has been shown to increase as unfamiliar faces become familiar. However, the complementarity of RS and increases in brain signal complexity have yet to be demonstrated within the same measurements. We hypothesized that RS and brain signal complexity increase occur simultaneously during learning of unfamiliar faces. Further, we expected alteration of DLPFC function by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to modulate RS and brain signal complexity over the occipito-temporal cortex. Participants underwent three tDCS conditions in random order: right anodal/left cathodal, right cathodal/left anodal and sham. Following tDCS, participants learned unfamiliar faces, while an electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Results revealed RS over occipito-temporal electrode sites during learning, reflected by a decrease in signal energy, a measure of amplitude. Simultaneously, as signal energy decreased, brain signal complexity, as estimated with multiscale entropy (MSE), increased. In addition, prefrontal tDCS modulated brain signal complexity over the right occipito-temporal cortex during the first presentation of faces. These results suggest that although RS may reflect a brain mechanism essential to learning, complementary processes reflected by increases in brain signal complexity, may be instrumental in the acquisition of novel visual information. Such processes likely involve long-range coordinated activity between prefrontal and lower order visual

Visual data mining and analysis of software repositories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voinea, S.L.; Telea, A.C.

2007-01-01

In this article we describe an ongoing effort to integrate information visualization techniques into the process of configuration management for software systems. Our focus is to help software engineers manage the evolution of large and complex software systems by offering them effective and

Investigating Complexity Using Excel and Visual Basic.

Science.gov (United States)

Zetie, K. P.

2001-01-01

Shows how some of the simple ideas in complexity can be investigated using a spreadsheet and a macro written in Visual Basic. Shows how the sandpile model of Bak, Chao, and Wiesenfeld can be simulated and animated. The model produces results that cannot easily be predicted from its properties. (Author/MM)

Visualizing Complex Environments in the Geo- and BioSciences

Science.gov (United States)

Prabhu, A.; Fox, P. A.; Zhong, H.; Eleish, A.; Ma, X.; Zednik, S.; Morrison, S. M.; Moore, E. K.; Muscente, D.; Meyer, M.; Hazen, R. M.

2017-12-01

Earth's living and non-living components have co-evolved for 4 billion years through numerous positive and negative feedbacks. Earth and life scientists have amassed vast amounts of data in diverse fields related to planetary evolution through deep time-mineralogy and petrology, paleobiology and paleontology, paleotectonics and paleomagnetism, geochemistry and geochrononology, genomics and proteomics, and more. Integrating the data from these complimentary disciplines is very useful in gaining an understanding of the evolution of our planet's environment. The integrated data however, represent many extremely complex environments. In order to gain insights and make discoveries using this data, it is important for us to model and visualize these complex environments. As part of work in understanding the "Co-Evolution of Geo and Biospheres using Data Driven Methodologies," we have developed several visualizations to help represent the information stored in the datasets from complimentary disciplines. These visualizations include 2D and 3D force directed Networks, Chord Diagrams, 3D Klee Diagrams. Evolving Network Diagrams, Skyline Diagrams and Tree Diagrams. Combining these visualizations with the results of machine learning and data analysis methods leads to a powerful way to discover patterns and relationships about the Earth's past and today's changing environment.

Product configuration system and its impact on product’s life cycle complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myrodia, Anna; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Shafiee, Sara

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to identify areas throughout a product's lifecycle processes where complexity can be reduced by implementing a product configuration system (PCS). As discussed in the literature, several benefits are realized by using a PCS in terms of product and process standardizat...... for the company in several life cycle processes....... standardization. This also leads to control and reduce of complexity both in products and processes. To this end, this research attempts to quantify and assess these benefits and is supported by empirical evidence. A case study of an engineering company is used and the results indicate significant improvements...

A lightning strike to the head causing a visual cortex defect with simple and complex visual hallucinations

Science.gov (United States)

Kleiter, Ingo; Luerding, Ralf; Diendorfer, Gerhard; Rek, Helga; Bogdahn, Ulrich; Schalke, Berthold

2009-01-01

The case of a 23-year-old mountaineer who was hit by a lightning strike to the occiput causing a large central visual field defect and bilateral tympanic membrane ruptures is described. Owing to extreme agitation, the patient was sent into a drug-induced coma for 3 days. After extubation, she experienced simple and complex visual hallucinations for several days, but otherwise largely recovered. Neuropsychological tests revealed deficits in fast visual detection tasks and non-verbal learning and indicated a right temporal lobe dysfunction, consistent with a right temporal focus on electroencephalography. At 4 months after the accident, she developed a psychological reaction consisting of nightmares, with reappearance of the complex visual hallucinations and a depressive syndrome. Using the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection network, a meteorological system for lightning surveillance, the exact geographical location and nature of the lightning strike were retrospectively retraced PMID:21734915

Managing complexity of product mix and production flow in configure-to-order production systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myrodia, Anna; Bonev, Martin; Hvam, Lars

2014-01-01

In designing configure-to-order production systems for a growing product variety, companies are challenged with an increased complexity for obtaining high productivity levels and cost-effectiveness. In academia several optimization methods and conceptual frameworks for substituting components, or...

Internal model of gravity influences configural body processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Barra, Julien; Senot, Patrice; Auclair, Laurent

2017-01-01

Human bodies are processed by a configural processing mechanism. Evidence supporting this claim is the body inversion effect, in which inversion impairs recognition of bodies more than other objects. Biomechanical configuration, as well as both visual and embodied expertise, has been demonstrated to play an important role in this effect. Nevertheless, the important factor of body inversion effect may also be linked to gravity orientation since gravity is one of the most fundamental constraints of our biology, behavior, and perception on Earth. The visual presentation of an inverted body in a typical body inversion paradigm turns the observed body upside down but also inverts the implicit direction of visual gravity in the scene. The orientation of visual gravity is then in conflict with the direction of actual gravity and may influence configural processing. To test this hypothesis, we dissociated the orientations of the body and of visual gravity by manipulating body posture. In a pretest we showed that it was possible to turn an avatar upside down (inversion relative to retinal coordinates) without inverting the orientation of visual gravity when the avatar stands on his/her hands. We compared the inversion effect in typical conditions (with gravity conflict when the avatar is upside down) to the inversion effect in conditions with no conflict between visual and physical gravity. The results of our experiment revealed that the inversion effect, as measured by both error rate and reaction time, was strongly reduced when there was no gravity conflict. Our results suggest that when an observed body is upside down (inversion relative to participants' retinal coordinates) but the orientation of visual gravity is not, configural processing of bodies might still be possible. In this paper, we discuss the implications of an internal model of gravity in the configural processing of observed bodies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reinforcing Visual Grouping Cues to Communicate Complex Informational Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Juhee; Watson, Benjamin

2014-12-01

In his book Multimedia Learning [7], Richard Mayer asserts that viewers learn best from imagery that provides them with cues to help them organize new information into the correct knowledge structures. Designers have long been exploiting the Gestalt laws of visual grouping to deliver viewers those cues using visual hierarchy, often communicating structures much more complex than the simple organizations studied in psychological research. Unfortunately, designers are largely practical in their work, and have not paused to build a complex theory of structural communication. If we are to build a tool to help novices create effective and well structured visuals, we need a better understanding of how to create them. Our work takes a first step toward addressing this lack, studying how five of the many grouping cues (proximity, color similarity, common region, connectivity, and alignment) can be effectively combined to communicate structured text and imagery from real world examples. To measure the effectiveness of this structural communication, we applied a digital version of card sorting, a method widely used in anthropology and cognitive science to extract cognitive structures. We then used tree edit distance to measure the difference between perceived and communicated structures. Our most significant findings are: 1) with careful design, complex structure can be communicated clearly; 2) communicating complex structure is best done with multiple reinforcing grouping cues; 3) common region (use of containers such as boxes) is particularly effective at communicating structure; and 4) alignment is a weak structural communicator.

Visual Short-Term Memory Capacity for Simple and Complex Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Luria, Roy; Sessa, Paola; Gotler, Alex; Jolicoeur, Pierre; Dell'Acqua, Roberto

2010-01-01

Does the capacity of visual short-term memory (VSTM) depend on the complexity of the objects represented in memory? Although some previous findings indicated lower capacity for more complex stimuli, other results suggest that complexity effects arise during retrieval (due to errors in the comparison process with what is in memory) that is not…

Exploring Age Differences in Visual Working Memory Capacity: Is There a Contribution of Memory for Configuration?

OpenAIRE

Cowan, Nelson; Saults, J. Scott; Clark, Katherine M.

2015-01-01

Recent research has shown marked developmental increases in the apparent capacity of working memory. This recent research is based largely on performance on tasks in which a visual array is to be retained briefly for comparison with a subsequent probe display. Here we examine a possible theoretical alternative (or supplement) to a developmental increase in working memory, in which children could improve in the ability to combine items in an array to form a coherent configuration. Elementary s...

Using Complex Auditory-Visual Samples to Produce Emergent Relations in Children with Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Groskreutz, Nicole C.; Karsina, Allen; Miguel, Caio F.; Groskreutz, Mark P.

2010-01-01

Six participants with autism learned conditional relations between complex auditory-visual sample stimuli (dictated words and pictures) and simple visual comparisons (printed words) using matching-to-sample training procedures. Pre- and posttests examined potential stimulus control by each element of the complex sample when presented individually…

Calculation of Configurational Entropy in Complex Landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel A Cushman

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics are fundamental concepts that underlie all natural processes and patterns. Recent research has shown how the entropy of a landscape mosaic can be calculated using the Boltzmann equation, with the entropy of a lattice mosaic equal to the logarithm of the number of ways a lattice with a given dimensionality and number of classes can be arranged to produce the same total amount of edge between cells of different classes. However, that work seemed to also suggest that the feasibility of applying this method to real landscapes was limited due to intractably large numbers of possible arrangements of raster cells in large landscapes. Here I extend that work by showing that: (1 the proportion of arrangements rather than the number with a given amount of edge length provides a means to calculate unbiased relative configurational entropy, obviating the need to compute all possible configurations of a landscape lattice; (2 the edge lengths of randomized landscape mosaics are normally distributed, following the central limit theorem; and (3 given this normal distribution it is possible to fit parametric probability density functions to estimate the expected proportion of randomized configurations that have any given edge length, enabling the calculation of configurational entropy on any landscape regardless of size or number of classes. I evaluate the boundary limits (4 for this normal approximation for small landscapes with a small proportion of a minority class and show it holds under all realistic landscape conditions. I further (5 demonstrate that this relationship holds for a sample of real landscapes that vary in size, patch richness, and evenness of area in each cover type, and (6 I show that the mean and standard deviation of the normally distributed edge lengths can be predicted nearly perfectly as a function of the size, patch richness and diversity of a landscape. Finally, (7 I show that the

Visual Short-Term Memory: is Capacity Dependent on Stimulus Complexity?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

complexity - which is dependent on the familiarity of a given stimulus - plays a more important role than the objective visual complexity of the objects stored. In several studies, we explored how familiarity influences the capacity of VSTM and our results indicate that VSTM capacity for familiar items...

Finite element modeling of piezoelectric elements with complex electrode configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paradies, R; Schläpfer, B

2009-01-01

It is well known that the material properties of piezoelectric materials strongly depend on the state of polarization of the individual element. While an unpolarized material exhibits mechanically isotropic material properties in the absence of global piezoelectric capabilities, the piezoelectric material properties become transversally isotropic with respect to the polarization direction after polarization. Therefore, for evaluating piezoelectric elements the material properties, including the coupling between the mechanical and the electromechanical behavior, should be addressed correctly. This is of special importance for the micromechanical description of piezoelectric elements with interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). The best known representatives of this group are active fiber composites (AFCs), macro fiber composites (MFCs) and the radial field diaphragm (RFD), respectively. While the material properties are available for a piezoelectric wafer with a homogeneous polarization perpendicular to its plane as postulated in the so-called uniform field model (UFM), the same information is missing for piezoelectric elements with more complex electrode configurations like the above-mentioned ones with IDEs. This is due to the inhomogeneous field distribution which does not automatically allow for the correct assignment of the material, i.e. orientation and property. A variation of the material orientation as well as the material properties can be accomplished by including the polarization process of the piezoelectric transducer in the finite element (FE) simulation prior to the actual load case to be investigated. A corresponding procedure is presented which automatically assigns the piezoelectric material properties, e.g. elasticity matrix, permittivity, and charge vector, for finite element models (FEMs) describing piezoelectric transducers according to the electric field distribution (field orientation and strength) in the structure. A corresponding code has been

Configuration Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morcos, A.; Taylor, H. S.

1989-01-01

This paper will briefly discuss the reason for and content of configuration management both for new plants and, when adapted, for older plants. It will then address three types of activities a utility may undertake as part of a nuclear CAM program and with which Sargent and Leyden has been actively involved. The first activity is a methodology for preparing design-basis documentation. The second is the identification of essential data required to be kept by the utility in support of the operation of a nuclear plant. The third activity is a computerized classification system of plant components, allowing ready identification of plant functional and physical characteristics. Plant configuration documentation describes plant components, the ways they arranged to interact, and the ways they are enabled to interact. Configuration management, on the other hand, is more than the control of such documentation. It is a dynamic process for ensuring that a plant configuration meets all relevant requirements for safety and economy, even while the configuration changes and even while the requirements change. Configuration management for a nuclear plant is so complex that it must be implemented in phases and modules. It takes advantage of and integrates existing programs. Managing complexity and streamlining the change process become important additional objectives of configuration management. The example activities fulfill essential goals of an overall CAM program: definition of design baseline, definition of essential plant data, and classification of plant components

Optimal sensor configuration for complex systems with application to signal detection in structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sadegh, Payman; Spall, J. C.

2000-01-01

sensor outputs. Secondly, we describe an efficient and practical algorithm to achieve the optimization goals, based on simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA). SPSA avoids the need for detailed modeling of the sensor response by simply relying on observed responses as obtained......The paper considers the problem of sensor configuration for complex systems. The contribution of the paper is twofold. Firstly, we define an appropriate criterion that is based on maximizing overall sensor responses while minimizing redundant information as measured by correlations between multiple...... by limited experimentation with test sensor configurations. We illustrate the application of the approach to optimal placement of acoustic sensors for signal detection in structures. This includes both a computer simulation study for an aluminum plate, and real experimentations on a steel I-beam....

Visualizing complex (hydrological) systems with correlation matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, J. C.

2016-12-01

When trying to understand or visualize the connections of different aspects of a complex system, this often requires deeper understanding to start with, or - in the case of geo data - complicated GIS software. To our knowledge, correlation matrices have rarely been used in hydrology (e.g. Stoll et al., 2011; van Loon and Laaha, 2015), yet they do provide an interesting option for data visualization and analysis. We present a simple, python based way - using a river catchment as an example - to visualize correlations and similarities in an easy and colorful way. We apply existing and easy to use python packages from various disciplines not necessarily linked to the Earth sciences and can thus quickly show how different aquifers work or react, and identify outliers, enabling this system to also be used for quality control of large datasets. Going beyond earlier work, we add a temporal and spatial element, enabling us to visualize how a system reacts to local phenomena such as for example a river, or changes over time, by visualizing the passing of time in an animated movie. References: van Loon, A.F., Laaha, G.: Hydrological drought severity explained by climate and catchment characteristics, Journal of Hydrology 526, 3-14, 2015, Drought processes, modeling, and mitigation Stoll, S., Hendricks Franssen, H. J., Barthel, R., Kinzelbach, W.: What can we learn from long-term groundwater data to improve climate change impact studies?, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 15(12), 3861-3875, 2011

Functional anatomy of the lateral collateral ligament complex of the elbow. Configuration of Y and its role

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seki, A.; Olsen, B.S.; Jensen, S.L.

2002-01-01

A previous anatomic study has revealed that the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) complex of the elbow has a Y-shaped configuration, which consists of a superior, an anterior, and a posterior band. The LCL complex, including the annular ligament, functions as a 3-dimensional (3D) Y-shaped structu...

A chimera grid scheme. [multiple overset body-conforming mesh system for finite difference adaptation to complex aircraft configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Steger, J. L.; Dougherty, F. C.; Benek, J. A.

1983-01-01

A mesh system composed of multiple overset body-conforming grids is described for adapting finite-difference procedures to complex aircraft configurations. In this so-called 'chimera mesh,' a major grid is generated about a main component of the configuration and overset minor grids are used to resolve all other features. Methods for connecting overset multiple grids and modifications of flow-simulation algorithms are discussed. Computational tests in two dimensions indicate that the use of multiple overset grids can simplify the task of grid generation without an adverse effect on flow-field algorithms and computer code complexity.

Fornix and medial temporal lobe lesions lead to comparable deficits in complex visual perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Lech, Robert K; Koch, Benno; Schwarz, Michael; Suchan, Boris

2016-05-04

Recent research dealing with the structures of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) has shifted away from exclusively investigating memory-related processes and has repeatedly incorporated the investigation of complex visual perception. Several studies have demonstrated that higher level visual tasks can recruit structures like the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex in order to successfully perform complex visual discriminations, leading to a perceptual-mnemonic or representational view of the medial temporal lobe. The current study employed a complex visual discrimination paradigm in two patients suffering from brain lesions with differing locations and origin. Both patients, one with extensive medial temporal lobe lesions (VG) and one with a small lesion of the anterior fornix (HJK), were impaired in complex discriminations while showing otherwise mostly intact cognitive functions. The current data confirmed previous results while also extending the perceptual-mnemonic theory of the MTL to the main output structure of the hippocampus, the fornix. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring age differences in visual working memory capacity: is there a contribution of memory for configuration?

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Nelson; Saults, J Scott; Clark, Katherine M

2015-07-01

Recent research has shown marked developmental increases in the apparent capacity of working memory. This recent research is based largely on performance on tasks in which a visual array is to be retained briefly for comparison with a subsequent probe display. Here we examined a possible theoretical alternative (or supplement) to a developmental increase in working memory in which children could improve in the ability to combine items in an array to form a coherent configuration. Elementary school children and adults received, on each trial, an array of colored spots to be remembered. On some trials, we provided structure in the probe display to facilitate the formation of a mental representation in which a coherent configuration is encoded. This stimulus structure in the probe display helped younger children, and thus reduced the developmental trend, but only on trials in which the participants were held responsible for the locations of items in the array. We conclude that, in addition to the development of the ability to form precise spatial configurations from items, the evidence is consistent with the existence of an actual developmental increase in working memory capacity for objects in an array. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Postural sway and gaze can track the complex motion of a visual target.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vassilia Hatzitaki

Full Text Available Variability is an inherent and important feature of human movement. This variability has form exhibiting a chaotic structure. Visual feedback training using regular predictive visual target motions does not take into account this essential characteristic of the human movement, and may result in task specific learning and loss of visuo-motor adaptability. In this study, we asked how well healthy young adults can track visual target cues of varying degree of complexity during whole-body swaying in the Anterior-Posterior (AP and Medio-Lateral (ML direction. Participants were asked to track three visual target motions: a complex (Lorenz attractor, a noise (brown and a periodic (sine moving target while receiving online visual feedback about their performance. Postural sway, gaze and target motion were synchronously recorded and the degree of force-target and gaze-target coupling was quantified using spectral coherence and Cross-Approximate entropy. Analysis revealed that both force-target and gaze-target coupling was sensitive to the complexity of the visual stimuli motions. Postural sway showed a higher degree of coherence with the Lorenz attractor than the brown noise or sinusoidal stimulus motion. Similarly, gaze was more synchronous with the Lorenz attractor than the brown noise and sinusoidal stimulus motion. These results were similar regardless of whether tracking was performed in the AP or ML direction. Based on the theoretical model of optimal movement variability tracking of a complex signal may provide a better stimulus to improve visuo-motor adaptation and learning in postural control.

Reduced-Complexity Direction of Arrival Estimation Using Real-Valued Computation with Arbitrary Array Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng-Gang Yan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A low-complexity algorithm is presented to dramatically reduce the complexity of the multiple signal classification (MUSIC algorithm for direction of arrival (DOA estimation, in which both tasks of eigenvalue decomposition (EVD and spectral search are implemented with efficient real-valued computations, leading to about 75% complexity reduction as compared to the standard MUSIC. Furthermore, the proposed technique has no dependence on array configurations and is hence suitable for arbitrary array geometries, which shows a significant implementation advantage over most state-of-the-art unitary estimators including unitary MUSIC (U-MUSIC. Numerical simulations over a wide range of scenarios are conducted to show the performance of the new technique, which demonstrates that with a significantly reduced computational complexity, the new approach is able to provide a close accuracy to the standard MUSIC.

Learning efficient visual search for stimuli containing diagnostic spatial configurations and color-shape conjunctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Reavis, Eric A; Frank, Sebastian M; Tse, Peter U

2018-04-12

Visual search is often slow and difficult for complex stimuli such as feature conjunctions. Search efficiency, however, can improve with training. Search for stimuli that can be identified by the spatial configuration of two elements (e.g., the relative position of two colored shapes) improves dramatically within a few hundred trials of practice. Several recent imaging studies have identified neural correlates of this learning, but it remains unclear what stimulus properties participants learn to use to search efficiently. Influential models, such as reverse hierarchy theory, propose two major possibilities: learning to use information contained in low-level image statistics (e.g., single features at particular retinotopic locations) or in high-level characteristics (e.g., feature conjunctions) of the task-relevant stimuli. In a series of experiments, we tested these two hypotheses, which make different predictions about the effect of various stimulus manipulations after training. We find relatively small effects of manipulating low-level properties of the stimuli (e.g., changing their retinotopic location) and some conjunctive properties (e.g., color-position), whereas the effects of manipulating other conjunctive properties (e.g., color-shape) are larger. Overall, the findings suggest conjunction learning involving such stimuli might be an emergent phenomenon that reflects multiple different learning processes, each of which capitalizes on different types of information contained in the stimuli. We also show that both targets and distractors are learned, and that reversing learned target and distractor identities impairs performance. This suggests that participants do not merely learn to discriminate target and distractor stimuli, they also learn stimulus identity mappings that contribute to performance improvements.

Adolescents' and adults' visual preferences for pictures of fruit and vegetable mixes -effect of complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mielby, Line Holler; Kildegaard, Heidi; Gabrielsen, G.

2012-01-01

Complexity is an important parameter for the appreciation of foods as a bell-shaped relationship between hedonic appreciation and complexity has been found by Berlyne (1970). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between adolescent and adult visual preferences and perceived...... complexity for vegetable (V), fruit (F), and combined fruit and vegetable (FV) mixes. Two hundred and forty-two adolescents and 119 adults performed three incomplete rankings of visual preference of eight pictures of V mixes, eight pictures of F mixes, and eight pictures of FV mixes, respectively. The three...... correlations between designed collative properties and perceived complexity. Inverted U-shaped relationships between visual preference and perceived complexity were found for both the V mixes and the F mixes but not for the FV mixes. For the V and the F mixes, the subjects’ optimal level of complexity...

When complex is easy on the mind: internal repetition of visual information in complex objects is a source of perceptual fluency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Linda Steg; Roos Pals; Ayça Berfu Ünal; Yannick Joye

2015-01-01

Across 3 studies, we investigated whether visual complexity deriving from internally repeating visual information over many scale levels is a source of perceptual fluency. Such continuous repetition of visual information is formalized in fractal geometry and is a key-property of natural structures.

The Effects of Visual Complexity for Japanese Kanji Processing with High and Low Frequencies

Science.gov (United States)

Tamaoka, Katsuo; Kiyama, Sachiko

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the effects of visual complexity for kanji processing by selecting target kanji from different stroke ranges of visually simple (2-6 strokes), medium (8-12 strokes), and complex (14-20 strokes) kanji with high and low frequencies. A kanji lexical decision task in Experiment 1 and a kanji naming task in Experiment 2…

Steady-state configuration and tension calculations of marine cables under complex currents via separated particle swarm optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xue-song

2014-12-01

Under complex currents, the motion governing equations of marine cables are complex and nonlinear, and the calculations of cable configuration and tension become difficult compared with those under the uniform or simple currents. To obtain the numerical results, the usual Newton-Raphson iteration is often adopted, but its stability depends on the initial guessed solution to the governing equations. To improve the stability of numerical calculation, this paper proposed separated the particle swarm optimization, in which the variables are separated into several groups, and the dimension of search space is reduced to facilitate the particle swarm optimization. Via the separated particle swarm optimization, these governing nonlinear equations can be solved successfully with any initial solution, and the process of numerical calculation is very stable. For the calculations of cable configuration and tension of marine cables under complex currents, the proposed separated swarm particle optimization is more effective than the other particle swarm optimizations.

Reconstruction and Visualization of Fiber and Laminar Structure in the Normal Human Heart from Ex Vivo DTMRI Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohmer, Damien; Sitek, Arkadiusz; Gullberg, Grant T.

2006-01-01

Background--The human heart is composed of a helical network of muscle fibers. These fibers are organized to form sheets that are separated by cleavage surfaces. This complex structure of fibers and sheets is responsible for the orthotropic mechanical properties of cardiac muscle. The understanding of the configuration of the 3D fiber and sheet structure is important for modeling the mechanical and electrical properties of the heart and changes in this configuration maybe of significant importance to understand the remodeling after myocardial infarction. Methods--Anisotropic least square filtering followed by fiber and sheet tracking techniques were applied to Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DTMRI) data of the excised human heart. The fiber configuration was visualized by using thin tubes to increase 3-dimensional visual perception of the complex structure. The sheet structures were reconstructed from the DTMRI data, obtaining surfaces that span the wall from the endo- to the epicardium. All visualizations were performed using the high-quality ray-tracing software POV-Ray. Results--The fibers are shown to lie in sheets that have concave or convex transmural structure which correspond to histological studies published in the literature. The fiber angles varied depending on the position between the epi- and endocardium. The sheets had a complex structure that depended on the location within the myocardium. In the apex region the sheets had more curvature. Conclusions--A high-quality visualization algorithm applied to demonstrated high quality DTMRI data is able to elicit the comprehension of the complex 3 dimensional structure of the fibers and sheets in the heart

Pareidolias: complex visual illusions in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Uchiyama, Makoto; Nishio, Yoshiyuki; Yokoi, Kayoko; Hirayama, Kazumi; Imamura, Toru; Shimomura, Tatsuo; Mori, Etsuro

2012-08-01

Patients rarely experience visual hallucinations while being observed by clinicians. Therefore, instruments to detect visual hallucinations directly from patients are needed. Pareidolias, which are complex visual illusions involving ambiguous forms that are perceived as meaningful objects, are analogous to visual hallucinations and have the potential to be a surrogate indicator of visual hallucinations. In this study, we explored the clinical utility of a newly developed instrument for evoking pareidolic illusions, the Pareidolia test, in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies-one of the most common causes of visual hallucinations in the elderly. Thirty-four patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, 34 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 26 healthy controls were given the Pareidolia test. Patients with dementia with Lewy bodies produced a much greater number of pareidolic illusions compared with those with Alzheimer's disease or controls. A receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that the number of pareidolias differentiated dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 88%. Full-length figures and faces of people and animals accounted for >80% of the contents of pareidolias. Pareidolias were observed in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies who had visual hallucinations as well as those who did not have visual hallucinations, suggesting that pareidolias do not reflect visual hallucinations themselves but may reflect susceptibility to visual hallucinations. A sub-analysis of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies who were or were not treated with donepzil demonstrated that the numbers of pareidolias were correlated with visuoperceptual abilities in the former and with indices of hallucinations and delusional misidentifications in the latter. Arousal and attentional deficits mediated by abnormal cholinergic mechanisms and visuoperceptual dysfunctions are likely to contribute to the development

Visualization and simulation of complex flows in biomedical engineering

CERN Document Server

Imai, Yohsuke; Ishikawa, Takuji; Oliveira, Mónica

2014-01-01

This book focuses on the most recent advances in the application of visualization and simulation methods to understand the flow behavior of complex fluids used in biomedical engineering and other related fields. It shows the physiological flow behavior in large arteries, microcirculation, respiratory systems and in biomedical microdevices.

The Effects of Pictorial Complexity and Cognitive Style on Visual Recall Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Jesky, Romaine R.; Berry, Louis H.

The effect of the interaction between cognitive style differences (field dependence/field independence) and various degrees of visual complexity on pictorial recall memory was explored using three sets of visuals in three different formats--line drawing, black and white, and color. The subjects were 86 undergraduate students enrolled in two core…

Chess players' eye movements reveal rapid recognition of complex visual patterns: Evidence from a chess-related visual search task.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheridan, Heather; Reingold, Eyal M

2017-03-01

To explore the perceptual component of chess expertise, we monitored the eye movements of expert and novice chess players during a chess-related visual search task that tested anecdotal reports that a key differentiator of chess skill is the ability to visualize the complex moves of the knight piece. Specifically, chess players viewed an array of four minimized chessboards, and they rapidly searched for the target board that allowed a knight piece to reach a target square in three moves. On each trial, there was only one target board (i.e., the "Yes" board), and for the remaining "lure" boards, the knight's path was blocked on either the first move (the "Easy No" board) or the second move (i.e., "the Difficult No" board). As evidence that chess experts can rapidly differentiate complex chess-related visual patterns, the experts (but not the novices) showed longer first-fixation durations on the "Yes" board relative to the "Difficult No" board. Moreover, as hypothesized, the task strongly differentiated chess skill: Reaction times were more than four times faster for the experts relative to novices, and reaction times were correlated with within-group measures of expertise (i.e., official chess ratings, number of hours of practice). These results indicate that a key component of chess expertise is the ability to rapidly recognize complex visual patterns.

MICROCONTROLLER PIN CONFIGURATION TOOL

OpenAIRE

Bhaskar Joshi; F. Mohammed Rizwan; Dr. Rajashree Shettar

2012-01-01

Configuring the micro controller with large number of pins is tedious. Latest Infine on microcontroller contains more than 200 pins and each pin has classes of signals. Therefore the complexity of the microcontroller is growing. It evolves looking into thousands of pages of user manual. For a user it will take days to configure the microcontroller with the peripherals. We need an automated tool to configure the microcontroller so that the user can configure the microcontroller without having ...

Improving motorcycle conspicuity through innovative headlight configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranchet, Maud; Cavallo, Viola; Dang, Nguyen-Thong; Vienne, Fabrice

2016-09-01

Most motorcycle crashes involve another vehicle that violated the motorcycle's right-of-way at an intersection. Two kinds of perceptual failures of other road users are often the cause of such accidents: motorcycle-detection failures and motion-perception errors. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of different headlight configurations on motorcycle detectability when the motorcycle is in visual competition with cars. Three innovative headlight configurations were tested: (1) standard yellow (central yellow headlight), (2) vertical white (one white light on the motorcyclist's helmet and two white lights on the fork in addition to the central white headlight), and (3) vertical yellow (same configuration as (2) with yellow lights instead of white). These three headlight configurations were evaluated in comparison to the standard configuration (central white headlight) in three environments containing visual distractors formed by car lights: (1) daytime running lights (DRLs), (2) low beams, or (3) DRLs and low beams. Video clips of computer-generated traffic situations were displayed briefly (250ms) to 57 drivers. The results revealed a beneficial effect of standard yellow configuration and the vertical yellow configuration on motorcycle detectability. However, this effect was modulated by the car-DRL environment. Findings and practical recommendations are discussed with regard to possible applications for motorcycles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ionization from short-range potential under action of electromagnetic field of complex configuration

CERN Document Server

Rodionov, V N; Kravtsova, G A

2002-01-01

The transcendental equation for the complex energy is obtained on the basis of the exactly solvable 3D model of the short-acting potential and the Green time function in the intensive electromagnetic field, constituting the combination of the constant magnetic field and the circular-polarization wave field. The electron quasistationary states parameters in the delta-potential with an account of the action of the intensive external field of complex configuration are calculated. The problem on the possibility of stabilizing the bound states decay of the spinor and scalar particles through the intensive magnetic field is clarified. It is established that the obtained results regime the reexamination of the accepted notion on the stabilizing role of the strong magnetic field by the atoms ionization

Consistent two-dimensional visualization of protein-ligand complex series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stierand Katrin

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The comparative two-dimensional graphical representation of protein-ligand complex series featuring different ligands bound to the same active site offers a quick insight in their binding mode differences. In comparison to arbitrary orientations of the residue molecules in the individual complex depictions a consistent placement improves the legibility and comparability within the series. The automatic generation of such consistent layouts offers the possibility to apply it to large data sets originating from computer-aided drug design methods. Results We developed a new approach, which automatically generates a consistent layout of interacting residues for a given series of complexes. Based on the structural three-dimensional input information, a global two-dimensional layout for all residues of the complex ensemble is computed. The algorithm incorporates the three-dimensional adjacencies of the active site residues in order to find an universally valid circular arrangement of the residues around the ligand. Subsequent to a two-dimensional ligand superimposition step, a global placement for each residue is derived from the set of already placed ligands. The method generates high-quality layouts, showing mostly overlap-free solutions with molecules which are displayed as structure diagrams providing interaction information in atomic detail. Application examples document an improved legibility compared to series of diagrams whose layouts are calculated independently from each other. Conclusions The presented method extends the field of complex series visualizations. A series of molecules binding to the same protein active site is drawn in a graphically consistent way. Compared to existing approaches these drawings substantially simplify the visual analysis of large compound series.

Automated allocation and configuration of dual stack IP networks

OpenAIRE

Daniels, Wilfried; Vanbrabant, Bart; Hughes, Danny; Joosen, Wouter

2013-01-01

The manual configuration and management of a modern network infrastructure is an increasingly complex task. This complexity is caused by factors including heterogeneity, a high degree of change and dependencies between configuration parameters. Due to increasing complexity, manual configuration has become time consuming and error prone. This paper proposes an automatic configuration tool for dual stack IP networks that addresses these issues by using high level abstractions to model the netwo...

GeoVisual Analytics for the Exploration of Complex Movement Patterns on Arterial Roads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kveladze, Irma; Agerholm, Niels

2018-01-01

Visualization of complex spatio-temporal traffic movements on the road network is a challenging task since it requires simultaneous representation of vehicle measurement characteristics and traffic network regulation rules. Previously proposed visual representations addressed issues related....... Arterial roads are important for the mobility and connectivity of modern society, but they also have traffic regulations that are not always followed by the vulnerable road users. In order to understand complex movement behaviors between vehicle drivers and pedestrians on the arterial roads, a Geo......Visual Analytics approach was developed in dialog with traffic experts. The exploratory interactive tools have assisted experts to extract unknown information about movement patterns from large traffic data at different levels of details. The results of the analysis revealed detailed patterns of speed variations...

Impact of the utilization of a product configuration system on product’s life cycle complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myrodia, Anna; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Shafiee, Sara

The purpose of this paper is to identify areas throughout a product’s lifecycle processes where complexity can be reduced by implementing a product configuration system (PCS). As discussed in the literature, several benefits are realized by using a PCS in terms of product and process standardizat...... for the company in several life cycle processes....... standardization. This also leads to control and reduce of complexity both in products and processes. To this end, this research attempts to quantify and assess these benefits and is supported by empirical evidence. A case study of an engineering company is used and the results indicate significant improvements...

CMS Configuration Editor: GUI based application for user analysis job

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cosa, A de

2011-01-01

We present the user interface and the software architecture of the Configuration Editor for the CMS experiment. The analysis workflow is organized in a modular way integrated within the CMS framework that organizes in a flexible way user analysis code. The Python scripting language is adopted to define the job configuration that drives the analysis workflow. It could be a challenging task for users, especially for newcomers, to develop analysis jobs managing the configuration of many required modules. For this reason a graphical tool has been conceived in order to edit and inspect configuration files. A set of common analysis tools defined in the CMS Physics Analysis Toolkit (PAT) can be steered and configured using the Config Editor. A user-defined analysis workflow can be produced starting from a standard configuration file, applying and configuring PAT tools according to the specific user requirements. CMS users can adopt this tool, the Config Editor, to create their analysis visualizing in real time which are the effects of their actions. They can visualize the structure of their configuration, look at the modules included in the workflow, inspect the dependences existing among the modules and check the data flow. They can visualize at which values parameters are set and change them according to what is required by their analysis task. The integration of common tools in the GUI needed to adopt an object-oriented structure in the Python definition of the PAT tools and the definition of a layer of abstraction from which all PAT tools inherit.

Flow simulations about steady-complex and unsteady moving configurations using structured-overlapped and unstructured grids

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, James C., III

1995-01-01

The limiting factor in simulating flows past realistic configurations of interest has been the discretization of the physical domain on which the governing equations of fluid flow may be solved. In an attempt to circumvent this problem, many Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) methodologies that are based on different grid generation and domain decomposition techniques have been developed. However, due to the costs involved and expertise required, very few comparative studies between these methods have been performed. In the present work, the two CFD methodologies which show the most promise for treating complex three-dimensional configurations as well as unsteady moving boundary problems are evaluated. These are namely the structured-overlapped and the unstructured grid schemes. Both methods use a cell centered, finite volume, upwind approach. The structured-overlapped algorithm uses an approximately factored, alternating direction implicit scheme to perform the time integration, whereas, the unstructured algorithm uses an explicit Runge-Kutta method. To examine the accuracy, efficiency, and limitations of each scheme, they are applied to the same steady complex multicomponent configurations and unsteady moving boundary problems. The steady complex cases consist of computing the subsonic flow about a two-dimensional high-lift multielement airfoil and the transonic flow about a three-dimensional wing/pylon/finned store assembly. The unsteady moving boundary problems are a forced pitching oscillation of an airfoil in a transonic freestream and a two-dimensional, subsonic airfoil/store separation sequence. Accuracy was accessed through the comparison of computed and experimentally measured pressure coefficient data on several of the wing/pylon/finned store assembly's components and at numerous angles-of-attack for the pitching airfoil. From this study, it was found that both the structured-overlapped and the unstructured grid schemes yielded flow solutions of

Nonuniform Changes in the Distribution of Visual Attention from Visual Complexity and Action: A Driving Simulation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, George D; Reed, Catherine L

2015-02-01

Researchers acknowledge the interplay between action and attention, but typically consider action as a response to successful attentional selection or the correlation of performance on separate action and attention tasks. We investigated how concurrent action with spatial monitoring affects the distribution of attention across the visual field. We embedded a functional field of view (FFOV) paradigm with concurrent central object recognition and peripheral target localization tasks in a simulated driving environment. Peripheral targets varied across 20-60 deg eccentricity at 11 radial spokes. Three conditions assessed the effects of visual complexity and concurrent action on the size and shape of the FFOV: (1) with no background, (2) with driving background, and (3) with driving background and vehicle steering. The addition of visual complexity slowed task performance and reduced the FFOV size but did not change the baseline shape. In contrast, the addition of steering produced not only shrinkage of the FFOV, but also changes in the FFOV shape. Nonuniform performance decrements occurred in proximal regions used for the central task and for steering, independent of interference from context elements. Multifocal attention models should consider the role of action and account for nonhomogeneities in the distribution of attention. © 2015 SAGE Publications.

Visual Analytics of Complex Genomics Data to Guide Effective Treatment Decisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quang Vinh Nguyen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In cancer biology, genomics represents a big data problem that needs accurate visual data processing and analytics. The human genome is very complex with thousands of genes that contain the information about the individual patients and the biological mechanisms of their disease. Therefore, when building a framework for personalised treatment, the complexity of the genome must be captured in meaningful and actionable ways. This paper presents a novel visual analytics framework that enables effective analysis of large and complex genomics data. By providing interactive visualisations from the overview of the entire patient cohort to the detail view of individual genes, our work potentially guides effective treatment decisions for childhood cancer patients. The framework consists of multiple components enabling the complete analytics supporting personalised medicines, including similarity space construction, automated analysis, visualisation, gene-to-gene comparison and user-centric interaction and exploration based on feature selection. In addition to the traditional way to visualise data, we utilise the Unity3D platform for developing a smooth and interactive visual presentation of the information. This aims to provide better rendering, image quality, ergonomics and user experience to non-specialists or young users who are familiar with 3D gaming environments and interfaces. We illustrate the effectiveness of our approach through case studies with datasets from childhood cancers, B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL and Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS patients, on how to guide the effective treatment decision in the cohort.

Visual search in ecological and non-ecological displays: evidence for a non-monotonic effect of complexity on performance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Chassy

Full Text Available Considerable research has been carried out on visual search, with single or multiple targets. However, most studies have used artificial stimuli with low ecological validity. In addition, little is known about the effects of target complexity and expertise in visual search. Here, we investigate visual search in three conditions of complexity (detecting a king, detecting a check, and detecting a checkmate with chess players of two levels of expertise (novices and club players. Results show that the influence of target complexity depends on level of structure of the visual display. Different functional relationships were found between artificial (random chess positions and ecologically valid (game positions stimuli: With artificial, but not with ecologically valid stimuli, a "pop out" effect was present when a target was visually more complex than distractors but could be captured by a memory chunk. This suggests that caution should be exercised when generalising from experiments using artificial stimuli with low ecological validity to real-life stimuli.

Front-office/back-office configurations and operational performance in complex health services.

Science.gov (United States)

Gemmel, Paul; van Steenis, Thomas; Meijboom, Bert

2014-01-01

Acquired brain injury (ABI) occurs from various causes at different ages and leads to many different types of healthcare needs. Several Dutch ABI-networks installed a local co-ordination and contact point (CCP) which functions as a central and easily accessible service for people to consult when they have questions related to ABI. To explore the relationship between front/back office design and operational performance by investigating the particular enquiry service provided by different CCPs for people affected by an ABI. In-depth interviews with 14 FO/BO employees from three case organizations, complemented with information from desk research and three one-day field visits. The CCPs applied different FO/BO configurations in terms of customer contact and in terms of grouping of front and/or back office activities into tasks for one employee. It is the complexity of the enquiry that determines which approach is more appropriate. For complex enquiries, the level of decoupling is high in all CCPs. This allows multiple experts to be involved in the process. For regular enquiries, CCPs have a choice: either working in the same way as in the complex enquiries or coupling FO/BO activities to be able to serve clients faster and without handovers.

HLT configuration management system

CERN Document Server

Daponte, Vincenzo

2015-01-01

The CMS High Level Trigger (HLT) is implemented running a streamlined version of the CMS offline reconstruction software running on thousands of CPUs. The CMS software is written mostly in C++, using Python as its configuration language through an embedded CPython interpreter. The configuration of each process is made up of hundreds of modules, organized in sequences and paths. As an example, the HLT configurations used for 2011 data taking comprised over 2200 different modules, organized in more than 400 independent trigger paths. The complexity of the HLT configurations and the large number of configuration produced require the design of a suitable data management system. The present work describes the designed solution to manage the considerable number of configurations developed and to assist the editing of new configurations. The system is required to be remotely accessible and OS-independent as well as easly maintainable easy to use. To meet these requirements a three-layers architecture has been choose...

Effects of emotional tone and visual complexity on processing health information in prescription drug advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Rebecca L; Bailey, Rachel L; Bolls, Paul D; Wise, Kevin R

2012-01-01

This experiment explored how the emotional tone and visual complexity of direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertisements affect the encoding and storage of specific risk and benefit statements about each of the drugs in question. Results are interpreted under the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing framework. Findings suggest that DTC drug ads should be pleasantly toned and high in visual complexity in order to maximize encoding and storage of risk and benefit information.

Visual perception of complex shape-transforming processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Filipp; Fleming, Roland W

2016-11-01

Morphogenesis-or the origin of complex natural form-has long fascinated researchers from practically every branch of science. However, we know practically nothing about how we perceive and understand such processes. Here, we measured how observers visually infer shape-transforming processes. Participants viewed pairs of objects ('before' and 'after' a transformation) and identified points that corresponded across the transformation. This allowed us to map out in spatial detail how perceived shape and space were affected by the transformations. Participants' responses were strikingly accurate and mutually consistent for a wide range of non-rigid transformations including complex growth-like processes. A zero-free-parameter model based on matching and interpolating/extrapolating the positions of high-salience contour features predicts the data surprisingly well, suggesting observers infer spatial correspondences relative to key landmarks. Together, our findings reveal the operation of specific perceptual organization processes that make us remarkably adept at identifying correspondences across complex shape-transforming processes by using salient object features. We suggest that these abilities, which allow us to parse and interpret the causally significant features of shapes, are invaluable for many tasks that involve 'making sense' of shape. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning about Complex Multi-Stakeholder Issues: Assessing the Visual Problem Appraisal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witteveen, L.M.; Put, M.; Leeuwis, C.

