空间情境模型中以观察者为中心的空间关系表征

Human being built and updated the representations of spatial distances and spatial relations between protagonist and the around things in language comprehension. The representations of the spatial relations in egocentric spatial situational models were important in spatial cognition, narrative comprehension and psycholinguistic. Using imagery searching paradigm, Franklin and Tversky (1990) studied the representations of the spatial relations in egocentric spatial situational models and found the standard RT pattern of searching the objects in different directions around the observer (frontthere was focus bias that could brought out the standard RT pattern based on the findings in perceptual space(Hintzman, 1981). Eight experiments were conducted to distinguish the factors that affected the RT pattern in imagery searching. Rt. patterns in experiments 1, 2, 3, showed that there were two factors in identify which object was currently located beyond the observer's front, back, right, and left. The first factor (called direction effect) was for identifying the referred direction of probing noun, with a pattern of process time frontthe second factor (called relative position effect) was for putting the attention to the goal direction to identify the goal object, with a pattern of process time focusThese two factors were independent to each other. These results supported that there are two kinds of spatial relations in egocentric framework: Body-Object relation and Object-Object relation. Without relation position effect, the standard RT pattern was found in reacting to direction nouns in Experiment 4, whereas another RT pattern (left=right=frontThese results supported this hypothesis: The mapping of conceptual representation (direction nouns) to perceptual representation (the position of objects around body) was required in searching task (from direction nouns to objects). The mapping needs the body of observer as reference frame. The body are designed asymmetry, so there are effects of direction, while as The arrows pointing to four directions around body map directly to the position around body; In spatial memory, the difficulty of retrieving objects in front, back, right or left is different(front=right=leftther RT pattern (focusthe 45 degree count-clockwise rotation of the objects around the body. The reason of the effect of relative locations of target object to focused object was that, the canonical axis constructed spatial representation, as consequence, front-back, right-left directions represents near than other pairs. So from front to back, from back to front, from right to left or from left to right, is quick than other pairs. With the 45-degree count-clockwise rotation of the objects around the body, the geometric distance between them determined the psychological distance between two objects. As a conclusion, the structural natures of the spatial representation determined the nature of spatial relations.

An Algorithm for Group Formation and Maximal Independent Set in an Amorphous Computer

Amorphous computing is the study of programming ultra-scale computing environments of smart sensors and actuators cite{white-paper}. The individual elements are identical, asynchronous, randomly placed, embedded and communicate locally via wireless broadcast. Aggregating the processors into groups is a useful paradigm for programming an amorphous computer because groups can be used for specialization, increased robustness, and efficient resource allocation. This paper presents a new algorithm, called the clubs algorithm, for efficiently aggregating processors into groups in an amorphous computer, in time proportional to the local density of processors. The clubs algorithm is well-suited to the unique characteristics of an amorphous computer. In addition, the algorithm derives two properties from the physical embedding of the amorphous computer: an upper bound on the number of groups formed and a constant upper bound on the density of groups. The clubs algorithm can also be extended to find the maximal independent set (MIS) and $Delta + 1$ vertex coloring in an amorphous computer in $O(log N)$ rounds, where $N$ is the total number of elements and $Delta$ is the maximum degree.

Automated Assembly Using Feature Localization

Automated assembly of mechanical devices is studies by researching methods of operating assembly equipment in a variable manner; that is, systems which may be configured to perform many different assembly operations are studied. The general parts assembly operation involves the removal of alignment errors within some tolerance and without damaging the parts. Two methods for eliminating alignment errors are discussed: a priori suppression and measurement and removal. Both methods are studied with the more novel measurement and removal technique being studied in greater detail. During the study of this technique, a fast and accurate six degree-of-freedom position sensor based on a light-stripe vision technique was developed. Specifications for the sensor were derived from an assembly-system error analysis. Studies on extracting accurate information from the sensor by optimally reducing redundant information, filtering quantization noise, and careful calibration procedures were performed. Prototype assembly systems for both error elimination techniques were implemented and used to assemble several products. The assembly system based on the a priori suppression technique uses a number of mechanical assembly tools and software systems which extend the capabilities of industrial robots. The need for the tools was determined through an assembly task analysis of several consumer and automotive products. The assembly system based on the measurement and removal technique used the six degree-of-freedom position sensor to measure part misalignments. Robot commands for aligning the parts were automatically calculated based on the sensor data and executed.

