A progressive learning method for symbols recognition

Conditional discriminant analysis, symbol recognitionInternational audienceThis paper deals with a progressive learning method for symbols recognition which improves its own recognition rate when new symbols are recognized in graphics documents. We propose a discriminant analysis method which provides allocation rules from learning samples with known classes. However a discriminant analysis method is efficient only if learning samples and data are defined in the same conditions but it is rare in real life. In order to overcome this problem, a conditional vector is added to each observation to take into account the parasitic effects between the data and the learning samples. We propose also an adaptation to consider the user feedback

Cognitive tests used in chronic adult human randomised controlled trial micronutrient and phytochemical intervention studies

In recent years there has been a rapid growth of interest in exploring the relationship between nutritional therapies and the maintenance of cognitive function in adulthood. Emerging evidence reveals an increasingly complex picture with respect to the benefits of various food constituents on learning, memory and psychomotor function in adults. However, to date, there has been little consensus in human studies on the range of cognitive domains to be tested or the particular tests to be employed. To illustrate the potential difficulties that this poses, we conducted a systematic review of existing human adult randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies that have investigated the effects of 24 d to 36 months of supplementation with flavonoids and micronutrients on cognitive performance. There were thirty-nine studies employing a total of 121 different cognitive tasks that met the criteria for inclusion. Results showed that less than half of these studies reported positive effects of treatment, with some important cognitive domains either under-represented or not explored at all. Although there was some evidence of sensitivity to nutritional supplementation in a number of domains (for example, executive function, spatial working memory), interpretation is currently difficult given the prevailing 'scattergun approach' for selecting cognitive tests. Specifically, the practice means that it is often difficult to distinguish between a boundary condition for a particular nutrient and a lack of task sensitivity. We argue that for significant future progress to be made, researchers need to pay much closer attention to existing human RCT and animal data, as well as to more basic issues surrounding task sensitivity, statistical power and type I error

Music-reading expertise modulates the visual span for English letters but not Chinese characters.

Recent research has suggested that the visual span in stimulus identification can be enlarged through perceptual learning. Since both English and music reading involve left-to-right sequential symbol processing, music-reading experience may enhance symbol identification through perceptual learning particularly in the right visual field (RVF). In contrast, as Chinese can be read in all directions, and components of Chinese characters do not consistently form a left-right structure, this hypothesized RVF enhancement effect may be limited in Chinese character identification. To test these hypotheses, here we recruited musicians and nonmusicians who read Chinese as their first language (L1) and English as their second language (L2) to identify music notes, English letters, Chinese characters, and novel symbols (Tibetan letters) presented at different eccentricities and visual field locations on the screen while maintaining central fixation. We found that in English letter identification, significantly more musicians achieved above-chance performance in the center-RVF locations than nonmusicians. This effect was not observed in Chinese character or novel symbol identification. We also found that in music note identification, musicians outperformed nonmusicians in accuracy in the center-RVF condition, consistent with the RVF enhancement effect in the visual span observed in English-letter identification. These results suggest that the modulation of music-reading experience on the visual span for stimulus identification depends on the similarities in the perceptual processes involved

Does taking vitamin, mineral and fatty acid supplements prevent cognitive decline? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Background Observational studies have shown associations between nutritional status and cognition in later life but evidence from intervention studies is unclear. The present study systematically reviewed the evidence on the effect of nutrient supplementation on cognitive function in people aged ≥65 years. Methods Databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched up to 1 September 2006. Randomized controlled trials using at least one kind of vitamin, mineral or omega-3 fatty acid, evaluating standardized neuropsychological test(s), were included. There were no restrictions on participants' baseline nutritional status or cognitive function. Quality assessment and data abstraction were conducted by one author and checked by another. Results Of 4229 articles retrieved, 22 trials (3442 participants) were identified. Many were small, short duration and of poor methodology. Only 16 out of 122 cognitive tests were significantly different between groups. A meta-analysis showed no significant effect of taking B vitamins or antioxidant vitamins on global cognitive function. There was insufficient evidence to evaluate the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on any cognitive domains. Conclusion There was little evidence of a beneficial effect from taking B vitamins or antioxidant supplements on global cognitive function in later life. Larger-scale randomized controlled trials of longer duration in selected age groups are needed.Institute of Applied Health Science, University of Aberdeen; Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates; Chief Scientist of the Scottish Government Health Directorate

On the incremental learning and recognition of the pattern of movement of multiple labelled objects in dynamic scenes

In this paper we discuss combining incremental learning and incremental recognition to classify patterns consisting of multiple objects, each represented by multiple spatio-temporal features. Importantly the technique allows for ambiguity in terms of the positions of the start and finish of the pattern. This involves a progressive classification which considers the data at each time instance in the query and thus provides a probable answer before all the query information becomes available. We present two methods that combine incremental learning and incremental recognition: a time instance method and an overall best match method.<br /

Perception for detection and grasping

The final publication is available at link.springer.comThis research presents a methodology for the detection of the crawler used in the project AEROARMS. The approach consisted on using a two-step progressive strategy, going from rough detection and tracking, for approximation maneuvers, to an accurate positioning step based on fiducial markers. Two different methods are explained for the first step, one using efficient image segmentation approach; and the second one using Deep Learning techniques to detect the center of the crawler. The fiducial markers are used for precise localization of the crawler in a similar way as explained in earlier chapters. The methods can run in real-time.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft