104 research outputs found
What are the Visual Features Underlying Rapid Object Recognition?
Research progress in machine vision has been very significant in recent years. Robust face detection and identification algorithms are already readily available to consumers, and modern computer vision algorithms for generic object recognition are now coping with the richness and complexity of natural visual scenes. Unlike early vision models of object recognition that emphasized the role of figure-ground segmentation and spatial information between parts, recent successful approaches are based on the computation of loose collections of image features without prior segmentation or any explicit encoding of spatial relations. While these models remain simplistic models of visual processing, they suggest that, in principle, bottom-up activation of a loose collection of image features could support the rapid recognition of natural object categories and provide an initial coarse visual representation before more complex visual routines and attentional mechanisms take place. Focusing on biologically plausible computational models of (bottom-up) pre-attentive visual recognition, we review some of the key visual features that have been described in the literature. We discuss the consistency of these feature-based representations with classical theories from visual psychology and test their ability to account for human performance on a rapid object categorization task
Jeter un regard sur une phase précoce des traitements visuels
L'objectif de cette thĂšse a Ă©tĂ© d'Ă©tudier la dynamique des traitements cognitifs permettant la reconnaissance rapide d'objets dans les scĂšnes naturelles. Afin d'obtenir des rĂ©ponses comportementales prĂ©coces, nous avons utilisĂ© un protocole de choix saccadique, dans lequel les sujets devaient diriger leur regard le plus rapidement possible vers l'image contenant l'objet cible parmi deux images affichĂ©es Ă l'Ă©cran. Ce protocole a d'abord permis de mettre en Ă©vidence des diffĂ©rences de temps de traitement entre les catĂ©gories d'objets, avec un avantage particulier pour la dĂ©tection des visages humains. En effet, lorsque ceux-ci sont utilisĂ©s comme cible, les premiĂšres saccades sĂ©lectives apparaissent dĂšs 100 ms ! Nous nous sommes donc intĂ©ressĂ©s aux mĂ©canismes permettant une dĂ©tection aussi rapide et avons montrĂ© qu'un attribut bas-niveau pourrait ĂȘtre utilisĂ© pour dĂ©tecter et localiser les visages dans notre champ visuel en une fraction de seconde. Afin de mieux comprendre la nature des reprĂ©sentations prĂ©coces mises en jeu, nous avons menĂ© deux nouvelles Ă©tudes qui nous ont permis de montrer que les saccades les plus rapides ne seraient pas influencĂ©es par les informations contextuelles, et seraient basĂ©es sur une information rudimentaire. Enfin, j'ai proposĂ© un modĂšle simple de dĂ©cision, basĂ© sur des diffĂ©rences de temps de traitement neuronal entre catĂ©gories, qui permet de reproduire fidĂšlement nos rĂ©sultats expĂ©rimentaux. L'ensemble de ces rĂ©sultats, mis en perspective avec les connaissances actuelles sur les bases neuronales de la reconnaissance d'objet, dĂ©montre que le protocole de choix saccadique, en donnant accĂšs Ă une fenĂȘtre temporelle inaccessible jusqu'alors par les Ă©tudes comportementales, s'avĂšre un outil de choix pour les recherches Ă venir sur la reconnaissance rapide d'objets.The aim of this thesis is to investigate the dynamics of the cognitive processing involved in rapid object recognition in natural scenes. In order to get the fastest behavioral responses, we used a saccadic choice task in which subjects had to initiate saccades as fast as possible toward the image containing the target among two images displayed at the same time on the screen. This protocol first revealed differences in processing times between categories, with an advantage for the detection of human faces. Indeed, when human faces were used as the target, the first selective saccades appeared as early as 100 ms after the apparition of the images! We were thus interested in the mechanisms allowing such fast detection and showed that a low-level attribute might be used to detect and locate faces in the visual field. In order to understand the nature of the early representation used, we designed two other studies which showed that the fastest saccades were not influenced by contextual information, and were based on relatively coarse information. Finally, I present a simple decision model, based on a latency difference between neuronal population, which accounts for our experimental results. These results, taken in the perspective of what is known about the neural basis of object recognition, showed that the saccadic choice task, allowing access to an early temporal window, will be a very useful tool of interest for future studies on rapid object recognition
Taste Quality Decoding Parallels Taste Sensations