Description and Theoretical Analysis (Using Schemata) of Planner: A Language for Proving Theorems and Manipulating Models in a Robot

Planner is a formalism for proving theorems and manipulating models in a robot. The formalism is built out of a number of problem-solving primitives together with a hierarchical multiprocess backtrack control structure. Statements can be asserted and perhaps later withdrawn as the state of the world changes. Under BACKTRACK control structure, the hierarchy of activations of functions previously executed is maintained so that it is possible to revert to any previous state. Thus programs can easily manipulate elaborate hypothetical tentative states. In addition PLANNER uses multiprocessing so that there can be multiple loci of changes in state. Goals can be established and dismissed when they are satisfied. The deductive system of PLANNER is subordinate to the hierarchical control structure in order to maintain the desired degree of control. The use of a general-purpose matching language as the basis of the deductive system increases the flexibility of the system. Instead of explicitly naming procedures in calls, procedures can be invoked implicitly by patterns of what the procedure is supposed to accomplish. The language is being applied to solve problems faced by a robot, to write special purpose routines from goal oriented language, to express and prove properties of procedures, to abstract procedures from protocols of their actions, and as a semantic base for English.

Parallelism in Manipulator Dynamics

This paper addresses the problem of efficiently computing the motor torques required to drive a lower-pair kinematic chain (e.g., a typical manipulator arm in free motion, or a mechanical leg in the swing phase) given the desired trajectory; i.e., the Inverse Dynamics problem. It investigates the high degree of parallelism inherent in the computations, and presents two "mathematically exact" formulations especially suited to high-speed, highly parallel implementations using special-purpose hardware or VLSI devices. In principle, the formulations should permit the calculations to run at a speed bounded only by I/O. The first presented is a parallel version of the recent linear Newton-Euler recursive algorithm. The time cost is also linear in the number of joints, but the real-time coefficients are reduced by almost two orders of magnitude. The second formulation reports a new parallel algorithm which shows that it is possible to improve upon the linear time dependency. The real time required to perform the calculations increases only as the [log2] of the number of joints. Either formulation is susceptible to a systolic pipelined architecture in which complete sets of joint torques emerge at successive intervals of four floating-point operations. Hardware requirements necessary to support the algorithm are considered and found not to be excessive, and a VLSI implementation architecture is suggested. We indicate possible applications to incorporating dynamical considerations into trajectory planning, e.g. it may be possible to build an on-line trajectory optimizer.

Motion Planning with Six Degrees of Freedom

The motion planning problem is of central importance to the fields of robotics, spatial planning, and automated design. In robotics we are interested in the automatic synthesis of robot motions, given high-level specifications of tasks and geometric models of the robot and obstacles. The Mover's problem is to find a continuous, collision-free path for a moving object through an environment containing obstacles. We present an implemented algorithm for the classical formulation of the three-dimensional Mover's problem: given an arbitrary rigid polyhedral moving object P with three translational and three rotational degrees of freedom, find a continuous, collision-free path taking P from some initial configuration to a desired goal configuration. This thesis describes the first known implementation of a complete algorithm (at a given resolution) for the full six degree of freedom Movers' problem. The algorithm transforms the six degree of freedom planning problem into a point navigation problem in a six-dimensional configuration space (called C-Space). The C-Space obstacles, which characterize the physically unachievable configurations, are directly represented by six-dimensional manifolds whose boundaries are five dimensional C-surfaces. By characterizing these surfaces and their intersections, collision-free paths may be found by the closure of three operators which (i) slide along 5-dimensional intersections of level C-Space obstacles; (ii) slide along 1- to 4-dimensional intersections of level C-surfaces; and (iii) jump between 6 dimensional obstacles. Implementing the point navigation operators requires solving fundamental representational and algorithmic questions: we will derive new structural properties of the C-Space constraints and shoe how to construct and represent C-Surfaces and their intersection manifolds. A definition and new theoretical results are presented for a six-dimensional C-Space extension of the generalized Voronoi diagram, called the C-Voronoi diagram, whose structure we relate to the C-surface intersection manifolds. The representations and algorithms we develop impact many geometric planning problems, and extend to Cartesian manipulators with six degrees of freedom.

