Advanced methods for safe visualization on automotive displays

Camera Monitor Systems (CMSs), for example, for backup cameras or mirror replacements, become increasingly important and already cover safety aspects such as guaranteed latency and no frame freeze. Today\u27s approaches deal only with supervision of the digital interface, LCD backlight, and power supply. This paper introduces methods for advanced safety monitoring of panel electronics and optical display output that aim to enable future CMS based automotive use cases. Our methods are based on correlation of physical measurements with predicted values derived from a corresponding display model. This model was made via calibration measurements and many test patterns. Correlation of the monitoring results with predicted values corresponds to the probability that the RGB data are shown as intended. This implies that an overlying system, an Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) Prepared Video Safety System (APVSS), ensures that only safety verified RGB data are provided to the panel electronics. In case of failures, our methods enable a safe system state, for example, by deactivating the panel. An additional challenge is to allow graceful degradations, a safe but slightly degraded image may provide a better customer experience compared with no information. We successfully verified our approach by a fully functional prototype and extensive evaluation towards “light-to-light” (camera to display output) supervision

Desulfovibrio idahonensis sp. nov., sulfatereducing bacteria isolated from a metal(loid)-contaminated freshwater sediment

Two novel sulfate-reducing bacteria, strains CY1 and CY2, were isolated from heavy-metal-contaminated sediments of Lake Coeur d\u27Alene, Idaho, USA. Strains CY1 and CY2 were found to contain c-type cytochromes and to reduce sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, DMSO, anthraquinone disulfonate and fumarate using lactate as an electron donor. In a comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences, CY1 and CY2 were found to be 100% identical, but only 97 and 92.4% similar, respectively, to the type strains of Desulfovibrio mexicanus and Desulfovibrio aminophilus. Unlike these species, however, CY1 was neither able to disproportionate thiosulfate nor able to use yeast extract or amino acids as electron donors. These data, considered in conjunction with differences among strain CY1 and the two related type strains in chemotaxonomy, riboprint patterns, temperature and pH optima, support recognition of a distinct and novel species within the genus Desulfovibrio, Desulfovibrio idahonensis sp. nov., with the type strain CY1 (=DSM 15450 =JCM 14124 ). © 2009 IUMS. T T T T T T T

Desulfosporosinus lacus sp. nov., a sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from pristine freshwater lake sediments

A novel sulfate-reducing bacterium was isolated from pristine sediments of Lake Stechlin, Germany. This strain, STP12 , was found to contain predominantly c-type cytochromes and to reduce sulfate, sulfite and thiosulfate using lactate as an electron donor. Although STP12 could not utilize elemental sulfur as an electron acceptor, it could support growth by dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction. In a comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences, STP12 was 96.7 % similar to Desulfosporosinus auripigmenti DSM 13351 , 96.5 % similar to Desulfosporosinus meridiei DSM 13257 and 96.4 % similar to Desulfosporosinus orientis DSM 765 . DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed that strain STP12 shows only 32 % reassociation with the type strain of the type species of the genus, D. orientis DSM 765 . These data, considered in conjunction with strain-specific differences in heavy metal tolerance, cell-wall chemotaxonomy and riboprint patterns, support recognition of strain STP12 (=DSM 15449 =JCM 12239 ) as the type strain of a distinct and novel species within the genus Desulfosporosinus, Desulfosporosinus lacus sp. nov. © 2006 IUMS. T T T T T T T T T T

Preliminary findings on long-term effects of fMRI neurofeedback training on functional networks involved in sustained attention

INTRODUCTION Neurofeedback based on functional magnetic resonance imaging allows for learning voluntary control over one's own brain activity, aiming to enhance cognition and clinical symptoms. We previously reported improved sustained attention temporarily by training healthy participants to up-regulate the differential activity of the sustained attention network minus the default mode network (DMN). However, the long-term brain and behavioral effects of this training have not yet been studied. In general, despite their relevance, long-term learning effects of neurofeedback training remain under-explored. METHODS Here, we complement our previously reported results by evaluating the neurofeedback training effects on functional networks involved in sustained attention and by assessing behavioral and brain measures before, after, and 2 months after training. The behavioral measures include task as well as questionnaire scores, and the brain measures include activity and connectivity during self-regulation runs without feedback (i.e., transfer runs) and during resting-state runs from 15 healthy individuals. RESULTS Neurally, we found that participants maintained their ability to control the differential activity during follow-up sessions. Further, exploratory analyses showed that the training increased the functional connectivity between the DMN and the occipital gyrus, which was maintained during follow-up transfer runs but not during follow-up resting-state runs. Behaviorally, we found that enhanced sustained attention right after training returned to baseline level during follow-up. CONCLUSION The discrepancy between lasting regulation-related brain changes but transient behavioral and resting-state effects raises the question of how neural changes induced by neurofeedback training translate to potential behavioral improvements. Since neurofeedback directly targets brain measures to indirectly improve behavior in the long term, a better understanding of the brain-behavior associations during and after neurofeedback training is needed to develop its full potential as a promising scientific and clinical tool