2010-01-01

This paper presents an evaluation of the visual problem appraisal (VPA) learning environment in higher education. The VPA has been designed for the training of competences that are required in complex stakeholder settings in relation to sustainability issues. The design of VPA incorporates a

Visualization of Fiber Structure in the Left and Right Ventricle of a Human Heart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohmer, Damien; Sitek, Arkadiusz; Gullberg, Grant T.

2006-01-01

The human heart is composed of a helical network of muscle fibers. Anisotropic least squares filtering followed by fiber tracking techniques were applied to Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging(DTMRI) data of the excised human heart. The fiber configuration was visualized by using thin tubes to increase 3-dimensional visual perception of the complex structure. All visualizations were performed using the high-quality ray-tracing software POV-Ray. The fibers are shown within the left and right ventricles. Both ventricles exhibit similar fiber architecture and some bundles of fibers are shown linking right and left ventricles on the posterior region of the heart

Analyzing Visibility Configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Dachsbacher, C

2011-04-01

Many algorithms, such as level of detail rendering and occlusion culling methods, make decisions based on the degree of visibility of an object, but do not analyze the distribution, or structure, of the visible and occluded regions across surfaces. We present an efficient method to classify different visibility configurations and show how this can be used on top of existing methods based on visibility determination. We adapt co-occurrence matrices for visibility analysis and generalize them to operate on clusters of triangular surfaces instead of pixels. We employ machine learning techniques to reliably classify the thus extracted feature vectors. Our method allows perceptually motivated level of detail methods for real-time rendering applications by detecting configurations with expected visual masking. We exemplify the versatility of our method with an analysis of area light visibility configurations in ray tracing and an area-to-area visibility analysis suitable for hierarchical radiosity refinement. Initial results demonstrate the robustness, simplicity, and performance of our method in synthetic scenes, as well as real applications.

Daily Based Morgan–Morgan–Finney (DMMF Model: A Spatially Distributed Conceptual Soil Erosion Model to Simulate Complex Soil Surface Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwanghun Choi

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present the Daily based Morgan–Morgan–Finney model. The main processes in this model are based on the Morgan–Morgan–Finney soil erosion model, and it is suitable for estimating surface runoff and sediment redistribution patterns in seasonal climate regions with complex surface configurations. We achieved temporal flexibility by utilizing daily time steps, which is suitable for regions with concentrated seasonal rainfall. We introduce the proportion of impervious surface cover as a parameter to reflect its impacts on soil erosion through blocking water infiltration and protecting the soil from detachment. Also, several equations and sequences of sub-processes are modified from the previous model to better represent physical processes. From the sensitivity analysis using the Sobol’ method, the DMMF model shows the rational response to the input parameters which is consistent with the result from the previous versions. To evaluate the model performance, we applied the model to two potato fields in South Korea that had complex surface configurations using plastic covered ridges at various temporal periods during the monsoon season. Our new model shows acceptable performance for runoff and the sediment loss estimation ( NSE ≥ 0.63 , | PBIAS | ≤ 17.00 , and RSR ≤ 0.57 . Our findings demonstrate that the DMMF model is able to predict the surface runoff and sediment redistribution patterns for cropland with complex surface configurations.

Building University Capacity to Visualize Solutions to Complex Problems in the Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Broderson, D.; Veazey, P.; Raymond, V. L.; Kowalski, K.; Prakash, A.; Signor, B.

2016-12-01

Rapidly changing environments are creating complex problems across the globe, which are particular magnified in the Arctic. These worldwide challenges can best be addressed through diverse and interdisciplinary research teams. It is incumbent on such teams to promote co-production of knowledge and data-driven decision-making by identifying effective methods to communicate their findings and to engage with the public. Decision Theater North (DTN) is a new semi-immersive visualization system that provides a space for teams to collaborate and develop solutions to complex problems, relying on diverse sets of skills and knowledge. It provides a venue to synthesize the talents of scientists, who gather information (data); modelers, who create models of complex systems; artists, who develop visualizations; communicators, who connect and bridge populations; and policymakers, who can use the visualizations to develop sustainable solutions to pressing problems. The mission of Decision Theater North is to provide a cutting-edge visual environment to facilitate dialogue and decision-making by stakeholders including government, industry, communities and academia. We achieve this mission by adopting a multi-faceted approach reflected in the theater's design, technology, networking capabilities, user support, community relationship building, and strategic partnerships. DTN is a joint project of Alaska's National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), who have brought the facility up to full operational status and are now expanding its development space to support larger team science efforts. Based in Fairbanks, Alaska, DTN is uniquely poised to address changes taking place in the Arctic and subarctic, and is connected with a larger network of decision theaters that include the Arizona State University Decision Theater Network and the McCain Institute in Washington, DC.

Industrial requirements for interactive product configurators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Queva, Matthieu Stéphane Benoit; Probst, Christian W.; Vikkelsøe, Per

2009-01-01

The demand for highly customized products at low cost is driving the industry towards Mass Customization. Interactive product configurators play an essential role in this new trend, and must be able to support more and more complex features. The purpose of this paper is, firstly, to identify...... requirements for modern interactive configurators. Existing modeling and solving technologies for configuration are then reviewed and their limitations discussed. Finally, a proposition for a future product configuration system is described....

Picture norms for Chinese preschool children: name agreement, familiarity, and visual complexity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lamei Wang

Full Text Available Pictorial stimuli standardized for Chinese children are still absent although it is needed in order to test the development of children's cognitive functions. This study presents normative measures for Snodgrass and Vanderwart pictures, viewed by 4- and 6-year old Chinese children. Name agreement, familiarity, and visual complexity were obtained for each age group. The data indicate substantial differences between young and older children in name agreement based on expected name, familiarity and visual complexity. The correlation pattern of the variables collected in the present study were consistent with children's norms in other languages and norms of Chinese adults, while there are cross-age and cross-culture differences in specific variables. The obtained measures represent a useful tool for further research on Chinese children's pictorial processing and constitute the first picture normative study for children in this language.

RICA: a reliable and image configurable arena for cyborg bumblebee based on CAN bus.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Fan; Zheng, Nenggan; Xue, Lei; Xu, Kedi; Zheng, Xiaoxiang

2014-01-01

In this paper, we designed a reliable and image configurable flight arena, RICA, for developing cyborg bumblebees. To meet the spatial and temporal requirements of bumblebees, the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is adopted to interconnect the LED display modules to ensure the reliability and real-time performance of the arena system. Easily-configurable interfaces on a desktop computer implemented by python scripts are provided to transmit the visual patterns to the LED distributor online and configure RICA dynamically. The new arena system will be a power tool to investigate the quantitative relationship between the visual inputs and induced flight behaviors and also will be helpful to the visual-motor research in other related fields.

Perceptual Dependencies in Information Visualization Assessed by Complex Visual Search

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, Ronald van den; Cornelissen, Frans W.; Roerdink, Jos B.T.M.

A common approach for visualizing data sets is to map them to images in which distinct data dimensions are mapped to distinct visual features, such as color, size and orientation. Here, we consider visualizations in which different data dimensions should receive equal weight and attention. Many of

Distribution of the population for configurations nn, nnn and nnnn of a complex formed by a divalent impurity (M2+) and a vacancy in LiCl and KCl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardenas-Garcia, D.; Lopez-Tellez, E.R.

1992-01-01

The distributions of the populations for different configurations of complexes in alkali halides are calculated. It is found that for LiCl the main configuration up to the room temperature is nn. On the other hand, for KCl the nn, nnn and nnnn configurations are equally important at room temperature. Consequently, this should be taken into account when making polarization energy calculations of the complexes. Graphs showing the distribution of the population and the expressions of some thermodynamic relations are included. (Author)

The Study of Learners' Preference for Visual Complexity on Small Screens of Mobile Computers Using Neural Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lan-Ting; Lee, Kun-Chou

2014-01-01

The vision plays an important role in educational technologies because it can produce and communicate quite important functions in teaching and learning. In this paper, learners' preference for the visual complexity on small screens of mobile computers is studied by neural networks. The visual complexity in this study is divided into five…

A PBOM configuration and management method based on templates

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Kai; Qiao, Lihong; Qie, Yifan

2018-03-01

The design of Process Bill of Materials (PBOM) holds a hinge position in the process of product development. The requirements of PBOM configuration design and management for complex products are analysed in this paper, which include the reuse technique of configuration procedure and urgent management need of huge quantity of product family PBOM data. Based on the analysis, the function framework of PBOM configuration and management has been established. Configuration templates and modules are defined in the framework to support the customization and the reuse of configuration process. The configuration process of a detection sensor PBOM is shown as an illustration case in the end. The rapid and agile PBOM configuration and management can be achieved utilizing template-based method, which has a vital significance to improve the development efficiency for complex products.

Algorithm-enabled partial-angular-scan configurations for dual-energy CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Buxin; Zhang, Zheng; Xia, Dan; Sidky, Emil Y; Pan, Xiaochuan

2018-05-01

We seek to investigate an optimization-based one-step method for image reconstruction that explicitly compensates for nonlinear spectral response (i.e., the beam-hardening effect) in dual-energy CT, to investigate the feasibility of the one-step method for enabling two dual-energy partial-angular-scan configurations, referred to as the short- and half-scan configurations, on standard CT scanners without involving additional hardware, and to investigate the potential of the short- and half-scan configurations in reducing imaging dose and scan time in a single-kVp-switch full-scan configuration in which two full rotations are made for collection of dual-energy data. We use the one-step method to reconstruct images directly from dual-energy data through solving a nonconvex optimization program that specifies the images to be reconstructed in dual-energy CT. Dual-energy full-scan data are generated from numerical phantoms and collected from physical phantoms with the standard single-kVp-switch full-scan configuration, whereas dual-energy short- and half-scan data are extracted from the corresponding full-scan data. Besides visual inspection and profile-plot comparison, the reconstructed images are analyzed also in quantitative studies based upon tasks of linear-attenuation-coefficient and material-concentration estimation and of material differentiation. Following the performance of a computer-simulation study to verify that the one-step method can reconstruct numerically accurately basis and monochromatic images of numerical phantoms, we reconstruct basis and monochromatic images by using the one-step method from real data of physical phantoms collected with the full-, short-, and half-scan configurations. Subjective inspection based upon visualization and profile-plot comparison reveals that monochromatic images, which are used often in practical applications, reconstructed from the full-, short-, and half-scan data are largely visually comparable except for some

Visual working memory for global, object, and part-based information.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Michael D; Bly, Benjamin Martin; Porcelli, Anthony J; Rypma, Bart

2007-06-01

We investigated visual working memory for novel objects and parts of novel objects. After a delay period, participants showed strikingly more accurate performance recognizing a single whole object than the parts of that object. This bias to remember whole objects, rather than parts, persisted even when the division between parts was clearly defined and the parts were disconnected from each other so that, in order to remember the single whole object, the participants needed to mentally combine the parts. In addition, the bias was confirmed when the parts were divided by color. These experiments indicated that holistic perceptual-grouping biases are automatically used to organize storage in visual working memory. In addition, our results suggested that the bias was impervious to top-down consciously directed control, because when task demands were manipulated through instruction and catch trials, the participants still recognized whole objects more quickly and more accurately than their parts. This bias persisted even when the whole objects were novel and the parts were familiar. We propose that visual working memory representations depend primarily on the global configural properties of whole objects, rather than part-based representations, even when the parts themselves can be clearly perceived as individual objects. This global configural bias beneficially reduces memory load on a capacity-limited system operating in a complex visual environment, because fewer distinct items must be remembered.

Development of underwater high-definition camera for the confirmation test of core configuration and visual examination of BWR fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Masato; Tuji, Kenji; Ito, Keisuke

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop underwater High-Definition camera for the confirmation test of core configuration and visual examination of BWR fuels in order to reduce the time of these tests and total cost regarding to purchase and maintenance. The prototype model of the camera was developed and examined in real use condition in spent fuel pool at HAMAOKA-2 and 4. The examination showed that the ability of prototype model was either equaling or surpassing to conventional product expect for resistance to radiation. The camera supposes to be used in the dose rate condition of under about 10 Gy/h. (author)

Cortical responses following simultaneous and sequential retinal neurostimulation with different return configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Barriga-Rivera, Alejandro; Morley, John W; Lovell, Nigel H; Suaning, Gregg J

2016-08-01

Researchers continue to develop visual prostheses towards safer and more efficacious systems. However limitations still exist in the number of stimulating channels that can be integrated. Therefore there is a need for spatial and time multiplexing techniques to provide improved performance of the current technology. In particular, bright and high-contrast visual scenes may require simultaneous activation of several electrodes. In this research, a 24-electrode array was suprachoroidally implanted in three normally-sighted cats. Multi-unit activity was recorded from the primary visual cortex. Four stimulation strategies were contrasted to provide activation of seven electrodes arranged hexagonally: simultaneous monopolar, sequential monopolar, sequential bipolar and hexapolar. Both monopolar configurations showed similar cortical activation maps. Hexapolar and sequential bipolar configurations activated a lower number of cortical channels. Overall, the return configuration played a more relevant role in cortical activation than time multiplexing and thus, rapid sequential stimulation may assist in reducing the number of channels required to activate large retinal areas.

Visual comparison for information visualization

KAUST Repository

Gleicher, M.; Albers, D.; Walker, R.; Jusufi, I.; Hansen, C. D.; Roberts, J. C.

2011-01-01

Data analysis often involves the comparison of complex objects. With the ever increasing amounts and complexity of data, the demand for systems to help with these comparisons is also growing. Increasingly, information visualization tools support such comparisons explicitly, beyond simply allowing a viewer to examine each object individually. In this paper, we argue that the design of information visualizations of complex objects can, and should, be studied in general, that is independently of what those objects are. As a first step in developing this general understanding of comparison, we propose a general taxonomy of visual designs for comparison that groups designs into three basic categories, which can be combined. To clarify the taxonomy and validate its completeness, we provide a survey of work in information visualization related to comparison. Although we find a great diversity of systems and approaches, we see that all designs are assembled from the building blocks of juxtaposition, superposition and explicit encodings. This initial exploration shows the power of our model, and suggests future challenges in developing a general understanding of comparative visualization and facilitating the development of more comparative visualization tools. © The Author(s) 2011.

Visual comparison for information visualization

KAUST Repository

Gleicher, M.

2011-09-07

Data analysis often involves the comparison of complex objects. With the ever increasing amounts and complexity of data, the demand for systems to help with these comparisons is also growing. Increasingly, information visualization tools support such comparisons explicitly, beyond simply allowing a viewer to examine each object individually. In this paper, we argue that the design of information visualizations of complex objects can, and should, be studied in general, that is independently of what those objects are. As a first step in developing this general understanding of comparison, we propose a general taxonomy of visual designs for comparison that groups designs into three basic categories, which can be combined. To clarify the taxonomy and validate its completeness, we provide a survey of work in information visualization related to comparison. Although we find a great diversity of systems and approaches, we see that all designs are assembled from the building blocks of juxtaposition, superposition and explicit encodings. This initial exploration shows the power of our model, and suggests future challenges in developing a general understanding of comparative visualization and facilitating the development of more comparative visualization tools. © The Author(s) 2011.

Fully unsteady subsonic and supersonic potential aerodynamics for complex aircraft configurations for flutter applications

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, K.; Morino, L.

1975-01-01

A general theory for study, oscillatory or fully unsteady potential compressible aerodynamics around complex configurations is presented. Using the finite-element method to discretize the space problem, one obtains a set of differential-delay equations in time relating the potential to its normal derivative which is expressed in terms of the generalized coordinates of the structure. For oscillatory flow, the motion consists of sinusoidal oscillations around a steady, subsonic or supersonic flow. For fully unsteady flow, the motion is assumed to consist of constant subsonic or supersonic speed for time t or = 0 and of small perturbations around the steady state for time t 0.

Memory for Complex Visual Objects but Not for Allocentric Locations during the First Year of Life

Science.gov (United States)

Dupierrix, Eve; Hillairet de Boisferon, Anne; Barbeau, Emmanuel; Pascalis, Olivier

2015-01-01

Although human infants demonstrate early competence to retain visual information, memory capacities during infancy remain largely undocumented. In three experiments, we used a Visual Paired Comparison (VPC) task to examine abilities to encode identity (Experiment 1) and spatial properties (Experiments 2a and 2b) of unfamiliar complex visual…

Learning Science in a Virtual Reality Application: The Impacts of Animated-Virtual Actors' Visual Complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Kartiko, Iwan; Kavakli, Manolya; Cheng, Ken

2010-01-01

As the technology in computer graphics advances, Animated-Virtual Actors (AVAs) in Virtual Reality (VR) applications become increasingly rich and complex. Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) suggests that complex visual materials could hinder novice learners from attending to the lesson properly. On the other hand, previous studies have…

Seeing the forest through the trees: uncovering phenomic complexity through interactive network visualization.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Jeremy L; Denny, Joshua C; Kreda, David A; Alterovitz, Gil

2015-03-01

Our aim was to uncover unrecognized phenomic relationships using force-based network visualization methods, based on observed electronic medical record data. A primary phenotype was defined from actual patient profiles in the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care II database. Network visualizations depicting primary relationships were compared to those incorporating secondary adjacencies. Interactivity was enabled through a phenotype visualization software concept: the Phenomics Advisor. Subendocardial infarction with cardiac arrest was demonstrated as a sample phenotype; there were 332 primarily adjacent diagnoses, with 5423 relationships. Primary network visualization suggested a treatment-related complication phenotype and several rare diagnoses; re-clustering by secondary relationships revealed an emergent cluster of smokers with the metabolic syndrome. Network visualization reveals phenotypic patterns that may have remained occult in pairwise correlation analysis. Visualization of complex data, potentially offered as point-of-care tools on mobile devices, may allow clinicians and researchers to quickly generate hypotheses and gain deeper understanding of patient subpopulations. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Reconfigurable Auditory-Visual Display

Science.gov (United States)

Begault, Durand R. (Inventor); Anderson, Mark R. (Inventor); McClain, Bryan (Inventor); Miller, Joel D. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

System and method for visual and audible communication between a central operator and N mobile communicators (N greater than or equal to 2), including an operator transceiver and interface, configured to receive and display, for the operator, visually perceptible and audibly perceptible signals from each of the mobile communicators. The interface (1) presents an audible signal from each communicator as if the audible signal is received from a different location relative to the operator and (2) allows the operator to select, to assign priority to, and to display, the visual signals and the audible signals received from a specified communicator. Each communicator has an associated signal transmitter that is configured to transmit at least one of the visual signals and the audio signal associated with the communicator, where at least one of the signal transmitters includes at least one sensor that senses and transmits a sensor value representing a selected environmental or physiological parameter associated with the communicator.

Synaptic Basis for Differential Orientation Selectivity between Complex and Simple Cells in Mouse Visual Cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ya-tang; Liu, Bao-hua; Chou, Xiao-lin; Zhang, Li I; Tao, Huizhong W

2015-08-05

In the primary visual cortex (V1), orientation-selective neurons can be categorized into simple and complex cells primarily based on their receptive field (RF) structures. In mouse V1, although previous studies have examined the excitatory/inhibitory interplay underlying orientation selectivity (OS) of simple cells, the synaptic bases for that of complex cells have remained obscure. Here, by combining in vivo loose-patch and whole-cell recordings, we found that complex cells, identified by their overlapping on/off subfields, had significantly weaker OS than simple cells at both spiking and subthreshold membrane potential response levels. Voltage-clamp recordings further revealed that although excitatory inputs to complex and simple cells exhibited a similar degree of OS, inhibition in complex cells was more narrowly tuned than excitation, whereas in simple cells inhibition was more broadly tuned than excitation. The differential inhibitory tuning can primarily account for the difference in OS between complex and simple cells. Interestingly, the differential synaptic tuning correlated well with the spatial organization of synaptic input: the inhibitory visual RF in complex cells was more elongated in shape than its excitatory counterpart and also was more elongated than that in simple cells. Together, our results demonstrate that OS of complex and simple cells is differentially shaped by cortical inhibition based on its orientation tuning profile relative to excitation, which is contributed at least partially by the spatial organization of RFs of presynaptic inhibitory neurons. Simple and complex cells, two classes of principal neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1), are generally thought to be equally selective for orientation. In mouse V1, we report that complex cells, identified by their overlapping on/off subfields, has significantly weaker orientation selectivity (OS) than simple cells. This can be primarily attributed to the differential tuning selectivity

Impact of the motion and visual complexity of the background on players' performance in video game-like displays.

Science.gov (United States)

Caroux, Loïc; Le Bigot, Ludovic; Vibert, Nicolas

2013-01-01

The visual interfaces of virtual environments such as video games often show scenes where objects are superimposed on a moving background. Three experiments were designed to better understand the impact of the complexity and/or overall motion of two types of visual backgrounds often used in video games on the detection and use of superimposed, stationary items. The impact of background complexity and motion was assessed during two typical video game tasks: a relatively complex visual search task and a classic, less demanding shooting task. Background motion impaired participants' performance only when they performed the shooting game task, and only when the simplest of the two backgrounds was used. In contrast, and independently of background motion, performance on both tasks was impaired when the complexity of the background increased. Eye movement recordings demonstrated that most of the findings reflected the impact of low-level features of the two backgrounds on gaze control.

Hierarchical representation of shapes in visual cortex - from localized features to figural shape segregation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan eTschechne

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Visual structures in the environment are effortlessly segmented into image regions and those combined to a representation of surfaces and prototypical objects. Such a perceptual organization is performed by complex neural mechanisms in the visual cortex of primates. Multiple mutually connected areas in the ventral cortical pathway receive visual input and extract local form features that are subsequently grouped into increasingly complex, more meaningful image elements. At this stage, highly articulated changes in shape boundary as well as very subtle curvature changes contribute to the perception of an object.We propose a recurrent computational network architecture that utilizes a hierarchical distributed representation of shape features to encode boundary features over different scales of resolution. Our model makes use of neural mechanisms that model the processing capabilities of early and intermediate stages in visual cortex, namely areas V1-V4 and IT. We suggest that multiple specialized component representations interact by feedforward hierarchical processing that is combined with feedback from representations generated at higher stages. In so doing, global configurational as well as local information is available to distinguish changes in the object's contour. Once the outline of a shape has been established, contextual contour configurations are used to assign border ownership directions and thus achieve segregation of figure and ground. This combines separate findings about the generation of cortical shape representation using hierarchical representations with figure-ground segregation mechanisms.Our model is probed with a selection of artificial and real world images to illustrate processing results at different processing stages. We especially highlight how modulatory feedback connections contribute to the processing of visual input at various stages in the processing hierarchy.

The Broader Spectrum of Magnetic Configurations for Fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prager, S C [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ (United States); Ryutov, D D [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States)

2012-09-15

Over the decades, a large array of magnetic configurations has been studied, producing a huge amount of fusion plasma science. As configurations are developed, information and techniques learned through one configuration influence the development of other configurations. In this way, configurations evolve unexpectedly in response to new information. Configurations that were at a pause can become unstuck by new discoveries, and configurations that appeared promising for fusion energy can become unattractive as new limits are uncovered. The plasma science of fusion energy is sufficiently complex that, as we approach ever closer to practical fusion power, the need for potential contributions of broad research of multiple magnetic configurations remains strong. (author)

Operational Dynamic Configuration Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Chok Fung; Zelinski, Shannon

2010-01-01

schedule containing k configurations based on stability score of the sector combinations among the raw operational configurations. In addition, the number of the selected configurations is determined based on balance between accuracy and assessment complexity.

Reconstruction and Visualization of Fiber and Laminar Structure inthe Normal Human Heart from Ex Vivo DTMRI Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rohmer, Damien; Sitek, Arkadiusz; Gullberg, Grant T.

2006-12-18

Background - The human heart is composed of a helicalnetwork of muscle fibers. These fibers are organized to form sheets thatare separated by cleavage surfaces. This complex structure of fibers andsheets is responsible for the orthotropic mechanical properties ofcardiac muscle. The understanding of the configuration of the 3D fiberand sheet structure is important for modeling the mechanical andelectrical properties of the heart and changes in this configuration maybe of significant importance to understand the remodeling aftermyocardial infarction.Methods - Anisotropic least square filteringfollowed by fiber and sheet tracking techniques were applied to DiffusionTensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DTMRI) data of the excised humanheart. The fiber configuration was visualized by using thin tubes toincrease 3-dimensional visual perception of the complex structure. Thesheet structures were reconstructed from the DTMRI data, obtainingsurfaces that span the wall from the endo- to the epicardium. Allvisualizations were performed using the high-quality ray-tracing softwarePOV-Ray. Results - The fibers are shown to lie in sheets that haveconcave or convex transmural structure which correspond to histologicalstudies published in the literature. The fiber angles varied depending onthe position between the epi- and endocardium. The sheets had a complexstructure that depended on the location within the myocardium. In theapex region the sheets had more curvature. Conclusions - A high-qualityvisualization algorithm applied to demonstrated high quality DTMRI datais able to elicit the comprehension of the complex 3 dimensionalstructure of the fibers and sheets in the heart.

Improving the quotation process with product configuration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Christensen, Simon Pape

2006-01-01

How can product configuration support the process of engineering highly complex industrial products? This article describes how an IT-based product configuration system was developed to support the process of mak-ing budget quotations. The article is based on a research project carried out...

Configuration of Web services as parametric design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ten Teije, Annette; Van Harmelen, Frank; Wielinga, Bob

2004-01-01

The configuration of Web services is particularly hard given the heterogeneous, unreliable and open nature of the Web. Furthermore, such composite Web services are likely to be complex services, that will require adaptation for each specific use. Current approaches to Web service configuration are

Community-based naming agreement, familiarity, image agreement and visual complexity ratings among adult Indians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Annamma

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The validity of Snodgrass and Vanderwart pictures and their norms derived on a western population on naming, familiarity, imageability and visual-complexity, is not established on a population with cultural background different from the west. We developed, therefore, a set of culturally appropriate pictures for and derived norms on Indians. Line-drawings of 103 concepts (67 from Snodgrass and Vanderwart, 36 new from 10 semantic-categories were normed on 200 community-based older subjects. Only 31% of the Snodgrass and Vanderwart items showed a concept-agreement on the Indians comparable to western norms. Naming, familiarity and image-agreement mutually correlated but not with visual-complexity. Low-education and rural-residence tended to reduced concept-agreement. The output of this study will be of use in national and cross-national studies.

The difference in subjective and objective complexity in the visual short-term memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jonas Olsen; Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

Several studies discuss the influence of complexity on the visual short term memory; some have demonstrated that short-term memory is surprisingly stable regardless of content (e.g. Luck & Vogel, 1997) where others have shown that memory can be influenced by the complexity of stimulus (e.g. Alvarez...... characters. On the contrary expertise or word frequency may reflect what could be termed subjective complexity, as this relate directly to the individual mental categories established. This study will be able to uncover more details on how we should define complexity of objects to be encoded into short-term....... & Cavanagh, 2004). But the term complexity is often not clearly defined. Sørensen (2008; see also Dall, Katsumi, & Sørensen, 2016) suggested that complexity can be related to two different types; objective and subjective complexity. This distinction is supported by a number of studies on the influence...

Visualization of complex DNA damage along accelerated ions tracks

Science.gov (United States)

Kulikova, Elena; Boreyko, Alla; Bulanova, Tatiana; Ježková, Lucie; Zadneprianetc, Mariia; Smirnova, Elena

2018-04-01

The most deleterious DNA lesions induced by ionizing radiation are clustered DNA double-strand breaks (DSB). Clustered or complex DNA damage is a combination of a few simple lesions (single-strand breaks, base damage etc.) within one or two DNA helix turns. It is known that yield of complex DNA lesions increases with increasing linear energy transfer (LET) of radiation. For investigation of the induction and repair of complex DNA lesions, human fibroblasts were irradiated with high-LET 15N ions (LET = 183.3 keV/μm, E = 13MeV/n) and low-LET 60Co γ-rays (LET ≈ 0.3 keV/μm) radiation. DNA DSBs (γH2AX and 53BP1) and base damage (OGG1) markers were visualized by immunofluorecence staining and high-resolution microscopy. The obtained results showed slower repair kinetics of induced DSBs in cells irradiated with accelerated ions compared to 60Co γ-rays, indicating induction of more complex DNA damage. Confirming previous assumptions, detailed 3D analysis of γH2AX/53BP1 foci in 15N ions tracks revealed more complicated structure of the foci in contrast to γ-rays. It was shown that proteins 53BP1 and OGG1 involved in repair of DNA DSBs and modified bases, respectively, were colocalized in tracks of 15N ions and thus represented clustered DNA DSBs.

The Rhetoric of Multi-Display Learning Spaces: exploratory experiences in visual art disciplines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brett Bligh

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Multi-Display Learning Spaces (MD-LS comprise technologies to allow the viewing of multiple simultaneous visual materials, modes of learning which encourage critical reflection upon these materials, and spatial configurations which afford interaction between learners and the materials in orchestrated ways. In this paper we provide an argument for the benefits of Multi-Display Learning Spaces in supporting complex, disciplinary reasoning within learning, focussing upon our experiences within postgraduate visual arts education. The importance of considering the affordances of the physical environment within education has been acknowledged by the recent attention given to Learning Spaces, yet within visual art disciplines the perception of visual material within a given space has long been seen as a key methodological consideration with implications for the identity of the discipline itself. We analyse the methodological, technological and spatial affordances of MD-LS to support learning, and discuss comparative viewing as a disciplinary method to structure visual analysis within the space which benefits from the simultaneous display of multiple partitions of visual evidence. We offer an analysis of the role of the teacher in authoring and orchestration and conclude by proposing a more general structure for what we term ‘multiple perspective learning’, in which the presentation of multiple pieces of visual evidence creates the conditions for complex argumentation within Higher Education.

Tunoe Knob wind turbine array. Visualization and aesthetic evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

The aesthetic affects of locating a wind turbine array in the Danish coastal waters at Tunoe Knob between Tunoe and the Juttish east coast are discussed. The visualization project made use of a video film which analyzed the effect of the configurations of the wind turbine array on the coastal landscape as seen from a number viewpoints. A computer model illustrated the aesthetic effects of viewing the windmills as the viewer moves along the east coast of Jutland and across the sea towards the islands of Tunoe and Samsoe. The results should form the basis of the authorities' decision-making regarding the configuration of the wind turbine array. An account of the methods of visualization and a description of the visualization methods, in addition to the criteria on which the choice of the configuration was based are given. The chosen configuration is visualized, from points that are near and far from the wind turbine array, in the form of maps, diagrams and photographs of the sea and landscape. (AB)

Short-term memory for spatial configurations in the tactile modality: a comparison with vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Picard, Delphine; Monnier, Catherine

2009-11-01

This study investigates the role of acquisition constraints on the short-term retention of spatial configurations in the tactile modality in comparison with vision. It tests whether the sequential processing of information inherent to the tactile modality could account for limitation in short-term memory span for tactual-spatial information. In addition, this study investigates developmental aspects of short-term memory for tactual- and visual-spatial configurations. A total of 144 child and adult participants were assessed for their memory span in three different conditions: tactual, visual, and visual with a limited field of view. The results showed lower tactual-spatial memory span than visual-spatial, regardless of age. However, differences in memory span observed between the tactile and visual modalities vanished when the visual processing of information occurred within a limited field. These results provide evidence for an impact of acquisition constraints on the retention of spatial information in the tactile modality in both childhood and adulthood.

Configuration Entropy Calculations for Complex Compounds Technetium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhayatun; Susanto Imam Rahayu; Surdia, N.M.; Abdul Mutalib

2002-01-01

Recently, the study of technetium complexes is rapidly increasing, due to the benefit of 99m Tc complexes (one of Tc nuclear isomers), which are widely used for diagnostics. Study of the structure-stability relationship of Tc complexes based on solid angle has been done by Kung using a Solid Angle Factor Sum (SAS). The SAS is hypothesized to be related to stability. SAS has been used by several researchers either for synthesis or designing the reaction route of the Tc complex formation and predicting the geometry of complex structures. Although the advantages of the SAS were very gratifying, but the model does not have the theoretical basis which is able to explain the correlation of steric parameters to physicochemical properties of complexes especially to those connected to a complex's stability. To improve the SAS model, in this research the model was modified by providing a theoretical basis for SAS. The results obtained from the correlation of the SAS value to the thermodynamic stability parameters of simple complexes show the values to have a similar trend as the standard entropy (S 0 ). The entropy approximation model was created by involving some factors which are not used in Kung's model. Entropy optimization to the bond length (ML) has also been done to several complexes. The calculations of SAS value using the calculated R for more than 100 Tc complexes provide a normalized mean value of 0.8545 ± 0.0851 and have similar curve profiles as those of Kung's model. The entropy value can be obtained by multiplying the natural logarithm of the a priori degeneracy of a certain distribution (Ω) and the Boltzmann constant. The results of Ω and In Ω of the Tc complexes have a narrow range. The results of this research are able to provide a basic concept for the SAS to explain the structure-stability relationship and to improve Kung's model. (author)

Hierarchical representation of shapes in visual cortex-from localized features to figural shape segregation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tschechne, Stephan; Neumann, Heiko

2014-01-01

Visual structures in the environment are segmented into image regions and those combined to a representation of surfaces and prototypical objects. Such a perceptual organization is performed by complex neural mechanisms in the visual cortex of primates. Multiple mutually connected areas in the ventral cortical pathway receive visual input and extract local form features that are subsequently grouped into increasingly complex, more meaningful image elements. Such a distributed network of processing must be capable to make accessible highly articulated changes in shape boundary as well as very subtle curvature changes that contribute to the perception of an object. We propose a recurrent computational network architecture that utilizes hierarchical distributed representations of shape features to encode surface and object boundary over different scales of resolution. Our model makes use of neural mechanisms that model the processing capabilities of early and intermediate stages in visual cortex, namely areas V1-V4 and IT. We suggest that multiple specialized component representations interact by feedforward hierarchical processing that is combined with feedback signals driven by representations generated at higher stages. Based on this, global configurational as well as local information is made available to distinguish changes in the object's contour. Once the outline of a shape has been established, contextual contour configurations are used to assign border ownership directions and thus achieve segregation of figure and ground. The model, thus, proposes how separate mechanisms contribute to distributed hierarchical cortical shape representation and combine with processes of figure-ground segregation. Our model is probed with a selection of stimuli to illustrate processing results at different processing stages. We especially highlight how modulatory feedback connections contribute to the processing of visual input at various stages in the processing hierarchy.

Face configuration affects speech perception: Evidence from a McGurk mismatch negativity study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskelund, Kasper; MacDonald, Ewen; Andersen, Tobias

2015-01-01

We perceive identity, expression and speech from faces. While perception of identity and expression depends crucially on the configuration of facial features it is less clear whether this holds for visual speech perception. Facial configuration is poorly perceived for upside-down faces as demonst...

Visual object recognition and category-specificity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian

This thesis is based on seven published papers. The majority of the papers address two topics in visual object recognition: (i) category-effects at pre-semantic stages, and (ii) the integration of visual elements into elaborate shape descriptions corresponding to whole objects or large object parts...... (shape configuration). In the early writings these two topics were examined more or less independently. In later works, findings concerning category-effects and shape configuration merge into an integrated model, termed RACE, advanced to explain category-effects arising at pre-semantic stages in visual...... in visual long-term memory. In the thesis it is described how this simple model can account for a wide range of findings on category-specificity in both patients with brain damage and normal subjects. Finally, two hypotheses regarding the neural substrates of the model's components - and how activation...

Advertising presence on the visual configuration of the digital press

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belinda de Frutos Torres

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Visual strength is responsible for one of the mayor changes undergone by the digital press with Internet explosion and the increase of the Informational and Communicational Technologies. The present study analyzes the structure the digital press has taken and the role of the digital advertisement in the composition of their textual and iconic elements. The paper quantifies the picture representations volume and compares their presence on the digital natives papers with those coming from the traditional paper support. The results reveal that there is a mayor contribution of adverts on the native on-line press compare to the on-line paper arriving from the traditional media decreasing the information volume. At the same time the visual volume is boosted on the former compare to the digital media with a paper support. Altogether it can be said that visual component prompted the digital papers first page, being this effect enhanced on the native digital papers.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-10-01

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

Comparing different stimulus configurations for population receptive field mapping in human fMRI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan eAlvarez

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Population receptive field (pRF mapping is a widely used approach to measuring aggregate human visual receptive field properties by recording non-invasive signals using functional MRI. Despite growing interest, no study to date has systematically investigated the effects of different stimulus configurations on pRF estimates from human visual cortex. Here we compared the effects of three different stimulus configurations on a model-based approach to pRF estimation: size-invariant bars and eccentricity-scaled bars defined in Cartesian coordinates and traveling along the cardinal axes, and a novel simultaneous ‘wedge and ring’ stimulus defined in polar coordinates, systematically covering polar and eccentricity axes. We found that the presence or absence of eccentricity scaling had a significant effect on goodness of fit and pRF size estimates. Further, variability in pRF size estimates was directly influenced by stimulus configuration, particularly for higher visual areas including V5/MT+. Finally, we compared eccentricity estimation between phase-encoded and model-based pRF approaches. We observed a tendency for more peripheral eccentricity estimates using phase-encoded methods, independent of stimulus size. We conclude that both eccentricity scaling and polar rather than Cartesian stimulus configuration are important considerations for optimal experimental design in pRF mapping. While all stimulus configurations produce adequate estimates, simultaneous wedge and ring stimulation produced higher fit reliability, with a significant advantage in reduced acquisition time.

Development of Visualization Tools for ZPPR-15 Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Min Jae; Kim, Sang Ji

2014-01-01

ZPPR-15 cores consist of various drawer masters that have great heterogeneity. In order to build a proper homogenization strategy, the geometry of the drawer masters should be carefully analyzed with a visualization. Additionally, a visualization of drawer masters and the core configuration is necessary for minimizing human error during the input processing. For this purpose, visualization tools for a ZPPR-15 analysis has been developed based on a Perl script. In the following section, the implementation of visualization tools will be described and various visualization samples for both drawer masters and ZPPR-15 cores will be demonstrated. Visualization tools for drawer masters and a core configuration were successfully developed for a ZPPR-15 analysis. The visualization tools are expected to be useful for understanding ZPPR-15 experiments, and finding deterministic models of ZPPR-15. It turned out that generating VTK files is handy but the application of VTK files is powerful with the aid of the VISIT program

Extending a configuration model to find communities in complex networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Di; Hu, Qinghua; He, Dongxiao; Yang, Bo; Baquero, Carlos

2013-01-01

Discovery of communities in complex networks is a fundamental data analysis task in various domains. Generative models are a promising class of techniques for identifying modular properties from networks, which has been actively discussed recently. However, most of them cannot preserve the degree sequence of networks, which will distort the community detection results. Rather than using a blockmodel as most current works do, here we generalize a configuration model, namely, a null model of modularity, to solve this problem. Towards decomposing and combining sub-graphs according to the soft community memberships, our model incorporates the ability to describe community structures, something the original model does not have. Also, it has the property, as with the original model, that it fixes the expected degree sequence to be the same as that of the observed network. We combine both the community property and degree sequence preserving into a single unified model, which gives better community results compared with other models. Thereafter, we learn the model using a technique of nonnegative matrix factorization and determine the number of communities by applying consensus clustering. We test this approach both on synthetic benchmarks and on real-world networks, and compare it with two similar methods. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of our method over competing methods in detecting both disjoint and overlapping communities. (paper)

The Effect of Visual Stimuli on Stability and Complexity of Postural Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haizhen Luo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Visual input could benefit balance control or increase postural sway, and it is far from fully understanding the effect of visual stimuli on postural stability and its underlying mechanism. In this study, the effect of different visual inputs on stability and complexity of postural control was examined by analyzing the mean velocity (MV, SD, and fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn of the center of pressure (COP signal during quiet upright standing. We designed five visual exposure conditions: eyes-closed, eyes-open (EO, and three virtual reality (VR scenes (VR1–VR3. The VR scenes were a limited field view of an optokinetic drum rotating around yaw (VR1, pitch (VR2, and roll (VR3 axes, respectively. Sixteen healthy subjects were involved in the experiment, and their COP trajectories were assessed from the force plate data. MV, SD, and fApEn of the COP in anterior–posterior (AP, medial–lateral (ML directions were calculated. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was conducted to test the statistical significance. We found that all the three parameters obtained the lowest values in the EO condition, and highest in the VR3 condition. We also found that the active neuromuscular intervention, indicated by fApEn, in response to changing the visual exposure conditions were more adaptive in AP direction, and the stability, indicated by SD, in ML direction reflected the changes of visual scenes. MV was found to capture both instability and active neuromuscular control dynamics. It seemed that the three parameters provided compensatory information about the postural control in the immersive virtual environment.

Modulation of visually evoked postural responses by contextual visual, haptic and auditory information: a 'virtual reality check'.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Georg F; Shao, Fei; White, Mark D; Hopkins, Carl; Robotham, Antony J

2013-01-01

Externally generated visual motion signals can cause the illusion of self-motion in space (vection) and corresponding visually evoked postural responses (VEPR). These VEPRs are not simple responses to optokinetic stimulation, but are modulated by the configuration of the environment. The aim of this paper is to explore what factors modulate VEPRs in a high quality virtual reality (VR) environment where real and virtual foreground objects served as static visual, auditory and haptic reference points. Data from four experiments on visually evoked postural responses show that: 1) visually evoked postural sway in the lateral direction is modulated by the presence of static anchor points that can be haptic, visual and auditory reference signals; 2) real objects and their matching virtual reality representations as visual anchors have different effects on postural sway; 3) visual motion in the anterior-posterior plane induces robust postural responses that are not modulated by the presence of reference signals or the reality of objects that can serve as visual anchors in the scene. We conclude that automatic postural responses for laterally moving visual stimuli are strongly influenced by the configuration and interpretation of the environment and draw on multisensory representations. Different postural responses were observed for real and virtual visual reference objects. On the basis that automatic visually evoked postural responses in high fidelity virtual environments should mimic those seen in real situations we propose to use the observed effect as a robust objective test for presence and fidelity in VR.

The impact of applying product-modelling techniques in configurator projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Shafiee, Sara

2018-01-01

This paper aims to increase understanding of the impact of using product-modelling techniques to structure and formalise knowledge in configurator projects. Companies that provide customised products increasingly apply configurators in support of sales and design activities, reaping benefits...... that include shorter lead times, improved quality of specifications and products, and lower overall product costs. The design and implementation of configurators are a challenging task that calls for scientifically based modelling techniques to support the formal representation of configurator knowledge. Even...... the phenomenon model and information model are considered visually, (2) non-UML-based modelling techniques, in which only the phenomenon model is considered and (3) non-formal modelling techniques. This study analyses the impact to companies from increased availability of product knowledge and improved control...

