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Sample records for ten visual opsins

  1. The evolution and expression of the moth visual opsin family.

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    Pengjun Xu

    Full Text Available Because visual genes likely evolved in response to their ambient photic environment, the dichotomy between closely related nocturnal moths and diurnal butterflies forms an ideal basis for investigating their evolution. To investigate whether the visual genes of moths are associated with nocturnal dim-light environments or not, we cloned long-wavelength (R, blue (B and ultraviolet (UV opsin genes from 12 species of wild-captured moths and examined their evolutionary functions. Strong purifying selection appeared to constrain the functions of the genes. Dark-treatment altered the levels of mRNA expression in Helicoverpa armigera such that R and UV opsins were up-regulated after dark-treatment, the latter faster than the former. In contrast, B opsins were not significantly up-regulated. Diel changes of opsin mRNA levels in both wild-captured and lab-reared individuals showed no significant fluctuation within the same group. However, the former group had significantly elevated levels of expression compared with the latter. Consequently, environmental conditions appeared to affect the patterns of expression. These findings and the proportional expression of opsins suggested that moths potentially possessed color vision and the visual system played a more important role in the ecology of moths than previously appreciated. This aspect did not differ much from that of diurnal butterflies.

  2. Opsins in onychophora (velvet worms) suggest a single origin and subsequent diversification of visual pigments in arthropods.

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    Hering, Lars; Henze, Miriam J; Kohler, Martin; Kelber, Almut; Bleidorn, Christoph; Leschke, Maren; Nickel, Birgit; Meyer, Matthias; Kircher, Martin; Sunnucks, Paul; Mayer, Georg

    2012-11-01

    Multiple visual pigments, prerequisites for color vision, are found in arthropods, but the evolutionary origin of their diversity remains obscure. In this study, we explore the opsin genes in five distantly related species of Onychophora, using deep transcriptome sequencing and screening approaches. Surprisingly, our data reveal the presence of only one opsin gene (onychopsin) in each onychophoran species, and our behavioral experiments indicate a maximum sensitivity of onychopsin to blue-green light. In our phylogenetic analyses, the onychopsins represent the sister group to the monophyletic clade of visual r-opsins of arthropods. These results concur with phylogenomic support for the sister-group status of the Onychophora and Arthropoda and provide evidence for monochromatic vision in velvet worms and in the last common ancestor of Onychophora and Arthropoda. We conclude that the diversification of visual pigments and color vision evolved in arthropods, along with the evolution of compound eyes-one of the most sophisticated visual systems known.

  3. Diversity of Active States in TMT Opsins.

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    Kazumi Sakai

    Full Text Available Opn3/TMT opsins belong to one of the opsin groups with vertebrate visual and non-visual opsins, and are widely distributed in eyes, brains and other internal organs in various vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrate Opn3/TMT opsins are further classified into four groups on the basis of their amino acid identities. However, there is limited information about molecular properties of these groups, due to the difficulty in preparing the recombinant proteins. Here, we successfully expressed recombinant proteins of TMT1 and TMT2 opsins of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes in cultured cells and characterized their molecular properties. Spectroscopic and biochemical studies demonstrated that TMT1 and TMT2 opsins functioned as blue light-sensitive Gi/Go-coupled receptors, but exhibited spectral properties and photo-convertibility of the active state different from each other. TMT1 opsin forms a visible light-absorbing active state containing all-trans-retinal, which can be photo-converted to 7-cis- and 9-cis-retinal states in addition to the original 11-cis-retinal state. In contrast, the active state of TMT2 opsin is a UV light-absorbing state having all-trans-retinal and does not photo-convert to any other state, including the original 11-cis-retinal state. Thus, TMT opsins are diversified so as to form a different type of active state, which may be responsible for their different functions.

  4. Human Blue Cone Opsin Regeneration Involves Secondary Retinal Binding with Analog Specificity.

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    Srinivasan, Sundaramoorthy; Fernández-Sampedro, Miguel A; Morillo, Margarita; Ramon, Eva; Jiménez-Rosés, Mireia; Cordomí, Arnau; Garriga, Pere

    2018-03-27

    Human color vision is mediated by the red, green, and blue cone visual pigments. Cone opsins are G-protein-coupled receptors consisting of an opsin apoprotein covalently linked to the 11-cis-retinal chromophore. All visual pigments share a common evolutionary origin, and red and green cone opsins exhibit a higher homology, whereas blue cone opsin shows more resemblance to the dim light receptor rhodopsin. Here we show that chromophore regeneration in photoactivated blue cone opsin exhibits intermediate transient conformations and a secondary retinoid binding event with slower binding kinetics. We also detected a fine-tuning of the conformational change in the photoactivated blue cone opsin binding site that alters the retinal isomer binding specificity. Furthermore, the molecular models of active and inactive blue cone opsins show specific molecular interactions in the retinal binding site that are not present in other opsins. These findings highlight the differential conformational versatility of human cone opsin pigments in the chromophore regeneration process, particularly compared to rhodopsin, and point to relevant functional, unexpected roles other than spectral tuning for the cone visual pigments. Copyright © 2018 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Unique Temporal Expression of Triplicated Long-Wavelength Opsins in Developing Butterfly Eyes

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    Kentaro Arikawa

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Following gene duplication events, the expression patterns of the resulting gene copies can often diverge both spatially and temporally. Here we report on gene duplicates that are expressed in distinct but overlapping patterns, and which exhibit temporally divergent expression. Butterflies have sophisticated color vision and spectrally complex eyes, typically with three types of heterogeneous ommatidia. The eyes of the butterfly Papilio xuthus express two green- and one red-absorbing visual pigment, which came about via gene duplication events, in addition to one ultraviolet (UV- and one blue-absorbing visual pigment. We localized mRNAs encoding opsins of these visual pigments in developing eye disks throughout the pupal stage. The mRNAs of the UV and blue opsin are expressed early in pupal development (pd, specifying the type of the ommatidium in which they appear. Red sensitive photoreceptors first express a green opsin mRNA, which is replaced later by the red opsin mRNA. Broadband photoreceptors (that coexpress the green and red opsins first express the green opsin mRNA, later change to red opsin mRNA and finally re-express the green opsin mRNA in addition to the red mRNA. Such a unique temporal and spatial expression pattern of opsin mRNAs may reflect the evolution of visual pigments and provide clues toward understanding how the spectrally complex eyes of butterflies evolved.

  6. Opsin evolution and expression in Arthropod compound Eyes and Ocelli: Insights from the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

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    Henze Miriam J

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Opsins are key proteins in animal photoreception. Together with a light-sensitive group, the chromophore, they form visual pigments which initiate the visual transduction cascade when photoactivated. The spectral absorption properties of visual pigments are mainly determined by their opsins, and thus opsins are crucial for understanding the adaptations of animal eyes. Studies on the phylogeny and expression pattern of opsins have received considerable attention, but our knowledge about insect visual opsins is still limited. Up to now, researchers have focused on holometabolous insects, while general conclusions require sampling from a broader range of taxa. We have therefore investigated visual opsins in the ocelli and compound eyes of the two-spotted cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, a hemimetabolous insect. Results Phylogenetic analyses place all identified cricket sequences within the three main visual opsin clades of insects. We assign three of these opsins to visual pigments found in the compound eyes with peak absorbances in the green (515 nm, blue (445 nm and UV (332 nm spectral range. Their expression pattern divides the retina into distinct regions: (1 the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area with blue- and UV-opsin, (2 a newly-discovered ventral band of ommatidia with blue- and green-opsin and (3 the remainder of the compound eye with UV- and green-opsin. In addition, we provide evidence for two ocellar photopigments with peak absorbances in the green (511 nm and UV (350 nm spectral range, and with opsins that differ from those expressed in the compound eyes. Conclusions Our data show that cricket eyes are spectrally more specialized than has previously been assumed, suggesting that similar adaptations in other insect species might have been overlooked. The arrangement of spectral receptor types within some ommatidia of the cricket compound eyes differs from the generally accepted pattern found in holometabolous insect

  7. The gecko visual pigments. The behavior of opsin.

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    Crescitelli, F

    1979-05-01

    The 521-pigment extracted out of the retina of the Tokay gecko has the typical stereospecificity of the vertebrate visual pigments. This is true for the pigment in the chloride-depleted, "blue-shifted" state as well as for the normal pigment with added chloride. While in the chloride-deficient state, pigment regeneration occurred with both 11-cis- and 9-cis-retinals and the regenerated photopigments were also in the blue-shifted, chloride-depleted state. As with the native pigment, these regenerated pigments were bathochromically shifted to their normal positions by the addition of chloride. Chloride-deficient opsin by itself also responded to chloride for the pigment regenerated with 11-cis-retinal from such chloride-treated opsin was in the normal 521-position. Regeneration was always rapid, reaching completion in less than 5 min, and was significantly faster than for cow rhodopsin regenerating under the same conditions. This rapid rate was found with or without chloride, with both 11-cis- and 9-cis-retinals and in the presence of the sulfhydryl poison, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (PMB). Like the native chloride-deficient pigment, the regenerated chloride-depleted photopigments responded to PMB by a blue shift beyond the position of the chloride-deficient state. The addition of chloride to these "poisoned" regenerated pigments caused a bathochromic shift of such magnitude as to indicate a repair of both the PMB and chloride-deficient blue shift. In this discussion the possible implications of these results to phylogenetic considerations are considered as well as to some molecular properties of the 521-pigment.

  8. The vertebrate ancestral repertoire of visual opsins, transducin alpha subunits and oxytocin/vasopressin receptors was established by duplication of their shared genomic region in the two rounds of early vertebrate genome duplications.

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    Lagman, David; Ocampo Daza, Daniel; Widmark, Jenny; Abalo, Xesús M; Sundström, Görel; Larhammar, Dan

    2013-11-02

    Vertebrate color vision is dependent on four major color opsin subtypes: RH2 (green opsin), SWS1 (ultraviolet opsin), SWS2 (blue opsin), and LWS (red opsin). Together with the dim-light receptor rhodopsin (RH1), these form the family of vertebrate visual opsins. Vertebrate genomes contain many multi-membered gene families that can largely be explained by the two rounds of whole genome duplication (WGD) in the vertebrate ancestor (2R) followed by a third round in the teleost ancestor (3R). Related chromosome regions resulting from WGD or block duplications are said to form a paralogon. We describe here a paralogon containing the genes for visual opsins, the G-protein alpha subunit families for transducin (GNAT) and adenylyl cyclase inhibition (GNAI), the oxytocin and vasopressin receptors (OT/VP-R), and the L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (CACNA1-L). Sequence-based phylogenies and analyses of conserved synteny show that the above-mentioned gene families, and many neighboring gene families, expanded in the early vertebrate WGDs. This allows us to deduce the following evolutionary scenario: The vertebrate ancestor had a chromosome containing the genes for two visual opsins, one GNAT, one GNAI, two OT/VP-Rs and one CACNA1-L gene. This chromosome was quadrupled in 2R. Subsequent gene losses resulted in a set of five visual opsin genes, three GNAT and GNAI genes, six OT/VP-R genes and four CACNA1-L genes. These regions were duplicated again in 3R resulting in additional teleost genes for some of the families. Major chromosomal rearrangements have taken place in the teleost genomes. By comparison with the corresponding chromosomal regions in the spotted gar, which diverged prior to 3R, we could time these rearrangements to post-3R. We present an extensive analysis of the paralogon housing the visual opsin, GNAT and GNAI, OT/VP-R, and CACNA1-L gene families. The combined data imply that the early vertebrate WGD events contributed to the evolution of vision and the

  9. The role of ecological factors in shaping bat cone opsin evolution.

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    Gutierrez, Eduardo de A; Schott, Ryan K; Preston, Matthew W; Loureiro, Lívia O; Lim, Burton K; Chang, Belinda S W

    2018-04-11

    Bats represent one of the largest and most striking nocturnal mammalian radiations, exhibiting many visual system specializations for performance in light-limited environments. Despite representing the greatest ecological diversity and species richness in Chiroptera, Neotropical lineages have been undersampled in molecular studies, limiting the potential for identifying signatures of selection on visual genes associated with differences in bat ecology. Here, we investigated how diverse ecological pressures mediate long-term shifts in selection upon long-wavelength ( Lws ) and short-wavelength ( Sws1 ) opsins, photosensitive cone pigments that form the basis of colour vision in most mammals, including bats. We used codon-based likelihood clade models to test whether ecological variables associated with reliance on visual information (e.g. echolocation ability and diet) or exposure to varying light environments (e.g. roosting behaviour and foraging habitat) mediated shifts in evolutionary rates in bat cone opsin genes. Using additional cone opsin sequences from newly sequenced eye transcriptomes of six Neotropical bat species, we found significant evidence for different ecological pressures influencing the evolution of the cone opsins. While Lws is evolving under significantly lower constraint in highly specialized high-duty cycle echolocating lineages, which have enhanced sonar ability to detect and track targets, variation in Sws1 constraint was significantly associated with foraging habitat, exhibiting elevated rates of evolution in species that forage among vegetation. This suggests that increased reliance on echolocation as well as the spectral environment experienced by foraging bats may differentially influence the evolution of different cone opsins. Our study demonstrates that different ecological variables may underlie contrasting evolutionary patterns in bat visual opsins, and highlights the suitability of clade models for testing ecological hypotheses of

  10. Two opsins from the compound eye of the crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus

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    Sakamoto; Hisatomi; Tokunaga; Eguchi

    1996-01-01

    The primary structures of two opsins from the brachyuran crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus were deduced from the cDNA nucleotide sequences. Both deduced proteins were composed of 377 amino acid residues and included residues highly conserved in visual pigments of other species, and the proteins were 75 % identical to each other. The distribution of opsin transcripts in the compound eye, determined by in situ hybridization, suggested that the mRNAs of the two opsins were expressed simultaneously in all of the seven retinular cells (R1-R7) forming the main rhabdom in each ommatidium. Two different visual pigments may be present in one photoreceptor cell in this brachyuran crab. The spectral sensitivity of the compound eye was also determined by recording the electroretinogram. The compound eye was maximally sensitive at about 480 nm. These and previous findings suggest that both opsins of this brachyuran crab produce visual pigments with maximal absorption in the blue-green region of the spectrum. Evidence is presented that crustaceans possess multiple pigment systems for vision.

  11. Opsin expression in Limulus eyes: a UV opsin is expressed in each eye type and co-expressed with a visible light-sensitive opsin in ventral larval eyes.

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    Battelle, Barbara-Anne; Kempler, Karen E; Harrison, Alexandra; Dugger, Donald R; Payne, Richard

    2014-09-01

    The eyes of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, are a model for studies of visual function and the visual systems of euarthropods. Much is known about the structure and function of L. polyphemus photoreceptors, much less about their photopigments. Three visible-light-sensitive L. polyphemus opsins were characterized previously (LpOps1, 2 and 5). Here we characterize a UV opsin (LpUVOps1) that is expressed in all three types of L. polyphemus eyes. It is expressed in most photoreceptors in median ocelli, the only L. polyphemus eyes in which UV sensitivity was previously detected, and in the dendrite of eccentric cells in lateral compound eyes. Therefore, eccentric cells, previously thought to be non-photosensitive second-order neurons, may actually be UV-sensitive photoreceptors. LpUVOps1 is also expressed in small photoreceptors in L. polyphemus ventral larval eyes, and intracellular recordings from these photoreceptors confirm that LpUVOps1 is an active, UV-sensitive photopigment. These photoreceptors also express LpOps5, which we demonstrate is an active, long-wavelength-sensitive photopigment. Thus small photoreceptors in ventral larval eyes, and probably those of the other larval eyes, have dual sensitivity to UV and visible light. Interestingly, the spectral tuning of small ventral photoreceptors may change day to night, because the level of LpOps5 in their rhabdoms is lower during the day than during the night, whereas LpUVOps1 levels show no diurnal change. These and previous findings show that opsin co-expression and the differential regulation of co-expressed opsins in rhabdoms is a common feature of L. polyphemus photoreceptors. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  12. Switch in rod opsin gene expression in the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.).

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    Hope, A J; Partridge, J C; Hayes, P K

    1998-01-01

    The rod photoreceptors of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.), alter their wavelength of maximum sensitivity (lambda max) from c.a. 523 nm to c.a. 482 nm at maturation, a switch involving the synthesis of a new visual pigment protein (opsin) that is inserted into the outer segments of existing rods. We artificially induced the switch in rod opsin production by the administration of hormones, and monitored the switch at the level of mRNA accumulation using radiolabelled oligonuleotides that hybridized differently to the two forms of eel rod opsin. The production of the deep-sea form of rod opsin was detected 6 h after the first hormone injection, and the switch in rod opsin expression was complete within four weeks, at which time only the mRNA for the deep-sea opsin was detectable in the retinal cells. It is suggested that this system could be used as a tractable model for studying the regulatory control of opsin gene expression. PMID:9633112

  13. Multi-characteristic opsin enabled vision restoration

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    Wright, Weldon; Pradhan, Sanjay; Bhattacharya, Sulgana; Mahapatra, Vasu; Tripathy, Ashutosh; Gajjeraman, Sivakumar; Mohanty, Samarendra

    2017-02-01

    Photodegenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and dry age related macular degeneration (dry- AMD) lead to loss of vision in millions of individuals. Currently, no surgical or medical treatment is available though optogenetic therapies are in clinical development. Here, we demonstrate vision restoration using Multi- Characteristics Opsin (MCO1) in animal models with photo-degenerated retina. MCO1 is reliably delivered to specific retinal cells via intravitreal injection of Adeno-Associated Virus, leading to significant improvement in visually guided behavior conducted using a radial-arm water maze. The time to reach platform significantly reduced after delivery of MCO1. Notably, the improvement in visually guided behavior was observed even at light intensity levels orders of magnitude lower than that required for Channelrhodopsin-2 opsin. Chronic light exposure study showed that chronic light exposure did not compromise viability of vMCO1-treated retina. Safe virus-mediated MCO1-delivery has potential for effective gene therapy of diverse retinal degenerations in patients.

  14. Multiple rod–cone and cone–rod photoreceptor transmutations in snakes: Evidence from visual opsin gene expression

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    Simoe, Bruno F; Sampaio, Filipa L.; Loew, Ellis R.; Sanders, Kate L.; Fisher, Robert N.; Hart, Nathan S.; Hunt, David M.; Partridge, Julian C.; Gower, David J.

    2016-01-01

    In 1934, Gordon Walls forwarded his radical theory of retinal photoreceptor ‘transmutation’. This proposed that rods and cones used for scotopic and photopic vision, respectively, were not fixed but could evolve into each other via a series of morphologically distinguishable intermediates. Walls' prime evidence came from series of diurnal and nocturnal geckos and snakes that appeared to have pure-cone or pure-rod retinas (in forms that Walls believed evolved from ancestors with the reverse complement) or which possessed intermediate photoreceptor cells. Walls was limited in testing his theory because the precise identity of visual pigments present in photoreceptors was then unknown. Subsequent molecular research has hitherto neglected this topic but presents new opportunities. We identify three visual opsin genes, rh1, sws1 and lws, in retinal mRNA of an ecologically and taxonomically diverse sample of snakes central to Walls' theory. We conclude that photoreceptors with superficially rod- or cone-like morphology are not limited to containing scotopic or photopic opsins, respectively. Walls' theory is essentially correct, and more research is needed to identify the patterns, processes and functional implications of transmutation. Future research will help to clarify the fundamental properties and physiology of photoreceptors adapted to function in different light levels.

  15. Euarchontan Opsin Variation Brings New Focus to Primate Origins.

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    Melin, Amanda D; Wells, Konstans; Moritz, Gillian L; Kistler, Logan; Orkin, Joseph D; Timm, Robert M; Bernard, Henry; Lakim, Maklarin B; Perry, George H; Kawamura, Shoji; Dominy, Nathaniel J

    2016-04-01

    Debate on the adaptive origins of primates has long focused on the functional ecology of the primate visual system. For example, it is hypothesized that variable expression of short- (SWS1) and middle-to-long-wavelength sensitive (M/LWS) opsins, which confer color vision, can be used to infer ancestral activity patterns and therefore selective ecological pressures. A problem with this approach is that opsin gene variation is incompletely known in the grandorder Euarchonta, that is, the orders Scandentia (treeshrews), Dermoptera (colugos), and Primates. The ancestral state of primate color vision is therefore uncertain. Here, we report on the genes (OPN1SW and OPN1LW) that encode SWS1 and M/LWS opsins in seven species of treeshrew, including the sole nocturnal scandentian Ptilocercus lowii. In addition, we examined the opsin genes of the Central American woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus), an enduring ecological analogue in the debate on primate origins. Our results indicate: 1) retention of ultraviolet (UV) visual sensitivity in C. derbianus and a shift from UV to blue spectral sensitivities at the base of Euarchonta; 2) ancient pseudogenization of OPN1SW in the ancestors of P. lowii, but a signature of purifying selection in those of C. derbianus; and, 3) the absence of OPN1LW polymorphism among diurnal treeshrews. These findings suggest functional variation in the color vision of nocturnal mammals and a distinctive visual ecology of early primates, perhaps one that demanded greater spatial resolution under light levels that could support cone-mediated color discrimination. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  16. Gene loss, adaptive evolution and the co-evolution of plumage coloration genes with opsins in birds.

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    Borges, Rui; Khan, Imran; Johnson, Warren E; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Zhang, Guojie; Jarvis, Erich D; O'Brien, Stephen J; Antunes, Agostinho

    2015-10-06

    The wide range of complex photic systems observed in birds exemplifies one of their key evolutionary adaptions, a well-developed visual system. However, genomic approaches have yet to be used to disentangle the evolutionary mechanisms that govern evolution of avian visual systems. We performed comparative genomic analyses across 48 avian genomes that span extant bird phylogenetic diversity to assess evolutionary changes in the 17 representatives of the opsin gene family and five plumage coloration genes. Our analyses suggest modern birds have maintained a repertoire of up to 15 opsins. Synteny analyses indicate that PARA and PARIE pineal opsins were lost, probably in conjunction with the degeneration of the parietal organ. Eleven of the 15 avian opsins evolved in a non-neutral pattern, confirming the adaptive importance of vision in birds. Visual conopsins sw1, sw2 and lw evolved under negative selection, while the dim-light RH1 photopigment diversified. The evolutionary patterns of sw1 and of violet/ultraviolet sensitivity in birds suggest that avian ancestors had violet-sensitive vision. Additionally, we demonstrate an adaptive association between the RH2 opsin and the MC1R plumage color gene, suggesting that plumage coloration has been photic mediated. At the intra-avian level we observed some unique adaptive patterns. For example, barn owl showed early signs of pseudogenization in RH2, perhaps in response to nocturnal behavior, and penguins had amino acid deletions in RH2 sites responsible for the red shift and retinal binding. These patterns in the barn owl and penguins were convergent with adaptive strategies in nocturnal and aquatic mammals, respectively. We conclude that birds have evolved diverse opsin adaptations through gene loss, adaptive selection and coevolution with plumage coloration, and that differentiated selective patterns at the species level suggest novel photic pressures to influence evolutionary patterns of more-recent lineages.

  17. Phenotypic plasticity in opsin expression in a butterfly compound eye complements sex role reversal

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    Everett Andrew

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Animals often display phenotypic plasticity in morphologies and behaviors that result in distinct adaptations to fluctuating seasonal environments. The butterfly Bicyclus anynana has two seasonal forms, wet and dry, that vary in wing ornament brightness and in the identity of the sex that performs the most courting and choosing. Rearing temperature is the cue for producing these alternative seasonal forms. We hypothesized that, barring any developmental constraints, vision should be enhanced in the choosy individuals but diminished in the non-choosy individuals due to physiological costs. As a proxy of visual performance we measured eye size, facet lens size, and sensitivity to light, e.g., the expression levels of all opsins, in males and females of both seasonal forms. Results We found that B. anynana eyes displayed significant sexual dimorphism and phenotypic plasticity for both morphology and opsin expression levels, but not all results conformed to our prediction. Males had larger eyes than females across rearing temperatures, and increases in temperature produced larger eyes in both sexes, mostly via increases in facet number. Ommatidia were larger in the choosy dry season (DS males and transcript levels for all three opsins were significantly lower in the less choosy DS females. Conclusions Opsin level plasticity in females, and ommatidia size plasticity in males supported our visual plasticity hypothesis but males appear to maintain high visual function across both seasons. We discuss our results in the context of distinct sexual and natural selection pressures that may be facing each sex in the wild in each season.

  18. A cure for the blues: opsin duplication and subfunctionalization for short-wavelength sensitivity in jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).

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    Lord, Nathan P; Plimpton, Rebecca L; Sharkey, Camilla R; Suvorov, Anton; Lelito, Jonathan P; Willardson, Barry M; Bybee, Seth M

    2016-05-18

    Arthropods have received much attention as a model for studying opsin evolution in invertebrates. Yet, relatively few studies have investigated the diversity of opsin proteins that underlie spectral sensitivity of the visual pigments within the diverse beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera). Previous work has demonstrated that beetles appear to lack the short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS) opsin class that typically confers sensitivity to the "blue" region of the light spectrum. However, this is contrary to established physiological data in a number of Coleoptera. To explore potential adaptations at the molecular level that may compensate for the loss of the SWS opsin, we carried out an exploration of the opsin proteins within a group of beetles (Buprestidae) where short-wave sensitivity has been demonstrated. RNA-seq data were generated to identify opsin proteins from nine taxa comprising six buprestid species (including three male/female pairs) across four subfamilies. Structural analyses of recovered opsins were conducted and compared to opsin sequences in other insects across the main opsin classes-ultraviolet, short-wavelength, and long-wavelength. All nine buprestids were found to express two opsin copies in each of the ultraviolet and long-wavelength classes, contrary to the single copies recovered in all other molecular studies of adult beetle opsin expression. No SWS opsin class was recovered. Furthermore, the male Agrilus planipennis (emerald ash borer-EAB) expressed a third LWS opsin at low levels that is presumed to be a larval copy. Subsequent homology and structural analyses identified multiple amino acid substitutions in the UVS and LWS copies that could confer short-wavelength sensitivity. This work is the first to compare expressed opsin genes against known electrophysiological data that demonstrate multiple peak sensitivities in Coleoptera. We report the first instance of opsin duplication in adult beetles, which occurs in both the UVS and LWS opsin classes

  19. Transcriptome analysis and RNA interference of cockroach phototransduction indicate three opsins and suggest a major role for TRPL channels

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    Andrew S French

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Our current understanding of insect phototransduction is based on a small number of species, but insects occupy many different visual environments. We created the retinal transcriptome of a nocturnal insect, the cockroach, Periplaneta americana to identify proteins involved in the earliest stages of compound eye phototransduction, and test the hypothesis that different visual environments are reflected in different molecular contributions to function. We assembled five novel mRNAs: two green opsins, one UV opsin, and one each TRP and TRPL ion channel homologs. One green opsin mRNA (pGO1 was 100-1000 times more abundant than the other opsins (pGO2 and pUVO, while pTRPL mRNA was 10 times more abundant than pTRP, estimated by transcriptome analysis or quantitative PCR (qPCR. Electroretinograms were used to record photoreceptor responses. Gene-specific in vivo RNA interference (RNAi was achieved by injecting long (596-708 bp double-stranded RNA into head hemolymph, and verified by qPCR. RNAi of the most abundant green opsin reduced both green opsins by more than 97% without affecting UV opsin, and gave a maximal reduction of 75% in ERG amplitude seven days after injection that persisted for at least 19 days. RNAi of pTRP and pTRPL genes each specifically reduced the corresponding mRNA by 90%. Electroretinogram reduction by pTRPL RNAi was slower than for opsin, reaching 75% attenuation by 21 days, without recovery at 29 days. pTRP RNAi attenuated ERG much less; only 30% after 21 days. Combined pTRP plus pTRPL RNAi gave only weak evidence of any cooperative interactions. We conclude that silencing retinal genes by in vivo RNAi using long dsRNA is effective, that visible light transduction in Periplaneta is dominated by pGO1, and that pTRPL plays a major role in cockroach phototransduction.

  20. Inferred L/M cone opsin polymorphism of ancestral tarsiers sheds dim light on the origin of anthropoid primates.

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    Melin, Amanda D; Matsushita, Yuka; Moritz, Gillian L; Dominy, Nathaniel J; Kawamura, Shoji

    2013-05-22

    Tarsiers are small nocturnal primates with a long history of fuelling debate on the origin and evolution of anthropoid primates. Recently, the discovery of M and L opsin genes in two sister species, Tarsius bancanus (Bornean tarsier) and Tarsius syrichta (Philippine tarsier), respectively, was interpreted as evidence of an ancestral long-to-middle (L/M) opsin polymorphism, which, in turn, suggested a diurnal or cathemeral (arrhythmic) activity pattern. This view is compatible with the hypothesis that stem tarsiers were diurnal; however, a reversion to nocturnality during the Middle Eocene, as evidenced by hyper-enlarged orbits, predates the divergence of T. bancanus and T. syrichta in the Late Miocene. Taken together, these findings suggest that some nocturnal tarsiers possessed high-acuity trichromatic vision, a concept that challenges prevailing views on the adaptive origins of the anthropoid visual system. It is, therefore, important to explore the plausibility and antiquity of trichromatic vision in the genus Tarsius. Here, we show that Sulawesi tarsiers (Tarsius tarsier), a phylogenetic out-group of Philippine and Bornean tarsiers, have an L opsin gene that is more similar to the L opsin gene of T. syrichta than to the M opsin gene of T. bancanus in non-synonymous nucleotide sequence. This result suggests that an L/M opsin polymorphism is the ancestral character state of crown tarsiers and raises the possibility that many hallmarks of the anthropoid visual system evolved under dim (mesopic) light conditions. This interpretation challenges the persistent nocturnal-diurnal dichotomy that has long informed debate on the origin of anthropoid primates.

  1. Retinal cone photoreceptors of the deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus: development, topography, opsin expression and spectral tuning.

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    Patrick Arbogast

    Full Text Available A quantitative analysis of photoreceptor properties was performed in the retina of the nocturnal deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, using pigmented (wildtype and albino animals. The aim was to establish whether the deer mouse is a more suitable model species than the house mouse for photoreceptor studies, and whether oculocutaneous albinism affects its photoreceptor properties. In retinal flatmounts, cone photoreceptors were identified by opsin immunostaining, and their numbers, spectral types, and distributions across the retina were determined. Rod photoreceptors were counted using differential interference contrast microscopy. Pigmented P. maniculatus have a rod-dominated retina with rod densities of about 450.000/mm(2 and cone densities of 3000-6500/mm(2. Two cone opsins, shortwave sensitive (S and middle-to-longwave sensitive (M, are present and expressed in distinct cone types. Partial sequencing of the S opsin gene strongly supports UV sensitivity of the S cone visual pigment. The S cones constitute a 5-15% minority of the cones. Different from house mouse, S and M cone distributions do not have dorsoventral gradients, and coexpression of both opsins in single cones is exceptional (<2% of the cones. In albino P. maniculatus, rod densities are reduced by approximately 40% (270.000/mm(2. Overall, cone density and the density of cones exclusively expressing S opsin are not significantly different from pigmented P. maniculatus. However, in albino retinas S opsin is coexpressed with M opsin in 60-90% of the cones and therefore the population of cones expressing only M opsin is significantly reduced to 5-25%. In conclusion, deer mouse cone properties largely conform to the general mammalian pattern, hence the deer mouse may be better suited than the house mouse for the study of certain basic cone properties, including the effects of albinism on cone opsin expression.

  2. Regeneration of bovine and octopus opsins in situ with natural and artificial retinals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koutalos, Y.; Ebrey, T.G.; Tsuda, M.

    1989-01-01

    The authors consider the problem of color regulation in visual pigments for both bovine rhodopsin and octopus rhodopsin. Both pigments have 11-cis-retinal as their chromophore. These rhodopsins were bleached in their native membranes, and the opsins were regenerated with natural and artificial chromophores. Both bovine and octopus opsins were regenerated with the 9-cis- and 11-cis-retinal isomers, but the octopus opsin was additionally regenerated with the 13-cis and all-trans isomers. Titration of the octopus opsin with 11-cis-retinal gave an extinction coefficient for octopus rhodopsin of 27,000 ± 3,000 M -1 cm -1 at 475 nm. The absorption maxima of bovine artificial pigments formed by regenerating opsin with the 11-cis dihydro series of chromophores support a color regulation model for bovine rhodopsin in which the chromophore-binding site of the protein has two negative charges: one directly hydrogen bonded to the Schiff base nitrogen and another near carbon-13. Formation of octopus artificial pigments with both all-trans and 11-cis dihydro chromophores leads to a similar model for octopus rhodopsin and metarhodopsin: there are two negative charges in the chromophore-binding site, one directly hydrogen bonded to the Schiff base nitrogen and a second near carbon-13. The interaction of this second charge with the chromophore in octopus rhodopsin is weaker than in bovine, while in metarhodopsin it is as strong as in bovine

  3. Biochemical Measurements of Free Opsin in Macular Degeneration Eyes: Examining the 11-CIS Retinal Deficiency Hypothesis of Delayed Dark Adaptation (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanneken, Anne; Neikirk, Thomas; Johnson, Jennifer; Kono, Masahiro

    2017-08-01

    To test the hypothesis that delayed dark adaptation in patients with macular degeneration is due to an excess of free unliganded opsin (apo-opsin) and a deficiency of the visual chromophore, 11 -cis retinal, in rod outer segments. A total of 50 human autopsy eyes were harvested from donors with and without macular degeneration within 2-24 hrs. postmortem. Protocols were developed which permitted dark adaptation of normal human eyes after death and enucleation. Biochemical methods of purifying rod outer segments were optimized and the concentration of rhodopsin and apo-opsin was measured with UV-visible scanning spectroscopy. The presence of apo-opsin was calculated by measuring the difference in the rhodopsin absorption spectra before and after the addition of 11 -cis retinal. A total of 20 normal eyes and 16 eyes from donors with early, intermediate and advanced stages of macular degeneration were included in the final analysis. Dark adaptation was achieved by harvesting whole globes in low light, transferring into dark (light-proof) canisters and dissecting the globes using infrared light and image converters for visualization. Apo-opsin was readily detected in positive controls after the addition of 11 -cis retinal. Normal autopsy eyes showed no evidence of apo-opsin. Eyes with macular degeneration also showed no evidence of apo-opsin, regardless of the severity of disease. Methods have been developed to study dark adaptation in human autopsy eyes. Eyes with age-related macular degeneration do not show a deficiency of 11 -cis retinal or an excess of apo-opsin within rod outer segments.

  4. Comparative visual ecology of cephalopods from different habitats

    OpenAIRE

    Chung, Wen-Sung; Marshall, N. Justin

    2016-01-01

    Previous investigations of vision and visual pigment evolution in aquatic predators have focused on fish and crustaceans, generally ignoring the cephalopods. Since the first cephalopod opsin was sequenced in late 1980s, we now have data on over 50 cephalopod opsins, prompting this functional and phylogenetic examination. Much of this data does not specifically examine the visual pigment spectral absorbance position (? max) relative to environment or lifestyle, and cephalopod opsin functional ...

  5. Expression and Evolution of Short Wavelength Sensitive Opsins in Colugos: A Nocturnal Lineage That Informs Debate on Primate Origins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moritz, Gillian L; Lim, Norman T-L; Neitz, Maureen; Peichl, Leo; Dominy, Nathaniel J

    2013-01-01

    A nocturnal activity pattern is central to almost all hypotheses on the adaptive origins of primates. This enduring view has been challenged in recent years on the basis of variation in the opsin genes of nocturnal primates. A correspondence between the opsin genes and activity patterns of species in Euarchonta-the superordinal group that includes the orders Primates, Dermoptera (colugos), and Scandentia (treeshrews)-could prove instructive, yet the basic biology of the dermopteran visual system is practically unknown. Here we show that the eye of the Sunda colugo ( Galeopterus variegatus ) lacks a tapetum lucidum and has an avascular retina, and we report on the expression and spectral sensitivity of cone photopigments. We found that Sunda colugos have intact short wavelength sensitive (S-) and long wavelength sensitive (L-) opsin genes, and that both opsins are expressed in cone photoreceptors of the retina. The inferred peak spectral sensitivities are 451 and 562 nm, respectively. In line with adaptation to nocturnal vision, cone densities are low. Surprisingly, a majority of S-cones coexpress some L-opsin. We also show that the ratio of rates of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions of exon 1 of the S-opsin gene is indicative of purifying selection. Taken together, our results suggest that natural selection has favored a functional S-opsin in a nocturnal lineage for at least 45 million years. Accordingly, a nocturnal activity pattern remains the most likely ancestral character state of euprimates.

  6. A single enhancer regulating the differential expression of duplicated red-sensitive opsin genes in zebrafish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taro Tsujimura

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available A fundamental step in the evolution of the visual system is the gene duplication of visual opsins and differentiation between the duplicates in absorption spectra and expression pattern in the retina. However, our understanding of the mechanism of expression differentiation is far behind that of spectral tuning of opsins. Zebrafish (Danio rerio have two red-sensitive cone opsin genes, LWS-1 and LWS-2. These genes are arrayed in a tail-to-head manner, in this order, and are both expressed in the long member of double cones (LDCs in the retina. Expression of the longer-wave sensitive LWS-1 occurs later in development and is thus confined to the peripheral, especially ventral-nasal region of the adult retina, whereas expression of LWS-2 occurs earlier and is confined to the central region of the adult retina, shifted slightly to the dorsal-temporal region. In this study, we employed a transgenic reporter assay using fluorescent proteins and P1-artificial chromosome (PAC clones encompassing the two genes and identified a 0.6-kb "LWS-activating region" (LAR upstream of LWS-1, which regulates expression of both genes. Under the 2.6-kb flanking upstream region containing the LAR, the expression pattern of LWS-1 was recapitulated by the fluorescent reporter. On the other hand, when LAR was directly conjugated to the LWS-2 upstream region, the reporter was expressed in the LDCs but also across the entire outer nuclear layer. Deletion of LAR from the PAC clones drastically lowered the reporter expression of the two genes. These results suggest that LAR regulates both LWS-1 and LWS-2 by enhancing their expression and that interaction of LAR with the promoters is competitive between the two genes in a developmentally restricted manner. Sharing a regulatory region between duplicated genes could be a general way to facilitate the expression differentiation in duplicated visual opsins.

  7. De Novo Adult Transcriptomes of Two European Brittle Stars: Spotlight on Opsin-Based Photoreception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jérôme Delroisse

    Full Text Available Next generation sequencing (NGS technology allows to obtain a deeper and more complete view of transcriptomes. For non-model or emerging model marine organisms, NGS technologies offer a great opportunity for rapid access to genetic information. In this study, paired-end Illumina HiSeqTM technology has been employed to analyse transcriptomes from the arm tissues of two European brittle star species, Amphiura filiformis and Ophiopsila aranea. About 48 million Illumina reads were generated and 136,387 total unigenes were predicted from A. filiformis arm tissues. For O. aranea arm tissues, about 47 million reads were generated and 123,324 total unigenes were obtained. Twenty-four percent of the total unigenes from A. filiformis show significant matches with sequences present in reference online databases, whereas, for O. aranea, this percentage amounts to 23%. In both species, around 50% of the predicted annotated unigenes were significantly similar to transcripts from the purple sea urchin, the closest species to date that has undergone complete genome sequencing and annotation. GO, COG and KEGG analyses were performed on predicted brittle star unigenes. We focused our analyses on the phototransduction actors involved in light perception. Firstly, two new echinoderm opsins were identified in O. aranea: one rhabdomeric opsin (homologous to vertebrate melanopsin and one RGR opsin. The RGR-opsin is supposed to be involved in retinal regeneration while the r-opsin is suspected to play a role in visual-like behaviour. Secondly, potential phototransduction actors were identified in both transcriptomes using the fly (rhabdomeric and mammal (ciliary classical phototransduction pathways as references. Finally, the sensitivity of O.aranea to monochromatic light was investigated to complement data available for A. filiformis. The presence of microlens-like structures at the surface of dorsal arm plate of O. aranea could potentially explain phototactic

  8. Comparative visual ecology of cephalopods from different habitats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Wen-Sung; Marshall, N Justin

    2016-09-14

    Previous investigations of vision and visual pigment evolution in aquatic predators have focused on fish and crustaceans, generally ignoring the cephalopods. Since the first cephalopod opsin was sequenced in late 1980s, we now have data on over 50 cephalopod opsins, prompting this functional and phylogenetic examination. Much of this data does not specifically examine the visual pigment spectral absorbance position (λmax) relative to environment or lifestyle, and cephalopod opsin functional adaptation and visual ecology remain largely unknown. Here we introduce a new protocol for photoreceptor microspectrophotometry (MSP) that overcomes the difficulty of bleaching the bistable visual pigment and that reveals eight coastal coleoid cephalopods to be monochromatic with λmax varying from 484 to 505 nm. A combination of current MSP results, the λmax values previously characterized using cephalopod retinal extracts (467-500 nm) and the corresponding opsin phylogenetic tree were used for systematic comparisons with an end goal of examining the adaptations of coleoid visual pigments to different light environments. Spectral tuning shifts are described in response to different modes of life and light conditions. A new spectral tuning model suggests that nine amino acid substitution sites may determine the direction and the magnitude of spectral shifts. © 2016 The Authors.

  9. Model systems for understanding absorption tuning by opsin proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mogens Brøndsted

    2009-01-01

    This tutorial review reports on model systems that have been synthesised and investigated for elucidating how opsin proteins tune the absorption of the protonated retinal Schiff base chromophore. In particular, the importance of the counteranion is highlighted. In addition, the review advocates...... is avoided, and it becomes clear that opsin proteins induce blueshifts in the chromophore absorption rather than redshifts....

  10. A gonad-expressed opsin mediates light-induced spawning in the jellyfish Clytia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quiroga Artigas, Gonzalo; Lapébie, Pascal; Leclère, Lucas; Takeda, Noriyo; Deguchi, Ryusaku; Jékely, Gáspár

    2018-01-01

    Across the animal kingdom, environmental light cues are widely involved in regulating gamete release, but the molecular and cellular bases of the photoresponsive mechanisms are poorly understood. In hydrozoan jellyfish, spawning is triggered by dark-light or light-dark transitions acting on the gonad, and is mediated by oocyte maturation-inducing neuropeptide hormones (MIHs) released from the ectoderm. We determined in Clytia hemisphaerica that blue-cyan light triggers spawning in isolated gonads. A candidate opsin (Opsin9) was found co-expressed with MIH within specialised ectodermal cells. Opsin9 knockout jellyfish generated by CRISPR/Cas9 failed to undergo oocyte maturation and spawning, a phenotype reversible by synthetic MIH. Gamete maturation and release in Clytia is thus regulated by gonadal photosensory-neurosecretory cells that secrete MIH in response to light via Opsin9. Similar cells in ancestral eumetazoans may have allowed tissue-level photo-regulation of diverse behaviours, a feature elaborated in cnidarians in parallel with expansion of the opsin gene family. PMID:29303477

  11. Identification of a locus control region for quadruplicated green-sensitive opsin genes in zebrafish

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsujimura, Taro; Chinen, Akito; Kawamura, Shoji

    2007-01-01

    Duplication of opsin genes has a crucial role in the evolution of visual system. Zebrafish have four green-sensitive (RH2) opsin genes (RH2–1, RH2–2, RH2–3, and RH2–4) arrayed in tandem. They are expressed in the short member of the double cones (SDC) but differ in expression areas in the retina and absorption spectra of their encoding photopigments. The shortest and the second shortest wavelength subtypes, RH2–1 and RH2–2, are expressed in the central-to-dorsal retina. The longer wavelength subtype, RH2–3, is expressed circumscribing the RH2–1/RH2–2 area, and the longest subtype, RH2–4, is expressed further circumscribing the RH2–3 area and mainly occupying the ventral retina. The present report shows that a 0.5-kb region located 15 kb upstream of the RH2 gene array is an essential regulator for their expression. When the 0.5-kb region was deleted from a P1-artificial chromosome (PAC) clone encompassing the four RH2 genes and when one of these genes was replaced with a reporter GFP gene, the GFP expression in SDCs was abolished in the zebrafish to which a series of the modified PAC clones were introduced. Transgenic studies also showed that the 0.5-kb region conferred the SDC-specific expression for promoters of a non-SDC (UV opsin) and a nonretinal (keratin 8) gene. Changing the location of the 0.5-kb region in the PAC clone conferred the highest expression for its proximal gene. The 0.5-kb region was thus designated as RH2-LCR analogous to the locus control region of the L-M opsin genes of primates. PMID:17646658

  12. The biological mechanisms and behavioral functions of opsin-based light detection by the skin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer L Kelley

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Light detection not only forms the basis of vision (via visual retinal photoreceptors, but can also occur in other parts of the body, including many non-rod/non-cone ocular cells, the pineal complex, the deep brain, and the skin. Indeed, many of the photopigments (an opsin linked to a light-sensitive 11-cis retinal chromophore that mediate color vision in the eyes of vertebrates are also present in the skin of animals such as reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans and fishes (with related photoreceptive molecules present in cephalopods, providing a localized mechanism for light detection across the surface of the body. This form of non-visual photosensitivity may be particularly important for animals that can change their coloration by altering the dispersion of pigments within the chromatophores (pigment containing cells of the skin. Thus, skin coloration may be directly color matched or tuned to both the luminance and spectral properties of the local background environment, thereby facilitating behavioral functions such as camouflage, thermoregulation, and social signaling. This review examines the diversity and sensitivity of opsin-based photopigments present in the skin and considers their putative functional roles in mediating animal behavior. Furthermore, it discusses the potential underlying biochemical and molecular pathways that link shifts in environmental light to both photopigment expression and chromatophore photoresponses. Although photoreception that occurs independently of image formation remains poorly understood, this review highlights the important role of non-visual light detection in facilitating the multiple functions of animal coloration.

  13. Visual system evolution and the nature of the ancestral snake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simões, B F; Sampaio, F L; Jared, C; Antoniazzi, M M; Loew, E R; Bowmaker, J K; Rodriguez, A; Hart, N S; Hunt, D M; Partridge, J C; Gower, D J

    2015-07-01

    The dominant hypothesis for the evolutionary origin of snakes from 'lizards' (non-snake squamates) is that stem snakes acquired many snake features while passing through a profound burrowing (fossorial) phase. To investigate this, we examined the visual pigments and their encoding opsin genes in a range of squamate reptiles, focusing on fossorial lizards and snakes. We sequenced opsin transcripts isolated from retinal cDNA and used microspectrophotometry to measure directly the spectral absorbance of the photoreceptor visual pigments in a subset of samples. In snakes, but not lizards, dedicated fossoriality (as in Scolecophidia and the alethinophidian Anilius scytale) corresponds with loss of all visual opsins other than RH1 (λmax 490-497 nm); all other snakes (including less dedicated burrowers) also have functional sws1 and lws opsin genes. In contrast, the retinas of all lizards sampled, even highly fossorial amphisbaenians with reduced eyes, express functional lws, sws1, sws2 and rh1 genes, and most also express rh2 (i.e. they express all five of the visual opsin genes present in the ancestral vertebrate). Our evidence of visual pigment complements suggests that the visual system of stem snakes was partly reduced, with two (RH2 and SWS2) of the ancestral vertebrate visual pigments being eliminated, but that this did not extend to the extreme additional loss of SWS1 and LWS that subsequently occurred (probably independently) in highly fossorial extant scolecophidians and A. scytale. We therefore consider it unlikely that the ancestral snake was as fossorial as extant scolecophidians, whether or not the latter are para- or monophyletic. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  14. Visual pigment coexpression in all cones of two rodents, the Siberian hamster, and the pouched mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukáts, Akos; Dkhissi-Benyahya, Ouria; Szepessy, Zsuzsanna; Röhlich, Pál; Vígh, Béla; Bennett, Nigel C; Cooper, Howard M; Szél, Agoston

    2002-07-01

    To decide whether the identical topography of short- and middle-wavelength cone photoreceptors in two species of rodents reflects the presence of both opsins in all cone cells. Double-label immunocytochemistry using antibodies directed against short-wavelength (S)-and middle- to long-wavelength (M/L)-sensitive opsin were used to determine the presence of visual pigments in cones of two species of rodents, the Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus) and the pouched mouse (Saccostomus campestris) from South Africa. Topographical distribution was determined from retinal whole-mounts, and the colocalization of visual pigments was examined using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Opsin colocalization was also confirmed in consecutive semithin tangential sections. The immunocytochemical results demonstrate that in both the Siberian hamster and the pouched mouse all retinal cones contain two visual pigments. No dorsoventral gradient in the differential expression of the two opsins is observed. The retina of the Siberian hamster and the pouched mouse is the first example to show a uniform coexpression of M and S cone opsins in all cones, without any topographical gradient in opsin expression. This finding makes these two species good models for the study of molecular control mechanisms in opsin coexpression in rodents, and renders them suitable as sources of dual cones for future investigations on the role and neural connections of this cone type.

  15. The influence of L-opsin gene polymorphisms and neural ageing on spatio-chromatic contrast sensitivity in 20-71 year olds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dees, Elise W; Gilson, Stuart J; Neitz, Maureen; Baraas, Rigmor C

    2015-11-01

    Chromatic contrast sensitivity may be a more sensitive measure of an individual's visual function than achromatic contrast sensitivity. Here, the first aim was to quantify individual- and age-related variations in chromatic contrast sensitivity to a range of spatial frequencies for stimuli along two complementary directions in color space. The second aim was to examine whether polymorphisms at specific amino acid residues of the L- and M-opsin genes (OPN1LW and OPN1MW) known to affect spectral tuning of the photoreceptors could influence spatio-chromatic contrast sensitivity. Chromatic contrast sensitivity functions were measured in 50 healthy individuals (20-71 years) employing a novel pseudo-isochromatic grating stimulus. The spatio-chromatic contrast sensitivity functions were found to be low pass for all subjects, independent of age and color vision. The results revealed a senescent decline in spatio-chromatic contrast sensitivity. There were considerable between-individual differences in sensitivity within each age decade for individuals 49 years old or younger, and age did not predict sensitivity for these age decades alone. Forty-six subjects (including a color deficient male and eight female carriers) were genotyped for L- and M-opsin genes. The Ser180Ala polymorphisms on the L-opsin gene were found to influence the subject's color discrimination and their sensitivity to spatio-chromatic patterns. The results expose the significant role of neural and genetic factors in the deterioration of visual function with increasing age. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Evolution and mechanism of spectral tuning of blue-absorbing visual pigments in butterflies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Motohiro Wakakuwa

    Full Text Available The eyes of flower-visiting butterflies are often spectrally highly complex with multiple opsin genes generated by gene duplication, providing an interesting system for a comparative study of color vision. The Small White butterfly, Pieris rapae, has duplicated blue opsins, PrB and PrV, which are expressed in the blue (λ(max = 453 nm and violet receptors (λ(max = 425 nm, respectively. To reveal accurate absorption profiles and the molecular basis of the spectral tuning of these visual pigments, we successfully modified our honeybee opsin expression system based on HEK293s cells, and expressed PrB and PrV, the first lepidopteran opsins ever expressed in cultured cells. We reconstituted the expressed visual pigments in vitro, and analysed them spectroscopically. Both reconstituted visual pigments had two photointerconvertible states, rhodopsin and metarhodopsin, with absorption peak wavelengths 450 nm and 485 nm for PrB and 420 nm and 482 nm for PrV. We furthermore introduced site-directed mutations to the opsins and found that two amino acid substitutions, at positions 116 and 177, were crucial for the spectral tuning. This tuning mechanism appears to be specific for invertebrates and is partially shared by other pierid and lycaenid butterfly species.

  17. Adaptive genomic evolution of opsins reveals that early mammals flourished in nocturnal environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Rui; Johnson, Warren E; O'Brien, Stephen J; Gomes, Cidália; Heesy, Christopher P; Antunes, Agostinho

    2018-02-05

    Based on evolutionary patterns of the vertebrate eye, Walls (1942) hypothesized that early placental mammals evolved primarily in nocturnal habitats. However, not only Eutheria, but all mammals show photic characteristics (i.e. dichromatic vision, rod-dominated retina) suggestive of a scotopic eye design. Here, we used integrative comparative genomic and phylogenetic methodologies employing the photoreceptive opsin gene family in 154 mammals to test the likelihood of a nocturnal period in the emergence of all mammals. We showed that mammals possess genomic patterns concordant with a nocturnal ancestry. The loss of the RH2, VA, PARA, PARIE and OPN4x opsins in all mammals led us to advance a probable and most-parsimonious hypothesis of a global nocturnal bottleneck that explains the loss of these genes in the emerging lineage (> > 215.5 million years ago). In addition, ancestral character reconstruction analyses provided strong evidence that ancestral mammals possessed a nocturnal lifestyle, ultra-violet-sensitive vision, low visual acuity and low orbit convergence (i.e. panoramic vision). Overall, this study provides insight into the evolutionary history of the mammalian eye while discussing important ecological aspects of the photic paleo-environments ancestral mammals have occupied.

  18. Rod monochromacy and the coevolution of cetacean retinal opsins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert W Meredith

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Cetaceans have a long history of commitment to a fully aquatic lifestyle that extends back to the Eocene. Extant species have evolved a spectacular array of adaptations in conjunction with their deployment into a diverse array of aquatic habitats. Sensory systems are among those that have experienced radical transformations in the evolutionary history of this clade. In the case of vision, previous studies have demonstrated important changes in the genes encoding rod opsin (RH1, short-wavelength sensitive opsin 1 (SWS1, and long-wavelength sensitive opsin (LWS in selected cetaceans, but have not examined the full complement of opsin genes across the complete range of cetacean families. Here, we report protein-coding sequences for RH1 and both color opsin genes (SWS1, LWS from representatives of all extant cetacean families. We examine competing hypotheses pertaining to the timing of blue shifts in RH1 relative to SWS1 inactivation in the early history of Cetacea, and we test the hypothesis that some cetaceans are rod monochomats. Molecular evolutionary analyses contradict the "coastal" hypothesis, wherein SWS1 was pseudogenized in the common ancestor of Cetacea, and instead suggest that RH1 was blue-shifted in the common ancestor of Cetacea before SWS1 was independently knocked out in baleen whales (Mysticeti and in toothed whales (Odontoceti. Further, molecular evidence implies that LWS was inactivated convergently on at least five occasions in Cetacea: (1 Balaenidae (bowhead and right whales, (2 Balaenopteroidea (rorquals plus gray whale, (3 Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby's beaked whale, (4 Physeter macrocephalus (giant sperm whale, and (5 Kogia breviceps (pygmy sperm whale. All of these cetaceans are known to dive to depths of at least 100 m where the underwater light field is dim and dominated by blue light. The knockout of both SWS1 and LWS in multiple cetacean lineages renders these taxa rod monochromats, a condition previously unknown among

  19. Rapid and Parallel Adaptive Evolution of the Visual System of Neotropical Midas Cichlid Fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres-Dowdall, Julián; Pierotti, Michele E R; Härer, Andreas; Karagic, Nidal; Woltering, Joost M; Henning, Frederico; Elmer, Kathryn R; Meyer, Axel

    2017-10-01

    Midas cichlid fish are a Central American species flock containing 13 described species that has been dated to only a few thousand years old, a historical timescale infrequently associated with speciation. Their radiation involved the colonization of several clear water crater lakes from two turbid great lakes. Therefore, Midas cichlids have been subjected to widely varying photic conditions during their radiation. Being a primary signal relay for information from the environment to the organism, the visual system is under continuing selective pressure and a prime organ system for accumulating adaptive changes during speciation, particularly in the case of dramatic shifts in photic conditions. Here, we characterize the full visual system of Midas cichlids at organismal and genetic levels, to determine what types of adaptive changes evolved within the short time span of their radiation. We show that Midas cichlids have a diverse visual system with unexpectedly high intra- and interspecific variation in color vision sensitivity and lens transmittance. Midas cichlid populations in the clear crater lakes have convergently evolved visual sensitivities shifted toward shorter wavelengths compared with the ancestral populations from the turbid great lakes. This divergence in sensitivity is driven by changes in chromophore usage, differential opsin expression, opsin coexpression, and to a lesser degree by opsin coding sequence variation. The visual system of Midas cichlids has the evolutionary capacity to rapidly integrate multiple adaptations to changing light environments. Our data may indicate that, in early stages of divergence, changes in opsin regulation could precede changes in opsin coding sequence evolution. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Zebrafish Lacking Circadian Gene per2 Exhibit Visual Function Deficiency

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    Deng-feng Huang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The retina has an intrinsic circadian clock, but the importance of this clock for vision is unknown. Zebrafish offer many advantages for studying vertebrate vision and circadian rhythm. Here, we explored the role of zebrafish per2, a light-regulated gene, in visual behavior and the underlying mechanisms. We observed that per2 mutant zebrafish larvae showed decreased contrast sensitivity and visual acuity using optokinetic response (OKR assays. Using a visual motor response (VMR assay, we observed normal OFF responses but abnormal ON responses in mutant zebrafish larvae. Immunofluorescence showed that mutants had a normal morphology of cone photoreceptor cells and retinal organization. However, electron microscopy showed that per2 mutants displayed abnormal and decreased photoreceptor ribbon synapses with arciform density, which resulted in retinal ON pathway defect. We also examined the expression of three cone opsins by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR, and the expression of long-wave-sensitive opsin (opn1lw and short-wave-sensitive opsin (opn1sw was reduced in mutant zebrafish larvae. qRT-PCR analyses also showed a down-regulation of the clock genes cry1ba and bmal1b in the adult eye of per2 mutant zebrafish. This study identified a mechanism by which a clock gene affects visual function and defined important roles of per2 in retinal information processing.

  1. Retinal S-opsin dominance in Ansell's mole-rats (Fukomys anselli) is a consequence of naturally low serum thyroxine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henning, Yoshiyuki; Mladěnková, Nella; Burda, Hynek; Szafranski, Karol; Begall, Sabine

    2018-03-12

    Mammals usually possess a majority of medium-wavelength sensitive (M-) and a minority of short-wavelength sensitive (S-) opsins in the retina, enabling dichromatic vision. Unexpectedly, subterranean rodents from the genus Fukomys exhibit an S-opsin majority, which is exceptional among mammals, albeit with no apparent adaptive value. Because thyroid hormones (THs) are pivotal for M-opsin expression and metabolic rate regulation, we have, for the first time, manipulated TH levels in the Ansell's mole-rat (Fukomys anselli) using osmotic pumps. In Ansell's mole-rats, the TH thyroxine (T4) is naturally low, likely as an adaptation to the harsh subterranean ecological conditions by keeping resting metabolic rate (RMR) low. We measured gene expression levels in the eye, RMR, and body mass (BM) in TH-treated animals. T4 treatment increased both, S- and M-opsin expression, albeit M-opsin expression at a higher degree. However, this plasticity was only given in animals up to approximately 2.5 years. Mass-specific RMR was not affected following T4 treatment, although BM decreased. Furthermore, the T4 inactivation rate is naturally higher in F. anselli compared to laboratory rodents. This is the first experimental evidence that the S-opsin majority in Ansell's mole-rats is a side effect of low T4, which is downregulated to keep RMR low.

  2. Exploring the binding properties and structural stability of an opsin in the chytrid Spizellomyces punctatus using comparative and molecular modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven R. Ahrendt

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Background Opsin proteins are seven transmembrane receptor proteins which detect light. Opsins can be classified into two types and share little sequence identity: type 1, typically found in bacteria, and type 2, primarily characterized in metazoa. The type 2 opsins (Rhodopsins are a subfamily of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs, a large and diverse class of seven transmembrane proteins and are generally restricted to metazoan lineages. Fungi use light receptors including opsins to sense the environment and transduce signals for developmental or metabolic changes. Opsins characterized in the Dikarya (Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes are of the type 1 bacteriorhodopsin family but the early diverging fungal lineages have not been as well surveyed. We identified by sequence similarity a rhodopsin-like GPCR in genomes of early diverging chytrids and examined the structural characteristics of this protein to assess its likelihood to be homologous to animal rhodopsins and bind similar chromophores. Methods We used template-based structure modeling, automated ligand docking, and molecular modeling to assess the structural and binding properties of an identified opsin-like protein found in Spizellomyces punctatus, a unicellular, flagellated species belonging to Chytridiomycota, one of the earliest diverging fungal lineages. We tested if the sequence and inferred structure were consistent with a solved crystal structure of a type 2 rhodopsin from the squid Todarodes pacificus. Results Our results indicate that the Spizellomyces opsin has structural characteristics consistent with functional animal type 2 rhodopsins and is capable of maintaining a stable structure when associated with the retinaldehyde chromophore, specifically the 9-cis-retinal isomer. Together, these results support further the homology of Spizellomyces opsins to animal type 2 rhodopsins. Discussion This represents the first test of structure/function relationship of a type 2 rhodopsin

  3. Positive selection of a duplicated UV-sensitive visual pigment coincides with wing pigment evolution in Heliconius butterflies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briscoe, Adriana D.; Bybee, Seth M.; Bernard, Gary D.; Yuan, Furong; Sison-Mangus, Marilou P.; Reed, Robert D.; Warren, Andrew D.; Llorente-Bousquets, Jorge; Chiao, Chuan-Chin

    2010-01-01

    The butterfly Heliconius erato can see from the UV to the red part of the light spectrum with color vision proven from 440 to 640 nm. Its eye is known to contain three visual pigments, rhodopsins, produced by an 11-cis-3-hydroxyretinal chromophore together with long wavelength (LWRh), blue (BRh) and UV (UVRh1) opsins. We now find that H. erato has a second UV opsin mRNA (UVRh2)—a previously undescribed duplication of this gene among Lepidoptera. To investigate its evolutionary origin, we screened eye cDNAs from 14 butterfly species in the subfamily Heliconiinae and found both copies only among Heliconius. Phylogeny-based tests of selection indicate positive selection of UVRh2 following duplication, and some of the positively selected sites correspond to vertebrate visual pigment spectral tuning residues. Epi-microspectrophotometry reveals two UV-absorbing rhodopsins in the H. erato eye with λmax = 355 nm and 398 nm. Along with the additional UV opsin, Heliconius have also evolved 3-hydroxy-DL-kynurenine (3-OHK)-based yellow wing pigments not found in close relatives. Visual models of how butterflies perceive wing color variation indicate this has resulted in an expansion of the number of distinguishable yellow colors on Heliconius wings. Functional diversification of the UV-sensitive visual pigments may help explain why the yellow wing pigments of Heliconius are so colorful in the UV range compared to the yellow pigments of close relatives lacking the UV opsin duplicate. PMID:20133601

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2007-09-01

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

  5. Opsin cDNA sequences of a UV and green rhodopsin of the satyrine butterfly Bicyclus anynana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhoutte, K J A; Eggen, B J L; Janssen, J J M; Stavenga, D G

    2002-11-01

    The cDNAs of an ultraviolet (UV) and long-wavelength (LW) (green) absorbing rhodopsin of the bush brown Bicyclus anynana were partially identified. The UV sequence, encoding 377 amino acids, is 76-79% identical to the UV sequences of the papilionids Papilio glaucus and Papilio xuthus and the moth Manduca sexta. A dendrogram derived from aligning the amino acid sequences reveals an equidistant position of Bicyclus between Papilio and Manduca. The sequence of the green opsin cDNA fragment, which encodes 242 amino acids, represents six of the seven transmembrane regions. At the amino acid level, this fragment is more than 80% identical to the corresponding LW opsin sequences of Dryas, Heliconius, Papilio (rhodopsin 2) and Manduca. Whereas three LW absorbing rhodopsins were identified in the papilionid butterflies, only one green opsin was found in B. anynana.