SummaryIn most species, the sense of taste is key in the distinction of potentially nutritious and harmful food constituents and thereby in the acceptance (or rejection) of food. Taste quality is encoded by specialized receptors on the tongue, which detect chemicals corresponding to each of the basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory [1]), before taste quality information is transmitted via segregated neuronal fibers [2], distributed coding across neuronal fibers [3], or dynamic firing patterns [4] to the gustatory cortex in the insula. In rodents, both hardwired coding by labeled lines [2] and flexible, learning-dependent representations [5] and broadly tuned neurons [6] seem to coexist. It is currently unknown how, when, and where taste quality representations are established in the cortex and whether these representations are used for perceptual decisions. Here, we show that neuronal response patterns allow to decode which of four tastants (salty, sweet, sour, and bitter) participants tasted in a given trial by using time-resolved multivariate pattern analyses of large-scale electrophysiological brain responses. The onset of this prediction coincided with the earliest taste-evoked responses originating from the insula and opercular cortices, indicating that quality is among the first attributes of a taste represented in the central gustatory system. These response patterns correlated with perceptual decisions of taste quality: tastes that participants discriminated less accurately also evoked less discriminated brain response patterns. The results therefore provide the first evidence for a link between taste-related decision-making and the predictive value of these brain response patterns
Thermalizing a telescope in Antarctica: Analysis of ASTEP observations
The installation and operation of a telescope in Antarctica represent
particular challenges, in particular the requirement to operate at extremely
cold temperatures, to cope with rapid temperature fluctuations and to prevent
frosting. Heating of electronic subsystems is a necessity, but solutions must
be found to avoid the turbulence induced by temperature fluctua- tions on the
optical paths. ASTEP 400 is a 40 cm Newton telescope installed at the Concordia
station, Dome C since 2010 for photometric observations of fields of stars and
their exoplanets. While the telescope is designed to spread star light on
several pixels to maximize photometric stability, we show that it is
nonetheless sensitive to the extreme variations of the seeing at the ground
level (between about 0.1 and 5 arcsec) and to temperature fluctuations between
--30 degrees C and --80 degrees C. We analyze both day-time and night-time
observations and obtain the magnitude of the seeing caused by the mirrors, dome
and camera. The most important effect arises from the heating of the primary
mirror which gives rise to a mirror seeing of 0.23 arcsec K--1 . We propose
solutions to mitigate these effects.Comment: Appears in Astronomical Notes / Astronomische Nachrichten, Wiley-VCH
Verlag, 2015, pp.1-2
MRI-targeted or standard biopsy for prostate-cancer diagnosis
Background Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with or without targeted biopsy, is an alternative to standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy for prostate-cancer detection in men with a raised prostate-specific antigen level who have not undergone biopsy. However, comparative evidence is limited. Methods In a multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial, we assigned men with a clinical suspicion of prostate cancer who had not undergone biopsy previously to undergo MRI, with or without targeted biopsy, or standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. Men in the MRI-targeted biopsy group underwent a targeted biopsy (without standard biopsy cores) if the MRI was suggestive of prostate cancer; men whose MRI results were not suggestive of prostate cancer were not offered biopsy. Standard biopsy was a 10-to-12-core, transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. The primary outcome was the proportion of men who received a diagnosis of clinically significant cancer. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of men who received a diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer. Results A total of 500 men underwent randomization. In the MRI-targeted biopsy group, 71 of 252 men (28%) had MRI results that were not suggestive of prostate cancer, so they did not undergo biopsy. Clinically significant cancer was detected in 95 men (38%) in the MRI-targeted biopsy group, as compared with 64 of 248 (26%) in the standard-biopsy group (adjusted difference, 12 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4 to 20; P=0.005). MRI, with or without targeted biopsy, was noninferior to standard biopsy, and the 95% confidence interval indicated the superiority of this strategy over standard biopsy. Fewer men in the MRI-targeted biopsy group than in the standard-biopsy group received a diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer (adjusted difference, -13 percentage points; 95% CI, -19 to -7; P<0.001). Conclusions The use of risk assessment with MRI before biopsy and MRI-targeted biopsy was superior to standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy in men at clinical risk for prostate cancer who had not undergone biopsy previously. (Funded by the National Institute for Health Research and the European Association of Urology Research Foundation; PRECISION ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02380027 .)