3D MRI Modeling of Thin and Spatially Complex Soft Tissue Structures without Shrinkage: Lamprey Myosepta as an Example.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Bradley M; Jia, Guang; Carmichael, Owen; McKlveen, Kevin; Homberger, Dominique G

2018-05-12

3D imaging techniques enable the non-destructive analysis and modeling of complex structures. Among these, MRI exhibits good soft tissue contrast, but is currently less commonly used for non-clinical research than x-ray CT, even though the latter requires contrast-staining that shrinks and distorts soft tissues. When the objective is the creation of a realistic and complete 3D model of soft tissue structures, MRI data are more demanding to acquire and visualize and require extensive post-processing because they comprise non-cubic voxels with dimensions that represent a trade-off between tissue contrast and image resolution. Therefore, thin soft tissue structures with complex spatial configurations are not always visible in a single MRI dataset, so that standard segmentation techniques are not sufficient for their complete visualization. By using the example of the thin and spatially complex connective tissue myosepta in lampreys, we developed a workflow protocol for the selection of the appropriate parameters for the acquisition of MRI data and for the visualization and 3D modeling of soft tissue structures. This protocol includes a novel recursive segmentation technique for supplementing missing data in one dataset with data from another dataset to produce realistic and complete 3D models. Such 3D models are needed for the modeling of dynamic processes, such as the biomechanics of fish locomotion. However, our methodology is applicable to the visualization of any thin soft tissue structures with complex spatial configurations, such as fasciae, aponeuroses, and small blood vessels and nerves, for clinical research and the further exploration of tensegrity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

DICOM supported sofware configuration by XML files

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LucenaG, Bioing Fabian M; Valdez D, Andres E; Gomez, Maria E; Nasisi, Oscar H

2007-01-01

A method for the configuration of informatics systems that provide support to DICOM standards using XML files is proposed. The difference with other proposals is base on that this system does not code the information of a DICOM objects file, but codes the standard itself in an XML file. The development itself is the format for the XML files mentioned, in order that they can support what DICOM normalizes for multiple languages. In this way, the same configuration file (or files) can be use in different systems. Jointly the XML configuration file generated, we wrote also a set of CSS and XSL files. So the same file can be visualized in a standard browser, as a query system of DICOM standard, emerging use, that did not was a main objective but brings a great utility and versatility. We exposed also some uses examples of the configuration file mainly in relation with the load of DICOM information objects. Finally, at the conclusions we show the utility that the system has already provided when the edition of DICOM standard changes from 2006 to 2007

Sonification and haptic feedback in addition to visual feedback enhances complex motor task learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Sigrist, Roland; Rauter, Georg; Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Riener, Robert; Wolf, Peter

2015-03-01

Concurrent augmented feedback has been shown to be less effective for learning simple motor tasks than for complex tasks. However, as mostly artificial tasks have been investigated, transfer of results to tasks in sports and rehabilitation remains unknown. Therefore, in this study, the effect of different concurrent feedback was evaluated in trunk-arm rowing. It was then investigated whether multimodal audiovisual and visuohaptic feedback are more effective for learning than visual feedback only. Naïve subjects (N = 24) trained in three groups on a highly realistic virtual reality-based rowing simulator. In the visual feedback group, the subject's oar was superimposed to the target oar, which continuously became more transparent when the deviation between the oars decreased. Moreover, a trace of the subject's trajectory emerged if deviations exceeded a threshold. The audiovisual feedback group trained with oar movement sonification in addition to visual feedback to facilitate learning of the velocity profile. In the visuohaptic group, the oar movement was inhibited by path deviation-dependent braking forces to enhance learning of spatial aspects. All groups significantly decreased the spatial error (tendency in visual group) and velocity error from baseline to the retention tests. Audiovisual feedback fostered learning of the velocity profile significantly more than visuohaptic feedback. The study revealed that well-designed concurrent feedback fosters complex task learning, especially if the advantages of different modalities are exploited. Further studies should analyze the impact of within-feedback design parameters and the transferability of the results to other tasks in sports and rehabilitation.

Electronic configurations and energies in some thermodynamically correlated laves compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, G.M.

1979-04-01

The known electronic configurations of simple elements in Laves compounds are correlated with those of the more complex systems to determine their electronic configurations and gaseous state promotion energies

Viscous Design of TCA Configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Krist, Steven E.; Bauer, Steven X. S.; Campbell, Richard L.

1999-01-01

The goal in this effort is to redesign the baseline TCA configuration for improved performance at both supersonic and transonic cruise. Viscous analyses are conducted with OVERFLOW, a Navier-Stokes code for overset grids, using PEGSUS to compute the interpolations between overset grids. Viscous designs are conducted with OVERDISC, a script which couples OVERFLOW with the Constrained Direct Iterative Surface Curvature (CDISC) inverse design method. The successful execution of any computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based aerodynamic design method for complex configurations requires an efficient method for regenerating the computational grids to account for modifications to the configuration shape. The first section of this presentation deals with the automated regridding procedure used to generate overset grids for the fuselage/wing/diverter/nacelle configurations analysed in this effort. The second section outlines the procedures utilized to conduct OVERDISC inverse designs. The third section briefly covers the work conducted by Dick Campbell, in which a dual-point design at Mach 2.4 and 0.9 was attempted using OVERDISC; the initial configuration from which this design effort was started is an early version of the optimized shape for the TCA configuration developed by the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG), which eventually evolved into the NCV design. The final section presents results from application of the Natural Flow Wing design philosophy to the TCA configuration.

Complexity Plots

KAUST Repository

Thiyagalingam, Jeyarajan

2013-06-01

In this paper, we present a novel visualization technique for assisting the observation and analysis of algorithmic complexity. In comparison with conventional line graphs, this new technique is not sensitive to the units of measurement, allowing multivariate data series of different physical qualities (e.g., time, space and energy) to be juxtaposed together conveniently and consistently. It supports multivariate visualization as well as uncertainty visualization. It enables users to focus on algorithm categorization by complexity classes, while reducing visual impact caused by constants and algorithmic components that are insignificant to complexity analysis. It provides an effective means for observing the algorithmic complexity of programs with a mixture of algorithms and black-box software through visualization. Through two case studies, we demonstrate the effectiveness of complexity plots in complexity analysis in research, education and application. © 2013 The Author(s) Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Complex signal-based optical coherence tomography angiography enables in vivo visualization of choriocapillaris in human choroid

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Zhongdi; Chen, Chieh-Li; Zhang, Qinqin; Pepple, Kathryn; Durbin, Mary; Gregori, Giovanni; Wang, Ruikang K.

2017-12-01

The choriocapillaris (CC) plays an essential role in maintaining the normal functions of the human eye. There is increasing interest in the community to develop an imaging technique for visualizing the CC, yet this remains underexplored due to technical limitations. We propose an approach for the visualization of the CC in humans via a complex signal-based optical microangiography (OMAG) algorithm, based on commercially available spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). We show that the complex signal-based OMAG was superior to both the phase and amplitude signal-based approaches in detailing the vascular lobules previously seen with histological analysis. With this improved ability to visualize the lobular vascular networks, it is possible to identify the feeding arterioles and draining venules around the lobules, which is important in understanding the role of the CC in the pathogenesis of ocular diseases. With built-in FastTrac™ and montage scanning capabilities, we also demonstrate wide-field SD-OCT angiograms of the CC with a field of view at 9×11 mm2.

Pair creation by dynamic field configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoyama, H.

1982-01-01

This thesis deals with the dynamics of the classical configuration of a quantum field unstable due to pair creation. The effective action method is developed first to treat such problems for a simple two-field model. Physical quantities such as pair creation probabilities are related to a complex function called the effective configuration, which is defined to minimize the effective action. Unitarity of the S-matrix is verified at the lowest order of the weak-field approximation. At the same order, the real valued vacuum expectation value of the quantum field, named the real configuration, is constructed in terms of the effective configuration. An integro-differential equation for the real configuration is given and is used to show that the real configuration is causal, while the effective configuration is not. Two practical applications of the effective action method are discussed. The first deals with pair creation in an anisotropic universe, and the real geometry is given in terms of the effective geometry in the samll anisotropy limit. The second deals with expanding vacuum bubbles. Corresponding to three possible situations, three kinds of field equations of each of the effective configuration and the real configuration are obtained. The behavior of the bubble is also studied by a semi-classical method, and one of the three situations is suggested to be plausible

Modulation of Visually Evoked Postural Responses by Contextual Visual, Haptic and Auditory Information: A ‘Virtual Reality Check’

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Georg F.; Shao, Fei; White, Mark D.; Hopkins, Carl; Robotham, Antony J.

2013-01-01

Externally generated visual motion signals can cause the illusion of self-motion in space (vection) and corresponding visually evoked postural responses (VEPR). These VEPRs are not simple responses to optokinetic stimulation, but are modulated by the configuration of the environment. The aim of this paper is to explore what factors modulate VEPRs in a high quality virtual reality (VR) environment where real and virtual foreground objects served as static visual, auditory and haptic reference points. Data from four experiments on visually evoked postural responses show that: 1) visually evoked postural sway in the lateral direction is modulated by the presence of static anchor points that can be haptic, visual and auditory reference signals; 2) real objects and their matching virtual reality representations as visual anchors have different effects on postural sway; 3) visual motion in the anterior-posterior plane induces robust postural responses that are not modulated by the presence of reference signals or the reality of objects that can serve as visual anchors in the scene. We conclude that automatic postural responses for laterally moving visual stimuli are strongly influenced by the configuration and interpretation of the environment and draw on multisensory representations. Different postural responses were observed for real and virtual visual reference objects. On the basis that automatic visually evoked postural responses in high fidelity virtual environments should mimic those seen in real situations we propose to use the observed effect as a robust objective test for presence and fidelity in VR. PMID:23840760

Modernized Approach for Generating Reproducible Heterogeneity Using Transmitted-Light for Flow Visualization Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, A. A.; Holt, R. M.

2017-12-01

Image capturing in flow experiments has been used for fluid mechanics research since the early 1970s. Interactions of fluid flow between the vadose zone and permanent water table are of great interest because this zone is responsible for all recharge waters, pollutant transport and irrigation efficiency for agriculture. Griffith, et al. (2011) developed an approach where constructed reproducible "geologically realistic" sand configurations are deposited in sandfilled experimental chambers for light-transmitted flow visualization experiments. This method creates reproducible, reverse graded, layered (stratified) thin-slab sand chambers for point source experiments visualizing multiphase flow through porous media. Reverse-graded stratification of sand chambers mimic many naturally occurring sedimentary deposits. Sandfilled chambers use light as nonintrusive tools for measuring water saturation in two-dimensions (2-D). Homogeneous and heterogeneous sand configurations can be produced to visualize the complex physics of the unsaturated zone. The experimental procedure developed by Griffith, et al. (2011) was designed using now outdated and obsolete equipment. We have modernized this approach with new Parker Deadel linear actuator and programed projects/code for multiple configurations. We have also updated the Roper CCD software and image processing software with the latest in industry standards. Modernization of transmitted-light source, robotic equipment, redesigned experimental chambers, and newly developed analytical procedures have greatly reduced time and cost per experiment. We have verified the ability of the new equipment to generate reproducible heterogeneous sand-filled chambers and demonstrated the functionality of the new equipment and procedures by reproducing several gravity-driven fingering experiments conducted by Griffith (2008).

Visual motion transforms visual space representations similarly throughout the human visual hierarchy.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Ben M; Dumoulin, Serge O

2016-02-15

Several studies demonstrate that visual stimulus motion affects neural receptive fields and fMRI response amplitudes. Here we unite results of these two approaches and extend them by examining the effects of visual motion on neural position preferences throughout the hierarchy of human visual field maps. We measured population receptive field (pRF) properties using high-field fMRI (7T), characterizing position preferences simultaneously over large regions of the visual cortex. We measured pRFs properties using sine wave gratings in stationary apertures, moving at various speeds in either the direction of pRF measurement or the orthogonal direction. We find direction- and speed-dependent changes in pRF preferred position and size in all visual field maps examined, including V1, V3A, and the MT+ map TO1. These effects on pRF properties increase up the hierarchy of visual field maps. However, both within and between visual field maps the extent of pRF changes was approximately proportional to pRF size. This suggests that visual motion transforms the representation of visual space similarly throughout the visual hierarchy. Visual motion can also produce an illusory displacement of perceived stimulus position. We demonstrate perceptual displacements using the same stimulus configuration. In contrast to effects on pRF properties, perceptual displacements show only weak effects of motion speed, with far larger speed-independent effects. We describe a model where low-level mechanisms could underlie the observed effects on neural position preferences. We conclude that visual motion induces similar transformations of visuo-spatial representations throughout the visual hierarchy, which may arise through low-level mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modulation of visually evoked postural responses by contextual visual, haptic and auditory information: a 'virtual reality check'.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georg F Meyer

Full Text Available Externally generated visual motion signals can cause the illusion of self-motion in space (vection and corresponding visually evoked postural responses (VEPR. These VEPRs are not simple responses to optokinetic stimulation, but are modulated by the configuration of the environment. The aim of this paper is to explore what factors modulate VEPRs in a high quality virtual reality (VR environment where real and virtual foreground objects served as static visual, auditory and haptic reference points. Data from four experiments on visually evoked postural responses show that: 1 visually evoked postural sway in the lateral direction is modulated by the presence of static anchor points that can be haptic, visual and auditory reference signals; 2 real objects and their matching virtual reality representations as visual anchors have different effects on postural sway; 3 visual motion in the anterior-posterior plane induces robust postural responses that are not modulated by the presence of reference signals or the reality of objects that can serve as visual anchors in the scene. We conclude that automatic postural responses for laterally moving visual stimuli are strongly influenced by the configuration and interpretation of the environment and draw on multisensory representations. Different postural responses were observed for real and virtual visual reference objects. On the basis that automatic visually evoked postural responses in high fidelity virtual environments should mimic those seen in real situations we propose to use the observed effect as a robust objective test for presence and fidelity in VR.

Visualization tool for human-machine interface designers

Science.gov (United States)

Prevost, Michael P.; Banda, Carolyn P.

1991-06-01

As modern human-machine systems continue to grow in capabilities and complexity, system operators are faced with integrating and managing increased quantities of information. Since many information components are highly related to each other, optimizing the spatial and temporal aspects of presenting information to the operator has become a formidable task for the human-machine interface (HMI) designer. The authors describe a tool in an early stage of development, the Information Source Layout Editor (ISLE). This tool is to be used for information presentation design and analysis; it uses human factors guidelines to assist the HMI designer in the spatial layout of the information required by machine operators to perform their tasks effectively. These human factors guidelines address such areas as the functional and physical relatedness of information sources. By representing these relationships with metaphors such as spring tension, attractors, and repellers, the tool can help designers visualize the complex constraint space and interacting effects of moving displays to various alternate locations. The tool contains techniques for visualizing the relative 'goodness' of a configuration, as well as mechanisms such as optimization vectors to provide guidance toward a more optimal design. Also available is a rule-based design checker to determine compliance with selected human factors guidelines.

Visual Landing Aids (VLA) Laboratory

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Purpose:The Visual Landing Aids (VLA) Laboratory serves to support fleet VLA systems by maintaining the latest service change configuration of currently deployed VLA...

SBGNViz: A Tool for Visualization and Complexity Management of SBGN Process Description Maps.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mecit Sari

Full Text Available Information about cellular processes and pathways is becoming increasingly available in detailed, computable standard formats such as BioPAX and SBGN. Effective visualization of this information is a key recurring requirement for biological data analysis, especially for -omic data. Biological data analysis is rapidly migrating to web based platforms; thus there is a substantial need for sophisticated web based pathway viewers that support these platforms and other use cases.Towards this goal, we developed a web based viewer named SBGNViz for process description maps in SBGN (SBGN-PD. SBGNViz can visualize both BioPAX and SBGN formats. Unique features of SBGNViz include the ability to nest nodes to arbitrary depths to represent molecular complexes and cellular locations, automatic pathway layout, editing and highlighting facilities to enable focus on sub-maps, and the ability to inspect pathway members for detailed information from EntrezGene. SBGNViz can be used within a web browser without any installation and can be readily embedded into web pages. SBGNViz has two editions built with ActionScript and JavaScript. The JavaScript edition, which also works on touch enabled devices, introduces novel methods for managing and reducing complexity of large SBGN-PD maps for more effective analysis.SBGNViz fills an important gap by making the large and fast-growing corpus of rich pathway information accessible to web based platforms. SBGNViz can be used in a variety of contexts and in multiple scenarios ranging from visualization of the results of a single study in a web page to building data analysis platforms.

Entropic Movement Complexity Reflects Subjective Creativity Rankings of Visualized Hand Motion Trajectories

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Zhen; Braun, Daniel A.

2015-01-01

In a previous study we have shown that human motion trajectories can be characterized by translating continuous trajectories into symbol sequences with well-defined complexity measures. Here we test the hypothesis that the motion complexity individuals generate in their movements might be correlated to the degree of creativity assigned by a human observer to the visualized motion trajectories. We asked participants to generate 55 novel hand movement patterns in virtual reality, where each pattern had to be repeated 10 times in a row to ensure reproducibility. This allowed us to estimate a probability distribution over trajectories for each pattern. We assessed motion complexity not only by the previously proposed complexity measures on symbolic sequences, but we also propose two novel complexity measures that can be directly applied to the distributions over trajectories based on the frameworks of Gaussian Processes and Probabilistic Movement Primitives. In contrast to previous studies, these new methods allow computing complexities of individual motion patterns from very few sample trajectories. We compared the different complexity measures to how a group of independent jurors rank ordered the recorded motion trajectories according to their personal creativity judgment. We found three entropic complexity measures that correlate significantly with human creativity judgment and discuss differences between the measures. We also test whether these complexity measures correlate with individual creativity in divergent thinking tasks, but do not find any consistent correlation. Our results suggest that entropic complexity measures of hand motion may reveal domain-specific individual differences in kinesthetic creativity. PMID:26733896

Tailored information for cancer patients on the Internet: effects of visual cues and language complexity on information recall and satisfaction.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weert, J.C.M. van; Noort, G. van; Bol, N.; Dijk, L. van; Tates, K.; Jansen, J.

2011-01-01

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of visual cues and language complexity on satisfaction and information recall using a personalised website for lung cancer patients. In addition, age effects were investigated. Methods: An experiment using a 2 (complex vs. non-complex

Tailored information for cancer patients on the Internet: effects of visual cues and language complexity on information recall and satisfaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Weert, J.C.M.; van Noort, G.; Bol, N.; van Dijk, L.; Tates, K.; Jansen, J.

2011-01-01

Objective This study was designed to investigate the effects of visual cues and language complexity on satisfaction and information recall using a personalised website for lung cancer patients. In addition, age effects were investigated. Methods An experiment using a 2 (complex vs. non-complex

An expert system for configuring a network for a Milstar terminal

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, Melissa J.; Wilson, Elizabeth J.

1994-01-01

This paper describes a rule-based expert system which assists the user in configuring a network for Air Force terminals using the Milstar satellite system. The network configuration expert system approach uses CLIPS. The complexity of network configuration is discussed, and the methods used to model it are described.

Design of a holographic waveguide with L configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Guangxin-Xin; Li, Wen-Qiang

2016-10-01

In order to decrease the complexity to design and manufacture the turning grating of the configuration with one reflecting surface, an L-shape two-dimension extended configuration with single plate is given in the paper. This configuration consists of one specular reflecting surface and three holographic gratings two in which periods and the groove orientations are totally same, which makes gratings design and fabrication easier. According to the calculation and analysis to the optical path of configuration, the dimension of the turning grating is no larger than 40mm×30mm. The simulation result demonstrates the display configuration is reasonable and correct and can realize the display effect with 30°×30° field of view and Φ30mm large exit pupil. This configuration can be applied to an Augmented Reality Display (AR) or a Head-Mounted Display (HMD).

CASE-BASED PRODUCT CONFIGURATION AND REUSE IN MASS CUSTOMIZATION

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Shiwei; Tan Jianrong; Zhang Shuyou; Wang Xin; He Chenqi

2004-01-01

The increasing complexity and size of configuration knowledge bases requires the provision of advanced methods supporting the development of the actual configuration process and design reuse.A new framework to find a feasible and practical product configuration method is presented in mass customization.The basic idea of the approach is to integrate case-based reasoning (CBR) with a constraint satisfaction problem(CSP).The similarity measure between a crisp and range is also given,which is common in case retrieves.Based on the configuration model,a product platform and customer needs,case adaptation is carried out with the repair-based algorithm.Lastly,the methodology in the elevator configuration design domain is tested.

In the working memory of the beholder: Art appreciation is enhanced when visual complexity is compatible with working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Aleksandra; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2015-08-01

What shapes art appreciation? Much research has focused on the importance of visual features themselves (e.g., symmetry, natural scene statistics) and of the viewer's experience and expertise with specific artworks. However, even after taking these factors into account, there are considerable individual differences in art preferences. Our new result suggests that art preference is also influenced by the compatibility between visual properties and the characteristics of the viewer's visual system. Specifically, we have demonstrated, using 120 artworks from diverse periods, cultures, genres, and styles, that art appreciation is increased when the level of visual complexity within an artwork is compatible with the viewer's visual working memory capacity. The result highlights the importance of the interaction between visual features and the beholder's general visual capacity in shaping art appreciation. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

An XML-based configuration system for MAST PCS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Storrs, J.; McArdle, G.

2008-01-01

MAST PCS, a port of General Atomics' generic Plasma Control System, is a large software system comprising many source files in C and IDL. Application parameters can affect multiple source files in complex ways, making code development and maintenance difficult. The MAST PCS configuration system aims to make the task of the application developer easier, through the use of XML-based configuration files and a configuration tool which processes them. It is presented here as an example of a useful technique with wide application

User evaluations of design complexity: the impact of visual perceptions for effective online health communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazard, Allison; Mackert, Michael

2014-10-01

This paper highlights the influential role of design complexity for users' first impressions of health websites. An experimental design was utilized to investigate whether a website's level of design complexity impacts user evaluations. An online questionnaire measured the hypothesized impact of design complexity on predictors of message effectiveness. Findings reveal that increased design complexity was positively associated with higher levels of perceived design esthetics, attitude toward the website, perceived message comprehensibility, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived message quality, perceived informativeness, and perceived visual informativeness. This research gives further evidence that design complexity should be considered an influential variable for health communicators to effectively reach their audiences, as it embodies the critical first step for message evaluation via electronic platforms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Configuration Management for Wendelstein 7-X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brakel, R.; Eeten, P.v.; Hartmann, D.A.; Henkelmann, K.; Knauer, J.; Mueller, K.; Okkenga-Wolf, A.; Wenzel, U.

2009-01-01

A complex system like the large superconducting Wendelstein 7-X stellarator necessitates a dedicated organizational structure which assures permanent consistency between the requirements of its system specification and the performance attributes of all its components throughout its life time. This includes well-defined processes and centrally coordinated information structures. For this purposes the department Configuration Management (CM) has recently been established at W7-X. The detailed tasks of CM for W7-X are oriented along common CM standards and comprise configuration identification, change management, configuration status accounting and configuration verification. While the assembly of W7-X is proceeding some components are still under procurement or even under design. Thus design changes and non-conformances may have a direct impact on the assembly process. Highest priority has therefore been assigned to efficient control of change and non-conformance processes which might delay the assembly schedule.

3D modeling and visualization software for complex geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guse, Guenter; Klotzbuecher, Michael; Mohr, Friedrich

2011-01-01

The reactor safety depends on reliable nondestructive testing of reactor components. For 100% detection probability of flaws and the determination of their size using ultrasonic methods the ultrasonic waves have to hit the flaws within a specific incidence and squint angle. For complex test geometries like testing of nozzle welds from the outside of the component these angular ranges can only be determined using elaborate mathematical calculations. The authors developed a 3D modeling and visualization software tool that allows to integrate and present ultrasonic measuring data into the 3D geometry. The software package was verified using 1:1 test samples (example: testing of the nozzle edge of the feedwater nozzle of a steam generator from the outside; testing of the reactor pressure vessel nozzle edge from the inside).

A Precise Method for Cloth Configuration Parsing Applied to Single-Arm Flattening

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Sun

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the contribution that visual perception affords to a robotic manipulation task in which a crumpled garment is flattened by eliminating visually detected wrinkles. In order to explore and validate visually guided clothing manipulation in a repeatable and controlled environment, we have developed a hand-eye interactive virtual robot manipulation system that incorporates a clothing simulator to close the effector-garment-visual sensing interaction loop. We present the technical details and compare the performance of two different methods for detecting, representing and interpreting wrinkles within clothing surfaces captured in high-resolution depth maps. The first method we present relies upon a clustering-based method for localizing and parametrizing wrinkles, while the second method adopts a more advanced geometry-based approach in which shape-topology analysis underpins the identification of the cloth configuration (i.e., maps wrinkles. Having interpreted the state of the cloth configuration by means of either of these methods, a heuristic-based flattening strategy is then executed to infer the appropriate forces, their directions and gripper contact locations that must be applied to the cloth in order to flatten the perceived wrinkles. A greedy approach, which attempts to flatten the largest detected wrinkle for each perception-iteration cycle, has been successfully adopted in this work. We present the results of our heuristic-based flattening methodology which relies upon clustering-based and geometry-based features respectively. Our experiments indicate that geometry-based features have the potential to provide a greater degree of clothing configuration understanding and, as a consequence, improve flattening performance. The results of experiments using a real robot (as opposed to simulated robot also confirm our proposition that a more effective visual perception system can advance the performance of cloth

Rapid visual and spectrophotometric nitrite detection by cyclometalated ruthenium complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Hoi-Shing; Lo, Ka-Wai; Yeung, Chi-Fung; Wong, Chun-Yuen

2017-10-16

Quantitative determination of nitrite ion (NO 2 - ) is of great importance in environmental and clinical investigations. A rapid visual and spectrophotometric assay for NO 2 - detection was developed based on a newly designed ruthenium complex, [Ru(npy)([9]aneS3)(CO)](ClO 4 ) (denoted as RuNPY; npy = 2-(1-naphthyl)pyridine, [9]aneS3 = 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane). This complex traps NO + produced in acidified NO 2 - solution, and yields observable color change within 1 min at room temperature. The assay features excellent dynamic range (1-840 μmol L -1 ) and high selectivity, and its limit of detection (0.39 μmol L -1 ) is also well below the guideline values for drinking water recommended by WHO and U.S. EPA. Practical use of this assay in tap water and human urine was successfully demonstrated. Overall, the rapidity and selectivity of this assay overcome the problems suffered by the commonly used modified Griess assays for nitrite determination. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GI-conf: A configuration tool for the GI-cat distributed catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Papeschi, F.; Boldrini, E.; Bigagli, L.; Mazzetti, P.

2009-04-01

In this work we present a configuration tool for the GI-cat. In an Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework, GI-cat implements a distributed catalog service providing advanced capabilities, such as: caching, brokering and mediation functionalities. GI-cat applies a distributed approach, being able to distribute queries to the remote service providers of interest in an asynchronous style, and notifies the status of the queries to the caller implementing an incremental feedback mechanism. Today, GI-cat functionalities are made available through two standard catalog interfaces: the OGC CSW ISO and CSW Core Application Profiles. However, two other interfaces are under testing: the CIM and the EO Extension Packages of the CSW ebRIM Application Profile. GI-cat is able to interface a multiplicity of discovery and access services serving heterogeneous Earth and Space Sciences resources. They include international standards like the OGC Web Services -i.e. OGC CSW, WCS, WFS and WMS, as well as interoperability arrangements (i.e. community standards) such as: UNIDATA THREDDS/OPeNDAP, SeaDataNet CDI (Common Data Index), GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) services, and SibESS-C infrastructure services. GI-conf implements user-friendly configuration tool for GI-cat. This is a GUI application that employs a visual and very simple approach to configure both the GI-cat publishing and distribution capabilities, in a dynamic way. The tool allows to set one or more GI-cat configurations. Each configuration consists of: a) the catalog standards interfaces published by GI-cat; b) the resources (i.e. services/servers) to be accessed and mediated -i.e. federated. Simple icons are used for interfaces and resources, implementing a user-friendly visual approach. The main GI-conf functionalities are: • Interfaces and federated resources management: user can set which interfaces must be published; besides, she/he can add a new resource, update or remove an already federated

SAP ERP financial accounting and controlling configuration and use management

CERN Document Server

Okungbowa, Andrew

2015-01-01

SAP ERP modules are notoriously hard to configure and use effectively without a lot of practice and experience. But as SAP ERP Financial Accounting and Controlling: Configuration and Use Management shows, it doesn't have to be so difficult. The book takes a systematic approach that leads SAP Financial Accounting and Controlling (FICO) users step by step through configuring and using all the program's facets. This approach makes configuration complexities manageable. The book's author-SAP expert, trainer, and accountant Andrew Okun

Visualization of normal pleural sinuses with AMBER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aarts, N.J.; Kool, L.J.S.; Oestmann, J.W.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that ventral and dorsal pleural sinuses are frequently better appreciated with advanced modulated beam equalization radiography (AMBER) than with standard chest radiography. The visualization of the sinuses with both techniques was compared and their typical configuration studied. Four hundred patients without known chest disease were evaluated. Two groups of 200 patients were studied with either AMBER or standard chest radiography. Visualization was evaluated by three radiologists using a four-point scale. The shape of the sinus was traced if sufficiently visible. A significantly larger segment of the respective sinuses was seen with the AMBER technique. The dorsal sinus was significantly easier to trace than the ventral. Various sinus configurations were noted. AMBER improves the visibility of the pleural sinuses. Knowledge of their normal configuration is the precondition for correctly diagnosing lesions hitherto frequently overlooked

Complex cells decrease errors for the Müller-Lyer illusion in a model of the visual ventral stream.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeman, Astrid; Obst, Oliver; Brooks, Kevin R

2014-01-01

To improve robustness in object recognition, many artificial visual systems imitate the way in which the human visual cortex encodes object information as a hierarchical set of features. These systems are usually evaluated in terms of their ability to accurately categorize well-defined, unambiguous objects and scenes. In the real world, however, not all objects and scenes are presented clearly, with well-defined labels and interpretations. Visual illusions demonstrate a disparity between perception and objective reality, allowing psychophysicists to methodically manipulate stimuli and study our interpretation of the environment. One prominent effect, the Müller-Lyer illusion, is demonstrated when the perceived length of a line is contracted (or expanded) by the addition of arrowheads (or arrow-tails) to its ends. HMAX, a benchmark object recognition system, consistently produces a bias when classifying Müller-Lyer images. HMAX is a hierarchical, artificial neural network that imitates the "simple" and "complex" cell layers found in the visual ventral stream. In this study, we perform two experiments to explore the Müller-Lyer illusion in HMAX, asking: (1) How do simple vs. complex cell operations within HMAX affect illusory bias and precision? (2) How does varying the position of the figures in the input image affect classification using HMAX? In our first experiment, we assessed classification after traversing each layer of HMAX and found that in general, kernel operations performed by simple cells increase bias and uncertainty while max-pooling operations executed by complex cells decrease bias and uncertainty. In our second experiment, we increased variation in the positions of figures in the input images that reduced bias and uncertainty in HMAX. Our findings suggest that the Müller-Lyer illusion is exacerbated by the vulnerability of simple cell operations to positional fluctuations, but ameliorated by the robustness of complex cell responses to such

Co-simulation of dynamic systems in parallel and serial model configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweafford, Trevor; Yoon, Hwan Sik

2013-01-01

Recent advancement in simulation software and computation hardware make it realizable to simulate complex dynamic systems comprised of multiple submodels developed in different modeling languages. The so-called co-simulation enables one to study various aspects of a complex dynamic system with heterogeneous submodels in a cost-effective manner. Among several different model configurations for co-simulation, synchronized parallel configuration is regarded to expedite the simulation process by simulation multiple sub models concurrently on a multi core processor. In this paper, computational accuracies as well as computation time are studied for three different co-simulation frameworks : integrated, serial, and parallel. for this purpose, analytical evaluations of the three different methods are made using the explicit Euler method and then they are applied to two-DOF mass-spring systems. The result show that while the parallel simulation configuration produces the same accurate results as the integrated configuration, results of the serial configuration, results of the serial configuration show a slight deviation. it is also shown that the computation time can be reduced by running simulation in the parallel configuration. Therefore, it can be concluded that the synchronized parallel simulation methodology is the best for both simulation accuracy and time efficiency.

Software control and system configuration management - A process that works

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, K. L.; Flores, C., Jr.

1983-01-01

A comprehensive software control and system configuration management process for flight-crucial digital control systems of advanced aircraft has been developed and refined to insure efficient flight system development and safe flight operations. Because of the highly complex interactions among the hardware, software, and system elements of state-of-the-art digital flight control system designs, a systems-wide approach to configuration control and management has been used. Specific procedures are implemented to govern discrepancy reporting and reconciliation, software and hardware change control, systems verification and validation testing, and formal documentation requirements. An active and knowledgeable configuration control board reviews and approves all flight system configuration modifications and revalidation tests. This flexible process has proved effective during the development and flight testing of several research aircraft and remotely piloted research vehicles with digital flight control systems that ranged from relatively simple to highly complex, integrated mechanizations.

Software control and system configuration management: A systems-wide approach

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, K. L.; Flores, C., Jr.

1984-01-01

A comprehensive software control and system configuration management process for flight-crucial digital control systems of advanced aircraft has been developed and refined to insure efficient flight system development and safe flight operations. Because of the highly complex interactions among the hardware, software, and system elements of state-of-the-art digital flight control system designs, a systems-wide approach to configuration control and management has been used. Specific procedures are implemented to govern discrepancy reporting and reconciliation, software and hardware change control, systems verification and validation testing, and formal documentation requirements. An active and knowledgeable configuration control board reviews and approves all flight system configuration modifications and revalidation tests. This flexible process has proved effective during the development and flight testing of several research aircraft and remotely piloted research vehicles with digital flight control systems that ranged from relatively simple to highly complex, integrated mechanizations.

Visual Constructive and Visual-Motor Skills in Deaf Native Signers

Science.gov (United States)

Hauser, Peter C.; Cohen, Julie; Dye, Matthew W. G.; Bavelier, Daphne

2007-01-01

Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in the deaf population were investigated by comparing performance of deaf native signers (n = 20) to that of hearing nonsigners (n = 20) on the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Wechsler Memory Scale Visual Reproduction subtest, and…

Visual Control for Multirobot Organized Rendezvous.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Nicolas, G; Aranda, M; Mezouar, Y; Sagues, C

2012-08-01

This paper addresses the problem of visual control of a set of mobile robots. In our framework, the perception system consists of an uncalibrated flying camera performing an unknown general motion. The robots are assumed to undergo planar motion considering nonholonomic constraints. The goal of the control task is to drive the multirobot system to a desired rendezvous configuration relying solely on visual information given by the flying camera. The desired multirobot configuration is defined with an image of the set of robots in that configuration without any additional information. We propose a homography-based framework relying on the homography induced by the multirobot system that gives a desired homography to be used to define the reference target, and a new image-based control law that drives the robots to the desired configuration by imposing a rigidity constraint. This paper extends our previous work, and the main contributions are that the motion constraints on the flying camera are removed, the control law is improved by reducing the number of required steps, the stability of the new control law is proved, and real experiments are provided to validate the proposal.

Auditory Scene Analysis and sonified visual images. Does consonance negatively impact on object formation when using complex sonified stimuli?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David J Brown

2015-10-01

Full Text Available A critical task for the brain is the sensory representation and identification of perceptual objects in the world. When the visual sense is impaired, hearing and touch must take primary roles and in recent times compensatory techniques have been developed that employ the tactile or auditory system as a substitute for the visual system. Visual-to-auditory sonifications provide a complex, feature-based auditory representation that must be decoded and integrated into an object-based representation by the listener. However, we don’t yet know what role the auditory system plays in the object integration stage and whether the principles of auditory scene analysis apply. Here we used coarse sonified images in a two-tone discrimination task to test whether auditory feature-based representations of visual objects would be confounded when their features conflicted with the principles of auditory consonance. We found that listeners (N = 36 performed worse in an object recognition task when the auditory feature-based representation was harmonically consonant. We also found that this conflict was not negated with the provision of congruent audio-visual information. The findings suggest that early auditory processes of harmonic grouping dominate the object formation process and that the complexity of the signal, and additional sensory information have limited effect on this.

Defective imitation of finger configurations in patients with damage in the right or left hemispheres: An integration disorder of visual and somatosensory information?

Science.gov (United States)

Okita, Manabu; Yukihiro, Takashi; Miyamoto, Kenzo; Morioka, Shu; Kaba, Hideto

2017-04-01

To explore the mechanism underlying the imitation of finger gestures, we devised a simple imitation task in which the patients were instructed to replicate finger configurations in two conditions: one in which they could see their hand (visual feedback: VF) and one in which they could not see their hand (non-visual feedback: NVF). Patients with left brain damage (LBD) or right brain damage (RBD), respectively, were categorized into two groups based on their scores on the imitation task in the NVF condition: the impaired imitation groups (I-LBD and I-RBD) who failed two or more of the five patterns and the control groups (C-LBD and C-RBD) who made one or no errors. We also measured the movement-production times for imitation. The I-RBD group performed significantly worse than the C-RBD group even in the VF condition. In contrast, the I-LBD group was selectively impaired in the NVF condition. The I-LBD group performed the imitations at a significantly slower rate than the C-LBD group in both the VF and NVF conditions. These results suggest that impaired imitation in patients with LBD is partly due to an abnormal integration of visual and somatosensory information based on the task specificity of the NVF condition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of organizational strategy on visual memory in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Myung-Sun; Namgoong, Yoon; Youn, Tak

2008-08-01

The aim of the present study was to examine how copy organization mediated immediate recall among patients with schizophrenia using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF). The Boston Qualitative Scoring System (BQSS) was applied for qualitative and quantitative analyses of ROCF performances. Subjects included 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. During the copy condition, the schizophrenia group and the control group differed in fragmentation; during the immediate recall condition, the two groups differed in configural presence and planning; and during the delayed recall condition, they differed in several qualitative measurements, including configural presence, cluster presence/placement, detail presence/placement, fragmentation, planning, and neatness. The two groups also differed in several quantitative measurements, including immediate presence and accuracy, immediate retention, delayed retention, and organization. Although organizational strategies used during the copy condition mediated the difference between the two groups during the immediate recall condition, group also had a significant direct effect on immediate recall. Schizophrenia patients are deficient in visual memory, and a piecemeal approach to the figure and organizational deficit seem to be related to the visual memory deficit. But schizophrenia patients also appeared to have some memory problems, including retention and/or retrieval deficits.

Analysis of visual representation techniques for product configuration systems in industrial companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shafiee, Sara; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Hvam, Lars

2016-01-01

with knowledge representations and communications with domain experts. The results presented in the paper are therefore aimed to provide insight into the impact from using visual knowledge representations techniques in PCSs projects. The findings indicate that use of visual knowledge representations techniques...... in PCSs projects will result in improved quality of maintenance and development support for the knowledge base and improved quality of the communication with domain experts....

Visual Short-Term Memory Complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

Several recent studies have explored the nature and limits of visual short-term memory (VSTM) (e.g. Luck & Vogel, 1997). A general VSTM capacity limit of about 3 to 4 letters has been found, thus confirming results from earlier studies (e.g. Cattell, 1885; Sperling, 1960). However, Alvarez...

Modelling Configuration Knowledge in Heterogeneous Product Families

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Queva, Matthieu Stéphane Benoit; Männistö, Tomi; Ricci, Laurent

2011-01-01

Product configuration systems play an important role in the development of Mass Customisation. The configuration of complex product families may nowadays involve multiple design disciplines, e.g. hardware, software and services. In this paper, we present a conceptual approach for modelling...... the variability in such heterogeneous product families. Our approach is based on a framework that aims to cater for the different stakeholders involved in the modelling and management of the product family. The modelling approach is centred around the concepts of views, types and constraints and is illustrated...... by a motivation example. Furthermore, as a proof of concept, a prototype has been implemented for configuring a non-trivial heterogeneous product family....

Proximity probing assays for simultaneous visualization of protein complexes in situ

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moreira, José; Thorsen, Stine Buch; Brünner, Nils

2013-01-01

EVALUATION OF: Leuchowius KJ, Clausson CM, Grannas K et al. Parallel visualization of multiple protein complexes in individual cells in tumor tissue. Mol. Cell Proteomics doi:10.1074/mcp.O112.023374 (2013) (Epub ahead of print). Techniques for in situ detection and quantification of proteins...... in fixed tissue remain an important element of both basic biological analyses and clinical biomarker research. The practical importance of such techniques can be exemplified by the everyday clinical use of immunohistochemical detection of the estrogen receptor and HER2 in tissues from breast cancer...

Landscape Aesthetics and the Scenic Drivers of Amenity Migration in the New West: Naturalness, Visual Scale, and Complexity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelena Vukomanovic

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Values associated with scenic beauty are common “pull factors” for amenity migrants, however the specific landscape features that attract amenity migration are poorly understood. In this study we focused on three visual quality metrics of the intermountain West (USA, with the objective of exploring the relationship between the location of exurban homes and aesthetic landscape preference, as exemplified through greenness, viewshed size, and terrain ruggedness. Using viewshed analysis, we compared the viewsheds of actual exurban houses to the viewsheds of randomly-distributed simulated (validation houses. We found that the actual exurban households can see significantly more vegetation and a more rugged (complex terrain than simulated houses. Actual exurban homes see a more rugged terrain, but do not necessarily see the highest peaks, suggesting that visual complexity throughout the viewshed may be more important. The viewsheds visible from the actual exurban houses were significantly larger than those visible from the simulated houses, indicating that visual scale is important to the general aesthetic experiences of exurbanites. The differences in visual quality metric values between actual exurban and simulated viewsheds call into question the use of county-level scales of analysis for the study of landscape preferences, which may miss key landscape aesthetic drivers of preference.

Seeing More by Showing Less: Orientation-Dependent Transparency Rendering for Fiber Tractography Visualization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chantal M W Tax

Full Text Available Fiber tractography plays an important role in exploring the architectural organization of fiber trajectories, both in fundamental neuroscience and in clinical applications. With the advent of diffusion MRI (dMRI approaches that can also model "crossing fibers", the complexity of the fiber network as reconstructed with tractography has increased tremendously. Many pathways interdigitate and overlap, which hampers an unequivocal 3D visualization of the network and impedes an efficient study of its organization. We propose a novel fiber tractography visualization approach that interactively and selectively adapts the transparency rendering of fiber trajectories as a function of their orientation to enhance the visibility of the spatial context. More specifically, pathways that are oriented (locally or globally along a user-specified opacity axis can be made more transparent or opaque. This substantially improves the 3D visualization of the fiber network and the exploration of tissue configurations that would otherwise be largely covered by other pathways. We present examples of fiber bundle extraction and neurosurgical planning cases where the added benefit of our new visualization scheme is demonstrated over conventional fiber visualization approaches.

Final anatomic and visual outcomes appear independent of duration of silicone oil intraocular tamponade in complex retinal detachment surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhatigan, Maedbh; McElnea, Elizabeth; Murtagh, Patrick; Stephenson, Kirk; Harris, Elaine; Connell, Paul; Keegan, David

2018-01-01

To report anatomic and visual outcomes following silicone oil removal in a cohort of patients with complex retinal detachment, to determine association between duration of tamponade and outcomes and to compare patients with oil removed and those with oil in situ in terms of demographic, surgical and visual factors. We reported a four years retrospective case series of 143 patients with complex retinal detachments who underwent intraocular silicone oil tamponade. Analysis between anatomic and visual outcomes, baseline demographics, duration of tamponade and number of surgical procedures were carried out using Fisher's exact test and unpaired two-tailed t -test. One hundred and six patients (76.2%) had undergone silicone oil removal at the time of review with 96 patients (90.6%) showing retinal reattachment following oil removal. Duration of tamponade was not associated with final reattachment rate or with a deterioration in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Patients with oil removed had a significantly better baseline and final BCVA compared to those under oil tamponade ( P =0.0001, <0.0001 respectively). Anatomic and visual outcomes in this cohort are in keeping with those reported in the literature. Favorable outcomes were seen with oil removal but duration of oil tamponade does not affect final attachment rate with modern surgical techniques and should be managed on a case by case basis.

The effects of size, clutter, and complexity on vanishing-point distances in visual imagery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbard, T L; Baird, J C

1993-01-01

The portrayal of vanishing-point distances in visual imagery was examined in six experiments. In all experiments, subjects formed visual images of squares, and the squares were to be oriented orthogonally to subjects' line of sight. The squares differed in their level of surface complexity, and were either undivided, divided into 4 equally sized smaller squares, or divided into 16 equally sized smaller squares. Squares also differed in stated referent size, and ranged from 3 in. to 128 ft along each side. After subjects had formed an image of a specified square, they transformed their image so that the square was portrayed to move away from them. Eventually, the imaged square was portrayed to be so far away that if it were any further away, it could not be identified. Subjects estimated the distance to the square that was portrayed in their image at that time, the vanishing-point distance, and the relationship between stated referent size and imaged vanishing-point distance was best described by a power function with an exponent less than 1. In general, there were trends for exponents (slopes on log axes) to increase slightly and for multiplicative constants (y intercepts on log axes) to decrease as surface complexity increased. No differences in exponents or in multiplicative constants were found when the vanishing-point was approached from either subthreshold or suprathreshold directions. When clutter in the form of additional imaged objects located to either side of the primary imaged object was added to the image, the exponent of the vanishing-point function increased slightly and the multiplicative constant decreased. The success of a power function (and the failure of the size-distance invariance hypothesis) in describing the vanishing-point distance function calls into question the notions (a) that a constant grain size exists in the imaginal visual field at a given location and (b) that grain size specifies a lower limit in the storage of information in

Effects of visual and verbal interference tasks on olfactory memory: the role of task complexity.