  6. Cubozoan genome illuminates functional diversification of opsins and photoreceptor evolution

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Liegertová, Michaela; Pergner, Jiří; Kozmiková, Iryna; Fabian, Peter; Pombinho, António R.; Strnad, Hynek; Pačes, Jan; Vlček, Čestmír; Bartůněk, Petr; Kozmik, Zbyněk

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 5, Jul 8 (2015) ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP305/10/2141; GA MŠk LO1220 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : Cubozoan genome * opsins * photoreceptor * evolution Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 5.228, year: 2015

  7. Strategy to Identify and Test Putative Light-Sensitive Non-Opsin G-Protein-Coupled Receptors: A Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faggionato, Davide; Serb, Jeanne M

    2017-08-01

    The rise of high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and de novo transcriptome assembly has had a transformative impact on how we identify and study genes in the phototransduction cascade of non-model organisms. But the advantage provided by the nearly automated annotation of RNA-seq transcriptomes may at the same time hinder the possibility for gene discovery and the discovery of new gene functions. For example, standard functional annotation based on domain homology to known protein families can only confirm group membership, not identify the emergence of new biochemical function. In this study, we show the importance of developing a strategy that circumvents the limitations of semiautomated annotation and apply this workflow to photosensitivity as a means to discover non-opsin photoreceptors. We hypothesize that non-opsin G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) proteins may have chromophore-binding lysines in locations that differ from opsin. Here, we provide the first case study describing non-opsin light-sensitive GPCRs based on tissue-specific RNA-seq data of the common bay scallop Argopecten irradians (Lamarck, 1819). Using a combination of sequence analysis and three-dimensional protein modeling, we identified two candidate proteins. We tested their photochemical properties and provide evidence showing that these two proteins incorporate 11-cis and/or all-trans retinal and react to light photochemically. Based on this case study, we demonstrate that there is potential for the discovery of new light-sensitive GPCRs, and we have developed a workflow that starts from RNA-seq assemblies to the discovery of new non-opsin, GPCR-based photopigments.

  8. Light-controlled inhibition of malignant glioma by opsin gene transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, F; Tu, J; Pan, J-Q; Luo, H-L; Liu, Y-H; Wan, J; Zhang, J; Wei, P-F; Jiang, T; Chen, Y-H; Wang, L-P

    2013-01-01

    Glioblastomas are aggressive cancers with low survival rates and poor prognosis because of their highly proliferative and invasive capacity. In the current study, we describe a new optogenetic strategy that selectively inhibits glioma cells through light-controlled membrane depolarization and cell death. Transfer of the engineered opsin ChETA (engineered Channelrhodopsin-2 variant) gene into primary human glioma cells or cell lines, but not normal astrocytes, unexpectedly decreased cell proliferation and increased mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, upon light stimulation. These optogenetic effects were mediated by membrane depolarization-induced reductions in cyclin expression and mitochondrial transmembrane potential. Importantly, the ChETA gene transfer and light illumination in mice significantly inhibited subcutaneous and intracranial glioma growth and increased the survival of the animals bearing the glioma. These results uncover an unexpected effect of opsin ion channels on glioma cells and offer the opportunity for the first time to treat glioma using a light-controllable optogenetic approach. PMID:24176851

  9. Variation in incorporation of tritiated amino acids into rhodopsin and opsin during the 12 hour light-dark cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, B.

    1981-01-01

    This is a study of the variation in incorporation of labeled amino acids into opsin and rhodopsin during the 12 hour light-dark cycle. Groups of 12 adult, light-entrained R. pipiens were injected with tritiated amino acids at selected times of the day and night. Twenty four hours later, the frogs were sacrificed and their rhodopsin purified by column chromatography. It was found that the peak incorporation of amino acids into rhodopsin occurred shortly after light onset and declined to lower levels at later hours. Light microscopic autoradiography revealed the presence of radioactive disc membranes in the rod outer segments. However there was no correlation between outer segment grain density and rhodopsin specific activity. Succeeding experiments showed that light onset, rather than the time of day, played an important role in stimulating isotope incorporation. Electro-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed a changing specific activity for inner segment opsin during the light-dark cycle. Peak levels of amino acid incorporation occurred shortly after light onset and then declined to lower levels. For all time points, opsin was found to be radioactive, indicating opsin biosynthesis occurred continually throughout the diurnal cycle

  10. Bacterio-opsin mutants of Halobacterium halobium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betlach, Mary; Pfeifer, Felicitas; Friedman, James; Boyer, Herbert W.

    1983-01-01

    The bacterio-opsin (bop) gene of Halobacterium halobium R1 has been cloned with about 40 kilobases of flanking genomic sequence. The 40-kilobase segment is derived from the (G+C)-rich fraction of the chromosome and is not homologous to the major (pHH1) or minor endogenous covalently closed circular DNA species of H. halobium. A 5.1-kilobase Pst I fragment containing the bop gene was subcloned in pBR322 and a partial restriction map was determined. Defined restriction fragments of this clone were used as probes to analyze the defects associated with the bop gene in 12 bacterio-opsin mutants. Eleven out of 12 of the mutants examined had inserts ranging from 350 to 3,000 base pairs either in the bop gene or up to 1,400 base pairs upstream. The positions of the inserts were localized to four regions in the 5.1-kilobase genomic fragment: within the gene (one mutant), in a region that overlaps the 5′ end of the gene (seven mutants), and in two different upstream regions (three mutants). Two revertants of the mutant with the most distal insert had an additional insert in the same region. The polar effects of these inserts are discussed in terms of inactivation of a regulatory gene or disruption of part of a coordinately expressed operon. Given the defined nature of the bop mRNA—i.e., it has a 5′ leader sequence of three ribonucleotides—these observations indicate that the bop mRNA might be processed from a large mRNA transcript. Images PMID:16593291

  11. Genomic organization, evolution, and expression of photoprotein and opsin genes in Mnemiopsis leidyi: a new view of ctenophore photocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schnitzler Christine E

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Calcium-activated photoproteins are luciferase variants found in photocyte cells of bioluminescent jellyfish (Phylum Cnidaria and comb jellies (Phylum Ctenophora. The complete genomic sequence from the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, a representative of the earliest branch of animals that emit light, provided an opportunity to examine the genome of an organism that uses this class of luciferase for bioluminescence and to look for genes involved in light reception. To determine when photoprotein genes first arose, we examined the genomic sequence from other early-branching taxa. We combined our genomic survey with gene trees, developmental expression patterns, and functional protein assays of photoproteins and opsins to provide a comprehensive view of light production and light reception in Mnemiopsis. Results The Mnemiopsis genome has 10 full-length photoprotein genes situated within two genomic clusters with high sequence conservation that are maintained due to strong purifying selection and concerted evolution. Photoprotein-like genes were also identified in the genomes of the non-luminescent sponge Amphimedon queenslandica and the non-luminescent cnidarian Nematostella vectensis, and phylogenomic analysis demonstrated that photoprotein genes arose at the base of all animals. Photoprotein gene expression in Mnemiopsis embryos begins during gastrulation in migrating precursors to photocytes and persists throughout development in the canals where photocytes reside. We identified three putative opsin genes in the Mnemiopsis genome and show that they do not group with well-known bilaterian opsin subfamilies. Interestingly, photoprotein transcripts are co-expressed with two of the putative opsins in developing photocytes. Opsin expression is also seen in the apical sensory organ. We present evidence that one opsin functions as a photopigment in vitro, absorbing light at wavelengths that overlap with peak photoprotein light

  12. Cardiac optogenetic pacing in drosophila melanogaster using red-shifted opsins (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Men, Jing; Li, Airong; Jerwick, Jason; Tanzi, Rudolph E.; Zhou, Chao

    2017-02-01

    Electrical pacing is the current gold standard for investigation of mammalian cardiac electrical conduction systems as well as for treatment of certain cardiac pathologies. However, this method requires an invasive surgical procedure to implant the pacing electrodes. Recently, optogenetic pacing has been developed as an alternative, non-invasive method for heartbeat pacing in animals. It induces heartbeats by shining pulsed light on transgene-generated microbial opsins which in turn activate light gated ion channels in animal hearts. However, commonly used opsins, such as channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), require short light wavelength stimulation (475 nm), which is strongly absorbed and scattered by tissue. Here, we expressed recently engineered red-shifted opsins, ReaChR and CsChrimson, in the heart of a well-developed animal model, Drosophila melanogaster, for the first time. Optogenetic pacing was successfully conducted in both ReaChR and CsChrimson flies at their larval, pupal, and adult stages using 617 nm excitation light pulse, enabling a much deeper tissue penetration compared to blue stimulation light. A customized high speed and ultrahigh resolution OCM system was used to non-invasively monitor the heartbeat pacing in Drosophila. Compared to previous studies on optogenetic pacing of Drosophila, higher penetration depth of optogenetic excitation light was achieved in opaque late pupal flies. Lower stimulating power density is needed for excitation at each developmental stage of both groups, which improves the safety of this technique for heart rhythm studies.

  13. Diversification of non-visual photopigment parapinopsin in spectral sensitivity for diverse pineal functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koyanagi, Mitsumasa; Wada, Seiji; Kawano-Yamashita, Emi; Hara, Yuichiro; Kuraku, Shigehiro; Kosaka, Shigeaki; Kawakami, Koichi; Tamotsu, Satoshi; Tsukamoto, Hisao; Shichida, Yoshinori; Terakita, Akihisa

    2015-09-15

    Recent genome projects of various animals have uncovered an unexpectedly large number of opsin genes, which encode protein moieties of photoreceptor molecules, in most animals. In visual systems, the biological meanings of this diversification are clear; multiple types of visual opsins with different spectral sensitivities are responsible for color vision. However, the significance of the diversification of non-visual opsins remains uncertain, in spite of the importance of understanding the molecular mechanism and evolution of varied non-visual photoreceptions. Here, we investigated the diversification of the pineal photopigment parapinopsin, which serves as the UV-sensitive photopigment for the pineal wavelength discrimination in the lamprey, linking it with other pineal photoreception. Spectroscopic analyses of the recombinant pigments of the two teleost parapinopsins PP1 and PP2 revealed that PP1 is a UV-sensitive pigment, similar to lamprey parapinopsin, but PP2 is a blue-sensitive pigment, with an absorption maximum at 460-480 nm, showing the diversification of non-visual pigment with respect to spectral sensitivity. We also found that PP1 and PP2 exhibit mutually exclusive expressions in the pineal organs of three teleost species. By using transgenic zebrafish in which these parapinopsin-expressing cells are labeled, we found that PP1-expressing cells basically possess neuronal processes, which is consistent with their involvement in wavelength discrimination. Interestingly, however, PP2-expressing cells rarely possess neuronal processes, raising the possibility that PP2 could be involved in non-neural responses rather than neural responses. Furthermore, we found that PP2-expressing cells contain serotonin and aanat2, the key enzyme involved in melatonin synthesis from serotonin, whereas PP1-expressing cells do not contain either, suggesting that blue-sensitive PP2 is instead involved in light-regulation of melatonin secretion. In this paper, we have clearly

  14. Molecular genetics of rhodopsin and phototrans duction in the visual system of Drosophila

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zuker, C.; Cowman, A.; Montell, C.; Rubin, G.

    1987-01-01

    The authors have isolated the genes encoding four Drosophila visual pigments. Each of these opsins is expressed in a set of functionally and anatomically distinct photoreceptor cells of the eye. One is expressed in the six outer photoreceptor cells (R1-R6), the second in the central R8 photoreceptor cell, and the other two in the UV sensitive R7 photoreceptor cells. They have determined the structure and nucleotide sequence of each of these genes. They have used P element-mediated gene transfer to introduce the cloned structural gene for the R1-R6 opsin in the Drosophila germline and restored the ninaE mutant phenotype to wild-type. In an attempt to study the contribution of the various opsins to the specific functional properties of the different photoreceptor cell types, they have genetically engineered Drosophila lines that express R8 opsin in the R1-R6 photoreceptor cells. In collaboration with Drs. Ozaki and Pak at Purdue University, they have used oligonucleotide site-directed mutagenesis to mutate selected amino acids and regions of the rhodopsin molecule and reintroduced the mutated genes into Drosophila to analyze structure-function relationships in the rhodopsin molecule

  15. Androgens increase lws opsin expression and red sensitivity in male three-spined sticklebacks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Ta Shao

    Full Text Available Optomotor studies have shown that three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus are more sensitive to red during summer than winter, which may be related to the need to detect the red breeding colour of males. This study aimed to determine whether this change of red light sensitivity is specifically related to reproductive physiology. The mRNA levels of opsin genes were examined in the retinae of sexually mature and immature fish, as well as in sham-operated males, castrated control males, or castrated males implanted with androgen 11-ketoandrostenedione (11 KA, maintained under stimulatory (L16:D8 or inhibitory (L8:D16 photoperiods. In both sexes, red-sensitive opsin gene (lws mRNA levels were higher in sexually mature than in immature fish. Under L16:D8, lws mRNA levels were higher in intact than in castrated males, and were up-regulated by 11 KA treatment in castrated males. Moreover, electroretinogram data confirmed that sexual maturation resulted in higher relative red spectral sensitivity. Mature males under L16:D8 were more sensitive to red light than males under L8:D16. Red light sensitivity under L16:D8 was diminished by castration, but increased by 11 KA treatment. Thus, in sexually mature male sticklebacks, androgen is a key factor in enhancing sensitivity to red light via regulation of opsin gene expression. This is the first study to demonstrate that sex hormones can regulate spectral vision sensitivity.

  16. A ligand channel through the G protein coupled receptor opsin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter W Hildebrand

    Full Text Available The G protein coupled receptor rhodopsin contains a pocket within its seven-transmembrane helix (TM structure, which bears the inactivating 11-cis-retinal bound by a protonated Schiff-base to Lys296 in TM7. Light-induced 11-cis-/all-trans-isomerization leads to the Schiff-base deprotonated active Meta II intermediate. With Meta II decay, the Schiff-base bond is hydrolyzed, all-trans-retinal is released from the pocket, and the apoprotein opsin reloaded with new 11-cis-retinal. The crystal structure of opsin in its active Ops* conformation provides the basis for computational modeling of retinal release and uptake. The ligand-free 7TM bundle of opsin opens into the hydrophobic membrane layer through openings A (between TM1 and 7, and B (between TM5 and 6, respectively. Using skeleton search and molecular docking, we find a continuous channel through the protein that connects these two openings and comprises in its central part the retinal binding pocket. The channel traverses the receptor over a distance of ca. 70 A and is between 11.6 and 3.2 A wide. Both openings are lined with aromatic residues, while the central part is highly polar. Four constrictions within the channel are so narrow that they must stretch to allow passage of the retinal beta-ionone-ring. Constrictions are at openings A and B, respectively, and at Trp265 and Lys296 within the retinal pocket. The lysine enforces a 90 degrees elbow-like kink in the channel which limits retinal passage. With a favorable Lys side chain conformation, 11-cis-retinal can take the turn, whereas passage of the all-trans isomer would require more global conformational changes. We discuss possible scenarios for the uptake of 11-cis- and release of all-trans-retinal. If the uptake gate of 11-cis-retinal is assigned to opening B, all-trans is likely to leave through the same gate. The unidirectional passage proposed previously requires uptake of 11-cis-retinal through A and release of photolyzed all

  17. Positive selection of a duplicated UV-sensitive visual pigment coincides with wing pigment evolution in Heliconius butterflies

    OpenAIRE

    Briscoe, Adriana D.; Bybee, Seth M.; Bernard, Gary D.; Yuan, Furong; Sison-Mangus, Marilou P.; Reed, Robert D.; Warren, Andrew D.; Llorente-Bousquets, Jorge; Chiao, Chuan-Chin

    2010-01-01

    The butterfly Heliconius erato can see from the UV to the red part of the light spectrum with color vision proven from 440 to 640 nm. Its eye is known to contain three visual pigments, rhodopsins, produced by an 11-cis-3-hydroxyretinal chromophore together with long wavelength (LWRh), blue (BRh) and UV (UVRh1) opsins. We now find that H. erato has a second UV opsin mRNA (UVRh2)—a previously undescribed duplication of this gene among Lepidoptera. To investigate its evolutionary origin, we scre...

  18. CRALBP supports the mammalian retinal visual cycle and cone vision

    OpenAIRE

    Xue, Yunlu; Shen, Susan Q.; Jui, Jonathan; Rupp, Alan C.; Byrne, Leah C.; Hattar, Samer; Flannery, John G.; Corbo, Joseph C.; Kefalov, Vladimir J.

    2015-01-01

    Mutations in the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP, encoded by RLBP1) can lead to severe cone photoreceptor-mediated vision loss in patients. It is not known how CRALBP supports cone function or how altered CRALBP leads to cone dysfunction. Here, we determined that deletion of Rlbp1 in mice impairs the retinal visual cycle. Mice lacking CRALBP exhibited M-opsin mislocalization, M-cone loss, and impaired cone-driven visual behavior and light responses. Additionally, M-cone dark ad...

  19. Luminopsins integrate opto- and chemogenetics by using physical and biological light sources for opsin activation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berglund, Ken; Clissold, Kara; Li, Haofang E.; Wen, Lei; Park, Sung Young; Gleixner, Jan; Klein, Marguerita E.; Lu, Dongye; Barter, Joseph W.; Rossi, Mark A.; Augustine, George J.; Yin, Henry H.; Hochgeschwender, Ute

    2016-01-01

    Luminopsins are fusion proteins of luciferase and opsin that allow interrogation of neuronal circuits at different temporal and spatial resolutions by choosing either extrinsic physical or intrinsic biological light for its activation. Building on previous development of fusions of wild-type Gaussia luciferase with channelrhodopsin, here we expanded the utility of luminopsins by fusing bright Gaussia luciferase variants with either channelrhodopsin to excite neurons (luminescent opsin, LMO) or a proton pump to inhibit neurons (inhibitory LMO, iLMO). These improved LMOs could reliably activate or silence neurons in vitro and in vivo. Expression of the improved LMO in hippocampal circuits not only enabled mapping of synaptic activation of CA1 neurons with fine spatiotemporal resolution but also could drive rhythmic circuit excitation over a large spatiotemporal scale. Furthermore, virus-mediated expression of either LMO or iLMO in the substantia nigra in vivo produced not only the expected bidirectional control of single unit activity but also opposing effects on circling behavior in response to systemic injection of a luciferase substrate. Thus, although preserving the ability to be activated by external light sources, LMOs expand the use of optogenetics by making the same opsins accessible to noninvasive, chemogenetic control, thereby allowing the same probe to manipulate neuronal activity over a range of spatial and temporal scales. PMID:26733686

  20. Shedding light on serpent sight: the visual pigments of henophidian snakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Wayne L; Cowing, Jill A; Bowmaker, James K; Carvalho, Livia S; Gower, David J; Hunt, David M

    2009-06-10

    The biologist Gordon Walls proposed his "transmutation" theory through the 1930s and the 1940s to explain cone-like morphology of rods (and vice versa) in the duplex retinas of modern-day reptiles, with snakes regarded as the epitome of his hypothesis. Despite Walls' interest, the visual system of reptiles, and in particular snakes, has been widely neglected in favor of studies of fishes and mammals. By analyzing the visual pigments of two henophidian snakes, Xenopeltis unicolor and Python regius, we show that both species express two cone opsins, an ultraviolet-sensitive short-wavelength-sensitive 1 (SWS1) (lambda(max) = 361 nm) pigment and a long-wavelength-sensitive (LWS) (lambda(max) = 550 nm) pigment, providing the potential for dichromatic color vision. They also possess rod photoreceptors which express the usual rod opsin (Rh1) pigment with a lambda(max) at 497 nm. This is the first molecular study of the visual pigments expressed in the photoreceptors of any snake species. The presence of a duplex retina and the characterization of LWS, SWS1, and Rh1 visual pigments in henophidian snakes implies that "lower" snakes do not provide support for Walls' transmutation theory, unlike some "higher" (caenophidian) snakes and other reptiles, such as geckos. More data from other snake lineages will be required to test this hypothesis further.

  1. Loss of ift122, a Retrograde Intraflagellar Transport (IFT) Complex Component, Leads to Slow, Progressive Photoreceptor Degeneration Due to Inefficient Opsin Transport*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boubakri, Meriam; Chaya, Taro; Hirata, Hiromi; Kajimura, Naoko; Kuwahara, Ryusuke; Ueno, Akiko; Malicki, Jarema; Furukawa, Takahisa; Omori, Yoshihiro

    2016-01-01

    In the retina, aberrant opsin transport from cell bodies to outer segments leads to retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. Opsin transport is facilitated by the intraflagellar transport (IFT) system that mediates the bidirectional movement of proteins within cilia. In contrast to functions of the anterograde transport executed by IFT complex B (IFT-B), the precise functions of the retrograde transport mediated by IFT complex A (IFT-A) have not been well studied in photoreceptor cilia. Here, we analyzed developing zebrafish larvae carrying a null mutation in ift122 encoding a component of IFT-A. ift122 mutant larvae show unexpectedly mild phenotypes, compared with those of mutants defective in IFT-B. ift122 mutants exhibit a slow onset of progressive photoreceptor degeneration mainly after 7 days post-fertilization. ift122 mutant larvae also develop cystic kidney but not curly body, both of which are typically observed in various ciliary mutants. ift122 mutants display a loss of cilia in the inner ear hair cells and nasal pit epithelia. Loss of ift122 causes disorganization of outer segment discs. Ectopic accumulation of an IFT-B component, ift88, is observed in the ift122 mutant photoreceptor cilia. In addition, pulse-chase experiments using GFP-opsin fusion proteins revealed that ift122 is required for the efficient transport of opsin and the distal elongation of outer segments. These results show that IFT-A is essential for the efficient transport of outer segment proteins, including opsin, and for the survival of retinal photoreceptor cells, rendering the ift122 mutant a unique model for human retinal degenerative diseases. PMID:27681595

  2. Sea urchin tube feet are photosensory organs that express a rhabdomeric-like opsin and PAX6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesser, Michael P.; Carleton, Karen L.; Böttger, Stefanie A.; Barry, Thomas M.; Walker, Charles W.

    2011-01-01

    All echinoderms have unique hydraulic structures called tube feet, known for their roles in light sensitivity, respiration, chemoreception and locomotion. In the green sea urchin, the most distal portion of these tube feet contain five ossicles arranged as a light collector with its concave surface facing towards the ambient light. These ossicles are perforated and lined with pigment cells that express a PAX6 protein that is universally involved in the development of eyes and sensory organs in other bilaterians. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sequencing and real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) also demonstrate the presence and differential expression of a rhabdomeric-like opsin within these tube feet. Morphologically, nerves that could serve to transmit information to the test innervate the tube feet, and the differential expression of opsin transcripts in the tube feet is inversely, and significantly, related to the amount of light that tube feet are exposed to depending on their location on the test. The expression of these genes, the differential expression of opsin based on light exposure and the unique morphological features at the distal portion of the tube foot strongly support the hypothesis that in addition to previously identified functional roles of tube feet they are also photosensory organs that detect and respond to changes in the underwater light field. PMID:21450733

  3. Characterization of photoreceptor cell types in the little brown bat Myotis lucifugus (Vespertilionidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feller, K D; Lagerholm, S; Clubwala, R; Silver, M T; Haughey, D; Ryan, J M; Loew, E R; Deutschlander, M E; Kenyon, K L

    2009-12-01

    We report the expression of three visual opsins in the retina of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus, Vespertilionidae). Gene sequences for a rod-specific opsin and two cone-specific opsins were cloned from cDNA derived from bat eyes. Comparative sequence analyses indicate that the two cone opsins correspond to an ultraviolet short-wavelength opsin (SWS1) and a long-wavelength opsin (LWS). Immunocytochemistry using antisera to visual opsins revealed that the little brown bat retina contains two types of cone photoreceptors within a rod-dominated background. However, unlike other mammalian photoreceptors, M. lucifugus cones and rods are morphologically indistinguishable by light microscopy. Both photoreceptor types have a thin, elongated outer segment. Using microspectrophotometry we classified the absorption spectrum for the ubiquitous rods. Similar to other mammals, bat rhodopsin has an absorption peak near 500 nm. Although we were unable to confirm a spectral range, cellular and molecular analyses indicate that M. lucifugus expresses two types of cone visual pigments located within the photoreceptor layer. This study provides important insights into the visual capacity of a nocturnal microchiropteran species.

  4. Rapid adaptation to a novel light environment: The importance of ontogeny and phenotypic plasticity in shaping the visual system of Nicaraguan Midas cichlid fish (Amphilophus citrinellus spp.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härer, Andreas; Torres-Dowdall, Julián; Meyer, Axel

    2017-10-01

    Colonization of novel habitats is typically challenging to organisms. In the initial stage after colonization, approximation to fitness optima in the new environment can occur by selection acting on standing genetic variation, modification of developmental patterns or phenotypic plasticity. Midas cichlids have recently colonized crater Lake Apoyo from great Lake Nicaragua. The photic environment of crater Lake Apoyo is shifted towards shorter wavelengths compared to great Lake Nicaragua and Midas cichlids from both lakes differ in visual sensitivity. We investigated the contribution of ontogeny and phenotypic plasticity in shaping the visual system of Midas cichlids after colonizing this novel photic environment. To this end, we measured cone opsin expression both during development and after experimental exposure to different light treatments. Midas cichlids from both lakes undergo ontogenetic changes in cone opsin expression, but visual sensitivity is consistently shifted towards shorter wavelengths in crater lake fish, which leads to a paedomorphic retention of their visual phenotype. This shift might be mediated by lower levels of thyroid hormone in crater lake Midas cichlids (measured indirectly as dio2 and dio3 gene expression). Exposing fish to different light treatments revealed that cone opsin expression is phenotypically plastic in both species during early development, with short and long wavelength light slowing or accelerating ontogenetic changes, respectively. Notably, this plastic response was maintained into adulthood only in the derived crater lake Midas cichlids. We conclude that the rapid evolution of Midas cichlids' visual system after colonizing crater Lake Apoyo was mediated by a shift in visual sensitivity during ontogeny and was further aided by phenotypic plasticity during development. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Amphioxus photoreceptors insights into the evolution of vertebrate opsins, vision and circadian rhythmicity

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pergner, Jiří; Kozmik, Zbyněk

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 61, č. 10-12 (2017), s. 665-681 ISSN 0214-6282 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-15374S; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015062; GA MŠk LO1419 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : chordate * opsin evolution * photoreceptor * eye evolution * phototransduction Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology Impact factor: 1.981, year: 2016

  6. Activation of Transducin by Bistable Pigment Parapinopsin in the Pineal Organ of Lower Vertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawano-Yamashita, Emi; Koyanagi, Mitsumasa; Wada, Seiji; Tsukamoto, Hisao; Nagata, Takashi; Terakita, Akihisa

    2015-01-01

    Pineal organs of lower vertebrates contain several kinds of photosensitive molecules, opsins that are suggested to be involved in different light-regulated physiological functions. We previously reported that parapinopsin is an ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive opsin that underlies hyperpolarization of the pineal photoreceptor cells of lower vertebrates to achieve pineal wavelength discrimination. Although, parapinopsin is phylogenetically close to vertebrate visual opsins, it exhibits a property similar to invertebrate visual opsins and melanopsin: the photoproduct of parapinopsin is stable and reverts to the original dark states, demonstrating the nature of bistable pigments. Therefore, it is of evolutionary interest to identify a phototransduction cascade driven by parapinopsin and to compare it with that in vertebrate visual cells. Here, we showed that parapinopsin is coupled to vertebrate visual G protein transducin in the pufferfish, zebrafish, and lamprey pineal organs. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that parapinopsins activated transducin in vitro in a light-dependent manner, similar to vertebrate visual opsins. Interestingly, transducin activation by parapinopsin was provoked and terminated by UV- and subsequent orange-lights irradiations, respectively, due to the bistable nature of parapinopsin, which could contribute to a wavelength-dependent control of a second messenger level in the cell as a unique optogenetic tool. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that parapinopsin was colocalized with Gt2 in the teleost, which possesses rod and cone types of transducin, Gt1, and Gt2. On the other hand, in the lamprey, which does not possess the Gt2 gene, in situ hybridization suggested that parapinopsin-expressing photoreceptor cells contained Gt1 type transducin GtS, indicating that lamprey parapinopsin may use GtS in place of Gt2. Because it is widely accepted that vertebrate visual opsins having a bleaching nature have evolved from non-bleaching opsins

  7. Non-directional photoreceptors in the pluteus of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Valero-Gracia

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In comparison to complex visual systems, non-directional photoreception – the most primitive form of biological photodetection – has been poorly investigated, although it is essential to many biological processes such as circadian and seasonal rhythms. Here we describe the spatiotemporal expression pattern of the major molecular actors mediating light reception – opsins – localized in the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus larva. In contrast to other zooplanktonic larvae, the echinopluteus lacks photoreceptor cells with observable shading pigments involved in directional visual tasks. Nonetheless, the echinopluteus expresses two distinct classes of opsins: a Go-opsin and a rhabdomeric opsin. The Go-opsin, Sp-opsin3.2, is detectable at early (3 days post fertilization and four armed pluteus stages (4 days post fertilization in two cells that flank the apical organ. To rule out the presence of shading pigments involved in directional photoreception, we used electron microscopy to explore the expression domain of Go-opsin Sp-opsin3.2 positive cells. The rhabdomeric opsin Sp-Opsin4 expression is detectable in clusters of cells located around the primary podia at the five-fold ectoderm pentagonal disc stage (day 18-21 and thereafter, thus indicating that Sp-Opsin4 may not be involved in the photoreception mechanism of the larva, but only of the juvenile. We discuss the putative function of the relevant cells in their neural context, and propose a model for understanding simple photodetection in marine larvae.

  8. The opsin repertoire of the European lancelet: a window into light detection in a basal chordate

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pantzartzi, Chrysoula; Pergner, Jiří; Kozmiková, Iryna; Kozmik, Zbyněk

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 61, č. 10-12 (2017), s. 763-772 ISSN 0214-6282 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-15374S; GA MŠk LO1220; GA MŠk(CZ) LQ1604; GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0109 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : Branchiostoma * amphioxus * opsin * expression Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology Impact factor: 1.981, year: 2016

  9. Losses of functional opsin genes, short-wavelength cone photopigments, and color vision--a significant trend in the evolution of mammalian vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Gerald H

    2013-03-01

    All mammalian cone photopigments are derived from the operation of representatives from two opsin gene families (SWS1 and LWS in marsupial and eutherian mammals; SWS2 and LWS in monotremes), a process that produces cone pigments with respective peak sensitivities in the short and middle-to-long wavelengths. With the exception of a number of primate taxa, the modal pattern for mammals is to have two types of cone photopigment, one drawn from each of the gene families. In recent years, it has been discovered that the SWS1 opsin genes of a widely divergent collection of eutherian mammals have accumulated mutational changes that render them nonfunctional. This alteration reduces the retinal complements of these species to a single cone type, thus rendering ordinary color vision impossible. At present, several dozen species from five mammalian orders have been identified as falling into this category, but the total number of mammalian species that have lost short-wavelength cones in this way is certain to be much larger, perhaps reaching as high as 10% of all species. A number of circumstances that might be used to explain this widespread cone loss can be identified. Among these, the single consistent fact is that the species so affected are nocturnal or, if they are not technically nocturnal, they at least feature retinal organizations that are typically associated with that lifestyle. At the same time, however, there are many nocturnal mammals that retain functional short-wavelength cones. Nocturnality thus appears to set the stage for loss of functional SWS1 opsin genes in mammals, but it cannot be the sole circumstance.

  10. Immunolocalization of arthropsin in the onychophoran Euperipatoides rowelli (Peripatopsidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabell Schumann

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Opsins are light-sensitive proteins that play a key role in animal vision and are related to the ancient photoreceptive molecule rhodopsin found in unicellular organisms. In general, opsins involved in vision comprise two major groups: the rhabdomeric (r-opsins and the ciliary opsins (c-opsins. The functionality of opsins, which is dependent on their protein structure, may have changed during evolution. In arthropods, typically r-opsins are responsible for vision, whereas in vertebrates c-opsins are components of visual photoreceptors. Recently, an enigmatic r-opsin-like protein called arthropsin has been identified in various bilaterian taxa, including arthropods, lophotrochozoans and chordates, by performing transcriptomic and genomic analyses. Since the role of arthropsin and its distribution within the body are unknown, we immunolocalized this protein in a representative of Onychophora – Euperipatoides rowelli – an ecdysozoan taxon which is regarded as one of the closest relatives of Arthropoda. Our data show that arthropsin is expressed in the central nervous system of E. rowelli, including the brain and the ventral nerve cords, but not in the eyes. These findings are consistent with previous results based on reverse transcription PCR in a closely related onychophoran species and suggest that arthropsin is a non-visual protein. Based on its distribution in the central brain region and the mushroom bodies, we speculate that the onychophoran arthropsin might be either a photosensitive molecule playing a role in the circadian clock, or a non-photosensitive protein involved in olfactory pathways, or both.

  11. CRALBP supports the mammalian retinal visual cycle and cone vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Yunlu; Shen, Susan Q; Jui, Jonathan; Rupp, Alan C; Byrne, Leah C; Hattar, Samer; Flannery, John G; Corbo, Joseph C; Kefalov, Vladimir J

    2015-02-01

    Mutations in the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP, encoded by RLBP1) can lead to severe cone photoreceptor-mediated vision loss in patients. It is not known how CRALBP supports cone function or how altered CRALBP leads to cone dysfunction. Here, we determined that deletion of Rlbp1 in mice impairs the retinal visual cycle. Mice lacking CRALBP exhibited M-opsin mislocalization, M-cone loss, and impaired cone-driven visual behavior and light responses. Additionally, M-cone dark adaptation was largely suppressed in CRALBP-deficient animals. While rearing CRALBP-deficient mice in the dark prevented the deterioration of cone function, it did not rescue cone dark adaptation. Adeno-associated virus-mediated restoration of CRALBP expression specifically in Müller cells, but not retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, rescued the retinal visual cycle and M-cone sensitivity in knockout mice. Our results identify Müller cell CRALBP as a key component of the retinal visual cycle and demonstrate that this pathway is important for maintaining normal cone-driven vision and accelerating cone dark adaptation.

  12. Molecular Characterization of Copepod Photoreception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Megan L; Steck, Mireille; Roncalli, Vittoria; Lenz, Petra H

    2017-08-01

    Copepod crustaceans are an abundant and ecologically significant group whose basic biology is guided by numerous visually guided behaviors. These behaviors are driven by copepod eyes, including naupliar eyes and Gicklhorn's organs, which vary widely in structure and function among species. Yet little is known about the molecular aspects of copepod vision. In this study we present a general overview of the molecular aspects of copepod vision by identifying phototransduction genes from newly generated and publicly available RNA-sequencing data and assemblies from 12 taxonomically diverse copepod species. We identify a set of 10 expressed transcripts that serve as a set of target genes for future studies of copepod phototransduction. Our more detailed evolutionary analyses of the opsin gene responsible for forming visual pigments found that all of the copepod species investigated express two main groups of opsins: middle-wavelength-sensitive (MWS) opsins and pteropsins. Additionally, there is evidence from a few species (e.g., Calanus finmarchicus, Eurytemora affinis, Paracyclopina nana, and Lernaea cyprinacea) for the expression of two additional groups of opsins-the peropsins and rhodopsin 7 (Rh7) opsins-at low levels or distinct developmental stages. An ontogenetic analysis of opsin expression in Calanus finmarchicus found the expression of a single dominant MWS opsin, as well as evidence for differences in expression across development in some MWS, pteropsin, and Rh7 opsins, with expression peaking in early naupliar through early copepodite stages.

  13. ALGORITHMS FOR TETRAHEDRAL NETWORK (TEN) GENERATION

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2000-01-01

    The Tetrahedral Network(TEN) is a powerful 3-D vector structure in GIS, which has a lot of advantages such as simple structure, fast topological relation processing and rapid visualization. The difficulty of TEN application is automatic creating data structure. Al though a raster algorithm has been introduced by some authors, the problems in accuracy, memory requirement, speed and integrity are still existent. In this paper, the raster algorithm is completed and a vector algorithm is presented after a 3-D data model and structure of TEN have been introducted. Finally, experiment, conclusion and future work are discussed.

  14. Convergent evolution of SWS2 opsin facilitates adaptive radiation of threespine stickleback into different light environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David A Marques

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Repeated adaptation to a new environment often leads to convergent phenotypic changes whose underlying genetic mechanisms are rarely known. Here, we study adaptation of color vision in threespine stickleback during the repeated postglacial colonization of clearwater and blackwater lakes in the Haida Gwaii archipelago. We use whole genomes from 16 clearwater and 12 blackwater populations, and a selection experiment, in which stickleback were transplanted from a blackwater lake into an uninhabited clearwater pond and resampled after 19 y to test for selection on cone opsin genes. Patterns of haplotype homozygosity, genetic diversity, site frequency spectra, and allele-frequency change support a selective sweep centered on the adjacent blue- and red-light sensitive opsins SWS2 and LWS. The haplotype under selection carries seven amino acid changes in SWS2, including two changes known to cause a red-shift in light absorption, and is favored in blackwater lakes but disfavored in the clearwater habitat of the transplant population. Remarkably, the same red-shifting amino acid changes occurred after the duplication of SWS2 198 million years ago, in the ancestor of most spiny-rayed fish. Two distantly related fish species, bluefin killifish and black bream, express these old paralogs divergently in black- and clearwater habitats, while sticklebacks lost one paralog. Our study thus shows that convergent adaptation to the same environment can involve the same genetic changes on very different evolutionary time scales by reevolving lost mutations and reusing them repeatedly from standing genetic variation.

  15. Visual disability rates in a ten-year cohort of patients with anterior visual pathway meningiomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bor-Shavit, Elite; Hammel, Naama; Nahum, Yoav; Rappaport, Zvi Harry; Stiebel-Kalish, Hadas

    2015-01-01

    To examine the visual outcome of anterior visual pathway meningioma (AVPM) patients followed for at least one year. Data were collected on demographics, clinical course and management. Visual disability was classified at the first and last examination as follows: I--no visual disability; II--mild visual defect in one eye; III--mild visual defect in both eyes; IV--loss of driver's license; V--legally blind. Eight-one AVPM patients had their tumor originate in the clinoid process in 23 (28%), sphenoid-wing area in 18 (22%), cavernous sinus in 15 (19%), tuberculum sellae in 8 (10%), and mixed in 17 (21%). On last examination, 46 patients (57%) had good visual acuity in one or both eyes (Class I or II) and 17 (21%) were mildly affected in both eyes. The rate of Class IV disability was 16%, and Class V disability was 6%. Attention needs to be addressed to the considerable proportion of patients with AVPM (22% in this study) who may lose their driver's license or become legally blind. Occupational therapists should play an important role in the multidisciplinary management of those patients to help them adapt to their new physical and social situation. Anterior visual pathway meningiomas (AVPMs) are commonly not life-threatening but they can lead to profound visual disability, especially when the tumor originates in the tuberculum sellae and cavernous sinus. Particular attention should be paid to visual acuity and visual field deficits, as these can profoundly affect the patient's quality of life including ability to drive and activities of daily living. The interdisciplinary management of patients with AVPM should include the neurosurgeon, neuro-ophthalmologist and occupational therapist. Also, early intervention by the occupational therapist can help patients adapt to their current physical and social situation and return to everyday tasks more rapidly.

  16. Evolution and Mechanism of Spectral Tuning of Blue-Absorbing Visual Pigments in Butterflies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wakakuwa, Motohiro; Terakita, Akihisa; Koyanagi, Mitsumasa; Stavenga, Doekele G.; Shichida, Yoshinori; Arikawa, Kentaro; Warrant, Eric James

    2010-01-01

    The eyes of flower-visiting butterflies are often spectrally highly complex with multiple opsin genes generated by gene duplication, providing an interesting system for a comparative study of color vision. The Small White butterfly, Pieris rapae, has duplicated blue opsins, PrB and PrV, which are

  17. The distribution and degeneration pattern of the cone opsins in rd11 mice%rd11小鼠视锥细胞变性过程中视蛋白的变化特点

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    韩娟娟; 戴旭锋; 戚艳; 张华; 庞继景

    2014-01-01

    鼠视锥细胞中的M-视蛋白和S-视蛋白均随着鼠龄的增长而急剧减少,以S-视蛋白更为明显.随着鼠龄的增长,rd11小鼠M-视蛋白变性从视神经周围区向鼻下方,再向颞上方逐渐进展,而S-视蛋白变性由颞上方向鼻下方逐渐进展.%Background The retinal degeneration 11 (rd11) mouse is a newly discovered naturally occurring recessive animal model with lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 (Lpcatl) mutation.Previous studies showed that the photoreceptor cells are characterized by typical rod-cone degeneration pattern in rd1 1 mice,while cone degeneration pattern in rd11 mice is unclcar.Objective Using immunofluorescence staining techniques with retinal wholemount,we aim to clarify the degeneration patterns of cone-function related M-opsin or S-opsin in different ages of rd1 1 mice.Methods A total of thirty rd1 1 and C57BL/6J mice at postnatal (P) day 14,28,42 (five in each age group) were sacrificed and retinal wholemounts were prepared.Immunohistochemistry was performed to identify the expression of M-opsin or S-opsin in retinal wholemounts,which were photographed with a fluorescent microscope.Cone opsins were compared between rd1 1 retinas and age-matched normal C57BL/6J retinas by manually counting the opsin positive cone cells in different quadrants of the retinas.Results The number of M-opsin or S-opsin positive fluorescent dots in each quadrant was similar at all ages of normal C57BL/6J retina.M-opsin positive fluorescent dots in dorsal/temporal,ventral/temporal,dorsal/nasal and ventral/nasal quadrants of rdl 1 retina at P28 were (414±32),(300± 8),(324 ± 22) and (250± 20)/0.037 mm2,which were lower than the age-matched normal C57BL/6J mice (t =4.114,15.225,7.505,17.990,all at P<0.05).At the same time the S-opsin positive fluorescent dots in P28 rd11 were (8 ±4),(175 ± 16),(74 ± 13) and (315 ±20)/0.037 mm2,with significant decrease in comparison with those in the age-matched normal C57BL/6J mice (t =8.555,17.076,21.637,13.498,all at P<0.05).With the development of retinal degeneration in rd11 mice,the M-opsin degeneration spread

  18. [Spectral sensitivity and visual pigments of the coastal crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shukoliukov, S A; Zak, P P; Kalamkarov, G R; Kalishevich, O O; Ostrovskiĭ, M A

    1980-01-01

    It has been shown that the compound eye of the coastal crab has one photosensitive pigment rhodopsin and screening pigments, black and orange one. The orange pigment has lambda max = 480 nm, rhodopsin in digitonin is stable towards hydroxylamin action, has lambda max = 490-495 nm and after bleaching is transformed into free retinene and opsin. The pigments with lambda max = 430 and 475 nm of the receptor part of the eye are also solubilized. These pigments are not photosensitive but they dissociate under the effect of hydroxylamine. The curye of spectral sensitivity of the coastal crab has the basic maximum at approximately 525 nm and the additional one at 450 nm, which seems to be provided by a combination of the visual pigment--rhodopsin (lambda max 500 nm) with a carotinoid filter (lambda max 480-490). Specific features of the visual system of coastal crab are discussed.

  19. Visual pigments in a living fossil, the Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davies Wayne L

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background One of the greatest challenges facing the early land vertebrates was the need to effectively interpret a terrestrial environment. Interpretation was based on ocular adaptations evolved for an aquatic environment millions of years earlier. The Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri is thought to be the closest living relative to the first terrestrial vertebrate, and yet nothing is known about the visual pigments present in lungfish or the early tetrapods. Results Here we identify and characterise five visual pigments (rh1, rh2, lws, sws1 and sws2 expressed in the retina of N. forsteri. Phylogenetic analysis of the molecular evolution of lungfish and other vertebrate visual pigment genes indicates a closer relationship between lungfish and amphibian pigments than to pigments in teleost fishes. However, the relationship between lungfish, the coelacanth and tetrapods could not be absolutely determined from opsin phylogeny, supporting an unresolved trichotomy between the three groups. Conclusion The presence of four cone pigments in Australian lungfish suggests that the earliest tetrapods would have had a colorful view of their terrestrial environment.

  20. Visual pigments in a living fossil, the Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailes, Helena J; Davies, Wayne L; Trezise, Ann E O; Collin, Shaun P

    2007-10-25

    One of the greatest challenges facing the early land vertebrates was the need to effectively interpret a terrestrial environment. Interpretation was based on ocular adaptations evolved for an aquatic environment millions of years earlier. The Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri is thought to be the closest living relative to the first terrestrial vertebrate, and yet nothing is known about the visual pigments present in lungfish or the early tetrapods. Here we identify and characterise five visual pigments (rh1, rh2, lws, sws1 and sws2) expressed in the retina of N. forsteri. Phylogenetic analysis of the molecular evolution of lungfish and other vertebrate visual pigment genes indicates a closer relationship between lungfish and amphibian pigments than to pigments in teleost fishes. However, the relationship between lungfish, the coelacanth and tetrapods could not be absolutely determined from opsin phylogeny, supporting an unresolved trichotomy between the three groups. The presence of four cone pigments in Australian lungfish suggests that the earliest tetrapods would have had a colorful view of their terrestrial environment.

  1. The gecko visual pigment: the chromophore dark exchange reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crescitelli, F

    1988-02-01

    This study confirms the occurrence of a dark-exchange reaction in the extracted 521-pigment of the Tokay gecko (G. gekko). The present study involved the exchange, in the dark, of the natural 11-cis-chromophore by the 9-cis-10-F-retinal analog. This analog is able to combine with the 521-opsin to regenerate a photopigment at 492 nm. In addition to this shift in absorbance from 521 to 492 nm, the analog photopigment has a photosensitivity some 2.4% that of the native 521-system in the chloride-sufficient state. These two properties of the regenerated analog pigment have simplified the demonstration of a dark exchange of chromophores. At 15 degrees C the 9-cis-10-F-analog replaces the 11-cis-chromophore by at least 30% (density-wise) in about 15 hr. This exchange occurs with the system in the chloride-deficient state. The presence of chloride during the period in the dark significantly reduces the magnitude of the exchange. Apparently, the protein has a more open structure at the chromophoric binding site, allowing this interchange of chromophores. The addition of chloride induces a conformational change at this site, 'burying' the Schiff base and reducing the exchange reaction. The biological implication of this mobile property of the gecko opsin is that it is similar to the behavior of the cone pigment iodopsin but is unlike that of rhodopsins. This supports the idea that the gecko visual cells, despite their appearance as rods, are phylogenetically related to ancestral photopic receptors.

  2. Dorso-Lateral Frontal Cortex of the Ferret Encodes Perceptual Difficulty during Visual Discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhe Charles; Yu, Chunxiu; Sellers, Kristin K; Fröhlich, Flavio

    2016-03-30

    Visual discrimination requires sensory processing followed by a perceptual decision. Despite a growing understanding of visual areas in this behavior, it is unclear what role top-down signals from prefrontal cortex play, in particular as a function of perceptual difficulty. To address this gap, we investigated how neurons in dorso-lateral frontal cortex (dl-FC) of freely-moving ferrets encode task variables in a two-alternative forced choice visual discrimination task with high- and low-contrast visual input. About two-thirds of all recorded neurons in dl-FC were modulated by at least one of the two task variables, task difficulty and target location. More neurons in dl-FC preferred the hard trials; no such preference bias was found for target location. In individual neurons, this preference for specific task types was limited to brief epochs. Finally, optogenetic stimulation confirmed the functional role of the activity in dl-FC before target touch; suppression of activity in pyramidal neurons with the ArchT silencing opsin resulted in a decrease in reaction time to touch the target but not to retrieve reward. In conclusion, dl-FC activity is differentially recruited for high perceptual difficulty in the freely-moving ferret and the resulting signal may provide top-down behavioral inhibition.

  3. Optogenetic control of mitochondrial metabolism and Ca2+ signaling by mitochondria-targeted opsins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tkatch, Tatiana; Greotti, Elisa; Baranauskas, Gytis; Pendin, Diana; Roy, Soumitra; Nita, Luliaoana I; Wettmarshausen, Jennifer; Prigge, Matthias; Yizhar, Ofer; Shirihai, Orian S; Fishman, Daniel; Hershfinkel, Michal; Fleidervish, Ilya A; Perocchi, Fabiana; Pozzan, Tullio; Sekler, Israel

    2017-06-27

    Key mitochondrial functions such as ATP production, Ca 2+ uptake and release, and substrate accumulation depend on the proton electrochemical gradient (ΔμH + ) across the inner membrane. Although several drugs can modulate ΔμH + , their effects are hardly reversible, and lack cellular specificity and spatial resolution. Although channelrhodopsins are widely used to modulate the plasma membrane potential of excitable cells, mitochondria have thus far eluded optogenetic control. Here we describe a toolkit of optometabolic constructs based on selective targeting of channelrhodopsins with distinct functional properties to the inner mitochondrial membrane of intact cells. We show that our strategy enables a light-dependent control of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ m ) and coupled mitochondrial functions such as ATP synthesis by oxidative phosphorylation, Ca 2+ dynamics, and respiratory metabolism. By directly modulating Δψ m , the mitochondria-targeted opsins were used to control complex physiological processes such as spontaneous beats in cardiac myocytes and glucose-dependent ATP increase in pancreatic β-cells. Furthermore, our optometabolic tools allow modulation of mitochondrial functions in single cells and defined cell regions.

  4. Human neural progenitor cells decrease photoreceptor degeneration, normalize opsin distribution and support synapse structure in cultured porcine retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollick, Tanzina; Mohlin, Camilla; Johansson, Kjell

    2016-09-01

    Retinal neurodegenerative disorders like retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal detachment decrease retinal functionality leading to visual impairment. The pathological events are characterized by photoreceptor degeneration, synaptic disassembly, remodeling of postsynaptic neurons and activation of glial cells. Despite intense research, no effective treatment has been found for these disorders. The current study explores the potential of human neural progenitor cell (hNPC) derived factors to slow the degenerative processes in adult porcine retinal explants. Retinas were cultured for 3 days with or without hNPCs as a feeder layer and investigated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), immunohistochemical, western blot and quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) techniques. TUNEL showed that hNPCs had the capacity to limit photoreceptor cell death. Among cone photoreceptors, hNPC coculture resulted in better maintenance of cone outer segments and reduced opsin mislocalization. Additionally, maintained synaptic structural integrity and preservation of second order calbindin positive horizontal cells was also observed. However, Müller cell gliosis only seemed to be alleviated in terms of reduced Müller cell density. Our observations indicate that at 3 days of coculture, hNPC derived factors had the capacity to protect photoreceptors, maintain synaptic integrity and support horizontal cell survival. Human neural progenitor cell applied treatment modalities may be an effective strategy to help maintain retinal functionality in neurodegenerative pathologies. Whether hNPCs can independently hinder Müller cell gliosis by utilizing higher concentrations or by combination with other pharmacological agents still needs to be determined. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Derivation of human differential photoreceptor-like cells from the iris by defined combinations of CRX, RX and NEUROD.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuko Seko

    Full Text Available Examples of direct differentiation by defined transcription factors have been provided for beta-cells, cardiomyocytes and neurons. In the human visual system, there are four kinds of photoreceptors in the retina. Neural retina and iris-pigmented epithelium (IPE share a common developmental origin, leading us to test whether human iris cells could differentiate to retinal neurons. We here define the transcription factor combinations that can determine human photoreceptor cell fate. Expression of rhodopsin, blue opsin and green/red opsin in induced photoreceptor cells were dependent on combinations of transcription factors: A combination of CRX and NEUROD induced rhodopsin and blue opsin, but did not induce green opsin; a combination of CRX and RX induced blue opsin and green/red opsin, but did not induce rhodopsin. Phototransduction-related genes as well as opsin genes were up-regulated in those cells. Functional analysis; i.e. patch clamp recordings, clearly revealed that generated photoreceptor cells, induced by CRX, RX and NEUROD, responded to light. The response was an inward current instead of the typical outward current. These data suggest that photosensitive photoreceptor cells can be generated by combinations of transcription factors. The combination of CRX and RX generate immature photoreceptors: and additional NEUROD promotes maturation. These findings contribute substantially to a major advance toward eventual cell-based therapy for retinal degenerative diseases.

  6. The influence of chromatic background on the photosensitivity of tilapia erythrophores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shyh-Chi Chen

    2014-01-01

    Non-mammalian vertebrates and invertebrates use extraretinal photoreceptors to detect light and perform diverse non-image-forming functions. Compared to well-studied visual systems, the effect of ambient light conditions on photosensory systems of extraretinal photoreceptors is poorly understood. Chromatophores are photosensitive dermal pigment cells that play an important role in the formation of body color patterns to fit the surrounding environment. Here, we used tilapia erythrophores to investigate the relationship between environmental light and chromatophore photoresponses. All erythrophores from three spectral conditions aggregated their pigment granules in UV/short wavelengths and dispersed in middle/long wavelengths. Unlike retinal visual systems, environmental light did not change the usage of the primary opsins responsible for aggregation and dispersion. In addition, short wavelength-rich and red-shifted background conditions led to an inhibitory effect on erythrophore photoresponses. We suggest that, as extraretinal photoreceptors for non-image-forming functions, chromatophores directly adjust their photoresponse sensitivity via changes in opsin expression levels rather than opsin types when environmental light changes.

  7. Developmental plasticity in vision and behavior may help guppies overcome increased turbidity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehlman, Sean M; Sandkam, Benjamin A; Breden, Felix; Sih, Andrew

    2015-12-01

    Increasing turbidity in streams and rivers near human activity is cause for environmental concern, as the ability of aquatic organisms to use visual information declines. To investigate how some organisms might be able to developmentally compensate for increasing turbidity, we reared guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in either clear or turbid water. We assessed the effects of developmental treatments on adult behavior and aspects of the visual system by testing fish from both developmental treatments in turbid and clear water. We found a strong interactive effect of rearing and assay conditions: fish reared in clear water tended to decrease activity in turbid water, whereas fish reared in turbid water tended to increase activity in turbid water. Guppies from all treatments decreased activity when exposed to a predator. To measure plasticity in the visual system, we quantified treatment differences in opsin gene expression of individuals. We detected a shift from mid-wave-sensitive opsins to long wave-sensitive opsins for guppies reared in turbid water. Since long-wavelength sensitivity is important in motion detection, this shift likely allows guppies to salvage motion-detecting abilities when visual information is obscured in turbid water. Our results demonstrate the importance of developmental plasticity in responses of organisms to rapidly changing environments.

  8. Ten-a affects the fusion of central complex primordia in Drosophila.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuebo Cheng

    Full Text Available The central complex of Drosophila melanogaster plays important functions in various behaviors, such as visual and olfactory memory, visual orientation, sleep, and movement control. However little is known about the genes regulating the development of the central complex. Here we report that a mutant gene affecting central complex morphology, cbd (central brain defect, was mapped to ten-a, a type II trans-membrane protein coding gene. Down-regulation of ten-a in pan-neural cells contributed to abnormal morphology of central complex. Over-expression of ten-a by C767-Gal4 was able to partially restore the abnormal central complex morphology in the cbd mutant. Tracking the development of FB primordia revealed that C767-Gal4 labeled interhemispheric junction that separated fan-shaped body precursors at larval stage withdrew to allow the fusion of the precursors. While the C767-Gal4 labeled structure did not withdraw properly and detached from FB primordia, the two fan-shaped body precursors failed to fuse in the cbd mutant. We propose that the withdrawal of C767-Gal4 labeled structure is related to the formation of the fan-shaped body. Our result revealed the function of ten-a in central brain development, and possible cellular mechanism underlying Drosophila fan-shaped body formation.

  9. Astrophysical parameters of ten poorly studied open star clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tadross, Ashraf Latif; El-Bendary, Reda; Osman, Anas; Ismail, Nader; Bakry, Abdel Aziz

    2012-01-01

    We present the fundamental parameters of ten open star clusters, nominated from Kronberger et al. who presented some newly discovered stellar groups on the basis of the Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry and Digitized Sky Survey visual images. Star counts and photometric parameters (radius, membership, distance, color excess, age, luminosity function, mass function, total mass, and dynamical relaxation time) have been determined for these ten clusters for the first time. In order to calibrate our procedures, the main parameters (distance, age, and color excess) have been re-estimated for another five clusters, which are also studied by Kronberger et al. (research papers)

  10. [Thermal stability of rhodopsins and opsins in warm- and cold-blooded vertebrates].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berman, A L; Suvorov, S A; Parnova, R G; Gracheva, O A; Rychkova, M P

    1981-01-01

    Thermal stability of rhodopsins and opsins has been studied in endothermic (sheep, cattle, pig, rat) and ectothermic (frog) animals under two different conditions -- in the intact photoreceptor membranes (PM) and after substitution of the lipid surrounding of rhodopsins by molecules of a detergent Triton X-100. Lipid composition of PM in these animals was also studied, as well as the effect of proteases (pronase and papaine) upon thermal stability of rhodopsins in PM and in 1% Triton X-100 solutions. The thermal resistance of rhodopsins in PM was found to vary in the animals used to a great extent. The maximal differences in thermal stability of rhodopsins in ecto- and endothermic animals were due to the properties of photoreceptor protein itself, whereas in ectothermic animals they resulted mainly from differences in the lipid composition of PM. PM of endothermic animals differ from those of ectothermic ones by a lower content of polyenoic fatty acids and by a higher amount of phosphatidyl ethanolamine. The thermal stability of rhodopsins is not due to rhodopsin molecule as a whole, and depends mainly on its part which is directly bound to 11-cis retinal, located in hydrophobic region of PM and inaccessible to protease attack.

  11. Evolution of cichlid vision via trans-regulatory divergence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O’Quin Kelly E

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Phenotypic evolution may occur through mutations that affect either the structure or expression of protein-coding genes. Although the evolution of color vision has historically been attributed to structural mutations within the opsin genes, recent research has shown that opsin regulatory mutations can also tune photoreceptor sensitivity and color vision. Visual sensitivity in African cichlid fishes varies as a result of the differential expression of seven opsin genes. We crossed cichlid species that express different opsin gene sets and scanned their genome for expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL responsible for these differences. Our results shed light on the role that different structural, cis-, and trans-regulatory mutations play in the evolution of color vision. Results We identified 11 eQTL that contribute to the divergent expression of five opsin genes. On three linkage groups, several eQTL formed regulatory “hotspots” associated with the expression of multiple opsins. Importantly, however, the majority of the eQTL we identified (8/11 or 73% occur on linkage groups located trans to the opsin genes, suggesting that cichlid color vision has evolved primarily via trans-regulatory divergence. By modeling the impact of just two of these trans-regulatory eQTL, we show that opsin regulatory mutations can alter cichlid photoreceptor sensitivity and color vision at least as much as opsin structural mutations can. Conclusions Combined with previous work, we demonstrate that the evolution of cichlid color vision results from the interplay of structural, cis-, and especially trans-regulatory loci. Although there are numerous examples of structural and cis-regulatory mutations that contribute to phenotypic evolution, our results suggest that trans-regulatory mutations could contribute to phenotypic divergence more commonly than previously expected, especially in systems like color vision, where compensatory changes in the

  12. Spectral shifts of mammalian ultraviolet-sensitive pigments (short wavelength-sensitive opsin 1) are associated with eye length and photic niche evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emerling, Christopher A; Huynh, Hieu T; Nguyen, Minh A; Meredith, Robert W; Springer, Mark S

    2015-11-22

    Retinal opsin photopigments initiate mammalian vision when stimulated by light. Most mammals possess a short wavelength-sensitive opsin 1 (SWS1) pigment that is primarily sensitive to either ultraviolet or violet light, leading to variation in colour perception across species. Despite knowledge of both ultraviolet- and violet-sensitive SWS1 classes in mammals for 25 years, the adaptive significance of this variation has not been subjected to hypothesis testing, resulting in minimal understanding of the basis for mammalian SWS1 spectral tuning evolution. Here, we gathered data on SWS1 for 403 mammal species, including novel SWS1 sequences for 97 species. Ancestral sequence reconstructions suggest that the most recent common ancestor of Theria possessed an ultraviolet SWS1 pigment, and that violet-sensitive pigments evolved at least 12 times in mammalian history. We also observed that ultraviolet pigments, previously considered to be a rarity, are common in mammals. We then used phylogenetic comparative methods to test the hypotheses that the evolution of violet-sensitive SWS1 is associated with increased light exposure, extended longevity and longer eye length. We discovered that diurnal mammals and species with longer eyes are more likely to have violet-sensitive pigments and less likely to possess UV-sensitive pigments. We hypothesize that (i) as mammals evolved larger body sizes, they evolved longer eyes, which limited transmittance of ultraviolet light to the retina due to an increase in Rayleigh scattering, and (ii) as mammals began to invade diurnal temporal niches, they evolved lenses with low UV transmittance to reduce chromatic aberration and/or photo-oxidative damage. © 2015 The Author(s).