A pair of Sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 characterised with CHEOPS
Funding: TGW, ACC, and KH acknowledge support from STFC consolidated grant numbers ST/R000824/1 and ST/V000861/1, and UKSA grant ST/R003203/1.We report the discovery and characterization of a pair of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 (TIC 79748331), initially detected in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry. To characterize the system, we performed and retrieved the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS), TESS, and ground-based photometry, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) high-resolution spectroscopy, and Gemini speckle imaging. We characterize the host star and determine Teff,â=4734±67Kâ , Râ=0.726±0.007Rââ , and Mâ=0.748±0.032Mââ . We present a novel detrending method based on point spread function shape-change modelling and demonstrate its suitability to correct flux variations in CHEOPS data. We confirm the planetary nature of both bodies and find that TOI-1064 b has an orbital period of Pb = 6.44387 ± 0.00003 d, a radius of Rb = 2.59 ± 0.04 Râ, and a mass of Mb=13.5+1.7â1.8 Mâ, whilst TOI-1064 c has an orbital period of Pc=12.22657+0.00005â0.00004 d, a radius of Rc = 2.65 ± 0.04 Râ, and a 3Ï upper mass limit of 8.5 Mâ. From the high-precision photometry we obtain radius uncertainties of âŒ1.6 per cent, allowing us to conduct internal structure and atmospheric escape modelling. TOI-1064 b is one of the densest, well-characterized sub-Neptunes, with a tenuous atmosphere that can be explained by the loss of a primordial envelope following migration through the protoplanetary disc. It is likely that TOI-1064 c has an extended atmosphere due to the tentative low density, however further radial velocities are needed to confirm this scenario and the similar radii, different masses nature of this system. The high-precision data and modelling of TOI-1064 b are important for planets in this region of massâradius space, and it allow us to identify a trend in bulk densityâstellar metallicity for massive sub-Neptunes that may hint at the formation of this population of planets.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
TOI-836 : a super-Earth and mini-Neptune transiting a nearby K-dwarf
Funding: TGW, ACC, and KH acknowledge support from STFC consolidated grant numbers ST/R000824/1 and ST/V000861/1, and UKSA grant ST/R003203/1.We present the discovery of two exoplanets transiting TOI-836 (TIC 440887364) using data from TESS Sector 11 and Sector 38. TOI-836 is a bright (T = 8.5 mag), high proper motion (âŒ200 mas yrâ1), low metallicity ([Fe/H]ââ0.28) K-dwarf with a mass of 0.68 ± 0.05 Mâ and a radius of 0.67 ± 0.01 Râ. We obtain photometric follow-up observations with a variety of facilities, and we use these data-sets to determine that the inner planet, TOI-836 b, is a 1.70 ± 0.07 Râ super-Earth in a 3.82 day orbit, placing it directly within the so-called âradius valleyâ. The outer planet, TOI-836 c, is a 2.59 ± 0.09 Râ mini-Neptune in an 8.60 day orbit. Radial velocity measurements reveal that TOI-836 b has a mass of 4.5 ± 0.9 Mâ, while TOI-836 c has a mass of 9.6 ± 2.6 Mâ. Photometric observations show Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) on the order of 20 minutes for TOI-836 c, although there are no detectable TTVs for TOI-836 b. The TTVs of planet TOI-836 c may be caused by an undetected exterior planet.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
TOI-836: A super-Earth and mini-Neptune transiting a nearby K-dwarf
We present the discovery of two exoplanets transiting TOI-836 (TIC 440887364)
using data from TESS Sector 11 and Sector 38. TOI-836 is a bright (
mag), high proper motion ( mas yr), low metallicity
([Fe/H]) K-dwarf with a mass of M and a
radius of R. We obtain photometric follow-up
observations with a variety of facilities, and we use these data-sets to
determine that the inner planet, TOI-836 b, is a R
super-Earth in a 3.82 day orbit, placing it directly within the so-called
'radius valley'. The outer planet, TOI-836 c, is a R
mini-Neptune in an 8.60 day orbit. Radial velocity measurements reveal that
TOI-836 b has a mass of M , while TOI-836 c has a mass
of M. Photometric observations show Transit Timing
Variations (TTVs) on the order of 20 minutes for TOI-836 c, although there are
no detectable TTVs for TOI-836 b. The TTVs of planet TOI-836 c may be caused by
an undetected exterior planet
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