Perception of global image contrast involves transparent spatial filtering and the integration and suppression of local contrasts (not RMS contrast)

When adjusting the contrast setting on a television set, we experience a perceptual change in the global image contrast. But how is that statistic computed? We addressed this using a contrast-matching task for checkerboard configurations of micro-patterns in which the contrasts and spatial spreads of two interdigitated components were controlled independently. When the patterns differed greatly in contrast, the higher contrast determined the perceived global contrast. Crucially, however, low contrast additions of one pattern to intermediate contrasts of the other caused a paradoxical reduction in the perceived global contrast. None of the following metrics/models predicted this: max, linear sum, average, energy, root mean squared (RMS), Legge and Foley. However, a nonlinear gain control model, derived from contrast detection and discrimination experiments, incorporating wide-field summation and suppression, did predict the results with no free parameters, but only when spatial filtering was removed. We conclude that our model describes fundamental processes in human contrast vision (the pattern of results was the same for expert and naive observers), but that above threshold— when contrast pedestals are clearly visible—vision’s spatial filtering characteristics become transparent, tending towards those of a delta function prior to spatial summation. The global contrast statistic from our model is as easily derived as the RMS contrast of an image, and since it more closely relates to human perception, we suggest it be used as an image contrast metric in practical applications

Directly comparing coronal and solar wind elemental fractionation

Context. As the solar wind propagates through the heliosphere, dynamical processes irreversibly erase the signatures of the near-Sun heating and acceleration processes. The elemental fractionation of the solar wind should not change during transit, however, making it an ideal tracer of these processes. Aims. We aim to verify directly if the solar wind elemental fractionation is reflective of the coronal source region fractionation, both within and across different solar wind source regions. Methods. A backmapping scheme was used to predict where solar wind measured by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) originated in the corona. The coronal composition measured by the Hinode Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) at the source regions was then compared with the in situ solar wind composition. Results. On hourly timescales, there is no apparent correlation between coronal and solar wind composition. In contrast, the distribution of fractionation values within individual source regions is similar in both the corona and solar wind, but distributions between different sources have a significant overlap. Conclusions. The matching distributions directly verify that elemental composition is conserved as the plasma travels from the corona to the solar wind, further validating it as a tracer of heating and acceleration processes. The overlap of fractionation values between sources means it is not possible to identify solar wind source regions solely by comparing solar wind and coronal composition measurements, but a comparison can be used to verify consistency with predicted spacecraft-corona connections

Simple non-mydriatic retinal photography is feasible and demonstrates retinal microvascular dilation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

BACKGROUND: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke but it remains unclear how to identify microvascular changes in this population. OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that simple non-mydriatic retinal photography is feasible and can be used to assess microvascular damage in COPD. METHODS: Novel Vascular Manifestations of COPD was a prospective study comparing smokers with and without COPD, matched for age. Non-mydriatic, retinal fundus photographs were assessed using semi-automated software. RESULTS: Retinal images from 24 COPD and 22 control participants were compared. Cases were of similar age to controls (65.2 vs. 63.1 years, p = 0.38), had significantly lower Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) (53.4 vs 100.1% predicted; p < 0.001) and smoked more than controls (41.7 vs. 29.6 pack years; p = 0.04). COPD participants had wider mean arteriolar (155.6 ±15 uM vs. controls [142.2 ± 12 uM]; p = 0.002) and venular diameters (216.8 ±20.7 uM vs. [201.3± 19.1 uM]; p = 0.012). Differences in retinal vessel caliber were independent of confounders, odds ratios (OR) = 1.08 (95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.02, 1.13; p = 0.007) and OR = 1.05 (CI = 1.01, 1.09; p = 0.011) per uM increase in arteriolar and venular diameter respectively. FEV1 remained significantly associated with retinal vessel dilatation r = -0.39 (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Non-mydriatic retinal imaging is easily facilitated. We found significant arteriole and venous dilation in COPD compared to age-matched smokers without COPD associated with lung function independent of standard cardiovascular risk factors. Retinal microvascular changes are known to be strongly associated with future vascular events and retinal photography offers potential to identify this risk. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov NCT02060292

