105,487 research outputs found
Comparative psychometrics: establishing what differs is central to understanding what evolves
Cognitive abilities cannot be measured directly. What we can measure is individual variation in task performance. In this paper, we first make the case for why we should be interested in mapping individual differences in task performance on to particular cognitive abilities: we suggest that it is crucial for examining the causes and consequences of variation both within and between species. As a case study, we examine whether multiple measures of inhibitory control for non-human animals do indeed produce correlated task performance; however, no clear pattern emerges that would support the notion of a common cognitive ability underpinning individual differences in performance. We advocate a psychometric approach involving a three-step programme to make theoretical and empirical progress: first, we need tasks that reveal signature limits in performance. Second, we need to assess the reliability of individual differences in task performance. Third, multi-trait multi-method test batteries will be instrumental in validating cognitive abilities. Together, these steps will help us to establish what varies between individuals that could impact their fitness and ultimately shape the course of the evolution of animal minds. Finally, we propose executive functions, including working memory, inhibitory control and attentional shifting, as a sensible starting point for this endeavour
A Methodology for Efficient Space-Time Adapter Design Space Exploration: A Case Study of an Ultra Wide Band Interleaver
This paper presents a solution to efficiently explore the design space of
communication adapters. In most digital signal processing (DSP) applications,
the overall architecture of the system is significantly affected by
communication architecture, so the designers need specifically optimized
adapters. By explicitly modeling these communications within an effective
graph-theoretic model and analysis framework, we automatically generate an
optimized architecture, named Space-Time AdapteR (STAR). Our design flow inputs
a C description of Input/Output data scheduling, and user requirements
(throughput, latency, parallelism...), and formalizes communication constraints
through a Resource Constraints Graph (RCG). The RCG properties enable an
efficient architecture space exploration in order to synthesize a STAR
component. The proposed approach has been tested to design an industrial data
mixing block example: an Ultra-Wideband interleaver.Comment: ISBN:1-4244-0921-
A Design Methodology for Space-Time Adapter
This paper presents a solution to efficiently explore the design space of
communication adapters. In most digital signal processing (DSP) applications,
the overall architecture of the system is significantly affected by
communication architecture, so the designers need specifically optimized
adapters. By explicitly modeling these communications within an effective
graph-theoretic model and analysis framework, we automatically generate an
optimized architecture, named Space-Time AdapteR (STAR). Our design flow inputs
a C description of Input/Output data scheduling, and user requirements
(throughput, latency, parallelism...), and formalizes communication constraints
through a Resource Constraints Graph (RCG). The RCG properties enable an
efficient architecture space exploration in order to synthesize a STAR
component. The proposed approach has been tested to design an industrial data
mixing block example: an Ultra-Wideband interleaver.Comment: ISBN : 978-1-59593-606-
Self-assembly of two-dimensional binary quasicrystals: A possible route to a DNA quasicrystal
We use Monte Carlo simulations and free-energy techniques to show that binary
solutions of penta- and hexavalent two-dimensional patchy particles can form
thermodynamically stable quasicrystals even at very narrow patch widths,
provided their patch interactions are chosen in an appropriate way. Such patchy
particles can be thought of as a coarse-grained representation of DNA multi-arm
`star' motifs, which can be chosen to bond with one another very specifically
by tuning the DNA sequences of the protruding arms. We explore several possible
design strategies and conclude that DNA star tiles that are designed to
interact with one another in a specific but not overly constrained way could
potentially be used to construct soft quasicrystals in experiment. We verify
that such star tiles can form stable dodecagonal motifs using oxDNA, a
realistic coarse-grained model of DNA
Advances in Calibration and Imaging Techniques in Radio Interferometry
This paper summarizes some of the major calibration and image reconstruction
techniques used in radio interferometry and describes them in a common
mathematical framework. The use of this framework has a number of benefits,
ranging from clarification of the fundamentals, use of standard numerical
optimization techniques, and generalization or specialization to new
algorithms
Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes
Adaptive Optics has become a key technology for the largest ground-based
telescopes currently under or close to begin of construction. Adaptive optics
is an indispensable component and has basically only one task, that is to
operate the telescope at its maximum angular resolution, without optical
degradations resulting from atmospheric seeing. Based on three decades of
experience using adaptive optics usually as an add-on component, all extremely
large telescopes and their instrumentation are designed for diffraction limited
observations from the very beginning. This review illuminates the various
approaches of the Extremely Large Telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope, and
the Thirty-Meter Telescope, to fully integrate adaptive optics in their
designs. The article concludes with a brief look into the requirements that
high-contrast imaging poses on adaptive optics.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, published in Journal of Astronomical
Instrumentation, November 2, 201
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