Visual assessment of object color chroma and colorfulness

A series of visual experiments were designed to determine whether naive observers typically evaluate chroma or colorfulness when judging color appearance. A total of 7 observers were asked to determine a color appearance match between Munsell samples under the same illuminant (C) at different levels of illuminance. Color appearance matches were determined for 12 Munsell samples, under five reference and matching scene illuminance conditions, for four experimental techniques. The four experimental techniques were haploscopic, simultaneous inspection, successive inspection, and short-term memory matching. Results suggested that a chroma match was most important when observers were evaluating the color appearance of two scenes at different levels of illuminance. Results were also compared to predictions of two color appearance models. While similar trends were apparent between the experimental results and the two model\u27s predictions, only the Hunt model\u27s chroma term satisfactorily predicted experimental observations

Behavioural responses of broiler chickens during low atmospheric pressure stunning

Low atmospheric pressure stunning (LAPS) is a new irreversible stunning method for broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), which has the potential to improve welfare during routine slaughter. During LAPS, birds are placed in a hypobaric chamber that allows oxygen to be gradually removed from the environment by the controlled removal of air; the staged process takes 280s and reaches final decompression pressure that is 80.6 kPa below atmospheric pressure (nominally 101.3 kPa for an absolute vacuum pressure of 20.7 kPa). In this study, the behaviour of broilers (50 individuals and 50 focal birds killed in groups of 20) was observed during LAPS. Latencies, total durations, single bout durations and number of bouts were recorded for all behaviours. Three different decompression curves were applied during the process (based on automatically applied settings related to ambient temperature) and their effects on behaviour were investigated. Not all birds displayed all behaviours, but a subset of behaviours (ataxia, loss of posture, clonic and tonic convulsions and leg paddling) occurred in a consistent sequence. In individuals, mandibulation, headshaking and open bill breathing occurred earliest at 44.5 ± 31.6 s, 50.8 ± 38.3 s and 57.4 ± 35.8 s, respectively, after LAPS began. Ataxia was observed on average at 57.3 ± 11.5 s, with birds killed at colder temperatures taking slightly longer to succumb to ataxia than those at warmer temperatures. Loss of posture (LOP) is regarded as a behavioural marker for loss of consciousness and it occurred on average at 80.7 ± 17.7 s. Clonic and tonic convulsions were displayed after LOP at 110.5 ± 37.6 s and 117.4 ± 28.8 s after LAPS onset, respectively. Mean time to motionless was 199.4 ± 21.3 s. The group data were largely similar to that of individuals but were less reliable due to focal birds being obscured by neighbours. Based on LOP, the data suggest that birds are in a conscious state for longer during LAPS than in controlled atmosphere stunning with inert gases, but although the induction to unconsciousness is more gradual, other behavioural responses were equivalent. The occurrence of mandibulation, head shaking, and open bill breathing may be an indication of reduced welfare or may be indications of a non-painful physiological responses to hypoxia in a hypobaric atmosphere. These behaviours occurred at similar levels as seen in CAS with inert gases in poultry and the lack of escape behaviours as well as absence of signs of severe dyspnoea suggest that LAPS is a humane approach to stunning of poultry

Study of dynamics of X-14B VTOL aircraft

Research was initiated to investigate certain facets of modern control theory and their integration with a digital computer to provide a tractable flight control system for a VTOL aircraft. Since the hover mode is the most demanding phase in the operation of a VTOL aircraft, the research efforts were concentrated in this mode of aircraft operation. Research work on three different aspects of the operation of the X-14B VTOL aircraft is discussed. A general theory for optimal, prespecified, closed-loop control is developed. The ultimate goal was optimal decoupling of the modes of the VTOL aircraft to simplify the pilot's task of handling the aircraft. Modern control theory is used to design deterministic state estimators which provide state variables not measured directly, but which are needed for state variable feedback control. The effect of atmospheric turbulence on the X-14B is investigated. A maximum magnitude gust envelope within which the aircraft could operate stably with the available control power is determined

A Pilot Study Comparing Opaque, Weighted Bottles with Conventional, Clear Bottles for Infant Feeding

