Biometric Systems

Because of the accelerating progress in biometrics research and the latest nation-state threats to security, this book's publication is not only timely but also much needed. This volume contains seventeen peer-reviewed chapters reporting the state of the art in biometrics research: security issues, signature verification, fingerprint identification, wrist vascular biometrics, ear detection, face detection and identification (including a new survey of face recognition), person re-identification, electrocardiogram (ECT) recognition, and several multi-modal systems. This book will be a valuable resource for graduate students, engineers, and researchers interested in understanding and investigating this important field of study

Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance. User's guide

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design and military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from the existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by systems designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is the first volume, the User's Guide, containing a description of the program and instructions for its use

Identification and characterization of presumptive bovine mammary stem cells

An understanding of the characteristics and regulation of mammary stem cells (MaSCs) is needed to gain insight into normal gland development and carcinogenesis. Previous profiling of MaSCs relied upon immunophenotypic selection of enzymatically dispersed cells by flow cytometry. However, these approaches involved the selection of cells that are removed from their tissue location and cellular microenvironment. In this study, I have utilized an alternative approach called laser microdissection, to excise putative MaSCs, based upon their ability to retain bromodeoxyuridine labeled DNA for an extended period, and control cells from their in situ locations in prepubertal bovine mammary cryosections. First, I established a protocol to immunostain putative MaSCs in tissue cryosections and isolate RNA of high quality. Next, I excised putative MaSCs and control cells from immunostained cryosections using laser microdissection. Global gene expression analysis by microarray provided evidence that MaSCs were located in the basal epithelium and progenitor cells located in suprabasal layers. A number of genes that were up-regulated in MaSCs and progenitor cells were identified and these are potential biomarkers. Analysis of the expression pattern of four genes (NR5A2, NUP153, HNF4A and FNDC3B) by immunohistochemistry showed that the protein expression profile was consistent with microarray data. Detailed immunohistochemical analyses of NR5A2, NUP153, HNF4A and FNDC3B in calf and cows (at various stages of lactation) revealed that their frequency and distribution were consistent with stem/progenitor cell characteristics. Finally, I attempted to manipulate stem/progenitor cells number using cultures of primary mammary epithelial cells. Expansion of stem/progenitor cell is a prerequisite for stem cell therapeutics and facilitates stem cell research. The effect of xanthosine on bovine mammary epithelial cells (MEC) was evaluated. The result of this study showed that xanthosine treatment increased cell proliferation, promoted symmetric cell division and increased expression of telomerase and a novel stem cell marker (FNDC3B). Together, these studies identified novel, potential markers for MaSCs and progenitor cells, and supported the ability of xanthosine to increase stem/progenitor cell number

Ubiquitous Technologies for Emotion Recognition

Emotions play a very important role in how we think and behave. As such, the emotions we feel every day can compel us to act and influence the decisions and plans we make about our lives. Being able to measure, analyze, and better comprehend how or why our emotions may change is thus of much relevance to understand human behavior and its consequences. Despite the great efforts made in the past in the study of human emotions, it is only now, with the advent of wearable, mobile, and ubiquitous technologies, that we can aim to sense and recognize emotions, continuously and in real time. This book brings together the latest experiences, findings, and developments regarding ubiquitous sensing, modeling, and the recognition of human emotions

Change blindness: eradication of gestalt strategies

Arrays of eight, texture-defined rectangles were used as stimuli in a one-shot change blindness (CB) task where there was a 50% chance that one rectangle would change orientation between two successive presentations separated by an interval. CB was eliminated by cueing the target rectangle in the first stimulus, reduced by cueing in the interval and unaffected by cueing in the second presentation. This supports the idea that a representation was formed that persisted through the interval before being 'overwritten' by the second presentation (Landman et al, 2003 Vision Research 43149–164]. Another possibility is that participants used some kind of grouping or Gestalt strategy. To test this we changed the spatial position of the rectangles in the second presentation by shifting them along imaginary spokes (by ±1 degree) emanating from the central fixation point. There was no significant difference seen in performance between this and the standard task [F(1,4)=2.565, p=0.185]. This may suggest two things: (i) Gestalt grouping is not used as a strategy in these tasks, and (ii) it gives further weight to the argument that objects may be stored and retrieved from a pre-attentional store during this task

Culture and Time Perception: Implications for Mental Representation and Decisions