Science.gov (United States)

Annett, J M; Leslie, J C

1996-08-01

Recent studies have demonstrated that visual and verbal suppression tasks interfere with olfactory memory in a manner which is partially consistent with a dual coding interpretation. However, it has been suggested that total task complexity rather than modality specificity of the suppression tasks might account for the observed pattern of results. This study addressed the issue of whether or not the level of difficulty and complexity of suppression tasks could explain the apparent modality effects noted in earlier experiments. A total of 608 participants were each allocated to one of 19 experimental conditions involving interference tasks which varied suppression type (visual or verbal), nature of complexity (single, double or mixed) and level of difficulty (easy, optimal or difficult) and presented with 13 target odours. Either recognition of the odours or free recall of the odour names was tested on one occasion, either within 15 minutes of presentation or one week later. Both recognition and recall performance showed an overall effect for suppression nature, suppression level and time of testing with no effect for suppression type. The results lend only limited support to Paivio's (1986) dual coding theory, but have a number of characteristics which suggest that an adequate account of olfactory memory may be broadly similar to current theories of face and object recognition. All of these phenomena might be dealt with by an appropriately modified version of dual coding theory.

Distinct configurations of protein complexes and biochemical pathways revealed by epistatic interaction network motifs

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Casey, Fergal

2011-08-22

Abstract Background Gene and protein interactions are commonly represented as networks, with the genes or proteins comprising the nodes and the relationship between them as edges. Motifs, or small local configurations of edges and nodes that arise repeatedly, can be used to simplify the interpretation of networks. Results We examined triplet motifs in a network of quantitative epistatic genetic relationships, and found a non-random distribution of particular motif classes. Individual motif classes were found to be associated with different functional properties, suggestive of an underlying biological significance. These associations were apparent not only for motif classes, but for individual positions within the motifs. As expected, NNN (all negative) motifs were strongly associated with previously reported genetic (i.e. synthetic lethal) interactions, while PPP (all positive) motifs were associated with protein complexes. The two other motif classes (NNP: a positive interaction spanned by two negative interactions, and NPP: a negative spanned by two positives) showed very distinct functional associations, with physical interactions dominating for the former but alternative enrichments, typical of biochemical pathways, dominating for the latter. Conclusion We present a model showing how NNP motifs can be used to recognize supportive relationships between protein complexes, while NPP motifs often identify opposing or regulatory behaviour between a gene and an associated pathway. The ability to use motifs to point toward underlying biological organizational themes is likely to be increasingly important as more extensive epistasis mapping projects in higher organisms begin.

Colour and luminance contrasts predict the human detection of natural stimuli in complex visual environments.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Thomas E; Rojas, Bibiana; Mappes, Johanna; Rautiala, Petri; Kemp, Darrell J

2017-09-01

Much of what we know about human colour perception has come from psychophysical studies conducted in tightly-controlled laboratory settings. An enduring challenge, however, lies in extrapolating this knowledge to the noisy conditions that characterize our actual visual experience. Here we combine statistical models of visual perception with empirical data to explore how chromatic (hue/saturation) and achromatic (luminant) information underpins the detection and classification of stimuli in a complex forest environment. The data best support a simple linear model of stimulus detection as an additive function of both luminance and saturation contrast. The strength of each predictor is modest yet consistent across gross variation in viewing conditions, which accords with expectation based upon general primate psychophysics. Our findings implicate simple visual cues in the guidance of perception amidst natural noise, and highlight the potential for informing human vision via a fusion between psychophysical modelling and real-world behaviour. © 2017 The Author(s).

National Ignition Facility Configuration Management Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabral, S G; Moore, T L

2002-01-01

This Configuration Management Plan (CMP) describes the technical and administrative management process for controlling the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Project configuration. The complexity of the NIF Project (i.e., participation by multiple national laboratories and subcontractors involved in the development, fabrication, installation, and testing of NIF hardware and software, as well as construction and testing of Project facilities) requires implementation of the comprehensive configuration management program defined in this plan. A logical schematic illustrating how the plan functions is provided in Figure 1. A summary of the process is provided in Section 4.0, Configuration Change Control. Detailed procedures that make up the overall process are referenced. This CMP is consistent with guidance for managing a project's configuration provided in Department of Energy (DOE) Order 430.1, Guide PMG 10, ''Project Execution and Engineering Management Planning''. Configuration management is a formal discipline comprised of the following four elements: (1) Identification--defines the functional and physical characteristics of a Project and uniquely identifies the defining requirements. This includes selection of components of the end product(s) subject to control and selection of the documents that define the project and components. (2) Change management--provides a systematic method for managing changes to the project and its physical and functional configuration to ensure that all changes are properly identified, assessed, reviewed, approved, implemented, tested, and documented. (3) Data management--ensures that necessary information on the project and its end product(s) is systematically recorded and disseminated for decision-making and other uses. Identifies, stores and controls, tracks status, retrieves, and distributes documents. (4) Assessments and validation--ensures that the planned configuration requirements match actual physical configurations and

The Orientation of Visual Space from the Perspective of Hummingbirds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke P. Tyrrell

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Vision is a key component of hummingbird behavior. Hummingbirds hover in front of flowers, guide their bills into them for foraging, and maneuver backwards to undock from them. Capturing insects is also an important foraging strategy for most hummingbirds. However, little is known about the visual sensory specializations hummingbirds use to guide these two foraging strategies. We characterized the hummingbird visual field configuration, degree of eye movement, and orientation of the centers of acute vision. Hummingbirds had a relatively narrow binocular field (~30° that extended above and behind their heads. Their blind area was also relatively narrow (~23°, which increased their visual coverage (about 98% of their celestial hemisphere. Additionally, eye movement amplitude was relatively low (~9°, so their ability to converge or diverge their eyes was limited. We confirmed that hummingbirds have two centers of acute vision: a fovea centralis, projecting laterally, and an area temporalis, projecting more frontally. This retinal configuration is similar to other predatory species, which may allow hummingbirds to enhance their success at preying on insects. However, there is no evidence that their temporal area could visualize the bill tip or that eye movements could compensate for this constraint. Therefore, guidance of precise bill position during the process of docking occurs via indirect cues or directly with low visual acuity despite having a temporal center of acute vision. The large visual coverage may favor the detection of predators and competitors even while docking into a flower. Overall, hummingbird visual configuration does not seem specialized for flower docking.

The Orientation of Visual Space from the Perspective of Hummingbirds.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyrrell, Luke P; Goller, Benjamin; Moore, Bret A; Altshuler, Douglas L; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban

2018-01-01

Vision is a key component of hummingbird behavior. Hummingbirds hover in front of flowers, guide their bills into them for foraging, and maneuver backwards to undock from them. Capturing insects is also an important foraging strategy for most hummingbirds. However, little is known about the visual sensory specializations hummingbirds use to guide these two foraging strategies. We characterized the hummingbird visual field configuration, degree of eye movement, and orientation of the centers of acute vision. Hummingbirds had a relatively narrow binocular field (~30°) that extended above and behind their heads. Their blind area was also relatively narrow (~23°), which increased their visual coverage (about 98% of their celestial hemisphere). Additionally, eye movement amplitude was relatively low (~9°), so their ability to converge or diverge their eyes was limited. We confirmed that hummingbirds have two centers of acute vision: a fovea centralis , projecting laterally, and an area temporalis , projecting more frontally. This retinal configuration is similar to other predatory species, which may allow hummingbirds to enhance their success at preying on insects. However, there is no evidence that their temporal area could visualize the bill tip or that eye movements could compensate for this constraint. Therefore, guidance of precise bill position during the process of docking occurs via indirect cues or directly with low visual acuity despite having a temporal center of acute vision. The large visual coverage may favor the detection of predators and competitors even while docking into a flower. Overall, hummingbird visual configuration does not seem specialized for flower docking.

Face distortion aftereffects evoked by featureless first-order stimulus configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pál eVakli

2012-12-01

Full Text Available After prolonged exposure to a distorted face with expanded or contracted inner features, a subsequently presented normal face appears distorted towards the opposite direction. This phenomenon, termed as face distortion aftereffect (FDAE, is thought to occur as a result of changes in the mechanisms involved in higher order visual processing. However, the extent to which FDAE is mediated by face-specific configural processing is less known. In the present study, we investigated whether similar aftereffects can be induced by stimuli lacking all the typical characteristics of a human face except for its first-order configural properties. We found a significant FDAE after adaptation to a stimulus consisting of three white dots arranged in a triangular fashion and placed in a grey oval. FDAEs occurred also when the adapting and test stimuli differed in size or when the contrast polarity of the adaptor image was changed. However, the inversion of the adapting image as well as the reduction of its contrast abolished the aftereffect entirely. Taken together, our results suggest that higher-level visual areas, which are involved in the processing of facial configurations, mediate the FDAE. Further, while adaptation seems to be largely invariant to contrast polarity, it appears sensitive to orientation and to lower level manipulations that affect the saliency of the inner features.

Differential neural network configuration during human path integration

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Aiden E. G. F; Burles, Ford; Bray, Signe; Levy, Richard M.; Iaria, Giuseppe

2014-01-01

Path integration is a fundamental skill for navigation in both humans and animals. Despite recent advances in unraveling the neural basis of path integration in animal models, relatively little is known about how path integration operates at a neural level in humans. Previous attempts to characterize the neural mechanisms used by humans to visually path integrate have suggested a central role of the hippocampus in allowing accurate performance, broadly resembling results from animal data. However, in recent years both the central role of the hippocampus and the perspective that animals and humans share similar neural mechanisms for path integration has come into question. The present study uses a data driven analysis to investigate the neural systems engaged during visual path integration in humans, allowing for an unbiased estimate of neural activity across the entire brain. Our results suggest that humans employ common task control, attention and spatial working memory systems across a frontoparietal network during path integration. However, individuals differed in how these systems are configured into functional networks. High performing individuals were found to more broadly express spatial working memory systems in prefrontal cortex, while low performing individuals engaged an allocentric memory system based primarily in the medial occipito-temporal region. These findings suggest that visual path integration in humans over short distances can operate through a spatial working memory system engaging primarily the prefrontal cortex and that the differential configuration of memory systems recruited by task control networks may help explain individual biases in spatial learning strategies. PMID:24808849

Progressive Learning of Topic Modeling Parameters: A Visual Analytics Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Assady, Mennatallah; Sevastjanova, Rita; Sperrle, Fabian; Keim, Daniel; Collins, Christopher

2018-01-01

Topic modeling algorithms are widely used to analyze the thematic composition of text corpora but remain difficult to interpret and adjust. Addressing these limitations, we present a modular visual analytics framework, tackling the understandability and adaptability of topic models through a user-driven reinforcement learning process which does not require a deep understanding of the underlying topic modeling algorithms. Given a document corpus, our approach initializes two algorithm configurations based on a parameter space analysis that enhances document separability. We abstract the model complexity in an interactive visual workspace for exploring the automatic matching results of two models, investigating topic summaries, analyzing parameter distributions, and reviewing documents. The main contribution of our work is an iterative decision-making technique in which users provide a document-based relevance feedback that allows the framework to converge to a user-endorsed topic distribution. We also report feedback from a two-stage study which shows that our technique results in topic model quality improvements on two independent measures.

Top-down contextual knowledge guides visual attention in infancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tummeltshammer, Kristen; Amso, Dima

2017-10-26

The visual context in which an object or face resides can provide useful top-down information for guiding attention orienting, object recognition, and visual search. Although infants have demonstrated sensitivity to covariation in spatial arrays, it is presently unclear whether they can use rapidly acquired contextual knowledge to guide attention during visual search. In this eye-tracking experiment, 6- and 10-month-old infants searched for a target face hidden among colorful distracter shapes. Targets appeared in Old or New visual contexts, depending on whether the visual search arrays (defined by the spatial configuration, shape and color of component items in the search display) were repeated or newly generated throughout the experiment. Targets in Old contexts appeared in the same location within the same configuration, such that context covaried with target location. Both 6- and 10-month-olds successfully distinguished between Old and New contexts, exhibiting faster search times, fewer looks at distracters, and more anticipation of targets when contexts repeated. This initial demonstration of contextual cueing effects in infants indicates that they can use top-down information to facilitate orienting during memory-guided visual search. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Right hemispheric dominance of visual phenomena evoked by intracerebral stimulation of the human visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonas, Jacques; Frismand, Solène; Vignal, Jean-Pierre; Colnat-Coulbois, Sophie; Koessler, Laurent; Vespignani, Hervé; Rossion, Bruno; Maillard, Louis

2014-07-01

Electrical brain stimulation can provide important information about the functional organization of the human visual cortex. Here, we report the visual phenomena evoked by a large number (562) of intracerebral electrical stimulations performed at low-intensity with depth electrodes implanted in the occipito-parieto-temporal cortex of 22 epileptic patients. Focal electrical stimulation evoked primarily visual hallucinations with various complexities: simple (spot or blob), intermediary (geometric forms), or complex meaningful shapes (faces); visual illusions and impairments of visual recognition were more rarely observed. With the exception of the most posterior cortical sites, the probability of evoking a visual phenomenon was significantly higher in the right than the left hemisphere. Intermediary and complex hallucinations, illusions, and visual recognition impairments were almost exclusively evoked by stimulation in the right hemisphere. The probability of evoking a visual phenomenon decreased substantially from the occipital pole to the most anterior sites of the temporal lobe, and this decrease was more pronounced in the left hemisphere. The greater sensitivity of the right occipito-parieto-temporal regions to intracerebral electrical stimulation to evoke visual phenomena supports a predominant role of right hemispheric visual areas from perception to recognition of visual forms, regardless of visuospatial and attentional factors. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Complex cells decrease errors for the Müller-Lyer illusion in a model of the visual ventral stream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Astrid eZeman

2014-09-01

Full Text Available To improve robustness in object recognition, many artificial visual systems imitate the way in which the human visual cortex encodes object information as a hierarchical set of features. These systems are usually evaluated in terms of their ability to accurately categorize well-defined, unambiguous objects and scenes. In the real world, however, not all objects and scenes are presented clearly, with well-defined labels and interpretations. Visual illusions demonstrate a disparity between perception and objective reality, allowing psychophysicists to methodically manipulate stimuli and study our interpretation of the environment. One prominent effect, the Müller-Lyer illusion, is demonstrated when the perceived length of a line is contracted (or expanded by the addition of arrowheads (or arrow-tails to its ends. HMAX, a benchmark object recognition system, consistently produces a bias when classifying Müller-Lyer images. HMAX is a hierarchical, artificial neural network that imitates the ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ cell layers found in the visual ventral stream. In this study, we perform two experiments to explore the Müller-Lyer illusion in HMAX, asking: 1 How do simple versus complex cell operations within HMAX affect illusory bias and precision? 2 How does varying the position of the figures in the input image affect classification using HMAX? In our first experiment, we assessed classification after traversing each layer of HMAX and found that in general, kernel operations performed by simple cells increase bias and uncertainty while max-pooling operations executed by complex cells decrease bias and uncertainty. In our second experiment, we increased variation in the positions of figures in the input that reduced bias and uncertainty in HMAX. Our findings suggest that the Müller-Lyer illusion is exacerbated by the vulnerability of simple cell operations to positional fluctuations, but ameliorated by the robustness of complex cell

APIs for QoS configuration in Software Defined Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caba, Cosmin Marius; Soler, José

2015-01-01

The OpenFlow (OF) protocol is widely used in Software Defined Networking (SDN) to realize the communication between the controller and forwarding devices. OF allows great flexibility in managing traffic flows. However, OF alone is not enough to build more complex SDN services that require complete...... such as configuration of devices, ports, queues, etc. An Application Programming Interface (API) for dynamic configuration of QoS resources in the network devices is implemented herein, by using the capabilities of OVSDB. Further, the paper demonstrates the possibility to create network services with coarse granularity...... on top of the fine granular services exposed by the QoS configuration API at the SDNC. A series of tests emphasize the capabilities and the performance of the implemented QoS configuration API....

A CMake-based build and configuration framework

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

The LHCb experiment has been using the CMT build and configuration tool for its software since the first versions, mainly because of its multi-platform build support and its powerful configuration management functionality. Still, CMT has some limitations in terms of build performance and the increased complexity added to the tool to cope with new use cases added latterly. Therefore, we have been looking for a viable alternative to it and we have investigated the possibility of adopting the CMake tool, which does a very good job for building and is getting very popular in the HEP community. The result of this study is a CMake-based framework which provides most of the special configuration features available natively only in CMT, with the advantages of better performances, flexibility and portability.

Product configuration for making quotations for complex and highly engineered products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Lisbjerg, Torben

2007-01-01

This presentation will describe a practical implementation of a configuration system at F.L. Smidth, which is a Danish cement plant manufacturer. The prototype of this system was developed from 1998-1999 and it was based on a procedure for building product models developed by the Centre for Product...

A Novel Approach for Configuring The Stimulator of A BCI Framework Using XML

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indar Sugiarto

2009-08-01

Full Text Available In a working BCI framework, all aspects must be considered as an integral part that contributes to the successful operation of a BCI system. This also includes the development of robust but flexible stimulator, especially the one that closely related to the feedback of a BCI system. This paper describes a novel approach in providing flexible visual stimulator using XML which has been applied for a BCI (brain-computer interface framework. Using XML file format for configuring the visual stimulator of a BCI system, we can develop BCI applications which can accommodate many experiment strategies in BCI research. The BCI framework and its configuration platform is developed using C++ programming language which incorporate Qt’s most powerful XML parser named QXmlStream. The implementation and experiment shows that the XML configuration file can be well executed within the proposed BCI framework. Beside its capability in presenting flexible flickering frequencies and text formatting for SSVEP-based BCI, the configuration platform also provides 3 shapes, 16 colors, and 5 distinct feedback bars. It is not necessary to increase the number of shapes nor colors since those parameters are less important for the BCI stimulator. The proposed method can then be extended to enhance the usability of currently existed BCI framework such as BF++ Toys and BCI 2000.

Acoustic Tactile Representation of Visual Information

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Pubudu Madhawa

Our goal is to explore the use of hearing and touch to convey graphical and pictorial information to visually impaired people. Our focus is on dynamic, interactive display of visual information using existing, widely available devices, such as smart phones and tablets with touch sensitive screens. We propose a new approach for acoustic-tactile representation of visual signals that can be implemented on a touch screen and allows the user to actively explore a two-dimensional layout consisting of one or more objects with a finger or a stylus while listening to auditory feedback via stereo headphones. The proposed approach is acoustic-tactile because sound is used as the primary source of information for object localization and identification, while touch is used for pointing and kinesthetic feedback. A static overlay of raised-dot tactile patterns can also be added. A key distinguishing feature of the proposed approach is the use of spatial sound (directional and distance cues) to facilitate the active exploration of the layout. We consider a variety of configurations for acoustic-tactile rendering of object size, shape, identity, and location, as well as for the overall perception of simple layouts and scenes. While our primary goal is to explore the fundamental capabilities and limitations of representing visual information in acoustic-tactile form, we also consider a number of relatively simple configurations that can be tied to specific applications. In particular, we consider a simple scene layout consisting of objects in a linear arrangement, each with a distinct tapping sound, which we compare to a ''virtual cane.'' We will also present a configuration that can convey a ''Venn diagram.'' We present systematic subjective experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed display for shape perception, object identification and localization, and 2-D layout perception, as well as the applications. Our experiments were conducted with visually blocked

Organizational capability in the public sector: \\ud a configurational approach

OpenAIRE

Andrews, Rhys William; Beynon, Malcolm James; McDermott, Aoife

2015-01-01

This paper brings together resource-based theory and contingency theory to analyse organizational capability in the public sector. Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis is used to identify configurations of organizational attributes (department size, structural complexity, agencification, personnel instability, use of temporary employees), associated with high and low organizational capability in UK central government departments. Findings identify a single core configuration of organiza...

How high is visual short-term memory capacity for object layout?

Science.gov (United States)

Sanocki, Thomas; Sellers, Eric; Mittelstadt, Jeff; Sulman, Noah

2010-05-01

Previous research measuring visual short-term memory (VSTM) suggests that the capacity for representing the layout of objects is fairly high. In four experiments, we further explored the capacity of VSTM for layout of objects, using the change detection method. In Experiment 1, participants retained most of the elements in displays of 4 to 8 elements. In Experiments 2 and 3, with up to 20 elements, participants retained many of them, reaching a capacity of 13.4 stimulus elements. In Experiment 4, participants retained much of a complex naturalistic scene. In most cases, increasing display size caused only modest reductions in performance, consistent with the idea of configural, variable-resolution grouping. The results indicate that participants can retain a substantial amount of scene layout information (objects and locations) in short-term memory. We propose that this is a case of remote visual understanding, where observers' ability to integrate information from a scene is paramount.

A Configuration Model of Organizational Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Dauber

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The article proposes a configuration model of organizational culture, which explores dynamic relationships between organizational culture, strategy, structure, and operations of an organization (internal environment and maps interactions with the external environment (task and legitimization environment. A major feature of the configuration model constitutes its well-defined processes, which connect the elements of the model systematically to each other, such as single- and double-loop learning, operationalization of strategies, legitimization management, and so on. The model is grounded in a large review of literature in different research areas and builds on widely recognized models in the field of organization and culture theory. It constitutes a response to the call for new models, which are able to explain and facilitate the exploration of the empirical complexity that organizations face today. The configuration model of organizational culture is of particular interest to scholars who investigate into cultural phenomena and change over time.

Model-Driven Configuration of SELinux Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Agreiter, Berthold; Breu, Ruth

The need for access control in computer systems is inherent. However, the complexity to configure such systems is constantly increasing which affects the overall security of a system negatively. We think that it is important to define security requirements on a non-technical level while taking the application domain into respect in order to have a clear and separated view on security configuration (i.e. unblurred by technical details). On the other hand, security functionality has to be tightly integrated with the system and its development process in order to provide comprehensive means of enforcement. In this paper, we propose a systematic approach based on model-driven security configuration to leverage existing operating system security mechanisms (SELinux) for realising access control. We use UML models and develop a UML profile to satisfy these needs. Our goal is to exploit a comprehensive protection mechanism while rendering its security policy manageable by a domain specialist.

The role of memory for visual search in scenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Le-Hoa Võ, Melissa; Wolfe, Jeremy M

2015-03-01

Many daily activities involve looking for something. The ease with which these searches are performed often allows one to forget that searching represents complex interactions between visual attention and memory. Although a clear understanding exists of how search efficiency will be influenced by visual features of targets and their surrounding distractors or by the number of items in the display, the role of memory in search is less well understood. Contextual cueing studies have shown that implicit memory for repeated item configurations can facilitate search in artificial displays. When searching more naturalistic environments, other forms of memory come into play. For instance, semantic memory provides useful information about which objects are typically found where within a scene, and episodic scene memory provides information about where a particular object was seen the last time a particular scene was viewed. In this paper, we will review work on these topics, with special emphasis on the role of memory in guiding search in organized, real-world scenes. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Data visualization a guide to visual storytelling for libraries

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

Data Visualization: A Guide to Visual Storytelling for Libraries is a practical guide to the skills and tools needed to create beautiful and meaningful visual stories through data visualization. Learn how to sift through complex datasets to better understand a variety of metrics, such as trends in user behavior and electronic resource usage, return on investment (ROI) and impact metrics, and learning and reference analytics. Sections include: .Identifying and interpreting datasets for visualization .Tools and technologies for creating meaningful visualizations .Case studies in data visualization and dashboards Understanding and communicating trends from your organization s data is essential. Whether you are looking to make more informed decisions by visualizing organizational data, or to tell the story of your library s impact on your community, this book will give you the tools to make it happen."

Influence of coral cover and structural complexity on the accuracy of visual surveys of coral-reef fish communities

KAUST Repository

Coker, Darren James

2017-04-20

Using manipulated patch reefs with combinations of varying live-coral cover (low, medium and high) and structural complexity (low and high), common community metrics (abundance, diversity, richness and community composition) collected through standard underwater visual census techniques were compared with exhaustive collections using a fish anaesthetic (clove oil). This study showed that reef condition did not influence underwater visual census estimates at a community level, but reef condition can influence the detectability of some small and cryptic species and this may be exacerbated if surveys are conducted on a larger scale.

Influence of coral cover and structural complexity on the accuracy of visual surveys of coral-reef fish communities

KAUST Repository

Coker, Darren James; Nowicki, J. P.; Graham, N. A. J.

2017-01-01

Using manipulated patch reefs with combinations of varying live-coral cover (low, medium and high) and structural complexity (low and high), common community metrics (abundance, diversity, richness and community composition) collected through standard underwater visual census techniques were compared with exhaustive collections using a fish anaesthetic (clove oil). This study showed that reef condition did not influence underwater visual census estimates at a community level, but reef condition can influence the detectability of some small and cryptic species and this may be exacerbated if surveys are conducted on a larger scale.

Numerical modeling of optical coherent transient processes with complex configurations - II. Angled beams with arbitrary phase modulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang Tiejun; Tian Mingzhen; Barber, Zeb W.; Randall Babbitt, Wm.

2004-01-01

This work is a continuation of the development of the theoretical model for optical coherent transient (OCT) processes with complex configurations. A theoretical model for angled beams with arbitrary phase modulation has been developed based on the model presented in our previous work for the angled beam geometry. A numerical tool has been devised to simulate the OCT processes involving angled beams with the frequency detuning, chirped, and phase-modulated laser pulses. The simulations for pulse shaping and arbitrary waveform generation (AWG) using OCT processes have been performed. The theoretical analysis of programming and probe schemes for pulse shaper and AWG is also presented including the discussions on the rephasing condition and the phase compensation. The results from the analysis, the simulation, and the experiment show very good agreement

Neuromorphic Configurable Architecture for Robust Motion Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo Botella

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The robustness of the human visual system recovering motion estimation in almost any visual situation is enviable, performing enormous calculation tasks continuously, robustly, efficiently, and effortlessly. There is obviously a great deal we can learn from our own visual system. Currently, there are several optical flow algorithms, although none of them deals efficiently with noise, illumination changes, second-order motion, occlusions, and so on. The main contribution of this work is the efficient implementation of a biologically inspired motion algorithm that borrows nature templates as inspiration in the design of architectures and makes use of a specific model of human visual motion perception: Multichannel Gradient Model (McGM. This novel customizable architecture of a neuromorphic robust optical flow can be constructed with FPGA or ASIC device using properties of the cortical motion pathway, constituting a useful framework for building future complex bioinspired systems running in real time with high computational complexity. This work includes the resource usage and performance data, and the comparison with actual systems. This hardware has many application fields like object recognition, navigation, or tracking in difficult environments due to its bioinspired and robustness properties.

The multiple-faces configuration illusion in schizophrenic patients

OpenAIRE

Simas, Maria Lucia de Bustamante; Rocha, Christiane Delusia de Oliveira; Sedycias, Rafael Freitas Modesto; Amaral, Viviane Ferreira do; Menezes, Felipe Schuler de

2008-01-01

The Multiple-Faces Configuration Illusion is observed by staring at a black dot while paying attention to a face in the peripheral visual field (Simas, 2000). Changes of facial expressions, movements, depth (EMF) or different face identities (MF) are observed in this illusion. Forty participants took part in the study: 20 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 20 people helping friends or relatives in a hospital clinic. The face-stimulus was placed in a partition stand and participants...

Configurations of new ventures and SMEs: a literature review of empirical research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Michor, Lukas; Harms, Rainer; Schwarz, Erich; Breitenecker, Robert

2010-01-01

This article aims at analyzing configuration studies and their respective variable selection in the context of entrepreneurship and SMEs. New ventures as well as SMEs are both confronted with a high amount of dynamism and complexity. The configuration approach is well suited to capture that and

Visual attention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evans, K.K.; Horowitz, T.S.; Howe, P.; Pedersini, R.; Reijnen, E.; Pinto, Y.; Wolfe, J.M.

2011-01-01

A typical visual scene we encounter in everyday life is complex and filled with a huge amount of perceptual information. The term, ‘visual attention’ describes a set of mechanisms that limit some processing to a subset of incoming stimuli. Attentional mechanisms shape what we see and what we can act

A block structured method for the simulation of the flow around complex configurations; Ein blockstrukturiertes Verfahren zur Simulation der Umstroemung komplexer Konfigurationen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwarz, T.O.

2005-07-01

A block structured method for the simulation of the viscous flow around complex configurations is presented. The computational domain is discretized with overlapping meshes. The meshes are composed of individually created grids for the components of a configuration and an automatically generated Cartesian background grid. The background grid is a multi-block mesh with hanging grid nodes, which is adapted to the cell size of the component grids. The cells of the background grid can be cubes or cuboids. The overlapping grid approach simplifies the generation of block structured grids significantly. The flow computations are performed with a Navier-Stokes solver. The Chimera capabilities of the solver are extended by methods for the computation of interpolation coefficients and global forces in case of grid overlap on body surfaces. Additionally, a flux conservative boundary condition for the hanging grid nodes is implemented. The consistency and accuracy of the methods is proved by grid refinement studies. Validation test cases include a three element airfoil, a helicopter fuselage and an airplane in landing configuration. Numerical results obtained for Chimera meshes as well as conventional grids agree very well. The agreement with wind tunnel experiments is good. The computational costs for Chimera computations are slightly higher than for conventional grids. (orig.)

Neural associations of the early retinotopic cortex with the lateral occipital complex during visual perception.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delong Zhang

Full Text Available Previous studies have demonstrated that the early retinotopic cortex (ERC, i.e., V1/V2/V3 is highly associated with the lateral occipital complex (LOC during visual perception. However, it remains largely unclear how to evaluate their associations in quantitative way. The present study tried to apply a multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA to quantify the neural activity in ERC and its association with that of the LOC when participants saw visual images. To this end, we assessed whether low-level visual features (Gabor features could predict the neural activity in the ERC and LOC according to a voxel-based encoding model (VBEM, and then quantified the association of the neural activity between these regions by using an analogical VBEM. We found that the Gabor features remarkably predicted the activity of the ERC (e.g., the predicted accuracy was 52.5% for a participant instead of that of the LOC (4.2%. Moreover, the MVPA approach can also be used to establish corresponding relationships between the activity patterns in the LOC and those in the ERC (64.2%. In particular, we found that the integration of the Gabor features and LOC visual information could dramatically improve the 'prediction' of ERC activity (88.3%. Overall, the present study provides new evidences for the possibility of quantifying the association of the neural activity between the regions of ERC and LOC. This approach will help to provide further insights into the neural substrates of the visual processing.

Visual Thinking Strategies: Teachers' Reflections on Closely Reading Complex Visual Texts within the Disciplines

Science.gov (United States)

Cappello, Marva; Walker, Nancy T.

2016-01-01

The authors offer a new perspective on close reading that uses a range of multimodal texts to capitalize on the visual nature of contemporary society and to support literacy within the academic disciplines. Specifically, a qualitative study explored teachers' perspectives on the use of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a practice borrowed from…

Visual Ecology and the Development of Visually Guided Behavior in the Cuttlefish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Cuttlefish are highly visual animals, a fact reflected in the large size of their eyes and visual-processing centers of their brain. Adults detect their prey visually, navigate using visual cues such as landmarks or the e-vector of polarized light and display intense visual patterns during mating and agonistic encounters. Although much is known about the visual system in adult cuttlefish, few studies have investigated its development and that of visually-guided behavior in juveniles. This review summarizes the results of studies of visual development in embryos and young juveniles. The visual system is the last to develop, as in vertebrates, and is functional before hatching. Indeed, embryonic exposure to prey, shelters or complex background alters postembryonic behavior. Visual acuity and lateralization, and polarization sensitivity improve throughout the first months after hatching. The production of body patterning in juveniles is not the simple stimulus-response process commonly presented in the literature. Rather, it likely requires the complex integration of visual information, and is subject to inter-individual differences. Though the focus of this review is vision in cuttlefish, it is important to note that other senses, particularly sensitivity to vibration and to waterborne chemical signals, also play a role in behavior. Considering the multimodal sensory dimensions of natural stimuli and their integration and processing by individuals offer new exciting avenues of future inquiry.

Visual Ecology and the Development of Visually Guided Behavior in the Cuttlefish.

Science.gov (United States)

Darmaillacq, Anne-Sophie; Mezrai, Nawel; O'Brien, Caitlin E; Dickel, Ludovic

2017-01-01

Cuttlefish are highly visual animals, a fact reflected in the large size of their eyes and visual-processing centers of their brain. Adults detect their prey visually, navigate using visual cues such as landmarks or the e -vector of polarized light and display intense visual patterns during mating and agonistic encounters. Although much is known about the visual system in adult cuttlefish, few studies have investigated its development and that of visually-guided behavior in juveniles. This review summarizes the results of studies of visual development in embryos and young juveniles. The visual system is the last to develop, as in vertebrates, and is functional before hatching. Indeed, embryonic exposure to prey, shelters or complex background alters postembryonic behavior. Visual acuity and lateralization, and polarization sensitivity improve throughout the first months after hatching. The production of body patterning in juveniles is not the simple stimulus-response process commonly presented in the literature. Rather, it likely requires the complex integration of visual information, and is subject to inter-individual differences. Though the focus of this review is vision in cuttlefish, it is important to note that other senses, particularly sensitivity to vibration and to waterborne chemical signals, also play a role in behavior. Considering the multimodal sensory dimensions of natural stimuli and their integration and processing by individuals offer new exciting avenues of future inquiry.

The contribution of dynamic visual cues to audiovisual speech perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaekl, Philip; Pesquita, Ana; Alsius, Agnes; Munhall, Kevin; Soto-Faraco, Salvador

2015-08-01

Seeing a speaker's facial gestures can significantly improve speech comprehension, especially in noisy environments. However, the nature of the visual information from the speaker's facial movements that is relevant for this enhancement is still unclear. Like auditory speech signals, visual speech signals unfold over time and contain both dynamic configural information and luminance-defined local motion cues; two information sources that are thought to engage anatomically and functionally separate visual systems. Whereas, some past studies have highlighted the importance of local, luminance-defined motion cues in audiovisual speech perception, the contribution of dynamic configural information signalling changes in form over time has not yet been assessed. We therefore attempted to single out the contribution of dynamic configural information to audiovisual speech processing. To this aim, we measured word identification performance in noise using unimodal auditory stimuli, and with audiovisual stimuli. In the audiovisual condition, speaking faces were presented as point light displays achieved via motion capture of the original talker. Point light displays could be isoluminant, to minimise the contribution of effective luminance-defined local motion information, or with added luminance contrast, allowing the combined effect of dynamic configural cues and local motion cues. Audiovisual enhancement was found in both the isoluminant and contrast-based luminance conditions compared to an auditory-only condition, demonstrating, for the first time the specific contribution of dynamic configural cues to audiovisual speech improvement. These findings imply that globally processed changes in a speaker's facial shape contribute significantly towards the perception of articulatory gestures and the analysis of audiovisual speech. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conceptual Configuration of Pharmaceutical Plants in 3D

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ladeby, Klaes Rohde; Larsen, Bent Dalgaard; Gjøl, Mikkel

2007-01-01

In the conceptual design phase of pharmaceutical plants as much as 80%-90% of the total cost of a project is committed. It is therefore essential that the chosen concept is viable. Configuration and 3D models can help validate the decisions made in the conceptual design process. Designing 3D models...... is a complex task and requires skilled users. We demonstrate that a simple 2D/3D configuration tool can support conceptualizing of pharmaceutical plants. Present paper reports on preliminary results from a full scale implementation project at a Danish engineering company....

Visualizing the indefinable: three-dimensional complexity of 'infectious diseases'.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Leitner

Full Text Available The words 'infection' and 'inflammation' lack specific definitions. Here, such words are not defined. Instead, the ability to visualize host-microbial interactions was explored.Leukocyte differential counts and four bacterial species (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Staphylococcus chromogenes, and Escherichia coli were determined or isolated in a cross-sectional and randomized study conducted with 611 bovine milk samples. Two paradigms were evaluated: (i the classic one, which measures non-structured (count or percent data; and (ii a method that, using complex data structures, detects and differentiates three-dimensional (3D interactions among lymphocytes (L, macrophages (M, and neutrophils (N.Classic analyses failed to differentiate bacterial-positive (B+ from -negative (B- observations: B- and B+ data overlapped, even when statistical significance was achieved. In contrast, the alternative approach showed distinct patterns, such as perpendicular data inflections, which discriminated microbial-negative/mononuclear cell-predominating (MCP from microbial-positive/phagocyte-predominating (PP subsets. Two PP subcategories were distinguished, as well as PP/culture-negative (false-negative and MCP/culture-positive (false-positive observations. In 3D space, MCP and PP subsets were perpendicular to one another, displaying ≥ 91% specificity or sensitivity. Findings supported five inferences: (i disease is not always ruled out by negative bacterial tests; (ii low total cell counts can coexist with high phagocyte percents; (iii neither positive bacterial isolation nor high cell counts always coincide with PP profiles; (iv statistical significance is not synonymous with discrimination; and (v hidden relationships cannot be detected when simple (non-structured data formats are used and statistical analyses are performed before data subsets are identified, but can be uncovered when complexity is investigated.Pattern recognition

An ontology-based semantic configuration approach to constructing Data as a Service for enterprises

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Hongming; Xie, Cheng; Jiang, Lihong; Fang, Lu; Huang, Chenxi

2016-03-01

To align business strategies with IT systems, enterprises should rapidly implement new applications based on existing information with complex associations to adapt to the continually changing external business environment. Thus, Data as a Service (DaaS) has become an enabling technology for enterprise through information integration and the configuration of existing distributed enterprise systems and heterogonous data sources. However, business modelling, system configuration and model alignment face challenges at the design and execution stages. To provide a comprehensive solution to facilitate data-centric application design in a highly complex and large-scale situation, a configurable ontology-based service integrated platform (COSIP) is proposed to support business modelling, system configuration and execution management. First, a meta-resource model is constructed and used to describe and encapsulate information resources by way of multi-view business modelling. Then, based on ontologies, three semantic configuration patterns, namely composite resource configuration, business scene configuration and runtime environment configuration, are designed to systematically connect business goals with executable applications. Finally, a software architecture based on model-view-controller (MVC) is provided and used to assemble components for software implementation. The result of the case study demonstrates that the proposed approach provides a flexible method of implementing data-centric applications.

Can responses to basic non-numerical visual features explain neural numerosity responses?

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Ben M; Dumoulin, Serge O

2017-04-01

Humans and many animals can distinguish between stimuli that differ in numerosity, the number of objects in a set. Human and macaque parietal lobes contain neurons that respond to changes in stimulus numerosity. However, basic non-numerical visual features can affect neural responses to and perception of numerosity, and visual features often co-vary with numerosity. Therefore, it is debated whether numerosity or co-varying low-level visual features underlie neural and behavioral responses to numerosity. To test the hypothesis that non-numerical visual features underlie neural numerosity responses in a human parietal numerosity map, we analyze responses to a group of numerosity stimulus configurations that have the same numerosity progression but vary considerably in their non-numerical visual features. Using ultra-high-field (7T) fMRI, we measure responses to these stimulus configurations in an area of posterior parietal cortex whose responses are believed to reflect numerosity-selective activity. We describe an fMRI analysis method to distinguish between alternative models of neural response functions, following a population receptive field (pRF) modeling approach. For each stimulus configuration, we first quantify the relationships between numerosity and several non-numerical visual features that have been proposed to underlie performance in numerosity discrimination tasks. We then determine how well responses to these non-numerical visual features predict the observed fMRI responses, and compare this to the predictions of responses to numerosity. We demonstrate that a numerosity response model predicts observed responses more accurately than models of responses to simple non-numerical visual features. As such, neural responses in cognitive processing need not reflect simpler properties of early sensory inputs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Artificial immune system algorithm in VLSI circuit configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Mansor, Mohd. Asyraf; Sathasivam, Saratha; Kasihmuddin, Mohd Shareduwan Mohd

2017-08-01

In artificial intelligence, the artificial immune system is a robust bio-inspired heuristic method, extensively used in solving many constraint optimization problems, anomaly detection, and pattern recognition. This paper discusses the implementation and performance of artificial immune system (AIS) algorithm integrated with Hopfield neural networks for VLSI circuit configuration based on 3-Satisfiability problems. Specifically, we emphasized on the clonal selection technique in our binary artificial immune system algorithm. We restrict our logic construction to 3-Satisfiability (3-SAT) clauses in order to outfit with the transistor configuration in VLSI circuit. The core impetus of this research is to find an ideal hybrid model to assist in the VLSI circuit configuration. In this paper, we compared the artificial immune system (AIS) algorithm (HNN-3SATAIS) with the brute force algorithm incorporated with Hopfield neural network (HNN-3SATBF). Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 was used as a platform for training, simulating and validating the performances of the proposed network. The results depict that the HNN-3SATAIS outperformed HNN-3SATBF in terms of circuit accuracy and CPU time. Thus, HNN-3SATAIS can be used to detect an early error in the VLSI circuit design.

The Visual Orientation Memory of "Drosophila" Requires Foraging (PKG) Upstream of Ignorant (RSK2) in Ring Neurons of the Central Complex

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntz, Sara; Poeck, Burkhard; Sokolowski, Marla B.; Strauss, Roland

2012-01-01

Orientation and navigation in a complex environment requires path planning and recall to exert goal-driven behavior. Walking "Drosophila" flies possess a visual orientation memory for attractive targets which is localized in the central complex of the adult brain. Here we show that this type of working memory requires the cGMP-dependent protein…

LHCb: A CMake-based build and configuration framework

CERN Multimedia

Clemencic, M; Mato, P

2011-01-01

The LHCb experiment has been using the CMT build and configuration tool for its software since the first versions, mainly because of its multi-platform build support and its powerful configuration management functionality. Still, CMT has some limitations in terms of build performance and the increased complexity added to the tool to cope with new use cases added latterly. Therefore, we have been looking for a viable alternative to it and we have investigated the possibility of adopting the CMake tool, which does a very good job for building and is getting very popular in the HEP community. The result of this study is a CMake-based framework which provides most of the special configuration features available natively only in CMT, with the advantages of better performances, flexibility and portability.

User Involvement as a Configurable Integrated Product Delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vibæk, Kasper Sánchez

2009-01-01

as a configurable integrated product delivery then the architect can – using slightly provocatively a term from the production industry – be seen a configuration manager of processes shaping our physical surroundings. Products focusing on standardisation and mass customisation of the building process rather than......Integrated product deliveries as known from the product industry are beginning to emerge in construction. These are normally considered as physical systems that can be configured and customised for a specific delivery to form part of a unique construction project and help to reduce the complexity...... relevant field for development of customisable integrated product deliveries in construction. This development and its causes challenge the traditional role of the architect as the centre point in the creation of physical wholes or entireties. If user involvement, as argued, can be considered...

A Design of Product Collaborative Online Configuration Model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaoguo; Zheng, Jin; Zeng, Qian

According to the actual needs of mass customization, the personalization of product and its collaborative design, the paper analyzes and studies the working mechanism of modular-based product configuration technology and puts forward an information model of modular product family. Combined with case-based reasoning techniques (CBR) and the constraint satisfaction problem solving techniques (CSP), we design and study the algorithm for product configuration, and analyze its time complexity. A car chassis is made as the application object, we provide a prototype system of online configuration. Taking advantage of this system, designers can make appropriate changes on the existing programs in accordance with the demand. This will accelerate all aspects of product development and shorten the product cycle. Also the system will provide a strong technical support for enterprises to improve their market competitiveness.

Tiny but complex - interactive 3D visualization of the interstitial acochlidian gastropod Pseudunela cornuta (Challis, 1970

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heß Martin

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Mesopsammic acochlidians are small, and organ complexity may be strongly reduced (regressive evolution by progenesis, especially in microhedylacean species. The marine interstitial hedylopsacean Pseudunela cornuta (Challis, 1970, however, was suggested as having a complex reproductive system resembling that of much larger, limnic and benthic species. The present study aims to reconstruct the detailed anatomy and true complexity of P. cornuta from serial, semithin histological sections by using modern computer-based 3D visualization with Amira software, and to explain it in an evolutionary context. Results Our results demonstrate considerable discordance with the original species description, which was based solely on paraffin sections. Here, we show that the nervous system of P. cornuta has paired rhinophoral, optic and gastro-oesophageal ganglia, three distinct ganglia on the visceral nerve cord, and a putative osphradial ganglion, while anterior accessory ganglia are absent. The presence of an anal genital cloaca is clearly rejected and the anus, nephropore and gonopore open separately to the exterior; the circulatory and excretory systems are well-differentiated, including a two-chambered heart and a complex kidney with a long, looped nephroduct; the special androdiaulic reproductive system shows two allosperm receptacles, three nidamental glands, a cavity with unknown function, as well as highly complex anterior copulatory organs with two separate glandular and impregnatory systems including a penial stylet that measures approximately a third of the whole length of the preserved specimen. Conclusion In spite of its small body size, the interstitial hermaphroditic P. cornuta shows high complexity regarding all major organ systems; the excretory system is as differentiated as in species of the sister clade, the limnic and much larger Acochlidiidae, and the reproductive system is by far the most elaborated one ever observed

Configuration affects parallel stent grafting results.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanious, Adam; Wooster, Mathew; Armstrong, Paul A; Zwiebel, Bruce; Grundy, Shane; Back, Martin R; Shames, Murray L

2018-05-01

A number of adjunctive "off-the-shelf" procedures have been described to treat complex aortic diseases. Our goal was to evaluate parallel stent graft configurations and to determine an optimal formula for these procedures. This is a retrospective review of all patients at a single medical center treated with parallel stent grafts from January 2010 to September 2015. Outcomes were evaluated on the basis of parallel graft orientation, type, and main body device. Primary end points included parallel stent graft compromise and overall endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) compromise. There were 78 patients treated with a total of 144 parallel stents for a variety of pathologic processes. There was a significant correlation between main body oversizing and snorkel compromise (P = .0195) and overall procedural complication (P = .0019) but not with endoleak rates. Patients were organized into the following oversizing groups for further analysis: 0% to 10%, 10% to 20%, and >20%. Those oversized into the 0% to 10% group had the highest rate of overall EVAR complication (73%; P = .0003). There were no significant correlations between any one particular configuration and overall procedural complication. There was also no significant correlation between total number of parallel stents employed and overall complication. Composite EVAR configuration had no significant correlation with individual snorkel compromise, endoleak, or overall EVAR or procedural complication. The configuration most prone to individual snorkel compromise and overall EVAR complication was a four-stent configuration with two stents in an antegrade position and two stents in a retrograde position (60% complication rate). The configuration most prone to endoleak was one or two stents in retrograde position (33% endoleak rate), followed by three stents in an all-antegrade position (25%). There was a significant correlation between individual stent configuration and stent compromise (P = .0385), with 31

Configurational Information as Potentially Negative Entropy: The Triple Helix Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loet Leydesdorff

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Configurational information is generated when three or more sources of variance interact. The variations not only disturb each other relationally, but by selecting upon each other, they are also positioned in a configuration. A configuration can be stabilized and/or globalized. Different stabilizations can be considered as second-order variation, and globalization as a second-order selection. The positive manifestations and the negative selections operate upon one another by adding and reducing uncertainty, respectively. Reduction of uncertainty in a configuration can be measured in bits of information. The variables can also be considered as dimensions of the probabilistic entropy in the system(s under study. The configurational information then provides us with a measure of synergy within a complex system. For example, the knowledge base of an economy can be considered as such a synergy in the otherwise virtual (that is, fourth dimension of a regime

How to Scope a Product Configuration Project in an Engineering Company

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shafiee, Sara; Hvam, Lars; Bonev, Martin

2014-01-01

When implementing a product configuration system in a company making complex and highly engineered products, many decisions need to be made in the early phases of the project. This article presents a framework for supporting the initial scoping process and discusses experiences from applying...... the framework in an engineering company. The framework covers a number of topics, such as identifying the users of the configuration system, prioritizing the user requirements, defining the input and output, and the overall functionality of the configuration system. Furthermore, the scoping process considers...

Visualizing molecular juggling within a B[subscript 12]-dependent methyltransferase complex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kung, Yan; Ando, Nozomi; Doukov, Tzanko I.; Blasiak, Leah C.; Bender, Güne; #351; ; Seravalli, Javier; Ragsdale, Stephen W.; Drennan, Catherine L. (MIT); (Michigan); (UNL)

2013-04-08

Derivatives of vitamin B{sub 12} are used in methyl group transfer in biological processes as diverse as methionine synthesis in humans and CO{sub 2} fixation in acetogenic bacteria. This seemingly straightforward reaction requires large, multimodular enzyme complexes that adopt multiple conformations to alternately activate, protect and perform catalysis on the reactive B{sub 12} cofactor. Crystal structures determined thus far have provided structural information for only fragments of these complexes, inspiring speculation about the overall protein assembly and conformational movements inherent to activity. Here we present X-ray crystal structures of a complete 220 kDa complex that contains all enzymes responsible for B{sub 12}-dependent methyl transfer, namely the corrinoid iron-sulphur protein and its methyltransferase from the model acetogen Moorella thermoacetica. These structures provide the first three-dimensional depiction of all protein modules required for the activation, protection and catalytic steps of B{sub 12}-dependent methyl transfer. In addition, the structures capture B{sub 12} at multiple locations between its 'resting' and catalytic positions, allowing visualization of the dramatic protein rearrangements that enable methyl transfer and identification of the trajectory for B{sub 12} movement within the large enzyme scaffold. The structures are also presented alongside in crystallo spectroscopic data, which confirm enzymatic activity within crystals and demonstrate the largest known conformational movements of proteins in a crystalline state. Taken together, this work provides a model for the molecular juggling that accompanies turnover and helps explain why such an elaborate protein framework is required for such a simple, yet biologically essential reaction.

Techniques for Fault Detection and Visualization of Telemetry Dependence Relationships for Root Cause Fault Analysis in Complex Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Guy, Nathaniel

This thesis explores new ways of looking at telemetry data, from a time-correlative perspective, in order to see patterns within the data that may suggest root causes of system faults. It was thought initially that visualizing an animated Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) matrix for telemetry channels would be sufficient to give new understanding; however, testing showed that the high dimensionality and inability to easily look at change over time in this approach impeded understanding. Different correlative techniques, combined with the time curve visualization proposed by Bach et al (2015), were adapted to visualize both raw telemetry and telemetry data correlations. Review revealed that these new techniques give insights into the data, and an intuitive grasp of data families, which show the effectiveness of this approach for enhancing system understanding and assisting with root cause analysis for complex aerospace systems.

Visual patient records

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luu, M.D.

2015-01-01

Patient information is often complex and fragmented; visualization can help to obtain and communicate insights. To move from paper medical records to interactive and visual patient records is a big challenge. This project aims to move towards this ultimate goal by providing an interactive prototype

Fusion in computer vision understanding complex visual content

CERN Document Server

Ionescu, Bogdan; Piatrik, Tomas

2014-01-01

This book presents a thorough overview of fusion in computer vision, from an interdisciplinary and multi-application viewpoint, describing successful approaches, evaluated in the context of international benchmarks that model realistic use cases. Features: examines late fusion approaches for concept recognition in images and videos; describes the interpretation of visual content by incorporating models of the human visual system with content understanding methods; investigates the fusion of multi-modal features of different semantic levels, as well as results of semantic concept detections, fo

Conceptualizing Embedded Configuration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oddsson, Gudmundur Valur; Hvam, Lars; Lysgaard, Ole

2006-01-01

and services. The general idea can be named embedded configuration. In this article we intend to conceptualize embedded configuration, what it is and is not. The difference between embedded configuration, sales configuration and embedded software is explained. We will look at what is needed to make embedded...... configuration systems. That will include requirements to product modelling techniques. An example with consumer electronics will illuminate the elements of embedded configuration in settings that most can relate to. The question of where embedded configuration would be relevant is discussed, and the current...

Guide to Cisco Routers Configuration Becoming a Router Geek

CERN Document Server

Alani, Mohammed M

2012-01-01

This work provides a guide to the configuration of Cisco routers, from tasks for beginners to advanced operations. A collection of detailed "how-to" instructions are presented, which will be of use to all professionals and students who engage with Cisco routers in the field or in the lab. The guide starts with the simple step-by-step task of connecting the router and performing basic configuration, before building up to complex and sensitive operations such as router IOS upgrade and Site-to-Site VPNs.

Audiovisual Modulation in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex Depends on Cross-Modal Stimulus Configuration and Congruency.

Science.gov (United States)

Meijer, Guido T; Montijn, Jorrit S; Pennartz, Cyriel M A; Lansink, Carien S

2017-09-06

The sensory neocortex is a highly connected associative network that integrates information from multiple senses, even at the level of the primary sensory areas. Although a growing body of empirical evidence supports this view, the neural mechanisms of cross-modal integration in primary sensory areas, such as the primary visual cortex (V1), are still largely unknown. Using two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice, we show that the encoding of audiovisual stimuli in V1 neuronal populations is highly dependent on the features of the stimulus constituents. When the visual and auditory stimulus features were modulated at the same rate (i.e., temporally congruent), neurons responded with either an enhancement or suppression compared with unisensory visual stimuli, and their prevalence was balanced. Temporally incongruent tones or white-noise bursts included in audiovisual stimulus pairs resulted in predominant response suppression across the neuronal population. Visual contrast did not influence multisensory processing when the audiovisual stimulus pairs were congruent; however, when white-noise bursts were used, neurons generally showed response suppression when the visual stimulus contrast was high whereas this effect was absent when the visual contrast was low. Furthermore, a small fraction of V1 neurons, predominantly those located near the lateral border of V1, responded to sound alone. These results show that V1 is involved in the encoding of cross-modal interactions in a more versatile way than previously thought. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The neural substrate of cross-modal integration is not limited to specialized cortical association areas but extends to primary sensory areas. Using two-photon imaging of large groups of neurons, we show that multisensory modulation of V1 populations is strongly determined by the individual and shared features of cross-modal stimulus constituents, such as contrast, frequency, congruency, and temporal structure. Congruent

Methodology for risk-based configuration control of nuclear power plant operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valle, Antonio Torres; Oliva, Jose de Jesus Rivero

2012-01-01

The hazardous configurations control in Nuclear Power Plants is an application of a previous Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA). A more complete option would be the risk monitoring for the online detection of these configurations but expert personnel would be required to deal with the complexities of PSA and risk monitor. The paper presents a simpler but effective approach: a method of configuration control, based on dependencies matrixes. The algorithm is included in a computer code called SECURE A-Z. The configuration control is carried out in a qualitative way, without previous PSA results and not using a Risk Monitor. The simplicity of the method warrants its application to facilities where these tools have not been developed, allowing the detection of hazardous configurations during operation and increasing plant safety. This configuration control system was implemented in the Embalse Nuclear Power Plant in Argentina. The paper shows the application of the algorithm to the analysis of a simplified safety system. (author)

Complex Functions with GeoGebra

Science.gov (United States)

Breda, Ana Maria D'azevedo; Dos Santos, José Manuel Dos Santos

2016-01-01

Complex functions, generally feature some interesting peculiarities, seen as extensions of real functions. The visualization of complex functions properties usually requires the simultaneous visualization of two-dimensional spaces. The multiple Windows of GeoGebra, combined with its ability of algebraic computation with complex numbers, allow the…

An Empirical Study on Using Visual Embellishments in Visualization.

Science.gov (United States)

Borgo, R; Abdul-Rahman, A; Mohamed, F; Grant, P W; Reppa, I; Floridi, L; Chen, Min

2012-12-01

In written and spoken communications, figures of speech (e.g., metaphors and synecdoche) are often used as an aid to help convey abstract or less tangible concepts. However, the benefits of using rhetorical illustrations or embellishments in visualization have so far been inconclusive. In this work, we report an empirical study to evaluate hypotheses that visual embellishments may aid memorization, visual search and concept comprehension. One major departure from related experiments in the literature is that we make use of a dual-task methodology in our experiment. This design offers an abstraction of typical situations where viewers do not have their full attention focused on visualization (e.g., in meetings and lectures). The secondary task introduces "divided attention", and makes the effects of visual embellishments more observable. In addition, it also serves as additional masking in memory-based trials. The results of this study show that visual embellishments can help participants better remember the information depicted in visualization. On the other hand, visual embellishments can have a negative impact on the speed of visual search. The results show a complex pattern as to the benefits of visual embellishments in helping participants grasp key concepts from visualization.

A File Based Visualization of Software Evolution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voinea, S.L.; Telea, A.

2006-01-01

Software Configuration Management systems are important instruments for supporting development of large software projects. They accumulate large amounts of evolution data that can be used for process accounting and auditing. We study how visualization can help developers and managers to get insight

Visual explorer facilitator's guide

CERN Document Server

Palus, Charles J

2010-01-01

Grounded in research and practice, the Visual Explorer™ Facilitator's Guide provides a method for supporting collaborative, creative conversations about complex issues through the power of images. The guide is available as a component in the Visual Explorer Facilitator's Letter-sized Set, Visual Explorer Facilitator's Post card-sized Set, Visual Explorer Playing Card-sized Set, and is also available as a stand-alone title for purchase to assist multiple tool users in an organization.

Particle Track Visualization using the MCNP Visual Editor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarz, Randolph A.; Carter, Lee; Brown, Wendi A.

2001-01-01

The Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) visual editor1,2,3 is used throughout the world for displaying and creating complex MCNP geometries. The visual editor combines the Los Alamos MCNP Fortran code with a C front end to provide a visual interface. A big advantage of this approach is that the particle transport routines for MCNP are available to the visual front end. The latest release of the visual editor by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory enables the user to plot transport data points on top of a two-dimensional geometry plot. The user can plot source points, collisions points, surface crossings, and tally contributions. This capability can be used to show where particle collisions are occurring, verify the effectiveness of the particle biasing, or show which collisions contribute to a tally. For a KCODE (criticality source) calculation, the visual editor can be used to plot the source points for specific cycles

Expected and Realized Costs and Benefits from Implementing Product Configuration Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edwards, Kasper

2010-01-01

Product configuration systems (PCS) are a technology well suited for mass customization and support the task of configuring the product to the individual customer’s needs. PCS are at the same time complex software systems that may be tailored to solve a variety of problems for a firm, e.......g. supporting the quotation process or validating the structure of a product. This paper reports findings from a study of 12 Danish firms, which at the time of the study have implemented or are in the process of implementing product configuration systems. 12 costs and 12 benefits are identified in literature...... organization. It is observed that product configuration projects are treated as simple technical projects although they should be regarded as organizational change projects....

The Use of Modelling Methods for Product Configuration in Industrial Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Bonev, Martin; Haug, Anders

2014-01-01

reported. This article investigates the challenge on how industrial companies model their product CSs. The study is based on interviews of 18 industrial companies using CSs for configuring customer-tailored products. It investigates the relationship between using a structured modelling technique...... for modelling product families relative to less or no formal approaches. Furthermore, the study explores the specific characteristics of configuration set-ups with respect to size and complexity and their effect on product variant management and availability of product knowledge in organizations. The results......Developing product configuration system (CS) requires extracting and representing domain expert knowledge in appropriate product models. As acknowledged by researchers, this is often one of the most challenging activities in configuration projects, where only little empirical insights have yet been...

Coupling Visualization, Simulation, and Deep Learning for Ensemble Steering of Complex Energy Models: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potter, Kristin C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Brunhart-Lupo, Nicholas J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bush, Brian W [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gruchalla, Kenny M [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bugbee, Bruce [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Krishnan, Venkat K [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-10-09

We have developed a framework for the exploration, design, and planning of energy systems that combines interactive visualization with machine-learning based approximations of simulations through a general purpose dataflow API. Our system provides a visual inter- face allowing users to explore an ensemble of energy simulations representing a subset of the complex input parameter space, and spawn new simulations to 'fill in' input regions corresponding to new enegery system scenarios. Unfortunately, many energy simula- tions are far too slow to provide interactive responses. To support interactive feedback, we are developing reduced-form models via machine learning techniques, which provide statistically sound esti- mates of the full simulations at a fraction of the computational cost and which are used as proxies for the full-form models. Fast com- putation and an agile dataflow enhance the engagement with energy simulations, and allow researchers to better allocate computational resources to capture informative relationships within the system and provide a low-cost method for validating and quality-checking large-scale modeling efforts.

ICAROUS: Integrated Configurable Architecture for Unmanned Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Consiglio, Maria C.

2016-01-01

NASA's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims at enabling near-term, safe operations of small UAS vehicles in uncontrolled airspace, i.e., Class G airspace. A far-term goal of UTM research and development is to accommodate the expected rise in small UAS traffic density throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) at low altitudes for beyond visual line-of-sight operations. This video describes a new capability referred to as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems), which is being developed under the auspices of the UTM project. ICAROUS is a software architecture comprised of highly assured algorithms for building safety-centric, autonomous, unmanned aircraft applications. Central to the development of the ICAROUS algorithms is the use of well-established formal methods to guarantee higher levels of safety assurance by monitoring and bounding the behavior of autonomous systems. The core autonomy-enabling capabilities in ICAROUS include constraint conformance monitoring and autonomous detect and avoid functions. ICAROUS also provides a highly configurable user interface that enables the modular integration of mission-specific software components.

A highly versatile and easily configurable system for plant electrophysiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunsé, Benet; Poschenrieder, Charlotte; Rankl, Simone; Schröeder, Peter; Rodrigo-Moreno, Ana; Barceló, Juan

2016-01-01

In this study we present a highly versatile and easily configurable system for measuring plant electrophysiological parameters and ionic flow rates, connected to a computer-controlled highly accurate positioning device. The modular software used allows easy customizable configurations for the measurement of electrophysiological parameters. Both the operational tests and the experiments already performed have been fully successful and rendered a low noise and highly stable signal. Assembly, programming and configuration examples are discussed. The system is a powerful technique that not only gives precise measuring of plant electrophysiological status, but also allows easy development of ad hoc configurations that are not constrained to plant studies. •We developed a highly modular system for electrophysiology measurements that can be used either in organs or cells and performs either steady or dynamic intra- and extracellular measurements that takes advantage of the easiness of visual object-oriented programming.•High precision accuracy in data acquisition under electrical noisy environments that allows it to run even in a laboratory close to electrical equipment that produce electrical noise.•The system makes an improvement of the currently used systems for monitoring and controlling high precision measurements and micromanipulation systems providing an open and customizable environment for multiple experimental needs.

Patterns in the Pythagorean Configuration and Some Extensions: The Power of Interactive Geometry Software

Science.gov (United States)

Contreras, José

2015-01-01

In this paper I describe classroom experiences with pre-service secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs) investigating and extending patterns embedded in the Pythagorean configuration. This geometric figure is a fruitful source of mathematical tasks to help students, including PSMTs, further develop habits of mind such as visualization,…

Regression-based approach for testing the association between multi-region haplotype configuration and complex trait

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Hongbo

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background It is quite common that the genetic architecture of complex traits involves many genes and their interactions. Therefore, dealing with multiple unlinked genomic regions simultaneously is desirable. Results In this paper we develop a regression-based approach to assess the interactions of haplotypes that belong to different unlinked regions, and we use score statistics to test the null hypothesis of non-genetic association. Additionally, multiple marker combinations at each unlinked region are considered. The multiple tests are settled via the minP approach. The P value of the "best" multi-region multi-marker configuration is corrected via Monte-Carlo simulations. Through simulation studies, we assess the performance of the proposed approach and demonstrate its validity and power in testing for haplotype interaction association. Conclusion Our simulations showed that, for binary trait without covariates, our proposed methods prove to be equal and even more powerful than htr and hapcc which are part of the FAMHAP program. Additionally, our model can be applied to a wider variety of traits and allow adjustment for other covariates. To test the validity, our methods are applied to analyze the association between four unlinked candidate genes and pig meat quality.

Touching proteins with virtual bare hands - Visualizing protein-drug complexes and their dynamics in self-made virtual reality using gaming hardware

Science.gov (United States)

Ratamero, Erick Martins; Bellini, Dom; Dowson, Christopher G.; Römer, Rudolf A.

2018-06-01

The ability to precisely visualize the atomic geometry of the interactions between a drug and its protein target in structural models is critical in predicting the correct modifications in previously identified inhibitors to create more effective next generation drugs. It is currently common practice among medicinal chemists while attempting the above to access the information contained in three-dimensional structures by using two-dimensional projections, which can preclude disclosure of useful features. A more accessible and intuitive visualization of the three-dimensional configuration of the atomic geometry in the models can be achieved through the implementation of immersive virtual reality (VR). While bespoke commercial VR suites are available, in this work, we present a freely available software pipeline for visualising protein structures through VR. New consumer hardware, such as the uc(HTC Vive) and the uc(Oculus Rift) utilized in this study, are available at reasonable prices. As an instructive example, we have combined VR visualization with fast algorithms for simulating intramolecular motions of protein flexibility, in an effort to further improve structure-led drug design by exposing molecular interactions that might be hidden in the less informative static models. This is a paradigmatic test case scenario for many similar applications in computer-aided molecular studies and design.

Flow visualization techniques, new developments and modernization of the existing Schlieren system in the Trisonic Wind Tunnel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius PANAIT

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Schlieren flow visualization methods are an important part of high speed wind tunnel testing, being a fast and reliable method of graphically presenting complex dynamic phenomena that occur in high subsonic, transonic and supersonic regimes. Images can be processed and effects of configuration changes can be understood faster. Quantitative variations of the Schlieren method enable CFD simulations to use real data, resulting in greater precision and thus help improve efficiency of the re-design phase for the aerodynamic object. A modification of the classic Schlieren system is proposed, that would enable extraction of such data with minimal costs

High-performance execution of psychophysical tasks with complex visual stimuli in MATLAB

Science.gov (United States)

Asaad, Wael F.; Santhanam, Navaneethan; McClellan, Steven

2013-01-01

Behavioral, psychological, and physiological experiments often require the ability to present sensory stimuli, monitor and record subjects' responses, interface with a wide range of devices, and precisely control the timing of events within a behavioral task. Here, we describe our recent progress developing an accessible and full-featured software system for controlling such studies using the MATLAB environment. Compared with earlier reports on this software, key new features have been implemented to allow the presentation of more complex visual stimuli, increase temporal precision, and enhance user interaction. These features greatly improve the performance of the system and broaden its applicability to a wider range of possible experiments. This report describes these new features and improvements, current limitations, and quantifies the performance of the system in a real-world experimental setting. PMID:23034363

Matrix elements of the electric multiple transition and relativistic correction operators in the case of complex configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanyauskas, Yu.M.; Rudzikas, Z.B.

1976-01-01

Operators and their submatrix elements are studied in the framework of the electric multipole transitions of complex atoms with account of relativistic corrections of the order of the square of the fine structure constant. The analysis is performed by means of irreducible tensor operators and genealogical coefficients. It has been assumed that angular momenta of individual shells are coupled with each other according to ls, lk, jk and jj coupling. Formulas are given for the operator which causes the relativistic corrections for the single-electron multipole transition and for its submatrix element in the case of configurations with two unfilled shells. A possibility is discussed of using the formulas suggested for calculation. As follows from analysis, the relativistic correction operators even with the pure ls coupling allow intercombination transitions with ΔS equals +-1. The expressions obtained may turn out to be useful for performing calculations in the case of the intermediate type of coupling

Software configuration management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arribas Peces, E.; Martin Faraldo, P.

1993-01-01

Software Configuration Management is directed towards identifying system configuration at specific points of its life cycle, so as to control changes to the configuration and to maintain the integrity and traceability of the configuration throughout its life. SCM functions and tasks are presented in the paper

EDITORIAL: Focus on Visualization in Physics FOCUS ON VISUALIZATION IN PHYSICS

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Barry C.; Senden, Tim; Springel, Volker

2008-12-01

Advances in physics are intimately connected with developments in a new technology, the telescope, precision clocks, even the computer all have heralded a shift in thinking. These landmark developments open new opportunities accelerating research and in turn new scientific directions. These technological drivers often correspond to new instruments, but equally might just as well flag a new mathematical tool, an algorithm or even means to visualize physics in a new way. Early on in this twenty-first century, scientific communities are just starting to explore the potential of digital visualization. Whether visualization is used to represent and communicate complex concepts, or to understand and interpret experimental data, or to visualize solutions to complex dynamical equations, the basic tools of visualization are shared in each of these applications and implementations. High-performance computing exemplifies the integration of visualization with leading research. Visualization is an indispensable tool for analyzing and interpreting complex three-dimensional dynamics as well as to diagnose numerical problems in intricate parallel calculation algorithms. The effectiveness of visualization arises by exploiting the unmatched capability of the human eye and visual cortex to process the large information content of images. In a brief glance, we recognize patterns or identify subtle features even in noisy data, something that is difficult or impossible to achieve with more traditional forms of data analysis. Importantly, visualizations guide the intuition of researchers and help to comprehend physical phenomena that lie far outside of direct experience. In fact, visualizations literally allow us to see what would otherwise remain completely invisible. For example, artificial imagery created to visualize the distribution of dark matter in the Universe has been instrumental to develop the notion of a cosmic web, and for helping to establish the current standard model of

Improving Design Communication: Advanced Visualization

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Adeoye, Blessing

2001-01-01

.... While design professionals may use similar visual modes (lines, text, graphic symbols, etc.) to represent and communicate concepts in complex drawing tasks, similar visual modes may be used ambiguously across disciplines...

Visualizing the Indefinable: Three-Dimensional Complexity of ‘Infectious Diseases’

Science.gov (United States)

Leitner, Gabriel; Blum, Shlomo E.; Rivas, Ariel L.

2015-01-01

Background The words ‘infection’ and ‘inflammation’ lack specific definitions. Here, such words are not defined. Instead, the ability to visualize host-microbial interactions was explored. Methods Leukocyte differential counts and four bacterial species (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Staphylococcus chromogenes, and Escherichia coli) were determined or isolated in a cross-sectional and randomized study conducted with 611 bovine milk samples. Two paradigms were evaluated: (i) the classic one, which measures non-structured (count or percent) data; and (ii) a method that, using complex data structures, detects and differentiates three-dimensional (3D) interactions among lymphocytes (L), macrophages (M), and neutrophils (N). Results Classic analyses failed to differentiate bacterial-positive (B+) from –negative (B−) observations: B− and B+ data overlapped, even when statistical significance was achieved. In contrast, the alternative approach showed distinct patterns, such as perpendicular data inflections, which discriminated microbial-negative/mononuclear cell-predominating (MCP) from microbial-positive/phagocyte-predominating (PP) subsets. Two PP subcategories were distinguished, as well as PP/culture-negative (false-negative) and MCP/culture-positive (false-positive) observations. In 3D space, MCP and PP subsets were perpendicular to one another, displaying ≥91% specificity or sensitivity. Findings supported five inferences: (i) disease is not always ruled out by negative bacterial tests; (ii) low total cell counts can coexist with high phagocyte percents; (iii) neither positive bacterial isolation nor high cell counts always coincide with PP profiles; (iv) statistical significance is not synonymous with discrimination; and (v) hidden relationships cannot be detected when simple (non-structured) data formats are used and statistical analyses are performed before data subsets are identified, but can be uncovered when complexity is

The Visual Geophysical Exploration Environment: A Multi-dimensional Scientific Visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Pandya, R. E.; Domenico, B.; Murray, D.; Marlino, M. R.

2003-12-01

The Visual Geophysical Exploration Environment (VGEE) is an online learning environment designed to help undergraduate students understand fundamental Earth system science concepts. The guiding principle of the VGEE is the importance of hands-on interaction with scientific visualization and data. The VGEE consists of four elements: 1) an online, inquiry-based curriculum for guiding student exploration; 2) a suite of El Nino-related data sets adapted for student use; 3) a learner-centered interface to a scientific visualization tool; and 4) a set of concept models (interactive tools that help students understand fundamental scientific concepts). There are two key innovations featured in this interactive poster session. One is the integration of concept models and the visualization tool. Concept models are simple, interactive, Java-based illustrations of fundamental physical principles. We developed eight concept models and integrated them into the visualization tool to enable students to probe data. The ability to probe data using a concept model addresses the common problem of transfer: the difficulty students have in applying theoretical knowledge to everyday phenomenon. The other innovation is a visualization environment and data that are discoverable in digital libraries, and installed, configured, and used for investigations over the web. By collaborating with the Integrated Data Viewer developers, we were able to embed a web-launchable visualization tool and access to distributed data sets into the online curricula. The Thematic Real-time Environmental Data Distributed Services (THREDDS) project is working to provide catalogs of datasets that can be used in new VGEE curricula under development. By cataloging this curricula in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), learners and educators can discover the data and visualization tool within a framework that guides their use.

Category-specificity in visual object recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian

2009-01-01

Are all categories of objects recognized in the same manner visually? Evidence from neuropsychology suggests they are not: some brain damaged patients are more impaired in recognizing natural objects than artefacts whereas others show the opposite impairment. Category-effects have also been...... demonstrated in neurologically intact subjects, but the findings are contradictory and there is no agreement as to why category-effects arise. This article presents a Pre-semantic Account of Category Effects (PACE) in visual object recognition. PACE assumes two processing stages: shape configuration (the...... binding of shape elements into elaborate shape descriptions) and selection (among competing representations in visual long-term memory), which are held to be differentially affected by the structural similarity between objects. Drawing on evidence from clinical studies, experimental studies...

Working Environment and Software Configuration Management Assimiliation using Traceability Enhancement Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqbal, H.; Javed, A.; Majeed, M. N.

2015-01-01

Software Configuration Management (SCM) Systems are very useful in coordinating group effort in large and complex software systems. As a result of change in user requirement, market needs, tools, technology or new business goals emanate out, changes are continuously induced while developing the software product. For change management, Traceability technique and SCM are two prominent practices in the software development process. SCM helps in managing configuration items while traceability helps in tracing the knowledge about the configuration items. In this paper we propose a model of the SCM system with the working environment when changes are introduced in multiple artifacts and by which high quality products are developed. (author)

Visualization of numerically simulated aerodynamic flow fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hian, Q.L.; Damodaran, M.

1991-01-01

The focus of this paper is to describe the development and the application of an interactive integrated software to visualize numerically simulated aerodynamic flow fields so as to enable the practitioner of computational fluid dynamics to diagnose the numerical simulation and to elucidate essential flow physics from the simulation. The input to the software is the numerical database crunched by a supercomputer and typically consists of flow variables and computational grid geometry. This flow visualization system (FVS), written in C language is targetted at the Personal IRIS Workstations. In order to demonstrate the various visualization modules, the paper also describes the application of this software to visualize two- and three-dimensional flow fields past aerodynamic configurations which have been numerically simulated on the NEC-SXIA Supercomputer. 6 refs

Evidence of gradual loss of precision for simple features and complex objects in visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rademaker, Rosanne L; Park, Young Eun; Sack, Alexander T; Tong, Frank

2018-03-01

Previous studies have suggested that people can maintain prioritized items in visual working memory for many seconds, with negligible loss of information over time. Such findings imply that working memory representations are robust to the potential contaminating effects of internal noise. However, once visual information is encoded into working memory, one might expect it to inevitably begin degrading over time, as this actively maintained information is no longer tethered to the original perceptual input. Here, we examined this issue by evaluating working memory for single central presentations of an oriented grating, color patch, or face stimulus, across a range of delay periods (1, 3, 6, or 12 s). We applied a mixture-model analysis to distinguish changes in memory precision over time from changes in the frequency of outlier responses that resemble random guesses. For all 3 types of stimuli, participants exhibited a clear and consistent decline in the precision of working memory as a function of temporal delay, as well as a modest increase in guessing-related responses for colored patches and face stimuli. We observed a similar loss of precision over time while controlling for temporal distinctiveness. Our results demonstrate that visual working memory is far from lossless: while basic visual features and complex objects can be maintained in a quite stable manner over time, these representations are still subject to noise accumulation and complete termination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

VisComposer: A Visual Programmable Composition Environment for Information Visualization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Honghui Mei

2018-03-01

Full Text Available As the amount of data being collected has increased, the need for tools that can enable the visual exploration of data has also grown. This has led to the development of a variety of widely used programming frameworks for information visualization. Unfortunately, such frameworks demand comprehensive visualization and coding skills and require users to develop visualization from scratch. An alternative is to create interactive visualization design environments that require little to no programming. However, these tools only supports a small portion of visual forms.We present a programmable integrated development environment (IDE, VisComposer, that supports the development of expressive visualization using a drag-and-drop visual interface. VisComposer exposes the programmability by customizing desired components within a modularized visualization composition pipeline, effectively balancing the capability gap between expert coders and visualization artists. The implemented system empowers users to compose comprehensive visualizations with real-time preview and optimization features, and supports prototyping, sharing and reuse of the effects by means of an intuitive visual composer. Visual programming and textual programming integrated in our system allow users to compose more complex visual effects while retaining the simplicity of use. We demonstrate the performance of VisComposer with a variety of examples and an informal user evaluation. Keywords: Information Visualization, Visualization authoring, Interactive development environment

Statistical complexity without explicit reference to underlying probabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Pennini, F.; Plastino, A.

2018-06-01

We show that extremely simple systems of a not too large number of particles can be simultaneously thermally stable and complex. To such an end, we extend the statistical complexity's notion to simple configurations of non-interacting particles, without appeal to probabilities, and discuss configurational properties.

Complex scenes and situations visualization in hierarchical learning algorithm with dynamic 3D NeoAxis engine

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, James; Ternovskiy, Igor V.

2013-06-01

We applied a two stage unsupervised hierarchical learning system to model complex dynamic surveillance and cyber space monitoring systems using a non-commercial version of the NeoAxis visualization software. The hierarchical scene learning and recognition approach is based on hierarchical expectation maximization, and was linked to a 3D graphics engine for validation of learning and classification results and understanding the human - autonomous system relationship. Scene recognition is performed by taking synthetically generated data and feeding it to a dynamic logic algorithm. The algorithm performs hierarchical recognition of the scene by first examining the features of the objects to determine which objects are present, and then determines the scene based on the objects present. This paper presents a framework within which low level data linked to higher-level visualization can provide support to a human operator and be evaluated in a detailed and systematic way.

Hemodynamic comparison of stent configurations used for aortoiliac occlusive disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Groot Jebbink, Erik; Mathai, Varghese; Boersen, Johannes T; Sun, Chao; Slump, Cornelis H; Goverde, Peter C J M; Versluis, Michel; Reijnen, Michel M P J

2017-07-01

Endovascular treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease entails the use of multiple stents to reconstruct the aortic bifurcation. Different configurations have been applied and geometric variations exist, as quantified in previous work. Other studies concluded that specific stent geometry seems to affect patency. These variations may affect local flow patterns, resulting in different wall shear stress (WSS) and oscillating shear index (OSI). The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different stent configurations on flow perturbations (recirculation and fluid stasis), WSS, and OSI in an in vitro setup. Three different stent configurations were deployed in transparent silicone models: bare-metal kissing (BMK) stents, covered kissing (CK) stents, and the covered endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation (CERAB) configuration. Transparent covered stents were created with polyurethane to enable visualization. Models were placed in a circulation setup under physiologic flow conditions. Time-resolved laser particle image velocimetry techniques were used to quantify the flow, and WSS and OSI were calculated. The BMK configuration did not show flow disturbances at the inflow section, and WSS values were similar to the control. An area of persistent low flow was observed throughout the cardiac cycle in the area between the anatomic bifurcation and neobifurcation. The CK model showed recirculation zones near the inflow area of the stents with a resulting low average WSS value and high OSI. The proximal inflow of the CERAB configuration did not show flow disturbances, and WSS values were comparable to control. Near the inflow of the limbs, a minor zone of recirculation was observed without changes in WSS values. Flow, WSS, and OSI on the lateral wall of the proximal iliac artery were undisturbed in all models. The studied aortoiliac stent configurations have distinct locations where flow disturbances occur, and these are related to the radial mismatch

AppEEARS: A Simple Tool that Eases Complex Data Integration and Visualization Challenges for Users

Science.gov (United States)

Maiersperger, T.

2017-12-01

The Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis-Ready Samples (AppEEARS) offers a simple and efficient way to perform discovery, processing, visualization, and acquisition across large quantities and varieties of Earth science data. AppEEARS brings significant value to a very broad array of user communities by 1) significantly reducing data volumes, at-archive, based on user-defined space-time-variable subsets, 2) promoting interoperability across a wide variety of datasets via format and coordinate reference system harmonization, 3) increasing the velocity of both data analysis and insight by providing analysis-ready data packages and by allowing interactive visual exploration of those packages, and 4) ensuring veracity by making data quality measures more apparent and usable and by providing standards-based metadata and processing provenance. Development and operation of AppEEARS is led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC). The LP DAAC also partners with several other archives to extend the capability across a larger federation of geospatial data providers. Over one hundred datasets are currently available, covering a diversity of variables including land cover, population, elevation, vegetation indices, and land surface temperature. Many hundreds of users have already used this new web-based capability to make the complex tasks of data integration and visualization much simpler and more efficient.

CONFIGURATION GENERATOR MODEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alsaed, A.

2004-01-01

''The Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology Topical Report'' prescribes an approach to the methodology for performing postclosure criticality analyses within the monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. An essential component of the methodology is the ''Configuration Generator Model for In-Package Criticality'' that provides a tool to evaluate the probabilities of degraded configurations achieving a critical state. The configuration generator model is a risk-informed, performance-based process for evaluating the criticality potential of degraded configurations in the monitored geologic repository. The method uses event tree methods to define configuration classes derived from criticality scenarios and to identify configuration class characteristics (parameters, ranges, etc.). The probabilities of achieving the various configuration classes are derived in part from probability density functions for degradation parameters. The NRC has issued ''Safety Evaluation Report for Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology Topical Report, Revision 0''. That report contained 28 open items that required resolution through additional documentation. Of the 28 open items, numbers 5, 6, 9, 10, 18, and 19 were concerned with a previously proposed software approach to the configuration generator methodology and, in particular, the k eff regression analysis associated with the methodology. However, the use of a k eff regression analysis is not part of the current configuration generator methodology and, thus, the referenced open items are no longer considered applicable and will not be further addressed

Introduction to the Special Issue on Visual Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfe, Jeremy M

2014-01-01

Objects are not represented individually in visual working memory (VWM), but in relation to the contextual information provided by other memorized objects. We studied whether the contextual information provided by the spatial configuration of all memorized objects is viewpoint-dependent. We ran two experiments asking participants to detect changes in locations between memory and probe for one object highlighted in the probe image. We manipulated the changes in viewpoint between memory and probe (Exp. 1: 0°, 30°, 60°; Exp. 2: 0°, 60°), as well as the spatial configuration visible in the probe image (Exp. 1: full configuration, partial configuration; Exp. 2: full configuration, no configuration). Location change detection was higher with the full spatial configuration than with the partial configuration or with no spatial configuration at viewpoint changes of 0°, thus replicating previous findings on the nonindependent representations of individual objects in VWM. Most importantly, the effect of spatial configurations decreased with increasing viewpoint changes, suggesting a viewpoint-dependent representation of contextual information in VWM. We discuss these findings within the context of this special issue, in particular whether research performed within the slots-versus-resources debate and research on the effects of contextual information might focus on two different storage systems within VWM. PMID:25341647

A documentation tool for product configuration systems - improving the documentation task

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Jensen, Klaes Ladeby

2005-01-01

's experience with the procedure and the hitherto empirical experience from companies having applied the procedure have revealed that there is a need for an IT-based docu-mentation tool to support the process of constructing product configuration systems. Time can be saved by letting a documentation tool handle......Configuration systems are increasingly applied to automate the configuration of complex products. A configuration system is an expert system designed to combine specified modules according to constraints. The constraints are stored as product data and rules in a product model, and one of the most...... essential tasks is thus to develop a complete and consistent product model which can reflect the actual product. A procedure for building product models has been developed at the Centre for Product Modelling (CPM), and the pro-cedure has been successfully applied in several industrial companies. CPM...

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Block Design broken configuration errors in nonpenetrating traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilde, M C; Boake, C; Sherer, M

2000-01-01

Final broken configuration errors on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981) Block Design subtest were examined in 50 moderate and severe nonpenetrating traumatically brain injured adults. Patients were divided into left (n = 15) and right hemisphere (n = 19) groups based on a history of unilateral craniotomy for treatment of an intracranial lesion and were compared to a group with diffuse or negative brain CT scan findings and no history of neurosurgery (n = 16). The percentage of final broken configuration errors was related to injury severity, Benton Visual Form Discrimination Test (VFD; Benton, Hamsher, Varney, & Spreen, 1983) total score and the number of VFD rotation and peripheral errors. The percentage of final broken configuration errors was higher in the patients with right craniotomies than in the left or no craniotomy groups, which did not differ. Broken configuration errors did not occur more frequently on designs without an embedded grid pattern. Right craniotomy patients did not show a greater percentage of broken configuration errors on nongrid designs as compared to grid designs.

Integrating configuration workflows with project management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsen, Dimitri; Weber, Pavel

2014-01-01

The complexity of the heterogeneous computing resources, services and recurring infrastructure changes at the GridKa WLCG Tier-1 computing center require a structured approach to configuration management and optimization of interplay between functional components of the whole system. A set of tools deployed at GridKa, including Puppet, Redmine, Foreman, SVN and Icinga, provides the administrative environment giving the possibility to define and develop configuration workflows, reduce the administrative effort and improve sustainable operation of the whole computing center. In this presentation we discuss the developed configuration scenarios implemented at GridKa, which we use for host installation, service deployment, change management procedures, service retirement etc. The integration of Puppet with a project management tool like Redmine provides us with the opportunity to track problem issues, organize tasks and automate these workflows. The interaction between Puppet and Redmine results in automatic updates of the issues related to the executed workflow performed by different system components. The extensive configuration workflows require collaboration and interaction between different departments like network, security, production etc. at GridKa. Redmine plugins developed at GridKa and integrated in its administrative environment provide an effective way of collaboration within the GridKa team. We present the structural overview of the software components, their connections, communication protocols and show a few working examples of the workflows and their automation.

Improving car drivers' perception of motorcycle motion through innovative headlight configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallo, Viola; Ranchet, Maud; Pinto, Maria; Espié, Stéphane; Vienne, Fabrice; Dang, Nguyen-Thong

2015-08-01

The most frequent cause of motorcycle accidents occurs when another vehicle violates the motorcycle's right-of-way at an intersection. In addition to detection errors, misperception of the approaching motorcycle's speed and time-to-arrival is another driver error that accounts for these accidents, although this error has been studied less often. Such misperceptions have been shown to be related to the small size of motorcycles and to their small angular velocity when approaching. In two experiments we tested the impact of different motorcycle headlight configurations in various ambient lighting conditions (daytime, dusk, and nighttime). The participants drove on a driving simulator and had to turn left across a line of vehicles composed of motorcycles and cars. The motorcycles were approaching at different speeds and were equipped with either a "standard" headlight, a "horizontal" configuration (added to the standard headlight were two lights on the rearview mirrors so as to visually increase the horizontal dimension of the motorcycle), a "vertical" configuration (one light on the rider's helmet and two lights on the fork were added to the standard headlight so as to increase the vertical dimension of the motorcycle), or a "combined" configuration (combining the horizontal and vertical configurations). The findings of the first experiment in nighttime conditions indicated that both the vertical and combined configurations significantly increased the gap car drivers accepted with respect to the motorcycle as compared to the standard configuration, and that the accepted gaps did not differ significantly from those accepted for cars. The advantage of the vertical and combined configurations showed up especially when the motorcycle's approach speed was high. The findings of the second experiment in dusk and daytime conditions indicated similar patterns, but the headlight-configuration effect was less pronounced at dusk, and nonsignificant during the day. The results

Enhanced conformational sampling to visualize a free-energy landscape of protein complex formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Iida, Shinji; Nakamura, Haruki; Higo, Junichi

2016-06-15

We introduce various, recently developed, generalized ensemble methods, which are useful to sample various molecular configurations emerging in the process of protein-protein or protein-ligand binding. The methods introduced here are those that have been or will be applied to biomolecular binding, where the biomolecules are treated as flexible molecules expressed by an all-atom model in an explicit solvent. Sampling produces an ensemble of conformations (snapshots) that are thermodynamically probable at room temperature. Then, projection of those conformations to an abstract low-dimensional space generates a free-energy landscape. As an example, we show a landscape of homo-dimer formation of an endothelin-1-like molecule computed using a generalized ensemble method. The lowest free-energy cluster at room temperature coincided precisely with the experimentally determined complex structure. Two minor clusters were also found in the landscape, which were largely different from the native complex form. Although those clusters were isolated at room temperature, with rising temperature a pathway emerged linking the lowest and second-lowest free-energy clusters, and a further temperature increment connected all the clusters. This exemplifies that the generalized ensemble method is a powerful tool for computing the free-energy landscape, by which one can discuss the thermodynamic stability of clusters and the temperature dependence of the cluster networks. © 2016 The Author(s).