Rola stereotypów w komunikacji międzykulturowej biznesowej: studium porównawcze polsko-ukraińskie

Wydział Neofilologia: Katedra Ekokomunikacji

Polskie tradycje muzyczne na południowo-wschodniej Syberii i ich rola w kształtowaniu tożsamości narodowo-etnicznej

Wydział Historyczny: Katedra Muzykologii

Estudo de prevalência de sinais e sintomas de disfunções temporomandibulares em praticantes de Ginástica Rítmica

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Medicina Dentária

Mapping Parallel Iterative Algorithms onto Workstation Networks

For communication-intensive parallel applications, the maximum degree of concurrency achievable is limited by the communication throughput made available by the network. In previous work [HPS94], we showed experimentally that the performance of certain parallel applications running on a workstation network can be improved significantly if a congestion control protocol is used to enhance network performance. In this paper, we characterize and analyze the communication requirements of a large class of supercomputing applications that fall under the category of fixed-point problems, amenable to solution by parallel iterative methods. This results in a set of interface and architectural features sufficient for the efficient implementation of the applications over a large-scale distributed system. In particular, we propose a direct link between the application and network layer, supporting congestion control actions at both ends. This in turn enhances the system's responsiveness to network congestion, improving performance. Measurements are given showing the efficacy of our scheme to support large-scale parallel computations.

A Neural Model of 3D Shape-From-Texture: Multiple-Scale Filtering, Boundary Grouping, and Surface Filling-In

A neural model is presented of how cortical areas V1, V2, and V4 interact to convert a textured 2D image into a representation of curved 3D shape. Two basic problems are solved to achieve this: (1) Patterns of spatially discrete 2D texture elements are transformed into a spatially smooth surface representation of 3D shape. (2) Changes in the statistical properties of texture elements across space induce the perceived 3D shape of this surface representation. This is achieved in the model through multiple-scale filtering of a 2D image, followed by a cooperative-competitive grouping network that coherently binds texture elements into boundary webs at the appropriate depths using a scale-to-depth map and a subsequent depth competition stage. These boundary webs then gate filling-in of surface lightness signals in order to form a smooth 3D surface percept. The model quantitatively simulates challenging psychophysical data about perception of prolate ellipsoids (Todd and Akerstrom, 1987, J. Exp. Psych., 13, 242). In particular, the model represents a high degree of 3D curvature for a certain class of images, all of whose texture elements have the same degree of optical compression, in accordance with percepts of human observers. Simulations of 3D percepts of an elliptical cylinder, a slanted plane, and a photo of a golf ball are also presented.