This thesis examines cultural variations in time perception, as well as the possible influences on mental representation and decisions. Building on prior research on cultural differences in time-related perceptions, two main time perceptions were identified and focused on, namely temporal orientation and the use of time metaphor. The temporal orientation line of investigation explores the implications of a stronger future versus past orientation among English and Mandarin-speakers respectively. Based on Construal Level Theory, temporal orientation is expected to be related to psychological distance, which in turn affects the mental representations individuals form. The findings supported a stronger future orientation among English-speakers which is also evident in their mental representations that vary as a function of temporal orientation. However, Mandarin-speakers exhibited neither a strong past nor future orientation. A study examining the possible influence of temporal orientation on value judgment revealed a complex association between culture and value judgment. The time metaphor line of inquiry investigates the use of time metaphors among English and Mandarin-speakers and also the possible implications of such tendencies. Although previous psychological research implies a possible connection between the use of time metaphor and sense of personal control, this relationship is yet to be established. The findings showed supportive evidence of a frequent use of ego and time-moving metaphors among English and Mandarin-speakers respectively. However, studies examining the relationship between the use of time metaphor, perceived personal control, and decisions (optimism bias and risk-taking) revealed little supportive evidence of an association between them. The findings and a range of methodological and theoretical implications are discussed in the closing chapter

Hemispheric Specialization and Imagery Processing

Psycholog

Social and Affective Neuroscience of Everyday Human Interaction

This Open Access book presents the current state of the art knowledge on social and affective neuroscience based on empirical findings. This volume is divided into several sections first guiding the reader through important theoretical topics within affective neuroscience, social neuroscience and moral emotions, and clinical neuroscience. Each chapter addresses everyday social interactions and various aspects of social interactions from a different angle taking the reader on a diverse journey. The last section of the book is of methodological nature. Basic information is presented for the reader to learn about common methodologies used in neuroscience alongside advanced input to deepen the understanding and usability of these methods in social and affective neuroscience for more experienced readers

The role of jnk1 during zebrafish development

PhD ThesisThe c-Jun N-terminal Kinases 1-3 (JNK1-3) are mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) involved in the non-canonical Wnt / planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling pathway. In mouse models and human patients, mutations in the PCP pathway have been associated with congenital heart malformation; however investigating the function of Jnk using null mice has been difficult because of genetic redundancy and embryonic death that occurs in Jnk1/Jnk2 compound mutants. Both human and mouse JNK1 orthologs have four known transcripts which differ in sequence at two locations. Although evidence has been published to show that these transcripts have differential downstream binding affinities, no transcript-specific functions have been suggested. Zebrafish possess two jnk1 paralogs on chromosomes 12 (jnk1b) and 13 (jnk1a) that arose from the teleost genome duplication event. The aim of this thesis was to identify the jnk1 transcripts that arose from the zebrafish jnk1 genes and compare them to what is seen in human JNK1. Furthermore I aimed to knock-down zebrafish jnk1 translation during development using morpholino oligonucleotides (MOs) and assess the phenotypes caused. Considering the involvement of PCP in cardiac development, I hypothesised that jnk1 would be required for cardiac morphogenesis, and that some subfunctionalization would exist between zebrafish jnk1a and jnk1b paralogs which would explain the retention of both duplicated genes. I was able to clone four different transcripts from each of the jnk1 paralogs, and these transcripts closely resembled mouse and human orthologs. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that these transcripts had differential expression levels during development and in adult tissues. When knocked down, jnk1a and jnk1b morphants were viable (to 72hpf) but displayed multiple developmental defects that were paralog-specific. The jnk1a morphants displayed retinal layer underdevelopment, structural immaturity of the heart and uncoupling of the jog-loop cardiac morphogenetic movements. In contrast the jnk1b morphants displayed a high frequency of reversed cardiac situs with a milder overall heart phenotype, in addition to curled body axis formation and failure to form the somitic horizontal myoseptum. Dual knockdown resulted in a combination of paralog-specific defects, as well as developmental delay and a failure for the heart tube to loop. These results demonstrated that the human and zebrafish JNK1 genes are highly conserved II and suggested that following genome duplication the zebrafish jnk1 paralogs have undergone subfunctionalization. The jnk1a gene appears to have organ specific roles and in particular is required for heart growth whereas the jnk1b gene appears to be important for somatic left-right signalling and therefore heart looping and jogging. This work expands on what is known about the two jnk1 paralogs and strengthens their validity as a model of human JNK1. Establishment of a zebrafish knockdown model provides a powerful tool for the investigation of jnk1 in an organism that has many advantages for developmental biology research. The demonstration that several organs require jnk1 during development will allow for future work to investigate the exact role of this gene during organogenesis, and the involvement in left-right axis patterning strengthens the evidence that JNK acts in the PCP pathway