Spatially extensive summation of contrast-energy is revealed by contrast detection of micro-pattern textures

Vision must analyze the retinal image over both small and large areas to represent fine-scale spatial details and extensive textures. The long-range neuronal convergence that this implies might lead us to expect that contrast sensitivity should improve markedly with the contrast area of the image. But this is at odds with the orthodox view that contrast sensitivity is determined merely by probability summation over local independent detectors. To address this puzzle, I aimed to assess the summation of luminance contrast without the confounding influence of area-dependent internal noise. I measured contrast detection thresholds for novel Battenberg stimuli that had identical overall dimensions (to clamp the aggregation of noise) but were constructed from either dense or sparse arrays of micro-patterns. The results unveiled a three-stage visual hierarchy of contrast summation involving (i) spatial filtering, (ii) long-range summation of coherent textures, and (iii) pooling across orthogonal textures. Linear summation over local energy detectors was spatially extensive (as much as 16 cycles) at Stage 2, but the resulting model is also consistent with earlier classical results of contrast summation (J. G. Robson & N. Graham, 1981), where co-aggregation of internal noise has obscured these long-range interactions.

Modelling the underlying principles of human aesthetic preference in evolutionary art

Our understanding of creativity is limited, yet there is substantial research trying to mimic human creativity in artificial systems and in particular to produce systems that automatically evolve art appreciated by humans. We propose here to study human visual preference through observation of nearly 500 user sessions with a simple evolutionary art system. The progress of a set of aesthetic measures throughout each interactive user session is monitored and subsequently mimicked by automatic evolution in an attempt to produce an image to the liking of the human user.

Do left and right asymmetries of hemispheric preference interact with attention to predict local and global performance in applied tasks?

Many cognitive neuroscience studies show that the ability to attend to and identify global or local information is lateralised between the two hemispheres in the human brain; the left hemisphere is biased towards the local level, whereas the right hemisphere is biased towards the global level. Results of two studies show attention-focused people with a right ear preference (biased towards the left hemisphere) are better at local tasks, whereas people with a left ear preference (biased towards the right hemisphere) are better at more global tasks. In a third study we determined if right hemisphere-biased followers who attend to global stimuli are likely to have a stronger relationship between attention and globally based supervisor ratings of performance. Results provide evidence in support of this hypothesis. Our research supports our model and suggests that the interaction between attention and lateral preference is an important and novel predictor of work-related outcomes. © 2012 Copyright Psychology Press Ltd.

Elevated left and reduced right orbitomedial prefrontal fractional anisotropy in adults with bipolar disorder revealed by tract-based spatial statistics

Context - Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in adults with bipolar disorder (BD) indicate altered white matter (WM) in the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex (OMPFC), potentially underlying abnormal prefrontal corticolimbic connectivity and mood dysregulation in BD. Objective - To use tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to examine WM skeleton (ie, the most compact whole-brain WM) in subjects with BD vs healthy control subjects. Design - Cross-sectional, case-control, whole-brain DTI using TBSS. Setting - University research institute. Participants - Fifty-six individuals, 31 having a DSM-IV diagnosis of BD type I (mean age, 35.9 years [age range, 24-52 years]) and 25 controls (mean age, 29.5 years [age range, 19-52 years]). Main Outcome Measures - Fractional anisotropy (FA) longitudinal and radial diffusivities in subjects with BD vs controls (covarying for age) and their relationships with clinical and demographic variables. Results - Subjects with BD vs controls had significantly greater FA (t > 3.0, P = .05 corrected) in the left uncinate fasciculus (reduced radial diffusivity distally and increased longitudinal diffusivity centrally), left optic radiation (increased longitudinal diffusivity), and right anterothalamic radiation (no significant diffusivity change). Subjects with BD vs controls had significantly reduced FA (t > 3.0, P = .05 corrected) in the right uncinate fasciculus (greater radial diffusivity). Among subjects with BD, significant negative correlations (P < .01) were found between age and FA in bilateral uncinate fasciculi and in the right anterothalamic radiation, as well as between medication load and FA in the left optic radiation. Decreased FA (P < .01) was observed in the left optic radiation and in the right anterothalamic radiation among subjects with BD taking vs those not taking mood stabilizers, as well as in the left optic radiation among depressed vs remitted subjects with BD. Subjects having BD with vs without lifetime alcohol or other drug abuse had significantly decreased FA in the left uncinate fasciculus. Conclusions - To our knowledge, this is the first study to use TBSS to examine WM in subjects with BD. Subjects with BD vs controls showed greater WM FA in the left OMPFC that diminished with age and with alcohol or other drug abuse, as well as reduced WM FA in the right OMPFC. Mood stabilizers and depressed episode reduced WM FA in left-sided sensory visual processing regions among subjects with BD. Abnormal right vs left asymmetry in FA in OMPFC WM among subjects with BD, likely reflecting increased proportions of left-sided longitudinally aligned and right-sided obliquely aligned myelinated fibers, may represent a biologic mechanism for mood dysregulation in BD.