Neural pathways for visual speech perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynne E Bernstein

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the questions, what levels of speech can be perceived visually, and how is visual speech represented by the brain? Review of the literature leads to the conclusions that every level of psycholinguistic speech structure (i.e., phonetic features, phonemes, syllables, words, and prosody can be perceived visually, although individuals differ in their abilities to do so; and that there are visual modality-specific representations of speech qua speech in higher-level vision brain areas. That is, the visual system represents the modal patterns of visual speech. The suggestion that the auditory speech pathway receives and represents visual speech is examined in light of neuroimaging evidence on the auditory speech pathways. We outline the generally agreed-upon organization of the visual ventral and dorsal pathways and examine several types of visual processing that might be related to speech through those pathways, specifically, face and body, orthography, and sign language processing. In this context, we examine the visual speech processing literature, which reveals widespread diverse patterns activity in posterior temporal cortices in response to visual speech stimuli. We outline a model of the visual and auditory speech pathways and make several suggestions: (1 The visual perception of speech relies on visual pathway representations of speech qua speech. (2 A proposed site of these representations, the temporal visual speech area (TVSA has been demonstrated in posterior temporal cortex, ventral and posterior to multisensory posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS. (3 Given that visual speech has dynamic and configural features, its representations in feedforward visual pathways are expected to integrate these features, possibly in TVSA.

Proposed Novel Multiphase-Multilevel Inverter Configuration for Open-End Winding Loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Padamanaban, Sanjeevi Kumar; Wheeler, Patrick; Blaabjerg, Frede

2016-01-01

This paper presents a new multiphase-multilevel inverter configuration for open-winding loads and suitable for medium power (low-voltage/high-current) applications such as `More Electric Aircraft'. Modular structure comprised of standard dual three-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) along with one...... is developed in this work and overcomes the complexity of standard space vector modulations, easy for real implementation purposes in digital processors. Proposed six-phase multilevel inverter configuration generates multilevel outputs with benefit in comprises with standard multilevel inverter topologies...

Contextual interactions in grating plaid configurations are explained by natural image statistics and neural modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Udo Alexander Ernst

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Processing natural scenes requires the visual system to integrate local features into global object descriptions. To achieve coherent representations, the human brain uses statistical dependencies to guide weighting of local feature conjunctions. Pairwise interactions among feature detectors in early visual areas may form the early substrate of these local feature bindings. To investigate local interaction structures in visual cortex, we combined psychophysical experiments with computational modeling and natural scene analysis. We first measured contrast thresholds for 2x2 grating patch arrangements (plaids, which differed in spatial frequency composition (low, high or mixed, number of grating patch co-alignments (0, 1 or 2, and inter-patch distances (1° and 2° of visual angle. Contrast thresholds for the different configurations were compared to the prediction of probability summation (PS among detector families tuned to the four retinal positions. For 1° distance the thresholds for all configurations were larger than predicted by PS, indicating inhibitory interactions. For 2° distance, thresholds were significantly lower compared to PS when the plaids were homogeneous in spatial frequency and orientation, but not when spatial frequencies were mixed or there was at least one misalignment. Next, we constructed a neural population model with horizontal laminar structure, which reproduced the detection thresholds after adaptation of connection weights. Consistent with prior work, contextual interactions were medium-range inhibition and long-range, orientation-specific excitation. However, inclusion of orientation-specific, inhibitory interactions between populations with different spatial frequency preferences were crucial for explaining detection thresholds. Finally, for all plaid configurations we computed their likelihood of occurrence in natural images. The likelihoods turned out to be inversely related to the detection thresholds obtained

Onset of pseudo-thermal equilibrium within configurations and super-configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busquet, Michel

2006-01-01

Level populations within a configuration and configuration populations within super-configuration or within one ion are shown to follow a Boltzmann law at some effective temperature different from the actual electron temperature (as it would be when Griem criterion is valid). Origin of this pseudo-thermal equilibrium is discussed and basis of a model are presented

Onset of pseudo-thermal equilibrium within configurations and super-configurations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busquet, Michel [ARTEP Inc., 2922 Excelsior Springs Court, Elicott City, MD 21042 (United States)]. E-mail: busquet@this.nrl.navy.mil

2006-05-15

Level populations within a configuration and configuration populations within super-configuration or within one ion are shown to follow a Boltzmann law at some effective temperature different from the actual electron temperature (as it would be when Griem criterion is valid). Origin of this pseudo-thermal equilibrium is discussed and basis of a model are presented.

Exploring the Impact of Visual Complexity Levels in 3d City Models on the Accuracy of Individuals' Orientation and Cognitive Maps

Science.gov (United States)

Rautenbach, V.; Çöltekin, A.; Coetzee, S.

2015-08-01

In this paper we report results from a qualitative user experiment (n=107) designed to contribute to understanding the impact of various levels of complexity (mainly based on levels of detail, i.e., LoD) in 3D city models, specifically on the participants' orientation and cognitive (mental) maps. The experiment consisted of a number of tasks motivated by spatial cognition theory where participants (among other things) were given orientation tasks, and in one case also produced sketches of a path they `travelled' in a virtual environment. The experiments were conducted in groups, where individuals provided responses on an answer sheet. The preliminary results based on descriptive statistics and qualitative sketch analyses suggest that very little information (i.e., a low LoD model of a smaller area) might have a negative impact on the accuracy of cognitive maps constructed based on a virtual experience. Building an accurate cognitive map is an inherently desired effect of the visualizations in planning tasks, thus the findings are important for understanding how to develop better-suited 3D visualizations such as 3D city models. In this study, we specifically discuss the suitability of different levels of visual complexity for development planning (urban planning), one of the domains where 3D city models are most relevant.

Visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Karla K; Horowitz, Todd S; Howe, Piers; Pedersini, Roccardo; Reijnen, Ester; Pinto, Yair; Kuzmova, Yoana; Wolfe, Jeremy M

2011-09-01

A typical visual scene we encounter in everyday life is complex and filled with a huge amount of perceptual information. The term, 'visual attention' describes a set of mechanisms that limit some processing to a subset of incoming stimuli. Attentional mechanisms shape what we see and what we can act upon. They allow for concurrent selection of some (preferably, relevant) information and inhibition of other information. This selection permits the reduction of complexity and informational overload. Selection can be determined both by the 'bottom-up' saliency of information from the environment and by the 'top-down' state and goals of the perceiver. Attentional effects can take the form of modulating or enhancing the selected information. A central role for selective attention is to enable the 'binding' of selected information into unified and coherent representations of objects in the outside world. In the overview on visual attention presented here we review the mechanisms and consequences of selection and inhibition over space and time. We examine theoretical, behavioral and neurophysiologic work done on visual attention. We also discuss the relations between attention and other cognitive processes such as automaticity and awareness. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 503-514 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.127 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Critical visualization: a case for rethinking how we visualize risk and security

OpenAIRE

Hall, Peter; Heath, Claude; Coles-Kemp, Lizzie

2015-01-01

In an era of high-profile hacks, information leaks and cybercrime, cybersecurity is the focus of much corporate and state-funded research. Data visualization is regarded as an important tool in the detection and prediction of risk and vulnerability in cybersecurity, but discussion tends to remain at the level of the usability of visualization tools and how to reduce the cognitive load on the consumers of the visualizations. This focus is rooted in a desire to simplify the complexity of cybers...

Configurational entropy change of netropsin and distamycin upon DNA minor-groove binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolenc, Jozica; Baron, Riccardo; Oostenbrink, Chris; Koller, Joze; van Gunsteren, Wilfred F

2006-08-15

Binding of a small molecule to a macromolecular target reduces its conformational freedom, resulting in a negative entropy change that opposes the binding. The goal of this study is to estimate the configurational entropy change of two minor-groove-binding ligands, netropsin and distamycin, upon binding to the DNA duplex d(CGCGAAAAACGCG).d(CGCGTTTTTCGCG). Configurational entropy upper bounds based on 10-ns molecular dynamics simulations of netropsin and distamycin in solution and in complex with DNA in solution were estimated using the covariance matrix of atom-positional fluctuations. The results suggest that netropsin and distamycin lose a significant amount of configurational entropy upon binding to the DNA minor groove. The estimated changes in configurational entropy for netropsin and distamycin are -127 J K(-1) mol(-1) and -104 J K(-1) mol(-1), respectively. Estimates of the configurational entropy contributions of parts of the ligands are presented, showing that the loss of configurational entropy is comparatively more pronounced for the flexible tails than for the relatively rigid central body.

Examining Practice in Secondary Visual Arts Education

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Donna Mathewson

2015-01-01

Teaching in secondary visual arts classrooms is complex and challenging work. While it is implicated in much research, the complexity of the lived experience of secondary visual arts teaching has rarely been the subject of sustained and synthesized research. In this paper, the potential of practice as a concept to examine and represent secondary…

Ansible configuration management

CERN Document Server

Hall, Daniel

2013-01-01

Ansible Configuration Management"" is a step-by-step tutorial that teaches the use of Ansible for configuring Linux machines.This book is intended for anyone looking to understand the basics of Ansible. It is expected that you will have some experience of how to set up and configure Linux machines. In parts of the book we cover configuration files of BIND, MySQL, and other Linux daemons, therefore a working knowledge of these would be helpful but are certainly not required.

Scoping a Product Configuration Project for Engineer-to-Order Companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shafiee, Sara; Hvam, Lars; Bonev, Martin

2014-01-01

When implementing a product configuration system in a company making complex and highly engineered products, many decisions need to be made in the early phases of the project. This article presents a framework for supporting the initial scoping process and discusses experiences from applying...

Visual PEF Reader - VIPER

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Victor; Khanampornpan, Teerapat; Boehmer, Rudy A.; Kim, Rachel Y.

2011-01-01

This software graphically displays all pertinent information from a Predicted Events File (PEF) using the Java Swing framework, which allows for multi-platform support. The PEF is hard to weed through when looking for specific information and it is a desire for the MRO (Mars Reconn aissance Orbiter) Mission Planning & Sequencing Team (MPST) to have a different way to visualize the data. This tool will provide the team with a visual way of reviewing and error-checking the sequence product. The front end of the tool contains much of the aesthetically appealing material for viewing. The time stamp is displayed in the top left corner, and highlighted details are displayed in the bottom left corner. The time bar stretches along the top of the window, and the rest of the space is allotted for blocks and step functions. A preferences window is used to control the layout of the sections along with the ability to choose color and size of the blocks. Double-clicking on a block will show information contained within the block. Zooming into a certain level will graphically display that information as an overlay on the block itself. Other functions include using hotkeys to navigate, an option to jump to a specific time, enabling a vertical line, and double-clicking to zoom in/out. The back end involves a configuration file that allows a more experienced user to pre-define the structure of a block, a single event, or a step function. The individual will have to determine what information is important within each block and what actually defines the beginning and end of a block. This gives the user much more flexibility in terms of what the tool is searching for. In addition to the configurability, all the settings in the preferences window are saved in the configuration file as well

Risk-based configuration control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szikszai, T.

1997-01-01

The presentation discusses the following issues: The Configuration Control; The Risk-based Configuration Control (during power operation mode, and during shutdown mode). PSA requirements. Use of Risk-based Configuration Control System. Configuration Management (basic elements, benefits, information requirements)

Enhanced visual performance in obsessive compulsive personality disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, Zohreh; Fadardi, Javad Salehi

2016-12-01

Visual performance is considered as commanding modality in human perception. We tested whether Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) people do differently in visual performance tasks than people without OCPD. One hundred ten students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and non-student participants were tested by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II), among whom 18 (mean age = 29.55; SD = 5.26; 84% female) met the criteria for OCPD classification; controls were 20 persons (mean age = 27.85; SD = 5.26; female = 84%), who did not met the OCPD criteria. Both groups were tested on a modified Flicker task for two dimensions of visual performance (i.e., visual acuity: detecting the location of change, complexity, and size; and visual contrast sensitivity). The OCPD group had responded more accurately on pairs related to size, complexity, and contrast, but spent more time to detect a change on pairs related to complexity and contrast. The OCPD individuals seem to have more accurate visual performance than non-OCPD controls. The findings support the relationship between personality characteristics and visual performance within the framework of top-down processing model. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Promoting Visualization Skills through Deconstruction Using Physical Models and a Visualization Activity Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Schiltz, Holly Kristine

Visualization skills are important in learning chemistry, as these skills have been shown to correlate to high ability in problem solving. Students' understanding of visual information and their problem-solving processes may only ever be accessed indirectly: verbalization, gestures, drawings, etc. In this research, deconstruction of complex visual concepts was aligned with the promotion of students' verbalization of visualized ideas to teach students to solve complex visual tasks independently. All instructional tools and teaching methods were developed in accordance with the principles of the theoretical framework, the Modeling Theory of Learning: deconstruction of visual representations into model components, comparisons to reality, and recognition of students' their problemsolving strategies. Three physical model systems were designed to provide students with visual and tangible representations of chemical concepts. The Permanent Reflection Plane Demonstration provided visual indicators that students used to support or invalidate the presence of a reflection plane. The 3-D Coordinate Axis system provided an environment that allowed students to visualize and physically enact symmetry operations in a relevant molecular context. The Proper Rotation Axis system was designed to provide a physical and visual frame of reference to showcase multiple symmetry elements that students must identify in a molecular model. Focus groups of students taking Inorganic chemistry working with the physical model systems demonstrated difficulty documenting and verbalizing processes and descriptions of visual concepts. Frequently asked student questions were classified, but students also interacted with visual information through gestures and model manipulations. In an effort to characterize how much students used visualization during lecture or recitation, we developed observation rubrics to gather information about students' visualization artifacts and examined the effect instructors

Inhibition drives configural superiority of illusory Gestalt: Combined behavioral and drift-diffusion model evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Qi-Yang; Maurer, Mara; Müller, Hermann J; Conci, Markus

2016-05-01

Illusory Kanizsa figures demonstrate that a perceptually completed whole is more than the sum of its composite parts. In the current study, we explored part/whole relationships in object completion using the configural superiority effect (CSE) with illusory figures (Pomerantz & Portillo, 2011). In particular, we investigated to which extent the CSE is modulated by closure in target and distractor configurations. Our results demonstrated a typical CSE, with detection of a configural whole being more efficient than the detection of a corresponding part-level target. Moreover, the CSE was more pronounced when grouped objects were presented in distractors rather than in the target. A follow-up experiment systematically manipulated closure in whole target or, respectively, distractor configurations. The results revealed the effect of closure to be again stronger in distractor, rather than in target configurations, suggesting that closure primarily affects the inhibition of distractors, and to a lesser extent the selection of the target. In addition, a drift-diffusion model analysis of our data revealed that efficient distractor inhibition expedites the rate of evidence accumulation, with closure in distractors particularly speeding the drift toward the decision boundary. In sum, our findings demonstrate that the CSE in Kanizsa figures derives primarily from the inhibition of closed distractor objects, rather than being driven by a conspicuous target configuration. Altogether, these results support a fundamental role of inhibition in driving configural superiority effects in visual search. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conceptual Modelling for Product Configuration Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shafiee, Sara

Individual customization of goods and processes in different industries leads to complexity due to a growing mix of products both regarding characteristics of products and support services. In order to eliminate complexity and challenges in product/process customizing, smart IT systems called...... Product Configuration Systems (PCS), have been proposed as the solution both by researchers and practitioners and various benefits are mentioned from utilizing PCSs. Based on the latest literature, there are challenges reported in all phases of PCS projects including planning, development......, and documentation. Moreover, the challenges become more serious when it involves complicated products/processes in engineer-to-order (ETO) companies. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the existing knowledge of managing PCS projects by proposing frameworks and tools to address some of the main...

HR professionals exploring cooperative configurational human resource management using a serious game: what do they miss?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Collou, Luuk Dirk; Bruinsma, Guido Wybe Jan; van Riemsdijk, Maarten

2017-01-01

Configurational thinking in HRM is expected to increase understanding of the HRM-firm performance link and potentially aid HR professionals in the complex task of designing effective HRM. Here, we specify configurational theory in HRM to a level of detail that has been lacking. We present two

No evidence for surface organization in Kanizsa configurations during continuous flash suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Moors, Pieter; Wagemans, Johan; van Ee, Raymond; de-Wit, Lee

2016-04-01

Does one need to be aware of a visual stimulus for it to be perceptually organized into a coherent whole? The answer to this question regarding the interplay between Gestalts and visual awareness remains unclear. Using interocular suppression as the paradigm for rendering stimuli invisible, conflicting evidence has been obtained as to whether the traditional Kanizsa surface is constructed during interocular suppression. While Sobel and Blake (2003) and Harris, Schwarzkopf, Song, Bahrami, and Rees (2011) failed to find evidence for this, Wang, Weng, and He (2012) showed that standard configurations of Kanizsa pacmen would break interocular suppression faster than their rotated counterparts. In the current study, we replicated the findings by Wang et al. (2012) but show that neither an account based on the construction of a surface nor one based on the long-range collinearities in the standard Kanizsa configuration stimulus could fully explain the difference in breakthrough times. We discuss these findings in the context of differences in the amplitudes of the Fourier orientation spectra for all stimulus types. Thus, we find no evidence that the integration of separate elements takes place during interocular suppression of Kanizsa stimuli, suggesting that this Gestalt involving figure-ground assignment is not constructed when rendered nonconscious using interocular suppression.

Storytelling and Visualization: An Extended Survey

OpenAIRE

Chao Tong; Richard Roberts; Rita Borgo; Sean Walton; Robert S. Laramee; Kodzo Wegba; Aidong Lu; Yun Wang; Huamin Qu; Qiong Luo; Xiaojuan Ma

2018-01-01

Throughout history, storytelling has been an effective way of conveying information and knowledge. In the field of visualization, storytelling is rapidly gaining momentum and evolving cutting-edge techniques that enhance understanding. Many communities have commented on the importance of storytelling in data visualization. Storytellers tend to be integrating complex visualizations into their narratives in growing numbers. In this paper, we present a survey of storytelling literature in visual...

Modulation of the Singlet Oxygen Generation from the Double Strand DNA-SYBR Green I Complex Mediated by T-Melamine-T Mismatch for Visual Detection of Melamine.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Hao; Zhang, Jinyi; Ding, Yu; Zhang, Xinfeng; Xu, Kailai; Hou, Xiandeng; Wu, Peng

2017-05-02

Singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), generated via photosensitization, has been proved to oxidize chromogenic substrates with neither H 2 O 2 oxidation nor enzyme (horseradish peroxidase, HRP) catalysis. Of the various methods for modulation of the 1 O 2 generation, DNA-controlled photosensitization received great attention. Therefore, integration of the formation/deformation DNA structures with DNA-controlled photosensitization will be extremely appealing in visual biosensor developments. Here, the stable melamine-thymine complex was explored in combination with DNA-controlled photosensitization for visual detection of melamine. A T-rich single stand DNA was utilized as the recognition unit. Upon the formation of the T-M-T complex, double stand DNA was formed, which was ready for the binding of SYBR Green I and activated the photosensitization. Subsequent oxidation of TMB allowed visual detection of melamine in dairy products, with spike-recoveries ranging from 94% to 106%.

Composite Configuration Interventional Therapy Robot for the Microwave Ablation of Liver Tumors

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Ying-Yu; Xue, Long; Qi, Bo-Jin; Jiang, Li-Pei; Deng, Shuang-Cheng; Liang, Ping; Liu, Jia

2017-11-01

The existing interventional therapy robots for the microwave ablation of liver tumors have a poor clinical applicability with a large volume, low positioning speed and complex automatic navigation control. To solve above problems, a composite configuration interventional therapy robot with passive and active joints is developed. The design of composite configuration reduces the size of the robot under the premise of a wide range of movement, and the robot with composite configuration can realizes rapid positioning with operation safety. The cumulative error of positioning is eliminated and the control complexity is reduced by decoupling active parts. The navigation algorithms for the robot are proposed based on solution of the inverse kinematics and geometric analysis. A simulation clinical test method is designed for the robot, and the functions of the robot and the navigation algorithms are verified by the test method. The mean error of navigation is 1.488 mm and the maximum error is 2.056 mm, and the positioning time for the ablation needle is in 10 s. The experimental results show that the designed robot can meet the clinical requirements for the microwave ablation of liver tumors. The composite configuration is proposed in development of the interventional therapy robot for the microwave ablation of liver tumors, which provides a new idea for the structural design of medical robots.

Innovative configurations of electrochemical DNA biosensors (a review)

OpenAIRE

Girousi, Stella; Karastogianni, Sofia; Serpi, Constantina

2011-01-01

In the field of electrochemical biosensing, transition metal complexes achieved a significant importance as hybridization indicators or electroactive markers of DNA. Their incorporation in electro-chemical DNA biosensors enables to offer a promising perspective in understanding of the biological activity of some chemical compounds. In this context, the development of innovative configurations of electrochemical DNA biosensors applied to life sciences during the last years were reviewed ...

Training complexity is not decisive factor for improving adaptation to visual sensory conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yang; Pu, Fang; Li, Shuyu; Li, Yan; Li, Deyu; Fan, Yubo

2012-01-01

Ground-based preflight training utilizing unusual visual stimuli is useful for decreasing the susceptibility to space motion sickness (SMS). The effectiveness of the sensorimotor adaptation training is affected by the training tasks, but what kind of task is more effective remains unknown. Whether the complexity is the decisive factor to consider for designing the training and if other factors are more important need to be analyzed. The results from the analysis can help to optimize the preflight training tasks for astronauts. Twenty right-handed subjects were asked to draw the right path of 45° rotated maze before and after 30 min training. Subjects wore an up-down reversing prism spectacle in test and training sessions. Two training tasks were performed: drawing the right path of the horizontal maze (complex task but with different orientation feature) and drawing the L-shape lines (easy task with same orientation feature). The error rate and the executing time were measured during the test. Paired samples t test was used to compare the effects of the two training tasks. After each training, the error rate and the executing time were significantly decreased. However, the training effectiveness of the easy task was better as the test was finished more quickly and accurately. The complexity is not always the decisive factor for designing the adaptation training task, e.g. the orientation feature is more important in this study. In order to accelerate the adaptation and to counter SMS, the task for astronauts preflight adaptation training could be simple activities with the key features.

Enabling System Evolution through Configuration Management on the Hardware/Software Boundary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krikhaar, R.L.; Mosterman, W.; Veerman, N.P.; Verhoef, C.

2009-01-01

As the use of software and electronics in modern products is omnipresent and continuously increasing, companies in the embedded systems industry face increasing complexity in controlling and enabling the evolution of their IT-intensive products. Traditionally, product configurations and their

Hawk eyes I: diurnal raptors differ in visual fields and degree of eye movement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colleen T O'Rourke

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Different strategies to search and detect prey may place specific demands on sensory modalities. We studied visual field configuration, degree of eye movement, and orbit orientation in three diurnal raptors belonging to the Accipitridae and Falconidae families. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used an ophthalmoscopic reflex technique and an integrated 3D digitizer system. We found inter-specific variation in visual field configuration and degree of eye movement, but not in orbit orientation. Red-tailed Hawks have relatively small binocular areas (∼33° and wide blind areas (∼82°, but intermediate degree of eye movement (∼5°, which underscores the importance of lateral vision rather than binocular vision to scan for distant prey in open areas. Cooper's Hawks' have relatively wide binocular fields (∼36°, small blind areas (∼60°, and high degree of eye movement (∼8°, which may increase visual coverage and enhance prey detection in closed habitats. Additionally, we found that Cooper's Hawks can visually inspect the items held in the tip of the bill, which may facilitate food handling. American Kestrels have intermediate-sized binocular and lateral areas that may be used in prey detection at different distances through stereopsis and motion parallax; whereas the low degree eye movement (∼1° may help stabilize the image when hovering above prey before an attack. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that: (a there are between-species differences in visual field configuration in these diurnal raptors; (b these differences are consistent with prey searching strategies and degree of visual obstruction in the environment (e.g., open and closed habitats; (c variations in the degree of eye movement between species appear associated with foraging strategies; and (d the size of the binocular and blind areas in hawks can vary substantially due to eye movements. Inter-specific variation in visual fields and eye movements can influence

Hawk eyes I: diurnal raptors differ in visual fields and degree of eye movement.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Rourke, Colleen T; Hall, Margaret I; Pitlik, Todd; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban

2010-09-22

Different strategies to search and detect prey may place specific demands on sensory modalities. We studied visual field configuration, degree of eye movement, and orbit orientation in three diurnal raptors belonging to the Accipitridae and Falconidae families. We used an ophthalmoscopic reflex technique and an integrated 3D digitizer system. We found inter-specific variation in visual field configuration and degree of eye movement, but not in orbit orientation. Red-tailed Hawks have relatively small binocular areas (∼33°) and wide blind areas (∼82°), but intermediate degree of eye movement (∼5°), which underscores the importance of lateral vision rather than binocular vision to scan for distant prey in open areas. Cooper's Hawks' have relatively wide binocular fields (∼36°), small blind areas (∼60°), and high degree of eye movement (∼8°), which may increase visual coverage and enhance prey detection in closed habitats. Additionally, we found that Cooper's Hawks can visually inspect the items held in the tip of the bill, which may facilitate food handling. American Kestrels have intermediate-sized binocular and lateral areas that may be used in prey detection at different distances through stereopsis and motion parallax; whereas the low degree eye movement (∼1°) may help stabilize the image when hovering above prey before an attack. We conclude that: (a) there are between-species differences in visual field configuration in these diurnal raptors; (b) these differences are consistent with prey searching strategies and degree of visual obstruction in the environment (e.g., open and closed habitats); (c) variations in the degree of eye movement between species appear associated with foraging strategies; and (d) the size of the binocular and blind areas in hawks can vary substantially due to eye movements. Inter-specific variation in visual fields and eye movements can influence behavioral strategies to visually search for and track prey while

Low-complex energy-aware image communication in visual sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Phamila, Yesudhas Asnath Victy; Amutha, Ramachandran

2013-10-01

A low-complex, low bit rate, energy-efficient image compression algorithm explicitly designed for resource-constrained visual sensor networks applied for surveillance, battle field, habitat monitoring, etc. is presented, where voluminous amount of image data has to be communicated over a bandwidth-limited wireless medium. The proposed method overcomes the energy limitation of individual nodes and is investigated in terms of image quality, entropy, processing time, overall energy consumption, and system lifetime. This algorithm is highly energy efficient and extremely fast since it applies energy-aware zonal binary discrete cosine transform (DCT) that computes only the few required significant coefficients and codes them using enhanced complementary Golomb Rice code without using any floating point operations. Experiments are performed using the Atmel Atmega128 and MSP430 processors to measure the resultant energy savings. Simulation results show that the proposed energy-aware fast zonal transform consumes only 0.3% of energy needed by conventional DCT. This algorithm consumes only 6% of energy needed by Independent JPEG Group (fast) version, and it suits for embedded systems requiring low power consumption. The proposed scheme is unique since it significantly enhances the lifetime of the camera sensor node and the network without any need for distributed processing as was traditionally required in existing algorithms.

The HadGEM2 family of Met Office Unified Model climate configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

The HadGEM2 Development Team: G. M. Martin

2011-09-01

Full Text Available We describe the HadGEM2 family of climate configurations of the Met Office Unified Model, MetUM. The concept of a model "family" comprises a range of specific model configurations incorporating different levels of complexity but with a common physical framework. The HadGEM2 family of configurations includes atmosphere and ocean components, with and without a vertical extension to include a well-resolved stratosphere, and an Earth-System (ES component which includes dynamic vegetation, ocean biology and atmospheric chemistry. The HadGEM2 physical model includes improvements designed to address specific systematic errors encountered in the previous climate configuration, HadGEM1, namely Northern Hemisphere continental temperature biases and tropical sea surface temperature biases and poor variability. Targeting these biases was crucial in order that the ES configuration could represent important biogeochemical climate feedbacks. Detailed descriptions and evaluations of particular HadGEM2 family members are included in a number of other publications, and the discussion here is limited to a summary of the overall performance using a set of model metrics which compare the way in which the various configurations simulate present-day climate and its variability.

Immunogenetic Management Software: a new tool for visualization and analysis of complex immunogenetic datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Z P; Eady, R D; Ahmad, S F; Agravat, S; Morris, T; Else, J; Lank, S M; Wiseman, R W; O'Connor, D H; Penedo, M C T; Larsen, C P; Kean, L S

2012-04-01

Here we describe the Immunogenetic Management Software (IMS) system, a novel web-based application that permits multiplexed analysis of complex immunogenetic traits that are necessary for the accurate planning and execution of experiments involving large animal models, including nonhuman primates. IMS is capable of housing complex pedigree relationships, microsatellite-based MHC typing data, as well as MHC pyrosequencing expression analysis of class I alleles. It includes a novel, automated MHC haplotype naming algorithm and has accomplished an innovative visualization protocol that allows users to view multiple familial and MHC haplotype relationships through a single, interactive graphical interface. Detailed DNA and RNA-based data can also be queried and analyzed in a highly accessible fashion, and flexible search capabilities allow experimental choices to be made based on multiple, individualized and expandable immunogenetic factors. This web application is implemented in Java, MySQL, Tomcat, and Apache, with supported browsers including Internet Explorer and Firefox on Windows and Safari on Mac OS. The software is freely available for distribution to noncommercial users by contacting Leslie.kean@emory.edu. A demonstration site for the software is available at http://typing.emory.edu/typing_demo , user name: imsdemo7@gmail.com and password: imsdemo.

Synaptonemal complex analysis of interracial hybrids between the Moscow and Neroosa chromosomal races of the common shrew Sorex araneus showing regular formation of a complex meiotic configuration (ring-of-four).

Science.gov (United States)

Matveevsky, Sergey N; Pavlova, Svetlana V; Maret M Acaeva; Oxana L Kolomiets

2012-01-01

Immunocytochemical and electron microscopic analysis of synaptonemal complexes (SCs) was carried out for the first time in homozygotes and complex Robertsonian heterozygotes (hybrids) of the common shrew, Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758, from a newly discovered hybrid zone between the Moscow and the Neroosa chromosomal races. These races differ in four monobrachial homologous metacentrics, and closed SC tetravalent is expected to be formed in meiosis of a hybrid. Indeed, such a multivalent was found at meiotic prophase I in hybrids. Interactions between multivalent and both autosomes and/or the sex chromosomes were observed. For the first time we have used immunocytochemical techniques to analyse asynapsis in Sorex araneus and show that the multivalent pairs in an orderly fashion with complete synapsis. Despite some signs of spermatocytes arrested in the meiotic prophase I, hybrids had large number of active sperm. Thus, Moscow - Neroosa hybrid males that form a ring-of-four meiotic configuration are most likely not sterile. Our results support previous demonstrations that monobrachial homology of metacentrics of the common shrew does not lead to complete reproductive isolation between parapatric chromosomal races of the species.

Synaptonemal complex analysis of interracial hybrids between the Moscow and Neroosa chromosomal races of the common shrew Sorex araneus showing regular formation of a complex meiotic configuration (ring-of-four

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Matveevsky

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Immunocytochemical and electron microscopic analysis of synaptonemal complexes (SCs was carried out for the first time in homozygotes and complex Robertsonian heterozygotes (hybrids of the common shrew, Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758, from a newly discovered hybrid zone between the Moscow and the Neroosa chromosomal races. These races differ in four monobrachial homologous metacentrics, and closed SC tetravalent is expected to be formed in meiosis of a hybrid. Indeed, such a multivalent was found at meiotic prophase I in hybrids. Interactions between multivalent and both autosomes and/or the sex chromosomes were observed. For the first time we have used immunocytochemical techniques to analyse asynapsis in S. araneus and show that the multivalent pairs in an orderly fashion with complete synapsis. Despite some signs of spermatocytes arrested in the meiotic prophase I, hybrids had large number of active sperm. Thus, Moscow – Neroosa hybrid males that form a ring-of-four meiotic configuration are most likely not sterile. Our results support previous demonstrations that monobrachial homology of metacentrics of the common shrew does not lead to complete reproductive isolation between parapatric chromosomal races of the species.

Overview of EVE – the event visualization environment of ROOT

CERN Document Server

Tadel, M

2010-01-01

EVE is a high-level visualization library using ROOT's data-processing, GUI and OpenGL interfaces. It is designed as a framework for object management offering hierarchical data organization, object interaction and visualization via GUI and OpenGL representations. Automatic creation of 2D projected views is also supported. On the other hand, it can serve as an event visualization toolkit satisfying most HEP requirements: visualization of geometry, simulated and reconstructed data such as hits, clusters, tracks and calorimeter information. Special classes are available for visualization of raw-data. Object-interaction layer allows for easy selection and highlighting of objects and their derived representations (projections) across several views (3D, Rho-Z, R-Phi). Object-specific tooltips are provided in both GUI and GL views. The visual-configuration layer of EVE is built around a data-base of template objects that can be applied to specific instances of visualization objects to ensure consistent object prese...

Transluminal color-coded three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography for visualization of signal Intensity distribution pattern within an unruptured cerebral aneurysm: preliminarily assessment with anterior communicating artery aneurysms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satoh, T.; Ekino, C.; Ohsako, C.

2004-01-01

The natural history of unruptured cerebral aneurysm is not known; also unknown is the potential growth and rupture in any individual aneurysm. The authors have developed transluminal color-coded three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) obtained by a time-of-flight sequence to investigate the interaction between the intra-aneurysmal signal intensity distribution patterns and configuration of unruptured cerebral aneurysms. Transluminal color-coded images were reconstructed from volume data of source magnetic resonance angiography by using a parallel volume-rendering algorithm with transluminal imaging technique. By selecting a numerical threshold range from a signal intensity opacity chart of the three-dimensional volume-rendering dataset several areas of signal intensity were depicted, assigned different colors, and visualized transparently through the walls of parent arteries and an aneurysm. Patterns of signal intensity distribution were analyzed with three operated cases of an unruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm and compared with the actual configurations observed at microneurosurgery. A little difference in marginal features of an aneurysm was observed; however, transluminal color-coded images visualized the complex signal intensity distribution within an aneurysm in conjunction with aneurysmal geometry. Transluminal color-coded three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography can thus provide numerical analysis of the interaction between spatial signal intensity distribution patterns and aneurysmal configurations and may offer an alternative and practical method to investigate the patient-specific natural history of individual unruptured cerebral aneurysms. (orig.)

Linking crowding, visual span, and reading.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yingchen; Legge, Gordon E

2017-09-01

The visual span is hypothesized to be a sensory bottleneck on reading speed with crowding thought to be the major sensory factor limiting the size of the visual span. This proposed linkage between crowding, visual span, and reading speed is challenged by the finding that training to read crowded letters reduced crowding but did not improve reading speed (Chung, 2007). Here, we examined two properties of letter-recognition training that may influence the transfer to improved reading: the spatial arrangement of training stimuli and the presence of flankers. Three groups of nine young adults were trained with different configurations of letter stimuli at 10° in the lower visual field: a flanked-local group (flanked letters localized at one position), a flanked-distributed group (flanked letters distributed across different horizontal locations), and an isolated-distributed group (isolated and distributed letters). We found that distributed training, but not the presence of flankers, appears to be necessary for the training benefit to transfer to increased reading speed. Localized training may have biased attention to one specific, small area in the visual field, thereby failing to improve reading. We conclude that the visual span represents a sensory bottleneck on reading, but there may also be an attentional bottleneck. Reducing the impact of crowding can enlarge the visual span and can potentially facilitate reading, but not when adverse attentional bias is present. Our results clarify the association between crowding, visual span, and reading.

Visual Guided Navigation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Banks, Martin

1999-01-01

.... Similarly, the problem of visual navigation is the recovery of an observer's self-motion with respect to the environment from the moving pattern of light reaching the eyes and the complex of extra...

New data visualization of the LHC Era Monitoring (Lemon) system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivan, Fedorko; Veronique, Lefebure; Daniel, Lenkes; Omar, Pera Mira

2012-01-01

In the last few years, new requirements have been received for visualization of monitoring data: advanced graphics, flexibility in configuration and decoupling of the presentation layer from the monitoring repository. Lemonweb is the data visualization component of the LHC Era Monitoring (Lemon) system. Lemonweb consists of two subcomponents: a data collector and a web visualization interface. The data collector is a daemon, implemented in Python, responsible for data gathering from the central monitoring repository and storing into time series data structures. Data is stored on disk in Round Robin Database (RRD) files: one file per monitored entity, with set of entity related metrics. Entities may be grouped into a hierarchical structure, called “clusters” and supporting mathematical operations over entities and clusters (e.g. cluster A + cluster B /clusters C – entity XY). Using the configuration information, a cluster definition is evaluated in the collector engine and, at runtime, a sequence of data selects is built, to optimize access to the central monitoring repository. In this article, an overview of the design and architecture as well as highlights of some implemented features will be presented.

Application of REVEAL-W to risk-based configuration control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dezfuli, H.; Meyer, J.; Modarres, M.

1994-01-01

Over the past two years, the concept of risk-based configuration control has been introduced to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the nuclear industry. Converting much of the current, deterministically based regulation of nuclear power plants to risk-based regulation can result in lower levels of risk while relieving unnecessary burdens on power plant operators and regulatory staff. To achieve the potential benefits of risk-based configuration control, the risk models developed for nuclear power plants should be (1) flexible enough to effectively support necessary risk calculations, and (2) transparent enough to encourage their use by all parties. To address these needs, SCIENTECH, Inc., has developed the PC-based REVEAL W (formerly known as SMART). This graphic-oriented and user-friendly application software allows the user to develop transparent complex logic models based on the concept of the master plant logic diagram. The logic model is success-oriented and compact. The analytical capability built into REVEAL W is generic, so the software can support different types of risk-based evaluations, such as probabilistic safety assessment, accident sequence precursor analysis, design evaluation and configuration management. In this paper, we focus on the application of REVEAL W to support risk-based configuration control of nuclear power plants. (author)

Psycho acoustical Measures in Individuals with Congenital Visual Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Kaushlendra; Thomas, Teenu; Bhat, Jayashree S; Ranjan, Rajesh

2017-12-01

In congenital visual impaired individuals one modality is impaired (visual modality) this impairment is compensated by other sensory modalities. There is evidence that visual impaired performed better in different auditory task like localization, auditory memory, verbal memory, auditory attention, and other behavioural tasks when compare to normal sighted individuals. The current study was aimed to compare the temporal resolution, frequency resolution and speech perception in noise ability in individuals with congenital visual impaired and normal sighted. Temporal resolution, frequency resolution, and speech perception in noise were measured using MDT, GDT, DDT, SRDT, and SNR50 respectively. Twelve congenital visual impaired participants with age range of 18 to 40 years were taken and equal in number with normal sighted participants. All the participants had normal hearing sensitivity with normal middle ear functioning. Individual with visual impairment showed superior threshold in MDT, SRDT and SNR50 as compared to normal sighted individuals. This may be due to complexity of the tasks; MDT, SRDT and SNR50 are complex tasks than GDT and DDT. Visual impairment showed superior performance in auditory processing and speech perception with complex auditory perceptual tasks.

Familiarity Enhances Visual Working Memory for Faces

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Margaret C.; Raymond, Jane E.

2008-01-01

Although it is intuitive that familiarity with complex visual objects should aid their preservation in visual working memory (WM), empirical evidence for this is lacking. This study used a conventional change-detection procedure to assess visual WM for unfamiliar and famous faces in healthy adults. Across experiments, faces were upright or…

Hierarchical acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lie, Kin-Pou

2015-01-01

Spatial contextual cueing refers to visual search performance's being improved when invariant associations between target locations and distractor spatial configurations are learned incidentally. Using the instance theory of automatization and the reverse hierarchy theory of visual perceptual learning, this study explores the acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing. Two experiments in which detailed visual features were irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts found that spatial contextual cueing was visually generic in difficult trials when the trials were not preceded by easy trials (Experiment 1) but that spatial contextual cueing progressed to visual specificity when difficult trials were preceded by easy trials (Experiment 2). These findings support reverse hierarchy theory, which predicts that even when detailed visual features are irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts, spatial contextual cueing can progress to visual specificity if the stimuli remain constant, the task is difficult, and difficult trials are preceded by easy trials. However, these findings are inconsistent with instance theory, which predicts that when detailed visual features are irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts, spatial contextual cueing will not progress to visual specificity. This study concludes that the acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing is more plausibly hierarchical, rather than instance-based.

Configuration by Modularisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riitahuhta, Asko; Andreasen, Mogens Myrup

1998-01-01

Globally operating companies have realized that locally customized products and services are today the prerequisite for the success. The capability or the paradigm to act locally in global markets is called Mass Customization [Victor 1997]. The prerequisite for Mass Customization is Configuration...... Management and i Configuration Management the most important means is Modularisation.The goal of this paper is to show Configuration Management as a contribution to the Mass Customisation and Modularisation as a contribution to the industrialisation of the design area [Andreasen 1997]. A basic model...... for the creation of a structured product family is presented and examples are given. The concepts of a novel Dynamic Modularisation method, Metrics for Modularisation and Design for Configurability are presented....

Quantal and thermal dampings of the hot giant dipole resonance due to complex configuration mixing

CERN Document Server

Dang, N D; Arima, A

1999-01-01

An approach is presented to study the width of the giant dipole resonance (GDR) at non-zero temperature T, which includes all forward-going processes up to two-phonon ones. Calculations are performed in sup 1 sup 2 sup 0 Sn and sup 2 sup 0 sup 8 Pb. An overall agreement between theory and experiment is found. The total width of the GDR due to coupling of the GDR phonon to all ph, pp and hh configurations increases sharply as T increases up to T approx 3 MeV and saturates at T approx 4-6 MeV. The quantal width GAMMA sub Q due to coupling to ph configurations decreases with increasing T. It is almost independent of T if the contribution of two-phonon processes at T not =0 is omitted.

Organizational and visual memory deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar psychoses using the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure: effects of duration of illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Seidman, Larry J; Lanca, Margaret; Kremen, William S; Faraone, Stephen V; Tsuang, Ming T

2003-10-01

Verbal declarative memory deficits in schizophrenia are well documented whereas visual declarative memory is less studied. Moreover, there are limited data on whether organizational and visual memory deficits are specific to schizophrenic psychoses. We compared visual memory and organizational function in patients with chronic schizophrenia (n=79) and chronic bipolar psychotic disorder (n=14), and in healthy controls (n=84) using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF), testing whether organizational impairments (i.e., executive dysfunctions) account for the visual memory deficit. Groups were comparable on age, handedness and expected intellectual ability (based on single word reading). Using analyses of covariance with sex, parental SES and ethnicity as co-variates, patients with schizophrenia were significantly more impaired than controls on copy accuracy, on recall accuracy, and on percent accuracy of recall. Patients with schizophrenia used a more detail-oriented style on copy and recall and had significantly worse recognition memory. After co-varying IQ, copy organization was also significantly different between the groups. Results for accuracy of copy and recall were not significantly attenuated when controlling for copy organization. Duration of illness was associated with visual memory. Bipolar patients performed at an intermediate level between controls and patients with schizophrenia. The data suggest that in schizophrenia, patients have a visual memory disorder characterized by both organizational processing impairments and retention difficulties, and that there is a decline in visual memory functions with duration of illness. Further research is required to determine whether similar mechanisms underlie the neurocognitive deficits in these psychotic disorders.