Targeting aberrant kinase activity in myeloid leukaemias

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is the most common form of acute leukaemia in adults. Its treatment has remained largely unchanged for the past 30 years. Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) represents a tremendous success story in the era of targeted therapy but significant challenges remain including the development of drug resistance and disease persistence due to presence of CML stem cells. The Aurora family of kinases is essential for cell cycle regulation and their aberrant expression in cancer prompted the development of small molecules that selectively inhibit their activity. Chapter 2 of this thesis outlines the efficacy and mechanism of action of alisertib, a novel inhibitor of Aurora A kinase, in preclinical models of CML. Alisertib possessed equipotent activity against CML cells expressing unmutated and mutated forms of BCR-ABL. Notably, this agent retained high activity against the T315I and E255K BCR-ABL mutations, which confer the greatest degree of resistance to standard CML therapy. Chapter 3 explores the activity of alisertib in preclinical models of AML. Alisertib disrupted cell viability, diminished clonogenic survival, induced expression of the forkhead box O3 (FOXO3a) targets p27 and BCL-2 interacting mediator (BIM), and triggered apoptosis. A link between Aurora A expression and sensitivity to ara-C was established. Chapter 4 outlines the role of the proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein (PIM) kinases in resistance to ara-C in AML. We report that the novel small molecule PIM kinase inhibitor SGI-1776 disrupted cell viability and induced apoptosis in AML. We establish a link between ara-C resistance and PIM over-expression. Finally, chapter 5 explores how the preclinical work outlined in this thesis may be translated into clinical studies that may lead to novel therapeutic approaches for patients with refractory myeloid leukaemia.

Orthogonal orientation control of carbon nanotube growth.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted attention for their remarkable electrical properties and have being explored as one of the best building blocks in nano-electronics. A key challenge to realize such potential is the control of the nanotube growth directions. Even though both vertical growth and controlled horizontal growth of carbon nanotubes have been realized before, the growth of complex nanotube structures with both vertical and horizontal orientation control on the same substrate has never been achieved. Here, we report a method to grow three-dimensional (3D) complex nanotube structures made of vertical nanotube forests and horizontal nanotube arrays on a single substrate and from the same catalyst pattern by an orthogonally directed nanotube growth method using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). More importantly, such a capability represents a major advance in controlled growth of carbon nanotubes. It enables researchers to control the growth directions of nanotubes by simply changing the reaction conditions. The high degree of control represented in these experiments will surely make the fabrication of complex nanotube devices a possibility.

Environmental and genetic determinants of colony morphology in yeast.

Nutrient stresses trigger a variety of developmental switches in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One of the least understood of such responses is the development of complex colony morphology, characterized by intricate, organized, and strain-specific patterns of colony growth and architecture. The genetic bases of this phenotype and the key environmental signals involved in its induction have heretofore remained poorly understood. By surveying multiple strain backgrounds and a large number of growth conditions, we show that limitation for fermentable carbon sources coupled with a rich nitrogen source is the primary trigger for the colony morphology response in budding yeast. Using knockout mutants and transposon-mediated mutagenesis, we demonstrate that two key signaling networks regulating this response are the filamentous growth MAP kinase cascade and the Ras-cAMP-PKA pathway. We further show synergistic epistasis between Rim15, a kinase involved in integration of nutrient signals, and other genes in these pathways. Ploidy, mating-type, and genotype-by-environment interactions also appear to play a role in the controlling colony morphology. Our study highlights the high degree of network reuse in this model eukaryote; yeast use the same core signaling pathways in multiple contexts to integrate information about environmental and physiological states and generate diverse developmental outputs.

Autobiographical memories of anxiety-related experiences.

Ninety-nine undergraduate students retrieved three memories associated with each of the five emotional experiences: panic, trauma, worry, social anxiety, and feeling content. Subsequently, they answered 24 questions assessing properties of each memory, including the vividness and perceived accuracy of the memories and sensory, emotional, and anxiety-related experiences during retrieval. Memories were coded for affective tone and specificity. Results indicated that panic-related and trauma-related memories were rated similarly as content memories, but that they generally were associated with more imagery and emotional experiencing than worry-related or social anxiety-related memories. Participants experienced panic and worry symptoms to the greatest degree when they retrieved panic-related and trauma-related memories. All anxiety-related memories were characterized by more negative tone than content memories. Panic-related and trauma-related memories were more specific than worry-related, social anxiety-related, and content memories. These findings can explain partially why individuals with some, but not all, anxiety disorders experience enhanced memory for threatening material.