Innate recognition of apoptotic cells:novel apoptotic cell-associated molecular patterns revealed by crossreactivity of anti-LPS antibodies

Cells dying by apoptosis are normally cleared by phagocytes through mechanisms that can suppress inflammation and immunity. Molecules of the innate immune system, the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), are able to interact not only with conserved structures on microbes (pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs) but also with ligands displayed by apoptotic cells. We reasoned that PRRs might therefore interact with structures on apoptotic cells-apoptotic cell-associated molecular patterns (ACAMPs)-that are analogous to PAMPs. Here we show that certain monoclonal antibodies raised against the prototypic PAMP, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), can crossreact with apoptotic cells. We demonstrate that one such antibody interacts with a constitutively expressed intracellular protein, laminin-binding protein, which translocates to the cell surface during apoptosis and can interact with cells expressing the prototypic PRR, mCD14 as well as with CD14-negative cells. Anti-LPS cross reactive epitopes on apoptotic cells colocalised with annexin V-and C1q-binding sites on vesicular regions of apoptotic cell surfaces and were released associated with apoptotic cell-derived microvesicles (MVs). These results confirm that apoptotic cells and microbes can interact with the immune system through common elements and suggest that anti-PAMP antibodies could be used strategically to characterise novel ACAMPs associated not only with apoptotic cells but also with derived MVs. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved.

Aggregating preference ranking with fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis

Selecting the best alternative in a group decision making is a subject of many recent studies. The most popular method proposed for ranking the alternatives is based on the distance of each alternative to the ideal alternative. The ideal alternative may never exist; hence the ranking results are biased to the ideal point. The main aim in this study is to calculate a fuzzy ideal point that is more realistic to the crisp ideal point. On the other hand, recently Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to find the optimum weights for ranking the alternatives. This paper proposes a four stage approach based on DEA in the Fuzzy environment to aggregate preference rankings. An application of preferential voting system shows how the new model can be applied to rank a set of alternatives. Other two examples indicate the priority of the proposed method compared to the some other suggested methods.

GEO Label – quality information interrogation tool for geospatial datasets:towards effective visualization of quality metadata

Although the importance of dataset fitness-for-use evaluation and intercomparison is widely recognised within the GIS community, no practical tools have yet been developed to support such interrogation. GeoViQua aims to develop a GEO label which will visually summarise and allow interrogation of key informational aspects of geospatial datasets upon which users rely when selecting datasets for use. The proposed GEO label will be integrated in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and will be used as a value and trust indicator for datasets accessible through the GEO Portal. As envisioned, the GEO label will act as a decision support mechanism for dataset selection and thereby hopefully improve user recognition of the quality of datasets. To date we have conducted 3 user studies to (1) identify the informational aspects of geospatial datasets upon which users rely when assessing dataset quality and trustworthiness, (2) elicit initial user views on a GEO label and its potential role and (3), evaluate prototype label visualisations. Our first study revealed that, when evaluating quality of data, users consider 8 facets: dataset producer information; producer comments on dataset quality; dataset compliance with international standards; community advice; dataset ratings; links to dataset citations; expert value judgements; and quantitative quality information. Our second study confirmed the relevance of these facets in terms of the community-perceived function that a GEO label should fulfil: users and producers of geospatial data supported the concept of a GEO label that provides a drill-down interrogation facility covering all 8 informational aspects. Consequently, we developed three prototype label visualisations and evaluated their comparative effectiveness and user preference via a third user study to arrive at a final graphical GEO label representation. When integrated in the GEOSS, an individual GEO label will be provided for each dataset in the GEOSS clearinghouse (or other data portals and clearinghouses) based on its available quality information. Producer and feedback metadata documents are being used to dynamically assess information availability and generate the GEO labels. The producer metadata document can either be a standard ISO compliant metadata record supplied with the dataset, or an extended version of a GeoViQua-derived metadata record, and is used to assess the availability of a producer profile, producer comments, compliance with standards, citations and quantitative quality information. GeoViQua is also currently developing a feedback server to collect and encode (as metadata records) user and producer feedback on datasets; these metadata records will be used to assess the availability of user comments, ratings, expert reviews and user-supplied citations for a dataset. The GEO label will provide drill-down functionality which will allow a user to navigate to a GEO label page offering detailed quality information for its associated dataset. At this stage, we are developing the GEO label service that will be used to provide GEO labels on demand based on supplied metadata records. In this presentation, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the GEO label development process, with specific emphasis on the GEO label implementation and integration into the GEOSS.