Metabolic mapping of the brain's response to visual stimulation: studies in humans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phelps, M.E.; Kuhl, D.E.; Mazziotta, J.C.

1981-01-01

These studies demonstrated increasing glucose metabolic rates in the human primary (PVC) and associative (AVC) visual cortex as the complexity of visual scenes increased. The metabolic response of the AVC increased more rapidly with scene complexity than that of the PVC, indicating the greater involvement of the higher order AVC for complex visual interpretations. Increases in local metabolic activity by as much as a factor of 2 above that of control subjects with eyes closed indicate the wide range and metabolic reserve of the visual cortex

A novel BCI based on ERP components sensitive to configural processing of human faces

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu; Zhao, Qibin; Jing, Jin; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej

2012-04-01

This study introduces a novel brain-computer interface (BCI) based on an oddball paradigm using stimuli of facial images with loss of configural face information (e.g., inversion of face). To the best of our knowledge, till now the configural processing of human faces has not been applied to BCI but widely studied in cognitive neuroscience research. Our experiments confirm that the face-sensitive event-related potential (ERP) components N170 and vertex positive potential (VPP) have reflected early structural encoding of faces and can be modulated by the configural processing of faces. With the proposed novel paradigm, we investigate the effects of ERP components N170, VPP and P300 on target detection for BCI. An eight-class BCI platform is developed to analyze ERPs and evaluate the target detection performance using linear discriminant analysis without complicated feature extraction processing. The online classification accuracy of 88.7% and information transfer rate of 38.7 bits min-1 using stimuli of inverted faces with only single trial suggest that the proposed paradigm based on the configural processing of faces is very promising for visual stimuli-driven BCI applications.

Vector bundles over configuration spaces of nonidentical particles: Topological potentials and internal degrees of freedom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doebner, H.; Mann, H.

1997-01-01

We consider configuration spaces of nonidentical pointlike particles. The physically motivated assumption that any two particles cannot be located at the same point in space endash time leads to nontrivial topological structure of the configuration space. For a quantum mechanical description of such a system, we classify complex vector bundles over the configuration space and obtain potentials of topological origin, similar to those that occur in the fiber bundle approach to Dirac close-quote s magnetic monopole or in Yang endash Mills theory. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Sunfall: a collaborative visual analytics system for astrophysics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragon, Cecilia R.; Aragon, Cecilia R.; Bailey, Stephen J.; Poon, Sarah; Runge, Karl; Thomas, Rollin C.

2008-07-07

Computational and experimental sciences produce and collect ever-larger and complex datasets, often in large-scale, multi-institution projects. The inability to gain insight into complex scientific phenomena using current software tools is a bottleneck facing virtually all endeavors of science. In this paper, we introduce Sunfall, a collaborative visual analytics system developed for the Nearby Supernova Factory, an international astrophysics experiment and the largest data volume supernova search currently in operation. Sunfall utilizes novel interactive visualization and analysis techniques to facilitate deeper scientific insight into complex, noisy, high-dimensional, high-volume, time-critical data. The system combines novel image processing algorithms, statistical analysis, and machine learning with highly interactive visual interfaces to enable collaborative, user-driven scientific exploration of supernova image and spectral data. Sunfall is currently in operation at the Nearby Supernova Factory; it is the first visual analytics system in production use at a major astrophysics project.

Sunfall: a collaborative visual analytics system for astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aragon, C R; Bailey, S J; Poon, S; Runge, K; Thomas, R C

2008-01-01

Computational and experimental sciences produce and collect ever-larger and complex datasets, often in large-scale, multi-institution projects. The inability to gain insight into complex scientific phenomena using current software tools is a bottleneck facing virtually all endeavors of science. In this paper, we introduce Sunfall, a collaborative visual analytics system developed for the Nearby Supernova Factory, an international astrophysics experiment and the largest data volume supernova search currently in operation. Sunfall utilizes novel interactive visualization and analysis techniques to facilitate deeper scientific insight into complex, noisy, high-dimensional, high-volume, time-critical data. The system combines novel image processing algorithms, statistical analysis, and machine learning with highly interactive visual interfaces to enable collaborative, user-driven scientific exploration of supernova image and spectral data. Sunfall is currently in operation at the Nearby Supernova Factory; it is the first visual analytics system in production use at a major astrophysics project

Sunfall: a collaborative visual analytics system for astrophysics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragon, C R; Bailey, S J; Poon, S; Runge, K; Thomas, R C [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)], E-mail: CRAragon@lbl.gov

2008-07-15

Computational and experimental sciences produce and collect ever-larger and complex datasets, often in large-scale, multi-institution projects. The inability to gain insight into complex scientific phenomena using current software tools is a bottleneck facing virtually all endeavors of science. In this paper, we introduce Sunfall, a collaborative visual analytics system developed for the Nearby Supernova Factory, an international astrophysics experiment and the largest data volume supernova search currently in operation. Sunfall utilizes novel interactive visualization and analysis techniques to facilitate deeper scientific insight into complex, noisy, high-dimensional, high-volume, time-critical data. The system combines novel image processing algorithms, statistical analysis, and machine learning with highly interactive visual interfaces to enable collaborative, user-driven scientific exploration of supernova image and spectral data. Sunfall is currently in operation at the Nearby Supernova Factory; it is the first visual analytics system in production use at a major astrophysics project.

Reference frame for Product Configuration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ladeby, Klaes Rohde; Oddsson, Gudmundur Valur

2011-01-01

a reference frame for configuration that permits 1) a more precise understanding of a configuration system, 2) a understanding of how the configuration system relate to other systems, and 3) a definition of the basic concepts in configuration. The total configuration system, together with the definition...

Modular Power System Configured with Standard Product Hybrid DC-DC Converters, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — VPT proposes an innovative concept whereby complex NASA space power electronic systems can be configured using a small number of qualified hybrid DC-DC converter and...

State of the art of parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juliachs, M.

2004-01-01

In this state of the art on parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters, we deal with both surface and volume rendering approaches. We first analyze available PC cluster configurations and existing parallel rendering software components for parallel graphics rendering. CEA/DIF has been studying cluster visualization since 2001. This report is part of a study to set up a new visualization research platform. This platform consisting of an eight-node PC cluster under Linux and a tiled display was installed in collaboration with Versailles-Saint-Quentin University in August 2003. (author)

Effective Spend Management Through Electronic Reverse Auction Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojmír Prídavok

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to analyz wide range of possible auction strategies and configurations of eRA, with respect to the ever changing market conditions. Electronic reverse auction (eRA represents an electronic sourcing method of competitive bidding among a number of qualified suppliers. Theory assumes that eRA represents pure market environment with information perfectly distributed between both buyers and suppliers. Although initial eRA cost savings in B2B could be as high as 40%, without deeper knowledge of different auctions strategies and configurations, additional cost reductions are not possible. To identify crucial determinant, the statistical (correlation analysis on the data set of more than 18.000 auction items with different configuration parameters was conducted. Findings suggest that the more bidders are invited to the eRA, the better results could be expected. Additionally, the complexity of the eRA parameterization does not seem to influent the success of the eRA. These results can influence usage and SW development of eRA application in real environment. This research extends already realized studies in the field of electronic auctions for the B2B processes

Software configuration management

CERN Document Server

Keyes, Jessica

2004-01-01

Software Configuration Management discusses the framework from a standards viewpoint, using the original DoD MIL-STD-973 and EIA-649 standards to describe the elements of configuration management within a software engineering perspective. Divided into two parts, the first section is composed of 14 chapters that explain every facet of configuration management related to software engineering. The second section consists of 25 appendices that contain many valuable real world CM templates.

Interactive Web-based Visualization of Atomic Position-time Series Data

Science.gov (United States)

Thapa, S.; Karki, B. B.

2017-12-01

Extracting and interpreting the information contained in large sets of time-varying three dimensional positional data for the constituent atoms of simulated material is a challenging task. We have recently implemented a web-based visualization system to analyze the position-time series data extracted from the local or remote hosts. It involves a pre-processing step for data reduction, which involves skipping uninteresting parts of the data uniformly (at full atomic configuration level) or non-uniformly (at atomic species level or individual atom level). Atomic configuration snapshot is rendered using the ball-stick representation and can be animated by rendering successive configurations. The entire atomic dynamics can be captured as the trajectories by rendering the atomic positions at all time steps together as points. The trajectories can be manipulated at both species and atomic levels so that we can focus on one or more trajectories of interest, and can be also superimposed with the instantaneous atomic structure. The implementation was done using WebGL and Three.js for graphical rendering, HTML5 and Javascript for GUI, and Elasticsearch and JSON for data storage and retrieval within the Grails Framework. We have applied our visualization system to the simulation datatsets for proton-bearing forsterite (Mg2SiO4) - an abundant mineral of Earths upper mantle. Visualization reveals that protons (hydrogen ions) incorporated as interstitials are much more mobile than protons substituting the host Mg and Si cation sites. The proton diffusion appears to be anisotropic with high mobility along the x-direction, showing limited discrete jumps in other two directions.

The space shuttle ascent vehicle aerodynamic challenges configuration design and data base development

Science.gov (United States)

Dill, C. C.; Young, J. C.; Roberts, B. B.; Craig, M. K.; Hamilton, J. T.; Boyle, W. W.

1985-01-01

The phase B Space Shuttle systems definition studies resulted in a generic configuration consisting of a delta wing orbiter, and two solid rocket boosters (SRB) attached to an external fuel tank (ET). The initial challenge facing the aerodynamic community was aerodynamically optimizing, within limits, this configuration. As the Shuttle program developed and the sensitivities of the vehicle to aerodynamics were better understood the requirements of the aerodynamic data base grew. Adequately characterizing the vehicle to support the various design studies exploded the size of the data base to proportions that created a data modeling/management challenge for the aerodynamicist. The ascent aerodynamic data base originated primarily from wind tunnel test results. The complexity of the configuration rendered conventional analytic methods of little use. Initial wind tunnel tests provided results which included undesirable effects from model support tructure, inadequate element proximity, and inadequate plume simulation. The challenge to improve the quality of test results by determining the extent of these undesirable effects and subsequently develop testing techniques to eliminate them was imposed on the aerodynamic community. The challenges to the ascent aerodynamics community documented are unique due to the aerodynamic complexity of the Shuttle launch. Never before was such a complex vehicle aerodynamically characterized. The challenges were met with innovative engineering analyses/methodology development and wind tunnel testing techniques.

Design basis reconstitution and configuration management of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, P.R.

1989-01-01

The major design requirements of nuclear power plant components, systems, and structures are found in the plant's licensing commitments documented in the Final Safety Analysis Report and in the technical specification commitments of the plant. These specifications consider the original design and its degradation by in-service use. Before a nuclear power plant begins operation, the plant systems, structures, and organizational elements are functionally arranged to operate in a particular way. This functional arrangement is specified by the plant's design requirements and is called its configuration. The paper discusses configuration management and information management for configuration management. The management of large amounts of information and the various information systems associated with nuclear generating facilities is an ever-growing challenge for utilities. Plant operations involve a complex interrelation among data elements, especially in relation to design modifications and operational changes. Consequently, the operation of these data systems is interrelated and, as a result, redundant data items may exist. Thus, in view of the need to control and manage the plant configuration baseline, managers are striving to streamline their information management programs, which usually involves the integration of data-base systems

XY pair associates with the synaptonemal complex of autosomal male-sterile translocations in pachytene spermatocytes of the mouse (Mus musculus).

Science.gov (United States)

Forejt, J; Gregorová, S; Goetz, P

1981-01-01

Analysis of the chromosome behaviour at pachytene has been performed by means of the silver staining technique visualizing the synaptonemal complexes (SCs) in male mice heterozygous for the male-sterile translocations T(5;12)31Hm T(16;17)43H and T(7;19)145H, respectively. the T(9;17)138Ca male heterozygotes and T43H/T43H homozygous males were used as fertile controls. The sterile mice displayed a high frequency (about 60%) of pachytene spermatocytes with autosomal translocation configuration located in close vicinity of the XY pair. The dense round body (XAB), normally located near the X-chromosome axis in fertile males, exhibited abnormal affinity to translocation configuration in the sterile translocation heterozygotes. The incomplete synapsis of autosomes involved in translocation configuration was observed in more than 70% of the pachytene spermatocytes with the male-sterile translocations but less than 20% of the cells from T138Ca fertile male.s. A hypothesis relating the spermatogenic arrest of carriers of male-sterile rearrangements to the presumed interference with X chromosome inactivation in male meiosis is discussed.

Lateralized visual behavior in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) performing audio-visual tasks: the right visual field advantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Delfour, F; Marten, K

2006-01-10

Analyzing cerebral asymmetries in various species helps in understanding brain organization. The left and right sides of the brain (lateralization) are involved in different cognitive and sensory functions. This study focuses on dolphin visual lateralization as expressed by spontaneous eye preference when performing a complex cognitive task; we examine lateralization when processing different visual stimuli displayed on an underwater touch-screen (two-dimensional figures, three-dimensional figures and dolphin/human video sequences). Three female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were submitted to a 2-, 3- or 4-, choice visual/auditory discrimination problem, without any food reward: the subjects had to correctly match visual and acoustic stimuli together. In order to visualize and to touch the underwater target, the dolphins had to come close to the touch-screen and to position themselves using monocular vision (left or right eye) and/or binocular naso-ventral vision. The results showed an ability to associate simple visual forms and auditory information using an underwater touch-screen. Moreover, the subjects showed a spontaneous tendency to use monocular vision. Contrary to previous findings, our results did not clearly demonstrate right eye preference in spontaneous choice. However, the individuals' scores of correct answers were correlated with right eye vision, demonstrating the advantage of this visual field in visual information processing and suggesting a left hemispheric dominance. We also demonstrated that the nature of the presented visual stimulus does not seem to have any influence on the animals' monocular vision choice.

Generating a heated fluid using an electromagnetic radiation-absorbing complex

Science.gov (United States)

Halas, Nancy J.; Nordlander, Peter; Neumann, Oara

2018-01-09

A vessel including a concentrator configured to concentrate electromagnetic (EM) radiation received from an EM radiation source and a complex configured to absorb EM radiation to generate heat. The vessel is configured to receive a cool fluid from the cool fluid source, concentrate the EM radiation using the concentrator, apply the EM radiation to the complex, and transform, using the heat generated by the complex, the cool fluid to the heated fluid. The complex is at least one of consisting of copper nanoparticles, copper oxide nanoparticles, nanoshells, nanorods, carbon moieties, encapsulated nanoshells, encapsulated nanoparticles, and branched nanostructures. Further, the EM radiation is at least one of EM radiation in an ultraviolet region of an electromagnetic spectrum, in a visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and in an infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Visual dataflow language for educational robots programming

OpenAIRE

ZIMIN G.A.; MORDVINOV D.A.

2016-01-01

Visual domain-specific languages usually have low entry barrier. Sometimes even children can program on such languages by working with visual representations. This is widely used in educational robotics domain, where most commonly used programming environments are visual. The paper describes a novel dataflow visual programming environment for embedded robotic platforms. Obviously, complex dataflow languages are not simple for understanding. The purpose of our tool is to "bridge" between light...

Complexity Level Analysis Revisited: What Can 30 Years of Hindsight Tell Us about How the Brain Might Represent Visual Information?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John K. Tsotsos

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Much has been written about how the biological brain might represent and process visual information, and how this might inspire and inform machine vision systems. Indeed, tremendous progress has been made, and especially during the last decade in the latter area. However, a key question seems too often, if not mostly, be ignored. This question is simply: do proposed solutions scale with the reality of the brain's resources? This scaling question applies equally to brain and to machine solutions. A number of papers have examined the inherent computational difficulty of visual information processing using theoretical and empirical methods. The main goal of this activity had three components: to understand the deep nature of the computational problem of visual information processing; to discover how well the computational difficulty of vision matches to the fixed resources of biological seeing systems; and, to abstract from the matching exercise the key principles that lead to the observed characteristics of biological visual performance. This set of components was termed complexity level analysis in Tsotsos (1987 and was proposed as an important complement to Marr's three levels of analysis. This paper revisits that work with the advantage that decades of hindsight can provide.

Vision in avian emberizid foragers: maximizing both binocular vision and fronto-lateral visual acuity.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Bret A; Pita, Diana; Tyrrell, Luke P; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban

2015-05-01

Avian species vary in their visual system configuration, but previous studies have often compared single visual traits between two to three distantly related species. However, birds use different visual dimensions that cannot be maximized simultaneously to meet different perceptual demands, potentially leading to trade-offs between visual traits. We studied the degree of inter-specific variation in multiple visual traits related to foraging and anti-predator behaviors in nine species of closely related emberizid sparrows, controlling for phylogenetic effects. Emberizid sparrows maximize binocular vision, even seeing their bill tips in some eye positions, which may enhance the detection of prey and facilitate food handling. Sparrows have a single retinal center of acute vision (i.e. fovea) projecting fronto-laterally (but not into the binocular field). The foveal projection close to the edge of the binocular field may shorten the time to gather and process both monocular and binocular visual information from the foraging substrate. Contrary to previous work, we found that species with larger visual fields had higher visual acuity, which may compensate for larger blind spots (i.e. pectens) above the center of acute vision, enhancing predator detection. Finally, species with a steeper change in ganglion cell density across the retina had higher eye movement amplitude, probably due to a more pronounced reduction in visual resolution away from the fovea, which would need to be moved around more frequently. The visual configuration of emberizid passive prey foragers is substantially different from that of previously studied avian groups (e.g. sit-and-wait and tactile foragers). © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

On the road to a stronger public health workforce: visual tools to address complex challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Drehobl, Patricia; Stover, Beth H; Koo, Denise

2014-11-01

The public health workforce is vital to protecting the health and safety of the public, yet for years, state and local governmental public health agencies have reported substantial workforce losses and other challenges to the workforce that threaten the public's health. These challenges are complex, often involve multiple influencing or related causal factors, and demand comprehensive solutions. However, proposed solutions often focus on selected factors and might be fragmented rather than comprehensive. This paper describes approaches to characterizing the situation more comprehensively and includes two visual tools: (1) a fishbone, or Ishikawa, diagram that depicts multiple factors affecting the public health workforce; and (2) a roadmap that displays key elements-goals and strategies-to strengthen the public health workforce, thus moving from the problems depicted in the fishbone toward solutions. The visual tools aid thinking about ways to strengthen the public health workforce through collective solutions and to help leverage resources and build on each other's work. The strategic roadmap is intended to serve as a dynamic tool for partnership, prioritization, and gap assessment. These tools reflect and support CDC's commitment to working with partners on the highest priorities for strengthening the workforce to improve the public's health. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Software Configurable Multichannel Transceiver

Science.gov (United States)

Freudinger, Lawrence C.; Cornelius, Harold; Hickling, Ron; Brooks, Walter

2009-01-01

Emerging test instrumentation and test scenarios increasingly require network communication to manage complexity. Adapting wireless communication infrastructure to accommodate challenging testing needs can benefit from reconfigurable radio technology. A fundamental requirement for a software-definable radio system is independence from carrier frequencies, one of the radio components that to date has seen only limited progress toward programmability. This paper overviews an ongoing project to validate the viability of a promising chipset that performs conversion of radio frequency (RF) signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and, for the transmitter, converts digital data into RF signals. The Software Configurable Multichannel Transceiver (SCMT) enables four transmitters and four receivers in a single unit the size of a commodity disk drive, programmable for any frequency band between 1 MHz and 6 GHz.

Selecting electrode configurations for image-guided cochlear implant programming using template matching.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dongqing; Zhao, Yiyuan; Noble, Jack H; Dawant, Benoit M

2018-04-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) are neural prostheses that restore hearing using an electrode array implanted in the cochlea. After implantation, the CI processor is programmed by an audiologist. One factor that negatively impacts outcomes and can be addressed by programming is cross-electrode neural stimulation overlap (NSO). We have proposed a system to assist the audiologist in programming the CI that we call image-guided CI programming (IGCIP). IGCIP permits using CT images to detect NSO and recommend deactivation of a subset of electrodes to avoid NSO. We have shown that IGCIP significantly improves hearing outcomes. Most of the IGCIP steps are robustly automated but electrode configuration selection still sometimes requires manual intervention. With expertise, distance-versus-frequency curves, which are a way to visualize the spatial relationship learned from CT between the electrodes and the nerves they stimulate, can be used to select the electrode configuration. We propose an automated technique for electrode configuration selection. A comparison between this approach and one we have previously proposed shows that our method produces results that are as good as those obtained with our previous method while being generic and requiring fewer parameters.

Dual lanthanide-doped complexes: the development of a time-resolved ratiometric fluorescent probe for anthrax biomarker and a paper-based visual sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qi-Xian; Xue, Shi-Fan; Chen, Zi-Han; Ma, Shi-Hui; Zhang, Shengqiang; Shi, Guoyue; Zhang, Min

2017-08-15

In this work, a novel time-resolved ratiometric fluorescent probe based on dual lanthanide (Tb: terbium, and Eu: europium)-doped complexes (Tb/DPA@SiO 2 -Eu/GMP) has been designed for detecting anthrax biomarker (dipicolinic acid, DPA), a unique and major component of anthrax spores. In such complexes-based probe, Tb/DPA@SiO 2 can serve as a stable reference signal with green fluorescence and Eu/GMP act as a sensitive response signal with red fluorescence for ratiometric fluorescent sensing DPA. Additionally, the probe exhibits long fluorescence lifetime, which can significantly reduce the autofluorescence interferences from biological samples by using time-resolved fluorescence measurement. More significantly, a paper-based visual sensor for DPA has been devised by using filter paper embedded with Tb/DPA@SiO 2 -Eu/GMP, and we have proved its utility for fluorescent detection of DPA, in which only a handheld UV lamp is used. In the presence of DPA, the paper-based visual sensor, illuminated by a handheld UV lamp, would result in an obvious fluorescence color change from green to red, which can be easily observed with naked eyes. The paper-based visual sensor is stable, portable, disposable, cost-effective and easy-to-use. The feasibility of using a smartphone with easy-to-access color-scanning APP as the detection platform for quantitative scanometric assays has been also demonstrated by coupled with our proposed paper-based visual sensor. This work unveils an effective method for accurate, sensitive and selective monitoring anthrax biomarker with backgroud-free and self-calibrating properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

From Newton's second law to Huygens's principle: visualizing waves in a large array of masses joined by springs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolinko, A E

2009-01-01

By simulating the dynamics of a bidimensional array of springs and masses, the propagation of conveniently generated waves is visualized. The simulation is exclusively based on Newton's second law and was made to provide insight into the physics of wave propagation. By controlling parameters such as the magnitude of the mass and the elastic constant of the mesh elements, it was possible to change the properties of the medium in order to observe the characteristic phenomena of wave mechanics, such as diffraction and interference. Finally, several examples of waves propagating in media with different configurations are presented, including the application of the simulation to the study of frequency response of a complex structure.

Gas/liquid flow configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonin, Jacques; Fitremann, J.-M.

1978-01-01

Prediction of flow configurations (morphology) for gas/liquid or liquid/vapour mixtures is an important industrial problem which is not yet fully understood. The ''Flow Configurations'' Seminar of Societe Hydrotechnique de France has framed recommendations for investigation of potential industrial applications for flow configurations [fr

Data Visualization: Conversion of Data to Animation Files

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kimbler, Nate

2004-01-01

.... Because visualization tools are vital to understanding complex physical phenomena, these visualization tools attempt to facilitate converting data into animations that can be saved and used in data...

Configuring the Orion Guidance, Navigation, and Control Flight Software for Automated Sequencing

Science.gov (United States)

Odegard, Ryan G.; Siliwinski, Tomasz K.; King, Ellis T.; Hart, Jeremy J.

2010-01-01

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle is being designed with greater automation capabilities than any other crewed spacecraft in NASA s history. The Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) flight software architecture is designed to provide a flexible and evolvable framework that accommodates increasing levels of automation over time. Within the GN&C flight software, a data-driven approach is used to configure software. This approach allows data reconfiguration and updates to automated sequences without requiring recompilation of the software. Because of the great dependency of the automation and the flight software on the configuration data, the data management is a vital component of the processes for software certification, mission design, and flight operations. To enable the automated sequencing and data configuration of the GN&C subsystem on Orion, a desktop database configuration tool has been developed. The database tool allows the specification of the GN&C activity sequences, the automated transitions in the software, and the corresponding parameter reconfigurations. These aspects of the GN&C automation on Orion are all coordinated via data management, and the database tool provides the ability to test the automation capabilities during the development of the GN&C software. In addition to providing the infrastructure to manage the GN&C automation, the database tool has been designed with capabilities to import and export artifacts for simulation analysis and documentation purposes. Furthermore, the database configuration tool, currently used to manage simulation data, is envisioned to evolve into a mission planning tool for generating and testing GN&C software sequences and configurations. A key enabler of the GN&C automation design, the database tool allows both the creation and maintenance of the data artifacts, as well as serving the critical role of helping to manage, visualize, and understand the data-driven parameters both during software development

A configural dominant account of contextual cueing: Configural cues are stronger than colour cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunar, Melina A; John, Rebecca; Sweetman, Hollie

2014-01-01

Previous work has shown that reaction times to find a target in displays that have been repeated are faster than those for displays that have never been seen before. This learning effect, termed "contextual cueing" (CC), has been shown using contexts such as the configuration of the distractors in the display and the background colour. However, it is not clear how these two contexts interact to facilitate search. We investigated this here by comparing the strengths of these two cues when they appeared together. In Experiment 1, participants searched for a target that was cued by both colour and distractor configural cues, compared with when the target was only predicted by configural information. The results showed that the addition of a colour cue did not increase contextual cueing. In Experiment 2, participants searched for a target that was cued by both colour and distractor configuration compared with when the target was only cued by colour. The results showed that adding a predictive configural cue led to a stronger CC benefit. Experiments 3 and 4 tested the disruptive effects of removing either a learned colour cue or a learned configural cue and whether there was cue competition when colour and configural cues were presented together. Removing the configural cue was more disruptive to CC than removing colour, and configural learning was shown to overshadow the learning of colour cues. The data support a configural dominant account of CC, where configural cues act as the stronger cue in comparison to colour when they are presented together.

Three Cases with Visual Hallucinations following Combined Ocular and Occipital Damage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogusław Paradowski

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Charles Bonnet syndrome is an underrecognized disease that involves visual hallucinations in visually impaired patients. We present the cases of three patients who experienced complex visual hallucinations following various pathomechanisms. In two cases, diagnosis showed coexistence of occipital lobe damage with ocular damage, while in the third case it showed occipital lobe damage with retrobulbar optic neuritis. Theories of pathogenesis and the neuroanatomical basis of complex visual hallucinations are discussed and supported by literature review.

Creating Effective Data Visualizations - Lecture 1

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2017-01-01

In this course I aim to give an overview of data visualisation as a field, including many of the important theoretical groundings in data visualization. We will explore the different ways of representing visual information, and the strengths/weaknesses of those approaches. Using real-world case studies, I will demonstrate techniques and best practices for visualizing complex multi-dimensional data common to high energy physics and other fields.

Creating Effective Data Visualizations - Lecture 2

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2017-01-01

In this course I aim to give an overview of data visualisation as a field, including many of the important theoretical groundings in data visualization. We will explore the different ways of representing visual information, and the strengths/weaknesses of those approaches. Using real-world case studies, I will demonstrate techniques and best practices for visualizing complex multi-dimensional data common to high energy physics and other fields.

Visualizing Practices in Project-based Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Whyte, Jennifer; Tryggestad, Kjell; Comi, Alice

2016-01-01

Project-based design involves a variety of visual representations, which are evolved to make decisions and accomplish project objectives. Yet, such mediated and distributed ways of working are difficult to capture through ethnographies that examine situated design. A novel approach is developed t...... representations enabled participants in project-based design to develop and share understanding. The complexity of projects and their distributed and mediated nature makes this approach timely and important in addressing new research questions and practical challenges.......Project-based design involves a variety of visual representations, which are evolved to make decisions and accomplish project objectives. Yet, such mediated and distributed ways of working are difficult to capture through ethnographies that examine situated design. A novel approach is developed...... of situated design. This allows the researcher to be nimble, tracing connections across complex engineering projects; reconstructing practices through their visual representations; and observing their effects. Second, it articulates how, in these empirical cases, interaction with a cascade of visual...

Studies of technetium chemistry. Pt.8. The regularities of the bond length and configuration of rhenium and technetium complexes in crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guozheng; Liu Boli

1995-01-01

Some bond length regularities in MO 6 , MO-4, MX 5 α and MX 4 αβ moieties of technetium and rhenium compounds are summarized and rationalized by cavity model. The chemical properties of technetium and rhenium are so similar that their corresponding complexes have almost the same configuration and M-X bond lengths when they are in cavity-controlled state. Technetium and Rhenium combine preferably with N, O, F, S, Cl and Br when they are in higher oxidation states (>3), but preferably with P, Se etc. when they are in lower oxidation states ( 4 αβ is approximately constant; (2) the average M-X bond length of MX 6 varies moderately with the oxidation state of M; (3) the bond length of M-X trans to M-α in MX 5 α has a linear relationship with the angle

System engineering and configuration management in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiocchio, S.; Martin, E.; Barabaschi, P.; Bartels, Hans Werner; How, J.; Spears, W.

2007-01-01

The construction of ITER will represent a major challenge for the fusion community at large, because of the intrinsic complexity of the tokamak design, the large number of different systems which are all essential for its operation, the worldwide distribution of the design activities and the unusual procurement scheme based on a combination of in-kind and directly funded deliverables. A key requirement for the success of such a large project is that a systematic approach to ensure the consistency of the design with the required performance is adopted. Also, effective project management methods, tools and working practices must be deployed to facilitate the communication and collaboration among the institutions and industries involved in the project. The authors have been involved in the definition and practical implementation of the design integration and configuration control structure inside ITER and in the system engineering process during the selection and optimization of the machine configuration. In parallel, they have assessed design, drawing and documentation management software to be used for the construction phase. Here, they describe the experience gained in recent years, explain the drivers behind the selection of the documents and drawings management systems, and illustrate the scope and issues of the configuration management activities to ensure the congruence of the design, to control and track the design changes and to manage the interfaces among the ITER systems

Synthesis, characterization, photoluminescence and cytotoxic properties of novel luminescent Eu(III)complexes based on chromone Schiff base

Science.gov (United States)

Saif, M.; El-Shafiy, Hoda F.; Mashaly, Mahmoud M.; Eid, Mohamed F.; Nabeel, A. I.; Fouad, R.

2018-06-01

Three novel Eu(III) phosphor complexes, [Eu(HL)(OH2)2(C2H5OH)](NO3)2 (1), [Eu(HL)(Bpy)(NO3)2(EtOH)] (2) and [Eu(HL)(Phen)(NO3)2(H2O)] (3) (HL = (11E)-2-hydroxy-N/-((4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methylene)benzohydrazide; Bpy = 2,2/-bibyridyl and Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) were prepared. Elemental, thermal, FT-IR and XRD methods were used to characterize their structural configuration. The HL behaves as a monoanionic tridentate ligand. The XRD analysis shows that the ligand and its Eu3+complexes are in nano domain. From fluorescence spectroscopy, all the prepared complexes are highly luminescent, having an impressive visual emission under UV excitation. The H2L and its Eu3+nano-complexes (1-3) were tested for their in vitro cytotoxicity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma cell line (EAC). The Eu(III) nano-complexes (1-3) effectively inhibited EAC growth with IC50 value of 25 μM. The high antitumor activity of the Eu(III) nano-complexes (1-3) were attributed to its chemical structure, and nano size properties.

Adjoint-Based Aerodynamic Design of Complex Aerospace Configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Eric J.

2016-01-01

An overview of twenty years of adjoint-based aerodynamic design research at NASA Langley Research Center is presented. Adjoint-based algorithms provide a powerful tool for efficient sensitivity analysis of complex large-scale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Unlike alternative approaches for which computational expense generally scales with the number of design parameters, adjoint techniques yield sensitivity derivatives of a simulation output with respect to all input parameters at the cost of a single additional simulation. With modern large-scale CFD applications often requiring millions of compute hours for a single analysis, the efficiency afforded by adjoint methods is critical in realizing a computationally tractable design optimization capability for such applications.

Visual Processing in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Embedded Figures and Configural Superiority Tests

Science.gov (United States)

Dillen, Claudia; Steyaert, Jean; Op de Beeck, Hans P.; Boets, Bart

2015-01-01

The embedded figures test has often been used to reveal weak central coherence in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we administered a more standardized automated version of the embedded figures test in combination with the configural superiority task, to investigate the effect of contextual modulation on local feature…

Configuration management at NEK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podhraski, M.

1999-01-01

Configuration Management (CM) objectives at NEK are to ensure consistency between Design Requirements, Physical Plant Configuration and Configuration Information. Software applications, supporting Design Change, Work Control and Document Control Processes, are integrated in one module-oriented Management Information System (MIS). Master Equipment Component List (MECL) database is central MIS module. Through a combination of centralized database and process migrated activities it is ensured that the CM principles and requirements (accurate, current design data matching plant's physical configuration while complying to applicable requirements), are followed and fulfilled.(author)

ICAROUS - Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations Of Unmanned Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Consiglio, María; Muñoz, César; Hagen, George; Narkawicz, Anthony; Balachandran, Swee

2016-01-01

NASA's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims at enabling near-term, safe operations of small UAS vehicles in uncontrolled airspace, i.e., Class G airspace. A far-term goal of UTM research and development is to accommodate the expected rise in small UAS traffic density throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) at low altitudes for beyond visual line-of-sight operations. This paper describes a new capability referred to as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems), which is being developed under the UTM project. ICAROUS is a software architecture comprised of highly assured algorithms for building safety-centric, autonomous, unmanned aircraft applications. Central to the development of the ICAROUS algorithms is the use of well-established formal methods to guarantee higher levels of safety assurance by monitoring and bounding the behavior of autonomous systems. The core autonomy-enabling capabilities in ICAROUS include constraint conformance monitoring and contingency control functions. ICAROUS also provides a highly configurable user interface that enables the modular integration of mission-specific software components.

Aportaciones para la definición de elementos visuales determinantes del paisaje

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Fidalgo

2014-10-01

The definition of a list of elements that determine the visual quality of the landscape is presented as a basic tool to deepen the knowledge of the territory and justify interventions in the environment. The different approaches can considered the determining visual landscape elements from two different perspectives: one that integrates the intrinsic configuration components of the visual territory and another that relates to the variables that determine the perception of the landscape and its assessment. This article identifies and characterized, based on their origin or physical state, each of the groups components and variables. The result allows to construct a model that fits and relates the different groups of Determinants Visual Elements of Landscape.

Customizable Visualizations with Formula-Linked Building Blocks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhail, Mohammad Amin; Lauesen, Søren

different appearance or behavior than what the widgets support. Another approach is to combine primitive graphical elements using traditional programming or visualization toolkits. Traditional programming allows high customizability, but it is time consuming and hard to develop advanced visualizations......One approach to visualization construction is to use complex blocks (widgets) that are tailored for specific visualizations, and customize the visualizations by setting the properties of the widgets. This approach allows fast and easy visualization construction but falls short if the user wants....... Visualization toolkits allow easier visualization creation in some cases, but customization and interaction are tedious. As an alternative, we developed uVis visualization tool that uses spreadsheet-like formulas to connect building blocks. uVis formulas can refer to building blocks and database tables. We...

Visual perception and medical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaffe, C.C.

1985-01-01

Medical imaging represents a particularly distinct discipline for image processing since it uniquely depends on the ''expert observer'' and yet models of the human visual system are totally inadequate at the complex level to allow satisfactory prediction of observer response to a given image modification. An illustration of the difficulties in assessing observer performance is shown by a series of optical illustrations which demonstrate that net cognitive behavior is not readily predictable. Although many of these phenomena are often considered as exceptional visual events, the setting of complex images makes it difficult to entirely exclude at least partial operation of these impairments during performance of the diagnostic medical imaging task

Enhancement and suppression in the visual field under perceptual load.

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Nathan A; Beck, Diane M; Kramer, Arthur F

2013-01-01

The perceptual load theory of attention proposes that the degree to which visual distractors are processed is a function of the attentional demands of a task-greater demands increase filtering of irrelevant distractors. The spatial configuration of such filtering is unknown. Here, we used steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) in conjunction with time-domain event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the distribution of load-induced distractor suppression and task-relevant enhancement in the visual field. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded while subjects performed a foveal go/no-go task that varied in perceptual load. Load-dependent distractor suppression was assessed by presenting a contrast reversing ring at one of three eccentricities (2, 6, or 11°) during performance of the go/no-go task. Rings contrast reversed at 8.3 Hz, allowing load-dependent changes in distractor processing to be tracked in the frequency-domain. ERPs were calculated to the onset of stimuli in the load task to examine load-dependent modulation of task-relevant processing. Results showed that the amplitude of the distractor SSVEP (8.3 Hz) was attenuated under high perceptual load (relative to low load) at the most proximal (2°) eccentricity but not at more eccentric locations (6 or 11°). Task-relevant ERPs revealed a significant increase in N1 amplitude under high load. These results are consistent with a center-surround configuration of load-induced enhancement and suppression in the visual field.

Enhancement and Suppression in the Visual Field under Perceptual Load

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan A Parks

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The perceptual load theory of attention proposes that the degree to which visual distractors are processed is a function of the attentional demands of a task – greater demands increase filtering of irrelevant distractors. The spatial configuration of such filtering is unknown. Here, we used steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs in conjunction with time-domain event-related potentials (ERPs to investigate the distribution of load-induced distractor suppression and task-relevant enhancement in the visual field. Electroencephalogram (EEG was recorded while subjects performed a foveal go/no-go task that varied in perceptual load. Load-dependent distractor suppression was assessed by presenting a contrast reversing ring at one of three eccentricities (2°, 6°, or 11° during performance of the go/no-go task. Rings contrast reversed at 8.3 Hz, allowing load-dependent changes in distractor processing to be tracked in the frequency-domain. ERPs were calculated to the onset of stimuli in the load task to examine load-dependent modulation of task-relevant processing. Results showed that the amplitude of the distractor SSVEP (8.3Hz was attenuated under high perceptual load (relative to low load at the most proximal (2° eccentricity but not at more eccentric locations (6˚ or 11˚. Task-relevant ERPs revealed a significant increase in N1 amplitude under high load. These results are consistent with a center-surround configuration of load-induced enhancement and suppression in the visual field.

Visualizing Gyrokinetic Turbulence in a Tokamak

Science.gov (United States)

Stantchev, George

2005-10-01

Multi-dimensional data output from gyrokinetic microturbulence codes are often difficult to visualize, in part due to the non-trivial geometry of the underlying grids, in part due to high irregularity of the relevant scalar field structures in turbulent regions. For instance, traditional isosurface extraction methods are likely to fail for the electrostatic potential field whose level sets may exhibit various geometric pathologies. To address these issues we develop an advanced interactive 3D gyrokinetic turbulence visualization framework which we apply in the study of microtearing instabilities calculated with GS2 in the MAST and NSTX geometries. In these simulations GS2 uses field-line-following coordinates such that the computational domain maps in physical space to a long, twisting flux tube with strong cross-sectional shear. Using statistical wavelet analysis we create a sparse multiple-scale volumetric representation of the relevant scalar fields, which we visualize via a variation of the so called splatting technique. To handle the problem of highly anisotropic flux tube configurations we adapt a geometry-driven surface illumination algorithm that places local light sources for effective feature-enhanced visualization.

Configuration-defined control algorithms with the ASDEX Upgrade DCS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Treutterer, Wolfgang, E-mail: Wolfgang.Treutterer@ipp.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Cole, Richard [Unlimited Computer Systems, Seeshaupter Str. 15, 82393 Iffeldorf Germany (Germany); Gräter, Alexander [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Lüddecke, Klaus [Unlimited Computer Systems, Seeshaupter Str. 15, 82393 Iffeldorf Germany (Germany); Neu, Gregor; Rapson, Christopher; Raupp, Gerhard; Zehetbauer, Thomas [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Control algorithm built from combination of pre-fabricated standard function blocks. • Seamless integration in multi-threaded computation context. • Block composition defined by configuration data, only. - Abstract: The ASDEX Upgrade Discharge Control System (DCS) is a distributed real-time control system executing complex control and monitoring tasks. Up to now, DCS control algorithms have been implemented by coding dedicated application processes with the C++ programming language. Algorithm changes required code modification, compilation and commissioning which only experienced programmers could perform. This was a significant constraint of flexibility for both control system operation and design. The new approach extends DCS with the capability of configuration-defined control algorithms. These are composed of chains of small, configurable standard function blocks providing general purpose functions like algebraic operations, filters, feedback controllers, output limiters and decision logic. In a later phase a graphical editor could help to compose and modify such configuration in a Simulink-like fashion. Building algorithms from standard functions can result in a high number of elements. In order to achieve a similar performance as with C++ coding, it is essential to avoid administrative bottlenecks by design. As a consequence, DCS executes a function block chain in the context of a single real-time thread of an application process. No concurrency issues as in a multi-threaded context need to be considered resulting in strongly simplified signal handling and zero performance overhead for inter-block communication. Instead of signal-driven synchronization, a block scheduler derives the execution sequence automatically from the block dependencies as defined in the configuration. All blocks and connecting signals are instantiated dynamically, based on definitions in a configuration file. Algorithms thus are not defined in the code but only in

Information visualization for the Structural Complexity Management Approach

OpenAIRE

Maurer, Maik;Braun, Thomas;Lindemann, Udo

2017-01-01

The handling of complexity poses an important challenge and a success factor for product design. A considerable percentage of complexity results from dependencies between system elements – as adaptations to single system elements can cause far-reaching consequences. The Structural Complexity Management (SCM) approach provides a five-step procedure that supports users in the identification, acquisition, analysis and optimization of system dependencies. The approach covers the handling of multi...

Transport modelling for ergodic configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runov, A.; Kasilov, S.V.; McTaggart, N.; Schneider, R.; Bonnin, X.; Zagorski, R.; Reiter, D.

2004-01-01

The effect of ergodization, either by additional coils like in TEXTOR-dynamic ergodic divertor (DED) or by intrinsic plasma effects like in W7-X, defines the need for transport models that are able to describe the ergodic configuration properly. A prerequisite for this is the concept of local magnetic coordinates allowing a correct discretization with minimized numerical errors. For these coordinates the appropriate full metric tensor has to be known. To study the transport in complex edge geometries (in particular for W7-X) two possible methods are used. First, a finite-difference discretization of the transport equations on a custom-tailored grid in local magnetic coordinates is used. This grid is generated by field-line tracing to guarantee an exact discretization of the dominant parallel transport (thus also minimizing the numerical diffusion problem). The perpendicular fluxes are then interpolated in a plane (a toroidal cut), where the interpolation problem for a quasi-isotropic system has to be solved by a constrained Delaunay triangulation (keeping the structural information for magnetic surfaces if they exist) and discretization. All toroidal terms are discretized by finite differences. Second, a Monte Carlo transport model originally developed for the modelling of the DED configuration of TEXTOR is used. A generalization and extension of this model was necessary to be able to handle W7-X. The model solves the transport equations with Monte Carlo techniques making use of mappings of local magnetic coordinates. The application of this technique to W7-X in a limiter-like configuration is presented. The decreasing dominance of parallel transport with respect to radial transport for electron heat, ion heat and particle transport results in increasingly steep profiles for the respective quantities within the islands. (author)

Determination of the absolute configuration of monosaccharides in complex carbohydrates by capillary G.L.C.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vliegenthart, J.F.G.; Gerwig, G.J.; Kamerling, J.P.