  13. Sexual Dimorphism and Retinal Mosaic Diversification following the Evolution of a Violet Receptor in Butterflies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCulloch, Kyle J; Yuan, Furong; Zhen, Ying; Aardema, Matthew L; Smith, Gilbert; Llorente-Bousquets, Jorge; Andolfatto, Peter; Briscoe, Adriana D

    2017-09-01

    Numerous animal lineages have expanded and diversified the opsin-based photoreceptors in their eyes underlying color vision behavior. However, the selective pressures giving rise to new photoreceptors and their spectral tuning remain mostly obscure. Previously, we identified a violet receptor (UV2) that is the result of a UV opsin gene duplication specific to Heliconius butterflies. At the same time the violet receptor evolved, Heliconius evolved UV-yellow coloration on their wings, due to the pigment 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-OHK) and the nanostructure architecture of the scale cells. In order to better understand the selective pressures giving rise to the violet receptor, we characterized opsin expression patterns using immunostaining (14 species) and RNA-Seq (18 species), and reconstructed evolutionary histories of visual traits in five major lineages within Heliconius and one species from the genus Eueides. Opsin expression patterns are hyperdiverse within Heliconius. We identified six unique retinal mosaics and three distinct forms of sexual dimorphism based on ommatidial types within the genus Heliconius. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis revealed independent losses of opsin expression, pseudogenization events, and relaxation of selection on UVRh2 in one lineage. Despite this diversity, the newly evolved violet receptor is retained across most species and sexes surveyed. Discriminability modeling of behaviorally preferred 3-OHK yellow wing coloration suggests that the violet receptor may facilitate Heliconius color vision in the context of conspecific recognition. Our observations give insights into the selective pressures underlying the origins of new visual receptors. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Lake and sea populations of Mysis relicta (Crustacea, Mysida with different visual-pigment absorbance spectra use the same A1 chromophore.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolai Belikov

    Full Text Available Glacial-relict species of the genus Mysis (opossum shrimps inhabiting both fresh-water lakes and brackish sea waters in northern Europe show a consistent lake/sea dichotomy in eye spectral sensitivity. The absorbance peak (λmax recorded by microspectrophotometry in isolated rhabdoms is invariably 20-30 nm red-shifted in "lake" compared with "sea" populations. The dichotomy holds across species, major opsin lineages and light environments. Chromophore exchange from A1 to A2 (retinal → 3,4-didehydroretinal is a well-known mechanism for red-shifting visual pigments depending on environmental conditions or stages of life history, present not only in fishes and amphibians, but in some crustaceans as well. We tested the hypothesis that the lake/sea dichotomy in Mysis is due to the use of different chromophores, focussing on two populations of M. relicta from, respectively, a Finnish lake and the Baltic Sea. They are genetically very similar, having been separated for less than 10 kyr, and their rhabdoms show a typical lake/sea difference in λmax (554 nm vs. 529 nm. Gene sequencing has revealed no differences translating into amino acid substitutions in the transmembrane parts of their opsins. We determined the chromophore identity (A1 or A2 in the eyes of these two populations by HPLC, using as standards pure chromophores A1 and A2 as well as extracts from bovine (A1 and goldfish (A2 retinas. We found that the visual-pigment chromophore in both populations is A1 exclusively. Thus the spectral difference between these two populations of M. relicta is not due to the use of different chromophores. We argue that this conclusion is likely to hold for all populations of M. relicta as well as its European sibling species.

  15. Rhabdom evolution in butterflies: insights from the uniquely tiered and heterogeneous ommatidia of the Glacial Apollo butterfly, Parnassius glacialis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsushita, Atsuko; Awata, Hiroko; Wakakuwa, Motohiro; Takemura, Shin-ya; Arikawa, Kentaro

    2012-09-07

    The eye of the Glacial Apollo butterfly, Parnassius glacialis, a 'living fossil' species of the family Papilionidae, contains three types of spectrally heterogeneous ommatidia. Electron microscopy reveals that the Apollo rhabdom is tiered. The distal tier is composed exclusively of photoreceptors expressing opsins of ultraviolet or blue-absorbing visual pigments, and the proximal tier consists of photoreceptors expressing opsins of green or red-absorbing visual pigments. This organization is unique because the distal tier of other known butterflies contains two green-sensitive photoreceptors, which probably function in improving spatial and/or motion vision. Interspecific comparison suggests that the Apollo rhabdom retains an ancestral tiered pattern with some modification to enhance its colour vision towards the long-wavelength region of the spectrum.

  16. Visually Evoked Visual-Auditory Changes Associated with Auditory Performance in Children with Cochlear Implants

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    Maojin Liang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Activation of the auditory cortex by visual stimuli has been reported in deaf children. In cochlear implant (CI patients, a residual, more intense cortical activation in the frontotemporal areas in response to photo stimuli was found to be positively associated with poor auditory performance. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which visual processing in CI users activates the auditory-associated cortex during the period after cochlear implantation as well as its relation to CI outcomes. Twenty prelingually deaf children with CI were recruited. Ten children were good CI performers (GCP and ten were poor (PCP. Ten age- and sex- matched normal-hearing children were recruited as controls, and visual evoked potentials (VEPs were recorded. The characteristics of the right frontotemporal N1 component were analyzed. In the prelingually deaf children, higher N1 amplitude was observed compared to normal controls. While the GCP group showed significant decreases in N1 amplitude, and source analysis showed the most significant decrease in brain activity was observed in the primary visual cortex (PVC, with a downward trend in the primary auditory cortex (PAC activity, but these did not occur in the PCP group. Meanwhile, higher PVC activation (comparing to controls before CI use (0M and a significant decrease in source energy after CI use were found to be related to good CI outcomes. In the GCP group, source energy decreased in the visual-auditory cortex with CI use. However, no significant cerebral hemispheric dominance was found. We supposed that intra- or cross-modal reorganization and higher PVC activation in prelingually deaf children may reflect a stronger potential ability of cortical plasticity. Brain activity evolution appears to be related to CI auditory outcomes.

  17. Visually Evoked Visual-Auditory Changes Associated with Auditory Performance in Children with Cochlear Implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Maojin; Zhang, Junpeng; Liu, Jiahao; Chen, Yuebo; Cai, Yuexin; Wang, Xianjun; Wang, Junbo; Zhang, Xueyuan; Chen, Suijun; Li, Xianghui; Chen, Ling; Zheng, Yiqing

    2017-01-01

    Activation of the auditory cortex by visual stimuli has been reported in deaf children. In cochlear implant (CI) patients, a residual, more intense cortical activation in the frontotemporal areas in response to photo stimuli was found to be positively associated with poor auditory performance. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which visual processing in CI users activates the auditory-associated cortex during the period after cochlear implantation as well as its relation to CI outcomes. Twenty prelingually deaf children with CI were recruited. Ten children were good CI performers (GCP) and ten were poor (PCP). Ten age- and sex- matched normal-hearing children were recruited as controls, and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded. The characteristics of the right frontotemporal N1 component were analyzed. In the prelingually deaf children, higher N1 amplitude was observed compared to normal controls. While the GCP group showed significant decreases in N1 amplitude, and source analysis showed the most significant decrease in brain activity was observed in the primary visual cortex (PVC), with a downward trend in the primary auditory cortex (PAC) activity, but these did not occur in the PCP group. Meanwhile, higher PVC activation (comparing to controls) before CI use (0M) and a significant decrease in source energy after CI use were found to be related to good CI outcomes. In the GCP group, source energy decreased in the visual-auditory cortex with CI use. However, no significant cerebral hemispheric dominance was found. We supposed that intra- or cross-modal reorganization and higher PVC activation in prelingually deaf children may reflect a stronger potential ability of cortical plasticity. Brain activity evolution appears to be related to CI auditory outcomes.

  18. Perancangan Buku Visual Grafis Tentang Pola Makan Food Combining

    OpenAIRE

    Raditya, Bie Karina; H, Prayanto Widyo; Yuwono, Adiel

    2013-01-01

    Perancangan Buku Visual Grafis tentang Pola Makan Food Combining ini bertujuan untuk membuat sebuah buku visual yang mengangkat tema pola makan yang sehat. Buku ini menggunakan pendekatan visual yang bertujuan untuk memberikan arahan atau sekedar menjadi pendukung visual sehingga lebih menarik. Perancangan Buku Visual Grafis tentang Pola Makan Food Combining ini mencakup desain cover buku dan isi buku yang dirancang secara komunikatif. Dengan pendekatan komunikasi visual dalam sebuah buku ten...

  19. Teaching Zen’s Ten Oxherding Pictures through Leonard Cohen’s “Ballad of the Absent Mare”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald Green

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes how to teach Zen’s famous Ten Oxherding Pictures through Leonard Cohen’s song “Ballad of the Absent Mare.” It also explains how instructors can contextualize these pictures within the history of Buddhist visual culture and thereby frame Cohen’s adoption of them as a cowboy ballad motif. The essay begins by describing the metaphor of the ox. It then reviews three theories about the origin of the pictures, contextualizing them within the history of Buddhist visual culture. Finally, it provides a PowerPoint presentation that connects each of the Ten Oxherding Pictures to verses of Cohen’s song and offers comments for instructors’ use in class.

  20. Quantitative and Topographical Analysis of the Losses of Cone Photoreceptors and Retinal Ganglion Cells Under Taurine Depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadj-Saïd, Wahiba; Froger, Nicolas; Ivkovic, Ivana; Jiménez-López, Manuel; Dubus, Élisabeth; Dégardin-Chicaud, Julie; Simonutti, Manuel; Quénol, César; Neveux, Nathalie; Villegas-Pérez, María Paz; Agudo-Barriuso, Marta; Vidal-Sanz, Manuel; Sahel, Jose-Alain; Picaud, Serge; García-Ayuso, Diego

    2016-09-01

    Taurine depletion is known to induce photoreceptor degeneration and was recently found to also trigger retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss similar to the retinal toxicity of vigabatrin. Our objective was to study the topographical loss of RGCs and cone photoreceptors, with a distinction between the two cone types (S- and L- cones) in an animal model of induced taurine depletion. We used the taurine transporter (Tau-T) inhibitor, guanidoethane sulfonate (GES), to induce taurine depletion at a concentration of 1% in the drinking water. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and electroretinograms (ERG) were performed on animals after 2 months of GES treatment administered through the drinking water. Retinas were dissected as wholemounts and immunodetection of Brn3a (RGC), S-opsin (S-cones), and L-opsin (L-cones) was performed. The number of Brn3a+ RGCs, and L- and S-opsin+ cones was automatically quantified and their retinal distribution studied using isodensity maps. The treatment resulted in a significant reduction in plasma taurine levels and a profound dysfunction of visual performance as shown by ERG recordings. Optical coherence tomography analysis revealed that the retina was thinner in the taurine-depleted group. S-opsin+cones were more affected (36%) than L-opsin+cones (27%) with greater cone cell loss in the dorsal area whereas RGC loss (12%) was uniformly distributed. This study confirms that taurine depletion causes RGC and cone loss. Electroretinograms results show that taurine depletion induces retinal dysfunction in photoreceptors and in the inner retina. It establishes a gradient of cell loss depending on the cell type from S-opsin+cones, L-opsin+cones, to RGCs. The greater cell loss in the dorsal retina and of the S-cone population may underline different cellular mechanisms of cellular degeneration and suggests that S-cones may be more sensitive to light-induced retinal toxicity enhanced by the taurine depletion.

  1. Evolution of Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostrovsky, Mikhail

    The evolution of photoreception, giving rise to eye, offers a kaleidoscopic view on selection acting at both the organ and molecular levels. The molecular level is mainly considered in the lecture. The greatest progress to date has been made in relation to the opsin visual pigments. Opsins appeared before eyes did. Two- and three-dimensional organization for rhodopsin in the rod outer segment disk membrane, as well as molecular mechanisms of visual pigments spectral tuning, photoisomerization and also opsin as a G-protein coupled receptor are considered. Molecular mechanisms of visual pigments spectral tuning, namely switching of chromophore (physiological time scale) and amino acid changes in the chromophore site of opsin (evolutionary time scale) is considered in the lecture. Photoisomerization of rhodopsin chromophore, 11-cis retinal is the only photochemical reaction in vision. The reaction is extemely fast (less that 200 fs) and high efficient (. is 0.65). The rhodopsin photolysis and kinetics of the earlier products appearance, photo- and bathorhodopsin, is considered. It is known that light is not only a carrier of information, but also a risk factor of damage to the eye. This photobiological paradox of vision is mainly due to the nature of rhodopsin chromophore. Photooxidation is the base of the paradox. All factors present in the phototrceptor cells to initiate free-radical photooxidation: photosensitizers, oxygen and substrates of oxidation: lipids and proteins (opsin). That is why photoprotective system of the eye structures appeared in the course of evolution. Three lines of protective system to prevent light damage to the retina and retina pigment epithelium is known: permanent renewal of rod and cone outer segment, powerful antioxidant system and optical media as cut-off filters where the lens is a key component. The molecular mechanisms of light damage to the eye and photoprotective system of the eye is considered in the lecture. The molecular

  2. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain control after vaginal delivery and cesarean section.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayman-Kose, Seda; Arioz, Dagistan Tolga; Toktas, Hasan; Koken, Gulengul; Kanat-Pektas, Mine; Kose, Mesut; Yilmazer, Mehmet

    2014-10-01

    The present study aims to determine the efficiency and reliability of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in the management of pain related with uterine contractions after vaginal delivery and the pain related with both abdominal incision uterine contractions after cesarean section. A hundred healthy women who underwent cesarean section under general anesthesia were randomly assigned to the placebo group (Group 1) or the TENS group (Group 2), while 100 women who delivered by vaginal route without episiotomy were randomized into the placebo group (Group 3) or the TENS group (Group 4). The patients in Group 2 had statistically lower visual analog scale (VAS) and verbal numerical scale (VNS) scores than the patients in Group 1 (p TENS (p = 0.006). The need for analgesics at the eighth hour of vaginal delivery was statistically similar in the patients who were treated with TENS and the patients who received placebo (p = 0.830). TENS is an effective, reliable, practical and easily available modality of treatment for postpartum pain.

  3. Is TENS purely a placebo effect? A controlled study on chronic low back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchand, S; Charest, J; Li, J; Chenard, J R; Lavignolle, B; Laurencelle, L

    1993-07-01

    Although high-frequency low-intensity transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) has been extensively used to relieve low back pain, experimental studies of its effectiveness have yielded contradictory findings mainly due to methodological problems in pain evaluation and placebo control. In the present study, separate visual analog scales (VAS) were used to measure the sensory-discriminative and motivational-affective components of low back pain. Forty-two subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: TENS, placebo-TENS, and no treatment (control). In order to measure the short-term effect of TENS, VAS pain ratings were taken before and after each treatment session. Also, to measure long-term effects, patients rated their pain at home every 2 h throughout a 3-day period before and 1 week, 3 months and 6 months after the treatment sessions. In comparing the pain evaluations made immediately before and after each treatment session, TENS and placebo-TENS significantly reduced both the intensity and unpleasantness of chronic low back pain. TENS was significantly more efficient than placebo-TENS in reducing pain intensity but not pain unpleasantness. TENS also produced a significant additive effect over repetitive treatment sessions for pain intensity and relative pain unpleasantness. This additive effect was not found for placebo-TENS. When evaluated at home, pain intensity was significantly reduced more by TENS than placebo-TENS 1 week after the end of treatment, but not 3 months and 6 months later. At home evaluation of pain unpleasantness in the TENS group was never different from the placebo-TENS group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  4. Binocular glaucomatous visual field loss and its impact on visual exploration--a supermarket study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin Sippel

    Full Text Available Advanced glaucomatous visual field loss may critically interfere with quality of life. The purpose of this study was to (i assess the impact of binocular glaucomatous visual field loss on a supermarket search task as an example of everyday living activities, (ii to identify factors influencing the performance, and (iii to investigate the related compensatory mechanisms. Ten patients with binocular glaucoma (GP, and ten healthy-sighted control subjects (GC were asked to collect twenty different products chosen randomly in two supermarket racks as quickly as possible. The task performance was rated as "passed" or "failed" with regard to the time per correctly collected item. Based on the performance of control subjects, the threshold value for failing the task was defined as μ+3σ (in seconds per correctly collected item. Eye movements were recorded by means of a mobile eye tracker. Eight out of ten patients with glaucoma and all control subjects passed the task. Patients who failed the task needed significantly longer time (111.47 s ±12.12 s to complete the task than patients who passed (64.45 s ±13.36 s, t-test, p < 0.001. Furthermore, patients who passed the task showed a significantly higher number of glances towards the visual field defect (VFD area than patients who failed (t-test, p < 0.05. According to these results, glaucoma patients with defects in the binocular visual field display on average longer search times in a naturalistic supermarket task. However, a considerable number of patients, who compensate by frequent glancing towards the VFD, showed successful task performance. Therefore, systematic exploration of the VFD area seems to be a "time-effective" compensatory mechanism during the present supermarket task.

  5. Assessing the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in post-thoracotomy analgesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Fabiana Cristina; Issy, Adriana Machado; Sakata, Rioko Kimiko

    2011-01-01

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is commonly used to treat musculoskeletal pain, but it may also be indicated for postoperative analgesia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the analgesic effects of TENS on post-thoracotomy. Thirty patients between 18 and 60 years of age undergoing thoracotomy for lung cancer resection on the second postoperative day were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups (G1 and G2). G1 patients were treated with TENS; and in G2 (without TENS) electrodes were placed but the equipment was not turned on. TENS was maintained for one hour. The visual analogue scale was used to evaluate the analgesic effects on three moments: before TENS (M0), immediately after TENS (M1), and one hour later (M2), with the patient at rest, elevation of the upper limbs, change in decubitus, and coughing. The intensity of pain at rest was higher in G2 immediately after TENS, but not one hour after the procedure. There was no difference between both groups with elevation of the upper limbs, decubitus change, and coughing. With the use of TENS for one hour on the second post-thoracotomy day in patients who received fentanyl (50 μg) associated with bupivacaine (5 mL), a reduction in pain intensity was observed at rest immediately after TENS; with elevation of the upper limbs, change in decubitus, and coughing, a reduction in pain severity was not observed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  6. Quantum mechanical wavefunction: visualization at undergraduate level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chhabra, Mahima; Das, Ritwick

    2017-01-01

    Quantum mechanics (QM) forms the most crucial ingredient of modern-era physical science curricula at undergraduate level. The abstract ideas involved in QM related concepts pose a challenge towards appropriate visualization as a consequence of their counter-intuitive nature and lack of experiment-assisted visualization tools. At the heart of the quantum mechanical formulation lies the concept of ‘wavefunction’, which forms the basis for understanding the behavior of physical systems. At undergraduate level, the concept of ‘wavefunction’ is introduced in an abstract framework using mathematical tools and therefore opens up an enormous scope for alternative conceptions and erroneous visualization. The present work is an attempt towards exploring the visualization models constructed by undergraduate students for appreciating the concept of ‘wavefunction’. We present a qualitative analysis of the data obtained from administering a questionnaire containing four visualization based questions on the topic of ‘wavefunction’ to a group of ten undergraduate-level students at an institute in India which excels in teaching and research of basic sciences. Based on the written responses, all ten students were interviewed in detail to unravel the exact areas of difficulty in visualization of ‘wavefunction’. The outcome of present study not only reveals the gray areas in students’ conceptualization, but also provides a plausible route to address the issues at the pedagogical level within the classroom. (paper)

  7. Quantum mechanical wavefunction: visualization at undergraduate level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhabra, Mahima; Das, Ritwick

    2017-01-01

    Quantum mechanics (QM) forms the most crucial ingredient of modern-era physical science curricula at undergraduate level. The abstract ideas involved in QM related concepts pose a challenge towards appropriate visualization as a consequence of their counter-intuitive nature and lack of experiment-assisted visualization tools. At the heart of the quantum mechanical formulation lies the concept of ‘wavefunction’, which forms the basis for understanding the behavior of physical systems. At undergraduate level, the concept of ‘wavefunction’ is introduced in an abstract framework using mathematical tools and therefore opens up an enormous scope for alternative conceptions and erroneous visualization. The present work is an attempt towards exploring the visualization models constructed by undergraduate students for appreciating the concept of ‘wavefunction’. We present a qualitative analysis of the data obtained from administering a questionnaire containing four visualization based questions on the topic of ‘wavefunction’ to a group of ten undergraduate-level students at an institute in India which excels in teaching and research of basic sciences. Based on the written responses, all ten students were interviewed in detail to unravel the exact areas of difficulty in visualization of ‘wavefunction’. The outcome of present study not only reveals the gray areas in students’ conceptualization, but also provides a plausible route to address the issues at the pedagogical level within the classroom.

  8. The short-term effects of TENS plus therapeutic ultrasound combinations in chronic neck pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayilir, Selcuk

    2018-05-01

    To investigate the effects of TENS plus therapeutic ultrasound combinations on symptom relief, physical functionality, perceived stress levels, daytime sleepiness and neck mobility in patients with chronic neck pain (CNP). A total of 64 patients were divided into two groups as the TENS plus ultrasound group (n = 39) and the control CNP group (n = 25). The therapy comprised TENS and therapeutic ultrasound applications for 10 sessions. The control subjects were discouraged from using analgesics but were allowed to use paracetamol daily, if necessary. The Neck Disability Index (NDI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), visual analog scale (VAS) and tragus-wall/chin-manubrium distances were recorded at the baseline and after therapy. Significant improvements were detected in the TENS plus ultrasound group compared to the control CNP subjects in respect of VAS, PSS and NDI scores after the TENS plus therapeutic ultrasound therapies (all p stress levels and improving functionality in the short-term of CNP. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Value of TENS for relief of chronic low back pain with or without radicular pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchmuller, A; Navez, M; Milletre-Bernardin, M; Pouplin, S; Presles, E; Lantéri-Minet, M; Tardy, B; Laurent, B; Camdessanché, J P

    2012-05-01

    To evaluate the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS) in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP). Prospective, randomized, multicentre, single-blind study. Twenty-one French pain centres. Two hundred thirty-six consecutive adult patients consulting for chronic LBP, with or without radicular pain (mean age ± standard deviation: 53 ± 13 years; range: 28-86 years). Patients were randomly assigned to receive either active (n = 117) or sham (n = 119) TENS in four 1-h daily treatment sessions for 3 months. The primary outcome measured was improvement of functional status at 6 weeks (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire). Secondary outcome measures were improvement of functional status at 3 months, pain relief (weekly visual analogue scale assessments), positive functional repercussions of pain levels on quality of life, a diminution of the use of analgesic and anti-inflammatory medication, satisfaction with the overall treatment strategy and compliance. Functional status did not differ between the groups, whether at 6 weeks or 3 months (p = 0.351 at 6 weeks). A significant improvement between the first and last visual analogue scale assessments was observed in patients with either lumbar pain alone or lumbar and radicular pain treated with active TENS. Other outcome measures did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was no functional benefit of TENS in the treatment of patients with chronic LBP. © 2011 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

  10. Introduction to the special issue on visual aesthetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marković Slobodan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Visual aesthetics encompasses the studies of the relationship between vision and various aesthetic phenomena - from the beauty ratings of simple visual patterns to the appreciation of visual art, from the preference for natural objects and scenes to the preference for products of human creativity, from the aesthetic effects of culture to the aesthetic effects of biology, from the universal aesthetic sensitivity to the individual differences in taste, and so on. In this special issue ten papers reported the most recent studies on very different subjects related to visual aesthetics.

  11. A novel molecular marker for the study of Neotropical cichlid phylogeny.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabrin, T M C; Gasques, L S; Prioli, S M A P; Prioli, A J

    2015-12-22

    The use of molecular markers has contributed to phylogeny and to the reconstruction of species' evolutionary history. Each region of the genome has different evolution rates, which may or may not identify phylogenetic signal at different levels. Therefore, it is important to assess new molecular markers that can be used for phylogenetic reconstruction. Regions that may be associated with species characteristics and are subject to selective pressure, such as opsin genes, which encode proteins related to the visual system and are widely expressed by Cichlidae family members, are interesting. Our aim was to identify a new nuclear molecular marker that could establish the phylogeny of Neotropical cichlids and is potentially correlated with the visual system. We used Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analysis to support the use of the nuclear opsin LWS gene in the phylogeny of eight Neotropical cichlid species. Their use concatenated to the mitochondrial gene COI was also tested. The LWS gene fragment comprised the exon 2-4 region, including the introns. The LWS gene provided good support for both analyses up to the genus level, distinguishing the studied species, and when concatenated to the COI gene, there was a good support up to the species level. Another benefit of utilizing this region, is that some polymorphisms are associated with changes in spectral properties of the LWS opsin protein, which constitutes the visual pigment that absorbs red light. Thus, utilization of this gene as a molecular marker to study the phylogeny of Neotropical cichlids is promising.

  12. Binocular glaucomatous visual field loss and its impact on visual exploration--a supermarket study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sippel, Katrin; Kasneci, Enkelejda; Aehling, Kathrin; Heister, Martin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Schiefer, Ulrich; Papageorgiou, Elena

    2014-01-01

    Advanced glaucomatous visual field loss may critically interfere with quality of life. The purpose of this study was to (i) assess the impact of binocular glaucomatous visual field loss on a supermarket search task as an example of everyday living activities, (ii) to identify factors influencing the performance, and (iii) to investigate the related compensatory mechanisms. Ten patients with binocular glaucoma (GP), and ten healthy-sighted control subjects (GC) were asked to collect twenty different products chosen randomly in two supermarket racks as quickly as possible. The task performance was rated as "passed" or "failed" with regard to the time per correctly collected item. Based on the performance of control subjects, the threshold value for failing the task was defined as μ+3σ (in seconds per correctly collected item). Eye movements were recorded by means of a mobile eye tracker. Eight out of ten patients with glaucoma and all control subjects passed the task. Patients who failed the task needed significantly longer time (111.47 s ±12.12 s) to complete the task than patients who passed (64.45 s ±13.36 s, t-test, p supermarket task. However, a considerable number of patients, who compensate by frequent glancing towards the VFD, showed successful task performance. Therefore, systematic exploration of the VFD area seems to be a "time-effective" compensatory mechanism during the present supermarket task.

  13. On the origins of arrestin and rhodopsin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alvarez Carlos E

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs are the most numerous proteins in mammalian genomes, and the most common targets of clinical drugs. However, their evolution remains enigmatic. GPCRs are intimately associated with trimeric G proteins, G protein receptor kinases, and arrestins. We conducted phylogenetic studies to reconstruct the history of arrestins. Those findings, in turn, led us to investigate the origin of the photosensory GPCR rhodopsin. Results We found that the arrestin clan is comprised of the Spo0M protein family in archaea and bacteria, and the arrestin and Vps26 families in eukaryotes. The previously known animal arrestins are members of the visual/beta subfamily, which branched from the founding "alpha" arrestins relatively recently. Curiously, we identified both the oldest visual/beta arrestin and opsin genes in Cnidaria (but not in sponges. The arrestin clan has 14 human members: 6 alphas, 4 visual/betas, and 4 Vps26 genes. Others recently showed that the 3D structure of mammalian Vps26 and the biochemical function of the yeast alpha arrestin PalF are similar to those of beta arrestins. We note that only alpha arrestins have PY motifs (known to bind WW domains in their C-terminal tails, and only visual/betas have helix I in the Arrestin N domain. Conclusion We identified ciliary opsins in Cnidaria and propose this subfamily is ancestral to all previously known animal opsins. That finding is consistent with Darwin's theory that eyes evolved once, and lends some support to Parker's hypothesis that vision triggered the Cambrian explosion of life forms. Our arrestin findings have implications on the evolution of GPCR signaling, and on the biological roles of human alpha arrestins.

  14. Host-location behavior of the tea green leafhopper Empoasca vitis Göthe (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae): olfactory and visual effects on their orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, X; Pengsakul, T; Tukayo, M; Yu, L; Fang, W; Luo, D

    2017-09-25

    The tea green leafhopper, Empoasca vitis Göthe, is one of the most serious pests in tea growing areas. This study investigated the roles played by olfaction and vision in host orientation behavior. The compound eye of E. vitis was found to be a photopic eye; few olfactory sensilla were found on the antennae, while abundant gustatory sensilla were recorded on the mouthparts. Three opsin genes (EV_LWop, EV_UVop, EV_Bop) were isolated and found to be mainly expressed in the compound eye compared with other parts of the body. Immunolocalization indicated that the opsins mainly located in the different regions of rhabdom. The transcription levels of EV_LWop, EV_Bop and EV_UVop were reduced by 77.3, 70.0 and 40.0%, respectively, by RNA interference induced by being fed a special RNA-rich diet for 6 days. The rate of tropism to host color was effectively impaired by 67.6 and 29.5% in the dsEV_LWop and dsEV_Bop treatment groups, but there was no significant change in the dsEV_UVop group. The determination of the cause of the tropism indicated that odors from the host over long distances were unable to attract E. vitis and were only detected when the insects were close to the host. The developed compound eye of E. vitis plays a leading role in host location, and the long-wavelength opsin significantly affects the tropism to host color; the lack of olfactory sensilla results in long-distance odors not being able to be detected until the insect is near to the host-plant. The understanding of these behavioral mechanisms, especially the importance of opsin genes is expected to be useful for pest management.

  15. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for neuropathic pain in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, William; Wand, Benedict M; O'Connell, Neil E

    2017-09-14

    range of treatment protocols in terms of duration of care, TENS application times and intensity of application. Briefly, duration of care ranged from four days through to three months. Similarly, we found variation of TENS application times; from 15 minutes up to hourly sessions applied four times daily. We typically found intensity of TENS set to comfortable perceptible tingling with very few studies titrating the dose to maintain this perception. Of the comparisons, we had planned to explore, we were only able to undertake a quantitative synthesis for TENS versus sham TENS. Insufficient data and large diversity in the control conditions prevented us from undertaking a quantitative synthesis for the remaining comparisons.For TENS compared to sham TENS, five studies were suitable for pooled analysis. We described the remainder of the studies in narrative form. Overall, we judged 11 studies at high risk of bias, and four at unclear risk. Due to the small number of eligible studies, the high levels of risk of bias across the studies and small sample sizes, we rated the quality of the evidence as very low for the pooled analysis and very low individual GRADE rating of outcomes from single studies. For the individual studies discussed in narrative form, the methodological limitations, quality of reporting and heterogeneous nature of interventions compared did not allow for reliable overall estimates of the effect of TENS.Five studies (across various neuropathic conditions) were suitable for pooled analysis of TENS versus sham TENS investigating change in pain intensity using a visual analogue scale. We found a mean postintervention difference in effect size favouring TENS of -1.58 (95% confidence interval (CI) -2.08 to -1.09, P Ten small studies compared TENS to some form of usual care. However, there was great diversity in what constituted usual care, precluding pooling of data. Most of these studies found either no difference in pain outcomes between TENS versus other

  16. Clinical experience with TENS and TENS combined with nitrous oxide-oxygen. Report of 371 patients.

    OpenAIRE

    Quarnstrom, F. C.; Milgrom, P.

    1989-01-01

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) alone or TENS combined with nitrous oxide-oxygen (N2O) was administered for restorative dentistry without local anesthesia to 371 adult patients. A total of 55% of TENS alone and 84% of TENS/N2O visits were rated successful. A total of 53% of TENS alone and 82% of TENS/N2O patients reported slight or no pain. In multivariable analyses, pain reports were related to the anesthesia technique and patient fear and unrelated to sex, race, age, toot...

  17. Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential currents (IFC) in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain: randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Facci, Ligia Maria; Nowotny, Jean Paulus; Tormem, Fabio; Trevisani, Virgínia Fernandes Moça

    2011-01-01

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential current are the most used electrotherapy methods, although there is little scientific evidence to support their use. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of TENS and interferential current among patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain. Single-blind randomized controlled trial in the Department of Physiotherapy, Centro Universitário de Maringá. One hundred and fifty patients were randomly divided into three groups: TENS (group 1), interferential current (group 2) and controls (group 3). The patients designated for electrotherapy received ten 30-minute sessions, while the control group remained untreated. All patients and controls were evaluated before and after treatment using a visual analog scale and the McGill Pain and Roland Morris questionnaires, and regarding their use of additional medications. There was a mean reduction on the visual analog scale of 39.18 mm with TENS, 44.86 mm with interferential current and 8.53 mm among the controls. In the Roland Morris questionnaire, group 1 had a mean reduction of 6.59; group 2, 7.20; and group 3, 0.70 points. In group 1, 84% of the patients stopped using medications after the treatment; in group 2, 75%; and in group 3, 34%. There was no statistically significant difference between the TENS and interferential current groups (P > 0.05); a difference was only found between these groups and the controls (P TENS and interferential current for chronic low back pain treatment. NCT01017913.

  18. Treatment of Idiopathic Chronic Orchialgia with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS:A Preliminary Result

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ekrem Akdeniz

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Unilateral or bilateral testicular pain lasting more than 3 months is called as chronic orchialgia. Aproximately 25-50% of chronic orchialgia is idiopatic origin. This study aimed the effectiveness of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS therapy due to Idiopathic Chronic Orchialgia (ICO. Methods: Five patients were included into this study with ICO that diagnosed with physical examination, urine analyses, urinary system x-ray film, and scrotal doppler ultrasound. Medical history revealed that multiple conservative therapy attempts failed to alleviate the pain. Two of the patients had right sided ICO. Traditional TENS device is placed to the most painful points. TENS applied 3 times in a week with duration 30 minutes for 4 weeks. Before and after TENS application, patients were evaluated by using Visual Analog Scale (VAS at first and third months. Results: Median age of patients was 26.20±2.38 (22-30. Mean VAS value was 6.52 ± 0.89 before the procedure. After 1 month VAS value was 3.82 ± 0.83 (p0.05. None of the patients needed any analgesics after during the one month. No complications, hyperemia or hypoesthesia of the scrotal or penile skin, occurred after the procedure. Conclusion: TENS reduces pain by increasing endorphin release in the spinal cord dorsal horn. TENS is very effective method for first 1 month in patients with ICO but its effect reduces by the time. There is no standard therapeutic protocol for idiopathic chronic orchialgia. Therefore TENS may be an alternative for patients who do not benefit from medical therapy and do not want invasive procedures. Short-term use of TENS and low number of the patients are the limitations of this study. Randomized, placebo-controlled, and longer follow-up period studies are needed to better assess the efficacy of TENS for ICO.

  19. Visual Analytics for MOOC Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Huamin; Chen, Qing

    2015-01-01

    With the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs), tens of millions of learners can now enroll in more than 1,000 courses via MOOC platforms such as Coursera and edX. As a result, a huge amount of data has been collected. Compared with traditional education records, the data from MOOCs has much finer granularity and also contains new pieces of information. It is the first time in history that such comprehensive data related to learning behavior has become available for analysis. What roles can visual analytics play in this MOOC movement? The authors survey the current practice and argue that MOOCs provide an opportunity for visualization researchers and that visual analytics systems for MOOCs can benefit a range of end users such as course instructors, education researchers, students, university administrators, and MOOC providers.

  20. Self-Concepts of Children with Visual Impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Francis E.

    1996-01-01

    Ten day students and 10 residential students with visual impairments in grades 3-5 participated in 18 weekly self-esteem building exercises. No intergroup differences in self-esteem were found, and data were inconclusive on the effectiveness of the self-esteem building activities. (CR)

  1. Molecular systematics of aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae): new insights from the long-wavelength opsin gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz-Rivas, Benjamín; Moya, Andrés; Martínez-Torres, David

    2004-01-01

    Viviparous aphids (Aphididae) constitute a monophyletic group within the Homoptera with more than 4000 extant species worldwide but higher diversity in temperate regions. Several aspects of their biology account for attention paid to this group of insects. Their plant-sap-sucking way of feeding with many species transmitting viruses to crop plants has important implications on crop management strategies. Cyclical parthenogenesis associated in many groups to host alternation and elaborate polyphenisms is of special interests for evolutionists. Finally, the ancient association of most aphid species with intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria (Buchnera sp.) has also received much attention from evolutionists interested in mechanisms involved in the symbiotic process. Knowing the phylogenetic relationships among major aphid taxa is of special interest to evolutionists interested in the above issues. However, until recently, molecular approaches to aphid phylogeny were absent and discussions on the evolution of aphid life-cycles and on evolutionary aspects of their symbiotic association with Buchnera were framed by morphology-based phylogenies. Recently, two reports using molecular approaches attempted to address the yet unresolved phylogeny of Aphididae with limited although somehow different conclusions. In the present report we study the utility of the long-wave opsin gene in resolving phylogenetic relationships among seven subfamilies within the Aphididae. Our results corroborate some previously proposed relationships and suggest a revision of some others. In particular, our data support grouping the analysed aphid species into three main clades, being the subfamily Lachninae one of them, which contradicts its generally accepted sistership relationship with the subfamily Aphidinae. Moreover, our data also suggest a basal position of Lachninae which has implications on current discussions about the ancestrality of conifer-feeding in modern aphids.

  2. Educational virtual environments: A ten-year review of empirical research (1999-2009)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mikropoulos, Tassos; Natsis, Antonios

    2011-01-01

    This study is a ten-year critical review of empirical research on the educational applications of Virtual Reality (VR). Results show that although the majority of the 53 reviewed articles refer to science and mathematics, researchers from social sciences also seem to appreciate the educational...... value of VR and incorporate their learning goals in Educational Virtual Environments (EVEs). Although VR supports multisensory interaction channels, visual representations predominate. Few are the studies that incorporate intuitive interactivity, indicating a research trend in this direction. Few...

  3. Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS and interferential currents (IFC in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain: randomized clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ligia Maria Facci

    Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS and interferential current are the most used electrotherapy methods, although there is little scientific evidence to support their use. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of TENS and interferential current among patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain. DESIGN AND SETTING: Single-blind randomized controlled trial in the Department of Physiotherapy, Centro Universitário de Maringá. METHODS: One hundred and fifty patients were randomly divided into three groups: TENS (group 1, interferential current (group 2 and controls (group 3. The patients designated for electrotherapy received ten 30-minute sessions, while the control group remained untreated. All patients and controls were evaluated before and after treatment using a visual analog scale and the McGill Pain and Roland Morris questionnaires, and regarding their use of additional medications. RESULTS: There was a mean reduction on the visual analog scale of 39.18 mm with TENS, 44.86 mm with interferential current and 8.53 mm among the controls. In the Roland Morris questionnaire, group 1 had a mean reduction of 6.59; group 2, 7.20; and group 3, 0.70 points. In group 1, 84% of the patients stopped using medications after the treatment; in group 2, 75%; and in group 3, 34%. There was no statistically significant difference between the TENS and interferential current groups (P > 0.05; a difference was only found between these groups and the controls (P < 0.0001. CONCLUSION: There was no difference between TENS and interferential current for chronic low back pain treatment. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01017913.

  4. HIPs at Ten

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuh, George; O'Donnell, Ken; Schneider, Carol Geary

    2017-01-01

    2017 is the anniversary of the introduction of what are now commonly known as high-impact practices (HIPs). Many of the specific activities pursued under the HIPs acronym have been around in some form for decades, such as study abroad, internships, and student-faculty research. It was about ten years ago that, after conferring HIPs at Ten with…

  5. Diversity and functional properties of bistable pigments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsukamoto, Hisao; Terakita, Akihisa

    2010-11-01

    Rhodopsin and related opsin-based pigments, which are photosensitive membrane proteins, have been extensively studied using a wide variety of techniques, with rhodopsin being the most understood G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). Animals use various opsin-based pigments for vision and a wide variety of non-visual functions. Many functionally varied pigments are roughly divided into two kinds, based on their photoreaction: bistable and monostable pigments. Bistable pigments are thermally stable before and after photo-activation, but monostable pigments are stable only before activation. Here, we review the diversity of bistable pigments and their molecular characteristics. We also discuss the mechanisms underlying different molecular characteristics of bistable and monostable pigments. In addition, the potential of bistable pigments as a GPCR model is proposed.

  6. Effects of the office environment on health and productivity 1: Auditory and visual distraction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korte, E. de; Kuijt-Evers, L.; Vink, P.

    2007-01-01

    A pilot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of visual or auditory distraction in an office environment on productivity, concentration and emotion. Ten subjects performed a simple, standardized computer task in five conditions (undisturbed, 3 variations of auditory distraction and visual

  7. Exploring the Disjunctures between Theory and Practice in Community College Visual Arts Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, Arnold

    2012-01-01

    This study explored the perceptions of ten community college visual arts faculty in five different community college settings with regard to the theory and practice disjunctures they were experiencing in their roles as instructors teaching foundational level courses within visual arts programs. The study illuminated the responses of community…

  8. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-EEUR-01-0670 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-EEUR-01-0670 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  9. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-TTRU-01-0695 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-TTRU-01-0695 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  10. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-PHAM-01-1260 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-PHAM-01-1260 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  11. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-LAFR-01-3136 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-LAFR-01-3136 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  12. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MLUC-01-1042 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MLUC-01-1042 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  13. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-TSYR-01-1358 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-TSYR-01-1358 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  14. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-PTRO-08-0066 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-PTRO-08-0066 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  15. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUR-01-1629 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUR-01-1629 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  16. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RMAC-03-0051 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RMAC-03-0051 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  17. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-GGOR-01-1128 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-GGOR-01-1128 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  18. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-PVAM-01-1068 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-PVAM-01-1068 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  19. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-PABE-08-0043 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-PABE-08-0043 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  20. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-SARA-01-1750 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-SARA-01-1750 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  1. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OGAR-01-1096 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OGAR-01-1096 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  2. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUR-01-1631 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUR-01-1631 gb|ABR53744.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascar...iensis] gb|ABR53745.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensi...s] gb|ABR53746.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53747.1| op...sin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR5374...8.1| opsin 1 short-wavelength senstive protein [Daubentonia madagascariensis] gb|ABR53749.1| opsin 1 short-w

  3. C-13 NMR spectra of all-trans-N-retinylidene-n-butylamine as an analogue of the Schiff base linkage compound in visual pigment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tokito, Y; Inoue, Y; Chujo, R [Tokyo Inst. of Tech. (Japan). Faculty of Science; Miyoshi, Y

    1975-01-01

    In the process of visual excitation, a visual pigment, rhodopsin, plays a role of a photoreceptor, and it has been known that the first step in the process is the photoisomerization of the rhodopsin visual chromophore. The bathochromic shift has been regarded as the result of the formation of Schiff base linkage of retinal with opsin. In this study, C-13 NMR spectra were obtained for the analogue of the compound with Schiff base linkage in the visual pigment, and the chemical shift change for going from all trans-retinal to all trans-N-retinylidene-n-butylamine (NRB) was discussed. Further, the effect of N protonation in NRB was examined as the reflection of the function of visual pigment. The compound with Schiff base linkage of all trans-retinal with n-butylamine, namely NRB, was used. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of carbon-13 Fourier transformation were obtained for this sample at natural abundance with a JNM PS-100 spectrometer. In the C-13 FT NMR spectrum of NRB, besides eight peaks in the C-13 NMR of all trans-retinal, four peaks were observed in higher field region. They originated from the portion of n-butylamine in the compound with Schiff base linkage. The peaks in lower field region were assigned to eleven conjugated polyene carbons by the measurement of spin-lattice relaxation time and shift. The chemical shift change for going from retinal to NRB is shown. It is concluded that the ..pi..-electrons in polyene chains are considerably delocalized by the collapse of bond alteration in the retinal forming Schiff base linkage.

  4. Six to Ten Digits Multiplication Fun Learning Using Puppet Prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islamiah Rosli, D.'oria; Ali, Azita; Peng, Lim Soo; Sujardi, Imam; Usodo, Budi; Adie Perdana, Fengky

    2017-01-01

    Logic and technical subjects require students to understand basic knowledge in mathematic. For instance, addition, minus, division and multiplication operations need to be mastered by students due to mathematic complexity as the learning mathematic grows higher. Weak foundation in mathematic also contribute to high failure rate in mathematic subjects in schools. In fact, students in primary schools are struggling to learn mathematic because they need to memorize formulas, multiplication or division operations. To date, this study will develop a puppet prototyping for learning mathematic for six to ten digits multiplication. Ten participants involved in the process of developing the prototype in this study. Students involved in the study were those from the intermediate class students whilst teachers were selected based on their vast knowledge and experiences and have more than five years of experience in teaching mathematic. Close participatory analysis will be used in the prototyping process as to fulfil the requirements of the students and teachers whom will use the puppet in learning six to ten digit multiplication in mathematic. Findings showed that, the students had a great time and fun learning experience in learning multiplication and they able to understand the concept of multiplication using puppet. Colour and materials of the puppet also help to attract student attention during learning. Additionally, students able to visualized and able to calculate accurate multiplication value and the puppet help them to recall in multiplying and adding the digits accordingly.

  5. SWS2 visual pigment evolution as a test of historically contingent patterns of plumage color evolution in warblers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloch, Natasha I; Morrow, James M; Chang, Belinda S W; Price, Trevor D

    2015-02-01

    Distantly related clades that occupy similar environments may differ due to the lasting imprint of their ancestors-historical contingency. The New World warblers (Parulidae) and Old World warblers (Phylloscopidae) are ecologically similar clades that differ strikingly in plumage coloration. We studied genetic and functional evolution of the short-wavelength-sensitive visual pigments (SWS2 and SWS1) to ask if altered color perception could contribute to the plumage color differences between clades. We show SWS2 is short-wavelength shifted in birds that occupy open environments, such as finches, compared to those in closed environments, including warblers. Phylogenetic reconstructions indicate New World warblers were derived from a finch-like form that colonized from the Old World 15-20 Ma. During this process, the SWS2 gene accumulated six substitutions in branches leading to New World warblers, inviting the hypothesis that passage through a finch-like ancestor resulted in SWS2 evolution. In fact, we show spectral tuning remained similar across warblers as well as the finch ancestor. Results reject the hypothesis of historical contingency based on opsin spectral tuning, but point to evolution of other aspects of visual pigment function. Using the approach outlined here, historical contingency becomes a generally testable theory in systems where genotype and phenotype can be connected. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  6. Efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (tens) for chronic low-back pain in a multiple sclerosis population: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warke, Kim; Al-Smadi, Jamal; Baxter, David; Walsh, Deirdre M; Lowe-Strong, Andrea S

    2006-01-01

    This study was designed to investigate the hypoalgesic effects of self-applied transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on chronic low-back pain (LBP) in a multiple sclerosis (MS) population. Ninety participants with probable or definite MS (aged 21 to 78 y) presenting with chronic LBP were recruited and randomized into 3 groups (n=30 per group): (1) low-frequency TENS group (4 Hz, 200 micros); (2) high-frequency TENS group (110 Hz, 200 micros); and (3) placebo TENS. Participants self-applied TENS for 45 minutes, a minimum of twice daily, for 6 weeks. Outcome measures were recorded at weeks 1, 6, 10, and 32. Primary outcome measures included: Visual Analog Scale for average LBP and the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures included: Visual Analog Scale for worst and weekly LBP, back and leg spasm; Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire; Barthel Index; Rivermead Mobility Index; Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 Instrument, and a daily logbook. Data were analyzed blind using parametric and nonparametric tests, as appropriate. Results indicated a statistically significant interactive effect between groups for average LBP (P=0.008); 1-way analysis of covariance did not show any significant effects at any time point once a Bonferonni correction was applied (P>0.05). However, clinically important differences were observed in some of the outcome measures in both active treatment groups during the treatment and follow-up periods. Although not statistically significant, the observed effects may have implications for the clinical prescription and the use of TENS within this population.

  7. The effect of low-frequency TENS in the treatment of neuropathic pain in patients with spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Celik, E C; Erhan, B; Gunduz, B; Lakse, E

    2013-04-01

    Prospective, randomized and controlled study. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (LF-TENS) in the treatment of neuropathic pain in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). A total of 33 SCI patients with neuropathic pain were included in the study. History, duration, localization and characteristics of pain were recorded. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to investigate the effect of LF-TENS four times during the day. Patients were randomly assigned to study and control groups. The study group was treated with 30 min of LF-TENS daily for 10 days while the placebo group with 30 min of sham TENS. The mean age of the patients was 36.55±10.36 years. Out of 33 patients, 7 were tetraplegic and 26 were paraplegic. Twenty-three patients had complete SCI while 10 patients had incomplete injuries. Two groups were similar with respect to age, gender, duration, level and severity of injury. In the LF-TENS treatment group, a statistically significant reduction of the VAS values was observed, however, such an effect was not evident in the control group. This study revealed that in treatment of neuropathic pain of SCI patients, LF-TENS may be effective. This article presents LF-TENS may effectively complement pharmacological treatment in patients with SCI and neuropathic pain.

  8. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Chelsea & Westminster TEN management protocol [corrected].

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Sica-Chapman, A; Williams, G; Soni, N; Bunker, C B

    2010-04-01

    Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a rare but life-threatening, allergic drug reaction. Skin blistering with epidermal and mucosal necrolysis with subsequent detachment from an inflamed underlying dermis is a hallmark of the condition. The pathogenesis of TEN is not well understood, accounting for controversies about its management and significant delay in initiating potentially beneficial therapy. There are no management protocols based on a robust evidence base. Prompt recognition of the diagnosis and consensus on early management initiatives are necessary in order to improve outcomes and survival in TEN. To date, TEN management has been directed at arresting the allergic reaction and treating the complications. We have identified a need for specific medical interventions to accelerate wound regeneration. This approach has not previously been adopted in the management of TEN. We observed that in two cases of severe TEN, dramatic re-epithelialization and recovery coincided with the introduction of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) for neutropenia. We explain how addition of the G-CSF promotes recovery from TEN by enhanced bioregeneration of the damaged tissues through accelerated re-epithelialization. G-CSF has been used for severe neutropenia in TEN, but we recommend and explain why, as in our Chelsea and Westminster protocol, G-CSF should be considered in treating severe TEN irrespective of the severity of neutropenia.

  9. Kaleido: Visualizing Big Brain Data with Automatic Color Assignment for Single-Neuron Images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ting-Yuan; Chen, Nan-Yow; He, Guan-Wei; Wang, Guo-Tzau; Shih, Chi-Tin; Chiang, Ann-Shyn

    2018-03-03

    Effective 3D visualization is essential for connectomics analysis, where the number of neural images easily reaches over tens of thousands. A formidable challenge is to simultaneously visualize a large number of distinguishable single-neuron images, with reasonable processing time and memory for file management and 3D rendering. In the present study, we proposed an algorithm named "Kaleido" that can visualize up to at least ten thousand single neurons from the Drosophila brain using only a fraction of the memory traditionally required, without increasing computing time. Adding more brain neurons increases memory only nominally. Importantly, Kaleido maximizes color contrast between neighboring neurons so that individual neurons can be easily distinguished. Colors can also be assigned to neurons based on biological relevance, such as gene expression, neurotransmitters, and/or development history. For cross-lab examination, the identity of every neuron is retrievable from the displayed image. To demonstrate the effectiveness and tractability of the method, we applied Kaleido to visualize the 10,000 Drosophila brain neurons obtained from the FlyCircuit database ( http://www.flycircuit.tw/modules.php?name=kaleido ). Thus, Kaleido visualization requires only sensible computer memory for manual examination of big connectomics data.

  10. Enhancing Understanding of the Visual Cycle by Applying CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing in Zebrafish

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Ward

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available During the vertebrate visual cycle, all-trans-retinal is exported from photoreceptors to the adjacent RPE or Müller glia wherein 11-cis-retinal is regenerated. The 11-cis chromophore is returned to photoreceptors, forming light-sensitive visual pigments with opsin GPCRs. Dysfunction of this process perturbs phototransduction because functional visual pigment cannot be generated. Mutations in visual cycle genes can result in monogenic inherited forms of blindness. Though key enzymatic processes are well characterized, questions remain as to the physiological role of visual cycle proteins in different retinal cell types, functional domains of these proteins in retinoid biochemistry and in vivo pathogenesis of disease mutations. Significant progress is needed to develop effective and accessible treatments for inherited blindness arising from mutations in visual cycle genes. Here, we review opportunities to apply gene editing technology to two crucial visual cycle components, RPE65 and CRALBP. Expressed exclusively in the human RPE, RPE65 enzymatically converts retinyl esters into 11-cis retinal. CRALBP is an 11-cis-retinal binding protein expressed in human RPE and Muller glia. Loss-of-function mutations in either protein results in autosomal recessive forms of blindness. Modeling these human conditions using RPE65 or CRALBP murine knockout models have enhanced our understanding of their biochemical function, associated disease pathogenesis and development of therapeutics. However, rod-dominated murine retinae provide a challenge to assess cone function. The cone-rich zebrafish model is amenable to cost-effective maintenance of a variety of strains. Interestingly, gene duplication in zebrafish resulted in three Rpe65 and two Cralbp isoforms with differential temporal and spatial expression patterns. Functional investigations of zebrafish Rpe65 and Cralbp were restricted to gene knockdown with morpholino oligonucleotides. However, transient

  11. The gecko visual pigment: a pH indicator with a salt effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crescitelli, F

    1981-12-01

    1. Unlike rhodopsin, the extracted 521-pigment of the Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) is pH-sensitive and changes its spectral absorbance in the pH range of 4.5-7.3. The colour change is reversible and pH can be employed to adjust the spectral maximum anywhere between 490 nm and its native location at 521 nm.2. The hypsochromic shift with increasing acidity is opposite to that expected for the protonation of the Schiff base nitrogen and suggests an action on the secondary system of interacting charges that have long been postulated to adjust vertebrate visual pigment colour within the visible spectrum.3. Chloride ions modulate this pH effect in a systematic and significant manner. For the pigment extracted in the chloride-deficient state the colour change occurs in the pH range of 6.0-7.0, the midpoint being close to 6.5, suggesting the possible participation of the imidazole group of histidine as the functional moiety. With added NaCl the colour shifts to the region below pH 6.2.4. The modulating action of chloride is postulated to be a conformational change of the opsin leading to a shift of the secondary interacting site from one functional group to another or else to a change in pK of a single group due to the conformational alteration of the electrostatics of the system.5. At pH values between 7.5 and 9.0 a different mechanism becomes apparent. In this region a decrease occurs in the photopigment density as well as a shift in absorbance toward the blue. This alkaline effect is readily reversed either by adding NaCl or else by lowering the pH. Along with the other protective effects of chloride these ions serve to reduce or prevent this alkaline loss in density.6. Associated with this reversible photopigment loss is a reversible appearance of a product with a maximum at about 366 nm. The spectrum of this product is like that produced by the addition of 11-cis retinal to the extract. Acidification of the alkaline preparation leads to a restitution of the photopigment

  12. TENS and low-level laser therapy in the management of temporomandibular disorders Aplicação de TENS e laser de baixa freqüência no tratamento das disfunções temporomandibulares

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Thiemi Kato

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Pain relief and reestablishment of normal jaw function are the main goals of conservative management of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS and laser therapy are part of these modalities, although little is known about their real efficacy in controlled studies. This research compared these two treatments in a sample of 18 patients with chronic TMD of muscular origin, divided into two groups (LASER and TENS. Treatment consisted of ten sessions, in a period of 30 days. Active range of motion (AROM, visual analogue scale (VAS of pain and muscle (masseter and anterior temporalis palpation were used for follow-up analysis. Data were analyzed by Friedman test and ANOVA for repeated measurements. Results showed decrease in pain and increase in AROM for both groups (pO tratamento das Disfunções Temporomandibulares (DTM objetiva ser conservador e reversível para alívio da dor e restauração da função normal. Sendo assim, tratamentos como a estimulação neural elétrica transcutânea (TENS e o laser de baixa freqüência têm sido utilizados. Portanto, foi premissa deste trabalho a comparação do TENS com o a terapia com laser de baixa freqüência no tratamento de pacientes com DTM. Foram selecionados dezoito pacientes com sinais e sintomas de DTM crônica de origem muscular. O grupo LASER recebeu aplicação de laser e o grupo TENS, estimulação elétrica, totalizando 10 sessões, três vezes por semana, durante um mês. A avaliação foi feita imediatamente antes e 5 minutos após cada sessão terapêutica, por meio da escala de análise visual (EAV para o registro da sensação de dor mensuração de abertura máxima e palpação muscular ( masseter e temporal anterior. Para análise estatística foram utilizados o teste de Friedman e ANOVA para mensurações repetidas. Os resultados demonstraram decréscimo na EAV e aumento da abertura bucal máxima de ambos os grupos (p<0,05. A palpa

  13. Driving with binocular visual field loss? A study on a supervised on-road parcours with simultaneous eye and head tracking.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enkelejda Kasneci

    Full Text Available Post-chiasmal visual pathway lesions and glaucomatous optic neuropathy cause binocular visual field defects (VFDs that may critically interfere with quality of life and driving licensure. The aims of this study were (i to assess the on-road driving performance of patients suffering from binocular visual field loss using a dual-brake vehicle, and (ii to investigate the related compensatory mechanisms. A driving instructor, blinded to the participants' diagnosis, rated the driving performance (passed/failed of ten patients with homonymous visual field defects (HP, including four patients with right (HR and six patients with left homonymous visual field defects (HL, ten glaucoma patients (GP, and twenty age and gender-related ophthalmologically healthy control subjects (C during a 40-minute driving task on a pre-specified public on-road parcours. In order to investigate the subjects' visual exploration ability, eye movements were recorded by means of a mobile eye tracker. Two additional cameras were used to monitor the driving scene and record head and shoulder movements. Thus this study is novel as a quantitative assessment of eye movements and an additional evaluation of head and shoulder was performed. Six out of ten HP and four out of ten GP were rated as fit to drive by the driving instructor, despite their binocular visual field loss. Three out of 20 control subjects failed the on-road assessment. The extent of the visual field defect was of minor importance with regard to the driving performance. The site of the homonymous visual field defect (HVFD critically interfered with the driving ability: all failed HP subjects suffered from left homonymous visual field loss (HL due to right hemispheric lesions. Patients who failed the driving assessment had mainly difficulties with lane keeping and gap judgment ability. Patients who passed the test displayed different exploration patterns than those who failed. Patients who passed focused longer on

  14. 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.

  15. Effect of burst TENS and conventional TENS combined with cryotherapy on pressure pain threshold: randomised, controlled, clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macedo, L B; Josué, A M; Maia, P H B; Câmara, A E; Brasileiro, J S

    2015-06-01

    To assess the immediate effect of conventional and burst transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in combination with cryotherapy on pain threshold and tolerance in healthy individuals. Randomised, controlled trial. University laboratory. One hundred and twelve healthy women. Volunteers were allocated at random to seven groups (n=16): (1) control, (2) placebo TENS, (3) conventional TENS, (4) burst TENS, (5) cryotherapy, (6) cryotherapy in combination with burst TENS, and (7) cryotherapy in combination with conventional TENS. Pain threshold and tolerance were measured by applying a pressure algometer at the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, before and after each intervention. The primary outcome measure was pressure pain threshold. A significant increase in pain threshold and tolerance at the 5% level of significance was recorded as follows: burst TENS {pain threshold: mean difference 1.3 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4 to 1.2]; pain tolerance: mean difference 3.8 (95% CI 3.9 to 3.7)}, cryotherapy [pain threshold: mean difference 1.3 (95% CI 1.4 to 1.2); pain tolerance: mean difference 1.9 (95% CI 1.8 to 2.0)] and cryotherapy in combination with burst TENS [pain threshold: mean difference 2.6 (95% CI 2.4 to 2.8); pain tolerance: mean difference 4.9 (95% CI 5.0 to 4.8)]. Cryotherapy in combination with burst TENS provided greater analgesia compared with the other groups (Pcryotherapy in combination with burst TENS to reduce induced pain, and suggest a potentiating effect when these techniques are combined. No such association was found between cryotherapy and conventional TENS. Copyright © 2014 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. THE EVOLUTION OF OPSINS AND COLOR VISION: CONNECTING GENOTYPE TO A COMPLEX PHENOTYPE

    OpenAIRE

    BLOCH, Natasha I

    2016-01-01

    Dissecting the genetic basis of adaptive traits is key to our understanding of evolutionary processes. A major and essential step in the study of evolutionary genetics is drawing link between genotype and phenotype, which depends on the difficult process of defining the phenotype at different levels, from functional to organismal. Visual pigments are a key component of the visual system and their evolution could also provide important clues on the evolution of visual sensory system in respons...