Neural markers of suppression in impaired binocular vision

Even after conventional patching treatment, individuals with a history of amblyopia typically lack good stereo vision. This is often attributed to atypical suppression between the eyes, yet the specific mechanism is still unclear. Guided by computational models of binocular vision, we tested explicit predictions about how neural responses to contrast might differ in individuals with impaired binocular vision. Participants with a history of amblyopia (N = 25), and control participants with typical visual development (N = 19) took part in the study. Neural responses to different combinations of contrast in the left and right eyes, were measured using both electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Stimuli were sinusoidal gratings with a spatial frequency of 3c/deg, flickering at 4 Hz. In the fMRI experiment, we also ran population receptive field and retinotopic mapping sequences, and a phase-encoded localiser stimulus, to identify voxels in primary visual cortex (V1) sensitive to the main stimulus. Neural responses in both modalities increased monotonically with stimulus contrast. When measured with EEG, responses were attenuated in the weaker eye, consistent with a fixed tonic suppression of that eye. When measured with fMRI, a low contrast stimulus in the weaker eye substantially reduced the response to a high contrast stimulus in the stronger eye. This effect was stronger than when the stimulus-eye pairings were reversed, consistent with unbalanced dynamic suppression between the eyes. Measuring neural responses using different methods leads to different conclusions about visual differences in individuals with impaired binocular vision. Both of the atypical suppression effects may relate to binocular perceptual deficits, e.g. in stereopsis, and we anticipate that these measures could be informative for monitoring the progress of treatments aimed at recovering binocular vision

Upflows in the Upper Solar Atmosphere: Invited Review

Spectroscopic observations at extreme- and far-ultraviolet wavelengths have revealed systematic upflows in the solar transition region and corona. These upflows are best seen in the network structures of the quiet Sun and coronal holes, boundaries of active regions, and dimming regions associated with coronal mass ejections. They have been intensively studied in the past two decades because they are likely to be closely related to the formation of the solar wind and heating of the upper solar atmosphere. We present an overview of the characteristics of these upflows, introduce their possible formation mechanisms, and discuss their potential roles in the mass and energy transport in the solar atmosphere. Although past investigations have greatly improved our understanding of these upflows, they have left us with several outstanding questions and unresolved issues that should be addressed in the future. New observations from the Solar Orbiter mission, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, and the Parker Solar Probe will likely provide critical information to advance our understanding of the generation, propagation, and energization of these upflows

The Effect of Interocular Phase Difference on Perceived Contrast

Binocular vision is traditionally treated as two processes: the fusion of similar images, and the interocular suppression of dissimilar images (e.g. binocular rivalry). Recent work has demonstrated that interocular suppression is phase-insensitive, whereas binocular summation occurs only when stimuli are in phase. But how do these processes affect our perception of binocular contrast? We measured perceived contrast using a matching paradigm for a wide range of interocular phase offsets (0–180°) and matching contrasts (2–32%). Our results revealed a complex interaction between contrast and interocular phase. At low contrasts, perceived contrast reduced monotonically with increasing phase offset, by up to a factor of 1.6. At higher contrasts the pattern was non-monotonic: perceived contrast was veridical for in-phase and antiphase conditions, and monocular presentation, but increased a little at intermediate phase angles. These findings challenge a recent model in which contrast perception is phase-invariant. The results were predicted by a binocular contrast gain control model. The model involves monocular gain controls with interocular suppression from positive and negative phase channels, followed by summation across eyes and then across space. Importantly, this model—applied to conditions with vertical disparity—has only a single (zero) disparity channel and embodies both fusion and suppression processes within a single framework