Individual differences in cognitive style:preference for complexity-simplicity

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Conversational interaction in the scanner:mentalizing during language processing as revealed by MEG

Humans are especially good at taking another's perspective-representing what others might be thinking or experiencing. This "mentalizing" capacity is apparent in everyday human interactions and conversations. We investigated its neural basis using magnetoencephalography. We focused on whether mentalizing was engaged spontaneously and routinely to understand an utterance's meaning or largely on-demand, to restore "common ground" when expectations were violated. Participants conversed with 1 of 2 confederate speakers and established tacit agreements about objects' names. In a subsequent "test" phase, some of these agreements were violated by either the same or a different speaker. Our analysis of the neural processing of test phase utterances revealed recruitment of neural circuits associated with language (temporal cortex), episodic memory (e.g., medial temporal lobe), and mentalizing (temporo-parietal junction and ventromedial prefrontal cortex). Theta oscillations (3-7 Hz) were modulated most prominently, and we observed phase coupling between functionally distinct neural circuits. The episodic memory and language circuits were recruited in anticipation of upcoming referring expressions, suggesting that context-sensitive predictions were spontaneously generated. In contrast, the mentalizing areas were recruited on-demand, as a means for detecting and resolving perceived pragmatic anomalies, with little evidence they were activated to make partner-specific predictions about upcoming linguistic utterances.

Target consolidation under high temporal processing demands as revealed by MEG

We investigated the nature of resource limitations during visual target processing by imposing high temporal processing demands on the cognitive system. This was achieved by embedding target stimuli into rapid-serial-visual-presentation-streams (RSVP). In RSVP streams, it is difficult to report the second of two targets (T2) if the second follows the first (T1) within 500 ms. This effect is known as the attentional blink (AB). For the AB to occur, it is essential that T1 is followed by a mask, as without such a stimulus, the AB is significantly attenuated. Usually, it is thought that T1 processing is delayed by the mask, which in turn delays T2 processing, increasing the likelihood for T2 failures (AB). Predictions regarding amplitudes and latencies of cortical responses (M300, the magnetic counterpart to the P300) to targets were tested by investigating the neurophysiological effects of the post-T1 item (mask) by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG). Cortical M300 responses to targets drawn from prefrontal sources – areas associated with working memory – revealed accelerated T1 yet delayed T2 processing with an intervening mask. The explanation we are proposing assumes that “protection” of ongoing T1 processing necessitated by the occurrence of the mask suppresses other activation patterns, which boosts T1 yet also hinders further processing. Our data shed light on the mechanisms employed by the human brain for ensuring visual target processing under high temporal processing demands, which is hypothesized to occur at the expense of subsequently presented information.

Stakeholder preference and stated vs. derived importance satisfaction research

This paper presents a case study that reveals how stakeholders in the research process, by recommending specific data collection and analytical techniques, exert significant ‘hidden’ influence on the decisions made on the basis of market research findings. While disagreements amongst stakeholders regarding research design are likely, the possibility that strategies adopted by companies are dependent upon stakeholder research preferences has not been adequately addressed in the literature. Two widely used quantitative customer satisfaction evaluation approaches, involving stated and derived importance, are compared within a real life market research setting at an international bank. The comparative analysis informs an ongoing debate surrounding the applicability of explicit and implicit importance measures and demonstrates how recommendations are dependent upon the methodological and analytical techniques selected. The findings, therefore, have significant implications for importance based satisfaction market research planning and highlight the need to consider the impact of stakeholder preferences on research outcomes.

A robust preference for cheap-and-easy strategies over reliable strategies when verifying personal memories

People depend on various sources of information when trying to verify their autobiographical memories. Yet recent research shows that people prefer to use cheap-and-easy verification strategies, even when these strategies are not reliable. We examined the robustness of this cheap strategy bias, with scenarios designed to encourage greater emphasis on source reliability. In three experiments, subjects described real (Experiments 1 and 2) or hypothetical (Experiment 3) autobiographical events, and proposed strategies they might use to verify their memories of those events. Subjects also rated the reliability, cost, and the likelihood that they would use each strategy. In line with previous work, we found that the preference for cheap information held when people described how they would verify childhood or recent memories (Experiment 1); personally-important or trivial memories (Experiment 2), and even when the consequences of relying on incorrect information could be significant (Experiment 3). Taken together, our findings fit with an account of source monitoring in which the tendency to trust one’s own autobiographical memories can discourage people from systematically testing or accepting strong disconfirmatory evidence.

Dosage form preference consultation study in children and young adults:paving the way for patient-centred and patient-informed dosage form development

Objectives: The current study aims to evaluate dosage form preferences in children and young adults together with identifying the key pragmatic dosage form characteristics that would enable appropriate formulation of orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs). Methods: International, multisite, cross-sectional questionnaire of children and young adults aged from 6 to 18 years. Eligibility was based on age, ability to communicate and previous experience in taking medications. The study was carried out at three locations: the UK, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The questionnaire instrument was designed for participant self-completion under supervision of the study team.Results 104 questionnaires were completed by the study cohort (n=120, response rate 87%). Results: showed that ODTs were the most preferred oral dosage forms (58%) followed by liquids (20%), tablets (12%) and capsules (11%). The preferred colours were pink or white while the preferred size was small (<8 mm) with a round shape. With regard to flavour, strawberry was the most preferred (30.8%), while orange was the least preferred (5.8%). The results also showed that the most important physical characteristics of ODTs were disintegration time followed by taste, size and flavour, respectively. Conclusions: The results of our study support the WHO's claim for a shift of paradigm from liquid towards ODTs dosage forms for drug administration to young children older than 6 years. Data from this study will also equip formulators to prioritise development of key physical/performance attributes within the delivery system.