  17. TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) for labour pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Richard

    2012-05-01

    Because TENS is applied inconsistently and not always in line with optimal TENS application theory, this may explain why TENS for labour pain appears to be effective in some individuals and not in others. This article reviews TENS theory, advises upon optimal TENS application for labour pain and discusses some of the limitations of TENS research on labour pain. TENS application for labour pain may include TENS applied to either side of the lower spine, set to 200 mus pulse duration and 100 pulses per second. As pain increases, TENS intensity should be increased and as pain decreases, TENS intensity should be reduced to maintain a strong but pain free intensity of stimulation. This application may particularly reduce back pain during labour.

  18. Effectiveness of complementary pain treatment for women with deep endometriosis through Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS): randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mira, Ticiana A A; Giraldo, Paulo C; Yela, Daniela A; Benetti-Pinto, Cristina L

    2015-11-01

    Evaluate TENS effectiveness as a complementary treatment of chronic pelvic pain and deep dyspareunia in women with deep endometriosis. This randomized controlled trial was performed in a tertiary health care center, including twenty-two women with deep endometriosis undergoing hormone therapy with persistent pelvic pain and/or deep dyspareunia. This study was registered in the Brazilian Record of Clinical Trials (ReBEC), under n RBR-3rndh6. TENS application for 8 weeks followed a randomized allocation into two groups: Group 1 - acupuncture-like TENS (Frequency: 8Hz, pulse duration: 250μs) - VIF (n=11) and Group 2 - self-applied TENS (Frequency: 85Hz, pulse duration: 75μs) (n=11). The intensity applied was "strong, but comfortable". We evaluated patients before and after treatment by the use of the Visual Analogue Scale, Deep Dyspareunia Scale and Endometriosis Quality of Life Questionnaire. We used the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests to compare before and after treatment conditions. Despite the use of hormone therapy for 1.65±2.08 years, the 22 women with deep endometriosis sustained pelvic pain complaints (VAS=5.95±2.13 and 2.45±2.42, pTENS. Both application types of TENS were effective for improving the evaluated types of pain. Both resources (acupuncture-like TENS and self-applied TENS) demonstrated effectiveness as a complementary treatment of pelvic pain and deep dyspareunia, improving quality of life in women with deep endometriosis regardless of the device used for treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of conventional TENS on pain and electromyographic activity of masticatory muscles in TMD patients Efeito da TENS convencional sobre a dor e a atividade eletromiográfica dos músculos mastigatórios em pacientes com DTM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delaine Rodrigues

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Temporomandibular disorders (TMD are characterized by several signs and symptoms, such as pain and changes in the electrical activity of masticatory muscles. Considering that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS is a resource indicated to promote analgesia, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of TENS on pain and electromyographic (EMG activity of the jaw elevator muscles in TMD patients. This study evaluated 35 female volunteers: 19 TMD patients (mean age = 23.04 ± 3.5 and 16 normal subjects (mean age = 23.3 ± 3.0. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (conventional mode, 150 Hz was applied once to each group for 45 minutes. Surface electromyography (gain of 100 times and 1 kHz sampling frequency and the visual analogue scale (VAS were applied before and immediately after TENS application. Both VAS data and root mean square (RMS values were analyzed using Student's t-test. The TMD group, compared to the control group, showed higher EMG activity of the jaw elevator muscles at rest. No difference was observed between the groups regarding maximum voluntary clenching (MVC. In TMD patients, TENS reduced both pain and EMG activity of the anterior portion of the temporal muscle, increasing the activity of the masseter muscles during MVC. It is possible to conclude that a single TENS application is effective in pain reduction. However, it does not act homogeneously on the features of the electric activity of the muscles evaluated.A desordem temporomandibular (DTM é caracterizada por diversos sinais e sintomas, como dor e alteração do sinal eletromiográfico dos músculos da mastigação. Considerando que a estimulação elétrica nervosa transcutânea (TENS é um recurso indicado para promover analgesia, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da TENS na dor e na atividade eletromiográfica (EMG dos músculos elevadores da mandíbula em indivíduos com DTM. Foram selecionados 35 voluntários do sexo

  20. Powers of ten

    CERN Document Server

    1979-01-01

    Powers of Ten is a 1977 short documentary film written and directed by Charles Eames and his wife, Ray. The film depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of ten (see also logarithmic scale and order of magnitude). The idea for the film appears to have come from the 1957 book Cosmic View by Kees Boeke. The film begins with an aerial image of a man reclining on a blanket; the view is that of one meter across. The viewpoint, accompanied by expository voiceover, then slowly zooms out to a view ten meters across ( or 101 m in standard form), revealing that the man is picnicking in a park with a female companion. The zoom-out continues, to a view of 100 meters (102 m), then 1 kilometer (103 m), and so on, increasing the perspective—the picnic is revealed to be taking place near Soldier Field on Chicago's waterfront—and continuing to zoom out to a field of view of 1024 meters, or the size of the observable universe. The camera then zooms back in to the picnic, and then to views of negative pow...

  1. Effects of auditory and visual modalities in recall of words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadzella, B M; Whitehead, D A

    1975-02-01

    Ten experimental conditions were used to study the effects of auditory and visual (printed words, uncolored and colored pictures) modalities and their various combinations with college students. A recall paradigm was employed in which subjects responded in a written test. Analysis of data showed the auditory modality was superior to visual (pictures) ones but was not significantly different from visual (printed words) modality. In visual modalities, printed words were superior to colored pictures. Generally, conditions with multiple modes of representation of stimuli were significantly higher than for conditions with single modes. Multiple modalities, consisting of two or three modes, did not differ significantly from each other. It was concluded that any two modalities of the stimuli presented simultaneously were just as effective as three in recall of stimulus words.

  2. Desempenho funcional de crianças com deficiência visual, atendidas no Departamento de Estimulação Visual da Fundação Altino Ventura Functional outcome of visually handicapped children cared for at the Department of Visual Stimulation - "Fundação Altino Ventura"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Malta

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Traçar o perfil funcional de crianças portadoras de deficiência visual. MÉTODOS: Foram avaliadas 27 crianças. Dezessete com acuidade visual normal (que freqüentavam a Escola Municipal Alto do Maracanã, em Recife, e dez portadoras de deficiência visual (que recebiam estimulação visual no Departamento de Estimulação Visual da Fundação Altino Ventura, Recife. Foi utilizado o teste funcional padrão PEDI. RESULTADOS: As crianças portadoras de deficiência visual apresentaram desempenho significantemente inferior nas áreas de autocuidado e mobilidade que as crianças do grupo controle. CONCLUSÃO: A deficiência visual traz conseqüências limitantes para o desempenho de atividades de autocuidado, locomoção, compreensão, comunicação e tarefas domésticas, na faixa etária estudada.PURPOSE: To analyze the functional outcome of visually handicapped children. METHODS: Twenty-seven children were evaluated using the standard functional PEDI test. Seventeen who attended school at "Escola Municipal Alto do Maracanã", Recife - Pernambuco, Brazil, had normal visual acuity and the other ten had visual handicap, and were cared for at Stimulation Visual Department - "Fundação Altino Ventura", in the same city. RESULTS: The children who had visual handicap showed significantly worse performance in self-care and mobility than normal children. CONCLUSION: Visual handicap may have limited the performance regarding self-care, mobility, understanding, communication, home works, in the studied group.

  3. Balance-related exercise as a preparation to cross-country skiing practice in visually impaired children

    OpenAIRE

    Chmelíčková, Hana

    2008-01-01

    Title: Balance-related excercise as a preparation to cross-country skiing practice in visually impaired children. Objectives of the Thesis: The goal of this thesis is to test the possibilitiy of implementation of selected balance- related excercise in visually impaired children. Method: The testing pool consisted of six pupils attending the Special school for Visually Impaired Children between 14 and 15 years of age. Over the period of ten weeks, selected exercise geared towards the cross-cou...

  4. The use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in a major cancer center for the treatment of severe cancer-related pain and associated disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loh, Jeffrey; Gulati, Amitabh

    2015-06-01

    Cancer pain is difficult to treat, often requiring a multimodal approach. While medication management remains the mainstay for the treatment of cancer pain, medications are often associated with undesired side effects. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) provides a potential adjunctive method for treating cancer pain with minimal side effects. Few studies have been performed evaluating the efficacy of TENS on cancer pain. We sought to examine the usefulness of TENS on all cancer patients and to specifically look at the use of TENS as a goal-directed therapy to improve functionality. Retrospective cohort study. Since 2008, patients with chronic cancer pain and on multimodal pain regimens were trialed with TENS. Those patients who showed an improvement in pain symptoms or severity were educated about and provided with a TENS unit for use at home. Pain symptoms and scores were monitored with the visual analog scale (VAS), the numerical rating pain (NRP) scale, and Short-Form McGill Questionnaire at the start of TENS treatment and at 2 months follow-up. TENS proved beneficial in 69.7% of patients over the course of 2 months. In TENS responsive patients, VAS scores decreased by 9.8 on a 0-100 mm scale (P TENS provides a beneficial adjunct for the treatment of cancer pain, especially when utilized as a goal-directed therapy. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Phantom eye syndrome: types of visual hallucinations and related phenomena

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roed Rasmussen, Marie Louise; Prause, Jan U; Johnson, Martin

    2009-01-01

    most often white or colored light, as a continuous sharp light or as moving dots. The most frequent triggers were darkness, closing of the eyes, fatigue, and psychological stress; 54% of patients had the experience more than once a week. Ten patients were so visually disturbed that it interfered...

  6. Visualizing the Solute Vaporization Interference in Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dockery, Christopher R.; Blew, Michael J.; Goode, Scott R.

    2008-01-01

    Every day, tens of thousands of chemists use analytical atomic spectroscopy in their work, often without knowledge of possible interferences. We present a unique approach to study these interferences by using modern response surface methods to visualize an interference in which aluminum depresses the calcium atomic absorption signal. Calcium…

  7. The giant mottled eel, Anguilla marmorata, uses blue-shifted rod photoreceptors during upstream migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Feng-Yu; Fu, Wen-Chun; Wang, I-Li; Yan, Hong Young; Wang, Tzi-Yuan

    2014-01-01

    Catadromous fishes migrate between ocean and freshwater during particular phases of their life cycle. The dramatic environmental changes shape their physiological features, e.g. visual sensitivity, olfactory ability, and salinity tolerance. Anguilla marmorata, a catadromous eel, migrates upstream on dark nights, following the lunar cycle. Such behavior may be correlated with ontogenetic changes in sensory systems. Therefore, this study was designed to identify changes in spectral sensitivity and opsin gene expression of A. marmorata during upstream migration. Microspectrophotometry analysis revealed that the tropical eel possesses a duplex retina with rod and cone photoreceptors. The λmax of rod cells are 493, 489, and 489 nm in glass, yellow, and wild eels, while those of cone cells are 508, and 517 nm in yellow, and wild eels, respectively. Unlike European and American eels, Asian eels exhibited a blue-shifted pattern of rod photoreceptors during upstream migration. Quantitative gene expression analyses of four cloned opsin genes (Rh1f, Rh1d, Rh2, and SWS2) revealed that Rh1f expression is dominant at all three stages, while Rh1d is expressed only in older yellow eel. Furthermore, sequence comparison and protein modeling studies implied that a blue shift in Rh1d opsin may be induced by two known (N83, S292) and four putative (S124, V189, V286, I290) tuning sites adjacent to the retinal binding sites. Finally, expression of blue-shifted Rh1d opsin resulted in a spectral shift in rod photoreceptors. Our observations indicate that the giant mottled eel is color-blind, and its blue-shifted scotopic vision may influence its upstream migration behavior and habitat choice.

  8. Ten Lessons from Ten Years PPP Experience in Belgium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willems, T.; Verhoest, K.; Voets, J.; Coppens, T.; van Dooren, W.; van den Hurk, M.

    2017-01-01

    In 2004 Flanders, the northern region of Belgium launched a range of large public–private partnership (PPP) projects for a total value of 6 billion euros. Ten years later, PPP has become a well-embedded procurement method for long-term public infrastructure projects. This article makes a critical

  9. Estimating neural background input with controlled and fast perturbations: A bandwidth comparison between inhibitory opsins and neural circuits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Eriksson

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available To test the importance of a certain cell type or brain area it is common to make a lack of function experiment in which the neuronal population of interest is inhibited. Here we review physiological and methodological constraints for making controlled perturbations using the corticothalamic circuit as an example. The brain with its many types of cells and rich interconnectivity offers many paths through which a perturbation can spread within a short time. To understand the side effects of the perturbation one should record from those paths. We find that ephaptic effects, gap-junctions, and fast chemical synapses are so fast that they can react to the perturbation during the few milliseconds it takes for an opsin to change the membrane potential. The slow chemical synapses, astrocytes, extracellular ions and vascular signals, will continue to give their physiological input for around 20 milliseconds before they also react to the perturbation. Although we show that some pathways can react within milliseconds the strength/speed reported in this review should be seen as an upper bound since we have omitted how polysynaptic signals are attenuated. Thus the number of additional recordings that has to be made to control for the perturbation side effects is expected to be fewer than proposed here. To summarize, the reviewed literature not only suggests that it is possible to make controlled lack of function experiments, but, it also suggests that such a lack of function experiment can be used to measure the context of local neural computations.

  10. Adjunct High Frequency Transcutaneous Electric Stimulation (TENS) for Postoperative Pain Management during Weaning from Epidural Analgesia Following Colon Surgery: Results from a Controlled Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjerså, Kristofer; Jildenstaal, Pether; Jakobsson, Jan; Egardt, Madelene; Fagevik Olsén, Monika

    2015-12-01

    The potential benefit of nonpharmacological adjunctive therapy is not well-studied following major abdominal surgery. The aim of the present study was to investigate transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as a complementary nonpharmacological analgesia intervention during weaning from epidural analgesia (EDA) after open lower abdominal surgery. Patients were randomized to TENS and sham TENS during weaning from EDA. The effects on pain at rest, following short walk, and after deep breath were assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) grading. Number of patients assessed was lower than calculated because of change in clinical routine. Pain scores overall were low. A trend of lower pain scores was observed in the active TENS group of patients; a statistical significance between the groups was found for the pain lying prone in bed (p TENS use in postoperative pain management during weaning from EDA after open colon surgery. Further studies are warranted in order to verify the potential beneficial effects from TENS during weaning from EDA after open, lower abdominal surgery. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Effects of visual illusion and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on neuropathic pain in patients with spinal cord injury: A randomised controlled cross-over trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özkul, Çağla; Kılınç, Muhammed; Yıldırım, Sibel Aksu; Topçuoğlu, Elif Yalçın; Akyüz, Müfit

    2015-01-01

    Chronic pain is a common consequence of spinal cord injury (SCI). No therapeutic drugs or drug groups are proven to be superior for neuropathic pain and treatments only aim to convert pain from dull to tolerable levels and not to remove it. This study was planned to compare the effect of visual illusion (VI) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on pain intensity, pain quality and functional capacity in SCI patients with neuropathic pain. Twenty-four patients were included and randomly categorized into two groups. In the first group (n= 12), visual illusion was applied for first two weeks, 1 week wash out period and then TENS was applied for 2 weeks. In second group (n= 12), TENS was applied firstly, 1 week wash out and then %visual illusion VI were applied. Pain severity, pain quality, and functional capacity were assessed with the visual analog scale (VAS), the neuropathic pain scale (NPS), and the brief pain inventory (BPI), respectively. A pre-post-treatment and cross over design was used. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for within group analyses. Mann-Whitney U tests were used for analyses that compared different groups. It was observed that pain intensity decrease immediately after both applications (VI: p= 0.07, TENS: p= 0.08). After TENS application for 2 weeks, it was observed that significant decrease in most (p= 0.04) and less (p= 0.02) pain intensity; while there was no significant decrease in pain intensity after 2 weeks for VI (p> 0.05). When findings of NPS were analyzed, hot (p= 0.047), sharp (p= 0.02), unpleasant (p= 0.03) and deep items (p= 0.047) decreased after VI application. When the results of BPI were detected, they were observed that the negative effect of pain on moving ability (p= 0.04) after visual illusion application and the negative effect of pain on mood (p= 0.03), relationships with others (p= 0.04) and sleep (p= 0.04) after TENS application decreased significantly. TENS and VI therapies can be successfully

  12. Whole-lung densitometry versus visual assessment of emphysema

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cavigli, Edoardo; Orlandi, Ilaria; Grassi, Luca; Farfalla, Carmela; Mascalchi, Mario; Camiciottoli, Gianna; Meoni, Eleonora; Pistolesi, Massimo; Diciotti, Stefano; Spinelli, Cheti; Falaschi, Fabio

    2009-01-01

    We compared whole-lung densitometry with visual evaluation of pulmonary emphysema. Thirty patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease underwent multi-detector CT (150 mAs and 0.75 collimation) with double reconstruction: thick (5-mm) slices with smooth filter for whole-lung densitometry and thin (1 mm) slices with sharp filter for visual assessment (one of every ten slices). Densitometry and visual assessment were performed by three operators each, and the time required for assessment, the inter-observer agreement and the correlation with the results of the diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (DL CO ) in the same patients were computed. The average time for densitometry (8.49 ± 0.13 min) was significantly longer (p CO with relative area at -960 and -970 Hounsfield units (HU) (both r = -0.66) and of the first percentile point of lung density (r = 0.66) were slightly stronger than that of the visual score (r = -0.62). Densitometry should be preferred to visual assessment because it enables a more reproducible evaluation of the extent of pulmonary emphysema, which can be carried out on the entire lung in a reasonable amount of time. (orig.)

  13. Virtually simulated social pressure influences early visual processing more in low compared to high autonomous participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trautmann-Lengsfeld, Sina Alexa; Herrmann, Christoph Siegfried

    2014-02-01

    In a previous study, we showed that virtually simulated social group pressure could influence early stages of perception after only 100  ms. In the present EEG study, we investigated the influence of social pressure on visual perception in participants with high (HA) and low (LA) levels of autonomy. Ten HA and ten LA individuals were asked to accomplish a visual discrimination task in an adapted paradigm of Solomon Asch. Results indicate that LA participants adapted to the incorrect group opinion more often than HA participants (42% vs. 30% of the trials, respectively). LA participants showed a larger posterior P1 component contralateral to targets presented in the right visual field when conforming to the correct compared to conforming to the incorrect group decision. In conclusion, our ERP data suggest that the group context can have early effects on our perception rather than on conscious decision processes in LA, but not HA participants. Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  14. Auditory preferences of young children with and without hearing loss for meaningful auditory-visual compound stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zupan, Barbra; Sussman, Joan E

    2009-01-01

    Experiment 1 examined modality preferences in children and adults with normal hearing to combined auditory-visual stimuli. Experiment 2 compared modality preferences in children using cochlear implants participating in an auditory emphasized therapy approach to the children with normal hearing from Experiment 1. A second objective in both experiments was to evaluate the role of familiarity in these preferences. Participants were exposed to randomized blocks of photographs and sounds of ten familiar and ten unfamiliar animals in auditory-only, visual-only and auditory-visual trials. Results indicated an overall auditory preference in children, regardless of hearing status, and a visual preference in adults. Familiarity only affected modality preferences in adults who showed a strong visual preference to unfamiliar stimuli only. The similar degree of auditory responses in children with hearing loss to those from children with normal hearing is an original finding and lends support to an auditory emphasis for habilitation. Readers will be able to (1) Describe the pattern of modality preferences reported in young children without hearing loss; (2) Recognize that differences in communication mode may affect modality preferences in young children with hearing loss; and (3) Understand the role of familiarity in modality preferences in children with and without hearing loss.

  15. Self-Modification Technique for the Control of Eating Behavior for the Visually Handicapped.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snoy, Mary T.; van Benten, Letitia

    1978-01-01

    A ten-week study was done of four visually handicapped overweight adolescents (ages 15-19 years) in a residential school to evaluate the efficacy of an operant conditioning technique designed to promote weight loss by altering eating habits. (Author/DLS)

  16. Enhancing the efficacy of AREDS antioxidants in light-induced retinal degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Paul; Markey, M; Rapp, C M; Darrow, R M; Ziesel, A; Organisciak, D T

    2017-01-01

    Light-induced photoreceptor cell degeneration and disease progression in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) involve oxidative stress and visual cell loss, which can be prevented, or slowed, by antioxidants. Our goal was to test the protective efficacy of a traditional Age-related Eye Disease Study antioxidant formulation (AREDS) and AREDS combined with non-traditional antioxidants in a preclinical animal model of photooxidative retinal damage. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were reared in a low-intensity (20 lux) or high-intensity (200 lux) cyclic light environment for 6 weeks. Some animals received a daily dietary supplement consisting of a small cracker infused with an AREDS antioxidant mineral mixture, AREDS antioxidants minus zinc, or zinc oxide alone. Other rats received AREDS combined with a detergent extract of the common herb rosemary, AREDS plus carnosic acid, zinc oxide plus rosemary, or rosemary alone. Antioxidant efficacy was determined by measuring retinal DNA levels 2 weeks after 6 h of intense exposure to white light (9,000 lux). Western blotting was used to determine visual cell opsin and arrestin levels following intense light treatment. Rhodopsin regeneration was determined after 1 h of exposure to light. Gene array analysis was used to determine changes in the expression of retinal genes resulting from light rearing environment or from antioxidant supplementation. Chronic high-intensity cyclic light rearing resulted in lower levels of rod and cone opsins, retinal S-antigen (S-ag), and medium wavelength cone arrestin (mCAR) than found for rats maintained in low cyclic light. However, as determined by retinal DNA, and by residual opsin and arrestin levels, 2 weeks after acute photooxidative damage, visual cell loss was greater in rats reared in low cyclic light. Retinal damage decreased with AREDS plus rosemary, or with zinc oxide plus rosemary whereas AREDS alone and zinc oxide alone (at their daily recommended levels) were both ineffective. One

  17. Molecular Evolution of Spider Vision: New Opportunities, Familiar Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morehouse, Nathan I; Buschbeck, Elke K; Zurek, Daniel B; Steck, Mireille; Porter, Megan L

    2017-08-01

    Spiders are among the world's most species-rich animal lineages, and their visual systems are likewise highly diverse. These modular visual systems, composed of four pairs of image-forming "camera" eyes, have taken on a huge variety of forms, exhibiting variation in eye size, eye placement, image resolution, and field of view, as well as sensitivity to color, polarization, light levels, and motion cues. However, despite this conspicuous diversity, our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of these visual systems remains shallow. Here, we review the current literature, analyze publicly available transcriptomic data, and discuss hypotheses about the origins and development of spider eyes. Our efforts highlight that there are many new things to discover from spider eyes, and yet these opportunities are set against a backdrop of deep homology with other arthropod lineages. For example, many (but not all) of the genes that appear important for early eye development in spiders are familiar players known from the developmental networks of other model systems (e.g., Drosophila). Similarly, our analyses of opsins and related phototransduction genes suggest that spider photoreceptors employ many of the same genes and molecular mechanisms known from other arthropods, with a hypothesized ancestral spider set of four visual and four nonvisual opsins. This deep homology provides a number of useful footholds into new work on spider vision and the molecular basis of its extant variety. We therefore discuss what some of these first steps might be in the hopes of convincing others to join us in studying the vision of these fascinating creatures.

  18. Why aye-ayes see blue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melin, Amanda D; Moritz, Gillian L; Fosbury, Robert A E; Kawamura, Shoji; Dominy, Nathaniel J

    2012-03-01

    The capacity for cone-mediated color vision varies among nocturnal primates. Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact. Recent studies focused on aye-ayes indicate that this gene has been maintained by natural selection and that the pigment has a peak sensitivity (lambda(max)) of 406 nm, which is -20 nm closer to the ultraviolet region of the spectrum than in most primates. The functional significance behind the retention and unusual lambda(max) of this opsin pigment is unknown, and it is perplexing given that all mammals are presumed to be colorblind in the dark. Here we comment on this puzzle and discuss recent findings on the color vision intensity thresholds of terrestrial vertebrates with comparable optics to aye-ayes. We draw attention to the twilight activities of aye-ayes and report that twilight is enriched in short-wavelength (bluish) light. We also show that the intensity of twilight and full moonlight is probably sufficient to support cone-mediated color vision. We speculate that the intact SWS1 opsin pigment gene of aye-ayes is a crepuscular adaptation and we report on the blueness of potential visual targets, such as scent marks and the brilliant blue arils of Ravenala madagascariensis.

  19. Online social media analysis and visualization

    CERN Document Server

    Kawash, Jalal

    2015-01-01

    This edited volume addresses the vast challenges of adapting Online Social Media (OSM) to developing research methods and applications. The topics cover generating realistic social network topologies, awareness of user activities, topic and trend generation, estimation of user attributes from their social content, behavior detection, mining social content for common trends, identifying and ranking social content sources, building friend-comprehension tools, and many others. Each of the ten chapters tackle one or more of these issues by proposing new analysis methods or new visualization techn

  20. Improvement of visual debugging tool. Shortening the elapsed time for getting data and adding new functions to compare/combine a set of visualized data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuda, Katsuyuki; Takemiya, Hiroshi

    2001-03-01

    The visual debugging tool 'vdebug' has been improved, which was designed for the debugging of programs for scientific computing. Improved were the following two points; (1) shortening the elapsed time required for getting appropriate data to visualize; (2) adding new functions which enable to compare and/or combine a set of visualized data originated from two or more different programs. As for shortening elapsed time for getting data, with the improved version of 'vdebug', we could achieve the following results; over hundred times shortening the elapsed time with dbx, pdbx of SX-4 and over ten times with ndb of SR2201. As for the new functions to compare/combine visualized data, it was confirmed that we could easily checked the consistency between the computational results obtained in each calculational steps on two different computers: SP and ONYX. In this report, we illustrate how the tool 'vdebug' has been improved with an example. (author)

  1. The Supersymmetric Top-Ten Lists

    OpenAIRE

    Haber, Howard E.

    1993-01-01

    Ten reasons are given why supersymmetry is the leading candidate for physics beyond the Standard Model. Ultimately, the experimental discovery of supersymmetric particles at future colliders will determine whether supersymmetry is relevant for TeV scale physics. The grand hope of supersymmetry enthusiasts is to connect TeV scale supersymmetry with Planck scale physics. The ten most pressing theoretical problems standing in the way of this goal are briefly described.

  2. Interocular Shift of Visual Attention Enhances Stereopsis and Visual Acuities of Anisometropic Amblyopes beyond the Critical Period of Visual Development: A Novel Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liwen Huang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims. Increasing evidence shows that imbalanced suppressive drive prior to binocular combination may be the key factor in amblyopia. We described a novel binocular approach, interocular shift of visual attention (ISVA, for treatment of amblyopia in adult patients. Methods. Visual stimuli were presented anaglyphically on a computer screen. A square target resembling Landolt C had 2 openings, one in red and one in cyan color. Through blue-red goggles, each eye could only see one of the two openings. The patient was required to report the location of the opening presented to the amblyopic eye. It started at an opening size of 800 sec of arc, went up and down in 160 sec of arc step, and stopped when reaching the 5th reversals. Ten patients with anisometropic amblyopia older than age 14 (average age: 26.7 were recruited and received ISVA treatment for 6 weeks, with 2 training sessions per day. Results. Both Titmus stereopsis (z=-2.809, P=0.005 and Random-dot stereopsis (z=-2.317, P=0.018 were significantly improved. Average improvement in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA was 0.74 line (t=5.842, P<0.001. Conclusions. The ISVA treatment may be effective in treating amblyopia and restoring stereoscopic function.

  3. Frequency of diabetic retinopathy in patients after ten years of diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaikh, M.A.; Yakta, D.E.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common and serious complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus and a leading cause of blindness not only in Pakistan but also worldwide. So we conducted this study to record the frequency of diabetic retinopathy in known diabetic patients ten years after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: The study was conducted at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan for a period of 1 year from January 2008 to January 2010. The study group comprised of 200 patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the medical clinic. All patients who were diagnosed as type 2 diabetes mellitus since ten years duration were included in the study. Retinopathy was graded into background, pre proliferative and proliferative retinopathy. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed using the WHO criteria. Statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS-11. Results: Diabetic retinopathy was found in 25.5% of the total Type 2 patients after ten years of diagnosis, and of these 4% of patients had proliferative retinopathy. Conclusion: Type 2 diabetic patients should be screened as early as possible to prevent permanent visual loss by timely management of diabetic retinopathy because diabetes is one of most common preventable cause of blindness in the world. (author)

  4. The evolution of opsins and color vision: connecting genotype to a complex phenotype

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha I Bloch

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Dissecting the genetic basis of adaptive traits is key to our understanding of evolutionary processes. A major and essential step in the study of evolutionary genetics is drawing link between genotype and phenotype, which depends on the difficult process of defining the phenotype at different levels, from functional to organismal. Visual pigments are a key component of the visual system and their evolution could also provide important clues on the evolution of visual sensory system in response to sexual and natural selection. As a system in which genotype can be linked to phenotype, I will use visual pigments and color vision, particularly in birds, as a case of a complex phenotype. I aim to emphasize the difficulties in drawing the genotype-phenotype relationship for complex phenotypes and to highlight the challenges of doing so for color vision. The use of vision-based receiver models to quantify animal colors and patterns is increasingly important in many fields of evolutionary research, spanning studies of mate choice, predation, camouflage and sensory ecology. Given these models impact on evolution and ecology, it is important to provide other researchers with the opportunity to better understand animal vision and the corresponding advantages and limitations of these models.

  5. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OPRI-01-1437 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OPRI-01-1437 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blind...Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan) [Mus mu...sculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blind...ness, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|EDL13781.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 1e-162 81% ...

  6. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MDOM-08-0120 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MDOM-08-0120 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan) [Mus mu...sculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness..., tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|EDL13781.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 0.0 87% ...

  7. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-VPAC-01-1432 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-VPAC-01-1432 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan) [Mus mu...sculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness..., tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|EDL13781.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 0.0 85% ...

  8. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MEUG-01-2797 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MEUG-01-2797 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan) [Mus mu...sculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness..., tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|EDL13781.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 0.0 86% ...

  9. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-TTRU-01-0695 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-TTRU-01-0695 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan) [Mus mu...sculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness..., tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|EDL13781.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 1e-145 80% ...

  10. The giant mottled eel, Anguilla marmorata, uses blue-shifted rod photoreceptors during upstream migration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng-Yu Wang

    Full Text Available Catadromous fishes migrate between ocean and freshwater during particular phases of their life cycle. The dramatic environmental changes shape their physiological features, e.g. visual sensitivity, olfactory ability, and salinity tolerance. Anguilla marmorata, a catadromous eel, migrates upstream on dark nights, following the lunar cycle. Such behavior may be correlated with ontogenetic changes in sensory systems. Therefore, this study was designed to identify changes in spectral sensitivity and opsin gene expression of A. marmorata during upstream migration. Microspectrophotometry analysis revealed that the tropical eel possesses a duplex retina with rod and cone photoreceptors. The λmax of rod cells are 493, 489, and 489 nm in glass, yellow, and wild eels, while those of cone cells are 508, and 517 nm in yellow, and wild eels, respectively. Unlike European and American eels, Asian eels exhibited a blue-shifted pattern of rod photoreceptors during upstream migration. Quantitative gene expression analyses of four cloned opsin genes (Rh1f, Rh1d, Rh2, and SWS2 revealed that Rh1f expression is dominant at all three stages, while Rh1d is expressed only in older yellow eel. Furthermore, sequence comparison and protein modeling studies implied that a blue shift in Rh1d opsin may be induced by two known (N83, S292 and four putative (S124, V189, V286, I290 tuning sites adjacent to the retinal binding sites. Finally, expression of blue-shifted Rh1d opsin resulted in a spectral shift in rod photoreceptors. Our observations indicate that the giant mottled eel is color-blind, and its blue-shifted scotopic vision may influence its upstream migration behavior and habitat choice.

  11. Standard anatomical and visual space for the mouse retina: computational reconstruction and transformation of flattened retinae with the Retistruct package.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C Sterratt

    Full Text Available The concept of topographic mapping is central to the understanding of the visual system at many levels, from the developmental to the computational. It is important to be able to relate different coordinate systems, e.g. maps of the visual field and maps of the retina. Retinal maps are frequently based on flat-mount preparations. These use dissection and relaxing cuts to render the quasi-spherical retina into a 2D preparation. The variable nature of relaxing cuts and associated tears limits quantitative cross-animal comparisons. We present an algorithm, "Retistruct," that reconstructs retinal flat-mounts by mapping them into a standard, spherical retinal space. This is achieved by: stitching the marked-up cuts of the flat-mount outline; dividing the stitched outline into a mesh whose vertices then are mapped onto a curtailed sphere; and finally moving the vertices so as to minimise a physically-inspired deformation energy function. Our validation studies indicate that the algorithm can estimate the position of a point on the intact adult retina to within 8° of arc (3.6% of nasotemporal axis. The coordinates in reconstructed retinae can be transformed to visuotopic coordinates. Retistruct is used to investigate the organisation of the adult mouse visual system. We orient the retina relative to the nictitating membrane and compare this to eye muscle insertions. To align the retinotopic and visuotopic coordinate systems in the mouse, we utilised the geometry of binocular vision. In standard retinal space, the composite decussation line for the uncrossed retinal projection is located 64° away from the retinal pole. Projecting anatomically defined uncrossed retinal projections into visual space gives binocular congruence if the optical axis of the mouse eye is oriented at 64° azimuth and 22° elevation, in concordance with previous results. Moreover, using these coordinates, the dorsoventral boundary for S-opsin expressing cones closely matches

  12. The five times ten things everyone should have had in their hands before they are ten and two years old.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hut, R.; Poot, A.

    2017-12-01

    To train the young ones to become people that make stuff, I present the five times ten things we use a lot that everyone should have used before they are ten and two years old. I will bring at least two times ten of these things and show them live to you! And: I will bring a large paper for you to bring home with those five times ten things on it to put in the hands of your kids!

  13. The medium-term effects of diadynamic currents in chronic low back pain; TENS versus diadynamic currents: A randomised, follow-up study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayilir, Selcuk; Yildizgoren, Mustafa Turgut

    2017-11-01

    The aims of the study were to evaluate the medium-term effects of diadynamic (DD) currents on relieving symptoms/improving physical functionality in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) and to compare the efficacy of DD versus TENS. The patients were divided into two groups as the TENS group (n = 26) and the DD group (n = 29). Additional treatment of hot pack + therapeutic ultrasound was applied to all patients. The therapy programs were administered as a total of 10 sessions over a period of 2 weeks. Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ), Oswestry Disability Index and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) values were recorded. Both groups showed significant improvements in VAS and RDQ scores after one month of the therapies (all p TENS and DD currents in chronic LBP can lead to reduced pain, and improved physical functions. Hence, DD currents can be used as an adjuvant therapy for rehabilitation of chronic LBP. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Tens bij bevallingen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tuin-Nuis, F.D.F.

    2000-01-01

    TENS (Transcutane Electrische Neuro Stimulatie) is een pijnverlichtingsmethode die berust op de Gate Control Theory van Melzack en Wall. Door middel van electrische pulsen via de huid zou de geleiding van nociceptieve signalen (pijnprikkels) worden beïnvloed en zou het lichaam endorfinen aanmaken:

  15. [Amblyopia: reading speed in comparison with visual acuity for gratings, single Landolt Cs and series Landolt Cs].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach, M; Strahl, P; Waltenspiel, S; Kommerell, G

    1990-01-01

    In the treatment of amblyopia in preschool children, a means of predicting later reading ability would be helpful. This prediction might be possible using a test for visual acuity where the results correlate with reading ability in adult patients with amblyopia. We measured the following four parameters in 18 experienced readers with strabismic amblyopia: (1) time spent reading ten lines of a standard text in one of three magnifications, (2) visual acuity for gratings, (3) visual acuity for single Landolt Cs, and (4) visual acuity for crowded Landolt Cs (one Landolt C flanked by two full rings on each side each at a distance of 2.6 min of arc). The reading text was presented on paper at a distance of 40 cm; the subject had a choice of three magnifications. The acuity tests were generated by a computer on a VDU at 4.6 m. The relative impairment of the amblyopic eye was defined as the quotient between the performance of the amblyopic and the good eye. In addition, the difference between the times spent reading the ten lines with the amblyopic and with the good eye was calculated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  16. Randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of electroacupuncture and TENS for low back pain: a preliminary study for a pragmatic trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsukayama, Hiroshi; Yamashita, Hitoshi; Amagai, Hitoshi; Tanno, Yasuo

    2002-12-01

    The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of electroacupuncture and TENS for low back pain when the electroacupuncture is applied in a clinically realistic manner. The study was designed as an evaluator-blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT). The study was performed at the Tsukuba College of Technology Clinic in Japan. Twenty subjects, who suffered from low back pain (LBP) without sciatica, were recruited, using leaflets in Tsukuba city. Subjects were allocated to either an electroacupuncture (EA) group (10 patients) or a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) group (10 patients). The procedure for EA was in accordance with standard practice at our clinic. The main outcome measures were a pain relief scale (100 mm visual analogue scale: VAS) and a LBP score recommended by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA Score). Mean VAS value during the 2-weeks experimental period of the EA group was significantly smaller than that of the TENS group (65 mm vs 86 mm; 95% CI, 4.126 - 37.953). JOA Score in the EA group improved significantly while that in the TENS group showed no change. Although some placebo effect may be included, EA appeared more useful than TENS in the short-term effect on low back pain. We suggest that more realistic acupuncture interventions based on standard practice should be employed in pragmatic RCTs.

  17. Increasing intensity of TENS prevents analgesic tolerance in rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Karina L.; Sanada, Luciana S.; Rakel, Barbara A.; Sluka, Kathleen A.

    2012-01-01

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) reduces hyperalgesia and pain. Both low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) TENS, delivered at the same intensity (90% motor threshold (MT)) daily, result in analgesic tolerance with repeated use by the 5th day of treatment. Thecurrentstudytestedif 1) increasingintensityby 10% per daypreventsthedevelopmentoftolerance to repeated TENS, and 2) iflowerintensity TENS (50 % MT) produces an equivalentreduction in hyperalgesia when compared to 90% MT TENS. Sprague-Dawley rats with unilateral knee joint inflammation (3% carrageenan) were separated according to the intensity of TENS used: Sham, 50% LF, 50% HF, 90% LF, 90% HF, and increased intensity by 10% per day (LF and HF). The reduced mechanical withdrawal threshold following the induction of inflammation was reversed by application of TENS applied at 90% MT and increasing intensity for the first 4 days. On the 5th day, the groups that received 90% MT intensity showed tolerance. Nevertheless, the group that received an increased intensity on each day still showed a reversal of the mechanical withdrawal threshold with TENS. These results show that the development of tolerance can be delayed by increasing intensity of TENS. PMID:22858165

  18. A randomized trial to determine the duration of analgesia following a 15- and a 30-minute application of acupuncture-like TENS on patients with chronic low back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tousignant-Laflamme, Yannick; Laroche, Claudia; Beaulieu, Christine; Bouchard, Ann-Julie; Boucher, Sabrina; Michaud-Létourneau, Mélanie

    2017-05-01

    Acupuncture-like TENS (AL-TENS) has been shown to produce prolonged pain relief, but no study has yet investigated its duration on a population suffering from chronic low back pain (CLPB). Our objective was to quantify the duration and magnitude of analgesia induced by a 15- or 30-minute application of AL-TENS. We recruited a sample of 11 participants presenting with CLBP and conducted a randomized, crossover study, where participants were given AL-TENS for 15 and 30 minutes on two separate occasions. The pain intensity of their CLBP was assessed with a visual analogue scale before, during, and after AL-TENS applications. Magnitude and duration of analgesia were determined for each subject and for both AL-TENS application times. The AL-TENS applications induced a clinically and statistically significant (p = 0.003) analgesia in all participants. Median duration of analgesia was 9 hours and 10 hours 30 minutes following the 15- and 30-minute AL-TENS applications, respectively; this 1.5-hour difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.55). Furthermore, we observed no significant difference in the magnitude of analgesia between both applications of AL-TENS (p > 0.56), suggesting that the duration of application of AL-TENS does not influence the magnitude of analgesia. Our results suggest that clinicians could use a 15-minute AL-TENS application to provide significant analgesia in patients presenting with low back pain since if provides a comparable analgesia versus a 30-minute application.

  19. Ultraviolet vision in lacertid lizards: evidence from retinal structure, eye transmittance, SWS1 visual pigment genes and behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez i de Lanuza, Guillem; Font, Enrique

    2014-08-15

    Ultraviolet (UV) vision and UV colour patches have been reported in a wide range of taxa and are increasingly appreciated as an integral part of vertebrate visual perception and communication systems. Previous studies with Lacertidae, a lizard family with diverse and complex coloration, have revealed the existence of UV-reflecting patches that may function as social signals. However, confirmation of the signalling role of UV coloration requires demonstrating that the lizards are capable of vision in the UV waveband. Here we use a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the visual sensitivity of a diverse sample of lacertid species. Spectral transmission measurements of the ocular media show that wavelengths down to 300 nm are transmitted in all the species sampled. Four retinal oil droplet types can be identified in the lacertid retina. Two types are pigmented and two are colourless. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that a type of colourless droplet is UV-transmitting and may thus be associated with UV-sensitive cones. DNA sequencing shows that lacertids have a functional SWS1 opsin, very similar at 13 critical sites to that in the presumed ancestral vertebrate (which was UV sensitive) and other UV-sensitive lizards. Finally, males of Podarcis muralis are capable of discriminating between two views of the same stimulus that differ only in the presence/absence of UV radiance. Taken together, these results provide convergent evidence of UV vision in lacertids, very likely by means of an independent photopigment. Moreover, the presence of four oil droplet types suggests that lacertids have a four-cone colour vision system. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  20. Age-related deterioration of rod vision in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolesnikov, Alexander V; Fan, Jie; Crouch, Rosalie K; Kefalov, Vladimir J

    2010-08-18

    Even in healthy individuals, aging leads to deterioration in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual field, and dark adaptation. Little is known about the neural mechanisms that drive the age-related changes of the retina and, more specifically, photoreceptors. According to one hypothesis, the age-related deterioration in rod function is due to the limited availability of 11-cis-retinal for rod pigment formation. To determine how aging affects rod photoreceptors and to test the retinoid-deficiency hypothesis, we compared the morphological and functional properties of rods of adult and aged B6D2F1/J mice. We found that the number of rods and the length of their outer segments were significantly reduced in 2.5-year-old mice compared with 4-month-old animals. Aging also resulted in a twofold reduction in the total level of opsin in the retina. Behavioral tests revealed that scotopic visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were decreased by twofold in aged mice, and rod ERG recordings demonstrated reduced amplitudes of both a- and b-waves. Sensitivity of aged rods determined from single-cell recordings was also decreased by 1.5-fold, corresponding to not more than 1% free opsin in these photoreceptors, and kinetic parameters of dim flash response were not altered. Notably, the rate of rod dark adaptation was unaffected by age. Thus, our results argue against age-related deficiency of 11-cis-retinal in the B6D2F1/J mouse rod visual cycle. Surprisingly, the level of cellular dark noise was increased in aged rods, providing an alternative mechanism for their desensitization.

  1. β-arrestin functionally regulates the non-bleaching pigment parapinopsin in lamprey pineal.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emi Kawano-Yamashita

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The light response of vertebrate visual cells is achieved by light-sensing proteins such as opsin-based pigments as well as signal transduction proteins, including visual arrestin. Previous studies have indicated that the pineal pigment parapinopsin has evolutionally and physiologically important characteristics. Parapinopsin is phylogenetically related to vertebrate visual pigments. However, unlike the photoproduct of the visual pigment rhodopsin, which is unstable, dissociating from its chromophore and bleaching, the parapinopsin photoproduct is stable and does not release its chromophore. Here, we investigated arrestin, which regulates parapinopsin signaling, in the lamprey pineal organ, where parapinopsin and rhodopsin are localized to distinct photoreceptor cells. We found that beta-arrestin, which binds to stimulated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs other than opsin-based pigments, was localized to parapinopsin-containing cells. This result stands in contrast to the localization of visual arrestin in rhodopsin-containing cells. Beta-arrestin bound to cultured cell membranes containing parapinopsin light-dependently and translocated to the outer segments of pineal parapinopsin-containing cells, suggesting that beta-arrestin binds to parapinopsin to arrest parapinopsin signaling. Interestingly, beta-arrestin colocalized with parapinopsin in the granules of the parapinopsin-expressing cell bodies under light illumination. Because beta-arrestin, which is a mediator of clathrin-mediated GPCR internalization, also served as a mediator of parapinopsin internalization in cultured cells, these results suggest that the granules were generated light-dependently by beta-arrestin-mediated internalization of parapinopsins from the outer segments. Therefore, our findings imply that beta-arrestin-mediated internalization is responsible for eliminating the stable photoproduct and restoring cell conditions to the original dark state. Taken together with a

  2. Modes of Self-Representation : Visualized Identities of former Yugoslav Migrant Women in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Gorp, Jasmijn

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates visualized identities of ‘former Yugoslav’ migrant women in the Netherlands. Ten women with roots in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina or Croatia were asked to depict their identities in a series of photographs over the course of one week. Subsequently they were prompted to

  3. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief in labour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowswell, Therese; Bedwell, Carol; Lavender, Tina; Neilson, James P

    2009-04-15

    Transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) has been proposed as a means of reducing pain in labour. The TENS unit emits low-voltage electrical impulses which vary in frequency and intensity. During labour, TENS electrodes are generally placed on the lower back, although TENS may be used to stimulate acupuncture points or other parts of the body. The physiological mechanisms whereby TENS relieves pain are uncertain. The TENS unit is frequently operated by women, which may increase sense of control in labour. To assess the effects of TENS on pain in labour. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (November 2008). Randomised controlled trials comparing women receiving TENS for pain relief in labour versus routine care, alternative pharmacological methods of pain relief, or placebo devices. We included all types of TENS machines. Two review authors assessed for inclusion all trials identified by the search strategy, carried out data extraction and assessed risk of bias. We have recorded reasons for excluding studies. The search identified 25 studies; we excluded six and included 19 studies including 1671 women. Fifteen examined TENS applied to the back, two to acupuncture points and two to the cranium. Overall, there was little difference in pain ratings between TENS and control groups, although women receiving TENS to acupuncture points were less likely to report severe pain (risk ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.55). The majority of women using TENS said they would be willing to use it again in a future labour. Where TENS was used as an adjunct to epidural analgesia there was no evidence that it reduced pain. There was no consistent evidence that TENS had any impact on interventions and outcomes in labour. There was little information on outcomes for mothers and babies. No adverse events were reported. There is only limited evidence that TENS reduces pain in labour and it does not seem to have any impact (either positive or

  4. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) reduces pain and postpones the need for pharmacological analgesia during labour: a randomised trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santana, Licia Santos; Gallo, Rubneide Barreto Silva; Ferreira, Cristine Homsi Jorge; Duarte, Geraldo; Quintana, Silvana Maria; Marcolin, Alessandra Cristina

    2016-01-01

    In the active phase of the first stage of labour, does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) relieve pain or change its location? Does TENS delay the request for neuraxial analgesia during labour? Does TENS produce any harmful effects in the mother or the foetus? Are women in labour satisfied with the care provided? Randomised trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding for some outcomes, and intention-to-treat analysis. Forty-six low-risk, primigravida parturients with a gestational age > 37 weeks, cervical dilation of 4cm, and without the use of any medications from hospital admission until randomisation. The principal investigator applied TENS to the experimental group for 30minutes starting at the beginning of the active phase of labour. A second investigator assessed the outcomes in both the control and experimental groups. Both groups received routine perinatal care. The primary outcome was pain severity after the intervention period, which was assessed using the 100-mm visual analogue scale. Secondary outcomes included: pain location, duration of the active phase of labour, time to pharmacological labour analgesia, mode of birth, neonatal outcomes, and the participant's satisfaction with the care provided. After the intervention, a significant mean difference in change in pain of 15mm was observed favouring the experimental group (95% CI 2 to 27). The application of TENS did not alter the location or distribution of the pain. The mean time to pharmacological analgesia after the intervention was 5.0hours (95% CI 4.1 to 5.9) longer in the experimental group. The intervention did not significantly impact the other maternal and neonatal outcomes. Participants in both groups were satisfied with the care provided during labour. TENS produces a significant decrease in pain during labour and postpones the need for pharmacological analgesia for pain relief. NCT01600495. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Extreme spectral richness in the eye of the Common Bluebottle butterfly, Graphium sarpedon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pei-Ju eChen

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Butterfly eyes are furnished with a variety of photoreceptors of different spectral sensitivities often in species-specific manner. We have conducted an extensive comparative study to address the question of how their spectrally complex retinas evolved. Here we investigated the structure and function of the eye of the common bluebottle butterfly (Graphium sarpedon, using electrophysiological, anatomical and molecular approaches. Intracellular electrophysiology revealed that the eye contains photoreceptors of fifteen distinct spectral sensitivities. These can be divided into six spectral receptor classes: ultraviolet- (UV, violet- (V, blue- (B, blue-green- (BG, green- (G, and red- (R sensitive. The B, G and R classes respectively contain three, four and five subclasses. Fifteen is the record number of spectral receptors so far reported in a single insect eye. We localized these receptors by injecting dye into individual photoreceptors after recording their spectral sensitivities. We thus found that four of them are confined to the dorsal region, eight to the ventral, and three exist throughout the eye; the ventral eye region is spectrally richer than the dorsal region. We also identified mRNAs encoding visual pigment opsins of one ultraviolet, one blue and three long wavelength-absorbing types. Localization of these mRNAs by in situ hybridization revealed that the dorsal photoreceptors each express a single opsin mRNA, but more than half of the ventral photoreceptors coexpress two or three L opsin mRNAs. This expression pattern well explains the spectral organization of the Graphium compound eye.

  6. Real-Time 3D Visualization

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-01-01

    Butler Hine, former director of the Intelligent Mechanism Group (IMG) at Ames Research Center, and five others partnered to start Fourth Planet, Inc., a visualization company that specializes in the intuitive visual representation of dynamic, real-time data over the Internet and Intranet. Over a five-year period, the then NASA researchers performed ten robotic field missions in harsh climes to mimic the end- to-end operations of automated vehicles trekking across another world under control from Earth. The core software technology for these missions was the Virtual Environment Vehicle Interface (VEVI). Fourth Planet has released VEVI4, the fourth generation of the VEVI software, and NetVision. VEVI4 is a cutting-edge computer graphics simulation and remote control applications tool. The NetVision package allows large companies to view and analyze in virtual 3D space such things as the health or performance of their computer network or locate a trouble spot on an electric power grid. Other products are forthcoming. Fourth Planet is currently part of the NASA/Ames Technology Commercialization Center, a business incubator for start-up companies.

  7. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain management in labour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowswell, Therese; Bedwell, Carol; Lavender, Tina; Neilson, James P

    2014-01-01

    Background Transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) has been proposed as a means of reducing pain in labour. The TENS unit emits low-voltage electrical impulses which vary in frequency and intensity. During labour, TENS electrodes are generally placed on the lower back, although TENS may be used to stimulate acupuncture points or other parts of the body. The physiological mechanisms whereby TENS relieves pain are uncertain. TENS machines are frequently operated by women, which may increase a sense of control in labour. Objectives To assess the effects of TENS on pain in labour. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group’s Trials Register (30 April 2011) and reference lists of retrieved papers. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials comparing women receiving TENS for pain management in labour versus routine care, alternative non-pharmacological methods of pain relief, or placebo devices. We included all types of TENS machines. Data collection and analysis Two review authors assessed for inclusion all trials identified by the search strategy, carried out data extraction and assessed risk of bias. We have recorded reasons for excluding studies. Main results Seventeen trials with 1466 women contribute data to the review. Thirteen examined TENS applied to the back, two to acupuncture points, and two to the cranium. Overall, there was little difference in pain ratings between TENS and control groups, although women receiving TENS to acupuncture points were less likely to report severe pain (average risk ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.31 to 0.54; measured in two studies). The majority of women using TENS said they would be willing to use it again in a future labour. Where TENS was used as an adjunct to epidural analgesia there was no evidence that it reduced pain. There was no consistent evidence that TENS had any impact on interventions and outcomes in labour. There was little information on outcomes for mothers and babies. No

  8. Visual Bias Predicts Gait Adaptability in Novel Sensory Discordant Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Rachel A.; Batson, Crystal D.; Peters, Brian T.; Mulavara, Ajitkumar P.; Bloomberg, Jacob J.

    2010-01-01

    We designed a gait training study that presented combinations of visual flow and support-surface manipulations to investigate the response of healthy adults to novel discordant sensorimotor conditions. We aimed to determine whether a relationship existed between subjects visual dependence and their postural stability and cognitive performance in a new discordant environment presented at the conclusion of training (Transfer Test). Our training system comprised a treadmill placed on a motion base facing a virtual visual scene that provided a variety of sensory challenges. Ten healthy adults completed 3 training sessions during which they walked on a treadmill at 1.1 m/s while receiving discordant support-surface and visual manipulations. At the first visit, in an analysis of normalized torso translation measured in a scene-movement-only condition, 3 of 10 subjects were classified as visually dependent. During the Transfer Test, all participants received a 2-minute novel exposure. In a combined measure of stride frequency and reaction time, the non-visually dependent subjects showed improved adaptation on the Transfer Test compared to their visually dependent counterparts. This finding suggests that individual differences in the ability to adapt to new sensorimotor conditions may be explained by individuals innate sensory biases. An accurate preflight assessment of crewmembers biases for visual dependence could be used to predict their propensities to adapt to novel sensory conditions. It may also facilitate the development of customized training regimens that could expedite adaptation to alternate gravitational environments.

  9. Subconscious visual cues during movement execution allow correct online choice reactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leukel, Christian; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper; Christensen, Mark Schram

    2012-01-01

    Part of the sensory information is processed by our central nervous system without conscious perception. Subconscious processing has been shown to be capable of triggering motor reactions. In the present study, we asked the question whether visual information, which is not consciously perceived......, could influence decision-making in a choice reaction task. Ten healthy subjects (28±5 years) executed two different experimental protocols. In the Motor reaction protocol, a visual target cue was shown on a computer screen. Depending on the displayed cue, subjects had to either complete a reaching....... This second protocol tested for conscious perception of the visual cue. The results of this study show that subjects achieved significantly more correct responses in the Motor reaction protocol than in the Verbalization protocol. This difference was only observed at the very short display durations...

  10. The TEN-T core network and the Fehmarnbelt region

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guasco, Clement Nicolas

    This note is a snapshot picture, taken in early 2014, that places the Green STRING corridor project within the context of the TEN-T strategy and gives a summarized overview on the impact of this strategy in the region. Chapter 1 contains a summary of the TEN-T strategy today, chapter 2 presents...... the sources used for this note, chapter 3 presents all the relevant EU regulations with direct impact on the development of TEN-T corridors, chapter 4 gives practical examples of the challenges for the development of TEN-T corridors, chapter 5 pre-sents the national initiatives related to the TEN-T corridor...

  11. Visualization of target inspection data at the National Ignition Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Potter, Daniel, E-mail: potter15@llnl.gov [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (United States); Antipa, Nick, E-mail: antipa1@llnl.gov [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (United States)

    2012-12-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Target surfaces are measured using a phase-shifting diffraction interferometer. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Datasets are several gigabytes that consist of tens to hundreds of files. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Software tools that provide a high-level overview of the entire dataset. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Single datasets loaded into the visualization session can be individually rotated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Multiple datasets with common features are found then datasets can be aligned. - Abstract: As the National Ignition Facility continues its campaign to achieve ignition, new methods and tools will be required to measure the quality of the target capsules used to achieve this goal. Techniques have been developed to measure capsule surface features using a phase-shifting diffraction interferometer and Leica Microsystems confocal microscope. These instruments produce multi-gigabyte datasets which consist of tens to hundreds of files. Existing software can handle viewing a small subset of an entire dataset, but none can view a dataset in its entirety. Additionally, without an established mode of transport that keeps the target capsules properly aligned throughout the assembly process, a means of aligning the two dataset coordinate systems is needed. The goal of this project is to develop web based software utilizing WebGL which will provide high level overview visualization of an entire dataset, with the capability to retrieve finer details on demand, in addition to facilitating alignment of multiple datasets with one another based on common features that have been visually identified by users of the system.

  12. Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) in dentistry- A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasat, Vikrant; Gupta, Aditi; Ladda, Ruchi; Kathariya, Mitesh; Saluja, Harish; Farooqui, Anjum-Ara

    2014-12-01

    Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-pharmacological method which is widely used by medical and paramedical professionals for the management of acute and chronic pain in a variety of conditions. Similarly, it can be utilized for the management of pain during various dental procedures as well as pain due to various conditions affecting maxillofacial region. This review aims to provide an insight into clinical research evidence available for the analgesic and non analgesic uses of TENS in pediatric as well as adult patients related to the field of dentistry. Also, an attempt is made to briefly discuss history of therapeutic electricity, mechanism of action of TENS, components of TENs equipment, types, techniques of administration, advantages and contradictions of TENS. With this we hope to raise awareness among dental fraternity regarding its dental applications thereby increasing its use in dentistry. Key words:Dentistry, pain, TENS.

  13. Preemptive Analgesic Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on Postoperative Pain: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eidy, Mohammad; Fazel, Mohammad Reza; Janzamini, Monir; Haji Rezaei, Mostafa; Moravveji, Ali Reza

    2016-04-01

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-pharmacological analgesic method used to control different types of pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of preoperative TENS on post inguinal hernia repair pain. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed on 66 male patients with unilateral inguinal hernias who were admitted to the Shahid Beheshti hospital in Kashan, Iran, from April to October 2014. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method and were assigned to intervention (n = 33) and control (n = 33) groups using permuted-block randomization. Patients in the intervention group were treated with TENS 1 hour before surgery, while the placebo was administered to patients in the control group. All of the patients underwent inguinal hernia repair by the Lichtenstein method, and pain intensity was evaluated at 2, 4, 6, and 12 hours after surgery using a visual analogue scale. Additionally, the amounts of analgesic administered by pump were calculated and compared between the two groups. The mean estimated postoperative pain intensity was 6.21 ± 1.63 in the intervention group and 5.45 ± 1.82 in the control group (P = 0.08). In the intervention group pain intensity at 2 and 4 hours after surgery were 3.54 ± 1.48 and 5.12 ± 1.41 (P TENS can reduce postoperative pain in the early hours after inguinal hernia repair surgery.

  14. Are intra-articular corticosteroid injections better than conventional TENS in treatment of rotator cuff tendinitis in the short run? A randomized study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyigor, C; Eyigor, S; Kivilcim Korkmaz, O

    2010-09-01

    Rotator cuff problems are common causes of pain and restriction of movement in shoulder. The aim of this study to compare the effect of intra-articular injection of corticosteroid and conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) treatment in treatment of rotator cuff tendinitis. Subjects were randomly allocated into Group 1 (intra-articular injection of corticosteroid) and Group 2 (conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation-TENS). Outcome measurements were performed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, range of motion (ROM), the Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ), the Short Form-36 (SF-36), and Beck Depression Scale (BDS) questionnaires and paracetamol consumption. In both groups, significant improvement was observed in all weeks in VAS, ROM and SDQ scores (P0.05). In both treatment groups, paracetamol consumption decreased in time (Protator cuff tendinitis. When two treatments are compared, it may be concluded that intra-articular steroid injection was more effective especially in the first weeks regarding pain, ROM and disability. Otherwise, use of TENS allow to patients to increase activity level, improve function and quality of life like that in our study. TENS, as it is cheaper, non-invasive, more easily performed and efficient, may be preferable for the treatment of shoulder pain. Further studies are needed to include these results in the prospective treatment guidelines.

  15. Ten steps to successful software process improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandt, R. K.

    2003-01-01

    This paper identifies ten steps for managing change that address organizational and cultural issues. Four of these steps are critical, that if not done, will almost guarantee failure. This ten-step program emphasizes the alignment of business goals, change process goals, and the work performed by the employees of an organization.

  16. Iconoclash: reflexões sobre cultura visual e pesquisas em Educação = Iconoclash: reflecting about visual culture and research in Education = Iconoclash: reflexiones sobre la cultura visual y las investigaciones sobre Educación

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fischman, Gustavo E.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available As sociedades contemporâneas demandam a capacidade de compreender e seguir regras implícitas da cultura visual, as quais são desenvolvidas por meio de múltiplas, heterogêneas e, frequentemente, efêmeras imagens. Este fenômeno tem sido denominado “virada pictórica”. Este artigo aponta a discutir que: os efeitos da virada pictórica parecem ser mais limitados no campo da pesquisa em Educação; a ausência substancial dos fenômenos da cultura visual na pesquisa pedagógica, bem como a subutilização das ferramentas das metodologias da pesquisa visual, não se sustentam em barreiras epistemológicas. Propõe-se a pesquisar os fenômenos educativos a partir da perspectiva do iconoclash, analisando imagens sobre Ação Afirmativa publicadas na revista Veja durante o período 1995-2010. A investigação reconhece a constante presença da tensão no par imagem/significado

  17. [Analysis of quality of life in patiens with low back pain after receiving transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaniewska, Renata; Okurowska-Zawada, Bozena; Kułak, Wojciech; Domian, Karolina

    2012-01-01

    Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common disorders affecting office employees working with a computer, which inevitably leads to lower quality of life. The aim of this study was to analyze the quality of life of patients with LBP after application of TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nervous Stimulation). The study group included 30 computer workers (26 females and 4 males) aged 30-60 years (45 +/- 12). The quality of life was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-Bref) before and after 10 applications of TENS. Outcomes were evaluated with a visual analog score (VAS) for pain and Schober's test to measure the ability of a patient to flex his or her lower back. The mean VAS value decreased significantly from 3.83 +/- 1.31 cm at baseline to 3.36 +/- 1.21 cm after treatment. Patients reported pain relief. The highest quality of life scores in terms of social relationships were found in the social category evaluating personal relationships, social support and sexual activity (15.91 +/- 2.07) and mental health (14.32 +/- 1.59). After treatment a significant increase in the flexion of lower back was observed in the majority of patients. No significant correlations between the quality of life and the intensity of pain and the flexion of lower back before and after treatment were found. TENS therapy is an effective technique for pain relief in patients with LBP. TENS can also be used with other methods of LBP treatment and may improve the patients' quality of life.