1979-01-01

The absolute configuration of neutral monosaccharides, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy sugars, and uronic acids can be determined by capillary g.l.c. on SE-30 after glycosidation with (-)-2-butanol and protection of the remaining polar groups. The method is illustrated by application to mixtures of the

Landscape metrics application in ecological and visual landscape assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavrilović Suzana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The development of landscape-ecological approach application in spatial planning provides exact theoretical and empirical evidence for monitoring ecological consequences of natural and/or anthropogenic factors, particularly changes in spatial structures caused by them. Landscape pattern which feature diverse landscape values is the holder of the unique landscape character at different spatial levels and represents a perceptual domain for its users. Using the landscape metrics, the parameters of landscape composition and configuration are mathematical algorithms that quantify the specific spatial characteristics used for interpretation of landscape features and processes (physical and ecological aspect, as well as forms (visual aspect and the meaning (cognitive aspect of the landscape. Landscape metrics has been applied mostly in the ecological and biodiversity assessments as well as in the determination of the level of structural change of landscape, but more and more applied in the assessment of the visual character of the landscape. Based on a review of relevant literature, the aim of this work is to show the main trends of landscape metrics within the aspect of ecological and visual assessments. The research methodology is based on the analysis, classification and systematization of the research studies published from 2000 to 2016, where the landscape metrics is applied: (1 the analysis of landscape pattern and its changes, (2 the analysis of biodiversity and habitat function and (3 a visual landscape assessment. By selecting representative metric parameters for the landscape composition and configuration, for each category is formed the basis for further landscape metrics research and application for the integrated ecological and visual assessment of the landscape values. Contemporary conceptualization of the landscape is seen holistically, and the future research should be directed towards the development of integrated landscape assessment

Backtracking Method of Coloring Administrative Maps Considering Visual Perception Rules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WEI Zhiwei

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Color design in administrative maps should incorporate and balance area configuration, color harmony, and users' purposes. Based on visual perceptual rules, this paper quantifies color harmony, color contrast and perceptual balance in coloring administrative maps, and a model is suggested to evaluate the coloring quality after color template is selected. Then a backtracking method based on area balance is proposed to compute colored areas. Experiments show that this method can well meet visual perceptual rules while coloring administrative maps, and can be used for later map design.

The effects of acute bout of cycling on auditory & visual reaction times.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashnagar, Zinat; Shadmehr, Azadeh; Jalaei, Shohreh

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an acute bout of cycling exercise on auditory choice reaction time, visual choice reaction time, auditory complex choice reaction time and visual complex choice reaction time. 29 subjects were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The subjects of the experimental group carried out a single bout of submaximal cycling exercise. The auditory choice reaction time, visual choice reaction time, auditory complex choice reaction time and visual complex choice reaction times were measured before and after the exercise session. The reaction time tests were taken from the subjects by using Speed Anticipation and Reaction Tester (SART) software. In the control group, the reaction time tests were performed by the subjects with an interval of 30 min. In the experimental group, the percentage changes of mean auditory choice and complex choice reaction time values were significantly decreased in comparison with the control group (P visual choice and complex choice reaction times were decreased after the exercise, the changes were not significant (P > 0.05). An acute bout of cycling exercise improved the speed of auditory and visual reaction times in healthy young females. However, these positive changes were significantly observed only in the auditory reaction time tests in comparison with the control group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The body image in ancient tragedy: a verbal visuality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisana De Carli

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, two tragedies of Sophocles and two others from Seneca are analyzed in order to identify the visuality given to the body through the word, image built for the character’s body, their levels of meaning and reverberation in text and scene. This information can be characterized as internal rubric because such data supports the scene’s construction. Thus, structure and content engender enhancing body's significance on scene either by its presence or a verbal visual, figuring a semantic occupation, which configures as one of the marks of the ancient theater.

Design and Implementation of Cloud-Centric Configuration Repository for DIY IoT Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Shabir; Hang, Lei; Kim, Do Hyeun

2018-02-06

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) vision for the design of a smart and customizable IoT application demands the involvement of the general public in its development process. The general public lacks the technical knowledge for programming state-of-the-art prototyping and development kits. The latest IoT kits, for example, Raspberry Pi, are revolutionizing the DIY paradigm for IoT, and more than ever, a DIY intuitive programming interface is required to enable the masses to interact with and customize the behavior of remote IoT devices on the Internet. However, in most cases, these DIY toolkits store the resultant configuration data in local storage and, thus, cannot be accessed remotely. This paper presents the novel implementation of such a system, which not only enables the general public to customize the behavior of remote IoT devices through a visual interface, but also makes the configuration available everywhere and anytime by leveraging the power of cloud-based platforms. The interface enables the visualization of the resources exposed by remote embedded resources in the form of graphical virtual objects (VOs). These VOs are used to create the service design through simple operations like drag-and-drop and the setting of properties. The configuration created as a result is maintained as an XML document, which is ingested by the cloud platform, thus making it available to be used anywhere. We use the HTTP approach for the communication between the cloud and IoT toolbox and the cloud and real devices, but for communication between the toolbox and actual resources, CoAP is used. Finally, a smart home case study has been implemented and presented in order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed work.

Design and Implementation of Cloud-Centric Configuration Repository for DIY IoT Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shabir Ahmad

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The Do-It-Yourself (DIY vision for the design of a smart and customizable IoT application demands the involvement of the general public in its development process. The general public lacks the technical knowledge for programming state-of-the-art prototyping and development kits. The latest IoT kits, for example, Raspberry Pi, are revolutionizing the DIY paradigm for IoT, and more than ever, a DIY intuitive programming interface is required to enable the masses to interact with and customize the behavior of remote IoT devices on the Internet. However, in most cases, these DIY toolkits store the resultant configuration data in local storage and, thus, cannot be accessed remotely. This paper presents the novel implementation of such a system, which not only enables the general public to customize the behavior of remote IoT devices through a visual interface, but also makes the configuration available everywhere and anytime by leveraging the power of cloud-based platforms. The interface enables the visualization of the resources exposed by remote embedded resources in the form of graphical virtual objects (VOs. These VOs are used to create the service design through simple operations like drag-and-drop and the setting of properties. The configuration created as a result is maintained as an XML document, which is ingested by the cloud platform, thus making it available to be used anywhere. We use the HTTP approach for the communication between the cloud and IoT toolbox and the cloud and real devices, but for communication between the toolbox and actual resources, CoAP is used. Finally, a smart home case study has been implemented and presented in order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed work.

The TBM-CA configuration management approach for the ITER test blanket module - application to the HCLL TBS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jourd'Heuil, L.; Panayotov, D.; Salavy, J.-F.; Storto, C.; Colombo, M.; Sardain, P.

2011-01-01

The European Test Blanket Modules (EU-TBM) are first prototypes of a fusion reactor breeding blanket. They will be tested in dedicated equatorial ports n o 16 of ITER. Technical developments are performed by a Consortium of European Associates (TBM-CA) and supported within the framework of F4E agency. Designing a complex nuclear system like TBM for ITER necessitates an organizational structure inside the consortium to manage in permanence the coherence between requirements (F4E technical and management specifications) and the TBM development through their life time. At the present stage, evolutionary nature of the design from the different teams is important. Highest priority is assigned to the Management support and Design Integration Team (MDIT) to perform an efficient control of the Configuration Management (CM). The TBM-CA CM comprises 4 main processes: a) identifying configuration of a product characteristics, including its interfaces (Configuration identification), b) controlling the evolution from agreed baseline (Configuration Control), c) creating the knowledge database in order to manage the information all along the lifecycle of the items (Configuration status accounting) and d) verifying the current configuration status of the items (Audits). CM is then a powerful tool to link the requirements for engineering, safety, quality assurance and test and acceptance activities. The application of the CM approach is illustrated through the case of TBM-HCLL (Helium Cooled Lithium Lead). The result shows that the proposed methodology and tools are suitable and provide quality solution for the items with a complex configuration such as TBM HCLL.

Endogenous visuospatial attention increases visual awareness independent of visual discrimination sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernet, Marine; Japee, Shruti; Lokey, Savannah; Ahmed, Sara; Zachariou, Valentinos; Ungerleider, Leslie G

2017-08-12

Visuospatial attention often improves task performance by increasing signal gain at attended locations and decreasing noise at unattended locations. Attention is also believed to be the mechanism that allows information to enter awareness. In this experiment, we assessed whether orienting endogenous visuospatial attention with cues differentially affects visual discrimination sensitivity (an objective task performance) and visual awareness (the subjective feeling of perceiving) during the same discrimination task. Gabor patch targets were presented laterally, either at low contrast (contrast stimuli) or at high contrast embedded in noise (noise stimuli). Participants reported their orientation either in a 3-alternative choice task (clockwise, counterclockwise, unknown) that allowed for both objective and subjective reports, or in a 2-alternative choice task (clockwise, counterclockwise) that provided a control for objective reports. Signal detection theory models were fit to the experimental data: estimated perceptual sensitivity reflected objective performance; decision criteria, or subjective biases, were a proxy for visual awareness. Attention increased sensitivity (i.e., improved objective performance) for the contrast, but not for the noise stimuli. Indeed, with the latter, attention did not further enhance the already high target signal or reduce the already low uncertainty on its position. Interestingly, for both contrast and noise stimuli, attention resulted in more liberal criteria, i.e., awareness increased. The noise condition is thus an experimental configuration where people think they see the targets they attend to better, even if they do not. This could be explained by an internal representation of their attentional state, which influences awareness independent of objective visual signals. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Application of Configurators in Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malis, Martin; Hvam, Lars

2003-01-01

Shorter lead-time, improved quality of product specifications and better communication with customers and suppliers are benefits derived from the application of configurators. Configurators are knowledge-based IT-systems that can be applied to deal with product knowledge and to support different...... processes in a company. Traditionally, configurators have been used as an internal tool. In this paper focus will be on the application of configurators in a network of companies, and a procedure for developing product configurators in a network of companies will be presented. The aim is to present...... a structured guideline, tools and methods on how to successfully develop configurators in a network perspective. Findings presented in this paper are supported by research in a case company. The results from the empirical work show a huge potential for the application of configurators in networks of companies....

a Chiral Tagging Strategy for Determining Absolute Configuration and Enantiomeric Excess by Molecular Rotational Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Evangelisti, Luca; Caminati, Walther; Patterson, David; Thomas, Javix; Xu, Yunjie; West, Channing; Pate, Brooks

2017-06-01

The introduction of three wave mixing rotational spectroscopy by Patterson, Schnell, and Doyle [1,2] has expanded applications of molecular rotational spectroscopy into the field of chiral analysis. Chiral analysis of a molecule is the quantitative measurement of the relative abundances of all stereoisomers of the molecule and these include both diastereomers (with distinct molecular rotational spectra) and enantiomers (with equivalent molecular rotational spectra). This work adapts a common strategy in chiral analysis of enantiomers to molecular rotational spectroscopy. A "chiral tag" is attached to the molecule of interest by making a weakly bound complex in a pulsed jet expansion. When this tag molecule is enantiopure, it will create diastereomeric complexes with the two enantiomers of the molecule being analyzed and these can be differentiated by molecule rotational spectroscopy. Identifying the structure of this complex, with knowledge of the absolute configuration of the tag, establishes the absolute configuration of the molecule of interest. Furthermore, the diastereomer complex spectra can be used to determine the enantiomeric excess of the sample. The ability to perform chiral analysis will be illustrated by a study of solketal using propylene oxide as the tag. The possibility of using current methods of quantum chemistry to assign a specific structure to the chiral tag complex will be discussed. Finally, chiral tag rotational spectroscopy offers a "gold standard" method for determining the absolute configuration of the molecule through determination of the substitution structure of the complex. When this measurement is possible, rotational spectroscopy can deliver a quantitative three dimensional structure of the molecule with correct stereochemistry as the analysis output. [1] David Patterson, Melanie Schnell, John M. Doyle, Nature 497, 475 (2013). [2] David Patterson, John M. Doyle, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 023008 (2013).

Alpha complexes in protein structure prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winter, Pawel; Fonseca, Rasmus

2015-01-01

Reducing the computational effort and increasing the accuracy of potential energy functions is of utmost importance in modeling biological systems, for instance in protein structure prediction, docking or design. Evaluating interactions between nonbonded atoms is the bottleneck of such computations......-complexes from scratch for every configuration encountered during the search for the native structure would make this approach hopelessly slow. However, it is argued that kinetic a-complexes can be used to reduce the computational effort of determining the potential energy when "moving" from one configuration...... to a neighboring one. As a consequence, relatively expensive (initial) construction of an a-complex is expected to be compensated by subsequent fast kinetic updates during the search process. Computational results presented in this paper are limited. However, they suggest that the applicability of a...

Environmental influences on neural systems of relational complexity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Layne eKalbfleisch

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Constructivist learning theory contends that we construct knowledge by experience and that environmental context influences learning. To explore this principle, we examined the cognitive process relational complexity (RC, defined as the number of visual dimensions considered during problem solving on a matrix reasoning task and a well-documented measure of mature reasoning capacity. We sought to determine how the visual environment influences RC by examining the influence of color and visual contrast on RC in a neuroimaging task. To specify the contributions of sensory demand and relational integration to reasoning, our participants performed a non-verbal matrix task comprised of color, no-color line, or black-white visual contrast conditions parametrically varied by complexity (relations 0, 1, 2. The use of matrix reasoning is ecologically valid for its psychometric relevance and for its potential to link the processing of psychophysically specific visual properties with various levels of relational complexity during reasoning. The role of these elements is important because matrix tests assess intellectual aptitude based on these seemingly context-less exercises. This experiment is a first step toward examining the psychophysical underpinnings of performance on these types of problems. The importance of this is increased in light of recent evidence that intelligence can be linked to visual discrimination. We submit three main findings. First, color and black-white visual contrast add demand at a basic sensory level, but contributions from color and from black-white visual contrast are dissociable in cortex such that color engages a reasoning heuristic and black-white visual contrast engages a sensory heuristic. Second, color supports contextual sense-making by boosting salience resulting in faster problem solving. Lastly, when visual complexity reaches 2-relations, color and visual contrast relinquish salience to other dimensions of problem

Visuals Matter! Designing and using effective visual representations to support project and portfolio decisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geraldi, Joana; Arlt, Mario

. They can help managers to be sharper and quicker, especially if visuals are used in a mindful manner. The intent of this book is to increase the awareness of project, program and portfolio practitioners and scholars about the importance of visuals and to provide practical recommendations on how they can......This book is the result of a two-year research project, funded by Project Management Institute and University College London on data visualization in the project and portfolio management contexts. Visuals are powerful and constitute an integral part of analyzing problems and making decisions...... be used and designed mindfully. The research, which underpins this book, focuses on the impact of visuals on cognition of data in project portfolio decisions. The complexity of portfolio problems often exceed human cognitive limitations as a result of a number of factors, such as the large number...

Visualization-by-Sketching: An Artist's Interface for Creating Multivariate Time-Varying Data Visualizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, David; Keefe, Daniel F

2016-01-01

We present Visualization-by-Sketching, a direct-manipulation user interface for designing new data visualizations. The goals are twofold: First, make the process of creating real, animated, data-driven visualizations of complex information more accessible to artists, graphic designers, and other visual experts with traditional, non-technical training. Second, support and enhance the role of human creativity in visualization design, enabling visual experimentation and workflows similar to what is possible with traditional artistic media. The approach is to conceive of visualization design as a combination of processes that are already closely linked with visual creativity: sketching, digital painting, image editing, and reacting to exemplars. Rather than studying and tweaking low-level algorithms and their parameters, designers create new visualizations by painting directly on top of a digital data canvas, sketching data glyphs, and arranging and blending together multiple layers of animated 2D graphics. This requires new algorithms and techniques to interpret painterly user input relative to data "under" the canvas, balance artistic freedom with the need to produce accurate data visualizations, and interactively explore large (e.g., terabyte-sized) multivariate datasets. Results demonstrate a variety of multivariate data visualization techniques can be rapidly recreated using the interface. More importantly, results and feedback from artists support the potential for interfaces in this style to attract new, creative users to the challenging task of designing more effective data visualizations and to help these users stay "in the creative zone" as they work.

Data mining and visualization techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Pak Chung [Richland, WA; Whitney, Paul [Richland, WA; Thomas, Jim [Richland, WA

2004-03-23

Disclosed are association rule identification and visualization methods, systems, and apparatus. An association rule in data mining is an implication of the form X.fwdarw.Y where X is a set of antecedent items and Y is the consequent item. A unique visualization technique that provides multiple antecedent, consequent, confidence, and support information is disclosed to facilitate better presentation of large quantities of complex association rules.

Visual dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease

Science.gov (United States)

Weil, Rimona S.; Schrag, Anette E.; Warren, Jason D.; Crutch, Sebastian J.; Lees, Andrew J.; Morris, Huw R.

2016-01-01

Patients with Parkinson’s disease have a number of specific visual disturbances. These include changes in colour vision and contrast sensitivity and difficulties with complex visual tasks such as mental rotation and emotion recognition. We review changes in visual function at each stage of visual processing from retinal deficits, including contrast sensitivity and colour vision deficits to higher cortical processing impairments such as object and motion processing and neglect. We consider changes in visual function in patients with common Parkinson’s disease-associated genetic mutations including GBA and LRRK2. We discuss the association between visual deficits and clinical features of Parkinson’s disease such as rapid eye movement sleep behavioural disorder and the postural instability and gait disorder phenotype. We review the link between abnormal visual function and visual hallucinations, considering current models for mechanisms of visual hallucinations. Finally, we discuss the role of visuo-perceptual testing as a biomarker of disease and predictor of dementia in Parkinson’s disease. PMID:27412389

PC-PVT 2.0: An updated platform for psychomotor vigilance task testing, analysis, prediction, and visualization.

Science.gov (United States)

Reifman, Jaques; Kumar, Kamal; Khitrov, Maxim Y; Liu, Jianbo; Ramakrishnan, Sridhar

2018-07-01

The psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) has been widely used to assess the effects of sleep deprivation on human neurobehavioral performance. To facilitate research in this field, we previously developed the PC-PVT, a freely available software system analogous to the "gold-standard" PVT-192 that, in addition to allowing for simple visual reaction time (RT) tests, also allows for near real-time PVT analysis, prediction, and visualization in a personal computer (PC). Here we present the PC-PVT 2.0 for Windows 10 operating system, which has the capability to couple PVT tests of a study protocol with the study's sleep/wake and caffeine schedules, and make real-time individualized predictions of PVT performance for such schedules. We characterized the accuracy and precision of the software in measuring RT, using 44 distinct combinations of PC hardware system configurations. We found that 15 system configurations measured RTs with an average delay of less than 10 ms, an error comparable to that of the PVT-192. To achieve such small delays, the system configuration should always use a gaming mouse as the means to respond to visual stimuli. We recommend using a discrete graphical processing unit for desktop PCs and an external monitor for laptop PCs. This update integrates a study's sleep/wake and caffeine schedules with the testing software, facilitating testing and outcome visualization, and provides near-real-time individualized PVT predictions for any sleep-loss condition considering caffeine effects. The software, with its enhanced PVT analysis, visualization, and prediction capabilities, can be freely downloaded from https://pcpvt.bhsai.org. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Correlation as a Determinant of Configurational Entropy in Supramolecular and Protein Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

For biomolecules in solution, changes in configurational entropy are thought to contribute substantially to the free energies of processes like binding and conformational change. In principle, the configurational entropy can be strongly affected by pairwise and higher-order correlations among conformational degrees of freedom. However, the literature offers mixed perspectives regarding the contributions that changes in correlations make to changes in configurational entropy for such processes. Here we take advantage of powerful techniques for simulation and entropy analysis to carry out rigorous in silico studies of correlation in binding and conformational changes. In particular, we apply information-theoretic expansions of the configurational entropy to well-sampled molecular dynamics simulations of a model host–guest system and the protein bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. The results bear on the interpretation of NMR data, as they indicate that changes in correlation are important determinants of entropy changes for biologically relevant processes and that changes in correlation may either balance or reinforce changes in first-order entropy. The results also highlight the importance of main-chain torsions as contributors to changes in protein configurational entropy. As simulation techniques grow in power, the mathematical techniques used here will offer new opportunities to answer challenging questions about complex molecular systems. PMID:24702693

Simulator configuration maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Requirements and recommendations of this section defines NPP personnel activity aimed to the provision of the simulator configuration compliance with the current configuration of the power-generating unit-prototype, standard and technical requirements and describe a monitoring procedure for a set of simulator software and hardware, training, organizational and technical documents

Overview of EVE - the event visualization environment of ROOT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tadel, Matevz

2010-01-01

EVE is a high-level visualization library using ROOT's data-processing, GUI and OpenGL interfaces. It is designed as a framework for object management offering hierarchical data organization, object interaction and visualization via GUI and OpenGL representations. Automatic creation of 2D projected views is also supported. On the other hand, it can serve as an event visualization toolkit satisfying most HEP requirements: visualization of geometry, simulated and reconstructed data such as hits, clusters, tracks and calorimeter information. Special classes are available for visualization of raw-data. Object-interaction layer allows for easy selection and highlighting of objects and their derived representations (projections) across several views (3D, Rho-Z, R-Phi). Object-specific tooltips are provided in both GUI and GL views. The visual-configuration layer of EVE is built around a data-base of template objects that can be applied to specific instances of visualization objects to ensure consistent object presentation. The data-base can be retrieved from a file, edited during the framework operation and stored to file. EVE prototype was developed within the ALICE collaboration and has been included into ROOT in December 2007. Since then all EVE components have reached maturity. EVE is used as the base of AliEve visualization framework in ALICE, Firework physics-oriented event-display in CMS, and as the visualization engine of FairRoot in FAIR.

Overview of EVE - the event visualization environment of ROOT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tadel, Matevz, E-mail: matevz.tadel@cern.c [CERN, CH-1211 Geneve 23 (Switzerland)

2010-04-01

EVE is a high-level visualization library using ROOT's data-processing, GUI and OpenGL interfaces. It is designed as a framework for object management offering hierarchical data organization, object interaction and visualization via GUI and OpenGL representations. Automatic creation of 2D projected views is also supported. On the other hand, it can serve as an event visualization toolkit satisfying most HEP requirements: visualization of geometry, simulated and reconstructed data such as hits, clusters, tracks and calorimeter information. Special classes are available for visualization of raw-data. Object-interaction layer allows for easy selection and highlighting of objects and their derived representations (projections) across several views (3D, Rho-Z, R-Phi). Object-specific tooltips are provided in both GUI and GL views. The visual-configuration layer of EVE is built around a data-base of template objects that can be applied to specific instances of visualization objects to ensure consistent object presentation. The data-base can be retrieved from a file, edited during the framework operation and stored to file. EVE prototype was developed within the ALICE collaboration and has been included into ROOT in December 2007. Since then all EVE components have reached maturity. EVE is used as the base of AliEve visualization framework in ALICE, Firework physics-oriented event-display in CMS, and as the visualization engine of FairRoot in FAIR.

Heuristics of Reasoning and Analogy in Children's Visual Perspective Taking.

Science.gov (United States)

Yaniv, Ilan; Shatz, Marilyn

1990-01-01

In three experiments, children of three through six years of age were generally better able to reproduce a perceiver's perspective if a visual cue in the perceiver's line of sight was salient. Children had greater difficulty when the task hinged on attending to configural cues. Availability of distinctive cues affixed to objects facilitated…

Efficient in-situ visualization of unsteady flows in climate simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Vetter, Michael; Olbrich, Stephan

2017-04-01

the data structures and mapping algorithms of the framework to support the ICON model's native grid structures, since DSVR originally was designed for rectilinear grids only. We now have implemented a new output module to ICON to take advantage of the DSVR visualization. The visualization can be configured as most output modules by using a specific namelist and is exemplarily integrated within the non-hydrostatic atmospheric model time loop. With the integration of a DSVR based in-situ pathline extraction within ICON, a further milestone is reached. The pathline algorithm as well as the grid data structures have been optimized for the domain decomposition used for the parallelization of ICON based on MPI and OpenMP. The software implementation and evaluation is done on the supercomputers at DKRZ. In principle, the data complexity is reduced from O(n3) to O(m), where n is the grid resolution and m the number of supporting point of all pathlines. The stability and scalability evaluation is done using Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) runs. We will give a short introduction in our software framework, as well as a short overview on the implementation and usage of DSVR within ICON. Furthermore, we will present visualization and evaluation results of sample applications.

Effective search for stable segregation configurations at grain boundaries with data-mining techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Kiyohara, Shin; Mizoguchi, Teruyasu

2018-03-01

Grain boundary segregation of dopants plays a crucial role in materials properties. To investigate the dopant segregation behavior at the grain boundary, an enormous number of combinations have to be considered in the segregation of multiple dopants at the complex grain boundary structures. Here, two data mining techniques, the random-forests regression and the genetic algorithm, were applied to determine stable segregation sites at grain boundaries efficiently. Using the random-forests method, a predictive model was constructed from 2% of the segregation configurations and it has been shown that this model could determine the stable segregation configurations. Furthermore, the genetic algorithm also successfully determined the most stable segregation configuration with great efficiency. We demonstrate that these approaches are quite effective to investigate the dopant segregation behaviors at grain boundaries.

Recent results in visual servoing

Science.gov (United States)

Chaumette, François

2008-06-01

Visual servoing techniques consist in using the data provided by a vision sensor in order to control the motions of a dynamic system. Such systems are usually robot arms, mobile robots, aerial robots,… but can also be virtual robots for applications in computer animation, or even a virtual camera for applications in computer vision and augmented reality. A large variety of positioning tasks, or mobile target tracking, can be implemented by controlling from one to all the degrees of freedom of the system. Whatever the sensor configuration, which can vary from one on-board camera on the robot end-effector to several free-standing cameras, a set of visual features has to be selected at best from the image measurements available, allowing to control the degrees of freedom desired. A control law has also to be designed so that these visual features reach a desired value, defining a correct realization of the task. With a vision sensor providing 2D measurements, potential visual features are numerous, since as well 2D data (coordinates of feature points in the image, moments, …) as 3D data provided by a localization algorithm exploiting the extracted 2D measurements can be considered. It is also possible to combine 2D and 3D visual features to take the advantages of each approach while avoiding their respective drawbacks. From the selected visual features, the behavior of the system will have particular properties as for stability, robustness with respect to noise or to calibration errors, robot 3D trajectory, etc. The talk will present the main basic aspects of visual servoing, as well as technical advances obtained recently in the field inside the Lagadic group at INRIA/INRISA Rennes. Several application results will be also described.

Hierarchically organized layout for visualization of biochemical pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Jyh-Jong; Wu, Bo-Liang; Jeng, Yu-Sen

2010-01-01

Many complex pathways are described as hierarchical structures in which a pathway is recursively partitioned into several sub-pathways, and organized hierarchically as a tree. The hierarchical structure provides a natural way to visualize the global structure of a complex pathway. However, none of the previous research on pathway visualization explores the hierarchical structures provided by many complex pathways. In this paper, we aim to develop algorithms that can take advantages of hierarchical structures, and give layouts that explore the global structures as well as local structures of pathways. We present a new hierarchically organized layout algorithm to produce layouts for hierarchically organized pathways. Our algorithm first decomposes a complex pathway into sub-pathway groups along the hierarchical organization, and then partition each sub-pathway group into basic components. It then applies conventional layout algorithms, such as hierarchical layout and force-directed layout, to compute the layout of each basic component. Finally, component layouts are joined to form a final layout of the pathway. Our main contribution is the development of algorithms for decomposing pathways and joining layouts. Experiment shows that our algorithm is able to give comprehensible visualization for pathways with hierarchies, cycles as well as complex structures. It clearly renders the global component structures as well as the local structure in each component. In addition, it runs very fast, and gives better visualization for many examples from previous related research. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Graph-based clustering and data visualization algorithms

CERN Document Server

Vathy-Fogarassy, Ágnes

2013-01-01

This work presents a data visualization technique that combines graph-based topology representation and dimensionality reduction methods to visualize the intrinsic data structure in a low-dimensional vector space. The application of graphs in clustering and visualization has several advantages. A graph of important edges (where edges characterize relations and weights represent similarities or distances) provides a compact representation of the entire complex data set. This text describes clustering and visualization methods that are able to utilize information hidden in these graphs, based on

Flexible Visual Quality Inspection in Discrete Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Petković, Tomislav; Jurić, Darko; Lončarić, Sven

2013-01-01

Most visual quality inspections in discrete manufacturing are composed of length, surface, angle or intensity measurements. Those are implemented as end-user configurable inspection tools that should not require an image processing expert to set up. Currently available software solutions providing such capability use a flowchart based programming environment, but do not fully address an inspection flowchart robustness and can require a redefinition of the flowchart if a small variation is int...

A Multilevel Gamma-Clustering Layout Algorithm for Visualization of Biological Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Hruz, Tomas; Lucas, Christoph; Laule, Oliver; Zimmermann, Philip

2013-01-01

Visualization of large complex networks has become an indispensable part of systems biology, where organisms need to be considered as one complex system. The visualization of the corresponding network is challenging due to the size and density of edges. In many cases, the use of standard visualization algorithms can lead to high running times and poorly readable visualizations due to many edge crossings. We suggest an approach that analyzes the structure of the graph first and then generates a new graph which contains specific semantic symbols for regular substructures like dense clusters. We propose a multilevel gamma-clustering layout visualization algorithm (MLGA) which proceeds in three subsequent steps: (i) a multilevel γ-clustering is used to identify the structure of the underlying network, (ii) the network is transformed to a tree, and (iii) finally, the resulting tree which shows the network structure is drawn using a variation of a force-directed algorithm. The algorithm has a potential to visualize very large networks because it uses modern clustering heuristics which are optimized for large graphs. Moreover, most of the edges are removed from the visual representation which allows keeping the overview over complex graphs with dense subgraphs. PMID:23864855

Visualizing the Arithmetic of Complex Numbers

Science.gov (United States)

Soto-Johnson, Hortensia

2014-01-01

The Common Core State Standards Initiative stresses the importance of developing a geometric and algebraic understanding of complex numbers in their different forms (i.e., Cartesian, polar and exponential). Unfortunately, most high school textbooks do not offer such explanations much less exercises that encourage students to bridge geometric and…

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) or continuous unilateral distal experimental pain stimulation in healthy subjects does not bias visual attention towards one hemifield.

Science.gov (United States)

Filippopulos, Filipp M; Grafenstein, Jessica; Straube, Andreas; Eggert, Thomas

2015-11-01

In natural life pain automatically draws attention towards the painful body part suggesting that it interacts with different attentional mechanisms such as visual attention. Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) patients who typically report on chronic distally located pain of one extremity may suffer from so-called neglect-like symptoms, which have also been linked to attentional mechanisms. The purpose of the study was to further evaluate how continuous pain conditions influence visual attention. Saccade latencies were recorded in two experiments using a common visual attention paradigm whereby orientating saccades to cued or uncued lateral visual targets had to be performed. In the first experiment saccade latencies of healthy subjects were measured under two conditions: one in which continuous experimental pain stimulation was applied to the index finger to imitate a continuous pain situation, and one without pain stimulation. In the second experiment saccade latencies of patients suffering from CRPS were compared to controls. The results showed that neither the continuous experimental pain stimulation during the experiment nor the chronic pain in CRPS led to an unilateral increase of saccade latencies or to a unilateral increase of the cue effect on latency. The results show that unilateral, continuously applied pain stimuli or chronic pain have no or only very limited influence on visual attention. Differently from patients with visual neglect, patients with CRPS did not show strong side asymmetries of saccade latencies or of cue effects on saccade latencies. Thus, neglect-like clinical symptoms of CRPS patients do not involve the allocation of visual attention.

A visual approach for modeling spatiotemporal relations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.L. Guimarães (Rodrigo); C.S.S. Neto; L.F.G. Soares

2008-01-01

htmlabstractTextual programming languages have proven to be difficult to learn and to use effectively for many people. For this sake, visual tools can be useful to abstract the complexity of such textual languages, minimizing the specification efforts. In this paper we present a visual approach for

Relationship between macular ganglion cell complex parameters and visual field parameters after tumor resection in chiasmal compression.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohkubo, Shinji; Higashide, Tomomi; Takeda, Hisashi; Murotani, Eiji; Hayashi, Yasuhiko; Sugiyama, Kazuhisa

2012-01-01

To evaluate the relationship between macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) parameters and visual field (VF) parameters in chiasmal compression and the potential for GCC parameters in order to predict the short-term postsurgical VF. Twenty-three eyes of 12 patients with chiasmal compression and 33 control eyes were studied. All patients underwent transsphenoidal tumor resection. Before surgery a 3D scan of the macula was taken using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. All patients underwent Humphrey 24-2 VF testing after surgery. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the relationship between the GCC parameters and VF parameters [mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation]. Coefficients of determination (R2) were calculated using linear regression. Average thickness in the patients was significantly thinner than that of controls. Average thickness, global loss volume and focal loss volume (FLV) significantly correlated with the MD. We observed the greatest R2 between FLV and MD. Examining the macular GCC was useful for evaluating structural damage in patients with chiasmal compression. Preoperative GCC parameters, especially FLV, may be useful in predicting visual function following surgical decompression of chiasmal compression.

Visual motion imagery neurofeedback based on the hMT+/V5 complex: evidence for a feedback-specific neural circuit involving neocortical and cerebellar regions

Science.gov (United States)

Banca, Paula; Sousa, Teresa; Catarina Duarte, Isabel; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

2015-12-01

Objective. Current approaches in neurofeedback/brain-computer interface research often focus on identifying, on a subject-by-subject basis, the neural regions that are best suited for self-driven modulation. It is known that the hMT+/V5 complex, an early visual cortical region, is recruited during explicit and implicit motion imagery, in addition to real motion perception. This study tests the feasibility of training healthy volunteers to regulate the level of activation in their hMT+/V5 complex using real-time fMRI neurofeedback and visual motion imagery strategies. Approach. We functionally localized the hMT+/V5 complex to further use as a target region for neurofeedback. An uniform strategy based on motion imagery was used to guide subjects to neuromodulate hMT+/V5. Main results. We found that 15/20 participants achieved successful neurofeedback. This modulation led to the recruitment of a specific network as further assessed by psychophysiological interaction analysis. This specific circuit, including hMT+/V5, putative V6 and medial cerebellum was activated for successful neurofeedback runs. The putamen and anterior insula were recruited for both successful and non-successful runs. Significance. Our findings indicate that hMT+/V5 is a region that can be modulated by focused imagery and that a specific cortico-cerebellar circuit is recruited during visual motion imagery leading to successful neurofeedback. These findings contribute to the debate on the relative potential of extrinsic (sensory) versus intrinsic (default-mode) brain regions in the clinical application of neurofeedback paradigms. This novel circuit might be a good target for future neurofeedback approaches that aim, for example, the training of focused attention in disorders such as ADHD.

A numerical investigation of the functionality of coronary bifurcation lesions with respect to lesion configuration and stenosis severity.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagiatakis, Catherine; Tardif, Jean-Claude; L'Allier, Philippe L; Mongrain, Rosaire

2015-09-18

The intervention of coronary bifurcation lesions is associated with higher rates of peri- and post-procedural clinical events compared to the treatment of isolated lesions. Overall, the factors that influence the dynamics of these types of configurations are still not well understood. A geometric multiscale model, consisting of a 3D representation of the left main coronary artery bifurcation and a 0D representation of the rest of the cardiovascular system, was developed. Computational fluid dynamics simulations of the 3D domain were executed by implementing the multiscale algorithm, in order to characterize the functionality of different multilesional configurations as a function of stenosis severity. The investigation found that coronary branch steal has a significant impact on the functionality of the disease and can render a two-lesion configuration more severe compared to a three-lesion configuration. As a result of the complexity of this phenomenon, it was also suggested that certain lesion configurations could result in false negatives in diagnosis when employing a pullback pressure recording across the tandem lesions. In conclusion, this study showed that coronary bifurcation lesions are subject to intricate haemodynamic interactions which render the characterization of their functionality complex and could have significant clinical implications with regards to their diagnosis and prognosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visualization in medicine and life sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linsen, L.; Hamann, B.

2008-01-01

Visualization technology is becoming increasingly important for medical and biomedical data processing and analysis. This technology complements traditional image processing methods as it allows scientists to visually interact with large, high-resolution three-dimensional image data, for example. Furthermore, an ever increasing number of new data acquisition methods are being used in medicine and the life sciences, in particular in genomics and proteomics. This book discusses some of the latest visualization techniques and systems for effective analysis of such diverse, large, complex, and multi-source data. Experts from all over the world were invited to participate in a workshop held in July 2006 on the island Ruegen in Germany. About 40 participants presented state-of-the-art research on the topic. Research and survey papers have been solicited and carefully refereed, resulting in this collection. The topics covered include Segmentation and Feature Detection, Surface Extraction, Volume Visualization, Graph and Network Visualization, Visual Data Exploration, Multivariate and Multidimensional Data Visualization, Large Data Visualization. (orig.)

Robust Control for High-Speed Visual Servoing Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ellekilde, Lars-Peter; Favrholdt, Peter; Paulin, Mads

2007-01-01

This paper presents a new control scheme for visual servoing applications. The approach employs quadratic optimization, and explicitly handles both joint position, velocity and acceleration limits. Contrary to existing techniques, our method does not rely on large safety margins and slow task...... execution to avoid joint limits, and is hence able to exploit the full potential of the robot. Furthermore, our control scheme guarantees a well-defined behavior of the robot even when it is in a singular configuration, and thus handles both internal and external singularities robustly. We demonstrate...... the correctness and efficiency of our approach in a number of visual servoing applications, and compare it to a range of previously proposed techniques....

Multiple Level Crowding: Crowding at the Object Parts Level and at the Object Configural level.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimchi, Ruth; Pirkner, Yossef

2015-01-01

In crowding, identification of a peripheral target in the presence of nearby flankers is worse than when the target appears alone. Prevailing theories hold that crowding occurs because of integration or "pooling" of low-level features at a single, relatively early stage of visual processing. Recent studies suggest that crowding can occur also between high-level object representations. The most relevant findings come from studies with faces and may be specific to faces. We examined whether crowding can occur at the object configural level in addition to part-level crowding, using nonface objects. Target (a disconnected square or diamond made of four elements) identification was measured at varying eccentricities. The flankers were similar either to the target parts or to the target configuration. The results showed crowding in both cases: Flankers interfered with target identification such that identification accuracy decreased with an increase in eccentricity, and no interference was observed at the fovea. Crowding by object parts, however, was weaker and had smaller spatial extent than crowding by object configurations; we related this finding to the relationship between crowding and perceptual organization. These results provide strong evidence that crowding occurs not only between object parts but also between configural representations of objects. © The Author(s) 2015.

Visualization of reaction mechanism by CG based on quantum ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this work, the change in the molecular configuration in fundamental chemical reactions such as, F + HCl ¨ HF + Cl, I + H2¨ HI + H, OH- + CH3Cl ¨ CH3OH + Cl-, and esterification of acetic acid and ethyl alcohol were visualized by the quantum chemical calculation MOPAC with PM5 Hamiltonian. The CG teaching material ...

Integrated Data Visualization and Virtual Reality Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Dryer, David A.

1998-01-01

The Integrated Data Visualization and Virtual Reality Tool (IDVVRT) Phase II effort was for the design and development of an innovative Data Visualization Environment Tool (DVET) for NASA engineers and scientists, enabling them to visualize complex multidimensional and multivariate data in a virtual environment. The objectives of the project were to: (1) demonstrate the transfer and manipulation of standard engineering data in a virtual world; (2) demonstrate the effects of design and changes using finite element analysis tools; and (3) determine the training and engineering design and analysis effectiveness of the visualization system.

Creating visual explanations improves learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobek, Eliza; Tversky, Barbara

2016-01-01

Many topics in science are notoriously difficult for students to learn. Mechanisms and processes outside student experience present particular challenges. While instruction typically involves visualizations, students usually explain in words. Because visual explanations can show parts and processes of complex systems directly, creating them should have benefits beyond creating verbal explanations. We compared learning from creating visual or verbal explanations for two STEM domains, a mechanical system (bicycle pump) and a chemical system (bonding). Both kinds of explanations were analyzed for content and learning assess by a post-test. For the mechanical system, creating a visual explanation increased understanding particularly for participants of low spatial ability. For the chemical system, creating both visual and verbal explanations improved learning without new teaching. Creating a visual explanation was superior and benefitted participants of both high and low spatial ability. Visual explanations often included crucial yet invisible features. The greater effectiveness of visual explanations appears attributable to the checks they provide for completeness and coherence as well as to their roles as platforms for inference. The benefits should generalize to other domains like the social sciences, history, and archeology where important information can be visualized. Together, the findings provide support for the use of learner-generated visual explanations as a powerful learning tool.

Does my step look big in this? A visual illusion leads to safer stepping behaviour.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David B Elliott

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Tripping is a common factor in falls and a typical safety strategy to avoid tripping on steps or stairs is to increase foot clearance over the step edge. In the present study we asked whether the perceived height of a step could be increased using a visual illusion and whether this would lead to the adoption of a safer stepping strategy, in terms of greater foot clearance over the step edge. The study also addressed the controversial question of whether motor actions are dissociated from visual perception. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 21 young, healthy subjects perceived the step to be higher in a configuration of the horizontal-vertical illusion compared to a reverse configuration (p = 0.01. During a simple stepping task, maximum toe elevation changed by an amount corresponding to the size of the visual illusion (p<0.001. Linear regression analyses showed highly significant associations between perceived step height and maximum toe elevation for all conditions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The perceived height of a step can be manipulated using a simple visual illusion, leading to the adoption of a safer stepping strategy in terms of greater foot clearance over a step edge. In addition, the strong link found between perception of a visual illusion and visuomotor action provides additional support to the view that the original, controversial proposal by Goodale and Milner (1992 of two separate and distinct visual streams for perception and visuomotor action should be re-evaluated.

The geosystems of complex geographical atlases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovanović Jasmina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Complex geographical atlases represent geosystems of different hierarchical rank, complexity and diversity, scale and connection. They represent a set of large number of different pieces of information about geospace. Also, they contain systematized, correlative and in the apparent form represented pieces of information about space. The degree of information revealed in the atlas is precisely explained by its content structure and the form of presentation. The quality of atlas depends on the method of visualization of data and the quality of geodata. Cartographic visualization represents cognitive process. The analysis converts geospatial data into knowledge. A complex geographical atlas represents information complex of spatial - temporal coordinated database on geosystems of different complexity and territorial scope. Each geographical atlas defines a concrete geosystem. Systemic organization (structural and contextual determines its complexity and concreteness. In complex atlases, the attributes of geosystems are modeled and pieces of information are given in systematized, graphically unique form. The atlas can be considered as a database. In composing a database, semantic analysis of data is important. The result of semantic modeling is expressed in structuring of data information, in emphasizing logic connections between phenomena and processes and in defining their classes according to the degree of similarity. Accordingly, the efficiency of research of needed pieces of information in the process of the database use is enabled. An atlas map has a special power to integrate sets of geodata and present information contents in user - friendly and understandable visual and tactile way using its visual ability. Composing an atlas by systemic cartography requires the pieces of information on concrete - defined geosystems of different hierarchical level, the application of scientific methods and making of adequate number of analytical, synthetic

Remembering facial configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, V; Doyle, T; Dench, N; Burton, M

1991-02-01

Eight experiments are reported showing that subjects can remember rather subtle aspects of the configuration of facial features to which they have earlier been exposed. Subjects saw several slightly different configurations (formed by altering the relative placement of internal features of the face) of each of ten different faces, and they were asked to rate the apparent age and masculinity-femininity of each. Afterwards, subjects were asked to select from pairs of faces the configuration which was identical to one previously rated. Subjects responded strongly to the central or "prototypical" configuration of each studied face where this was included as one member of each test pair, whether or not it had been studied (Experiments 1, 2 and 4). Subjects were also quite accurate at recognizing one of the previously encountered extremes of the series of configurations that had been rated (Experiment 3), but when unseen prototypes were paired with seen exemplars subjects' performance was at chance (Experiment 5). Prototype learning of face patterns was shown to be stronger than that for house patterns, though both classes of patterns were affected equally by inversion (Experiment 6). The final two experiments demonstrated that preferences for the prototype could be affected by instructions at study and by whether different exemplars of the same face were shown consecutively or distributed through the study series. The discussion examines the implications of these results for theories of the representation of faces and for instance-based models of memory.

A unix configuration engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, M.

1994-06-01

A high level description language is presented for the purpose of automatically configuring large heterogeneous networked unix environments, based on class-oriented abstractions. The configuration engine is portable and easily extensible

Drift wave instability and turbulence in advanced stellarator configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)