5,199 research outputs found
Object knowledge modulates colour appearance
We investigated the memory colour effect for colour diagnostic artificial objects. Since knowledge about these objects and their colours has been learned in everyday life, these stimuli allow the investigation of the influence of acquired object knowledge on colour appearance. These investigations are relevant for questions about how object and colour information in high-level vision interact as well as for research about the influence of learning and experience on perception in general. In order to identify suitable artificial objects, we developed a reaction time paradigm that measures (subjective) colour diagnosticity. In the main experiment, participants adjusted sixteen such objects to their typical colour as well as to grey. If the achromatic object appears in its typical colour, then participants should adjust it to the opponent colour in order to subjectively perceive it as grey. We found that knowledge about the typical colour influences the colour appearance of artificial objects. This effect was particularly strong along the daylight axis
Solving the Monge-Amp\`ere Equations for the Inverse Reflector Problem
The inverse reflector problem arises in geometrical nonimaging optics: Given
a light source and a target, the question is how to design a reflecting
free-form surface such that a desired light density distribution is generated
on the target, e.g., a projected image on a screen. This optical problem can
mathematically be understood as a problem of optimal transport and equivalently
be expressed by a secondary boundary value problem of the Monge-Amp\`ere
equation, which consists of a highly nonlinear partial differential equation of
second order and constraints. In our approach the Monge-Amp\`ere equation is
numerically solved using a collocation method based on tensor-product
B-splines, in which nested iteration techniques are applied to ensure the
convergence of the nonlinear solver and to speed up the calculation. In the
numerical method special care has to be taken for the constraint: It enters the
discrete problem formulation via a Picard-type iteration. Numerical results are
presented as well for benchmark problems for the standard Monge-Amp\`ere
equation as for the inverse reflector problem for various images. The designed
reflector surfaces are validated by a forward simulation using ray tracing.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables; Keywords: Inverse reflector problem,
elliptic Monge-Amp\`ere equation, B-spline collocation method, Picard-type
iteration; Minor revision: reference [59] to a recent preprint has been added
and a few typos have been correcte
On solving systems of random linear disequations
An important subcase of the hidden subgroup problem is equivalent to the
shift problem over abelian groups. An efficient solution to the latter problem
would serve as a building block of quantum hidden subgroup algorithms over
solvable groups. The main idea of a promising approach to the shift problem is
reduction to solving systems of certain random disequations in finite abelian
groups. The random disequations are actually generalizations of linear
functions distributed nearly uniformly over those not containing a specific
group element in the kernel. In this paper we give an algorithm which finds the
solutions of a system of N random linear disequations in an abelian p-group A
in time polynomial in N, where N=(log|A|)^{O(q)}, and q is the exponent of A.Comment: 13 page
Structural and biochemical characterization of the exopolysaccharide deacetylase Agd3 required for Aspergillus fumigatus biofilm formation
The exopolysaccharide galactosaminogalactan (GAG) is an important virulence factor of the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Deletion of a gene encoding a putative deacetylase, Agd3, leads to defects in GAG deacetylation, biofilm formation, and virulence. Here, we show that Agd3 deacetylates GAG in a metal-dependent manner, and is the founding member of carbohydrate esterase family CE18. The active site is formed by four catalytic motifs that are essential for activity. The structure of Agd3 includes an elongated substrate-binding cleft formed by a carbohydrate binding module (CBM) that is the founding member of CBM family 87. Agd3 homologues are encoded in previously unidentified putative bacterial exopolysaccharide biosynthetic operons and in other fungal genomes. The exopolysaccharide galactosaminogalactan (GAG) is an important virulence factor of the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Here, the authors study an A. fumigatus enzyme that deacetylates GAG in a metal-dependent manner and constitutes a founding member of a new carbohydrate esterase family.Bio-organic Synthesi
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