  18. Visual Processing Recruits the Auditory Cortices in Prelingually Deaf Children and Influences Cochlear Implant Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Maojin; Chen, Yuebo; Zhao, Fei; Zhang, Junpeng; Liu, Jiahao; Zhang, Xueyuan; Cai, Yuexin; Chen, Suijun; Li, Xianghui; Chen, Ling; Zheng, Yiqing

    2017-09-01

    Although visual processing recruitment of the auditory cortices has been reported previously in prelingually deaf children who have a rapidly developing brain and no auditory processing, the visual processing recruitment of auditory cortices might be different in processing different visual stimuli and may affect cochlear implant (CI) outcomes. Ten prelingually deaf children, 4 to 6 years old, were recruited for the study. Twenty prelingually deaf subjects, 4 to 6 years old with CIs for 1 year, were also recruited; 10 with well-performing CIs, 10 with poorly performing CIs. Ten age and sex-matched normal-hearing children were recruited as controls. Visual ("sound" photo [photograph with imaginative sound] and "nonsound" photo [photograph without imaginative sound]) evoked potentials were measured in all subjects. P1 at Oz and N1 at the bilateral temporal-frontal areas (FC3 and FC4) were compared. N1 amplitudes were strongest in the deaf children, followed by those with poorly performing CIs, controls and those with well-performing CIs. There was no significant difference between controls and those with well-performing CIs. "Sound" photo stimuli evoked a stronger N1 than "nonsound" photo stimuli. Further analysis showed that only at FC4 in deaf subjects and those with poorly performing CIs were the N1 responses to "sound" photo stimuli stronger than those to "nonsound" photo stimuli. No significant difference was found for the FC3 and FC4 areas. No significant difference was found in N1 latencies and P1 amplitudes or latencies. The results indicate enhanced visual recruitment of the auditory cortices in prelingually deaf children. Additionally, the decrement in visual recruitment of auditory cortices was related to good CI outcomes.

  19. Visual Context Modulates Action Perception In 10-Month-Old Infants

    OpenAIRE

    Noack, Hannes; Werkle-Bergner, Markus; Lindenberger, Ulman; Kopp, Franziska; Stadler, Waltraud; Springer, Anne; Bache, Cathleen

    2017-01-01

    Research on early action perception has documented infants' astounding abilities in tracking, predicting, and understanding other people's actions. Common interpretations of previous findings tend to generalize across a wide range of action stimuli and contexts. In this study, ten-month-old infants repeatedly watched a video of a same-aged crawling baby that was transiently occluded. The video was presented in alternation with videos displaying visually either dissimilar movements (i.e., dist...

  20. The Relation of Visual and Auditory Aptitudes to First Grade Low Readers' Achievement under Sight-Word and Systematic Phonic Instructions. Research Report #36.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallistel, Elizabeth; And Others

    Ten auditory and ten visual aptitude measures were administered in the middle of first grade to a sample of 58 low readers. More than half of this low reader sample had scored more than a year below expected grade level on two or more aptitudes. Word recognition measures were administered after four months of sight word instruction and again after…

  1. The spectral sensitivity of the lens eyes of a box jellyfish, Tripedalia cystophora (Conant)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coates, Melissa M; Garm, Anders; Theobald, Jamie C

    2006-01-01

    Box jellyfish, or cubomedusae (class Cubozoa), are unique among the Cnidaria in possessing lens eyes similar in morphology to those of vertebrates and cephalopods. Although these eyes were described over 100 years ago, there has been no work done on their electrophysiological responses to light. ...... result from the presence of a single receptor type containing a single opsin. The peak sensitivity is to blue-green light. Visual pigment template fits indicate a vitamin A-1 based opsin with peak sensitivity near 500 nm for both eye types.......Box jellyfish, or cubomedusae (class Cubozoa), are unique among the Cnidaria in possessing lens eyes similar in morphology to those of vertebrates and cephalopods. Although these eyes were described over 100 years ago, there has been no work done on their electrophysiological responses to light. We...... used an electroretinogram (ERG) technique to measure spectral sensitivity of the lens eyes of the Caribbean species Tripedalia cystophora. The cubomedusae have two kinds of lens eyes, the lower and upper lens eyes. We found that both lens eye types have similar spectral sensitivities, which likely...

  2. A neural basis for the visual sense of number and its development: A steady-state visual evoked potential study in children and adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joonkoo Park

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available While recent studies in adults have demonstrated the existence of a neural mechanism for a visual sense of number, little is known about its development and whether such a mechanism exists at young ages. In the current study, I introduce a novel steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP technique to objectively quantify early visual cortical sensitivity to numerical and non-numerical magnitudes of a dot array. I then examine this neural sensitivity to numerical magnitude in children between three and ten years of age and in college students. Children overall exhibit strong SSVEP sensitivity to numerical magnitude in the right occipital sites with negligible SSVEP sensitivity to non-numerical magnitudes, the pattern similar to what is observed in adults. However, a closer examination of age differences reveals that this selective neural sensitivity to numerical magnitude, which is close to absent in three-year-olds, increases steadily as a function of age, while there is virtually no neural sensitivity to other non-numerical magnitudes across these ages. These results demonstrate the emergence of a neural mechanism underlying direct perception of numerosity across early and middle childhood and provide a potential neural mechanistic explanation for the development of humans’ primitive, non-verbal ability to comprehend number. Keywords: Numerosity, Steady-state visual evoked potential, Child development, Visual cortex, Approximate number system

  3. The origin of the future ten questions for the next ten years

    CERN Document Server

    Gribbin, John

    2006-01-01

    How did the universe begin? Where do galaxies come from? How do stars and planets form? Where do the material particles we are made of come from? How did life begin? Today we have only provisional answers to such questions. But scientific progress will improve these answers dramatically over the next ten years, predicts John Gribbin in this riveting book. He focuses on what we know—or think we know—about ten controversial, unanswered issues in the physical sciences and explains how current cutting-edge research may yield solutions in the very near future. With his trademark facility for engaging readers with or without a scientific background, the author explores ideas concerning the creation of the universe, the possibility of other forms of life, and the fate of the expanding cosmos. He examines “theories of everything,” including grand unified theories and string theory, and he discusses the Big Bang theory, the origin of structure and patterns of matter in the galaxies, and dark mass and dark ene...

  4. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic low back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milne, S; Welch, V; Brosseau, L; Saginur, M; Shea, B; Tugwell, P; Wells, G

    2001-01-01

    Low back pain (LBP) affects a large proportion of the population. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) was introduced more than 30 years ago as an alternative therapy to pharmacological treatments for chronic pain. However, despite its widespread use, the effectiveness of TENS is still controversial. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of TENS in the treatment of chronic LBP. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PEDro and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register up to June 1, 2000. Only randomized controlled clinical trials of TENS for the treatment of patients with a clinical diagnosis of chronic LBP were included. Abstracts were excluded unless further data could be obtained from the authors. Two reviewers independently selected trials and extracted data using predetermined forms. Heterogeneity was tested with Cochran's Q test. A fixed effects model was used throughout for continuous variables, except where heterogeneity existed, in which case, a random effects model was used. Results are presented as weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), where the difference between the treated and control groups was weighted by the inverse of the variance. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated by dividing the difference between the treated and control by the baseline variance. SMD were used when different scales were used to measure the same concept. Dichotomous outcomes were analyzed with odds ratios. Five trials were included, with 170 subjects randomized to the placebo group receiving sham-TENS and 251 subjects receiving active TENS (153 for conventional mode, 98 for acupuncture-like TENS). The schedule of treatments varied greatly between studies ranging from one treatment/day for two consecutive days, to three treatments/day for four weeks. There were no statistically significant differences between the active TENS group when compared to the placebo TENS group for any outcome measures

  5. Sensory Drive, Color, and Color Vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Trevor D

    2017-08-01

    Colors often appear to differ in arbitrary ways among related species. However, a fraction of color diversity may be explained because some signals are more easily perceived in one environment rather than another. Models show that not only signals but also the perception of signals should regularly evolve in response to different environments, whether these primarily involve detection of conspecifics or detection of predators and prey. Thus, a deeper understanding of how perception of color correlates with environmental attributes should help generate more predictive models of color divergence. Here, I briefly review our understanding of color vision in vertebrates. Then I focus on opsin spectral tuning and opsin expression, two traits involved in color perception that have become amenable to study. I ask how opsin tuning is correlated with ecological differences, notably the light environment, and how this potentially affects perception of conspecific colors. Although opsin tuning appears to evolve slowly, opsin expression levels are more evolutionarily labile but have been difficult to connect to color perception. The challenge going forward will be to identify how physiological differences involved in color vision, such as opsin expression levels, translate into perceptual differences, the selection pressures that have driven those differences, and ultimately how this may drive evolution of conspecific colors.

  6. Visualizing risks in cancer communication: A systematic review of computer-supported visual aids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stellamanns, Jan; Ruetters, Dana; Dahal, Keshav; Schillmoeller, Zita; Huebner, Jutta

    2017-08-01

    Health websites are becoming important sources for cancer information. Lay users, patients and carers seek support for critical decisions, but they are prone to common biases when quantitative information is presented. Graphical representations of risk data can facilitate comprehension, and interactive visualizations are popular. This review summarizes the evidence on computer-supported graphs that present risk data and their effects on various measures. The systematic literature search was conducted in several databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL. Only studies with a controlled design were included. Relevant publications were carefully selected and critically appraised by two reviewers. Thirteen studies were included. Ten studies evaluated static graphs and three dynamic formats. Most decision scenarios were hypothetical. Static graphs could improve accuracy, comprehension, and behavioural intention. But the results were heterogeneous and inconsistent among the studies. Dynamic formats were not superior or even impaired performance compared to static formats. Static graphs show promising but inconsistent results, while research on dynamic visualizations is scarce and must be interpreted cautiously due to methodical limitations. Well-designed and context-specific static graphs can support web-based cancer risk communication in particular populations. The application of dynamic formats cannot be recommended and needs further research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS reduces pain and postpones the need for pharmacological analgesia during labour: a randomised trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Licia Santos Santana

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Questions: In the active phase of the first stage of labour, does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS relieve pain or change its location? Does TENS delay the request for neuraxial analgesia during labour? Does TENS produce any harmful effects in the mother or the foetus? Are women in labour satisfied with the care provided? Design: Randomised trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding for some outcomes, and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants: Forty-six low-risk, primigravida parturients with a gestational age > 37 weeks, cervical dilation of 4 cm, and without the use of any medications from hospital admission until randomisation. Intervention: The principal investigator applied TENS to the experimental group for 30 minutes starting at the beginning of the active phase of labour. A second investigator assessed the outcomes in both the control and experimental groups. Both groups received routine perinatal care. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was pain severity after the intervention period, which was assessed using the 100-mm visual analogue scale. Secondary outcomes included: pain location, duration of the active phase of labour, time to pharmacological labour analgesia, mode of birth, neonatal outcomes, and the participant's satisfaction with the care provided. Results: After the intervention, a significant mean difference in change in pain of 15 mm was observed favouring the experimental group (95% CI 2 to 27. The application of TENS did not alter the location or distribution of the pain. The mean time to pharmacological analgesia after the intervention was 5.0 hours (95% CI 4.1 to 5.9 longer in the experimental group. The intervention did not significantly impact the other maternal and neonatal outcomes. Participants in both groups were satisfied with the care provided during labour. Conclusion: TENS produces a significant decrease in pain during labour and postpones the need for pharmacological

  8. A Ten-Year Reflection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillip, Cyndi

    2016-01-01

    Five initiatives launched during Cyndi Phillip's term as American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President (2006-2007) continue to have an impact on school librarians ten years later. They include the rewriting of AASL's learning standards, introduction of the SKILLS Act, the presentation of the Crystal Apple Award to Scholastic Library…

  9. Color Vision in Aniridia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedersen, Hilde R; Hagen, Lene A; Landsend, Erlend C S; Gilson, Stuart J; Utheim, Øygunn A; Utheim, Tor P; Neitz, Maureen; Baraas, Rigmor C

    2018-04-01

    To assess color vision and its association with retinal structure in persons with congenital aniridia. We included 36 persons with congenital aniridia (10-66 years), and 52 healthy, normal trichromatic controls (10-74 years) in the study. Color vision was assessed with Hardy-Rand-Rittler (HRR) pseudo-isochromatic plates (4th ed., 2002); Cambridge Color Test and a low-vision version of the Color Assessment and Diagnosis test (CAD-LV). Cone-opsin genes were analyzed to confirm normal versus congenital color vision deficiencies. Visual acuity and ocular media opacities were assessed. The central 30° of both eyes were imaged with the Heidelberg Spectralis OCT2 to grade the severity of foveal hypoplasia (FH, normal to complete: 0-4). Five participants with aniridia had cone opsin genes conferring deutan color vision deficiency and were excluded from further analysis. Of the 31 with aniridia and normal opsin genes, 11 made two or more red-green (RG) errors on HRR, four of whom also made yellow-blue (YB) errors; one made YB errors only. A total of 19 participants had higher CAD-LV RG thresholds, of which eight also had higher CAD-LV YB thresholds, than normal controls. In aniridia, the thresholds were higher along the RG than the YB axis, and those with a complete FH had significantly higher RG thresholds than those with mild FH (P = 0.038). Additional increase in YB threshold was associated with secondary ocular pathology. Arrested foveal formation and associated alterations in retinal processing are likely to be the primary reason for impaired red-green color vision in aniridia.

  10. Reduction of the elevator illusion from continued hypergravity exposure and visual error-corrective feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, R. B.; Cohen, M. M.; DeRoshia, C. W.

    1996-01-01

    Ten subjects served as their own controls in two conditions of continuous, centrifugally produced hypergravity (+2 Gz) and a 1-G control condition. Before and after exposure, open-loop measures were obtained of (1) motor control, (2) visual localization, and (3) hand-eye coordination. During exposure in the visual feedback/hypergravity condition, subjects received terminal visual error-corrective feedback from their target pointing, and in the no-visual feedback/hypergravity condition they pointed open loop. As expected, the motor control measures for both experimental conditions revealed very short lived underreaching (the muscle-loading effect) at the outset of hypergravity and an equally transient negative aftereffect on returning to 1 G. The substantial (approximately 17 degrees) initial elevator illusion experienced in both hypergravity conditions declined over the course of the exposure period, whether or not visual feedback was provided. This effect was tentatively attributed to habituation of the otoliths. Visual feedback produced a smaller additional decrement and a postexposure negative after-effect, possible evidence for visual recalibration. Surprisingly, the target-pointing error made during hypergravity in the no-visual-feedback condition was substantially less than that predicted by subjects' elevator illusion. This finding calls into question the neural outflow model as a complete explanation of this illusion.

  11. Subconscious visual cues during movement execution allow correct online choice reactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Leukel

    Full Text Available Part of the sensory information is processed by our central nervous system without conscious perception. Subconscious processing has been shown to be capable of triggering motor reactions. In the present study, we asked the question whether visual information, which is not consciously perceived, could influence decision-making in a choice reaction task. Ten healthy subjects (28 ± 5 years executed two different experimental protocols. In the Motor reaction protocol, a visual target cue was shown on a computer screen. Depending on the displayed cue, subjects had to either complete a reaching movement (go-condition or had to abort the movement (stop-condition. The cue was presented with different display durations (20-160 ms. In the second Verbalization protocol, subjects verbalized what they experienced on the screen. Again, the cue was presented with different display durations. This second protocol tested for conscious perception of the visual cue. The results of this study show that subjects achieved significantly more correct responses in the Motor reaction protocol than in the Verbalization protocol. This difference was only observed at the very short display durations of the visual cue. Since correct responses in the Verbalization protocol required conscious perception of the visual information, our findings imply that the subjects performed correct motor responses to visual cues, which they were not conscious about. It is therefore concluded that humans may reach decisions based on subconscious visual information in a choice reaction task.

  12. Supersymmetric gauged scale covariance in ten and lower dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishino, Hitoshi; Rajpoot, Subhash

    2004-01-01

    We present globally supersymmetric models of gauged scale covariance in ten, six, and four dimensions. This is an application of a recent similar gauging in three dimensions for a massive self-dual vector multiplet. In ten dimensions, we couple a single vector multiplet to another vector multiplet, where the latter gauges the scale covariance of the former. Due to scale covariance, the system does not have a Lagrangian formulation, but has only a set of field equations, like Type IIB supergravity in ten dimensions. As by-products, we construct similar models in six dimensions with N=(2,0) supersymmetry, and four dimensions with N=1 supersymmetry. We finally get a similar model with N=4 supersymmetry in four dimensions with consistent interactions that have never been known before. We expect a series of descendant theories in dimensions lower than ten by dimensional reductions. This result also indicates that similar mechanisms will work for other vector and scalar multiplets in space-time lower than ten dimensions

  13. THE EVOLUTION OF CARTOGRAPHIC VISUALIZATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    László Zentai

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The development of the digital production techniques were rapidly improved around 1980-1990 due to the requirements of information technology. Both hardware and software components were essential in the development of the technology, but the first milestone of this process was the release of personal computers. In the cartographic visualization, the GIS technologies were invented in the 1970s. However, for a very long time the development focused on the input part and on the analysis. The need for real map production features (to produce paper maps which conform to cartographic traditions in GIS software environment was raised after most of the paper maps were converted into digital ones. On the other hand, the non-GIS based map production could easily use the development of the desktop publishing technologies about ten years earlier. Nowadays the GIS-based map production offers visualization methods which do not have the antecedents in the traditional cartography. Such kinds of contemporary cartographic visualization techniques looked very trendy, but the efficiency of representation was not seriously tested. The interpretation of unusual visualization techniques can be misleading and less efficient than it was expected by the software developers. The traditional visualization techniques of thematic cartography can be successfully combined with the recent IT methods: mobile phones, tablets etc.

  14. Affordances: Ten Years On

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Jill P.; Stillman, Gloria

    2014-01-01

    Ten years ago the construct, affordance, was rising in prominence in scholarly literature. A proliferation of different uses and meanings was evident. Beginning with its origin in the work of Gibson, we traced its development and use in various scholarly fields. This paper revisits our original question with respect to its utility in mathematics…

  15. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0014 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0014 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blind... pigment gb|AAB53320.1| blue cone pigment [Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blind...ness, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blind...s), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 0.0 100% ...

  16. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-BTAU-01-2837 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-BTAU-01-2837 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness... pigment gb|AAB53320.1| blue cone pigment [Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindnes...s, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...s), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 0.0 86% ...

  17. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OGAR-01-1096 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OGAR-01-1096 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness... pigment gb|AAB53320.1| blue cone pigment [Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindnes...s, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...s), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 1e-105 63% ...

  18. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-LAFR-01-3136 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-LAFR-01-3136 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness... pigment gb|AAB53320.1| blue cone pigment [Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindnes...s, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...s), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 1e-152 85% ...

  19. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0072 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0072 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness... pigment gb|AAB53320.1| blue cone pigment [Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindnes...s, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...s), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 0.0 95% ...

  20. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-CPOR-01-1188 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-CPOR-01-1188 ref|NP_031564.1| opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness... pigment gb|AAB53320.1| blue cone pigment [Mus musculus] gb|AAH26021.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindnes...s, tritan) [Mus musculus] gb|AAH58267.1| Opsin 1 (cone pigments), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness...s), short-wave-sensitive (color blindness, tritan), isoform CRA_a [Mus musculus] NP_031564.1 1e-151 75% ...

  1. Hypoalgesia in response to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) depends on stimulation intensity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Fidelma; Leonard, Tracey; Hawthorne, Stephanie; Hughes, Ciara M; McCrum-Gardner, Evie; Johnson, Mark I; Rakel, Barbara A; Sluka, Kathleen A; Walsh, Deirdre M

    2011-08-01

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an electrophysical modality used for pain management. This study investigated the dose response of different TENS intensities on experimentally induced pressure pain. One hundred and thirty TENS naïve healthy individuals (18-64 years old; 65 males, 65 females) were randomly allocated to 5 groups (n = 26 per group): Strong Non Painful TENS; Sensory Threshold TENS; Below Sensory Threshold TENS; No Current Placebo TENS; and Transient Placebo TENS. Active TENS (80 Hz) was applied to the forearm for 30 minutes. Transient Placebo TENS was applied for 42 seconds after which the current amplitude automatically reset to 0 mA. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) were recorded from 2 points on the hand and forearm before and after TENS to measure hypoalgesia. There were significant differences between groups at both the hand and forearm (ANOVA; P = .005 and .002). At 30 minutes, there was a significant hypoalgesic effect in the Strong Non Painful TENS group compared to: Below Sensory Threshold TENS, No Current Placebo TENS and Transient Placebo TENS groups (P TENS and No Current Placebo TENS groups at the hand (P = .001). There was no significant difference between Strong Non Painful TENS and Sensory Threshold TENS groups. The area under the curve for the changes in PPT significantly correlated with the current amplitude (r(2) = .33, P = .003). These data therefore show that there is a dose-response effect of TENS with the largest effect occurring with the highest current amplitudes. This study shows a dose response for the intensity of TENS for pain relief with the strongest intensities showing the greatest effect; thus, we suggest that TENS intensity should be titrated to achieve the strongest possible intensity to achieve maximum pain relief. Copyright © 2011 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Ten Things Every Professor Should Know about Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Kenneth; Dunlap, Joanna; Stevens, Ellen

    2012-01-01

    This article describes ten key assessment practices for advancing student learning that all professors should be familiar with and strategically incorporate in their classrooms and programs. Each practice or concept is explained with examples and guidance for putting it into practice. The ten are: learning outcomes, performance assessments,…

  3. TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE-STIMULATION (TENS) IN RAYNAUDS-PHENOMENON

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    MULDER, P; DOMPELING, EC; VANSLOCHTERENVANDERBOOR, JC; KUIPERS, WD; SMIT, AJ

    Transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) has been described as resulting in vasodilatation. The effect of 2 Hz TENS of the right hand during forty-five minutes on skin temperature and plethysmography of the third digit of both hands and feet and on transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcpO2) of the right

  4. Episodic Short-Term Recognition Requires Encoding into Visual Working Memory: Evidence from Probe Recognition after Letter Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian H. Poth

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Human vision is organized in discrete processing episodes (e.g. eye fixations or task-steps. Object information must be transmitted across episodes to enable episodic short-term recognition: recognizing whether a current object has been seen in a previous episode. We ask whether episodic short-term recognition presupposes that objects have been encoded into capacity-limited visual working memory (VWM, which retains visual information for report. Alternatively, it could rely on the activation of visual features or categories that occurs before encoding into VWM. We assessed the dependence of episodic short-term recognition on VWM by a new paradigm combining letter report and probe recognition. Participants viewed displays of ten letters and reported as many as possible after a retention interval (whole report. Next, participants viewed a probe letter and indicated whether it had been one of the ten letters (probe recognition. In Experiment 1, probe recognition was more accurate for letters that had been encoded into VWM (reported letters compared with non-encoded letters (non-reported letters. Interestingly, those letters that participants reported in their whole report had been near to one another within the letter displays. This suggests that the encoding into VWM proceeded in a spatially clustered manner. In Experiment 2 participants reported only one of ten letters (partial report and probes either referred to this letter, to letters that had been near to it, or far from it. Probe recognition was more accurate for near than for far letters, although none of these letters had to be reported. These findings indicate that episodic short-term recognition is constrained to a small number of simultaneously presented objects that have been encoded into VWM.

  5. ABACC ten years applying safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palacios, Elias

    2001-01-01

    The Argentinian-Brazilian Agency for Accounting and Control of nuclear special materials has been in operations for ten years. The rational behind the creation and the work performed by the Agency during the last decade is described. (author)

  6. EEG Correlates of Ten Positive Emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xin; Yu, Jianwen; Song, Mengdi; Yu, Chun; Wang, Fei; Sun, Pei; Wang, Daifa; Zhang, Dan

    2017-01-01

    Compared with the well documented neurophysiological findings on negative emotions, much less is known about positive emotions. In the present study, we explored the EEG correlates of ten different positive emotions (joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love). A group of 20 participants were invited to watch 30 short film clips with their EEGs simultaneously recorded. Distinct topographical patterns for different positive emotions were found for the correlation coefficients between the subjective ratings on the ten positive emotions per film clip and the corresponding EEG spectral powers in different frequency bands. Based on the similarities of the participants' ratings on the ten positive emotions, these emotions were further clustered into three representative clusters, as 'encouragement' for awe, gratitude, hope, inspiration, pride, 'playfulness' for amusement, joy, interest, and 'harmony' for love, serenity. Using the EEG spectral powers as features, both the binary classification on the higher and lower ratings on these positive emotions and the binary classification between the three positive emotion clusters, achieved accuracies of approximately 80% and above. To our knowledge, our study provides the first piece of evidence on the EEG correlates of different positive emotions.

  7. Using TENS for pain control: the state of the evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vance, Carol GT; Dailey, Dana L; Rakel, Barbara A; Sluka, Kathleen A

    2014-01-01

    Summary Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a nonpharmacological intervention that activates a complex neuronal network to reduce pain by activating descending inhibitory systems in the central nervous system to reduce hyperalgesia. The evidence for TENS efficacy is conflicting and requires not only description but also critique. Population-specific systemic reviews and meta-analyses are emerging, indicating both HF and LF TENS being shown to provide analgesia, specifically when applied at a strong, nonpainful intensity. The purpose of this article is to provide a critical review of the latest basic science and clinical evidence for TENS. Additional research is necessary to determine if TENS has effects specific to mechanical stimuli and/or beyond reduction of pain and will improve activity levels, function and quality of life. PMID:24953072

  8. "Take ten minutes": a dedicated ten minute medication review reduces polypharmacy in the elderly.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Walsh, E K

    2012-02-01

    Multiple and inappropriate medications are often the cause for poor health status in the elderly. Medication reviews can improve prescribing. This study aimed to determine if a ten minute medication review by a general practitioner could reduce polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing in elderly patients. A prospective, randomised study was conducted. Patients over the age of 65 (n = 50) underwent a 10-minute medication review. Inappropriate medications, dosage errors, and discrepancies between prescribed versus actual medication being consumed were recorded. A questionnaire to assess satisfaction was completed following review. The mean number of medications taken by patients was reduced (p < 0.001). A medication was stopped in 35 (70%) patients. Inappropriate medications were detected in 27 (54%) patients and reduced (p < 0.001). Dose errors were detected in 16 (32%). A high level of patient satisfaction was reported. A ten minute medication review reduces polypharmacy, improves prescribing and is associated with high levels of patient satisfaction.

  9. "Take ten minutes": a dedicated ten minute medication review reduces polypharmacy in the elderly.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Walsh, E K

    2010-09-01

    Multiple and inappropriate medications are often the cause for poor health status in the elderly. Medication reviews can improve prescribing. This study aimed to determine if a ten minute medication review by a general practitioner could reduce polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing in elderly patients. A prospective, randomised study was conducted. Patients over the age of 65 (n = 50) underwent a 10-minute medication review. Inappropriate medications, dosage errors, and discrepancies between prescribed versus actual medication being consumed were recorded. A questionnaire to assess satisfaction was completed following review. The mean number of medications taken by patients was reduced (p < 0.001). A medication was stopped in 35 (70%) patients. Inappropriate medications were detected in 27 (54%) patients and reduced (p < 0.001). Dose errors were detected in 16 (32%). A high level of patient satisfaction was reported. A ten minute medication review reduces polypharmacy, improves prescribing and is associated with high levels of patient satisfaction.

  10. Ten Tips for Parents to Help Their Children Avoid Teen Pregnancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... we do » Resource library » Ten tips for parents Ten Tips for Parents to Help Their Children Avoid Teen Pregnancy Publication Created with Sketch. Ten Tips for Parents to Help Their Children Avoid ...

  11. Effect of transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS on hormones profile in subjects with primary dysmenorrhoea - a preliminary study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. R. A. Akinbo

    2007-01-01

    as the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin which occurs in the absence of any underlying disease. The pathogenesis is unclear, but uterine hyperactivity, elevated prostaglandin and leukotrienes levels, and hormonal level fluctuations have all been implicated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of TENS on the hormones cortisol and prolactin in individuals with PD. Methods: Plasma levels of cortisol and prolactin were studied in twenty-one (21 subjects with PD by obtaining blood samples from each subject pre-and post-TENS therapy on the first day of menstruation. The mean age of subjects was 23 (+ 2 years.  The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS was used to assess the pre-and post-treatment pain intensity.  The TENS unit was applied for a duration of 30 minutes. Results: A paired t-test showed that there was an overall reduction in the mean cortisol and prolactin from  pre treatment values of 28.45µg/dl ((5.27 and 56.81ng/ml ((31.86 to post treatment values of 27.33µg/dl ((5.13 and 53.23ng/ml ((37.63 respectively. However, these differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05.  Pain intensity was significantly reduced comparing pre and post treatment VAS scores (P = 0.001. Conclusion: The probable mechanism by which TENS effected alterations in cortisol and prolactin levels and pain reduction in subjects with PD might be through the opioid-modulating analgesia system, which releases B-endorphins and other endogenous opiates in response to pain.  This is because there is a close relationship between B-endorphin, cortisol and neurons, which secrete dopamine into the hypothalamic-pituitary-portal system.

  12. A Global System for Transportation Simulation and Visualization in Emergency Evacuation Scenarios

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Wei [ORNL; Liu, Cheng [ORNL; Thomas, Neil [ORNL; Bhaduri, Budhendra L [ORNL; Han, Lee [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)

    2015-01-01

    Simulation-based studies are frequently used for evacuation planning and decision making processes. Given the transportation systems complexity and data availability, most evacuation simulation models focus on certain geographic areas. With routine improvement of OpenStreetMap road networks and LandScanTM global population distribution data, we present WWEE, a uniform system for world-wide emergency evacuation simulations. WWEE uses unified data structure for simulation inputs. It also integrates a super-node trip distribution model as the default simulation parameter to improve the system computational performance. Two levels of visualization tools are implemented for evacuation performance analysis, including link-based macroscopic visualization and vehicle-based microscopic visualization. For left-hand and right-hand traffic patterns in different countries, the authors propose a mirror technique to experiment with both scenarios without significantly changing traffic simulation models. Ten cities in US, Europe, Middle East, and Asia are modeled for demonstration. With default traffic simulation models for fast and easy-to-use evacuation estimation and visualization, WWEE also retains the capability of interactive operation for users to adopt customized traffic simulation models. For the first time, WWEE provides a unified platform for global evacuation researchers to estimate and visualize their strategies performance of transportation systems under evacuation scenarios.

  13. An assessment of the accuracy of visual diagnosis of meconium-stained amniotic fluid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanlialp, C.; Caglar, G.S.; Tapisiz, O.L.; Avsar, A.F.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: The assessment of meconium content in the amniotic fluid depends on visual observation by clinicians at the bedside. The aim of the present study was to compare visual evaluation of meconium-stained amniotic fluid with spectrophotometer evaluation. Study Design: Ten gram of meconium was added to 100 ml of amniotic fluid and mixed. The solution was serially two-fold diluted with amniotic fluid. The serially diluted tubes' absorbance spectrum was measured at 420 nm and thus a standard scale was established. Ninety five samples of meconium- stained amniotic fluid were collected from labouring women and the grade of meconium was deter- mined visually at the bedside. The samples' absorbance spectrum was measured at 420 nm and recorded. Spectrophotometer was considered gold standard and the ranges of optical density in the standard scale was used to test the accuracy of visual categorization of the samples. In the statistical analysis chi-square test was used and significance was p<0.05. Results: The accuracy rate of visual diagnosis of meconium-stained amniotic fluid were found as statistically significant (accuracy rate=54.74%, p<0.001). Visual evaluation was correct in 19.4% of thin, 53.1 % of moderate and 90.6% of thick meconium samples when examined with spectrophotometer. Conclusion: Visually diagnosed thin meconium can be moderate or thick meconium when examined objectively. The visual diagnosis at bedside is not always reliable and should be replaced with an objective method like spectrophotometry. (author)

  14. Chernobyl ten years after

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    The accident in the fourth reactor plant in Chernobyl in Ukraine occurred ten years years ago, caused the death of 31 people while the health consequences have turned out to be difficult to assess. This review describes the accident, its consequences and effects to health, studies carried out at the present state as well as the comparison with the other accidents and disaster. (author)

  15. ANALGETSKI UCINAK TRANSAKUTNE ELEKTRICNE NERVNE STIMULACIJE (TENS)

    OpenAIRE

    ĆURKOVIĆ, B.

    1984-01-01

    Transkutana električna nervna stimulacija. (TENS) danas je široko prihvaćen terapijski postupak za suzbijanje boli. Način njezina djelovanja nije još jasno definiran, premda se većina autora priklanja centralnom mehranizmu smanjenja boli. Rezultati, u literaturi, variraju od nesignifikantno boljeg učinka od placeba do 95°/o dobrog analgetskog djelovanja. U Zavodu za reumatske bolesti i rehabilitaciju Kliničkog bolničkog centra, Zagreb, evaluiran je učinak TENS-a u bolesnika s križ...

  16. Optical and visual performance of aspheric soft contact lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efron, Suzanne; Efron, Nathan; Morgan, Philip B

    2008-03-01

    This study was conducted to investigate whether aspheric design soft contact lenses reduce ocular aberrations and result in better visual acuity and subjective appreciation of clinical performance compared with spherical soft contact lenses. A unilateral, double-masked, randomized and controlled study was undertaken in which ocular aberrations and high and low contrast logMAR visual acuity were measured on myopic subjects who wore aspheric design (Biomedics 55 Evolution, CooperVision) and spherical design (Biomedics 55, CooperVision) soft contact lenses. Ten subjects who had about -2.00 D myopia wore -2.00 D lenses and 10 subjects who had about -5.00 D myopia wore -5.00 D lenses. Measurements were made under photopic and mesopic lighting conditions. Subjects were invited to grade comfort, vision in photopic and mesopic conditions, and overall impression with the two lens types on 100 unit visual analogue scales. There was no significant difference in high contrast or low contrast visual acuity between the two lens designs of either power under photopic or mesopic conditions. Both lens designs displayed lower levels of spherical aberration compared with the "no lens" condition under photopic and mesopic light levels (p designs. There were no statistically significant differences in subjective appreciation of clinical performance between lens designs or lens powers. At least with respect to the brand of lenses tested, the fitting of aspheric design soft contact lenses does not result in superior visual acuity, aberration control, or subjective appreciation compared with equivalent spherical design soft contact lenses.

  17. Relationship between progression of visual field defect and intraocular pressure in primary open-angle glaucoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naito, Tomoko; Yoshikawa, Keiji; Mizoue, Shiro; Nanno, Mami; Kimura, Tairo; Suzumura, Hirotaka; Shiraga, Fumio

    2015-01-01

    To analyze the relationship between intraocular pressure (IOP) and the progression of visual field defects in Japanese primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients. The subjects of the study were patients undergoing treatment for POAG or NTG who had performed visual field tests at least ten times with a Humphrey field analyzer (Swedish interactive thresholding algorithm standard, C30-2 program). The progression of visual field defects was defined by a significantly negative value of the mean deviation slope at the final visual field test during the follow-up period. The relationships between the progression of visual field defects and IOP, as well as other clinical factors, were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 156 eyes of 156 patients were included in the analysis. Significant progression of visual field defects was observed in 70 eyes of 70 patients (44.9%), while no significant progression was evident in 86 eyes of 86 patients (55.1%). The eyes with visual field defect progression had significantly lower baseline IOP (Pfield defect progression than in eyes without (Pfield defects. In NTG, IOP management should take into account not only achieving the target IOP, but also minimizing the fluctuation of IOP during follow-up period.

  18. Learning Visualizations by Analogy: Promoting Visual Literacy through Visualization Morphing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruchikachorn, Puripant; Mueller, Klaus

    2015-09-01

    We propose the concept of teaching (and learning) unfamiliar visualizations by analogy, that is, demonstrating an unfamiliar visualization method by linking it to another more familiar one, where the in-betweens are designed to bridge the gap of these two visualizations and explain the difference in a gradual manner. As opposed to a textual description, our morphing explains an unfamiliar visualization through purely visual means. We demonstrate our idea by ways of four visualization pair examples: data table and parallel coordinates, scatterplot matrix and hyperbox, linear chart and spiral chart, and hierarchical pie chart and treemap. The analogy is commutative i.e. any member of the pair can be the unfamiliar visualization. A series of studies showed that this new paradigm can be an effective teaching tool. The participants could understand the unfamiliar visualization methods in all of the four pairs either fully or at least significantly better after they observed or interacted with the transitions from the familiar counterpart. The four examples suggest how helpful visualization pairings be identified and they will hopefully inspire other visualization morphings and associated transition strategies to be identified.

  19. Brain activation by visual erotic stimuli in healthy middle aged males.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, S W; Sohn, D W; Cho, Y-H; Yang, W S; Lee, K-U; Juh, R; Ahn, K-J; Chung, Y-A; Han, S-I; Lee, K H; Lee, C U; Chae, J-H

    2006-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to identify brain centers, whose activity changes are related to erotic visual stimuli in healthy, heterosexual, middle aged males. Ten heterosexual, right-handed males with normal sexual function were entered into the present study (mean age 52 years, range 46-55). All potential subjects were screened over 1 h interview, and were encouraged to fill out questionnaires including the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory. All subjects with a history of sexual arousal disorder or erectile dysfunction were excluded. We performed functional brain magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in male volunteers when an alternatively combined erotic and nonerotic film was played for 14 min and 9 s. The major areas of activation associated with sexual arousal to visual stimuli were occipitotemporal area, anterior cingulate gyrus, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, caudate nucleus. However, hypothalamus and thalamus were not activated. We suggest that the nonactivation of hypothalamus and thalamus in middle aged males may be responsible for the lesser physiological arousal in response to the erotic visual stimuli.

  20. A prospective randomized controlled study of VAX-D and TENS for the treatment of chronic low back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherry, E; Kitchener, P; Smart, R

    2001-10-01

    Low back pain is one of the most significant medical and socioeconomic problems in modern society. International guidelines call for evidence-based management for the pain and disability associated with musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to address the question of efficacy and appropriateness of vertebral axial decompression (VAX-D) therapy, a new technology that has been shown in clinical research to create negative intradiscal pressures, and has been shown to be effective in treating patients presenting with chronic low back pain (> 3 months duration) with associated leg pain. Successful outcome was defined as a 50% reduction in pain utilizing a 10 cm Visual Analog Pain Scale and an improvement in the level of functioning as measured by patient-nominated disability ratings. Patients were randomly assigned to VAX-D or to TENS which was used as a control treatment or placebo. The TENS treatment demonstrated a success rate of 0%, while VAX-D demonstrated a success rate of 68.4% (p pain and improvement in functional outcome was obtained in patients with chronic low back pain treated with VAX-D.

  1. Math for visualization, visualizing math

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijk, van J.J.; Hart, G.; Sarhangi, R.

    2013-01-01

    I present an overview of our work in visualization, and reflect on the role of mathematics therein. First, mathematics can be used as a tool to produce visualizations, which is illustrated with examples from information visualization, flow visualization, and cartography. Second, mathematics itself

  2. Migrant readers and wordless books: visual narratives’ inclusive experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giorgia Grilli

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The research here told is the Italian contribution to the international project Visual Journeys: Understanding Immigrant Children’s Response to Visual Images in Picturebooks, Conducted in Scotland, Arizona, Spain and Australia as an Observation of the Response of Migrant ten-eleven years old Readers to the Wordless Book The Arrival by Shaun Tan (2006. Reflections are made about co-construction and negotiation of meaning in a shared reading; wordless book is experienced as occasion of empowerment for those involved, giving value to individual stories and showing a positive outcome in school life, as for self-esteem and reciprocal relationships; it promotes discussion and increases interest in books, it shows an important effect on learning a foreign language and creating a group. The perspective of the whole experience is an interdisciplinary approach. The reading of wordless or silent book can be a true practice of right and belonging to the international community, and therefore a precious means for an education to global citizenship.

  3. How the Big Ten West Was Won: Football Recruiting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diehl Kevin A.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the 2017 Big Ten West Division football cycle models recruiting. The top ten recruit scores [(Rivals.com * 100 + [100 (outside surrounding; 75 (surrounding] + extra credit walk-ons (100; 75] allow proper ranking: Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota, and Purdue.

  4. 2012 Ten-year scheme of network development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-01-01

    RTE, an independent subsidiary of EDF, is the French electricity transmission system operator. It is a public service company responsible for operating, maintaining and developing the high and extra high voltage network. It guarantees the reliability and proper operation of the power network. RTE transports electricity between electricity suppliers (French and European) and consumers, whether they are electricity distributors or industrial consumers directly connected to the transmission system. The mission of RTE is to balance the electricity supply and demand in real time. With the support of the government authorities, RTE prepares a ten-year scheme of network development in France; This document presents the main electricity transport infrastructures to foresee within the ten coming years and lists the network development investments which must be realised and implemented within 3 years. The document is updated each year and comes to complement at the national level the European ten year network development plan (TYNDP) and the European regional plans as provided for in the 2009/72/CE European directive

  5. Ten-year scheme of network development - 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    RTE, an independent subsidiary of EDF, is the French electricity transmission system operator. It is a public service company responsible for operating, maintaining and developing the high and extra high voltage network. It guarantees the reliability and proper operation of the power network. RTE transports electricity between electricity suppliers (French and European) and consumers, whether they are electricity distributors or industrial consumers directly connected to the transmission system. The mission of RTE is to balance the electricity supply and demand in real time. With the support of the government authorities, RTE prepares a ten-year scheme of network development in France; This document presents the main electricity transport infrastructures to foresee within the ten coming years and lists the network development investments which must be realised and implemented within 3 years. The document is updated each year and comes to complement at the national level the European ten year network development plan (TYNDP) and the European regional plans as provided for in the 2009/72/CE European directive

  6. Optogenetik bringer neurale mekanismer frem i lyset og kan blive en ny terapiform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Axelsen, Tobias Melton; Navntoft, Charlotte Amalie Emdal; Christiansen, Søren Hofman

    2015-01-01

    Optogenetics is an emergent technology that combines light-sensitive proteins derived from algae, so-called opsins, with genetics. Viral vectors encoding opsins are injected into selective brain regions whereby specific cell populations can be controlled with high precision light pulses delivered...

  7. Visual art and visual perception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koenderink, Jan J.

    2015-01-01

    Visual art and visual perception ‘Visual art’ has become a minor cul-de-sac orthogonal to THE ART of the museum directors and billionaire collectors. THE ART is conceptual, instead of visual. Among its cherished items are the tins of artist’s shit (Piero Manzoni, 1961, Merda d’Artista) “worth their

  8. Annual incidences of visual impairment during 10-year period in Mie prefecture, Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikesugi, Kengo; Ichio, Takako; Tsukitome, Hideyuki; Kondo, Mineo

    2017-07-01

    To determine the annual incidence of visual impairment in a Japanese population during a 10-year period. We examined the physical disability certificates issued yearly between 2004 and 2013 in Mie prefecture, Japan. During this period 2468 visually impaired people were registered under the newly defined Act on Welfare of the Physically Disabled Persons' criteria. The age, sex distribution, and causes of visual impairment were determined from the certificates. The major causes of visual impairment during the ten-year period were glaucoma (23.3%), diabetic retinopathy (17.3%), retinitis pigmentosa (12.2%), macular degeneration (9.0%), chorioretinal degeneration or high myopia (7.4%), optic atrophy (5.8%), stroke or brain tumor (5.4%) and cataracts (3.7%). The incidence of glaucoma was significantly higher throughout the period (2004-2013), and that of diabetic retinopathy was lower between 2007 and 2013. The incidence of retinitis pigmentosa did not change significantly during the 10-year period. The incidence of macular degeneration tended to increase between 2004 and 2007, but it decreased significantly between 2007 and 2013. The results indicate that in Japan, the rates of the major causes of visual impairment altered in the most recent 10-year period reflecting the recent changes in the social background and advances in ocular and systemic treatment.

  9. Top-Ten IT Issues: 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agee, Anne Scrivener; Yang, Catherine

    2009-01-01

    This article presents the top-ten IT-related issues in terms of strategic importance to the institution, as revealed by the tenth annual EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey. These IT-related issues include: (1) Funding IT; (2) Administrative/ERP Information Systems; (3) Security; (4) Infrastructure/Cyberinfrastructure; (5) Teaching and Learning with…

  10. HD-MTL: Hierarchical Deep Multi-Task Learning for Large-Scale Visual Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianping; Zhao, Tianyi; Kuang, Zhenzhong; Zheng, Yu; Zhang, Ji; Yu, Jun; Peng, Jinye

    2017-02-09

    In this paper, a hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm is developed to support large-scale visual recognition (e.g., recognizing thousands or even tens of thousands of atomic object classes automatically). First, multiple sets of multi-level deep features are extracted from different layers of deep convolutional neural networks (deep CNNs), and they are used to achieve more effective accomplishment of the coarseto- fine tasks for hierarchical visual recognition. A visual tree is then learned by assigning the visually-similar atomic object classes with similar learning complexities into the same group, which can provide a good environment for determining the interrelated learning tasks automatically. By leveraging the inter-task relatedness (inter-class similarities) to learn more discriminative group-specific deep representations, our deep multi-task learning algorithm can train more discriminative node classifiers for distinguishing the visually-similar atomic object classes effectively. Our hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm can integrate two discriminative regularization terms to control the inter-level error propagation effectively, and it can provide an end-to-end approach for jointly learning more representative deep CNNs (for image representation) and more discriminative tree classifier (for large-scale visual recognition) and updating them simultaneously. Our incremental deep learning algorithms can effectively adapt both the deep CNNs and the tree classifier to the new training images and the new object classes. Our experimental results have demonstrated that our HD-MTL algorithm can achieve very competitive results on improving the accuracy rates for large-scale visual recognition.

  11. Identification of the 11-cis-specific retinyl-ester synthase in retinal Müller cells as multifunctional O-acyltransferase (MFAT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaylor, Joanna J.; Cook, Jeremy D.; Makshanoff, Jacob; Bischoff, Nicholas; Yong, Jennifer; Travis, Gabriel H.

    2014-01-01

    Absorption of a photon by a rhodopsin or cone-opsin pigment isomerizes its 11-cis-retinaldehyde (11-cis-RAL) chromophore to all-trans-retinaldehyde (all-trans-RAL), which dissociates after a brief period of activation. Light sensitivity is restored to the resulting apo-opsin when it recombines with another 11-cis-RAL. Conversion of all-trans-RAL to 11-cis-RAL is carried out by an enzyme pathway called the visual cycle in cells of the retinal pigment epithelium. A second visual cycle is present in Müller cells of the retina. The retinol isomerase for this noncanonical pathway is dihydroceramide desaturase (DES1), which catalyzes equilibrium isomerization of retinol. Because 11-cis-retinol (11-cis-ROL) constitutes only a small fraction of total retinols in an equilibrium mixture, a subsequent step involving selective removal of 11-cis-ROL is required to drive synthesis of 11-cis-retinoids for production of visual chromophore. Selective esterification of 11-cis-ROL is one possibility. Crude homogenates of chicken retinas rapidly convert all-trans-ROL to 11-cis-retinyl esters (11-cis-REs) with minimal formation of other retinyl-ester isomers. This enzymatic activity implies the existence of an 11-cis-specific retinyl-ester synthase in Müller cells. Here, we evaluated multifunctional O-acyltransferase (MFAT) as a candidate for this 11-cis-RE-synthase. MFAT exhibited much higher catalytic efficiency as a synthase of 11-cis-REs versus other retinyl-ester isomers. Further, we show that MFAT is expressed in Müller cells. Finally, homogenates of cells coexpressing DES1 and MFAT catalyzed the conversion of all-trans-ROL to 11-cis-RP, similar to what we observed with chicken-retina homogenates. MFAT is therefore an excellent candidate for the retinyl-ester synthase that cooperates with DES1 to drive synthesis of 11-cis-retinoids by mass action. PMID:24799687

  12. Fabrication of ten-fold photonic quasicrystalline structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    XiaoHong Sun

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Compared to periodic crystals, quasicrystals have higher point group symmetry and are more favorable in achieving complete band-gaps. In this report, a top-cut prism interferometer is designed to fabricate ten-fold photonic quasicrystalline structures. By optimizing the exposing conditions and material characteristics, appropriate quasicrystals have been obtained in the SU8 photoresist films. Atomic Force Microscopy and laser diffraction are used to characterize the fabricated structures. The measurement results show the consistence between the theoretical design and experiments. This will provide guidance for the large-area and fast production of ten-fold quasicrystalline structures with high quality.

  13. Visualization rhetoric: framing effects in narrative visualization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hullman, Jessica; Diakopoulos, Nicholas

    2011-12-01

    Narrative visualizations combine conventions of communicative and exploratory information visualization to convey an intended story. We demonstrate visualization rhetoric as an analytical framework for understanding how design techniques that prioritize particular interpretations in visualizations that "tell a story" can significantly affect end-user interpretation. We draw a parallel between narrative visualization interpretation and evidence from framing studies in political messaging, decision-making, and literary studies. Devices for understanding the rhetorical nature of narrative information visualizations are presented, informed by the rigorous application of concepts from critical theory, semiotics, journalism, and political theory. We draw attention to how design tactics represent additions or omissions of information at various levels-the data, visual representation, textual annotations, and interactivity-and how visualizations denote and connote phenomena with reference to unstated viewing conventions and codes. Classes of rhetorical techniques identified via a systematic analysis of recent narrative visualizations are presented, and characterized according to their rhetorical contribution to the visualization. We describe how designers and researchers can benefit from the potentially positive aspects of visualization rhetoric in designing engaging, layered narrative visualizations and how our framework can shed light on how a visualization design prioritizes specific interpretations. We identify areas where future inquiry into visualization rhetoric can improve understanding of visualization interpretation. © 2011 IEEE

  14. Ten into four won't go

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freedman, D.Z.; West, P.C.

    1989-01-01

    It is shown that nontrivial spontaneous compactification of ten-dimensional N = 1 supergravity with or without Yang-Mills matter is not possible unless maximal symmetry (i.e. Lorentz invariance) is violated in the four-dimensional spacetime

  15. Critical Studies on Men in Ten European Countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pringle, Keith; Hearn, Jeff (and 13 other network partners)

    2002-01-01

    This article is one the work of The European Research Network on Men in Europe project “The Social Problem and Societal Problematization of Men and Masculinities” (2000-2003), funded by the European Commission. The Network comprises women and men researchers with range of disciplinary backgrounds...... of statistical sources on men's practices in the ten countries, are presented. This is the second of four articles reviewing critical studies on men in the ten countries through different methods and approaches....

  16. Learning about the scale of the solar system using digital planetarium visualizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Ka Chun; Sahami, Kamran; Dove, James

    2017-07-01

    We studied the use of a digital planetarium for teaching relative distances and sizes in introductory undergraduate astronomy classes. Inspired in part by the classic short film The Powers of Ten and large physical scale models of the Solar System that can be explored on foot, we created lectures using virtual versions of these two pedagogical approaches for classes that saw either an immersive treatment in the planetarium or a non-immersive version in the regular classroom (with N = 973 students participating in total). Students who visited the planetarium had not only the greatest learning gains, but their performance increased with time, whereas students who saw the same visuals projected onto a flat display in their classroom showed less retention over time. The gains seen in the students who visited the planetarium reveal that this medium is a powerful tool for visualizing scale over multiple orders of magnitude. However the modest gains for the students in the regular classroom also show the utility of these visualization approaches for the broader category of classroom physics simulations.

  17. Nonresponse Error in Mail Surveys: Top Ten Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeanette M. Daly

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Conducting mail surveys can result in nonresponse error, which occurs when the potential participant is unwilling to participate or impossible to contact. Nonresponse can result in a reduction in precision of the study and may bias results. The purpose of this paper is to describe and make readers aware of a top ten list of mailed survey problems affecting the response rate encountered over time with different research projects, while utilizing the Dillman Total Design Method. Ten nonresponse error problems were identified, such as inserter machine gets sequence out of order, capitalization in databases, and mailing discarded by postal service. These ten mishaps can potentiate nonresponse errors, but there are ways to minimize their frequency. Suggestions offered stem from our own experiences during research projects. Our goal is to increase researchers' knowledge of nonresponse error problems and to offer solutions which can decrease nonresponse error in future projects.

  18. Sparsity-regularized HMAX for visual recognition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolin Hu

    Full Text Available About ten years ago, HMAX was proposed as a simple and biologically feasible model for object recognition, based on how the visual cortex processes information. However, the model does not encompass sparse firing, which is a hallmark of neurons at all stages of the visual pathway. The current paper presents an improved model, called sparse HMAX, which integrates sparse firing. This model is able to learn higher-level features of objects on unlabeled training images. Unlike most other deep learning models that explicitly address global structure of images in every layer, sparse HMAX addresses local to global structure gradually along the hierarchy by applying patch-based learning to the output of the previous layer. As a consequence, the learning method can be standard sparse coding (SSC or independent component analysis (ICA, two techniques deeply rooted in neuroscience. What makes SSC and ICA applicable at higher levels is the introduction of linear higher-order statistical regularities by max pooling. After training, high-level units display sparse, invariant selectivity for particular individuals or for image categories like those observed in human inferior temporal cortex (ITC and medial temporal lobe (MTL. Finally, on an image classification benchmark, sparse HMAX outperforms the original HMAX by a large margin, suggesting its great potential for computer vision.

  19. Visual Temporal Acuity Is Related to Auditory Speech Perception Abilities in Cochlear Implant Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahn, Kelly N; Stevenson, Ryan A; Wallace, Mark T

    Despite significant improvements in speech perception abilities following cochlear implantation, many prelingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) recipients continue to rely heavily on visual information to develop speech and language. Increased reliance on visual cues for understanding spoken language could lead to the development of unique audiovisual integration and visual-only processing abilities in these individuals. Brain imaging studies have demonstrated that good CI performers, as indexed by auditory-only speech perception abilities, have different patterns of visual cortex activation in response to visual and auditory stimuli as compared with poor CI performers. However, no studies have examined whether speech perception performance is related to any type of visual processing abilities following cochlear implantation. The purpose of the present study was to provide a preliminary examination of the relationship between clinical, auditory-only speech perception tests, and visual temporal acuity in prelingually deafened adult CI users. It was hypothesized that prelingually deafened CI users, who exhibit better (i.e., more acute) visual temporal processing abilities would demonstrate better auditory-only speech perception performance than those with poorer visual temporal acuity. Ten prelingually deafened adult CI users were recruited for this study. Participants completed a visual temporal order judgment task to quantify visual temporal acuity. To assess auditory-only speech perception abilities, participants completed the consonant-nucleus-consonant word recognition test and the AzBio sentence recognition test. Results were analyzed using two-tailed partial Pearson correlations, Spearman's rho correlations, and independent samples t tests. Visual temporal acuity was significantly correlated with auditory-only word and sentence recognition abilities. In addition, proficient CI users, as assessed via auditory-only speech perception performance, demonstrated

  20. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OLAT-05-0026 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OLAT-05-0026 gb|AAF63529.1|AF247118_1 putative blue sensitive opsin SWS-2B [Metriaclima...b|AAK06661.1|AF317674_1 putative blue sensitive opsin SWS-2B [Metriaclima zebra] AAF63529.1 1e-176 82% ...

  1. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-TNIG-11-0028 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-TNIG-11-0028 gb|AAF63529.1|AF247118_1 putative blue sensitive opsin SWS-2B [Metriaclima...b|AAK06661.1|AF317674_1 putative blue sensitive opsin SWS-2B [Metriaclima zebra] AAF63529.1 1e-166 78% ...

  2. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-FRUB-02-0289 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-FRUB-02-0289 gb|AAF63529.1|AF247118_1 putative blue sensitive opsin SWS-2B [Metriaclima...b|AAK06661.1|AF317674_1 putative blue sensitive opsin SWS-2B [Metriaclima zebra] AAF63529.1 1e-168 79% ...

  3. Design and Evaluation on the Mobile Application of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Ching-Lung; Lee, Li-Hui; Cheng, Yu-Ting

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to design a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation Application (TENS App) according to the suggestions from potential users. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first App including meridian and acupoints for TENS. After its development, there are eight participants recruited for evaluating the usability. Despite two out of eight users reporting that the typical TENS system requires lower cost and has better functionality than TENS App, the results show that almost seventy percent of participants have a better perception of TENS App on price, functionality, convenience, operational ability, and quality. However, participants still reported concerns about the safety issue of adopting TENS App. Therefore, for people who are the first time or unfamiliar with TENS App, instructions from occupational or physical therapists are recommended. We conclude that by using TENS App, users can not only use the portable electrotherapy devices at anyplace, but also reduce their outpatient visits.

  4. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic low-back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khadilkar, A; Milne, S; Brosseau, L; Robinson, V; Saginur, M; Shea, B; Tugwell, P; Wells, G

    2005-07-20

    Chronic low-back pain (LBP) affects a significant proportion of the population. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) was introduced more than 30 years ago as an adjunct to the pharmacological management of pain. However, despite its widespread use, the usefulness of TENS in chronic LBP is still controversial. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of TENS in the management of chronic LBP. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 2, 2005), MEDLINE, EMBASE and PEDro up to April 1, 2005. Only randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of TENS on chronic LBP were included. Abstracts were excluded unless further data could be obtained from the authors. Two reviewers independently selected trials and extracted data using predetermined forms. Heterogeneity was tested with Cochrane's Q test. A fixed effect model was used throughout for calculating continuous variables, except where heterogeneity existed, in which case, a random effects model was used. Results are presented as weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), where the difference between the treated and control groups was weighted by the inverse of the variance. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated by dividing the difference between the treated and control by the baseline variance. SMD were used when different scales were used to measure the same concept. Dichotomous outcomes were analyzed with odds ratios. The only two RCTs (175 patients) meeting eligibility criteria differed in study design, methodological quality, inclusion and exclusion criteria, type and method of TENS application, treatment schedule, co-interventions and final outcomes. In one RCT, TENS produced significantly greater pain relief than the placebo control. However, in the other RCT, no statistically significant differences between treatment and control groups were shown for multiple outcome measures. Pre

  5. How to measure distinct components of visual attention fast and reliably

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vangkilde, Signe Allerup; Kyllingsbæk, Søren; Habekost, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    Measuring different attentional processes in a fast and reliable way is important in both clinical and experimental settings. However, most tests of visual attention are either lengthy or lack sensitivity, specificity, and reliability. To address this we developed a ten minute test procedure...... for the Swedish Betula-project, a longitudinal study investigating changes in cognitive functions over the adult life span (Nilsson et al., 2004). The test consists of a computer-based letter recognition task with stimulus displays of varied durations followed by pattern masks or a blank screen. The temporal...

  6. Visual Analysis Based on the Data of Chinese Surveying and Mapping Journals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jing; Liu, Haiyan; Guo, Wenyue; Yu, Anzhu

    2016-06-01

    Taking four influential Chinese surveying and mapping journals as the data source, 5863 papers published during the period of 2003-2013 were obtained. Using the method of bibliometrics and visual analysis, summarizing the surveying and mapping papers in the past ten years (2003-2013), research themes, authors, and geographical distribution were analyzed. In the study, the papers of geodesy, cartography and GIS are 59.9%, more than half of all the papers. We also determine that the core author group has 131 authors, mainly of whom are from big cities. 90% of top ten cities on the number of publishing papers are capital cities or municipalities directly under the central government.In conclusion, we found that the research focus was different every year, and the research content was richness, the content of geodesy, cartography and GIS were widely researched, and the development of surveying and mapping is imbalanced in China.

  7. DataHigh: Graphical user interface for visualizing and interacting with high-dimensional neural activity

    OpenAIRE

    Cowley, Benjamin R.; Kaufman, Matthew T.; Churchland, Mark M.; Ryu, Stephen I.; Shenoy, Krishna V.; Yu, Byron M.

    2012-01-01

    The activity of tens to hundreds of neurons can be succinctly summarized by a smaller number of latent variables extracted using dimensionality reduction methods. These latent variables define a reduced-dimensional space in which we can study how population activity varies over time, across trials, and across experimental conditions. Ideally, we would like to visualize the population activity directly in the reduced-dimensional space, whose optimal dimensionality (as determined from the data)...