It is hypothesized that the visual and weight cues afforded by bottle-feeding may lead mothers to overfeed in response to the amount of liquid in the bottle. The aim of the present pilot study was to test this hypothesis by comparing mothers\u27 sensitivity and responsiveness to infant cues and infants\u27 intakes when mothers use opaque, weighted bottles (that remove visual and weight cues) compared to conventional, clear bottles to feed their infants. We also tested the hypothesis that mothers\u27 pressuring feeding style would moderate the effect of bottle type. Formula-feeding dyads (N = 25) visited our laboratory on two separate days. Mothers fed their infants from a clear bottle one day and an opaque, weighted bottle on the other; bottle-order was counterbalanced across the two days. Infant intake was assessed by weighing each bottle before and after the feeding. Maternal sensitivity and responsiveness to infant cues was objectively assessed using the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale. Mothers were significantly more responsive to infant cues when they used opaque compared to clear bottles (p = .04). There was also a trend for infants to consume significantly less formula when fed from opaque compared to clear bottles (p = .08). Mothers\u27 pressuring feeding style moderated the effect of bottle type on maternal responsiveness to infant cues (p = .02) and infant intake (p = .03). Specifically, mothers who reported higher levels of pressuring feeding were significantly more responsive to their infants\u27 cues (p = .02) and fed their infants significantly less formula when using opaque versus clear bottles (p = .01); no differences were seen for mothers who reported lower levels of pressuring feeding. This study highlights a simple, yet effective intervention for improving the bottle-feeding practices of mothers who have pressuring feeding styles

Space shuttle flying qualities and criteria assessment

Work accomplished under a series of study tasks for the Flying Qualities and Flight Control Systems Design Criteria Experiment (OFQ) of the Shuttle Orbiter Experiments Program (OEX) is summarized. The tasks involved review of applicability of existing flying quality and flight control system specification and criteria for the Shuttle; identification of potentially crucial flying quality deficiencies; dynamic modeling of the Shuttle Orbiter pilot/vehicle system in the terminal flight phases; devising a nonintrusive experimental program for extraction and identification of vehicle dynamics, pilot control strategy, and approach and landing performance metrics, and preparation of an OEX approach to produce a data archive and optimize use of the data to develop flying qualities for future space shuttle craft in general. Analytic modeling of the Orbiter's unconventional closed-loop dynamics in landing, modeling pilot control strategies, verification of vehicle dynamics and pilot control strategy from flight data, review of various existent or proposed aircraft flying quality parameters and criteria in comparison with the unique dynamic characteristics and control aspects of the Shuttle in landing; and finally a summary of conclusions and recommendations for developing flying quality criteria and design guides for future Shuttle craft

Comparing Narrative and Emotion Processing in Two Versions of Emotion-Focused Therapy for Trauma: Imaginal Confrontation vs. Empathic Exploration

A goal of Emotion-Focused Therapy for Trauma (EFTT) is narrative and emotion integration for trauma recovery (Paivio & Pascual-Leone, 2010). EFTT employs two re-experiencing interventions. Clients in Imaginal Confrontation (IC) imagine the perpetrator of abuse in an empty chair across from him/her and express thoughts and feelings. Clients in Empathic Exploration (EE) imagine the perpetrator in their minds eye and expresses thoughts and feelings to the therapist. EE is considered a less emotionally evocative alternative to IC. EFTT-IC and EFTT-EE are equally effective (Paivio et al., 2010), and may evidence unique pathways to recovery. The Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System (NEPCS; Angus et al., 2017) is a behavioural coding system that identifies 10 markers that are clustered into Problem, Transition, and Change Markers. The NEPCS markers and subgroups represent narrative-emotion process indicators occurring within one-minute time segments from videotaped therapy sessions. The current study investigated differences in the proportion of NEPCS markers and subgroups between the EFTT-IC and EFTT-EE conditions, and the relation to treatment outcome. The NEPCS was applied to two early, two middle and two late videotaped therapy sessions from four recovered and four unchanged EFTT-IC and EFTT-EE clients (N=16). In regard to Problem Markers, Negative Binomial Regression analysis revealed a main effect for Problem Markers, and a main effect and stage by condition interaction for Superficial Storytelling for EFTT-EE versus EFTT-IC. There was a stage by outcome interaction for Unstoried Emotion for unchanged versus recovered EFTT-IC clients. In regard to Transition Markers, there was a stage by condition interaction for the Transition Markers in EFTT-IC than EFTT-EE, and a stage by outcome interaction for Inchoate Storytelling for recovered versus unchanged EFTT-EE clients. In regard to Change Markers, a stage by outcome interaction was present for Unexpected Outcome Storytelling and Discovery Storytelling for recovered versus unchanged EFTT-IC and EFTT-EE clients. Finally, there was a main effect and a stage by condition interaction for No Client Marker for EFTT-IC versus EFTT-EE clients, and a stage by outcome interaction for recovered versus unchanged EFTT-EE clients. Implications for EFTT therapists, limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed

Attention Bias Test Differentiates Anxiety and Depression in Sheep

Negative affective states such as anxiety and depression pose a risk to animal welfare, however, practical tests for assessing these states in animals are limited. In humans, anxious individuals are shown to pay more attention toward threatening information than non-anxious individuals, known as an attention bias. Previously, an attention bias test was developed and validated as a measure of anxious states in sheep, where more anxious sheep showed increased attention toward a threat (dog) and were more vigilant than Control animals. Studies in humans suggest that attention biases also occur in depressed individuals, with observations of attention biases toward threats, as well as biases away from positive stimuli. Given these findings, we hypothesized that an attention bias test for sheep could also be used to assess states of depression. We predicted that Merino ewes in pharmacologically induced Depressed (para-chlorophenylalanine) and Anxious (m-chlorophenylpiperazine) states would show greater attention toward a threat than Control animals (saline), but that the Depressed sheep would show relatively less interest in a positive stimulus (photograph of a conspecific). During testing, Depressed sheep paid more attention toward the threat and less toward the photograph than Control animals as predicted (Analyses of Variance, P < 0.05, n = 16 per treatment). Interestingly, Anxious sheep showed an attention bias in the opposite direction, paying more attention toward the photograph and less toward the threat than Control animals (P < 0.05). Both Anxious and Depressed sheep were more vigilant than Control animals (P = 0.002). These results suggest the attention bias test can be used to measure and differentiate states of depression and anxiety in livestock. The bidirectional nature of the attention bias identified between treatments highlights the importance of measuring multiple behaviors in the test and considering the context in which the test is applied. This will enable a clearer characterization of the affective state of an animal, as an aspect of its welfare

Telescience testbed pilot program, volume 3: Experiment summaries

Space Station Freedom and its associated labs, coupled with the availability of new computing and communications technologies, have the potential for significantly enhancing scientific research. A Telescience Testbed Pilot Program (TTPP), aimed at developing the experience base to deal with issues in the design of the future information system of the Space Station era. The testbeds represented four scientific disciplines (astronomy and astrophysics, earth science, life sciences, and microgravity sciences) and studied issues in payload design, operation, and data analysis. This volume, of a 3 volume set, which all contain the results of the TTPP, presents summaries of the experiments. This experiment involves the evaluation of the current Internet for the use of file and image transfer between SIRTF instrument teams. The main issue addressed was current network response times

The Effects of Mobile Devices & Maker Projects on Middle School African American Students’ STEM Knowledge Base & Interest

The nature of future employment is rooted in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Educating the current and future workers will require the inclusion of STEM education, especially in the K-12 classrooms. African Americans run the risk of being left behind in future STEM jobs due to their poor STEM representation throughout institutional education. In general, African American students have a poor attitude towards and poor academic performance in STEM. This research was explored using ubiquitous smartphones and a unique form of student-centered learning called maker education to increase the attitude and STEM knowledge of African American middle schoolers. A mixed method approach was utilized through a pre- post- questionnaire, comprised of three Likert-type scales for Attitude: Interest, Difficulty, and Importance, and a knowledge base multiple-choice portion to investigate the study quantitatively, supplemented by direct observation and focus groups to investigate it qualitatively. Twenty-nine African American students from four St. Louis, Mo., middle schools were divided into two groups, one of 24 treatment and one of five control participants. The research setting for both groups was a local Boys and Girls club. The treatment group completed two maker-ed interventions with smartphones, while the control participants completed two similar interventions without smartphones or maker activities (see Appendix F). The qualitative data were thematically coded, and the quantitative data were statistically analyzed for significance. The knowledge base of both the treatment and control groups showed no statistically significant difference, either before or after the interventions, which supported the null hypothesis H1o. The Likert-scales suggested a slight increase in African American middle schoolers\u27 attitudes in both treatment and control groups, but it was not statistically significant, supporting null hypothesis H2o. The thematic analysis of the observation and focus group data was logically inconsistent with the Likert-scales data in that it suggested a strong increase in attitude in both groups. More research is warranted in this area to increase African Americans in STEM