Active Region Modulation of Coronal Hole Solar Wind

Active regions (ARs) are a candidate source of the slow solar wind (SW), the origins of which are a topic of ongoing research. We present a case study that examines the processes by which SW is modulated in the presence of an AR in the vicinity of the SW source. We compare properties of SW associated with a coronal hole (CH)–quiet Sun boundary to SW associated with the same CH but one Carrington rotation later, when this region bordered the newly emerged NOAA AR 12532. Differences found in a range of in situ parameters are compared between these rotations in the context of source region mapping and remote sensing observations. Marked changes exist in the structure and composition of the SW, which we attribute to the influence of the AR on SW production from the CH boundary. These unique observations suggest that the features that emerge in the AR-associated wind are consistent with an increased occurrence of interchange reconnection during SW production, compared with the initial quiet Sun case

Neural Responses to Novel and Existing Words in Children with Autism Spectrum and Developmental Language Disorder

\ua9 2021, the Authors.The formation of new phonological representations is key in establishing items in the mental lexicon. Phonological forms become stable with repetition, time and sleep. Atypicality in the establishment of new word forms is characteristic of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet neural changes in response to novel word forms over time have not yet been directly compared in these groups. This study measured habituation of event-related-potentials (ERPs) to novel and known words within and between two sessions spaced 24 hours apart in typically developing (TD) children, and their peers with DLD or ASD. We hypothesised that modulation of the auditory N400 amplitude would mark real-time changes in lexical processing with habituation evident within and across sessions in the TD group, while the DLD group would show attenuated habituation within sessions, and the ASD group attenuated habituation between sessions. Twenty-one typically developing children, 19 children with ASD, and 16 children with DLD listened passively to known and novel words on two consecutive days, while ERPs were recorded using dry electrodes. Counter to our hypotheses, no habituation effect emerged within sessions. However, responses did habituate between sessions, with this effect being reduced in the DLD group, indicating less pre-activation of lexical representations in response to words encountered the previous day. No differences in change over time were observed between the TD and ASD groups. These data are in keeping with theories stressing the importance of sleep-related consolidation in word learning

The Evolution of Plasma Composition during a Solar Flare

We analyze the coronal elemental abundances during a small flare using Hinode/EIS observations. Compared to the preflare elemental abundances, we observed a strong increase in coronal abundance of Ca xiv 193.84 Å, an emission line with low first ionization potential (FIP < 10 eV), as quantified by the ratio Ca/Ar during the flare. This is in contrast to the unchanged abundance ratio observed using Si x 258.38 Å/S x 264.23 Å. We propose two different mechanisms to explain the different composition results. First, the small flare-induced heating could have ionized S, but not the noble gas Ar, so that the flare-driven Alfvén waves brought up Si, S, and Ca in tandem via the ponderomotive force which acts on ions. Second, the location of the flare in strong magnetic fields between two sunspots may suggest fractionation occurred in the low chromosphere, where the background gas is neutral H. In this region, high-FIP S could behave more like a low-FIP than a high-FIP element. The physical interpretations proposed generate new insights into the evolution of plasma abundances in the solar atmosphere during flaring, and suggests that current models must be updated to reflect dynamic rather than just static scenarios

Health literacy, health status, and healthcare utilization of Taiwanese adults: results from a national survey

Abstract Background Low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic covariates of low health literacy in Taiwanese adults and to investigate the relationships between health literacy and health status and health care utilization. Methods A national survey of 1493 adults was conducted in 2008. Health literacy was measured using the Mandarin Health Literacy Scale. Health status was measured based on self-rated physical and mental health. Health care utilization was measured based on self-reported outpatient clinic visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Results Approximately thirty percent of adults were found to have low (inadequate or marginal) health literacy. They tended to be older, have fewer years of schooling, lower household income, and reside in less populated areas. Inadequate health literacy was associated with poorer mental health (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.35-0.91). No association was found between health literacy and health care utilization even after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusions Low (inadequate and marginal) health literacy is prevalent in Taiwan. High prevalence of low health literacy is not necessarily indicative of the need for interventions. Systematic efforts to evaluate the impact of low health literacy on health outcomes in other countries would help to illuminate features of health care delivery and financing systems that may mitigate the adverse health effects of low health literacy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/1/1471-2458-10-614.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/2/1471-2458-10-614.pdfPeer Reviewe