  8. Visual Impairment Registry of Patients from North Kolkata, Eastern India: A Hospital-based Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandyopadhyay, Sabyasachi; Bandyopadhyay, Samir Kumar; Biswas, Jaya; Saha Dutta Chowdhury, Mita; Dey, Asim Kumar; Chakrabarti, Asim

    2018-01-01

    To study the demographic profile, severity and causes of visual impairment among registered patients in a tertiary care hospital in north Kolkata, eastern India, and to assess the magnitude of under-registration in that population. This is a retrospective analytical study. A review of all visually impaired patients registered at our tertiary care hospital during a ten-year period from January 2005 to December 2014, which is entitled for certification of people of north Kolkata, eastern India (with a population denominator of 1.1 million), was performed. Overall, 2472 eyes of 1236 patients were analyzed in terms of demographic characteristics, cause of visual impairment, and percentage of visual disability as per the guidelines established by the government of India. Male patients (844, 68.28%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 65.69-70.87) registered more often than female patients (392; 31.72%, P = 0.0004). The registration rate for visual impairment was 11.24 per 100,000 per annum; this is not the true incidence rate, as both new patients and those visiting for renewal of certification were included in the study. Optic atrophy was the most common cause of visual impairment (384 eyes, 15.53%; 95% CI, 14.1-16.96). Commonest cause of visual impairment was optic atrophy followed by microphthalmos. Under-registration is a prevalent problem as the registration system is voluntary rather than mandatory, and female patients are more likely to be unregistered in this area.

  9. Intraperitoneal injection of technetium-99m sulfur colloid in visualization of a peritoneo-vaginalis connection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ducassou, D.; Vuillemin, L.; Wone, C.; Ragnaud, J.M.; Brendel, A.J.

    1984-01-01

    Ten minutes after an intraperitoneal infusion of Tc-99m sulfur colloid, a gamma camera was used to obtain anterior abdominal views. This visualized a peritoneo-scrotal communication in an 80-yr-old patient. He had developed extensive edema of the genitals and lower limbs after about 6 wk of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. At operation the communication was confirmed and closed. A repeat test verified the success of operation

  10. Mid-term evaluation of ten National Research schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gustafsson, Göran; Dahl, Hanne Marlene; Gustafsson, Christina

    the scheme was launched, the Research Council has issued three calls for proposals and allocated grants to a total of 22 national research schools. Five were started up in 2009, ten in 2013 and seven in 2015. A Nordic scientific programme committee was appointed in 2013, with responsibility for assessing...... grant applications, monitoring the progress of the FORSKERSKOLER scheme and serving as the evaluation panel for the mid-term evaluation in 2013 and in 2016/2017. The task of the evaluation panel has been to: 1) evaluate the quality of and progress achieved by the ten research schools which were awarded...... funding in 2012 and launched in 2013; and 2) to provide recommendations as to whether funding should be continued to cover the full eight-year period or terminated after five years. Continued funding is recommended for all ten schools to cover the full eight-year period, according to the proposed budget...

  11. Evolutionary changes of multiple visual pigment genes in the complete genome of Pacific bluefin tuna.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Yoji; Mori, Kazuki; Saitoh, Kenji; Oshima, Kenshiro; Mekuchi, Miyuki; Sugaya, Takuma; Shigenobu, Yuya; Ojima, Nobuhiko; Muta, Shigeru; Fujiwara, Atushi; Yasuike, Motoshige; Oohara, Ichiro; Hirakawa, Hideki; Chowdhury, Vishwajit Sur; Kobayashi, Takanori; Nakajima, Kazuhiro; Sano, Motohiko; Wada, Tokio; Tashiro, Kosuke; Ikeo, Kazuho; Hattori, Masahira; Kuhara, Satoru; Gojobori, Takashi; Inouye, Kiyoshi

    2013-07-02

    Tunas are migratory fishes in offshore habitats and top predators with unique features. Despite their ecological importance and high market values, the open-ocean lifestyle of tuna, in which effective sensing systems such as color vision are required for capture of prey, has been poorly understood. To elucidate the genetic and evolutionary basis of optic adaptation of tuna, we determined the genome sequence of the Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis), using next-generation sequencing technology. A total of 26,433 protein-coding genes were predicted from 16,802 assembled scaffolds. From these, we identified five common fish visual pigment genes: red-sensitive (middle/long-wavelength sensitive; M/LWS), UV-sensitive (short-wavelength sensitive 1; SWS1), blue-sensitive (SWS2), rhodopsin (RH1), and green-sensitive (RH2) opsin genes. Sequence comparison revealed that tuna's RH1 gene has an amino acid substitution that causes a short-wave shift in the absorption spectrum (i.e., blue shift). Pacific bluefin tuna has at least five RH2 paralogs, the most among studied fishes; four of the proteins encoded may be tuned to blue light at the amino acid level. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis suggested that gene conversions have occurred in each of the SWS2 and RH2 loci in a short period. Thus, Pacific bluefin tuna has undergone evolutionary changes in three genes (RH1, RH2, and SWS2), which may have contributed to detecting blue-green contrast and measuring the distance to prey in the blue-pelagic ocean. These findings provide basic information on behavioral traits of predatory fish and, thereby, could help to improve the technology to culture such fish in captivity for resource management.

  12. Observations of visual sensations produced by Cerenkov radiation from high-energy electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steidley, K.D.; Eastman, R.M.; Stabile, R.J.

    1989-01-01

    Ten cancer patients whose eyes were therapeutically irradiated with 6-18 MeV electrons reported visual light sensations. Nine reported seeing blue light and one reported seeing white light. Controls reported seeing no light. Additionally, tests with patients ruled out the x-ray contamination of the electron beam as being important. The photon yield due to Cerenkov radiation produced by radium and its daughters for both electrons and gamma rays was calculated; it was found to account for a turn-of-the-century human observation of the radium phosphene. We conclude that the dominant mechanism of this phosphene is Cerenkov radiation, primarily from betas. From our own patient data, based on the color seen and the Cerenkov production rates, we conclude that the dominant mechanism is Cerenkov radiation and that high-energy electrons are an example of particle induced visual sensations

  13. Profiling agricultural land cover change in the North Central U.S. using ten years of the Cropland Data Layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandborn, A.; Ebinger, L.

    2016-12-01

    The Cropland Data Layer (CDL), produced by the USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service, provides annual, georeferenced crop specific land cover data over the contiguous United States. Several analyses were performed on ten years (2007-2016) of CDL data in order to visualize and quantify agricultural change over the North Central region (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota). Crop masks were derived from the CDL and layered to produce a ten-year time stack of corn, soybeans, and spring wheat at 30m spatial resolution. Through numerous image analyses, a temporal profile of each crop type was compiled and portrayed cartographically. For each crop, analyses included calculating the mean center of crop area over the ten year sequence, identifying the first and latest year the crop was grown on each pixel, and distinguishing crop rotation patterns and replacement statistics. Results show a clear north-western expansion trend for corn and soybeans, and a western migration trend for spring wheat. While some change may be due to commonly practiced crop rotation, this analysis shows that crop footprints have extended into areas that were previously other crops, idle cropland, and pasture/rangeland. Possible factors contributing to this crop migration pattern include profit advantages of row crops over small grains, improved crop genetics, climate change, and farm management program changes. Identifying and mapping these crop planting differences will better inform agricultural best practices, help to monitor the latest crop migration patterns, and present researchers with a way to quantitatively measure and forecast future agricultural trends.

  14. Ten out of ten for LHC decapole magnets

    CERN Multimedia

    2001-01-01

    CERN's Albert Ijspeert (left) and Avinash Puntambekar of the Indian CAT laboratory with the ten Indian decapole magnets on the test bench. Tests will be carried out by the LHC-MTA group. A batch of 10 superconducting decapole magnets for the LHC has just arrived at CERN from India. These will be used to correct for slight imperfections in the dipole magnets that will steer proton beams around CERN's new accelerator. All magnets have slight imperfections in the fields they produce, and in the LHC dipoles these will be corrected for using sextupoles and decapoles. The sextupoles were the first LHC magnets to be given the production green-light following successful tests of pre-series magnets last year (Bulletin 21/2000, 22 May 2000). Now it is the turn of pre-series decapoles to go on trial at CERN. Of the LHC's 1232 dipole magnets, half will use sextupole correctors only and the other half will use both sextupoles and decapoles. That means that a total of 616 pairs of decapoles are needed. Like the sextupole...

  15. Gender-specific effects of emotional modulation on visual temporal order thresholds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Wei; Zhang, Jiyuan; Bao, Yan

    2015-09-01

    Emotions affect temporal information processing in the low-frequency time window of a few seconds, but little is known about their effect in the high-frequency domain of some tens of milliseconds. The present study aims to investigate whether negative and positive emotional states influence the ability to discriminate the temporal order of visual stimuli, and whether gender plays a role in temporal processing. Due to the hemispheric lateralization of emotion, a hemispheric asymmetry between the left and the right visual field might be expected. Using a block design, subjects were primed with neutral, negative and positive emotional pictures before performing temporal order judgment tasks. Results showed that male subjects exhibited similarly reduced order thresholds under negative and positive emotional states, while female subjects demonstrated increased threshold under positive emotional state and reduced threshold under negative emotional state. Besides, emotions influenced female subjects more intensely than male subjects, and no hemispheric lateralization was observed. These observations indicate an influence of emotional states on temporal order processing of visual stimuli, and they suggest a gender difference, which is possibly associated with a different emotional stability.

  16. 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.

  17. Ten years after the Jali Commission

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ten years have lapsed since the Jali Commission's final report became publicly available, and it is therefore an .... as the 'core business' of the department. This was seen as .... the 2009/10–2013/14 DCS Strategic Plan did the department ...

  18. Early Predictors of Ten-Year Course in First-Episode Psychosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Svein; Melle, Ingrid; Johannessen, Jan Olav

    2016-01-01

    , five, and ten years (N=186 at ten years). Time in psychosis was defined as time with scores ≥4 on any of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale items P1, P3, P5, P6, and G9. Evaluations were retrospective, based on clinical interviews and all available clinical information. During the first two years......, patients were also evaluated by their clinicians at least biweekly. Baseline and early-course predictors of long-term course were identified with linear mixed-model analyses. RESULTS: Four variables provided significant, additive predictions of longer time in psychosis during the ten-year follow...

  19. Evaluating the Performance of a Visually Guided Hearing Aid Using a Dynamic Auditory-Visual Word Congruence Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roverud, Elin; Best, Virginia; Mason, Christine R; Streeter, Timothy; Kidd, Gerald

    2017-12-15

    The "visually guided hearing aid" (VGHA), consisting of a beamforming microphone array steered by eye gaze, is an experimental device being tested for effectiveness in laboratory settings. Previous studies have found that beamforming without visual steering can provide significant benefits (relative to natural binaural listening) for speech identification in spatialized speech or noise maskers when sound sources are fixed in location. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of the VGHA in listening conditions in which target speech could switch locations unpredictably, requiring visual steering of the beamforming. To address this aim, the present study tested an experimental simulation of the VGHA in a newly designed dynamic auditory-visual word congruence task. Ten young normal-hearing (NH) and 11 young hearing-impaired (HI) adults participated. On each trial, three simultaneous spoken words were presented from three source positions (-30, 0, and 30 azimuth). An auditory-visual word congruence task was used in which participants indicated whether there was a match between the word printed on a screen at a location corresponding to the target source and the spoken target word presented acoustically from that location. Performance was compared for a natural binaural condition (stimuli presented using impulse responses measured on KEMAR), a simulated VGHA condition (BEAM), and a hybrid condition that combined lowpass-filtered KEMAR and highpass-filtered BEAM information (BEAMAR). In some blocks, the target remained fixed at one location across trials, and in other blocks, the target could transition in location between one trial and the next with a fixed but low probability. Large individual variability in performance was observed. There were significant benefits for the hybrid BEAMAR condition relative to the KEMAR condition on average for both NH and HI groups when the targets were fixed. Although not apparent in the averaged data, some

  20. Scientific visualization uncertainty, multifield, biomedical, and scalable visualization

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Min; Johnson, Christopher; Kaufman, Arie; Hagen, Hans

    2014-01-01

    Based on the seminar that took place in Dagstuhl, Germany in June 2011, this contributed volume studies the four important topics within the scientific visualization field: uncertainty visualization, multifield visualization, biomedical visualization and scalable visualization. • Uncertainty visualization deals with uncertain data from simulations or sampled data, uncertainty due to the mathematical processes operating on the data, and uncertainty in the visual representation, • Multifield visualization addresses the need to depict multiple data at individual locations and the combination of multiple datasets, • Biomedical is a vast field with select subtopics addressed from scanning methodologies to structural applications to biological applications, • Scalability in scientific visualization is critical as data grows and computational devices range from hand-held mobile devices to exascale computational platforms. Scientific Visualization will be useful to practitioners of scientific visualization, ...

  1. Ten years of nuclear power

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1964-08-15

    Ten years have elapsed since the world's first nuclear power station began to supply electricity in Russia, and this in turn marked the end of a twelve year stage following the first controlled nuclear chain reaction at Chicago. These periods mark major stages in the development of atomic energy from the realm of abstract ideas to that of everyday industrial application. They followed a period of fundamental research and laboratory work, culminating in Enrico Fermi's demonstration of a system whereby the forces of the atom could be brought under control. Then it was necessary to find ways and means of using the chain reaction for practical purposes and on an industrial scale. And after this had been shown in 1954 to be technically possible, it had still to be developed into an economic process. The nuclear power station has proved itself from the technical and engineering standpoint. The third phase of development has been to bring it to the stage of being economically competitive with alternative sources of energy, and it would appear that we are now reaching that goal - though more slowly than had been envisaged ten years ago

  2. Von Blüten, Göttern und Gelehrten

    OpenAIRE

    Zotter, Astrid

    2013-01-01

    Der Sanskrittext Puṣpacintāmaṇi (PuCi) behandelt Blüten als Darbringungen (upacāra) im wichtigsten hinduistischen Verehrungsritual, der pūjā. In ca. 400 Strophen werden über 200 Namen von Blüten genannt und für verschiedene Gottheiten und pūjās als geeignete oder ungeeignete Gaben vorgeschrieben. Der Text ist eine Kompilation (Nibandha), in der die Inhalte aus 47 namentlich genannten Quellentexten referiert werden. Ziel der Dissertation ist es nicht nur, diesen Text, der 1966 zum ersten Ma...

  3. Updating of visual orientation in a gravity-based reference frame.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niehof, Nynke; Tramper, Julian J; Doeller, Christian F; Medendorp, W Pieter

    2017-10-01

    The brain can use multiple reference frames to code line orientation, including head-, object-, and gravity-centered references. If these frames change orientation, their representations must be updated to keep register with actual line orientation. We tested this internal updating during head rotation in roll, exploiting the rod-and-frame effect: The illusory tilt of a vertical line surrounded by a tilted visual frame. If line orientation is stored relative to gravity, these distortions should also affect the updating process. Alternatively, if coding is head- or frame-centered, updating errors should be related to the changes in their orientation. Ten subjects were instructed to memorize the orientation of a briefly flashed line, surrounded by a tilted visual frame, then rotate their head, and subsequently judge the orientation of a second line relative to the memorized first while the frame was upright. Results showed that updating errors were mostly related to the amount of subjective distortion of gravity at both the initial and final head orientation, rather than to the amount of intervening head rotation. In some subjects, a smaller part of the updating error was also related to the change of visual frame orientation. We conclude that the brain relies primarily on a gravity-based reference to remember line orientation during head roll.

  4. Attention and visual memory in visualization and computer graphics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Healey, Christopher G; Enns, James T

    2012-07-01

    A fundamental goal of visualization is to produce images of data that support visual analysis, exploration, and discovery of novel insights. An important consideration during visualization design is the role of human visual perception. How we "see" details in an image can directly impact a viewer's efficiency and effectiveness. This paper surveys research on attention and visual perception, with a specific focus on results that have direct relevance to visualization and visual analytics. We discuss theories of low-level visual perception, then show how these findings form a foundation for more recent work on visual memory and visual attention. We conclude with a brief overview of how knowledge of visual attention and visual memory is being applied in visualization and graphics. We also discuss how challenges in visualization are motivating research in psychophysics.

  5. Kaluza-Klein supergravity in ten dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huq, M.; Namazie, M.A.

    1983-11-01

    We construct a massive version of N=2 supergravity in ten dimensions by compactification of the eleven dimensional, N=1 theory. This theory describes the usual N=2 massless super-multiplet, in addition to which there is an infinite tower of massive, charged N=2 supermultiplets. (author)

  6. Ten themes of viscous liquid dynamics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dyre, J. C.

    2007-01-01

    Ten ‘themes' of viscous liquid physics are discussed with a focus on how they point to a general description of equilibrium viscous liquid dynamics (i.e., fluctuations) at a given temperature. This description is based on standard time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations for the density fields...

  7. Learning Arm/Hand Coordination with an Altered Visual Input

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Denisia Iftime Nielsen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The focus of this study was to test a novel tool for the analysis of motor coordination with an altered visual input. The altered visual input was created using special glasses that presented the view as recorded by a video camera placed at various positions around the subject. The camera was positioned at a frontal (F, lateral (L, or top (T position with respect to the subject. We studied the differences between the arm-end (wrist trajectories while grasping an object between altered vision (F, L, and T conditions and normal vision (N in ten subjects. The outcome measures from the analysis were the trajectory errors, the movement parameters, and the time of execution. We found substantial trajectory errors and an increased execution time at the baseline of the study. We also found that trajectory errors decreased in all conditions after three days of practice with the altered vision in the F condition only for 20 minutes per day, suggesting that recalibration of the visual systems occurred relatively quickly. These results indicate that this recalibration occurs via movement training in an altered condition. The results also suggest that recalibration is more difficult to achieve for altered vision in the F and L conditions compared to the T condition. This study has direct implications on the design of new rehabilitation systems.

  8. Ten-year scheme of network development - 2013 edition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    RTE, an independent subsidiary of EDF, is the French electricity transmission system operator. It is a public service company responsible for operating, maintaining and developing the high and extra high voltage network. It guarantees the reliability and proper operation of the power network. RTE transports electricity between electricity suppliers (French and European) and consumers, whether they are electricity distributors or industrial consumers directly connected to the transmission system. The mission of RTE is to balance the electricity supply and demand in real time. With the support of the government authorities, RTE prepares a ten-year scheme of network development in France; This document presents the main electricity transport infrastructures to foresee within the ten coming years and lists the network development investments which must be realised and implemented within 3 years. The document is updated each year and comes to complement at the national level the European ten year network development plan (TYNDP) and the European regional plans as provided for in the 2009/72/CE European directive

  9. Homonymous Visual Field Loss and Its Impact on Visual Exploration: A Supermarket Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasneci, Enkelejda; Sippel, Katrin; Heister, Martin; Aehling, Katrin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Schiefer, Ulrich; Papageorgiou, Elena

    2014-10-01

    Homonymous visual field defects (HVFDs) may critically interfere with quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of HVFDs on a supermarket search task and to investigate the influence of visual search on task performance. Ten patients with HVFDs (four with a right-sided [HR] and six with a left-sided defect [HL]), and 10 healthy-sighted, sex-, and age-matched control subjects were asked to collect 20 products placed on two supermarket shelves as quickly as possible. Task performance was rated as "passed" or "failed" with regard to the time per correctly collected item ( T C -failed = 4.84 seconds based on the performance of healthy subjects). Eye movements were analyzed regarding the horizontal gaze activity, glance frequency, and glance proportion for different VF areas. Seven of 10 HVFD patients (three HR, four HL) passed the supermarket search task. Patients who passed needed significantly less time per correctly collected item and looked more frequently toward the VFD area than patients who failed. HL patients who passed the test showed a higher percentage of glances beyond the 60° VF ( P < 0.05). A considerable number of HVFD patients performed successfully and could compensate for the HVFD by shifting the gaze toward the peripheral VF and the VFD area. These findings provide new insights on gaze adaptations in patients with HVFDs during activities of daily living and will enhance the design and development of realistic examination tools for use in the clinical setting to improve daily functioning. (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01372319, NCT01372332).

  10. Blindness enhances auditory obstacle circumvention: Assessing echolocation, sensory substitution, and visual-based navigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolarik, Andrew J; Scarfe, Amy C; Moore, Brian C J; Pardhan, Shahina

    2017-01-01

    Performance for an obstacle circumvention task was assessed under conditions of visual, auditory only (using echolocation) and tactile (using a sensory substitution device, SSD) guidance. A Vicon motion capture system was used to measure human movement kinematics objectively. Ten normally sighted participants, 8 blind non-echolocators, and 1 blind expert echolocator navigated around a 0.6 x 2 m obstacle that was varied in position across trials, at the midline of the participant or 25 cm to the right or left. Although visual guidance was the most effective, participants successfully circumvented the obstacle in the majority of trials under auditory or SSD guidance. Using audition, blind non-echolocators navigated more effectively than blindfolded sighted individuals with fewer collisions, lower movement times, fewer velocity corrections and greater obstacle detection ranges. The blind expert echolocator displayed performance similar to or better than that for the other groups using audition, but was comparable to that for the other groups using the SSD. The generally better performance of blind than of sighted participants is consistent with the perceptual enhancement hypothesis that individuals with severe visual deficits develop improved auditory abilities to compensate for visual loss, here shown by faster, more fluid, and more accurate navigation around obstacles using sound.

  11. Blindness enhances auditory obstacle circumvention: Assessing echolocation, sensory substitution, and visual-based navigation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew J Kolarik

    Full Text Available Performance for an obstacle circumvention task was assessed under conditions of visual, auditory only (using echolocation and tactile (using a sensory substitution device, SSD guidance. A Vicon motion capture system was used to measure human movement kinematics objectively. Ten normally sighted participants, 8 blind non-echolocators, and 1 blind expert echolocator navigated around a 0.6 x 2 m obstacle that was varied in position across trials, at the midline of the participant or 25 cm to the right or left. Although visual guidance was the most effective, participants successfully circumvented the obstacle in the majority of trials under auditory or SSD guidance. Using audition, blind non-echolocators navigated more effectively than blindfolded sighted individuals with fewer collisions, lower movement times, fewer velocity corrections and greater obstacle detection ranges. The blind expert echolocator displayed performance similar to or better than that for the other groups using audition, but was comparable to that for the other groups using the SSD. The generally better performance of blind than of sighted participants is consistent with the perceptual enhancement hypothesis that individuals with severe visual deficits develop improved auditory abilities to compensate for visual loss, here shown by faster, more fluid, and more accurate navigation around obstacles using sound.

  12. Visual Literacy and Visual Thinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hortin, John A.

    It is proposed that visual literacy be defined as the ability to understand (read) and use (write) images and to think and learn in terms of images. This definition includes three basic principles: (1) visuals are a language and thus analogous to verbal language; (2) a visually literate person should be able to understand (read) images and use…

  13. Visual Literacy and Visual Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messaris, Paul

    Familiarity with specific images or sets of images plays a role in a culture's visual heritage. Two questions can be asked about this type of visual literacy: Is this a type of knowledge that is worth building into the formal educational curriculum of our schools? What are the educational implications of visual literacy? There is a three-part…

  14. Functional characterization of spectral tuning mechanisms in the great bowerbird short-wavelength sensitive visual pigment (SWS1), and the origins of UV/violet vision in passerines and parrots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hazel, Ilke; Sabouhanian, Amir; Day, Lainy; Endler, John A; Chang, Belinda S W

    2013-11-13

    One of the most striking features of avian vision is the variation in spectral sensitivity of the short wavelength sensitive (SWS1) opsins, which can be divided into two sub-types: violet- and UV- sensitive (VS & UVS). In birds, UVS has been found in both passerines and parrots, groups that were recently shown to be sister orders. While all parrots are thought to be UVS, recent evidence suggests some passerine lineages may also be VS. The great bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) is a passerine notable for its courtship behaviours in which males build and decorate elaborate bower structures. The great bowerbird SWS1 sequence possesses an unusual residue combination at known spectral tuning sites that has not been previously investigated in mutagenesis experiments. In this study, the SWS1 opsin of C. nuchalis was expressed along with a series of spectral tuning mutants and ancestral passerine SWS1 pigments, allowing us to investigate spectral tuning mechanisms and explore the evolution of UV/violet sensitivity in early passerines and parrots. The expressed C. nuchalis SWS1 opsin was found to be a VS pigment, with a λmax of 403 nm. Bowerbird SWS1 mutants C86F, S90C, and C86S/S90C all shifted λmax into the UV, whereas C86S had no effect. Experimentally recreated ancestral passerine and parrot/passerine SWS1 pigments were both found to be VS, indicating that UV sensitivity evolved independently in passerines and parrots from a VS ancestor. Our mutagenesis studies indicate that spectral tuning in C. nuchalis is mediated by mechanisms similar to those of other birds. Interestingly, our ancestral sequence reconstructions of SWS1 in landbird evolution suggest multiple transitions from VS to UVS, but no instances of the reverse. Our results not only provide a more precise prediction of where these spectral sensitivity shifts occurred, but also confirm the hypothesis that birds are an unusual exception among vertebrates where some descendants re-evolved UVS from a violet type

  15. Understanding Visual Novel As Artwork of Visual Communication Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dendi Pratama

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Visual Novel is a kind of audiovisual game that offers visual strength through the narrative and visual characters. The developer community of Visual Novel (VN Project Indonesia indicated a limited local game developer that produces Visual Novel of Indonesia. In addition, Indonesian Visual Novel production was also more influenced by the style of anime or manga from Japan. Actually, Visual Novel is part of the potential of  creative industries products. The study is to formulate the problem, how to understand Visual Novel as artwork of visual communication design, especially among students? This research is a case study conducted on visual communication design student at the University Indraprasta PGRI Jakarta. The results showed low levels of knowledge, understanding, and experience of  the Visual Novel game, which is below 50%. Qualitative and quantitative methods combined with structural semiotic approach is used to describe the elements of the design and the signs structure at the Visual Novel. This research can be a scientific reference for further introduce and encourage an understanding of Visual Novel as artwork of Visual Communication Design. In addition, the results may add to the knowledge of  society, and encourage the development of Visual Novel artwork that  reflect the culture of Indonesia. Visual Novel adalah sejenis permainan audiovisual yang menawarkan kekuatan visual melalui narasi dan karakter visual. Data dari komunitas pengembang Visual Novel (VN Project Indonesia menunjukkan masih terbatasnya pengembang game lokal yang memproduksi Visual Novel Indonesia. Selain itu, produksi Visual Novel Indonesia juga lebih banyak dipengaruhi oleh gaya anime dan manga dari Jepang. Padahal Visual Novel adalah bagian dari produk industri kreatif yang potensial. Studi ini merumuskan masalah, bagaimana memahami Visual Novel sebagai karya seni desain komunikasi visual, khususnya di kalangan mahasiswa? Penelitian ini merupakan studi kasus

  16. Assessment of visual disability using visual evoked potentials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Jihoon; Oh, Seiyul; Kyung, Sungeun

    2012-08-06

    The purpose of this study is to validate the use of visual evoked potential (VEP) to objectively quantify visual acuity in normal and amblyopic patients, and determine if it is possible to predict visual acuity in disability assessment to register visual pathway lesions. A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients diagnosed with normal vision, unilateral amblyopia, optic neuritis, and visual disability who visited the university medical center for registration from March 2007 to October 2009. The study included 20 normal subjects (20 right eyes: 10 females, 10 males, ages 9-42 years), 18 unilateral amblyopic patients (18 amblyopic eyes, ages 19-36 years), 19 optic neuritis patients (19 eyes: ages 9-71 years), and 10 patients with visual disability having visual pathway lesions. Amplitude and latencies were analyzed and correlations with visual acuity (logMAR) were derived from 20 normal and 18 amblyopic subjects. Correlation of VEP amplitude and visual acuity (logMAR) of 19 optic neuritis patients confirmed relationships between visual acuity and amplitude. We calculated the objective visual acuity (logMAR) of 16 eyes from 10 patients to diagnose the presence or absence of visual disability using relations derived from 20 normal and 18 amblyopic eyes. Linear regression analyses between amplitude of pattern visual evoked potentials and visual acuity (logMAR) of 38 eyes from normal (right eyes) and amblyopic (amblyopic eyes) subjects were significant [y = -0.072x + 1.22, x: VEP amplitude, y: visual acuity (logMAR)]. There were no significant differences between visual acuity prediction values, which substituted amplitude values of 19 eyes with optic neuritis into function. We calculated the objective visual acuity of 16 eyes of 10 patients to diagnose the presence or absence of visual disability using relations of y = -0.072x + 1.22 (-0.072). This resulted in a prediction reference of visual acuity associated with malingering vs. real

  17. Influence of time restriction, 20 minutes and 94.6 months, of visual information on angular displacement during the sit-to-stand (STS) task in three planes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aylar, Mozhgan Faraji; Firouzi, Faramarz; Araghi, Mandana Rahnama

    2016-12-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of this investigation was to assess whether or not restriction of visual information influences the kinematics of sit-to-stand (STS) performance in children. [Subjects and Methods] Five girls with congenital blindness (CB) and ten healthy girls with no visual impairments were randomly selected. The girls with congenital blindness were placed in one group and the ten girls with no visual impairments were divided into two groups of five, control and treatment groups. The participants in the treatment group were asked to close their eyes (EC) for 20 minutes before the STS test, whereas those in the control group kept their eyes open (EO). The performance of the participants in all three groups was measured using a motion capture system and two force plates. [Results] The results show that the constraint duration of visual sensory information affected the range of motion (ROM), the excursion of the dominant side ankle, and the ROM of the dominant side knee in the EC group. However, only ankle excursion on the non-dominant side was affected in the CB group, and this was only observed in the sagittal plane. [Conclusion] These results indicate that visual memory does not affect the joint angles in the frontal and transverse planes. Moreover, all of the participants could perform the STS transition without falling, indicating; the participants performed the STS maneuver correctly in all planes except the sagittal one.

  18. Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) for cancer pain in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurlow, Adam; Bennett, Michael I; Robb, Karen A; Johnson, Mark I; Simpson, Karen H; Oxberry, Stephen G

    2012-03-14

    Cancer-related pain is complex and multi-dimensional but the mainstay of cancer pain management has predominantly used a biomedical approach. There is a need for non-pharmacological and innovative approaches. Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS) may have a role in pain management but the effectiveness of TENS is currently unknown. This is an update of the original review published in Issue 3, 2008. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of TENS for cancer-related pain in adults. The initial review searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, AMED and PEDRO databases in April 2008. We performed an updated search of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PEDRO databases in November 2011. We included only randomised controlled trials (RCTS) investigating the use of TENS for the management of cancer-related pain in adults. The search strategy identified a further two studies for possible inclusion. One of the review authors screened each abstract using a study eligibility tool. Where eligibility could not be determined, a second author assessed the full paper. One author used a standardised data extraction sheet to collect information on the studies and independently assess the quality of the studies using the validated five-point Oxford Quality Scale. The small sample sizes and differences in patient study populations of the three included studies (two from the original review and a third included in this update) prevented meta-analysis. For the original review the search strategy identified 37 possible published studies; we divided these between two pairs of review authors who decided on study selection; all four review authors discussed and agreed final scores. Only one additional RCT met the eligibility criteria (24 participants) for this updated review. Although this was a feasibility study, not designed to investigate intervention effect, it suggested that TENS may improve bone pain on movement in a

  19. Vadose Zone Journal: The first ten years

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vrugt, J.A.; Or, D.; Young, M.H.

    2013-01-01

    Celebrating ten years of publication, the authors introduce a special section commemorating the anniversary of Vadose Zone Journal and reviewing the journal’s role in an evolving understanding of vadose zone science.

  20. Dosimetry results for Big Ten and related benchmarks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hansen, G.E.; Gilliam, D.M.

    1980-01-01

    Measured average reaction cross sections for the Big Ten central flux spectrum are given together with calculated values based on the U.S. Evaluated Nuclear Data File ENDF/B-IV. Central reactivity coefficients for 233 U, 235 U, 239 Pu, 6 Li and 10 B are given to check consistency of bias between measured and calculated reaction cross sections for these isotopes. Spectral indexes for the Los Alamos 233 U, 235 U and 239 Pu metal critical assemblies are updated, utilizing the Big Ten measurements and interassembly calibrations, and their implications for inelastic scattering are reiterated

  1. Interactions between visual working memory and visual attention

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Olivers, C.N.L.

    2008-01-01

    Visual attention is the collection of mechanisms by which relevant visual information is selected, and irrelevant visual information is ignored. Visual working memory is the mechanism by which relevant visual information is retained, and irrelevant information is suppressed. In addition to this

  2. Visualization of hyper-vapotron effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cattadori, G.; Celata, G.P.; Cumo, M.; Gaspari, G.P.; Mariani, A.; Zummo, G.

    1992-01-01

    Fusion reactors thermal-hydraulics requires suitable techniques for the removal of extremely high heat fluxes up to some tens of MW/square meter. Among the possible techniques to enhance the critical heat flux (CHF) in subcooled flow boiling already typically characterized by high values of CHF, the hyper-vapotron effect was studied using water flowing in a horizontal annular test section designed for visualization purposes. A full characterization of the hyper-vapotron effect as a function of geometry and fluid thermal-hydraulics conditions was accomplished by making use of a high-speed movie. The hyper-vapotron technique is suitable for the removal of high heat fluxes (up to about 30 MW/square meter) wherever high values of fluid velocity and subcooling are not allowed. In fact, it is typically occurring at low values of liquid velocity and subcooling that are, in turn, directly affecting the enhancement of CHF in subcooled flow boiling

  3. AcEST: BP919144 [AcEST

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available NMA_DECAR tRNA-specific 2-thiouridylase mnmA OS=Dechl... 31 4.0 sp|Q25158|OPSC2_HEMSA Compound eye opsin BCRH2 OS=Hemigrapsus...PSC2_HEMSA Compound eye opsin BCRH2 OS=Hemigrapsus sanguineus PE=2 SV=1 Length = 377 Score = 30.8 bits (68),

  4. Quantitative Assessment of Blood Pressure Measurement Accuracy and Variability from Visual Auscultation Method by Observers without Receiving Medical Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yong; Chen, Aiqing

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to quantify blood pressure (BP) measurement accuracy and variability with different techniques. Thirty video clips of BP recordings from the BHS training database were converted to Korotkoff sound waveforms. Ten observers without receiving medical training were asked to determine BPs using (a) traditional manual auscultatory method and (b) visual auscultation method by visualizing the Korotkoff sound waveform, which was repeated three times on different days. The measurement error was calculated against the reference answers, and the measurement variability was calculated from the SD of the three repeats. Statistical analysis showed that, in comparison with the auscultatory method, visual method significantly reduced overall variability from 2.2 to 1.1 mmHg for SBP and from 1.9 to 0.9 mmHg for DBP (both p auscultation methods). In conclusion, the visual auscultation method had the ability to achieve an acceptable degree of BP measurement accuracy, with smaller variability in comparison with the traditional auscultatory method. PMID:29423405

  5. Determination of hemispheric language dominance using functional MRI : comparison of visual and auditory stimuli

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, Ic Ryung; Ahn, Kook Jin; Lee, Jae Mun [The Catholic Univ. of Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae [The Catholic Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-12-01

    To assess the difference between auditory and visual stimuli when determining hemispheric language dominance by using functional MRI. In ten healthy adult volunteers (8 right-handed, 1 left-handed, 1 ambidextrous), motor language activation in axial slices of frontal lobe was mapped on a Simens 1.5T Vision Plus system using single-shot EPI. Series of 120 consecutive images per section were acquired during three cycles of task activation and rest. During each activation, a series of four syllables was delivered by means of both a visual and auditory method, and the volunteers were asked to mentally generate words starting with each syllable. In both in ferior frontal gyri and whole frontal lobes, lateralization indices were calculated from the activated pixels. We determined the language dominant hemisphere, and compared the results of the visual method and the auditory method. Seven right-handed persons were left-hemisphere dominant, and one left-handed and one ambidex-trous person were right-hemisphere dominant. Five of nine persons demonstrated larger lateralization indices with the auditory method than the visual method, while the remaining four showed larger lateralization indices with the visual method. No statistically significant difference was noted when comparing the results of the two methods(p>0.05). When determining hemispheric language dominance using functional MRI, the two methods are equally appropriate.

  6. Determination of hemispheric language dominance using functional MRI : comparison of visual and auditory stimuli

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoo, Ic Ryung; Ahn, Kook Jin; Lee, Jae Mun; Kim, Tae

    1999-01-01

    To assess the difference between auditory and visual stimuli when determining hemispheric language dominance by using functional MRI. In ten healthy adult volunteers (8 right-handed, 1 left-handed, 1 ambidextrous), motor language activation in axial slices of frontal lobe was mapped on a Simens 1.5T Vision Plus system using single-shot EPI. Series of 120 consecutive images per section were acquired during three cycles of task activation and rest. During each activation, a series of four syllables was delivered by means of both a visual and auditory method, and the volunteers were asked to mentally generate words starting with each syllable. In both in ferior frontal gyri and whole frontal lobes, lateralization indices were calculated from the activated pixels. We determined the language dominant hemisphere, and compared the results of the visual method and the auditory method. Seven right-handed persons were left-hemisphere dominant, and one left-handed and one ambidex-trous person were right-hemisphere dominant. Five of nine persons demonstrated larger lateralization indices with the auditory method than the visual method, while the remaining four showed larger lateralization indices with the visual method. No statistically significant difference was noted when comparing the results of the two methods(p>0.05). When determining hemispheric language dominance using functional MRI, the two methods are equally appropriate

  7. Immediate effects of tongue trills associated with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabron, Eliana Maria Gradim; Petrini, Andressa Schweitzer; Cardoso, Vanessa de Moraes; Batista, João Carlos Torgal; Motonaga, Suely Mayumi; Marino, Viviane Cristina de Castro

    2017-06-08

    To investigate vocal quality variability after applying tongue trills associated with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the larynx of women with normal laryngeal function. Additionally, to verify the effect of this technique over time on voice quality. Participants were 40 women (average 23.4 years) without vocal complaints. The procedure involved tongue trills with or without TENS for 3 minutes, rest and repeating the technique for another 2 minutes. The participants' voices were recorded before (Pre), after three minutes (Post 3min) and after two additional minutes (Post 5min) applying the technique. TENS with two electrodes was used on the thyroid cartilage. Self-assessment, acoustic and perceptual analysis were performed. When comparing tongue trills in isolation and associated with TENS, a greater sense of stability in phonation (self-assessment) and improvement in voice quality (perceptual evaluation) was observed in the combination technique. There was no statistical difference in acoustics findings between tongue trills in isolation and associated with TENS. When comparing the time effect of tongue trills with TENS in self-assessment there was a perception of less muscle tension (3min) and greater comfort during phonation (5 min); in the acoustic analysis, there was an increase of F0 (3 and 5 min) and intensity (5 min) when compared to Pre-moment; in the perceptual evaluation, better voice quality (3min). Comparing tongue trills in isolation and associated with TENS, there were changes in the comfort and muscle tension perception, as well as in vocal quality. On the other hand, tongue trills associated with TENS performed in 3 or 5 minutes resulted in beneficial effects on the voice identified in the assessments.

  8. Feasibility study of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for cancer bone pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Michael I; Johnson, Mark I; Brown, Sarah R; Radford, Helen; Brown, Julia M; Searle, Robert D

    2010-04-01

    This multicenter study assessed the feasibility of conducting a phase III trial of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in patients with cancer bone pain recruited from palliative care services. Eligible patients received active and placebo TENS for 1 hour at site of pain in a randomized crossover design; median interval between applications 3 days. Responses assessed at 30 and 60 minutes included numerical and verbal ratings of pain at rest and on movement, and pain relief. Recruitment, tolerability, adverse events, and effectiveness of blinding were also evaluated. Twenty-four patients were randomised and 19 completed both applications. The intervention was well tolerated. Five patients withdrew: 3 due to deteriorating performance status, and 2 due to increased pain (1 each following active and placebo TENS). Confidence interval estimation around the differences in outcomes between active and placebo TENS suggests that TENS has the potential to decrease pain on movement more than pain on rest. Nine patients did not consider that a placebo was used; the remaining 10 correctly identified placebo TENS. Feasibility studies are important in palliative care prior to undertaking clinical trials. Our findings suggest that further work is required on recruitment strategies and refining the control arm before evaluating TENS in cancer bone pain. Cancer bone pain is common and severe, and partly mediated by hyperexcitability. Animal studies suggest that Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation can reduce hyperalgesia. This study examined the feasibility of evaluating TENS in patients with cancer bone pain in order to optimize methods before a phase III trial. Copyright 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. Verhalen sprokkelen langs de frontlijn. Een kritische blik op Ten Oorlog

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Boers

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Gathering Stories along the Front: A Critical Look at Ten Oorlog [To War]This article reflects critically on the popular television programme Ten Oorlog, thereby examining the field of tension between history and entertainment, between historians and ‘the public’. History can be addressed via various television formats as an historical documentary or a travel programme. An analysis indicates the extent to which Ten Oorlog is inspired by these formats. However, the popular television programme from the outset was not conceived as a classic historical documentary and perhaps can best be described as a historical human interest programme as part of the large-scale commemoration of the First World War. How do history and entertainment relate to one another in this programme? Is there more emphasis on the historical context or on anecdotal stories? This analysis of Ten Oorlog illustrates the tense relation between historians and ‘the public’.Dit artikel werpt een kritische blik op het populaire televisieprogramma Ten Oorlog en gaat daarbij in op het spanningsveld tussen geschiedenis en entertainment, tussen historici en ‘het publiek’. Geschiedenis kan via verschillende formats zoals een historische documentaire of een reisprogramma aan bod komen op televisie. Een analyse van deze formats geeft aan in welke mate Ten Oorlog hierop geïnspireerd is. Het populaire televisieprogramma was echter van begin af aan niet als een klassieke historische documentaire bedoeld en kan misschien het bestomschreven worden als een historisch human interest programma, in het kader van de grootschalige herdenking van de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Hoe verhoudengeschiedenis en entertainment zich daarin? Helt de balans meer over naar historische omkadering of naar anekdotische verhalen? Deze analyse van Ten Oorlog illustreert de gespannen relatie tussen historici en het grote publiek.

  12. 42 CFR 414.232 - Special payment rules for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... nerve stimulators (TENS). 414.232 Section 414.232 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... Special payment rules for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS). (a) General payment rule. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, payment for TENS is made on a purchase basis with...

  13. Extraretinal induced visual sensations during IMRT of the brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm-Buchstab, Timo; Buchstab, Barbara Myrthe; Leitzen, Christina; Garbe, Stephan; Müdder, Thomas; Oberste-Beulmann, Susanne; Sprinkart, Alois Martin; Simon, Birgit; Nelles, Michael; Block, Wolfgang; Schoroth, Felix; Schild, Hans Heinz; Schüller, Heinrich

    2015-01-01

    We observed visual sensations (VSs) in patients undergoing intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of the brain without the beam passing through ocular structures. We analyzed this phenomenon especially with regards to reproducibility, and origin. Analyzed were ten consecutive patients (aged 41-71 years) with glioblastoma multiforme who received pulsed IMRT (total dose 60Gy) with helical tomotherapy (TT). A megavolt-CT (MVCT) was performed daily before treatment. VSs were reported and recorded using a triggered event recorder. The frequency of VSs was calculated and VSs were correlated with beam direction and couch position. Subjective patient perception was plotted on an 8x8 visual field (VF) matrix. Distance to the orbital roof (OR) from the first beam causing a VS was calculated from the Dicom radiation therapy data and MVCT data. During 175 treatment sessions (average 17.5 per patient) 5959 VSs were recorded and analyzed. VSs occurred only during the treatment session not during the MVCTs. Plotting events over time revealed patient-specific patterns. The average cranio-caudad extension of VS-inducing area was 63.4mm (range 43.24-92.1mm). The maximum distance between the first VS and the OR was 56.1mm so that direct interaction with the retina is unlikely. Data on subjective visual perception showed that VSs occurred mainly in the upper right and left quadrants of the VF. Within the visual pathways the highest probability for origin of VSs was seen in the optic chiasm and the optic tract (22%). There is clear evidence that interaction of photon irradiation with neuronal structures distant from the eye can lead to VSs.

  14. Extraretinal induced visual sensations during IMRT of the brain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timo Wilhelm-Buchstab

    Full Text Available We observed visual sensations (VSs in patients undergoing intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT of the brain without the beam passing through ocular structures. We analyzed this phenomenon especially with regards to reproducibility, and origin.Analyzed were ten consecutive patients (aged 41-71 years with glioblastoma multiforme who received pulsed IMRT (total dose 60Gy with helical tomotherapy (TT. A megavolt-CT (MVCT was performed daily before treatment. VSs were reported and recorded using a triggered event recorder. The frequency of VSs was calculated and VSs were correlated with beam direction and couch position. Subjective patient perception was plotted on an 8x8 visual field (VF matrix. Distance to the orbital roof (OR from the first beam causing a VS was calculated from the Dicom radiation therapy data and MVCT data. During 175 treatment sessions (average 17.5 per patient 5959 VSs were recorded and analyzed. VSs occurred only during the treatment session not during the MVCTs. Plotting events over time revealed patient-specific patterns. The average cranio-caudad extension of VS-inducing area was 63.4mm (range 43.24-92.1mm. The maximum distance between the first VS and the OR was 56.1mm so that direct interaction with the retina is unlikely. Data on subjective visual perception showed that VSs occurred mainly in the upper right and left quadrants of the VF. Within the visual pathways the highest probability for origin of VSs was seen in the optic chiasm and the optic tract (22%.There is clear evidence that interaction of photon irradiation with neuronal structures distant from the eye can lead to VSs.

  15. Emission properties of Sm(III) complex having ten-coordination structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Yasuchika; Tsuruoka, Shin-ichi; Yoshida, Takahiko; Kawai, Hideki; Kawai, Tsuyoshi

    2008-01-01

    Sammarium(III) complex having ten-coordination structure, bis-(1,10-phenanthroline)tris-(hexafluoroacetylacetonato)samarium(III) (Sm(hfa) 3 (phen) 2 ) was prepared by chelation of tris-(hexafluoroacetylacetonato) samarium(III) (Sm(hfa) 3 (H 2 O) 2 ) with 1,10-phenantroline (phen). The characteristic ten-coordination structure of Sm(hfa) 3 (phen) 2 was determined by 1 H NMR and elemental analyses. Strong deep-red emission (λ max =643 nm) and narrow emission band (FWHM=5 nm) of Sm(hfa) 3 (phen) 2 originated from electronic allowed transition from characteristics ten coordinate structure. The emission quantum yields Sm(hfa) 3 (phen) 2 excited at absorption bands of ligands and Sm(III) ion were found to be 0.36 and 1.4%, respectively

  16. Endogenously generated gamma-band oscillations in early visual cortex: A neurofeedback study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merkel, Nina; Wibral, Michael; Bland, Gareth; Singer, Wolf

    2018-04-26

    Human subjects were trained with neurofeedback (NFB) to enhance the power of narrow-band gamma oscillations in circumscribed regions of early visual cortex. To select the region and the oscillation frequency for NFB training, gamma oscillations were induced with locally presented drifting gratings. The source and frequency of these induced oscillations were determined using beamforming methods. During NFB training the power of narrow band gamma oscillations was continuously extracted from this source with online beamforming and converted into the pitch of a tone signal. We found that seven out of ten subjects were able to selectively increase the amplitude of gamma oscillations in the absence of visual stimulation. One subject however failed completely and two subjects succeeded to manipulate the feedback signal by contraction of muscles. In all subjects the attempts to enhance visual gamma oscillations were associated with an increase of beta oscillations over precentral/frontal regions. Only successful subjects exhibited an additional marked increase of theta oscillations over precentral/prefrontal and temporal regions whereas unsuccessful subjects showed an increase of alpha band oscillations over occipital regions. We argue that spatially confined networks in early visual cortex can be entrained to engage in narrow band gamma oscillations not only by visual stimuli but also by top down signals. We interpret the concomitant increase in beta oscillations as indication for an engagement of the fronto-parietal attention network and the increase of theta oscillations as a correlate of imagery. Our finding support the application of NFB in disease conditions associated with impaired gamma synchronization. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Ten per cent more grain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1967-08-15

    At a low estimate, ten per cent of stored grain is lost every year to insect pests. In this article, based on a lecture given earlier this year in Switzerland, Dr. Harry E. Goresline, Food Radiation Specialist of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, now assisting the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Food and Agriculture, explains how use of radiation can help to prevent losses and the research which has taken place to ensure its safety

  18. Which visual functions depend on intermediate visual regions? Insights from a case of developmental visual form agnosia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon

    2016-03-01

    A key question in visual neuroscience is the causal link between specific brain areas and perceptual functions; which regions are necessary for which visual functions? While the contribution of primary visual cortex and high-level visual regions to visual perception has been extensively investigated, the contribution of intermediate visual areas (e.g. V2/V3) to visual processes remains unclear. Here I review more than 20 visual functions (early, mid, and high-level) of LG, a developmental visual agnosic and prosopagnosic young adult, whose intermediate visual regions function in a significantly abnormal fashion as revealed through extensive fMRI and ERP investigations. While expectedly, some of LG's visual functions are significantly impaired, some of his visual functions are surprisingly normal (e.g. stereopsis, color, reading, biological motion). During the period of eight-year testing described here, LG trained on a perceptual learning paradigm that was successful in improving some but not all of his visual functions. Following LG's visual performance and taking into account additional findings in the field, I propose a framework for how different visual areas contribute to different visual functions, with an emphasis on intermediate visual regions. Thus, although rewiring and plasticity in the brain can occur during development to overcome and compensate for hindering developmental factors, LG's case seems to indicate that some visual functions are much less dependent on strict hierarchical flow than others, and can develop normally in spite of abnormal mid-level visual areas, thereby probably less dependent on intermediate visual regions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) reduces pain, fatigue, and hyperalgesia while restoring central inhibition in primary fibromyalgia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dailey, Dana L; Rakel, Barbara A; Vance, Carol GT; Liebano, Richard E; Anand, Amrit S; Bush, Heather M; Lee, Kyoung S; Lee, Jennifer E; Sluka, Kathleen A

    2014-01-01

    Because TENS works by reducing central excitability and activating central inhibition pathways, we tested the hypothesis that TENS would reduce pain and fatigue and improve function and hyperalgesia in people with fibromyalgia who have enhanced central excitability and reduced inhibition. The current study used a double-blinded randomized, placebo controlled cross-over design to test effects of a single treatment of TENS in people with fibromyalgia. Three treatments were assessed in random order: active TENS, placebo TENS, no TENS. The following measures were assessed before and after each TENS treatment: pain and fatigue at rest and movement, pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), 6 minute walk test (6MWT), range of motion (ROM), five time sit to stand test (FTSTS), and single leg stance (SLS). Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) was completed at end of testing. There was a significant decrease in pain and fatigue with movement for active TENS compared to placebo and no TENS. PPTs increased at site of TENS (spine) and outside site of TENS (leg) when compared to placebo TENS or no TENS. During Active TENS CPM was significantly stronger compared to placebo TENS and no TENS. No changes in functional tasks were observed with TENS. Thus, the current study suggests TENS has short-term efficacy in relieving symptoms of fibromyalgia while the stimulator is active. Future clinical trials should examine the effects of repeated daily delivery of TENS, similar to how TENS is used clinically, on pain, fatigue, function and quality of life in individuals with fibromyalgia. PMID:23900134

  20. Ten key issues in modern flow chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegner, Jens; Ceylan, Sascha; Kirschning, Andreas

    2011-04-28

    Ten essentials of synthesis in the flow mode, a new enabling technology in organic chemistry, are highlighted as flashlighted providing an insight into current and future issues and developments in this field. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

  1. Ten Leading Causes of Death and Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Overdose Traumatic Brain Injury Violence Prevention Ten Leading Causes of Death and Injury Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir ... in Hospital Emergency Departments, United States – 2014 Leading Causes of Death Charts Causes of Death by Age Group 2016 [ ...

  2. Understanding Visual Novel As Artwork of Visual Communication Design

    OpenAIRE

    Dendi Pratama; Winny Gunarti; Taufiq Akbar

    2017-01-01

    Visual Novel is a kind of audiovisual game that offers visual strength through the narrative and visual characters. The developer community of Visual Novel (VN) Project Indonesia indicated a limited local game developer that produces Visual Novel of Indonesia. In addition, Indonesian Visual Novel production was also more influenced by the style of anime or manga from Japan. Actually, Visual Novel is part of the potential of  creative industries products. The study is to formulate the problem,...

  3. Understanding Visual Novel as Artwork of Visual Communication Design

    OpenAIRE

    Pratama, Dendi

    2017-01-01

    Visual Novel is a kind of audiovisual game that offers visual strength through the narrative and visual characters. The developer community of Visual Novel (VN) Project Indonesia indicated a limited local game developer that produces Visual Novel of Indonesia. In addition, Indonesian Visual Novel production was also more influenced by the style of anime or manga from Japan. Actually, Visual Novel is part of the potential of creative industries products. The study is to formulate the problem,...

  4. Age Group Comparisons of TENS Response Among Individuals With Chronic Axial Low Back Pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Corey B; Riley, Joseph L; Fillingim, Roger B; Bishop, Mark D; George, Steven Z

    2015-12-01

    Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a highly prevalent and disabling musculoskeletal pain condition among older adults. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is commonly used to treat CLBP, however response to TENS in older adults compared with younger adults is untested. In a dose-response study stratified by age, 60 participants with axial CLBP (20 young, 20 middle-aged, 20 older) received four 20-minute sessions of high-frequency high-intensity TENS over a 2- to 3-week period in a laboratory-controlled setting. Experimental measures of pain sensitivity (mechanical pressure pain detection threshold) and central pain excitability (phasic heat temporal summation and heat aftersensations) were assessed before and after TENS. Episodic or immediate axial CLBP relief was assessed after TENS via measures of resting pain, movement-evoked-pain, and self-reported disability. Cumulative or prolonged axial CLBP relief was assessed by comparing daily pain reports across sessions. Independent of age, individuals experienced episodic increase in the pressure pain detection threshold and reduction in aftersensation after TENS application. Similarly, all groups, on average, experienced episodic axial CLBP relief via improved resting pain, movement-evoked pain, and disability report. Under this design, no cumulative effect was observed as daily pain did not improve for any age group across the 4 sessions. However, older adults received higher TENS amplitude across all sessions to achieve TENS responses similar to those in younger adults. These findings suggest that older adults experience similar episodic axial CLBP relief to that of younger individuals after high-frequency, high-intensity TENS when higher dose parameters are used. This study examined age group differences in experimental and axial CLBP response to TENS, delivered under the current recommended parameters of strong, but tolerable amplitude. Older adults had comparable TENS response although at higher TENS

  5. Effects of visual information regarding allocentric processing in haptic parallelity matching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Mier, Hanneke I

    2013-10-01

    Research has revealed that haptic perception of parallelity deviates from physical reality. Large and systematic deviations have been found in haptic parallelity matching most likely due to the influence of the hand-centered egocentric reference frame. Providing information that increases the influence of allocentric processing has been shown to improve performance on haptic matching. In this study allocentric processing was stimulated by providing informative vision in haptic matching tasks that were performed using hand- and arm-centered reference frames. Twenty blindfolded participants (ten men, ten women) explored the orientation of a reference bar with the non-dominant hand and subsequently matched (task HP) or mirrored (task HM) its orientation on a test bar with the dominant hand. Visual information was provided by means of informative vision with participants having full view of the test bar, while the reference bar was blocked from their view (task VHP). To decrease the egocentric bias of the hands, participants also performed a visual haptic parallelity drawing task (task VHPD) using an arm-centered reference frame, by drawing the orientation of the reference bar. In all tasks, the distance between and orientation of the bars were manipulated. A significant effect of task was found; performance improved from task HP, to VHP to VHPD, and HM. Significant effects of distance were found in the first three tasks, whereas orientation and gender effects were only significant in tasks HP and VHP. The results showed that stimulating allocentric processing by means of informative vision and reducing the egocentric bias by using an arm-centered reference frame led to most accurate performance on parallelity matching. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Visual intelligence Microsoft tools and techniques for visualizing data

    CERN Document Server

    Stacey, Mark; Jorgensen, Adam

    2013-01-01

    Go beyond design concepts and learn to build state-of-the-art visualizations The visualization experts at Microsoft's Pragmatic Works have created a full-color, step-by-step guide to building specific types of visualizations. The book thoroughly covers the Microsoft toolset for data analysis and visualization, including Excel, and explores best practices for choosing a data visualization design, selecting tools from the Microsoft stack, and building a dynamic data visualization from start to finish. You'll examine different types of visualizations, their strengths and weaknesses, a

  7. Radiology now. The ten day rule - principles and practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carmichael, J H.E. [Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool (UK); Warrick, C K

    1978-11-01

    The ten day rule recommends that non-urgent diagnostic radiography of the abdomen in women of child-bearing capacity should be confined to the pre-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. Arguments for and against this rule are reviewed. The attitudes and organization of radiographic practice in the UK differ from those in the USA. Assessment of the evidence for the hazards involved leads to the conclusion that the continued application of the ten day rule should be strongly recommended as an essential part of good radiological and radiographic practice.

  8. How green are the TEN-T core network corridors?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Panagakos, George; Psaraftis, Harilaos N.

    defining this concept, identified the characteristics that distinguish a green corridor from an otherwise efficient one. The main thesis of this paper is that the „core network corridors‟ of the new TEN-T guidelines exhibit all these qualities and the vision of a green corridor network in Europe is close...... to reality. To support this thesis, and in continuation of the work of SuperGreen, the paper examines the proposed new „guidelines‟ for the development of the TEN-T after presenting a brief history of transport network development in Europe....

  9. TransVisuality : The Cultural Dimension of Visuality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The Transvisuality Project In little more than a decade, visual culture has proven its status and commitment as an independent field of research, drawing on and continuing areas such as art history, cultural studies, semiotics and media research, as well as parts of visual sociology, visual...... for visual culture, transcending a number of disciplinary and geographical borders. The first volume, ‘Boundaries and Creative Openings’, explores the implications of a cultural dimension of ‘visuality’ when seen as a concept reflecting and challenging fundamental aspects of culture, from the arts to social...... anthropology and visual communication. Visual culture is now a well-established academic area of research and teaching, covering subjects in the humanities and social sciences. Readers and introductions have outlined the field, and research is mirrored in networks, journals and conferences on the national...

  10. Czech, Slovak science ten years after split

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    Ten years after the split of Czechoslovakia Czech and Slovak science are facing the same difficulties: shortage of money for research, poor salaries, obsolete equipment and brain drain, especially of the young, according to a feature in the Daily Lidove Noviny (1 page).

  11. Visual exploration of parameter influence on phylogenetic trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hess, Martin; Bremm, Sebastian; Weissgraeber, Stephanie; Hamacher, Kay; Goesele, Michael; Wiemeyer, Josef; von Landesberger, Tatiana

    2014-01-01

    Evolutionary relationships between organisms are frequently derived as phylogenetic trees inferred from multiple sequence alignments (MSAs). The MSA parameter space is exponentially large, so tens of thousands of potential trees can emerge for each dataset. A proposed visual-analytics approach can reveal the parameters' impact on the trees. Given input trees created with different parameter settings, it hierarchically clusters the trees according to their structural similarity. The most important clusters of similar trees are shown together with their parameters. This view offers interactive parameter exploration and automatic identification of relevant parameters. Biologists applied this approach to real data of 16S ribosomal RNA and protein sequences of ion channels. It revealed which parameters affected the tree structures. This led to a more reliable selection of the best trees.

  12. Data visualization methods, data visualization devices, data visualization apparatuses, and articles of manufacture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Alan E.; Crow, Vernon L.; Payne, Deborah A.; Hetzler, Elizabeth G.; Cook, Kristin A.; Cowley, Wendy E.

    2015-06-30

    Data visualization methods, data visualization devices, data visualization apparatuses, and articles of manufacture are described according to some aspects. In one aspect, a data visualization method includes accessing a plurality of initial documents at a first moment in time, first processing the initial documents providing processed initial documents, first identifying a plurality of first associations of the initial documents using the processed initial documents, generating a first visualization depicting the first associations, accessing a plurality of additional documents at a second moment in time after the first moment in time, second processing the additional documents providing processed additional documents, second identifying a plurality of second associations of the additional documents and at least some of the initial documents, wherein the second identifying comprises identifying using the processed initial documents and the processed additional documents, and generating a second visualization depicting the second associations.

  13. Simultaneous determination of ten compounds in two main ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Simultaneous determination of ten compounds in two main medicinal plant parts of Tibetan herb, Pterocephalus hookeri (CB Clarke) Höeck, by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array.

  14. Visual memory and visual perception: when memory improves visual search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riou, Benoit; Lesourd, Mathieu; Brunel, Lionel; Versace, Rémy

    2011-08-01

    This study examined the relationship between memory and perception in order to identify the influence of a memory dimension in perceptual processing. Our aim was to determine whether the variation of typical size between items (i.e., the size in real life) affects visual search. In two experiments, the congruency between typical size difference and perceptual size difference was manipulated in a visual search task. We observed that congruency between the typical and perceptual size differences decreased reaction times in the visual search (Exp. 1), and noncongruency between these two differences increased reaction times in the visual search (Exp. 2). We argue that these results highlight that memory and perception share some resources and reveal the intervention of typical size difference on the computation of the perceptual size difference.

  15. Causes of childhood blindness in a school for the visually impaired in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, D S P; Lai, T Y Y; Cheung, E Y Y; Lam, D S C

    2005-04-01

    To identify the causes of blindness in children attending a school for the blind in Hong Kong. Cross-sectional observational study. School for blind children in Hong Kong. Eighty-two blind students at the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired were examined between December 1998 and August 1999. Demographic data were obtained from students and a questionnaire assessment made of their medical and ocular history. Visual acuity was assessed and visual loss classified according to the World Health Organization classification of visual impairment. Complete ophthalmic assessments were performed in all students including slit-lamp examination and dilated binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy. The mean age of the students was 12.2 years. Ten (12.2%) had a family history of eye disease. Major past medical illnesses were reported in 50% with prematurity and diseases of the central nervous system found in 26.8% and 11.0% of students, respectively. The most common anatomical site for visual impairment was the retina (47.6%), followed by diseases of the optic nerve (14.6%), and diseases of the anterior segment and the lens (14.6%). The pattern of childhood blindness in Hong Kong is similar to that seen in other developed countries. Preventable causes of childhood blindness, such as prematurity and birth asphyxia, were responsible for a large proportion of cases. Early diagnosis and treatment of such conditions may reduce the incidence of childhood blindness in Hong Kong.

  16. 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.

  17. [Montesquieu visually impaired, then blind (January 1689- February 1755)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battin, Jacques

    2014-01-01

    The correspondence of Montesquieu published by the Oxford Foundation informs about visual disorders of the founder of the socio-political science. The examination of his bust's face done by J.B. Lemoyne reveals a divergent squint of the left eye; the one with which he fold that he only could see big objects. This amblyopia was a premature and prolonged embarrassment. During the last ten years of his life, from 1748, date of publication of the Esprit des lois up to his death in 1755 he was blind because of the cataract of the other eye. He has not able to bust in surgery, while the French surgeon Jacques Daviel already proceeded to the extraction of the lens as we do it nowadays.

  18. 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

  19. Top Ten Concerns for Trustees in 1988.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyerson, Joel W.

    1988-01-01

    Ten issues most likely to influence institutions this year include tuition policy and financing, capital renewal and replacement, charitable giving, scientific equipment and laboratories, endowment management and spending policy, research funding, corporate contributions, minority enrollment and hiring, debt financing and debt capacity, and cost…

  20. Frictional amyloidosis in Oman - A study of ten cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mysore Venkataram

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Macular amyloidosis is an important cause for cutaneous pigmentation, the aetiology of which is poorly understood. Friction has recently been implicated the causation of early lesions, referred to as frictional amyloidosis. Confirmation of diagnosis by the detect on of amyloid using histochemical stains is inconsistent. Ten patients with pigmentation suggestive of macular amyloidosis were studied with detailed history, clinical examination, biopsy for histochemistry and electron microscopy. Nine out of ten patients had a history of prolonged friction with various objects such as bath sponges, brushes, towels, plant sticks and leaves. Amyloid was demonstrated by histochemical staining in only six out of ten cases. In the remaining four cases, amyloid was detected by electron microscopy. These consisted of aggregates of non-branching, extracellular, intertwining fibres measuring between 200-500 nm in length and between 20-25 nm in diameter. The study confirms the role of friction in the causation of this condition. Histochemical stains are not always successful in the detection of amyloid and electron microscopy is helpful for confirming its presence. The term frictional amyloidosis aptly describes the condition.

  1. Dose-specific effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on experimental pain: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claydon, Leica S; Chesterton, Linda S; Barlas, Panos; Sim, Julius

    2011-09-01

    To determine the hypoalgesic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) parameter combinations on experimental models in healthy humans. Searches were performed using the electronic databases Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, AMED, and Web of Science (from inception to December 2009). Manual searches of journals and reference lists of retrieved trials were also performed. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the review if they compared the hypoalgesic effect of TENS relative with placebo and control, using an experimental pain model in healthy human participants. Two reviewers independently selected the trials, assessed their methodologic quality and extracted data. Forty-three RCTs were eligible for inclusion. A best evidence synthesis revealed: Overall "conflicting" (inconsistent findings in multiple RCTs) evidence of TENS efficacy on experimental pain irrespective of TENS parameters used. Overall intense TENS has "moderate" evidence of efficacy (1 high-quality and 2 low-quality trials). Conventional TENS has overall conflicting evidence of efficacy, this is derived from "strong" evidence of efficacy (generally consistent findings in multiple high-quality RCTs) on pressure pain but strong evidence of inefficacy on other pain models. "Limited" evidence (positive findings from 1 RCT) of hypoalgesia exists for some novel parameters. Low-intensity, low-frequency, local TENS has strong evidence of inefficacy. Inappropriate TENS (using "barely perceptible" intensities) has moderate evidence of inefficacy. The level of hypoalgesic efficacy of TENS is clearly dependent on TENS parameter combination selection (defined in terms of intensity, frequency, and stimulation site) and experimental pain model. Future clinical RCTs may consider these TENS dose responses.

  2. Flow visualization

    CERN Document Server

    Merzkirch, Wolfgang

    1974-01-01

    Flow Visualization describes the most widely used methods for visualizing flows. Flow visualization evaluates certain properties of a flow field directly accessible to visual perception. Organized into five chapters, this book first presents the methods that create a visible flow pattern that could be investigated by visual inspection, such as simple dye and density-sensitive visualization methods. It then deals with the application of electron beams and streaming birefringence. Optical methods for compressible flows, hydraulic analogy, and high-speed photography are discussed in other cha

  3. Rapid learning in visual cortical networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ye; Dragoi, Valentin

    2015-08-26

    Although changes in brain activity during learning have been extensively examined at the single neuron level, the coding strategies employed by cell populations remain mysterious. We examined cell populations in macaque area V4 during a rapid form of perceptual learning that emerges within tens of minutes. Multiple single units and LFP responses were recorded as monkeys improved their performance in an image discrimination task. We show that the increase in behavioral performance during learning is predicted by a tight coordination of spike timing with local population activity. More spike-LFP theta synchronization is correlated with higher learning performance, while high-frequency synchronization is unrelated with changes in performance, but these changes were absent once learning had stabilized and stimuli became familiar, or in the absence of learning. These findings reveal a novel mechanism of plasticity in visual cortex by which elevated low-frequency synchronization between individual neurons and local population activity accompanies the improvement in performance during learning.

  4. Anti-stress effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on colonic motility in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimoto, Sazu; Babygirija, Reji; Dobner, Anthony; Ludwig, Kirk; Takahashi, Toku

    2012-05-01

    Disorders of colonic motility may contribute to symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and stress is widely believed to play a major role in developing IBS. Stress increases corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) of the hypothalamus, resulting in acceleration of colonic transit in rodents. In contrast, hypothalamic oxytocin (OXT) has an anti-stress effect via inhibiting CRF expression and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Although transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and acupuncture have been shown to have anti-stress effects, the mechanism of the beneficial effects remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that TENS upregulates hypothalamic OXT expression resulting in reduced CRF expression and restoration of colonic dysmotility in response to chronic stress. Male SD rats received different types of stressors for seven consecutive days (chronic heterotypic stress). TENS was applied to the bilateral hind limbs every other day before stress loading. Another group of rats did not receive TENS treatment. TENS significantly attenuated accelerated colonic transit induced by chronic heterotypic stress, which was antagonized by a central injection of an OXT antagonist. Immunohistochemical study showed that TENS increased OXT expression and decreased CRF expression at the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) following chronic heterotypic stress. It is suggested that TENS upregulates hypothalamic OXT expression which acts as an anti-stressor agent and mediates restored colonic dysmotility following chronic stress. TENS may be useful to treat gastrointestinal symptoms associated with stress.

  5. Characteristics of childhood uveitis leading to visual impairment and blindness in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hettinga, Ymkje M; Verhagen, Fleurieke H; van Genderen, Maria; de Boer, Joke H

    2014-12-01

    To investigate the clinical characteristics of childhood uveitis leading to visual impairment or blindness. In this descriptive study, we reviewed data from the medical records of 58 children with visual impairment or blindness due to childhood uveitis, which were seen at an institute for visually impaired patients (Bartiméus) between January 1981 and December 2012, in a retrospective, cross-sectional manner. Thirty-two of the 58 children (55%) were visually impaired and 26 (45%) were legally blind. Uveitis was posterior in 76% of all cases. Infectious uveitis represented 74% of all cases, of which 86% was congenital. Five patients (9%) had uveitis related to a systemic disease, and ten patients (17%) had idiopathic uveitis. There was a decrease in infectious causes over the last decades (p = 0.04) and an increase in idiopathic uveitis (p children with posterior uveitis remained constant. There was an overall decrease in the number of children with uveitis referred to Bartiméus. The number of ocular complications at the time of intake was higher in children with acquired disease compared with congenital diseases (p children with non-infectious uveitis compared with infectious uveitis (p = 0.04). Most comorbidities that were noted were seen in children with infectious uveitis. Most patients suffering from visual impairment or blindness due to childhood uveitis had posterior and/or infectious uveitis, mostly congenital. There is a shift in causes which shows a decrease in infectious causes and an increase in idiopathic causes. © 2014 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. 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."

  7. Efficacy of the use of two simultaneously TENS devices for fibromyalgia pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauretti, Gabriela Rocha; Chubaci, Eliana Fazuoli; Mattos, Anita Leocadia

    2013-08-01

    Fibromyalgia is characterized by a range of symptoms that include muscle pain, fatigue and sleep disorders. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an established method for pain relief. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the use of two simultaneously new TENS devices for fibromyalgia pain. After Ethics approval and informed consent, 39 patients were prospectively divided into three groups to evaluate TENS device, applied simultaneously in each patient: (1) at the lower back (perpendicular to the vertebrae canal, at the level of the 5th lumbar vertebrae) and (2) centrally above and below the space between the C7 and T1 spinous processes. The devices were applied for 20 min at 12-h interval during 7 consecutive days. For the placebo group (PG), the devices did not transmitted electrical stimulus. The single-TENS group (STG) (n = 13) had one active and one placebo TENS. The DTG applied both active TENS devices at the low back and cervical areas. Diclofenac was used as rescue analgesic. The efficacy measures were pain relief, reduction in use of daily analgesic tablets, quality of sleep and fatigue. The evaluation within groups revealed that patients from DPG refereed no pain relief when compared to their previous VAS pain score (8 cm, p > 0.05), while patients from the STG refereed improvement of 2.5 cm in the pain VAS (previous 8.5 cm compared to 6 cm after treatment) (p pain (previous 8.5-4.3 cm) (p STG > PG (p TENS improved pain relief in fibromyalgia pain, pain and fatigue were further improved when two active devices were simultaneously applied at the low back and cervical area, with no side effects.

  8. The gecko visual pigment: the anion hypsochromic effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crescitelli, F; Karvaly, B

    1991-01-01

    The 521-pigment in the retina of the Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) readily responds to particular physical and chemical changes in its environment. When solubilized in chloride deficient state the addition of Class I anions (Cl-, Br-) induces a bathochromic shift of the absorption spectrum. Class II anions (NO3-, IO3-, N3-, OCN-, SCN-, SeCN-, N(CN)2-), which exhibit ambidental properties, cause an hypsochromic shift. Class III anions (F-, I-, NO2-, CN-, AsO3-, SO2(4-), S2O2(3-) have no spectral effect on the 521-pigment. Cations appear to have no influence on the pigment absorption and Class I anions prevent or reverse the hypsochromic shift caused by Class II anions. It is suggested that the spectral displacements reflect specific changes in the opsin conformation, which alter the immediate (dipolar) environment of the retinal chromophore. The protein conformation seems to promote excited-state processes most in the native 521-pigment state and least in the presence of Class II anions. This in turn suggests that the photosensitivity of the 521-pigment is controlled by the excited rather than by the ground-state properties of the pigment.

  9. Visual acuity and visual field impairment in Usher syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, A; Fishman, G A; Anderson, R J; Grover, S; Derlacki, D J

    1998-02-01

    To determine the extent of visual acuity and visual field impairment in patients with types 1 and 2 Usher syndrome. The records of 53 patients with type 1 and 120 patients with type 2 Usher syndrome were reviewed for visual acuity and visual field area at their most recent visit. Visual field areas were determined by planimetry of the II4e and V4e isopters obtained with a Goldmann perimeter. Both ordinary and logistic regression models were used to evaluate differences in visual acuity and visual field impairment between patients with type 1 and type 2 Usher syndrome. The difference in visual acuity of the better eye between patients with type 1 and type 2 varied by patient age (P=.01, based on a multiple regression model). The maximum difference in visual acuity between the 2 groups occurred during the third and fourth decades of life (with the type 1 patients being more impaired), while more similar acuities were seen in both younger and older patients. Fifty-one percent (n=27) of the type 1 patients had a visual acuity of 20/40 or better in at least 1 eye compared with 72% (n=87) of the type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 3.9). Visual field area to both the II4e (P=.001) and V4e (Ptype 1 patients than type 2 patients. A concentric central visual field greater than 20 degrees in at least 1 eye was present in 20 (59%) of the available 34 visual fields of type 1 patients compared with 70 (67%) of the available 104 visual fields of type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 2.9) with the V4e target and in 6 (21%) of the available 29 visual fields of type 1 patients compared with 36 (38%) of the available 94 visual fields of type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 4.9) with the II4e target. The fraction of patients who had a visual acuity of 20/40 or better and a concentric central visual field greater than 20 degrees to the II4e target in at least 1 eye was 17% (n=5) in the type 1 patients and 35% (n=33) in the type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 3

  10. Visual Data Exploration for Balance Quantification in Real-Time During Exergaming.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venustiano Soancatl Aguilar

    Full Text Available Unintentional injuries are among the ten leading causes of death in older adults; falls cause 60% of these deaths. Despite their effectiveness to improve balance and reduce the risk of falls, balance training programs have several drawbacks in practice, such as lack of engaging elements, boring exercises, and the effort and cost of travelling, ultimately resulting in low adherence. Exergames, that is, digital games controlled by body movements, have been proposed as an alternative to improve balance. One of the main challenges for exergames is to automatically quantify balance during game-play in order to adapt the game difficulty according to the skills of the player. Here we perform a multidimensional exploratory data analysis, using visualization techniques, to find useful measures for quantifying balance in real-time. First, we visualize exergaming data, derived from 400 force plate recordings of 40 participants from 20 to 79 years and 10 trials per participant, as heat maps and violin plots to get quick insight into the nature of the data. Second, we extract known and new features from the data, such as instantaneous speed, measures of dispersion, turbulence measures derived from speed, and curvature values. Finally, we analyze and visualize these features using several visualizations such as a heat map, overlapping violin plots, a parallel coordinate plot, a projection of the two first principal components, and a scatter plot matrix. Our visualizations and findings suggest that heat maps and violin plots can provide quick insight and directions for further data exploration. The most promising measures to quantify balance in real-time are speed, curvature and a turbulence measure, because these measures show age-related changes in balance performance. The next step is to apply the present techniques to data of whole body movements as recorded by devices such as Kinect.

  11. Contribution of Visual Information about Ball Trajectory to Baseball Hitting Accuracy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takatoshi Higuchi

    Full Text Available The contribution of visual information about a pitched ball to the accuracy of baseball-bat contact may vary depending on the part of trajectory seen. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between hitting accuracy and the segment of the trajectory of the flying ball that can be seen by the batter. Ten college baseball field players participated in the study. The systematic error and standardized variability of ball-bat contact on the bat coordinate system and pitcher-to-catcher direction when hitting a ball launched from a pitching machine were measured with or without visual occlusion and analyzed using analysis of variance. The visual occlusion timing included occlusion from 150 milliseconds (ms after the ball release (R+150, occlusion from 150 ms before the expected arrival of the launched ball at the home plate (A-150, and a condition with no occlusion (NO. Twelve trials in each condition were performed using two ball speeds (31.9 m·s-1 and 40.3 m·s-1. Visual occlusion did not affect the mean location of ball-bat contact in the bat's long axis, short axis, and pitcher-to-catcher directions. Although the magnitude of standardized variability was significantly smaller in the bat's short axis direction than in the bat's long axis and pitcher-to-catcher directions (p < 0.001, additional visible time from the R+150 condition to the A-150 and NO conditions resulted in a further decrease in standardized variability only in the bat's short axis direction (p < 0.05. The results suggested that there is directional specificity in the magnitude of standardized variability with different visible time. The present study also confirmed the limitation to visual information is the later part of the ball trajectory for improving hitting accuracy, which is likely due to visuo-motor delay.

  12. Ten-Competence: Life-Long Competence Development and Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koper, Rob; Specht, Marcus

    2006-01-01

    Koper, R., & Specht, M. (2008). Ten-Competence: Life-Long Competence Development and Learning. In M-A. Cicilia (Ed.), Competencies in Organizational e-learning: concepts and tools (pp. 234-252). Hershey: IGI-Global.

  13. HI-VISUAL: A language supporting visual interaction in programming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monden, N.; Yoshino, Y.; Hirakawa, M.; Tanaka, M.; Ichikawa, T.

    1984-01-01

    This paper presents a language named HI-VISUAL which supports visual interaction in programming. Following a brief description of the language concept, the icon semantics and language primitives characterizing HI-VISUAL are extensively discussed. HI-VISUAL also shows a system extensively discussed. HI-VISUAL also shows a system extendability providing the possibility of organizing a high level application system as an integration of several existing subsystems, and will serve to developing systems in various fields of applications supporting simple and efficient interactions between programmer and computer. In this paper, the authors have presented a language named HI-VISUAL. Following a brief description of the language concept, the icon semantics and language primitives characterizing HI-VISUAL were extensively discussed

  14. Ten colour photometry of twelve Ap-stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Musielok, B.; Lange, D.; Schoeneich, W.; Hildebrandt, G.; Zelwanowa, E.; Hempelmann, A.; Salmanov, G.

    1980-01-01

    Ten-colour photoelectric observations are presented for twelve Ap-stars. Improved ephemeris for seven of them is given. Phase relations between the light curves and line intensity variations are discussed. The problem of the electromagnetic flux conctancy of IOTA Cas is approached from a qualitative point of view. (author)

  15. Probabilistic diffusion tractography of the optic radiations and visual function in preterm infants at term equivalent age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassi, Laura; Ricci, Daniela; Volzone, Anna; Allsop, Joanna M; Srinivasan, Latha; Pai, Aakash; Ribes, Carmen; Ramenghi, Luca A; Mercuri, Eugenio; Mosca, Fabio; Edwards, A David; Cowan, Frances M; Rutherford, Mary A; Counsell, Serena J

    2008-02-01

    Children born prematurely have a high incidence of visual disorders which cannot always be explained by focal retinal or brain lesions. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that visual function in preterm infants is related to the microstructural development of white matter in the optic radiations. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with probabilistic diffusion tractography to delineate the optic radiations at term equivalent age and compared the fractional anisotropy (FA) to a contemporaneous evaluation of visual function. Thirty-seven preterm infants (19 male) born at median (range) 28(+4) (24(+1)-32(+3)) weeks gestational age, were examined at a post-menstrual age of 42 (39(+6)-43) weeks. MRI and DTI were acquired on a 3 Tesla MR system with DTI obtained in 15 non-collinear directions with a b value of 750 s/mm(2). Tracts were generated from a seed mask placed in the white matter lateral to the lateral geniculate nucleus and mean FA values of these tracts were determined. Visual assessment was performed using a battery of nine items assessing different aspects of visual abilities. Ten infants had evidence of cerebral lesions on conventional MRI. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the visual assessment score was independently correlated with FA values, but not gestational age at birth, post-menstrual age at scan or the presence of lesions on conventional MRI. The occurrence of mild retinopathy of prematurity did not affect the FA measures or visual scores. We then performed a secondary analysis using tract-based spatial statistics to determine whether global brain white matter development was related to visual function and found that only FA in the optic radiations was correlated with visual assessment score. Our results suggest that in preterm infants at term equivalent age visual function is directly related to the development of white matter in the optic radiations.

  16. Creativity, visualization abilities, and visual cognitive style.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozhevnikov, Maria; Kozhevnikov, Michael; Yu, Chen Jiao; Blazhenkova, Olesya

    2013-06-01

    Despite the recent evidence for a multi-component nature of both visual imagery and creativity, there have been no systematic studies on how the different dimensions of creativity and imagery might interrelate. The main goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between different dimensions of creativity (artistic and scientific) and dimensions of visualization abilities and styles (object and spatial). In addition, we compared the contributions of object and spatial visualization abilities versus corresponding styles to scientific and artistic dimensions of creativity. Twenty-four undergraduate students (12 females) were recruited for the first study, and 75 additional participants (36 females) were recruited for an additional experiment. Participants were administered a number of object and spatial visualization abilities and style assessments as well as a number of artistic and scientific creativity tests. The results show that object visualization relates to artistic creativity and spatial visualization relates to scientific creativity, while both are distinct from verbal creativity. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that style predicts corresponding dimension of creativity even after removing shared variance between style and visualization ability. The results suggest that styles might be a more ecologically valid construct in predicting real-life creative behaviour, such as performance in different professional domains. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  17. Insensitivity of visual short-term memory to irrelevant visual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Jackie; Kemps, Eva; Werniers, Yves; May, Jon; Szmalec, Arnaud

    2002-07-01

    Several authors have hypothesized that visuo-spatial working memory is functionally analogous to verbal working memory. Irrelevant background speech impairs verbal short-term memory. We investigated whether irrelevant visual information has an analogous effect on visual short-term memory, using a dynamic visual noise (DVN) technique known to disrupt visual imagery (Quinn & McConnell, 1996b). Experiment I replicated the effect of DVN on pegword imagery. Experiments 2 and 3 showed no effect of DVN on recall of static matrix patterns, despite a significant effect of a concurrent spatial tapping task. Experiment 4 showed no effect of DVN on encoding or maintenance of arrays of matrix patterns, despite testing memory by a recognition procedure to encourage visual rather than spatial processing. Serial position curves showed a one-item recency effect typical of visual short-term memory. Experiment 5 showed no effect of DVN on short-term recognition of Chinese characters, despite effects of visual similarity and a concurrent colour memory task that confirmed visual processing of the characters. We conclude that irrelevant visual noise does not impair visual short-term memory. Visual working memory may not be functionally analogous to verbal working memory, and different cognitive processes may underlie visual short-term memory and visual imagery.

  18. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) versus placebo for chronic low-back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khadilkar, Amole; Odebiyi, Daniel Oluwafemi; Brosseau, Lucie; Wells, George A

    2008-10-08

    Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) was introduced more than 30 years ago as a therapeutic adjunct to the pharmacological management of pain. However, despite widespread use, its effectiveness in chronic low-back pain (LBP) is still controversial. To determine whether TENS is more effective than placebo for the management of chronic LBP. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PEDro and CINAHL were searched up to July 19, 2007. Only randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) comparing TENS to placebo in patients with chronic LBP were included. Two review authors independently selected the trials, assessed their methodological quality and extracted relevant data. If quantitative meta-analysis was not possible, a qualitative synthesis was performed, taking into consideration 5 levels of evidence as recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group. Four high-quality RCTs (585 patients) met the selection criteria. Clinical heterogeneity prevented the use of meta-analysis. Therefore, a qualitative synthesis was completed. There was conflicting evidence about whether TENS was beneficial in reducing back pain intensity and consistent evidence in two trials (410 patients) that it did not improve back-specific functional status. There was moderate evidence that work status and the use of medical services did not change with treatment. Conflicting results were obtained from two studies regarding generic health status, with one study showing no improvement on the modified Sickness Impact Profile and another study showing significant improvements on several, but not all subsections of the SF-36 questionnaire. Multiple physical outcome measures lacked statistically significant improvement relative to placebo. In general, patients treated with acupuncture-like TENS responded similarly to those treated with conventional TENS. However, in two of the trials, an inadequate stimulation intensity was used for acupuncture

  19. The application of the 'ten-day rule' in radiopharmaceutical investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellis, R.E.; Nordin, B.E.C.; Tothill, P.; Veall, N.

    1977-01-01

    The working party first classified subjects who are investigated using radiopharmaceuticals into three groups, being (a) patients and other subjects who are asked to volunteer as controls for research studies, (b) patients on whom research investigations are being conducted which are relevant to their clinical condition but which are not strictly necessary for their management, and (c) patients on whom investigations are required for their proper management. The application of the 'ten-day rule' in relation to the use of radiopharmaceuticals is complicated by the fact that the total radiation dose is received over a time given by the effective life of the radiopharmaceutical in the organ, which may be a substantial part or even longer of the menstrual cycle. The activities of the radiopharmaceuticals normally administered are tabulted together with their effective half-lives and resulting gonad doses, and those radiopharmaceuticals requiring consideration of the implementation of the 'ten-day rule' for patients in groups (b) and (c) are identified. When the administration of therapeutic quantities of radiopharmaceuticals is being contemplated it is particularly important to take into account the applicability or otherwise of the 'ten-day rule'. It is recommended that the 'ten-day rule' should be strictly applied to all radiopharmaceutical administrations to women of child-bearing age who are volunteers for research purposes (group(a)). (U.K.)

  20. Biometric recognition via texture features of eye movement trajectories in a visual searching task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chunyong; Xue, Jiguo; Quan, Cheng; Yue, Jingwei; Zhang, Chenggang

    2018-01-01

    Biometric recognition technology based on eye-movement dynamics has been in development for more than ten years. Different visual tasks, feature extraction and feature recognition methods are proposed to improve the performance of eye movement biometric system. However, the correct identification and verification rates, especially in long-term experiments, as well as the effects of visual tasks and eye trackers' temporal and spatial resolution are still the foremost considerations in eye movement biometrics. With a focus on these issues, we proposed a new visual searching task for eye movement data collection and a new class of eye movement features for biometric recognition. In order to demonstrate the improvement of this visual searching task being used in eye movement biometrics, three other eye movement feature extraction methods were also tested on our eye movement datasets. Compared with the original results, all three methods yielded better results as expected. In addition, the biometric performance of these four feature extraction methods was also compared using the equal error rate (EER) and Rank-1 identification rate (Rank-1 IR), and the texture features introduced in this paper were ultimately shown to offer some advantages with regard to long-term stability and robustness over time and spatial precision. Finally, the results of different combinations of these methods with a score-level fusion method indicated that multi-biometric methods perform better in most cases.

  1. Eye-independent, light-activated chromatophore expansion (LACE) and expression of phototransduction genes in the skin of Octopus bimaculoides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, M Desmond; Oakley, Todd H

    2015-05-15

    Cephalopods are renowned for changing the color and pattern of their skin for both camouflage and communication. Yet, we do not fully understand how cephalopods control the pigmented chromatophore organs in their skin and change their body pattern. Although these changes primarily rely on eyesight, we found that light causes chromatophores to expand in excised pieces of Octopus bimaculoides skin. We call this behavior light-activated chromatophore expansion (or LACE). To uncover how octopus skin senses light, we used antibodies against r-opsin phototransduction proteins to identify sensory neurons that express r-opsin in the skin. We hypothesized that octopus LACE relies on the same r-opsin phototransduction cascade found in octopus eyes. By creating an action spectrum for the latency to LACE, we found that LACE occurred most quickly in response to blue light. We fit our action spectrum data to a standard opsin curve template and estimated the λmax of LACE to be 480 nm. Consistent with our hypothesis, the maximum sensitivity of the light sensors underlying LACE closely matches the known spectral sensitivity of opsin from octopus eyes. LACE in isolated preparations suggests that octopus skin is intrinsically light sensitive and that this dispersed light sense might contribute to their unique and novel patterning abilities. Finally, our data suggest that a common molecular mechanism for light detection in eyes may have been co-opted for light sensing in octopus skin and then used for LACE. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  2. Visual thinking in action: visualizations as used on whiteboards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walny, Jagoda; Carpendale, Sheelagh; Riche, Nathalie Henry; Venolia, Gina; Fawcett, Philip

    2011-12-01

    While it is still most common for information visualization researchers to develop new visualizations from a data- or taskdriven perspective, there is growing interest in understanding the types of visualizations people create by themselves for personal use. As part of this recent direction, we have studied a large collection of whiteboards in a research institution, where people make active use of combinations of words, diagrams and various types of visuals to help them further their thought processes. Our goal is to arrive at a better understanding of the nature of visuals that are created spontaneously during brainstorming, thinking, communicating, and general problem solving on whiteboards. We use the qualitative approaches of open coding, interviewing, and affinity diagramming to explore the use of recognizable and novel visuals, and the interplay between visualization and diagrammatic elements with words, numbers and labels. We discuss the potential implications of our findings on information visualization design. © 2011 IEEE

  3. Z-buffer image assembly processing in high parallel visualization processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaneko, Isamu; Muramatsu, Kazuhiro

    2000-03-01

    On the platform of the parallel computer with many processors, the domain decomposition method is used as a popular means of parallel processing. In these days when the simulation scale becomes much larger and takes a lot of time, the simultaneous visualization processing with the actual computation is much more needed, and especially in case of a real-time visualization, the domain decomposition technique is indispensable. In case of parallel rendering processing, the rendered results must be gathered to one processor to compose the integrated picture in the last stage. This integration is usually conducted by the method using Z-buffer values. This process, however, induces the crucial problems of much lower speed processing and local memory shortage in case of parallel processing exceeding more than several tens of processors. In this report, the two new solutions are proposed. The one is the adoption of a special operator (Reduce operator) in the parallelization process, and the other is a buffer compression by deleting the background informations. This report includes the performance results of these new techniques to investigate their effect with use of the parallel computer Paragon. (author)

  4. Reactor dosimetry calibrations in the Big Ten critical assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barr, D.W.; Hansen, G.E.

    1977-01-01

    Eleven irradiations of foil packs located in the central region of Big Ten were made for the Interlaboratory Reaction Rate Program. Each irradiation was at a nominal 10 15 fluence and the principal fluence monitor was the National Bureau of Standards' double fission chamber containing 235 U and 238 U deposits and located at the center of Big Ten. Secondary monitors consisted of three external fission chambers and two internal foil sets containing Au, In, and Al. Activities of one set were counted at the LASL and the other at the Hanford Engineering Developement Laboratory. The uncertainty in relative fluence for each irradiation was +-0.3%

  5. Giant multipole resonances: perspectives after ten years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertrand, F.E.

    1980-01-01

    Nearly ten years ago evidence was published for the first of the so-called giant multipole resonances, the giant quadrupole resonance. During the ensuing years research in this field has spread to many nuclear physics laboratories throughout the world. The present status of electric giant multipole resonances is reviewed. 24 figures, 1 table

  6. A controlled trial of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and exercise for chronic low back pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deyo, R A; Walsh, N E; Martin, D C; Schoenfeld, L S; Ramamurthy, S

    1990-06-07

    A number of treatments are widely prescribed for chronic back pain, but few have been rigorously evaluated. We examined the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), a program of stretching exercises, or a combination of both for low back pain. Patients with chronic low back pain (median duration, 4.1 years) were randomly assigned to receive daily treatment with TENS (n = 36), sham TENS (n = 36), TENS plus a program of exercises (n = 37), or sham TENS plus exercises (n = 36). After one month no clinically or statistically significant treatment effect of TENS was found on any of 11 indicators of outcome measuring pain, function, and back flexion; there was no interactive effect of TENS with exercise. Overall improvement in pain indicators was 47 percent with TENS and 42 percent with sham TENS (P not significant). The 95 percent confidence intervals for group differences excluded a major clinical benefit of TENS for most outcomes. By contrast, after one month patients in the exercise groups had significant improvement in self-rated pain scores, reduction in the frequency of pain, and greater levels of activity as compared with patients in the groups that did not exercise. The mean reported improvement in pain scores was 52 percent in the exercise groups and 37 percent in the nonexercise groups (P = 0.02). Two months after the active intervention, however, most patients had discontinued the exercises, and the initial improvements were gone. We conclude that for patients with chronic low back pain, treatment with TENS is no more effective than treatment with a placebo, and TENS adds no apparent benefit to that of exercise alone.

  7. Ten Things Parents Can Do to Prevent Suicide

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Ribbon Commands Skip to main content Turn off Animations Turn on Animations Our Sponsors Log in | Register Menu Log in | ... teen at risk for suicide . Spend some time reading these ten ways you can help prevent a ...

  8. Visual feature extraction and establishment of visual tags in the intelligent visual internet of things

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yiqun; Wang, Zhihui

    2015-12-01

    The Internet of things (IOT) is a kind of intelligent networks which can be used to locate, track, identify and supervise people and objects. One of important core technologies of intelligent visual internet of things ( IVIOT) is the intelligent visual tag system. In this paper, a research is done into visual feature extraction and establishment of visual tags of the human face based on ORL face database. Firstly, we use the principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm for face feature extraction, then adopt the support vector machine (SVM) for classifying and face recognition, finally establish a visual tag for face which is already classified. We conducted a experiment focused on a group of people face images, the result show that the proposed algorithm have good performance, and can show the visual tag of objects conveniently.

  9. Modification of the 'ten-day rule'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klempfner, G.

    1985-01-01

    In a 1964 decision the National Health and Medical Research Council recommended that radiological examinations of the lower abdomen and pelvis of women of childbearing age should be confined to the 10-day interval following the onset of menstruation. Recent evidence suggests that the first four weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period is not a critically radiosensitive period and consequently strict adherence to the ten-day rule is no longer indicated

  10. Femtosecond visualization of lattice dynamics in shock-compressed matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milathianaki, D; Boutet, S; Williams, G J; Higginbotham, A; Ratner, D; Gleason, A E; Messerschmidt, M; Seibert, M M; Swift, D C; Hering, P; Robinson, J; White, W E; Wark, J S

    2013-10-11

    The ultrafast evolution of microstructure is key to understanding high-pressure and strain-rate phenomena. However, the visualization of lattice dynamics at scales commensurate with those of atomistic simulations has been challenging. Here, we report femtosecond x-ray diffraction measurements unveiling the response of copper to laser shock-compression at peak normal elastic stresses of ~73 gigapascals (GPa) and strain rates of 10(9) per second. We capture the evolution of the lattice from a one-dimensional (1D) elastic to a 3D plastically relaxed state within a few tens of picoseconds, after reaching shear stresses of 18 GPa. Our in situ high-precision measurement of material strength at spatial (<1 micrometer) and temporal (<50 picoseconds) scales provides a direct comparison with multimillion-atom molecular dynamics simulations.

  11. Ten questions about systems biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joyner, Michael J; Pedersen, Bente K

    2011-01-01

    to understand how whole animals adapt to the real world. We argue that a lack of fluency in these concepts is a major stumbling block for what has been narrowly defined as 'systems biology' by some of its leading advocates. We also point out that it is a failure of regulation at multiple levels that causes many......In this paper we raise 'ten questions' broadly related to 'omics', the term systems biology, and why the new biology has failed to deliver major therapeutic advances for many common diseases, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We argue that a fundamentally narrow and reductionist...

  12. Ten questions about systems biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joyner, Michael J; Pedersen, Bente K

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we raise 'ten questions' broadly related to 'omics', the term systems biology, and why the new biology has failed to deliver major therapeutic advances for many common diseases, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We argue that a fundamentally narrow and reductionist...... to understand how whole animals adapt to the real world. We argue that a lack of fluency in these concepts is a major stumbling block for what has been narrowly defined as 'systems biology' by some of its leading advocates. We also point out that it is a failure of regulation at multiple levels that causes many...

  13. 3D Visualization of Engendering Collaborative Leadership in the Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on collaborative leadership in education and how to illustrate its engendering process in a three-dimensional space. This complex and fluid process is examined as distributed and pedagogical within a Finnish vocational upper secondary educational organization. As a consequence, the notion of distributed pedagogical leadership is used when collaborative leadership in education is studied. Collaborative leadership is argued to consist of the innermost substance of a professional learning community, as attributes of a group of people working together for specific purposes. Therefore, collaborative leadership naturally involves actors, activities, and context. However, the innermost substance of the community is the crux of leadership. It is here presented in the form of ten "keys", as ten attributes with several operational nuances. The keys are highly interdependent and a movement in one of them has an effect both on every other key and the whole. Within this framework, the paper provides a presentation of selected study results by means of the 3D program Strata. The visualizations illustrate concrete examples of how the keys relate to the reality in the vocational education organization in question. For this, a novel analysis called Wave is used, based on natural laws and rules of physics.

  14. The contributions of visual and central attention to visual working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Alessandra S; Oberauer, Klaus

    2017-10-01

    We investigated the role of two kinds of attention-visual and central attention-for the maintenance of visual representations in working memory (WM). In Experiment 1 we directed attention to individual items in WM by presenting cues during the retention interval of a continuous delayed-estimation task, and instructing participants to think of the cued items. Attending to items improved recall commensurate with the frequency with which items were attended (0, 1, or 2 times). Experiments 1 and 3 further tested which kind of attention-visual or central-was involved in WM maintenance. We assessed the dual-task costs of two types of distractor tasks, one tapping sustained visual attention and one tapping central attention. Only the central attention task yielded substantial dual-task costs, implying that central attention substantially contributes to maintenance of visual information in WM. Experiment 2 confirmed that the visual-attention distractor task was demanding enough to disrupt performance in a task relying on visual attention. We combined the visual-attention and the central-attention distractor tasks with a multiple object tracking (MOT) task. Distracting visual attention, but not central attention, impaired MOT performance. Jointly, the three experiments provide a double dissociation between visual and central attention, and between visual WM and visual object tracking: Whereas tracking multiple targets across the visual filed depends on visual attention, visual WM depends mostly on central attention.

  15. Optimization of Visual Information Presentation for Visual Prosthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Guo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Visual prosthesis applying electrical stimulation to restore visual function for the blind has promising prospects. However, due to the low resolution, limited visual field, and the low dynamic range of the visual perception, huge loss of information occurred when presenting daily scenes. The ability of object recognition in real-life scenarios is severely restricted for prosthetic users. To overcome the limitations, optimizing the visual information in the simulated prosthetic vision has been the focus of research. This paper proposes two image processing strategies based on a salient object detection technique. The two processing strategies enable the prosthetic implants to focus on the object of interest and suppress the background clutter. Psychophysical experiments show that techniques such as foreground zooming with background clutter removal and foreground edge detection with background reduction have positive impacts on the task of object recognition in simulated prosthetic vision. By using edge detection and zooming technique, the two processing strategies significantly improve the recognition accuracy of objects. We can conclude that the visual prosthesis using our proposed strategy can assist the blind to improve their ability to recognize objects. The results will provide effective solutions for the further development of visual prosthesis.

  16. Optimization of Visual Information Presentation for Visual Prosthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yong

    2018-01-01

    Visual prosthesis applying electrical stimulation to restore visual function for the blind has promising prospects. However, due to the low resolution, limited visual field, and the low dynamic range of the visual perception, huge loss of information occurred when presenting daily scenes. The ability of object recognition in real-life scenarios is severely restricted for prosthetic users. To overcome the limitations, optimizing the visual information in the simulated prosthetic vision has been the focus of research. This paper proposes two image processing strategies based on a salient object detection technique. The two processing strategies enable the prosthetic implants to focus on the object of interest and suppress the background clutter. Psychophysical experiments show that techniques such as foreground zooming with background clutter removal and foreground edge detection with background reduction have positive impacts on the task of object recognition in simulated prosthetic vision. By using edge detection and zooming technique, the two processing strategies significantly improve the recognition accuracy of objects. We can conclude that the visual prosthesis using our proposed strategy can assist the blind to improve their ability to recognize objects. The results will provide effective solutions for the further development of visual prosthesis. PMID:29731769

  17. Visualization of bed material movement in a simulated fluidized bed heat exchanger by neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umekawa, Hisashi; Ozawa, Mamoru; Takenaka, Nobuyuki; Matsubayashi, Masahito

    1999-01-01

    The bulk movement of fluidized bed material was visualized by neutron radiography by introducing tracers into the bed materials. The simulated fluidized bed consisted of aluminum plates, and the bed material was sand of 99.7% SiO 2 (mean diameter: 0.218 mm, density: 2555 kg/m 3 ). Both materials were almost transparent to neutrons. Then the sand was colored by the contamination of the sand coated by CdSO 4 . Tracer particles of about 2 mm diameter were made by the B 4 C, bonded by the vinyl resin. The tracer was about ten times as large as the particle of fluidized bed material, but the traceability was enough to observe the bed-material bulk movement owing to the large effective viscosity of the fluidized bed. The visualized images indicated that the bubbles and/or wakes were important mechanism of the behavior of the fluidized bed movement

  18. Global-local visual biases correspond with visual-spatial orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basso, Michael R; Lowery, Natasha

    2004-02-01

    Within the past decade, numerous investigations have demonstrated reliable associations of global-local visual processing biases with right and left hemisphere function, respectively (cf. Van Kleeck, 1989). Yet the relevance of these biases to other cognitive functions is not well understood. Towards this end, the present research examined the relationship between global-local visual biases and perception of visual-spatial orientation. Twenty-six women and 23 men completed a global-local judgment task (Kimchi and Palmer, 1982) and the Judgment of Line Orientation Test (JLO; Benton, Sivan, Hamsher, Varney, and Spreen, 1994), a measure of visual-spatial orientation. As expected, men had better performance on JLO. Extending previous findings, global biases were related to better visual-spatial acuity on JLO. The findings suggest that global-local biases and visual-spatial orientation may share underlying cerebral mechanisms. Implications of these findings for other visually mediated cognitive outcomes are discussed.

  19. Elliot Lake uranium mine reclamation, the first ten years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Payne, R.A.

    2000-01-01

    In 1989, Rio Algom Limited finalized its plans for the closure and subsequent decommissioning of two of its then three operating mines in Elliot Lake as a result of market conditions. These two mines closed in August 1990. These mine closures had significant impacts. The principal mining operations of Rio Algom at that time were still in Elliot Lake and had been the very foundation of the company for about 40 years. The business impact on the Corporation was regarded as possibly severe. The resultant layoff of over 1,500 long-term, highly qualified, skilled and well-paid employees, a devastating blow to the affected employees and their families, would have a significant financial impact on the municipal economy, particularly as this announcement was seen as the first step in the early closure of all four operating mines in the region. At that time there was little precedence for such a high profile mine closure program and consequently the many unknowns relating to the mine decommissioning process, legislative requirements and society's expectations resulted in a perception of a significant yet ill-defined liability. In this atmosphere of understandable company, stakeholder and public concern, Rio Algom Limited embarked on what has turned out to be a long, rigorous, challenging yet ultimately reasonable and rewarding process of progressive reclamation of all its Elliot Lake mines, some ten in total (nine uranium, one copper). Over the past ten years, reclamation of all ten mines has been successfully completed, some $70 m plus has been expended in direct site reclamation works and the workforce has been reduced from over 2,500 to just 4. After ten years, the focus of attention is now on the long-term care, maintenance, monitoring and reporting required for the decommissioned mine sites, and the accomplishment of this in the best interests of all the stakeholders. (author)

  20. Field experiments on seed dispersal by wind in ten umbelliferous species (Apiaceae)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongejans, E.; Telenius, A.

    2001-01-01

    This report presents data from experiments on seed dispersal by wind for ten species of the family Apiaceae. Seed shadows were obtained in the field under natural conditions, using wind speeds between four and ten m/s. The flight of individual seeds was followed by eye, and seed shadows were

  1. 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

  2. Radiation therapy of penile cancer: six to ten-year follow-up

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grabstald, H.; Kelley, C.D.

    1980-01-01

    Ten patients with penile cancer were treated with radiation therapy between 1968 and 1973. Nine of ten remain free of disease though in 1 patient a new penile primary developed eight years after the radiation therapy and was treated by partial penectomy. One patient died following surgery for ''bleeding ulcer.'' He was free of penile cancer five years after radiation. The most common complication is urethral stricture and skin telangiectasia

  3. Halftone visual cryptography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhi; Arce, Gonzalo R; Di Crescenzo, Giovanni

    2006-08-01

    Visual cryptography encodes a secret binary image (SI) into n shares of random binary patterns. If the shares are xeroxed onto transparencies, the secret image can be visually decoded by superimposing a qualified subset of transparencies, but no secret information can be obtained from the superposition of a forbidden subset. The binary patterns of the n shares, however, have no visual meaning and hinder the objectives of visual cryptography. Extended visual cryptography [1] was proposed recently to construct meaningful binary images as shares using hypergraph colourings, but the visual quality is poor. In this paper, a novel technique named halftone visual cryptography is proposed to achieve visual cryptography via halftoning. Based on the blue-noise dithering principles, the proposed method utilizes the void and cluster algorithm [2] to encode a secret binary image into n halftone shares (images) carrying significant visual information. The simulation shows that the visual quality of the obtained halftone shares are observably better than that attained by any available visual cryptography method known to date.

  4. Monitoring CMS tracker construction and data quality using a Grid/Web service based on a visualization tool

    CERN Document Server

    Zito, Giuseppe; Regano, A

    2004-01-01

    The complexity of the CMS tracker (more than 50 million channels to monitor) now in construction in ten laboratories worldwide with hundreds of interested people, will require new tools for monitoring both the hardware and the software. In our approach we use both visualization tools and Grid services to make this monitoring possible. The use of visualization enables us to represent in a single computer screen all those million channels at once. The Grid will make it possible to get enough data and computing power in order to check every channel and also to reach the experts everywhere in the world allowing the early discovery of problems. We report here on a first prototype developed using the Grid environment already available now in CMS i.e. LCG2. This prototype consists on a Java client which implements the GUI for tracker visualization and two data servers connected to the tracker construction database and to Grid catalogs of event datasets. All the communication between client and servers is done using ...

  5. Novitäten im Breslauer Stadttheater

    OpenAIRE

    Zduniak, Maria

    2017-01-01

    Am Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts zählte das Breslauer Stadttheater, obwohl mit nur einer kleinen Orchester-Besetzung ausgestattet, zu den bemerkenswerten europäischen Opernbühnen. Es war aufgeschlossen für musikalische Novitäten. Als Beweis dafür sind u.a. die Breslauer Premieren Salome (1906) von Richard Strauss, L\\'Orfeo (1913) von Claudio Monteverdi und die Uraufführung der Oper Eros und Psyche (1917) von Ludomir Różycki zu nennen.

  6. Visualizing Data from EarthScope's USArray

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodward, R.; Frassetto, A.; Adinolfi, A.

    2012-12-01

    The EarthScope USArray program has generated a large volume of data from across the North American continent. The Transportable Array (TA) component of USArray has deployed over 400 seismic stations in a grid with 70 km spacing between stations. The TA has rolled the array across the contiguous US states over a ten-year period, and will have occupied over 1600 distinct sites from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean by the end of 2013. All stations transmit multiple channels of 40 samples per second data continuously, in near real time. Each station records and transmits seismic, barometric pressure, and infrasound data, as well as various state-of-health data streams. All data are immediately open and unrestricted. The TA provides a unique tool for visualizing large-scale seismic wave phenomena. The power of this tool is particularly apparent when displaying simultaneous signals from all stations as a function of time, as well as rendering multiple channels of data from each station. In this situation it is challenging to convey the 3D motion at each station as well as the aggregate 3D motion across the entire set of 400 stations. Creating movies of the data becomes essential to illustrate the time dependence of the observations. Typically the rendering of such movies requires the use of programming language that is suitable for both data analysis and graphics, as it is essential to explore different data pre-processing strategies (often filtering, but also including other pre-processing steps). Different visualization strategies provide a means for dealing with the very large volume of data generated by the TA. Typical data review strategies include a survey mode to scan large volumes of data for signals of interest, or zooming in on fine features using combinations of specialized data processing and frame-by-frame time-steps, or going back and forth between the two modes. The data visualizations are continuously evolving to explore new ideas. The movie

  7. Influencias del desarrollo de las habilidades visuales en el rendimiento deportivo en deportistas élite de raquetball Effect of the development of visual skills on the performance of racketball elite athletes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agustín Fernández Sánchez

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available La información visual juega un papel extremadamente importante en el deportista porque alrededor del 85 % de la información que requiere proviene del sistema visual; por eso el entrenamiento y desarrollo de las habilidades visuales se relacione con el rendimiento deportivo. Por ese motivo, nos propusimos como objetivos: determinar cómo influye el desarrollo de las habilidades visuales en el rendimiento deportivo de los jugadores de raquetball, evaluar el desarrollo de las habilidades visuales, definir cuáles son las más desarrolladas, compararlas por sexo, relacionarlas con el resultado deportivo y con patologías oculares o sistémicas. Se obtuvo como principal resultado que todos tenían desarrollada la binocularidad. Concluimos que hubo una mayor cantidad de atletas de raquetball con habilidades visuales desarrolladas; las más desarrolladas fueron: la binocularidad, la agudeza visual (estática y dinámica y la visualización. En el sexo femenino las más desarrolladas fueron: la agudeza visual (estática y dinámica, la acomodación-convergencia, la binocularidad y la visualización mientras que en el masculino fueron: la binocularidad, la agudeza visual (estática y dinámica y la visualización. En el caso del equipo femenino no hubo correspondencia entre la atleta con mayor desarrollo de las habilidades visuales y el mejor resultado deportivo; pero en el masculino sí se correspondió. No se encontraron patologías oculares o sistémicas asociadas a las habilidades visuales estudiadas. Recomendamos realizar este estudio a todos los atletas en su iniciación deportiva; y crear una consulta oftalmológica especializada dedicada al control de su visión, al entrenamiento visual para potenciar las habilidades visuales menos desarrolladas en los deportistas y examinarlos periódicamente.Visual information plays a very important role in an athlete since roughly 85% of required information comes from the visual system; therefore training

  8. Monocular Visual Deprivation Suppresses Excitability in Adult Human Visual Cortex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lou, Astrid Rosenstand; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Paulson, Olaf Bjarne

    2011-01-01

    The adult visual cortex maintains a substantial potential for plasticity in response to a change in visual input. For instance, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that binocular deprivation (BD) increases the cortical excitability for inducing phosphenes with TMS. Here, we...... of visual deprivation has a substantial impact on experience-dependent plasticity of the human visual cortex.......The adult visual cortex maintains a substantial potential for plasticity in response to a change in visual input. For instance, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that binocular deprivation (BD) increases the cortical excitability for inducing phosphenes with TMS. Here, we...... employed TMS to trace plastic changes in adult visual cortex before, during, and after 48 h of monocular deprivation (MD) of the right dominant eye. In healthy adult volunteers, MD-induced changes in visual cortex excitability were probed with paired-pulse TMS applied to the left and right occipital cortex...

  9. Reliability and validity of ten consumer activity trackers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kooiman, Thea; Dontje, Manon L.; Sprenger, Siska; Krijnen, Wim; van der Schans, Cees; de Groot, Martijn

    2015-01-01

    Background: Activity trackers can potentially stimulate users to increase their physical activity behavior. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of ten consumer activity trackers for measuring step count in both laboratory and free-living conditions. Method: Healthy

  10. Data visualization

    CERN Document Server

    Azzam, Tarek

    2013-01-01

    Do you communicate data and information to stakeholders? In Part 1, we introduce recent developments in the quantitative and qualitative data visualization field and provide a historical perspective on data visualization, its potential role in evaluation practice, and future directions. Part 2 delivers concrete suggestions for optimally using data visualization in evaluation, as well as suggestions for best practices in data visualization design. It focuses on specific quantitative and qualitative data visualization approaches that include data dashboards, graphic recording, and geographic information systems (GIS). Readers will get a step-by-step process for designing an effective data dashboard system for programs and organizations, and various suggestions to improve their utility.

  11. SeeDB: Efficient Data-Driven Visualization Recommendations to Support Visual Analytics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vartak, Manasi; Rahman, Sajjadur; Madden, Samuel; Parameswaran, Aditya; Polyzotis, Neoklis

    2015-09-01

    Data analysts often build visualizations as the first step in their analytical workflow. However, when working with high-dimensional datasets, identifying visualizations that show relevant or desired trends in data can be laborious. We propose SeeDB, a visualization recommendation engine to facilitate fast visual analysis: given a subset of data to be studied, SeeDB intelligently explores the space of visualizations, evaluates promising visualizations for trends, and recommends those it deems most "useful" or "interesting". The two major obstacles in recommending interesting visualizations are (a) scale : evaluating a large number of candidate visualizations while responding within interactive time scales, and (b) utility : identifying an appropriate metric for assessing interestingness of visualizations. For the former, SeeDB introduces pruning optimizations to quickly identify high-utility visualizations and sharing optimizations to maximize sharing of computation across visualizations. For the latter, as a first step, we adopt a deviation-based metric for visualization utility, while indicating how we may be able to generalize it to other factors influencing utility. We implement SeeDB as a middleware layer that can run on top of any DBMS. Our experiments show that our framework can identify interesting visualizations with high accuracy. Our optimizations lead to multiple orders of magnitude speedup on relational row and column stores and provide recommendations at interactive time scales. Finally, we demonstrate via a user study the effectiveness of our deviation-based utility metric and the value of recommendations in supporting visual analytics.

  12. [Progressive visual agnosia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugimoto, Azusa; Futamura, Akinori; Kawamura, Mitsuru

    2011-10-01

    Progressive visual agnosia was discovered in the 20th century following the discovery of classical non-progressive visual agnosia. In contrast to the classical type, which is caused by cerebral vascular disease or traumatic injury, progressive visual agnosia is a symptom of neurological degeneration. The condition of progressive visual loss, including visual agnosia, and posterior cerebral atrophy was named posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) by Benson et al. (1988). Progressive visual agnosia is also observed in semantic dementia (SD) and other degenerative diseases, but there is a difference in the subtype of visual agnosia associated with these diseases. Lissauer (1890) classified visual agnosia into apperceptive and associative types, and it in most cases, PCA is associated with the apperceptive type. However, SD patients exhibit symptoms of associative visual agnosia before changing to those of semantic memory disorder. Insights into progressive visual agnosia have helped us understand the visual system and discover how we "perceive" the outer world neuronally, with regard to consciousness. Although PCA is a type of atypical dementia, its diagnosis is important to enable patients to live better lives with appropriate functional support.

  13. Relation between Visual Acuity and Slope of Psychometric Function in Young Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomoki Tokutake

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Mita et al. (2010 devised a technique of comparing a visual acuity (VA change in an individual with more accurate VA than conventional VA tests by significant difference examined logarithmic (Log VA ± standard deviation (SD. Using this technique, in this study, we examined a relation between VA and the slope of the psychometric function in normal young subjects. Six occlusion foil conditions were employed (1.0, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, 0.1 and without the foil under a full refractive correction. Ten normal young adults (22.8 years old on average who have no ophthalmologic disease except ametropia participated in the measurement. The experiment was carried out with the constant method, a series of ten Landolt rings were used and each ring was presented 20 times randomly in a measurement. A 5.6-inch type of liquid crystal display driven by a computer, which has 1,280×800 pixels spatial resolution, was used to present the stimulus. In the normal young adults, the slope of the psychometric function did not change as the VA change systematically, and there was almost no correlation between them (r = −0.103.

  14. The influence of transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS) on human cerebral blood flow velocities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    ter Laan, Mark; van Dijk, J. Marc C.; Elting, Jan-Willem J.; Fidler, Vaclav; Staal, Michiel J.

    It has been shown that transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS) reduces sympathetic tone. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has proven qualities to improve coronary, peripheral, and cerebral blood circulation. Therefore, we postulate that TENS and SCS affect the autonomic nervous system in

  15. Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on cognition and behaviour in aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scherder, E.J A; van Someren, E.W J; Bouma, J.M.; van der Berg, M

    2000-01-01

    In previous studies, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) improved cognition and behaviour in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The rationale underlying these studies was that TENS could activate, e.g. the septo-hippocampal region and the hypothalamus through direct and indirect

  16. Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on cognition and behaviour in aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scherder, E.J.A.; Bouma, A.; van den Berg, M.

    2000-01-01

    In previous studies, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) improved cognition and behaviour in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The rationale underlying these studies was that TENS could activate, e.g. the septo-hippocampal region and the hypothalamus through direct and indirect

  17. Visual Artist or Visual Designer? Visual Communication Design Education

    OpenAIRE

    Arsoy, Aysu

    2010-01-01

    ABSTRACT: Design tools and contents have been digitalized, forming the contemporary fields of the visual arts and design. Corporate culture demands techno-social experts who understand the arts, design, culture and society, while also having a high level of technological proficiency. New departments have opened offering alternatives in art and design education such as Visual Communication Design (VCD) and are dedicated to educating students in the practical aspect of using digital technologi...

  18. Visual Semiotics & Uncertainty Visualization: An Empirical Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacEachren, A M; Roth, R E; O'Brien, J; Li, B; Swingley, D; Gahegan, M

    2012-12-01

    This paper presents two linked empirical studies focused on uncertainty visualization. The experiments are framed from two conceptual perspectives. First, a typology of uncertainty is used to delineate kinds of uncertainty matched with space, time, and attribute components of data. Second, concepts from visual semiotics are applied to characterize the kind of visual signification that is appropriate for representing those different categories of uncertainty. This framework guided the two experiments reported here. The first addresses representation intuitiveness, considering both visual variables and iconicity of representation. The second addresses relative performance of the most intuitive abstract and iconic representations of uncertainty on a map reading task. Combined results suggest initial guidelines for representing uncertainty and discussion focuses on practical applicability of results.

  19. Ten Thousand Years of Solitude

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benford, G. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA) California Univ., Irvine, CA (USA). Dept. of Physics); Kirkwood, C.W. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA) Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (USA). Coll. of Business Administration); Harry, O. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)); Pasqualetti, M.J. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA) Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (USA))

    1991-03-01

    This report documents the authors work as an expert team advising the US Department of Energy on modes of inadvertent intrusion over the next 10,000 years into the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) nuclear waste repository. Credible types of potential future accidental intrusion into the WIPP are estimated as a basis for creating warning markers to prevent inadvertent intrusion. A six-step process is used to structure possible scenarios for such intrusion, and it is concluded that the probability of inadvertent intrusion into the WIPP repository over the next ten thousand years lies between one and twenty-five percent. 3 figs., 5 tabs.

  20. Ten Thousand Years of Solitude?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benford, G.; Pasqualetti, M.J.

    1991-03-01

    This report documents the authors work as an expert team advising the US Department of Energy on modes of inadvertent intrusion over the next 10,000 years into the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) nuclear waste repository. Credible types of potential future accidental intrusion into the WIPP are estimated as a basis for creating warning markers to prevent inadvertent intrusion. A six-step process is used to structure possible scenarios for such intrusion, and it is concluded that the probability of inadvertent intrusion into the WIPP repository over the next ten thousand years lies between one and twenty-five percent. 3 figs., 5 tabs

  1. Ten questions on nuclear wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillaumont, R.; Bacher, P.

    2004-01-01

    The authors give explanations and answers to ten issues related to nuclear wastes: when a radioactive material becomes a waste, how radioactive wastes are classified and particularly nuclear wastes in France, what are the risks associated with radioactive wastes, whether the present management of radioactive wastes is well controlled in France, which wastes are raising actual problems and what are the solutions, whether amounts and radio-toxicity of wastes can be reduced, whether all long life radionuclides or part of them can be transmuted, whether geologic storage of final wastes is inescapable, whether radioactive material can be warehoused over long durations, and how the information on radioactive waste management is organised

  2. Ten recommendations for software engineering in research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hastings, Janna; Haug, Kenneth; Steinbeck, Christoph

    2014-01-01

    Research in the context of data-driven science requires a backbone of well-written software, but scientific researchers are typically not trained at length in software engineering, the principles for creating better software products. To address this gap, in particular for young researchers new to programming, we give ten recommendations to ensure the usability, sustainability and practicality of research software.

  3. VINKA, ten years on. Main scientific results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    The VINKA facility in the TRITON swimming-pool reactor at Fontenay-aux-Roses allows the irradiation of solids at low temperatures in order to study crystalline defects. After ten years of operation the main scientific results obtained in the fields of creep and growth (chapter I), point defects (chapter II), amorphisation (chapter III) and dechanneling of particles (chapter IV) are summarised [fr

  4. Ten new withanolides from Physalis peruviana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Sheng-Tao; Liu, Ji-Kai; Li, Bo

    2012-01-01

    Ten new withanolides, including four perulactone-type withanolides, perulactones E-H (1-4), three 28-hydroxy-withanolides, withaperuvins I-K (5-7), and three other withanolides, withaperuvins L-N (8-10), together with six known compounds (11-16) were isolated from the aerial parts of Physalis peruviana. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses (1D and 2D NMR, IR, HR-MS) and chemical methods. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Dynamic visual noise interferes with storage in visual working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Graham M; Dewhurst, Stephen A; Whittaker, Annalise

    2008-01-01

    Several studies have demonstrated that dynamic visual noise (DVN) does not interfere with memory for random matrices. This has led to suggestions that (a) visual working memory is distinct from imagery, and (b) visual working memory is not a gateway between sensory input and long-term storage. A comparison of the interference effects of DVN with memory for matrices and colored textures shows that DVN can interfere with visual working memory, probably at a level of visual detail not easily supported by long-term memory structures or the recoding of the visual pattern elements. The results support a gateway model of visuospatial working memory and raise questions about the most appropriate ways to measure and model the different levels of representation of information that can be held in visual working memory.

  6. The Ten-Minute Neighbourhood Is [not] a Basic Planning Unit for Happiness in Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abeer Mohamed Elshater

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the relationship between inhabitants’ happiness and the right to the city in the status quo of Egyptian neighborhoods. Although services are easily accessible, by ten-minute walks in a suitable ambience, happiness is not achieved. The research aims to, first, review the literature that provides a guideline for ten-minute neighborhoods. Second, this study conducts a comparative content analysis of recent online articles on the right to the city. Third, the study tests findings from Egyptian neighborhood settings. The idea of a ten-minute neighborhood is manageable. The hypothesis concerns a compliant design. It is a logical assumption that people who live within ten minutes walking distance of essential facilities in their area can minimize several problems and maximize a healthy lifestyle. The supposed issue causes the right to the city to affect the relationship between ten-minute neighborhoods and citizens’ happiness. This assumption can be established through site observation and oriented questionnaires. This paper contributes by presenting new planning units that suit the current context of the old cities in the Middle East and North Africa region, based on walking distances of ten minutes or less with reference to the right to the city. This planning unit can result in citizens’ happiness.

  7. A critical comparison of ten disposable cup LCAs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Harst, van der E.J.M.; Potting, J.

    2013-01-01

    Disposable cups can be made from conventional petro-plastics, bioplastics, or paperboard (coated with petro-plastics or bioplastics). This study compared ten life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of disposable cups with the aim to evaluate the robustness of their results. The selected studies have

  8. Maternity Nurses' Perceptions of Implementation of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Emilie M; Doyle, Eva I; Bowden, Rodney G

    The purpose of this study was to determine maternity nurses' perceptions of implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. An online survey and a focus group were used to evaluate perceptions of maternity nurses of implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in an urban Texas hospital at the onset of the project initiation. Responses were transcribed and coded using Nvivo software. Thematic analysis was conducted and consensus was reached among the research team to validate themes. Twenty-eight maternity nurses participated. Nurses perceived a number of barriers to implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding including nurse staffing shortages, variations in practice among nurses, different levels of nurse education and knowledge about breastfeeding, lack of parental awareness and knowledge about breastfeeding, culture, and postpartum issues such as maternal fatigue, visitors, and routine required procedures during recovery care that interfered with skin-to-skin positioning. Maternity nurses desired more education about breastfeeding; specifically, a hands-on approach, rather than formal classroom instruction, to be able to promote successful implementation of the Ten Steps. More education on breastfeeding for new mothers, their families, and healthcare providers was recommended. Nurse staffing should be adequate to support nurses in their efforts to promote breastfeeding. Skin-to-skin positioning should be integrated into the recovery period. Hospital leadership support for full implementation and policy adherence is essential. Challenges in implementing the Ten Steps were identified along with potential solutions.

  9. Prism therapy and visual rehabilitation in homonymous visual field loss.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Neill, Evelyn C

    2011-02-01

    Homonymous visual field defects (HVFD) are common and frequently occur after cerebrovascular accidents. They significantly impair visual function and cause disability particularly with regard to visual exploration. The purpose of this study was to assess a novel interventional treatment of monocular prism therapy on visual functioning in patients with HVFD of varied etiology using vision targeted, health-related quality of life (QOL) questionnaires. Our secondary aim was to confirm monocular and binocular visual field expansion pre- and posttreatment.

  10. Time in powers of ten natural phenomena and their timescales

    CERN Document Server

    't Hooft, Gerard

    2014-01-01

    In this richly illustrated book, Nobel Laureate Gerard 't Hooft and Theoretical Physicist Stefan Vandoren describe the enormous diversity of natural phenomena that take place at different time scales. In the tradition of the bestseller Powers of Ten , the authors zoom in and out in time, each step with a factor of ten. Starting from one second, time scales are enlarged until processes are reached that take much longer than the age of the universe. After the largest possible eternities, the reader is treated to the shortest and fastest phenomena known. Then the authors increase with powers of t

  11. 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…

  12. Ten-year statistics of the electric power supply. Status and tendencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-12-01

    The ten-year statistics of the electric power supply in Denmark for 1991-2000 presents in tables and figures the trend of the electric power supply sector during the last ten years. The tables and figures present information on total energy consumption, combined heat and power generation, fuel consumption and the environment, the technical systems, economy and pricing, organization of the electricity supply, and information on electricity prices and taxes for households and industry in various countries. (LN)

  13. The role of pulvinar in the transmission of information in the visual hierarchy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortes, Nelson; van Vreeswijk, Carl

    2012-01-01

    VISUAL RECEPTIVE FIELD (RF) ATTRIBUTES IN VISUAL CORTEX OF PRIMATES HAVE BEEN EXPLAINED MAINLY FROM CORTICAL CONNECTIONS: visual RFs progress from simple to complex through cortico-cortical pathways from lower to higher levels in the visual hierarchy. This feedforward flow of information is paired with top-down processes through the feedback pathway. Although the hierarchical organization explains the spatial properties of RFs, is unclear how a non-linear transmission of activity through the visual hierarchy can yield smooth contrast response functions in all level of the hierarchy. Depending on the gain, non-linear transfer functions create either a bimodal response to contrast, or no contrast dependence of the response in the highest level of the hierarchy. One possible mechanism to regulate this transmission of visual contrast information from low to high level involves an external component that shortcuts the flow of information through the hierarchy. A candidate for this shortcut is the Pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus. To investigate representation of stimulus contrast a hierarchical model network of ten cortical areas is examined. In each level of the network, the activity from the previous layer is integrated and then non-linearly transmitted to the next level. The arrangement of interactions creates a gradient from simple to complex RFs of increasing size as one moves from lower to higher cortical levels. The visual input is modeled as a Gaussian random input, whose width codes for the contrast. This input is applied to the first area. The output activity ratio among different contrast values is analyzed for the last level to observe sensitivity to a contrast and contrast invariant tuning. For a purely cortical system, the output of the last area can be approximately contrast invariant, but the sensitivity to contrast is poor. To account for an alternative visual processing pathway, non-reciprocal connections from and to a parallel pulvinar like structure

  14. Interaction for visualization

    CERN Document Server

    Tominski, Christian

    2015-01-01

    Visualization has become a valuable means for data exploration and analysis. Interactive visualization combines expressive graphical representations and effective user interaction. Although interaction is an important component of visualization approaches, much of the visualization literature tends to pay more attention to the graphical representation than to interaction.The goal of this work is to strengthen the interaction side of visualization. Based on a brief review of general aspects of interaction, we develop an interaction-oriented view on visualization. This view comprises five key as

  15. [An epidemiological study of visual disability and visual rehabilitation in Beijing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yan-hong; Ding, Ji-yuan; Peng, Hong; Shi, Ji-liang; Qu, Cheng-yi; Liu, Xi-pu

    2009-12-01

    To investigate the status of visual disability and the demands for visual rehabilitation services in Beijing. Five hundred and fifty-five persons with visual disability in Beijing from the Second National Survey on Disability of China were involved in this study. Their visual disability and demands for rehabilitation were evaluated. About three fourth of the visual disabled persons were over 60 years of age. Cataract, retinal and choroidal diseases, and glaucoma were the three leading causes of the visual impairment. Medical service was the number one (82.0%) demand for the persons with visual disability, although 89.4% of them had previously received some kinds of medial services. People who had received visual aid devices or rehabilitation training were 26.7% and 5.8%, respectively, while more people showed their demand for these service (36.6% and 11.9%, respectively). The demand for visual rehabilitation varied in different groups of age and severity of disability. Accessibility of high quality medical services for preventable blindness diseases should be further promoted. Public health education on visual rehabilitation is also needed.

  16. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Laryngeal Manual Therapy (LMT): Immediate Effects in Women With Dysphonia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conde, Mariana de Cásisa Macedo; Siqueira, Larissa Thaís Donalonso; Vendramini, José Eduardo; Brasolotto, Alcione Ghedini; Guirro, Rinaldo Roberto de Jesus; Silverio, Kelly Cristina Alves

    2018-05-01

    This study aimed to verify the immediate effect of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and laryngeal manual therapy (LMT) in musculoskeletal pain, voice quality, and self-reported signs in women with dysphonia. Thirty women with behavioral dysphonia were randomly divided into the TENS group and the LMT group. All participants fulfilled the pain survey and had their voices recorded to posterior perceptual and acoustic analysis before and after intervention. The TENS group received a unique low-frequency TENS session (20 minutes). The LMT group received LMT (20 minutes) with soft and superficial massage in the sternocleidomastoid muscle, suprahyoid muscles, and larynx. Afterward, the volunteers reported their voice, larynx, breathing, and articulatory signs. Pre and post data were compared by parametric and nonparametric tests. After TENS, a decrease in pain intensity in the posterior or anterior region of the neck, shoulders, upper or lower back, and masseter was observed. After LMT, a decrease in pain intensity in the neck anterior region, shoulders, lower back, and temporal region was observed. Also, after TENS, there was an improvement in vowel /a/ instability; after LMT, there was a general improvement in voice quality, decrease in tension, and decrease in breathiness in speech. Positive voice and laryngeal signs were reported after TENS, and positive laryngeal signs and articulation were reported after LMT. TENS and LMT may be used in voice treatment of women with behavioral dysphonia, and both may be considered important therapy resources that reduce musculoskeletal pain and cause positive laryngeal signs. Both TENS and LMT are able to partially improve voice quality, but TENS presented better results. Copyright © 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Visual Working Memory Enhances the Neural Response to Matching Visual Input.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gayet, Surya; Guggenmos, Matthias; Christophel, Thomas B; Haynes, John-Dylan; Paffen, Chris L E; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Sterzer, Philipp

    2017-07-12

    Visual working memory (VWM) is used to maintain visual information available for subsequent goal-directed behavior. The content of VWM has been shown to affect the behavioral response to concurrent visual input, suggesting that visual representations originating from VWM and from sensory input draw upon a shared neural substrate (i.e., a sensory recruitment stance on VWM storage). Here, we hypothesized that visual information maintained in VWM would enhance the neural response to concurrent visual input that matches the content of VWM. To test this hypothesis, we measured fMRI BOLD responses to task-irrelevant stimuli acquired from 15 human participants (three males) performing a concurrent delayed match-to-sample task. In this task, observers were sequentially presented with two shape stimuli and a retro-cue indicating which of the two shapes should be memorized for subsequent recognition. During the retention interval, a task-irrelevant shape (the probe) was briefly presented in the peripheral visual field, which could either match or mismatch the shape category of the memorized stimulus. We show that this probe stimulus elicited a stronger BOLD response, and allowed for increased shape-classification performance, when it matched rather than mismatched the concurrently memorized content, despite identical visual stimulation. Our results demonstrate that VWM enhances the neural response to concurrent visual input in a content-specific way. This finding is consistent with the view that neural populations involved in sensory processing are recruited for VWM storage, and it provides a common explanation for a plethora of behavioral studies in which VWM-matching visual input elicits a stronger behavioral and perceptual response. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans heavily rely on visual information to interact with their environment and frequently must memorize such information for later use. Visual working memory allows for maintaining such visual information in the mind

  18. Ten principles of good interdisciplinary team work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nancarrow, Susan A; Booth, Andrew; Ariss, Steven; Smith, Tony; Enderby, Pam; Roots, Alison

    2013-05-10

    Interdisciplinary team work is increasingly prevalent, supported by policies and practices that bring care closer to the patient and challenge traditional professional boundaries. To date, there has been a great deal of emphasis on the processes of team work, and in some cases, outcomes. This study draws on two sources of knowledge to identify the attributes of a good interdisciplinary team; a published systematic review of the literature on interdisciplinary team work, and the perceptions of over 253 staff from 11 community rehabilitation and intermediate care teams in the UK. These data sources were merged using qualitative content analysis to arrive at a framework that identifies characteristics and proposes ten competencies that support effective interdisciplinary team work. Ten characteristics underpinning effective interdisciplinary team work were identified: positive leadership and management attributes; communication strategies and structures; personal rewards, training and development; appropriate resources and procedures; appropriate skill mix; supportive team climate; individual characteristics that support interdisciplinary team work; clarity of vision; quality and outcomes of care; and respecting and understanding roles. We propose competency statements that an effective interdisciplinary team functioning at a high level should demonstrate.

  19. Constructing visual representations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huron, Samuel; Jansen, Yvonne; Carpendale, Sheelagh

    2014-01-01

    tangible building blocks. We learned that all participants, most of whom had little experience in visualization authoring, were readily able to create and talk about their own visualizations. Based on our observations, we discuss participants’ actions during the development of their visual representations......The accessibility of infovis authoring tools to a wide audience has been identified as a major research challenge. A key task in the authoring process is the development of visual mappings. While the infovis community has long been deeply interested in finding effective visual mappings......, comparatively little attention has been placed on how people construct visual mappings. In this paper, we present the results of a study designed to shed light on how people transform data into visual representations. We asked people to create, update and explain their own information visualizations using only...

  20. Cone pigments in a North American marsupial, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

    OpenAIRE

    Jacobs, Gerald H.; Williams, Gary A.

    2010-01-01

    Only two of the four cone opsin gene families found in vertebrates are represented in contemporary eutherian and marsupial species. Recent genetic studies of two species of South American marsupial detected the presence of representatives from two of the classes of cone opsin genes and the structures of these genes predicted cone pigments with respective peaks in the ultraviolet and long-wavelength portions of the spectrum. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a profoundly nocturnal a...

  1. Development of a psychosocial adaptation questionnaire for Chinese patients with visual impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiu-jie; Wang, Ai-ping

    2011-10-01

    To develop a psychosocial adaptation questionnaire for Chinese patients with visual impairments and to examine its reliability and validity. Psychosocial adaptation with disease has been studied, however, there have been few reports on the impact of visual impairment on psychosocial adaptation. An instrument has not been developed to assess psychosocial adaptation with visual impairment specifically for patients in China. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. A questionnaire was developed based on the concept of psychosocial adaptation with visual impairment. Items for the questionnaire were developed by reviewing the literature and carrying out a semi-structured interview with 12 visually impaired patients. Five ophthalmologists and ten patients evaluated the content validity and face validity of the questionnaire, respectively. The method of convenient sampling was used to select 213 visually impaired patients in the Ophthalmology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University to participate in the study. Discriminative index and item-total correlation analyses were used to delete items that were lower than a set criterion. Regarding construct validity, factor analysis was performed. The Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Self Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ) were used to evaluate criterion validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used as an index of internal consistency. To evaluate test-retest reliability, 50 patients were re-evaluated after 24 hours. A total of 204 questionnaire items were created. 22 items were deleted by discriminative index and item-total correlation before factor analysis; 38 items were entered into the model for factor analysis. Seven factors were extracted by using principal factor analysis and varimax rotation, with a cumulative contribution of 59·18%. The correlation coefficients between the psychosocial adaptation questionnaire for visual impairment

  2. Visualization of subtle temporal bone structures. Comparison of cone beam CT and MDCT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pein, M.K.; Plontke, S.K.; Brandt, S.; Koesling, S.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the visualization of subtle, non-pathological temporal bone structures on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) in vivo. Temporal bone studies of images from 38 patients archived in the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) were analyzed (slice thickness MDCT 0.6 mm and CBCT 0.125 mm) of which 23 were imaged by MDCT and 15 by CBCT using optimized standard protocols. Inclusion criteria were normal radiological findings, absence of previous surgery and anatomical variants. Images were evaluated blind by three trained observers. Using a five-point scale the visualization of ten subtle structures of the temporal bone was analyzed. Subtle middle ear structures showed a tendency to be more easily distinguishable by CBCT with significantly better visualization of the tendon of the stapedius muscle and the crura of the stapes on CBCT (p = 0.003 and p = 0.033, respectively). In contrast, inner ear components, such as the osseus spiral lamina and the modiolus tended to be better detectable on MDCT, showing significant differences for the osseous spiral lamina (p = 0.001). The interrater reliability was 0.73 (Cohen's kappa coefficient) and intraobserver reliability was 0.89. The use of CBCT and MDCT allows equivalent and excellent imaging results if optimized protocols are chosen. With both imaging techniques subtle temporal bone structures could be visualized with a similar degree of definition. In vivo differences do not seem to be as large as suggested in several previous studies. (orig.) [de

  3. Emergence of auditory-visual relations from a visual-visual baseline with auditory-specific consequences in individuals with autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varella, André A B; de Souza, Deisy G

    2014-07-01

    Empirical studies have demonstrated that class-specific contingencies may engender stimulus-reinforcer relations. In these studies, crossmodal relations emerged when crossmodal relations comprised the baseline, and intramodal relations emerged when intramodal relations were taught during baseline. This study investigated whether auditory-visual relations (crossmodal) would emerge after participants learned a visual-visual baseline (intramodal) with auditory stimuli presented as specific consequences. Four individuals with autism learned AB and CD relations with class-specific reinforcers. When A1 and C1 were presented as samples, the selections of B1 and D1, respectively, were followed by an edible (R1) and a sound (S1). Selections of B2 and D2 under the control of A2 and C2, respectively, were followed by R2 and S2. Probe trials tested for visual-visual AC, CA, AD, DA, BC, CB, BD, and DB emergent relations and auditory-visual SA, SB, SC, and SD emergent relations. All of the participants demonstrated the emergence of all auditory-visual relations, and three of four participants showed emergence of all visual-visual relations. Thus, the emergence of auditory-visual relations from specific auditory consequences suggests that these relations do not depend on crossmodal baseline training. The procedure has great potential for applied technology to generate auditory-visual discriminations and stimulus classes in the context of behavior-analytic interventions for autism. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  4. Age Group Comparisons of TENS Response among Individuals with Chronic Axial Low Back Pain

    OpenAIRE

    Simon, Corey B.; Riley, Joseph L.; Fillingim, Roger B.; Bishop, Mark D.; George, Steven Z.

    2015-01-01

    Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a highly prevalent and disabling musculoskeletal pain condition among older adults. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is commonly used to treat CLBP, however, TENS response for older adults compared to younger adults is untested. In a dose-response study stratified by age, sixty participants with axial CLBP (20 young, 20 middle-aged, 20 older) received four 20-minute sessions of high frequency, high intensity TENS over a two to three-week perio...

  5. Ten-year statistics of the electric power supply. Status and tendencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-12-01

    The ten-year statistics of the electric power supply in Denmark for 1990-1999 presents in tables and figures the trend of the electric power supply sector during the last ten years. The tables and figures present information on total energy consumption, combined heat and power generation, fuel consumption and the environment, the technical systems, economy and pricing, organization of the electricity supply, auto-production of electricity and information on electricity prices and taxes for households and industry in various countries. (LN)

  6. Visualization and Non-Destructive Quantification of Inkjet-Printed Pharmaceuticals on Different Substrates Using Raman Spectroscopy and Raman Chemical Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edinger, Magnus; Bar-Shalom, Daniel; Rantanen, Jukka

    2017-01-01

    and ethanol was developed. Inkjet printing technology was used to apply haloperidol ink onto three different substrates. Custom-made inorganic compacts and dry foam, as well as marketed paracetamol tablets were used as the substrates. RESULTS: Therapeutic personalized doses were printed by using one to ten...... printing rounds on the substrates. The haloperidol content in the finished dosage forms were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The distribution of the haloperidol on the dosage forms were visualized using Raman chemical imaging combined with principal components analysis (PCA...... prediction was observed for the paracetamol tablets. It was not possible to quantify haloperidol on the dry foam due to the low and varying density of the substrate. CONCLUSIONS: Raman spectroscopy is a useful tool for visualization and quality control of inkjet printed personalized medicine....

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

    OpenAIRE

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

    2017-01-01

    International audience; 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 behavio...

  8. A Visual Test for Visual "Literacy."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messaris, Paul

    Four different principles of visual manipulation constitute a minimal list of what a visually "literate" viewer should know about, but certain problems exist which are inherent in measuring viewers' awareness of each of them. The four principles are: (1) paraproxemics, or camera work which derives its effectiveness from an analogy to the…

  9. Visual Memories Bypass Normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloem, Ilona M; Watanabe, Yurika L; Kibbe, Melissa M; Ling, Sam

    2018-05-01

    How distinct are visual memory representations from visual perception? Although evidence suggests that briefly remembered stimuli are represented within early visual cortices, the degree to which these memory traces resemble true visual representations remains something of a mystery. Here, we tested whether both visual memory and perception succumb to a seemingly ubiquitous neural computation: normalization. Observers were asked to remember the contrast of visual stimuli, which were pitted against each other to promote normalization either in perception or in visual memory. Our results revealed robust normalization between visual representations in perception, yet no signature of normalization occurring between working memory stores-neither between representations in memory nor between memory representations and visual inputs. These results provide unique insight into the nature of visual memory representations, illustrating that visual memory representations follow a different set of computational rules, bypassing normalization, a canonical visual computation.

  10. Ten questions about radiant heating and cooling systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rhee, Kyu-Nam; Olesen, Bjarne W.; Kim, Kwang Woo

    2017-01-01

    to extend the applicability of the RHC system are providing the continuous impetus for research on RHC systems. This paper summarizes the important issues involved in the research on RHC system, whereby ten questions and answers concerning the RHC system are discussed, which will help researchers to conduct...

  11. Visual cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavanagh, Patrick

    2011-01-01

    Visual cognition, high-level vision, mid-level vision and top-down processing all refer to decision-based scene analyses that combine prior knowledge with retinal input to generate representations. The label “visual cognition” is little used at present, but research and experiments on mid- and high-level, inference-based vision have flourished, becoming in the 21st century a significant, if often understated part, of current vision research. How does visual cognition work? What are its moving parts? This paper reviews the origins and architecture of visual cognition and briefly describes some work in the areas of routines, attention, surfaces, objects, and events (motion, causality, and agency). Most vision scientists avoid being too explicit when presenting concepts about visual cognition, having learned that explicit models invite easy criticism. What we see in the literature is ample evidence for visual cognition, but few or only cautious attempts to detail how it might work. This is the great unfinished business of vision research: at some point we will be done with characterizing how the visual system measures the world and we will have to return to the question of how vision constructs models of objects, surfaces, scenes, and events. PMID:21329719

  12. Visual cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavanagh, Patrick

    2011-07-01

    Visual cognition, high-level vision, mid-level vision and top-down processing all refer to decision-based scene analyses that combine prior knowledge with retinal input to generate representations. The label "visual cognition" is little used at present, but research and experiments on mid- and high-level, inference-based vision have flourished, becoming in the 21st century a significant, if often understated part, of current vision research. How does visual cognition work? What are its moving parts? This paper reviews the origins and architecture of visual cognition and briefly describes some work in the areas of routines, attention, surfaces, objects, and events (motion, causality, and agency). Most vision scientists avoid being too explicit when presenting concepts about visual cognition, having learned that explicit models invite easy criticism. What we see in the literature is ample evidence for visual cognition, but few or only cautious attempts to detail how it might work. This is the great unfinished business of vision research: at some point we will be done with characterizing how the visual system measures the world and we will have to return to the question of how vision constructs models of objects, surfaces, scenes, and events. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Visual Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mie; Flensborg, Ingelise

    2010-01-01

    The intrinsic breadth of various types of images creates new possibilities and challenges for visual education. The digital media have moved the boundaries between images and other kinds of modalities (e.g. writing, speech and sound) and have augmented the possibilities for integrating the functi......The intrinsic breadth of various types of images creates new possibilities and challenges for visual education. The digital media have moved the boundaries between images and other kinds of modalities (e.g. writing, speech and sound) and have augmented the possibilities for integrating...... to emerge in the interlocutory space of a global visual repertoire and diverse local interpretations. The two perspectives represent challenges for future visual education which require visual competences, not only within the arts but also within the subjects of natural sciences, social sciences, languages...

  14. Perceptual Learning in Children With Visual Impairment Improves Near Visual Acuity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huurneman, Bianca; Boonstra, F. Nienke; Cox, Ralf F. A.; van Rens, Ger; Cillessen, Antonius H. N.

    PURPOSE. This study investigated whether visual perceptual learning can improve near visual acuity and reduce foveal crowding effects in four-to nine-year-old children with visual impairment. METHODS. Participants were 45 children with visual impairment and 29 children with normal vision. Children

  15. Perceptual Learning in Children With Visual Impairment Improves Near Visual Acuity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huurneman, B.; Boonstra, F.N.; Cox, R.F.A.; van Rens, G.H.M.B.; Cillessen, A.H.N.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose. This study investigated whether visual perceptual learning can improve near visual acuity and reduce foveal crowding effects in four- to nine-year-old children with visual impairment. Methods. Participants were 45 children with visual impairment and 29 children with normal vision. Children

  16. Perceptual learning in children with visual impairment improves near visual acuity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huurneman, B.; Boonstra, F.N.; Cox, R.F.; Rens, G. van; Cillessen, A.H.

    2013-01-01

    PURPOSE: This study investigated whether visual perceptual learning can improve near visual acuity and reduce foveal crowding effects in four- to nine-year-old children with visual impairment. METHODS: Participants were 45 children with visual impairment and 29 children with normal vision. Children

  17. Perceptual Learning in Children With Visual Impairment Improves Near Visual Acuity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huurneman, B.; Boonstra, F.N.; Cox, R.F.A.; Rens, G.H.M.B. van; Cillessen, A.H.N.

    2013-01-01

    PURPOSE. This study investigated whether visual perceptual learning can improve near visual acuity and reduce foveal crowding effects in four-to nine-year-old children with visual impairment. METHODS. Participants were 45 children with visual impairment and 29 children with normal vision. Children

  18. Research on pinch devices of tens of kA to MA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soto, L.; Silva, P.; Moreno, J.; Silvester, G.; Zambra, M. [Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear, Santiago (Chile); Pavez, C.; Saavedra, R. [Univ. de Concepcion (Chile); Bruzzone, H. [Pladema (Antiqua and Barbuda)]|[Univ. de Mar del Plata and CONICET (Argentina); Barbaglia, M. [Pladema (Antiqua and Barbuda); Mayer, R. [Pladema (Antiqua and Barbuda)]|[Inst. Balseiro, Bariloche, CNEA and CONICET (Argentina); Sidelnikov, Y.; Kies, W. [Heinrich-Heine-Univ., Duesseldorf (Germany)

    2004-07-01

    At present the Plasma Physics and Plasma Technology Group of the Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear (CCHEN) has the experimental facilities in order to study dense transient discharges in a wide range of energy and current, namely: (I) energy from tens of joules to hundred of kilojoules, (II) current from tens of kiloamperes to some mega-amperes. Also several diagnostics have been implemented. An overview of the work being carried out on dense pinch discharges at the Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear is presented. (orig.)

  19. Research on pinch devices of tens of kA to MA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soto, L.; Silva, P.; Moreno, J.; Silvester, G.; Zambra, M.; Pavez, C.; Saavedra, R.; Bruzzone, H.; Barbaglia, M.; Mayer, R.; Sidelnikov, Y.; Kies, W.

    2004-01-01

    At present the Plasma Physics and Plasma Technology Group of the Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear (CCHEN) has the experimental facilities in order to study dense transient discharges in a wide range of energy and current, namely: (I) energy from tens of joules to hundred of kilojoules, (II) current from tens of kiloamperes to some mega-amperes. Also several diagnostics have been implemented. An overview of the work being carried out on dense pinch discharges at the Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear is presented. (orig.)

  20. Antihypertensive effect of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in comparison with drug treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverdal, Jonas; Mourtzinis, Georgios; Stener-Victorin, Elisabet; Mannheimer, Clas; Manhem, Karin

    2012-10-01

    Hypertension is a major risk factor for vascular disease, yet blood pressure (BP) control is unsatisfactory low, partly due to side-effects. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is well tolerated and studies have demonstrated BP reduction. In this study, we compared the BP lowering effect of 2.5 mg felodipin once daily with 30 min of bidaily low-frequency TENS in 32 adult hypertensive subjects (mean office BP 152.7/90.0 mmHg) in a randomized, crossover design. Office BP and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) were performed at baseline and at the end of each 4-week treatment and washout period. Felodipin reduced office BP by 10/6 mmHg (p TENS reduced office BP by 5/1.5 mmHg (p TENS washout, BP was further reduced and significantly lower than at baseline, but at levels similar to BP after felodipin washout and therefore reasonably caused by factors other than the treatment per se. ABPM revealed a significant systolic reduction of 3 mmHg by felodipin, but no significant changes were noted after TENS. We conclude that our study does not present any solid evidence of BP reduction of TENS.

  1. Optical spectroscopy of ten extragalactic radiosources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rawlings, S.; Riley, J.M.; Saunders, R.

    1989-01-01

    We present optical spectroscopy of ten objects associated with extra-galactic radiosources, using the University of Hawaii 2.2-m telescope. Redshifts are measured for four radiogalaxies (B20217 + 36A + B, 3C73, 0648 + 19A, 0648 + 19B) and for a galaxy which is probably associated with a double radio-source with highly unusual properties (0951 + 37); existing redshifts are confirmed for two radiogalaxies (4C39.04, 4C40.08); and a tentative redshift of z=2.87 measured for the quasar 3C82. (author)

  2. Ten essential skills for electrical engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Dorr, Barry

    2014-01-01

    Engineers know that, as in any other discipline, getting a good job requires practical, up-to-date skills. An engineering degree provides a broad set of fundamentals. Ten Essential Skills applies those fundamentals to practical tasks required by employers. Written in a user-friendly, no-nonsense format, the book reviews practical skills using the latest tools and techniques, and features a companion website with interview practice problems and advanced material for readers wishing to pursue additional skills. With this book, aspiring and current engineers may approach job interviews confident

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  5. Visual working memory enhances the neural response to matching visual input

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gayet, Surya; Guggenmos, Matthias; Christophel, Thomas B; Haynes, John-Dylan; Paffen, Chris L E; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Sterzer, Philipp

    2017-01-01

    Visual working memory (VWM) is used to maintain visual information available for subsequent goal-directed behavior. The content of VWM has been shown to affect the behavioral response to concurrent visual input, suggesting that visual representations originating from VWM and from sensory input draw

  6. Breath-hold two-dimensional MR angiography of coronary arteries. Comparison with conventional coronary angiography in ten cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Liwei; Zhang Wanshi; Liu Chaozhong; Lu Xiaoyan; Xu Jiaxing

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the diagnostic value of two-dimensional coronary magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in patients evaluated for ischemic heart disease. Materials and methods: Ten patients who underwent selective cardiac catheterization with coronary MR angiography were evaluated with two-dimensional coronary MR angiography. Coronary MR angiography was performed with breath-hold fat-suppressed ECG-gated Turbo-FLASH with K-space segmentation using a 1.5 T imager. Results: The left main coronary artery, proximal left anterior descending artery, circumflex artery and right coronary artery were demonstrated in all cases. Continuous segments (mean) of left anterior descending, circumflex and right coronary arteries visualized on MRA were 6.72 +- 3.16 cm, 3.67 +- 4.81 cm and 7.93 +- 3.12 cm respectively. The overall sensitivity for detection of hemodynamically significant coronary artery lesion (≥50%) was 62.5% respectively. Conclusion: Breath-hold two-dimensional coronary MR angiography was useful in showing relatively long segments of the main coronary arteries and also has potential in depicting hemodynamically significant coronary artery lesions

  7. Visual coherence for large-scale line-plot visualizations

    KAUST Repository

    Muigg, Philipp

    2011-06-01

    Displaying a large number of lines within a limited amount of screen space is a task that is common to many different classes of visualization techniques such as time-series visualizations, parallel coordinates, link-node diagrams, and phase-space diagrams. This paper addresses the challenging problems of cluttering and overdraw inherent to such visualizations. We generate a 2x2 tensor field during line rasterization that encodes the distribution of line orientations through each image pixel. Anisotropic diffusion of a noise texture is then used to generate a dense, coherent visualization of line orientation. In order to represent features of different scales, we employ a multi-resolution representation of the tensor field. The resulting technique can easily be applied to a wide variety of line-based visualizations. We demonstrate this for parallel coordinates, a time-series visualization, and a phase-space diagram. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to integrate a focus+context approach by incorporating a second tensor field. Our approach achieves interactive rendering performance for large data sets containing millions of data items, due to its image-based nature and ease of implementation on GPUs. Simulation results from computational fluid dynamics are used to evaluate the performance and usefulness of the proposed method. © 2011 The Author(s).

  8. Visual coherence for large-scale line-plot visualizations

    KAUST Repository

    Muigg, Philipp; Hadwiger, Markus; Doleisch, Helmut; Grö ller, Eduard M.

    2011-01-01

    Displaying a large number of lines within a limited amount of screen space is a task that is common to many different classes of visualization techniques such as time-series visualizations, parallel coordinates, link-node diagrams, and phase-space diagrams. This paper addresses the challenging problems of cluttering and overdraw inherent to such visualizations. We generate a 2x2 tensor field during line rasterization that encodes the distribution of line orientations through each image pixel. Anisotropic diffusion of a noise texture is then used to generate a dense, coherent visualization of line orientation. In order to represent features of different scales, we employ a multi-resolution representation of the tensor field. The resulting technique can easily be applied to a wide variety of line-based visualizations. We demonstrate this for parallel coordinates, a time-series visualization, and a phase-space diagram. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to integrate a focus+context approach by incorporating a second tensor field. Our approach achieves interactive rendering performance for large data sets containing millions of data items, due to its image-based nature and ease of implementation on GPUs. Simulation results from computational fluid dynamics are used to evaluate the performance and usefulness of the proposed method. © 2011 The Author(s).

  9. Loss-of-function of the ciliopathy protein Cc2d2a disorganizes the vesicle fusion machinery at the periciliary membrane and indirectly affects Rab8-trafficking in zebrafish photoreceptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojeda Naharros, Irene; Gesemann, Matthias; Mateos, José M; Barmettler, Gery; Forbes, Austin; Ziegler, Urs; Neuhauss, Stephan C F; Bachmann-Gagescu, Ruxandra

    2017-12-01

    Ciliopathies are human disorders caused by dysfunction of primary cilia, ubiquitous organelles involved in transduction of environmental signals such as light sensation in photoreceptors. Concentration of signal detection proteins such as opsins in the ciliary membrane is achieved by RabGTPase-regulated polarized vesicle trafficking and by a selective barrier at the ciliary base, the transition zone (TZ). Dysfunction of the TZ protein CC2D2A causes Joubert/Meckel syndromes in humans and loss of ciliary protein localization in animal models, including opsins in retinal photoreceptors. The link between the TZ and upstream vesicle trafficking has been little explored to date. Moreover, the role of the small GTPase Rab8 in opsin-carrier vesicle (OCV) trafficking has been recently questioned in a mouse model. Using correlative light and electron microscopy and live imaging in zebrafish photoreceptors, we provide the first live characterization of Rab8-mediated trafficking in photoreceptors in vivo. Our results support a possibly redundant role for both Rab8a/b paralogs in OCV trafficking, based on co-localization of Rab8 and opsins in vesicular structures, and joint movement of Rab8-tagged particles with opsin. We further investigate the role of the TZ protein Cc2d2a in Rab8-mediated trafficking using cc2d2a zebrafish mutants and identify a requirement for Cc2d2a in the latest step of OCV trafficking, namely vesicle fusion. Progressive accumulation of opsin-containing vesicles in the apical portion of photoreceptors lacking Cc2d2a is caused by disorganization of the vesicle fusion machinery at the periciliary membrane with mislocalization and loss of the t-SNAREs SNAP25 and Syntaxin3 and of the exocyst component Exoc4. We further observe secondary defects on upstream Rab8-trafficking with cytoplasmic accumulation of Rab8. Taken together, our results support participation of Rab8 in OCV trafficking and identify a novel role for the TZ protein Cc2d2a in fusion of incoming

  10. To Further the Near-Vision Visual Acuity Tests (3): For a Test Which Saves Time, Labor, and Expenses

    OpenAIRE

    高橋, ひとみ; 川端, 秀仁; 衞藤, 隆

    2014-01-01

    The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan has its advisory board to review the list of medical checkup for school children every ten years. In August 2013 the board found that there was a considerable number of school children who had poor near vision and thus learn in the class less efficiently. The board recommended that the Ministry consider whether to include a near-vision visual acuity test in a regular medical examination at school. It may not be known ...

  11. School Psychologists' Job Satisfaction: Ten Years Later

    OpenAIRE

    Worrell, Travis G.

    2004-01-01

    School Psychologistsâ Job Satisfaction: Ten Years Later (ABSTRACT) This study was designed to replicate nationwide surveys completed in 1982 and 1992. The purpose was to examine and describe the levels of job satisfaction and the relationship between the variables in a national sample of school psychologists belonging to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). The sample for this study consisted of respondents who reported being full-time school practitioners. ...

  12. Generating descriptive visual words and visual phrases for large-scale image applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shiliang; Tian, Qi; Hua, Gang; Huang, Qingming; Gao, Wen

    2011-09-01

    Bag-of-visual Words (BoWs) representation has been applied for various problems in the fields of multimedia and computer vision. The basic idea is to represent images as visual documents composed of repeatable and distinctive visual elements, which are comparable to the text words. Notwithstanding its great success and wide adoption, visual vocabulary created from single-image local descriptors is often shown to be not as effective as desired. In this paper, descriptive visual words (DVWs) and descriptive visual phrases (DVPs) are proposed as the visual correspondences to text words and phrases, where visual phrases refer to the frequently co-occurring visual word pairs. Since images are the carriers of visual objects and scenes, a descriptive visual element set can be composed by the visual words and their combinations which are effective in representing certain visual objects or scenes. Based on this idea, a general framework is proposed for generating DVWs and DVPs for image applications. In a large-scale image database containing 1506 object and scene categories, the visual words and visual word pairs descriptive to certain objects or scenes are identified and collected as the DVWs and DVPs. Experiments show that the DVWs and DVPs are informative and descriptive and, thus, are more comparable with the text words than the classic visual words. We apply the identified DVWs and DVPs in several applications including large-scale near-duplicated image retrieval, image search re-ranking, and object recognition. The combination of DVW and DVP performs better than the state of the art in large-scale near-duplicated image retrieval in terms of accuracy, efficiency and memory consumption. The proposed image search re-ranking algorithm: DWPRank outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithm by 12.4% in mean average precision and about 11 times faster in efficiency.

  13. Do gender differences in audio-visual benefit and visual influence in audio-visual speech perception emerge with age?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnus eAlm

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Gender and age have been found to affect adults’ audio-visual (AV speech perception. However, research on adult aging focuses on adults over 60 years, who have an increasing likelihood for cognitive and sensory decline, which may confound positive effects of age-related AV-experience and its interaction with gender. Observed age and gender differences in AV speech perception may also depend on measurement sensitivity and AV task difficulty. Consequently both AV benefit and visual influence were used to measure visual contribution for gender-balanced groups of young (20-30 years and middle-aged adults (50-60 years with task difficulty varied using AV syllables from different talkers in alternative auditory backgrounds. Females had better speech-reading performance than males. Whereas no gender differences in AV benefit or visual influence were observed for young adults, visually influenced responses were significantly greater for middle-aged females than middle-aged males. That speech-reading performance did not influence AV benefit may be explained by visual speech extraction and AV integration constituting independent abilities. Contrastingly, the gender difference in visually influenced responses in middle adulthood may reflect an experience-related shift in females’ general AV perceptual strategy. Although young females’ speech-reading proficiency may not readily contribute to greater visual influence, between young and middle-adulthood recurrent confirmation of the contribution of visual cues induced by speech-reading proficiency may gradually shift females AV perceptual strategy towards more visually dominated responses.

  14. Traffic Visualization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Picozzi, Matteo; Verdezoto, Nervo; Pouke, Matti

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we present a space-time visualization to provide city's decision-makers the ability to analyse and uncover important "city events" in an understandable manner for city planning activities. An interactive Web mashup visualization is presented that integrates several visualization...... techniques to give a rapid overview of traffic data. We illustrate our approach as a case study for traffic visualization systems, using datasets from the city of Oulu that can be extended to other city planning activities. We also report the feedback of real users (traffic management employees, traffic police...

  15. Study of growth and development features of ten ground cover plants in Kish Island green space in warm season

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Shooshtarian

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Having special ecological condition, Kish Island has a restricted range of native species of ornamental plants. Expansion of urban green space in this Island is great of importance due to its outstanding touristy position in the South of Iran. The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth and development of groundcover plants planted in four different regions of Kish Island and to recommend the most suitable and adaptable species for each region. Ten groundcover species included Festuca ovina L., Glaucium flavum Crantz., Frankenia thymifolia Desf., Sedum spurium Bieb., Sedum acre L., .Potentilla verna L., Carpobrotus acinaciformis (L. L. Bolus., Achillea millefolium L., Alternanthera dentata Moench. and Lampranthus spectabilis Haw. Evaluation of growth and development had been made by measurement of morphological characteristics such as height, covering area, leaf number and area, dry and fresh total weights and visual scoring. Physiological traits included proline and chlorophyll contents evaluated. This study was designed in factorial layout based on completely randomized blocks design with six replicates. Results showed that in terms of indices such as covering area, visual quality, height, total weight, and chlorophyll content, Pavioon and Sadaf plants had the most and the worst performances, respectively in comparison to other regions’ plants. Based on evaluated characteristics, C. acinaciformis, L. spectabilis and F. thymifolia had the most expansion and growth in all quadruplet regions and are recommend for planting in Kish Island and similar climates.

  16. Object representations in visual memory: evidence from visual illusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Shalom, Asaf; Ganel, Tzvi

    2012-07-26

    Human visual memory is considered to contain different levels of object representations. Representations in visual working memory (VWM) are thought to contain relatively elaborated information about object structure. Conversely, representations in iconic memory are thought to be more perceptual in nature. In four experiments, we tested the effects of two different categories of visual illusions on representations in VWM and in iconic memory. Unlike VWM that was affected by both types of illusions, iconic memory was immune to the effects of within-object contextual illusions and was affected only by illusions driven by between-objects contextual properties. These results show that iconic and visual working memory contain dissociable representations of object shape. These findings suggest that the global properties of the visual scene are processed prior to the processing of specific elements.

  17. Fulfilling the atomic promise: Ten years history gives pointers for the future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1967-01-01

    Ten years is a short period in human history, and a short period in the life of an international organization. Nevertheless the ten years now completed by the International Atomic Energy Agency has seen much work accomplished and has brought greater realization than ever before of the promise held out by the atom for peaceful benefits leading to the promotion of peace, health and prosperity throughout the world

  18. Cortical visual impairment

    OpenAIRE

    Koželj, Urša

    2013-01-01

    In this thesis we discuss cortical visual impairment, diagnosis that is in the developed world in first place, since 20 percent of children with blindness or low vision are diagnosed with it. The objectives of the thesis are to define cortical visual impairment and the definition of characters suggestive of the cortical visual impairment as well as to search for causes that affect the growing diagnosis of cortical visual impairment. There are a lot of signs of cortical visual impairment. ...

  19. Breastfeeding Practices and Barriers to Implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in Mississippi Hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alakaam, Amir; Lemacks, Jennifer; Yadrick, Kathleen; Connell, Carol; Choi, Hwanseok Winston; Newman, Ray G

    2018-05-01

    Mississippi has the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the United States at 6 and 12 months. There is growing evidence that the rates and duration of infant breastfeeding improve after hospitals implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding; moreover, the Ten Steps approach is considered the standard model for evaluation of breastfeeding practices in birthplaces. Research aim: This study aimed to examine the implementation level of the Ten Steps and identify barriers to implementing the Ten Steps in Mississippi hospitals. A cross-sectional self-report survey was used to answer the research aim. Nurse managers of the birthing and maternity units of all 43 Mississippi hospitals that provided birthing and maternity care were recruited. A response rate of 72% ( N = 31) was obtained. Implementation of the Ten Steps in these hospitals was categorized as low, partial, moderate, or high. The researcher classified implementation in 29% of hospitals as moderate and in 71% as partial. The hospital level of implementation was significantly positively associated with the hospital delivery rate along with the hospital cesarean section rate per year. The main barriers for the implementation process of the Ten Steps reported were resistance to new policies, limited financial and human resources, and lack of support from national and state governments. Breastfeeding practices in Mississippi hospitals need to be improved. New policies need to be established in Mississippi to encourage hospitals to adopt the Ten Steps policies and practice in the maternity and birthing units.

  20. Dynamic visual noise reduces confidence in short-term memory for visual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemps, Eva; Andrade, Jackie

    2012-05-01

    Previous research has shown effects of the visual interference technique, dynamic visual noise (DVN), on visual imagery, but not on visual short-term memory, unless retention of precise visual detail is required. This study tested the prediction that DVN does also affect retention of gross visual information, specifically by reducing confidence. Participants performed a matrix pattern memory task with three retention interval interference conditions (DVN, static visual noise and no interference control) that varied from trial to trial. At recall, participants indicated whether or not they were sure of their responses. As in previous research, DVN did not impair recall accuracy or latency on the task, but it did reduce recall confidence relative to static visual noise and no interference. We conclude that DVN does distort visual representations in short-term memory, but standard coarse-grained recall measures are insensitive to these distortions.

  1. Description of ten additional ossicles in the foregut of the freshwater crabs Sylviocarcinus pictus and Valdivia serrata (Decapoda: Trichodactylidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata C. Lima-Gomes

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The morphology of stomach ossicles of decapod crustaceans provides valuable information on their phylogeny and biology. We herein described ten new ossicles in the foreguts of two trichodactylid crabs, Sylviocarcinus pictus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853 and Valdivia serrata White, 1847, in addition to previously described 38 ossicles, which are also recognized and listed. Five specimens each of S. pictus and V. serrata were selected for morphological analysis of gastric ossicles. The stomachs were obtained after removing the carapace, and they were fixed in 10% formalin for 24 hours. After this procedure, the stomachs were immersed in a solution of 10% Potassium Hydroxide (KOH and heated to 100 °C during 60 minutes for tissue maceration. At this point, the clean skeletons were colored by adding 1% Alizarin Red to the KOH solution in order to facilitate visualization of the internal structures such as the setae and ossicles. The ten new ossicles are: dorsomedial cardiac plate; dorsolateral cardiac plate; suprapectineal lateral ossicle; inferior cardiac valve; lateral mesopyloric ossicle; ampullary roof-medium portion ossicle; process of the ampullary roof-upper portion; lateral-inferior post-ampullary plate; pleuro-pyloric valve’s ossicle; and lateral pleuro-pyloric plate. Some ossicles are thin plates that together with the main ossicles assist in the structure and support of the stomach, which are similar in the two species studied herein. The current knowledge on gastric ossicles will be useful in establishing taxonomic characters, which can evaluate phylogenetic relationships among brachyuran crabs.

  2. Cone photoreceptor structure in patients with x-linked cone dysfunction and red-green color vision deficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Patterson, Emily J.; Wilk, Melissa; Langlo, Christopher S.

    2016-01-01

    encoded by exon 4, and two with a novel insertion in exon 2. Foveal cone structure and retinal thickness was disrupted to a variable degree, even among related individuals with the same L/M array. CONCLUSIONS. Our findings provide a direct link between disruption of the cone mosaic and L/ M opsin variants......PURPOSE. Mutations in the coding sequence of the L and M opsin genes are often associated with X-linked cone dysfunction (such as Bornholm Eye Disease, BED), though the exact color vision phenotype associated with these disorders is variable. We examined individuals with L/ M opsin gene mutations...... to clarify the link between color vision deficiency and cone dysfunction.  METHODS. We recruited 17 males for imaging. The thickness and integrity of the photoreceptor layers were evaluated using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Cone density was measured using high-resolution images of the cone...

  3. Analyzing and Visualizing Cosmological Simulations with ParaView

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodring, Jonathan; Heitmann, Katrin; Ahrens, James; Fasel, Patricia; Hsu, Chung-Hsing; Habib, Salman; Pope, Adrian

    2011-07-01

    The advent of large cosmological sky surveys—ushering in the era of precision cosmology—has been accompanied by ever larger cosmological simulations. The analysis of these simulations, which currently encompass tens of billions of particles and up to a trillion particles in the near future, is often as daunting as carrying out the simulations in the first place. Therefore, the development of very efficient analysis tools combining qualitative and quantitative capabilities is a matter of some urgency. In this paper, we introduce new analysis features implemented within ParaView, a fully parallel, open-source visualization toolkit, to analyze large N-body simulations. A major aspect of ParaView is that it can live and operate on the same machines and utilize the same parallel power as the simulation codes themselves. In addition, data movement is in a serious bottleneck now and will become even more of an issue in the future; an interactive visualization and analysis tool that can handle data in situ is fast becoming essential. The new features in ParaView include particle readers and a very efficient halo finder that identifies friends-of-friends halos and determines common halo properties, including spherical overdensity properties. In combination with many other functionalities already existing within ParaView, such as histogram routines or interfaces to programming languages like Python, this enhanced version enables fast, interactive, and convenient analyses of large cosmological simulations. In addition, development paths are available for future extensions.

  4. ANALYZING AND VISUALIZING COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS WITH ParaView

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woodring, Jonathan; Ahrens, James; Heitmann, Katrin; Pope, Adrian; Fasel, Patricia; Hsu, Chung-Hsing; Habib, Salman

    2011-01-01

    The advent of large cosmological sky surveys-ushering in the era of precision cosmology-has been accompanied by ever larger cosmological simulations. The analysis of these simulations, which currently encompass tens of billions of particles and up to a trillion particles in the near future, is often as daunting as carrying out the simulations in the first place. Therefore, the development of very efficient analysis tools combining qualitative and quantitative capabilities is a matter of some urgency. In this paper, we introduce new analysis features implemented within ParaView, a fully parallel, open-source visualization toolkit, to analyze large N-body simulations. A major aspect of ParaView is that it can live and operate on the same machines and utilize the same parallel power as the simulation codes themselves. In addition, data movement is in a serious bottleneck now and will become even more of an issue in the future; an interactive visualization and analysis tool that can handle data in situ is fast becoming essential. The new features in ParaView include particle readers and a very efficient halo finder that identifies friends-of-friends halos and determines common halo properties, including spherical overdensity properties. In combination with many other functionalities already existing within ParaView, such as histogram routines or interfaces to programming languages like Python, this enhanced version enables fast, interactive, and convenient analyses of large cosmological simulations. In addition, development paths are available for future extensions.

  5. Comparative study between manual therapy and TENS Burst in patients with tension-type cephalalgia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Vasconcelos Fernandes

    Full Text Available Introduction Cephalgia or cephalalgia is one of the most common symptoms in the general population. Objective To compare the efficacy of physical therapy modalities, through manual therapy and the effect of Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation (TENS for tension-type cephalalgia. Materials and methods The study was compounded by 60 subjects, but only 40 of them completed it, due to the exclusion criteria. These were divided into control group and intervention group. The control group received treatment — manual therapy. The intervention group received TENS Burst. Patients underwent ten sessions of treatment, made at every two days on a week, lasting 30 minutes each session. Results The characteristics related to lifestyle, postural issues and range of motion are responsible for the main causes of tension-type cephalalgia. Discussion treatments showed effective results in all cases in relation to pain intensity, but the use of manual therapy techniques give the patient a better quality of life compared to the use of TENS. Final considerations The treatment of this condition deserves analysis and studies; however, there are only a few studying physical therapy techniques, especially regarding to the use of TENS.

  6. Alouatta trichromatic color vision: cone spectra and physiological responses studied with microspectrophotometry and single unit retinal electrophysiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silveira, Luiz Carlos L; Saito, Cézar A; da Silva Filho, Manoel; Kremers, Jan; Bowmaker, James K; Lee, Barry B

    2014-01-01

    The howler monkeys (Alouatta sp.) are the only New World primates to exhibit routine trichromacy. Both males and females have three cone photopigments. However, in contrast to Old World monkeys, Alouatta has a locus control region upstream of each opsin gene on the X-chromosome and this might influence the retinal organization underlying its color vision. Post-mortem microspectrophotometry (MSP) was performed on the retinae of two male Alouatta to obtain rod and cone spectral sensitivities. The MSP data were consistent with only a single opsin being expressed in each cone and electrophysiological data were consistent with this primate expressing full trichromacy. To study the physiological organization of the retina underlying Alouatta trichromacy, we recorded from retinal ganglion cells of the same animals used for MSP measurements with a variety of achromatic and chromatic stimulus protocols. We found MC cells and PC cells in the Alouatta retina with similar properties to those previously found in the retina of other trichromatic primates. MC cells showed strong phasic responses to luminance changes and little response to chromatic pulses. PC cells showed strong tonic response to chromatic changes and small tonic response to luminance changes. Responses to other stimulus protocols (flicker photometry; changing the relative phase of red and green modulated lights; temporal modulation transfer functions) were also similar to those recorded in other trichromatic primates. MC cells also showed a pronounced frequency double response to chromatic modulation, and with luminance modulation response saturation accompanied by a phase advance between 10-20 Hz, characteristic of a contrast gain mechanism. This indicates a very similar retinal organization to Old-World monkeys. Cone-specific opsin expression in the presence of a locus control region for each opsin may call into question the hypothesis that this region exclusively controls opsin expression.

  7. Minimal effects of visual memory training on the auditory performance of adult cochlear implant users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oba, Sandra I.; Galvin, John J.; Fu, Qian-Jie

    2014-01-01

    Auditory training has been shown to significantly improve cochlear implant (CI) users’ speech and music perception. However, it is unclear whether post-training gains in performance were due to improved auditory perception or to generally improved attention, memory and/or cognitive processing. In this study, speech and music perception, as well as auditory and visual memory were assessed in ten CI users before, during, and after training with a non-auditory task. A visual digit span (VDS) task was used for training, in which subjects recalled sequences of digits presented visually. After the VDS training, VDS performance significantly improved. However, there were no significant improvements for most auditory outcome measures (auditory digit span, phoneme recognition, sentence recognition in noise, digit recognition in noise), except for small (but significant) improvements in vocal emotion recognition and melodic contour identification. Post-training gains were much smaller with the non-auditory VDS training than observed in previous auditory training studies with CI users. The results suggest that post-training gains observed in previous studies were not solely attributable to improved attention or memory, and were more likely due to improved auditory perception. The results also suggest that CI users may require targeted auditory training to improve speech and music perception. PMID:23516087

  8. Visual Assessment of Brain Perfusion MRI Scans in Dementia: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fällmar, David; Lilja, Johan; Velickaite, Vilma; Danfors, Torsten; Lubberink, Mark; Ahlgren, André; van Osch, Matthias J P; Kilander, Lena; Larsson, Elna-Marie

    2016-05-01

    Functional imaging is becoming increasingly important for the detection of neurodegenerative disorders. Perfusion MRI with arterial spin labeling (ASL) has been reported to provide promising diagnostic possibilities but is not yet widely used in routine clinical work. The aim of this study was to compare, in a clinical setting, the visual assessment of subtracted ASL CBF maps with and without additional smoothing, to FDG-PET data. Ten patients with a clinical diagnosis of dementia and 11 age-matched cognitively healthy controls were examined with pseudo-continuous ASL (pCASL) and 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). Three diagnostic physicians visually assessed the pCASL maps after subtraction only, and after postprocessing using Gaussian smoothing and GLM-based beta estimate functions. The assessment scores were compared to FDG PET values. Furthermore, the ability to discriminate patients from healthy elderly controls was assessed. Smoothing improved the correlation between visually assessed regional ASL perfusion scores and the FDG PET SUV-r values from the corresponding regions. However, subtracted pCASL maps discriminated patients from healthy controls better than smoothed maps. Smoothing increased the number of false-positive patient identifications. Application of beta estimate functions had only a marginal effect. Spatial smoothing of ASL images increased false positive results in the discrimination of hypoperfusion conditions from healthy elderly. It also decreased interreader agreement. However, regional characterization and subjective perception of image quality was improved. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

  9. The Application of Visual Illusion in the Visual Communication Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Tao; You Ye, Han

    2018-03-01

    With the development of our national reform, opening up and modernization, the science and technology has also been well developed and it has been applied in every wall of life, the development of visual illusion industry is represented in the widespread use of advanced technology in it. Ultimately, the visual illusion is a phenomenon, it should be analyzed from the angles of physics and philosophy. The widespread application of visual illusion not only can improve the picture quality, but also could maximize peoples’ sense degree through the visual communication design works, expand people’s horizons and promote the diversity of visual communication design works.

  10. Insensitivity of visual short-term memory to irrelevant visual information

    OpenAIRE

    Andrade, Jackie; Kemps, Eva; Werniers, Yves; May, Jon; Szmalec, Arnaud

    2002-01-01

    Several authors have hypothesised that visuo-spatial working memory is functionally analogous to verbal working memory. Irrelevant background speech impairs verbal short-term memory. We investigated whether irrelevant visual information has an analogous effect on visual short-term memory, using a dynamic visual noise (DVN) technique known to disrupt visual imagery (Quinn & McConnell, 1996a). Experiment 1 replicated the effect of DVN on pegword imagery. Experiments 2 and 3 showed no effect of ...

  11. Self-esteem and depression: ten year follow-up of mothers and offspring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, L; Warner, V; Wickramaratne, P; Weissman, M

    1999-01-01

    The association between maternal bonding style, offspring low self-esteem and offspring depression status was assessed by maternal depression status. Sixty mothers and 137 offspring were independently assessed over the course of a ten year follow-up study. Assessments included the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS-LA), Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (K-SADS), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Among daughters of mothers with a history of depression, maternal affectionless-control was associated with daughter low self-esteem which was associated with daughter depression at ten year follow-up. Among daughters of mothers without a history of depression, maternal affectionless-control was not associated with daughter low self-esteem, which was not associated with daughter depression at ten year follow-up but which was associated with a history of childhood depression. None of these associations were found to be significant among sons. As self-esteem was not measured at ten year follow-up, among offspring the stability of self-esteem could not be assessed, nor could the association between adult self-esteem and adult depression. Clinical presentation of low self-esteem in girls should be assessed in the context of maternal depression status.

  12. Implementation fidelity of self-administered transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in patients with chronic back pain: an observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallett, Edward J; Rentowl, Patricia; Johnson, Mark I; Watson, Paul J

    2014-03-01

    The efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief has not been reliably established. Inconclusive findings could be due to inadequate TENS delivery and inappropriate outcome assessment. Electronic monitoring devices were used to determine patient compliance with a TENS intervention and outcome assessment protocol, to record pain scores before, during, and after TENS, and measure electrical output settings. Patients with chronic back pain consented to use TENS daily for 2 weeks and to report pain scores before, during, and after 1-hour treatments. A ≥ 30% reduction in pain scores was used to classify participants as TENS responders. Electronic monitoring devices "TLOG" and "TSCORE" recorded time and duration of TENS use, electrical settings, and pain scores. Forty-two patients consented to participate. One of 35 (3%) patients adhered completely to the TENS use and pain score reporting protocol. Fourteen of 33 (42%) were TENS responders according to electronic pain score data. Analgesia onset occurred within 30 to 60 minutes for 13/14 (93%) responders. It was not possible to correlate TENS amplitude, frequency, or pulse width measurements with therapeutic response. Findings from TENS research studies depend on the timing of outcome assessment; pain should be recorded during stimulation. TENS device sophistication might be an issue and parameter restriction should be considered. Careful protocol design is required to improve adherence and monitoring is necessary to evaluate the validity of findings. This observational study provides objective evidence to support concerns about poor implementation fidelity in TENS research.

  13. Quantum golden field theory - Ten theorems and various conjectures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Naschie, M.S.

    2008-01-01

    Ten theorems and few conjectures related to quantum field theory as applied to high energy physics are presented. The work connects classical quantum field theory with the golden mean renormalization groups of non-linear dynamics and E-Infinity theory

  14. [THE TEN MOST CITED ARTICLES OF THE JOURNAL "NUTRICION HOSPITALARIA"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco-López, Ángeles; González-Gallego, Javier; Sanz-Valero, Javier; Tuñón, María Jesús; García-De-Lorenzo, Abelardo; Culebras, Jesús M

    2015-12-01

    After 36 years of continued publication of the journal Nutrición Hospitalaria, a list with the ten most cited articles published in it is elaborated. The top ten most cited articles in the world literature and stratification according to language, English or Spanish, subject, or period of time published are also analyzed. Nutr Hosp is the most important Ibero latin American nutrition journal. Nutr Hosp published 369 items in 2014 gaining the fourth position among all the world's journals devoted to nutrition. Article publication in English, or simultaneously in Spanish and English and Open Access policy probably benefit the number of citations. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  15. Ten Indicators of Vitality in Smaller Academic Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappas, David

    2009-01-01

    This paper provides a means of quickly ascertaining the relative health of smaller academic libraries by presenting a top ten list of vitality indicators. The list is based on an observational convenience sampling of thirty smaller academic libraries across the United States. The indicators making the list were those which appeared most often in…

  16. Ten Strengths of How Teachers Do Cooperative Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaocbs, George M.

    2016-01-01

    Cooperative learning involves students in working together with peers to learn, to develop learning skills and to enjoy the learning process. This paper examines ten areas in which the author believes he and other teachers do cooperative learning well. These areas are: (1) keeping group size small, usually four or fewer; (2) encouraging students…

  17. Unified SU(4) color models in ten dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanlon, B.E.; Joshi, G.C.

    1992-01-01

    Some aspects of constructing unified models with SU(4) as the color group via a unifying group defined in ten dimensions are examined. Four dimensional theories are recovered using the Coset Space Dimensional Reduction scheme. Candidate models are considered in order to highlight some of the difficulties in constructing realistic four dimensional theories. 30 refs

  18. Simplification of the helical TEN2 laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krahn, K.-H.

    1980-04-01

    The observation that the helical TEN2 laser can effectively be simplified by giving up the use of decoupling elements as well as by abolishing the segmentation of the electrode structure is examined. Although, as a consequence of this simplification, the operating pressure range was slightly decreased, the output power could be improved by roughly 30%, a result which is attributed to the new electrode geometry exhibiting lower inductance and lower damping losses.

  19. Antimicrobial activity of Verbascum macrurum Ten. (Scrophulariaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, C

    2002-01-01

    The Author presents the results regarding the antibacterial action of extracts of Verbascum macrurum Ten.. The leaves of this species, gathered on the slopes of Mt. Matese, were ground and four extracts were made as follows: with dicholoromethane, ethonol and water (70:30 v/v), water and methanol. The antibacterial activity of each of the samples was tested and it is demonstrated that the extract with the ethanol/water was the most activity one.

  20. Designing Visual Character Of Raden Wijaya As Historical Figure In Visual Novel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dendi Pratama

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Visual character in Visual Novel games have the power to carry messages. Creation of visual characters in historical narratives can also bring cultural meaning. This study examines the creation of Raden Wijaya visual character as a case example in Visual Novel Twist Majapahit which is set in Majapahit kingdom but with manga-style visualization. On the contrary the creation of Raden Wijaya visual character in this study is more trying to accentuate the characteristic of Indonesia. The choice of Raden Wijaya character is based on consideration because it has historically included a major influence in expanding the royal power. The study discussions are elaborated qualitatively with the Social Semiotic approach that analyzes informative functions interactive functions and imaginative functions in visual character design elements. The results of this study show that design elements can build a comprehensive association of meanings so that the creation of visual characters tailored to historical figures has the potential to bring cultural messages.